Salvaging Rifts With BRP and the Morrow Project..

8/18/2019 Salvaging Rifts With BRP and the Morrow Project..

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4/17/2016 salvaging Rifts with BRP and the Morrow Project....

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11-22-2003, 10:17 AM

salvaging Rifts with BRP and the Morrow Project....Printable View

Gearssalvaging Rifts with BRP and the Morrow Project....

Here's a crazy idea I had the other day, and I'd like your thoughts on:

When Rifts first came out, I must admit I kind of liked it. I bought a pile of books, the first dozen worldbooks or so, and ran numerous campaigns, before I finally gave up on it for the following reasons:

*The system seems hopelessly and needlessly complex and arbitrary, like it can't make up its mind onwhat sort of resolution mechanic it wants to go with. The fact that the system is constantly adding

more and more arbitrary skills, abilities, and rules only accentuates this problem.

*The setting provides boatloads of powerful PC types, which bothers me for one reason: Most of thesepowerful PC types should have far more knowledge of the world(s) than the players do. With the worldconstantly adding huge 'missing bits' of the cosmology, it gets frustrating to have to keep re-explaining'what you know' about the universe to supposed dimension trotting badasses.

*The sheer volume of PC types means it can be tricky to explain what these folks are doing together,and why they stick together in the long run.

*The setting seems to have at least one hopelessly corny concept for every three or four good ones.Not a terrible ratio as games go, but one that definitely adds up in a setting as detailed as Rifts.

*Mega Damage.

So here's the idea I was struck with: convert the system to BRP (which I enjoy immensely), using thecore Rifts skills as the only skills in the game. Magic, equipment, and weapons shouldn't be too difficultto convert over. Do away with MDC by making it something like its current value x 5 inSDC/HPs/whatever.

Then do away with pretty much all the character classes other than doctors, scouts, Glitter boy pilots,mechanics, and the like. Explain that when the world started going downhill centuries ago, a group of some sort created a network of underground complexes and put hundreds of people into cryogenicstasis in each. Now the PCs complex has woken up, thawed them out, and come back to life. Thecommunity has spent the past year getting itself up and running, monitoring radio broadcasts as best itcan (a few tantalizing clues about the outside world), and dealing with its first encounter with the

supernatural (someone in the community, perhaps a psychic, became posessed by some sort of inter-dimensional entity. Now the PCs have been selected and equipped for the first contact with life outside.The setting would be trimmed down to a grittier version of itself, without all the over the top mega-versal conquering uber-heroes and villains lurking around every corner.

This sort of pseudo-Morrow Project concept gets PCs around having to understand the setting at allahead of time. It gives them a natural reason to stick together and work together. It gives them plentyof goals and support as they start out (help the community they come from deal with a hostile unkownworld). And it sets up some great plot threads down the road: when the Coalition begins to hear aboutthem, they will undoubtedly want to recruit the 'pure human' survivors. The community will have todevelop a policy towards D-Bees, magic, aliens, and the like; the PCs will undoubtedly have heavyinfluence on these decisions, being the 'ambassadors' to the outside world. There is also the question

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11-22-2003, 12:44 PM

11-22-2003, 12:50 PM

11-22-2003, 02:01 PM

of other communitites of sleepers from before the rifts: are they still out there, and how have theyadapted to the new world?

I dunno, just thinking out loud here. What do you think?

J Arcane

See, my confusion here is on whether or not there is anything to salvage.

The base problem with Rifts is it's very concept, particularly the titular interdimensional rifts.

Basically, it's just another post-apoc setting, otherwise.

And the Rifts themselves are the prime justification for the unbalanced nature of the game. The reasonthere's such a complete random hodge-podge of crazy crap running around, with no seeming theme oranything, is that pretty much anything can wind up getting sucked into a Rift and winding up on Earth.It's even been suggested that Rifts Earth in particular, due to the extremely magic-rich environment, isbecoming a sort of nexus point for all inter-dimensional travel.

There's really no reason a rift couldn't open up and bring whatever the hell you wanted, which is whythere's such a heinous number of conversions out there, of every concievable fictional device known to

man.

I've never been impressed with too many of the subplots. The Coalition is basically and Earth-boundversion of the Imperium from Warhammer 40k, but not as cool. Most of the other nations are justboring. The Splugorth are just CoC Elder Gods, they even have servitors in Phase World that look likeCthulhu with a hoody on. The only worldbook I ever found genuinely fascinating was Wormwood, so Icould definitely see stealing that setting, but beyond that?

What's the point really?

danzig138

Quote:

Some people enjoy the variety available in RIFTS. That could be the point. Or maybe someone likesthe basic set-up of North America. There are lots of points and lots of reasons someone may want toplay RIFTS. That, combined with some people's perception of system flaws, give rise to new ways toplay the game. What matters is that they see a point even if you don't.Personally, I'm working on converting RIFTS to the Marvel Super Heroes Game.

TechnoGothic

i enjoy the fact that RIFTS isnt *balanced*...OCCs, RCCs, ect dont have to Balanced by mechanics, flaws, upsides, ect...

i dont like D&D cause they do try to *balance* things out too much...

i did convert Rifts to TSR's Marvel Superheroes years ago...it was unique ;)

Originally posted by J Arcane

What's the point really?


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11-22-2003, 03:37 PM

11-22-2003, 05:01 PM

11-22-2003, 05:07 PM

Argetlamh

I think a point-buy system like Tri-Stat or Hero would work best to capture the inherent imbalance of the setting.Example30 points = CS military squad, mercenary company, what have you40 points = squad of ace mecha pilots60 points = improbable band of dragons, godlings, and other interdimensional twinks

Noon

Quote:

It's quite easy then. Develop a random powers table (preferably with 100 entries), then go througheach class, rolling say 2D6 times.

Done.

It'd be nifty if we could do the reverse for Rifts.

GearsWhat's the point? It's this:

My thinking is that there really are some neat ideas buried in Rifts; it's not just another post-apocalyptic earth. The difference being the whole 'magic done it' feel of the apocalypse, and theinteresting possiblities for earth as an interdimensional off-ramp for the universe. The problem seemsto be that many of the interesting ideas don't get followed through to any kind of internally logicalconclusion; things just sort of get slapped down willy-nilly and left that way. I'm all for a world withvast power imbalances; that increases the scope for differing approaches to running a campaign, fromstreet rats in Chi-Town to universe hoping Cosmo-Knights. It just seems that after a few decades orcenturies a new sort of order would emerge, yet Rifts wants to keep things perpetually cut up intodiscreet little segments.

Also, many times cheesy grade-B solutions are presented to problems where far more interestingresults would likely be the result. Example: earth's ecosystem seems pretty fundamentally unchangedon Rifts Earth, right down to most wildlife species still being present which existed before the rifts; thebiodiversity has expanded in a completely unsustainable way rather than altered its basic bottom-updynamics. I think Rifts earth should have far-reaching differences in how nature continues to functionunder such bizarre dimensional stresses: one would think that after a time the most efficient anddurable species in the universe would widely colonize earth's ecosystem, changing flora and faunadramatically. Also, the issue of disease should be handled somehow: I would think the dimensionalinflux of germs, parasites, and other micro-organisms would pose a much greater threat to earth'sindigineous species than the occasional big lumbering giant with spikey things on his back. Humanitywould heavily depend on magic or science based medical resources to survive such constant biologicalassault; those without access to such vast resources would perish or be changed dramatically as theyadapted to such a harshly-ravaged world.

Originally posted by TechnoGothic

i enjoy the fact that RIFTS isnt *balanced*...

OCCs, RCCs, ect dont have to Balanced by mechanics, flaws, upsides, ect...

i dont like D&D cause they do try to *balance* things out too much...

*snip*


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11-22-2003, 10:08 PM

11-23-2003, 01:56 AM

Again, I'm just thinking out loud here, but I hope I've given you some idea of what I see about Riftsthat has great potential once you get past some of the sillier elements (like much of the New Westbook, for instance).

Steve Conan Trustrum

Guys, if you're contemplating converting Rifts to another system

DO NOT ANNOUNCE IT ON THESEBOARDS Announcing such an intent is just begging for someone to send Palladium an email which will quicklyhave them knocking on your e-door with a C&D threat.

Noon

God bless them!

Instead, announce your converting DRIFTS.

Its the product that never was and it needs converting!

Convert over the UBER damage system to whatever.

In fact, name a whole lot of stuff different, put it on your web site for free and you'll be sweet.

Correction. They'll still try something. Just be polite, but firm...rolled up newspaper works well, I'vefound.

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Salvaging Rifts With BRP and the Morrow Project..

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