Interest Check: Rifts RPG (Classic, not Savage)

Game System and Rules Version: The Palladium Books Megaversal System. Specifically the version found in Rifts Ultimate Edition. This is NOT Rifts for Savage Worlds.

Adult Content or Controversial Themes: Violence, occultism, and probably some off-color language.

Character Restrictions: Rifts has an immense amount of player options, and the power level between characters has the potential to vary drastically. As a result, I will be approving each character concept on a case-by-case basis. This is in order to keep the game somewhat balanced and tonally consistent. I'm looking for middle-of-the-road characters: neither overly weak nor overly powerful. Further details will be found in the game's character creation thread. It's probably best to have several character concepts ready in case I reject your initial concept. Diabolic and Miscreant alignments are not permitted.

Game Duration: Six months to a year.

Post Frequency: About 3 posts per week seems reasonable.

Players: Looking for 3 to 5 players.

Specialized Software and Resources: You need a copy of Rifts Ultimate Edition. If you don't have access to it, then I can assist with character creation.

Player Experience Requirements: Experience with the Palladium Books "Megaversal System" is very helpful but not required. The rules can be a bit quirky or counterintuitive for those not used to them. That being said, I'm more than happy to walk newcomers through the basics. Please note that I have my fair share of house rules that I'll be using, so even experienced Rifts players should expect to learn a few things.

How to Apply: Express your interest in the thread below. Spots are available on a first come, first served basis.

Marginalized Groups: All are welcomed.


The Pitch
The Rifts RPG was first released in 1990 by a Michigan RPG publisher called Palladium Books. The game is a post-apocalyptic science fantasy setting that uses Palladium's "Megaversal System" - a crunchy, d20-based system loosely derived from early DnD. Rifts was a major success for the company, which has gone on to release more than 100 supplements since the game's debut.

Rifts takes place in the future. A limited nuclear exchange results in millions dead. The life energy released by this massive number of deaths is absorbed by previously unknown magical lines known as ley lines. Said lines of energy, which laid dormant all over the world, begin to roar to life. Their sudden activation sets off a chain reaction of storms, earthquakes, and other natural disasters of unprecedented magnitude. These disasters kill more people, which feeds more life energy into the ley lines, and in turn causes yet more intense disasters, etc. A vicious cycle ensues. Billions die.

Where two or more ley lines intersect is a nexus point, and it's at these mystical junctions that reality tears itself apart. Rifts to other universes begin to open, and all manner of creatures from other worlds pour into ours. The energies rippling through the ley lines amplify and make manifest the very power of magic and psychic abilities. In the face of unparalleled destruction, extradimensional intruders, and the existence of the paranormal, governments collapse and countries disintegrate.

Roughly 300 years have passed since the apocalypse. What most know as The Great Cataclysm. The world is now a place transformed; an alien place filled with magic, monsters, and lost technology. Inhuman beings walk the Earth: creatures of myth, as well as creatures of nightmare. Ley lines wind across the landscape; their pale blue glow bolstering and feeding the supernatural around them. Between the shattered husks of fallen cities stretch endless expanses of dark and dangerous wilderness that make long distance travel perilous. There are no highways. No power grids. No global communication. No more infrastructure. Life is brutal and fleeting for the average person. History and literacy are largely forgotten in favor of focusing on day-to-day survival.

Though the world still lies mostly in ruins, civilization has started to rise again in a few areas. Most of these kingdoms and cities rely on magic or salvaged super-science to survive. Sometimes both. Humans have embraced cybernetics and physical enhancement for protection. Giant robots, directed energy weapons, nanotechnology, and other pre-Cataclysm technologies have been rediscovered. Likewise, there are those who have elected to master the secrets of spellcasting or to tap into the powers of the mind.


The Characters
Rifts is a sprawling sandbox setting. Over the years, it's become the gold standard for wildly gonzo, kitchen-sink types of games. As such, the game world offers an impressive array of options for characters. Included are elements of every genre imaginable: horror, cyberpunk, Western, science fiction, high fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery, and more. Players can pick from cyborgs, sorcerers, mutant animals, psychics, robots, power armor pilots, supersoldiers, vampires, demi-gods, techno-wizards, space aliens, martial artists, gunslingers, samurai, mercenaries, energy beings, cowboys, dimensional explorers, druids, wandering knights, wastelanders, priests, elementalists, countless non-human species, and even dragons, among many other possibilities. The above list only scratches the surface.

My specific game takes place in North America. The premise is that the PC group works for the Tomorrow Legion, an eclectic faction of do-gooders fighting for a "better tomorrow." These heroes help the helpless, save lives, and battle the many evils that are flourishing throughout the continent. This might mean protecting innocent villages from bandits, chasing down and killing supernatural horrors, capturing dangerous wanted criminals, safely transporting and delivering vital goods to poor wilderness communities (food, medicine, etc.), resolving disputes between armed factions, escorting caravans through hostile territory, etc.

It's up to you to decide your motivation for being a Legionnaire (and such motivations aren't always selfless).


The System
The Megaversal System is Palladium Books' universal rules system, as seen in the company's many games. The mechanics have gone through various minor iterations and rules updates over the decades, and the version currently used in this Rifts game is known as Ultimate Edition. The system is a medium-crunch, d20-based system loosely derived from early DnD. Here are the broad strokes:

--- Most rolls consist of 1d20 +/- a modifier.
--- Skill rolls use percentile dice.
--- There are two tiers of damage: Standard Damage and Mega-Damage.
--- Character advancement is level-based; levels range from 1 to 15. Advancement normally occurs through experience points, though I'll most likely be switching to milestones.
--- An O.C.C. (Occupational Character Class) is analogous to a class from DnD. An R.C.C. (Racial Character Class) is a class restricted to a particular species.

The game will have a rules thread that'll provide a much more thorough breakdown of the mechanics.


Who Am I?
My name is Conan.the.Librarian. I've been playing the Rifts RPG on and off for the last thirty years. I have a great deal of experience running Rifts games, and a great deal of experience with play-by-post, but this will be my first time trying to combine the two. I don't honestly know how well the classic Rifts game will work in this medium. Maybe we'll succeed, or maybe it'll be like watching a car crash in slow motion. Either way, it should be interesting.

I remember Rift as teen, with a group of friends we looked at it before deciding to play Palladium Books T.M.N.T.

I never actually got to play the game, but would be very interested in having a go.

I'm somewhat curious about this, but what is the post frequency? You only listed player numbers, not how often you expect them to post.
(I also don't have and can't get the book, but I'm sure I can figure it out from explanation. :D)

I'd love to give it a shot, been having Rifts on the brain recently reading up on lots of the setting lore. I have a copy of Ultimate Edition and am generally familiar with Rifts. I've spent more time actually playing Savage Rifts, but my Palladium experience extends to some of their other gamelines such as Heroes Unlimited.

Apologies. Thanks for pointing that out. I think about 3 posts per week will be the posting rate.

Lack of a book won’t be an issue.

This works, consider me in! :D Already thinking of a tasty concept for a character~

Okay welcome aboard. Glad to have someone familiar with the setting.

Great! Hope it lives up to expectations, lol

I’m going to wait a few more days to see if there are any other bites, but otherwise, it appears we have enough interest. I’ll probably need a solid week to set up the game, and then I’ll send out the invites. Again, no worries if you aren’t familiar with the setting or system. I’ll make available resources to explain and simplify everything.

I've often been intrigued by the setting of Rifts, I'm not really sure about the system (I did run a game of Systems Failure! back in the day which runs on the same system), but I'm happy to have a go.

Welcome aboard! I’ve also played some Systems Failure.

The rules will be slightly adjusted to make the system for suitable to the play by post format. All will be detailed in a rules thread.

What books (other than core) would you be using?

I’m open to using material from almost any book, as long as it’s for the Rifts RPG. I’d prefer to avoid the Phase World supplements. I’ll have some parameters for char gen once I finish putting the game together.