Rifts.

[Anathanasia]

Though I'm not really interested in playing in a Rifts game, thought I'd add a suggestion for those of you thinking about it.

Best Rifts game I played in dropped the MDC, which evened things out nicely so that wildnerness hunters weren't getting splattered to bits in the first big fight. I think the rules are in the conversion book, converting MDC to AR and SDC, and it worked rather well for us.

I think the whole MDC thing works fine in robotech, where it's central, but in Rifts there's too much different crap, and MDC just gets in the way. Not to mention the whole Palladium system is just in dire need of a complete overhaul...  :D

[Celestial Goblin]

Meh... I thought to myself, getting one point of this m.d.c. would be quite twinky, but very useful, i thought...
The wonderful equipment selection, nice armour, the weakest one...
'Plastic Man' suit has 30 m.d.c., ain't it nice, other armours go as far as 60.
Certainly needs of adjustment, though it's a fun thought.

[Natalie C. Barney]

But when alot of weapons do LOTS of MDC damage are these suits kind of useless? I just don't think MDC works very well and limits option. What if you wanted to play a Mutant Ninja Sparrow from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I'm sure a Katana would devestate anything opposed to such a mighty opponent.

[Celestial Goblin]

If only the sparrow would wear a mask over his/her eyes, the katana would cut the armour, it's approprietly dramatic.
Actually, i think a normal energy gun stands some chances on the armour, but melee weapons don't. Might need house-ruling for some kind of critical hits perhaps.
As for now, i've read trough the 'coalition wars:sedition' scenario and like it a lot. Full scale face-off between fascists with technology and demon summoning magicians was really what i was looking for.
When i turn on some Iron Maiden songs, it really seems to make sense in a realistic way, it's all like it should be...

"There they go, teleported on a hill of overturned runestones, good glance at the platoon of black-clad coalition grunts and their spider warmachine. Making a fat sizzling lightning bolt drop on them is just the beggining, soon the clear sky is twisted into a physics-defying whirlwind, the machine limps with one foot melted away and a lone surviving dead-boy runs away.
As much as Magnus would delight to have Morrigan give the spider tank another smile, barking of those who smelled the magic from across the field is much more of a concern. Marco's goggles adjust their sights on the first dog-boy, a hulking bulldog hybrid who barks an encouranging battlecry, runed parts of his bronze machine gun move... At the same time the quiet, shy Georginia completed her transformation and a puff of sulphur escapes her nostrils.
To the grav-bikers flying overhead, it's not even the primary target, as in the distance the horizon is lighted up by a ley-line growing in power. Their names are Astaroth, Loki and Shub-Niggurath, and summoning them was deemed by the Tolkeen council as nessesary evil."
*giggle*

[Muse]

Cool! 

[Ajoxer]

I always loved Rifts Japan- I'd have to look through my books, but I'd love to play as a Crazy... Heheheh... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Siegfried]

Rifts Japan rocks.  I heared that they were suppost to release Japan 2 soon, but that it got put back on the burner with the twenty other books they want to release :D

[Ajoxer]

Also, I have NEVER had much difficulty in understanding the Rifts system.

That should be a random roll on the Neurosis, or possibly Psychosis table...

[Muse]

I believe I'd most like to play an atlantian undead slayer in a rifts game. 

[Amberghylles]

The thing with RIFTS (and almost every other Palladium game I've read or played) is that there's no real effort to balance classes.  Not saying that this is good or bad, but it really does require a bit of planning pre-game to set the scale.  As long as the group is all of a similar power level, the game can be set to match and all is good.

[Ajoxer]

Well, Crazies are about midlevel- Around Dogpack and most Magicians, not as strong as a Juicer, Dragon-Hatchling, or Glitter Boy, not as low-level as a City Rat or Wilderness Scout or such.

[Ajoxer]

I got a copy of the Nightbane RPG, in PDF, I believe. Muse, IM me!

[Natalie C. Barney]

Well that is the problem with RIFTS its supposed allow any calss from any of their games to work in a single world but it doesn't work. I favor the idea but trying to have a Mutant Ninja Sqirrel and a Juicer and a Veritech Pilot work in the SAME game is almost impossible. Want it to work as a concept try RISIS now there is a universal system and even that Mutant Ninja Aquiirel can find the chink in the Mecha Pilots war machine with his katana. Ok not realistic but that is the bane of too many games what about suspension of disbelief!

Problem with RIFTS is its trying too hard. I like the individual worlds and not too much mind the whole idea but it just doesn't work very well does it.  ???

[Faolan]

  Actually the imbalance between character classes is one of the things I like a lot about RIFTS. A wilderness scout with a laser rifle should get stepped on by a veritech pilot. It makes sense. If you want a game that is balanced the GM has to restrict players to a specific list of equal level classes/races etc.

[Ajoxer]

I personally agree with that idea- After all, realistically, a Juicer wouldn't work with a Wilderness Scout or even, possibly, a Crazy, because they simply aren't as batshit intense. Similarly, the average Juicer probably won't be working alongside a Dragon Hatchling or Godling, since he'll be a bit of a drag on them- However, each of them can find their own perfect niches. I may just go for a Ninja Crazy if they look like a decent " High" class... Just because it's such an awesome idea. Anyway, yea, I think that the class imbalance works out fairly well- The Juicer, Atlantean Undead Slayer, and Glitter-Boy are more suited to, for instance, craaaazy Dimension-Hopping, whereas a team of a Wilderness Scout, Street Rat, and maybe a Deadboy would do well finding themselves thrown together and trying to clean one of the Chi-Town Burbs of a gangwar.

[Natalie C. Barney]

But my point is its supposed to allow ANY OCC from ANY game and let them be tossed together what about a Ninjas & Superspies WORLDLY MARTIAL ARTIST with just martial arts as a weapon. Its clear they missed the mark. Seems to me RIFTS turned into its own world and cannot allow this diversity.

[Faolan]

  Actually if you go through the conversions book to convert a N&S martial artist some of them get pretty powerful because theit Chi effects become souped up in RIFTS.  And I think they did perfectly well with the integration in terms of bringing any character from any of their games and putting them into rifts. My problem with them is that they are a bunch of juveniles and their core rules don't really make a lot of sense, nor is their a lot of internal consistency to the world.

  I don't have a problem with the idea that some characters just cannot play with other types of characters. There are different power levels and they are not intended to be played together. Either that or the low poowered ones are just supposed to be happy playing second fiddle in combat.

[Siegfried]

I have more a problem with the skills.  I understand not getting everything you want right away for a character, but to be unable to learn any skill that you want later on is just plain stupid.  Also, the concept of you character not being able to improve their physical selfs at all is even more of an oversight.

[Faolan]

That's why I made a conversion to GURPS rules. I have to find some server space to post it back up on the net again eventually. Anyway, GURPS is far and away a the best RPG system for those looking for realism(IMNSHO). Palladium guys come up with a lot of great ideas but they don't ever rein themselves in or attempt to check against work they've already done. And they have some of the best illustrations in all of the RPG book publishing world.

[Siegfried]

I second that.  One of the best ideas they ever had was producing the Rifter.  Allowing players to come up with ideas, be sent in and show to everyone else while getting a sum of money, not a very large sum mind you, was excellent.

[Ajoxer]

Well, anyone who's willing to GM it? That's what we most need...

[Celestial Goblin]

I'll admit my head is full of ideas for a game set during the Coalition-Tolkeen war, though there are two problems.
First, i'm just reading the mechanics and i'm bound to make mistakes, second, when i'll finally activate WoW, probably monday, it suck me in for a time.
That said, i'm willing to try.

[Ajoxer]

Well, I just finished a Crazy. Ended up surprisingly strong, as he's able to lift... roughly half a ton. I named him, whimsically, " Joe."

[Celestial Goblin]

When making a test char, i've got really poor physical stats and not much better mental. His only asset was high endurance, so i decided to make him a crazy to have his physical stats raised to the minimum. Don't know how much can he lift, but they're bad-ass enough as a class. Guess we'll fire the game eventually... anybody else interested?

[Ajoxer]

Well, they're good, but they're nothing compared to, say, a Juicer... Less severe end results, though.