Shemarrian Nation Review

[ZINO]

The weapons on shemarrian are awsome but not enuogh wait till post weapon ideas here I need to type them down

Can hardly wait..

sorry for the mispelling very tried man

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Any hints as to which of the lines they would be for, if not for Rifts?

I like Rifts yet at the same time it has seen enough support imo. Are you at liberty to say for which other games?

Not sure if I can, however, I don't want to say either way. Reason being is that I've been kicking around these ideas for some time now, and have yet to fully commit to them. To put it bluntly, so far they have gone no where. So, I don't want to say which line(s) these hypothetical books are for until they are further along.

~ Josh

[Lt. Holmes]

Archie and Hagan have always been my favourite antagonists. They really came to life in Mechanoids and I love their Titan Robotics blurbs in the Rifter, but this just takes the cake I really enjoyed the insights into their mentality and especially how the Shemarrians are essentially Hagan's wet dream come to life. It makes the two of them much more 3 dimensional and realistic.

All in all, awesomeness

[vsper]

Josh
First I really like the book, great job.

While I know the Shemarrians self destruct, I was thinking, I picture Archie putting some fake gray matter in their heads just in case someone got lucky and cracked a skull open, sort of like his ruse with the giant brain. Funnier yet if he put cloned human grey matter and a rouge scientist got a hold of it, that would cause some head scratching.

vsper

[taalismn]

Going to post new fan-create materials related to the Shemarrians to a new thread so this can continue to be reviews and errata, and thus not hijack the original intent...

[Danger]

Any hints as to which of the lines they would be for, if not for Rifts?

I like Rifts yet at the same time it has seen enough support imo. Are you at liberty to say for which other games?

Not sure if I can, however, I don't want to say either way. Reason being is that I've been kicking around these ideas for some time now, and have yet to fully commit to them. To put it bluntly, so far they have gone no where. So, I don't want to say which line(s) these hypothetical books are for until they are further along.

~ Josh

Fair enough. Keep us posted.

[Aramanthus]

They have some very cool weapons. I'll always collect good fan made material.

[Carl Gleba]

so is the book relativetly new. or old rehashed and updated stuff?

I would say 95% new. Obviously the old Sheamrrians are in there, but I would say more detailed.

It's a great book if you like the crazy A.I.

Carl

[taalismn]

so is the book relativetly new. or old rehashed and updated stuff?

I would 95% new. Obviously the old Sheamrrians are in there, but I would say more detailed.

It's a great book if you like the crazy A.I.

Carl

Well, my home computer threatened me into getting it...and it seems pretty satisfied so far with what we got...

[Aramanthus]

I agree with Carl about it being at least 95% new material. It's a great book. Pick it up!

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

so is the book relativetly new. or old rehashed and updated stuff?

Old stuff: the original Shemarrian and the Monst-Rex.

New Stuff: Everything else.

~ Josh

[Aramanthus]

I'm sure you'll enjoy it when you actually get it.

[Jeffrey W.]

Wow! Congratulations to Josh Sinsapaugh on his latest creation, Shemarrian Nation.

I was slow to purchase a copy of this book actually, considering how Rifts Sourcebook #1 revision turned out a few years ago. I set my expectations rather low on this book, I guess.

Yesterday, a large box arrived from Palladium Books with numerous books and products I recently purchased from them, and yet it's Rifts Sourcebook: Shemarrian Nation that I keep picking up to look at time and again.

Kevin Siembieda has said that something or other about the "Wow-factor" of a book or product. This book has it!

Short, simple, concise, detailed, thoughtful ... this book reminds me of the great Rifts books of yesteryear.

Home run for Palladium Books! *MVW award nomination (most valuable writer) to Josh Sinsapaugh*

Jeffrey W.
(another satisfied customer)

[abtex]

Ugh...I just went insane this morning and typed out five hackneyed pages of 'Alternate Shemarrian: the Ecotroz Entity/Shemar Rebellion'....

Dear taalismn's Computer

If you would be so kind as to post for him, the new article he is writing on the Shemarrian. Because he is very busy working on other stuff to post. As well as going to and from work to support You.

Thank you,
the many readers of the Wonderful Things that You let him write on Your software.

[bar1scorpio]

Saturday night, put a copy in the hands of a gamer who, while his family hadn't that much in the way of Palladium gear, remembered the Shemarrians. By Sunday he'd read halfway through the book and "loved every bit of it".

He also didn't know about the Palladium Open House... so... you might have at least 1 more coming down for that. ^^

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Wow! Congratulations to Josh Sinsapaugh on his latest creation, Shemarrian Nation.

I was slow to purchase a copy of this book actually, considering how Rifts Sourcebook #1 revision turned out a few years ago. I set my expectations rather low on this book, I guess.

Yesterday, a large box arrived from Palladium Books with numerous books and products I recently purchased from them, and yet it's Rifts Sourcebook: Shemarrian Nation that I keep picking up to look at time and again.

Kevin Siembieda has said that something or other about the "Wow-factor" of a book or product. This book has it!

Short, simple, concise, detailed, thoughtful ... this book reminds me of the great Rifts books of yesteryear.

Home run for Palladium Books! *MVW award nomination (most valuable writer) to Josh Sinsapaugh*

Jeffrey W.
(another satisfied customer)

Thanks Jeff, I appreciate it.

Especially the "great Rifts books of yesteryear" part, that's high praise from where I am sitting.

~ Josh

[rat_bastard]

Bottom line Josh, everyone hates your book and you should live the rest of your days in a hole in the ground hiding your shameful presence from decent people.

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Bottom line Josh, everyone hates your book and you should live the rest of your days in a hole in the ground hiding your shameful presence from decent people.

I You.

~ Josh

[BookWyrm]

Still gotta wait until the book re-hits The Strat. Maybe I'll head into NYC in a couple of weeks.

[Daniel Stoker]

Well after much reading I finally got through my copy of Shemarrian Nation. First off, my overall impression is that it's a great book. I've always been a fan of Archie and I've loved the idea of the Shemarrians for a long time now. I thought the facts and rumors were great and give me plenty of information and disinformation to give my players to keep them guessing. I also like the various types of Shemarrians that were added to the book. I'm iffy on the Pariahs, I see why they would also be there, but if they were gone I'd be fine. But I have to say I love the idea of the Spinsters. For a long time I wanted to know not only how did they manage to repair themselves, but how they deal with destroyed Shemarrians and the Spinsters handle that very well.

The Shemarrians have had some nice upgrades, I especially like the additional mounts added to them as well as the Shemarrian Wolf. It gives them some nice flavor and helps making them seem more realistic. The variety in weapons they've added is also pretty nice and makes them more rounded.

I also like how though Archie and Hagan have thought all of this out, but how very easily it could blow up on them and how they could end up taking on more then they can handle here between the Coalition, FQ, and the Splugorth.

Now if you don't plan on playing along the east coast or just don't like Archie and the Shemarrians in the first place then yea, the book isn't that useful, but otherwise it's a good read and I'd definitely recommend it.


Daniel Stoker

[cornholioprime]

Bottom line Josh, everyone hates your book and you should live the rest of your days in a hole in the ground hiding your shameful presence from decent people.

I You.

~ Josh

I don't have your Shemarrian Book -yet -but judging from your "short story" about the Dark Woods of Dinosaur Swamp in Rifter #36 (IIRC), I think that I will be in for a real treat when I finally get my hands on it.

[Talavar]

Just got my copy this week (stupid slow mail) and I've really enjoyed it - well done! However a question: do the Republicans know that the Shemarrians are fake? If yes, I imagine they would basically be at war with each other, but if not how do they interact? If Archie were to have the Shemarrians attack Republicans whenever encountered, it might seem a little suspicious to the Republicans.

[cornholioprime]

Just got my copy this week (stupid slow mail) and I've really enjoyed it - well done! However a question: do the Republicans know that the Shemarrians are fake? If yes, I imagine they would basically be at war with each other, but if not how do they interact? If Archie were to have the Shemarrians attack Republicans whenever encountered, it might seem a little suspicious to the Republicans.

I believe that this issue is specifically covered in Rifts: Sourcebook One (latest edition), and that while the Republicans know all about ARCHIE that knowledge is of what he had in or around 2098 AD, not what he's developed in the last 50-100 years or more; they grossly underestimate his ability to adapt and overcome, and the text strongly implies that they think that ARCHIE can't crank out ,uch more than NEMA designs and what-not (even the Factory that they're using was an older one, and filled with only his most rudimentary designs and 'bot-making equipment).

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Just got my copy this week (stupid slow mail) and I've really enjoyed it - well done! However a question: do the Republicans know that the Shemarrians are fake? If yes, I imagine they would basically be at war with each other, but if not how do they interact? If Archie were to have the Shemarrians attack Republicans whenever encountered, it might seem a little suspicious to the Republicans.

The Republicans do not know that the Shemarrians are fake.

Yes, the Shemarrians constantly attacking them could tip them off, however:

1. The Republicans don't move about as obvious Republicans - they often go incognito.

2. The Shemarrians attack any military force (Coalition, Quebecois), so the Republicans likely won't believe they are being attacked for being Republicans - but rather simply for being in a military force.

~ Josh

[BookWyrm]

I'll get my hands on tis book yet. Gotta wait for it to hit Strategist again.

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

What happen when it was at the Strategist the first time? Did it sell out? And/or did they just order a limited number of copies?

Just curious.

~ Josh

[Jeffrey W.]

I was surprised to read the Josh Sinsapaugh response that "The Republicans do not know that the Shemarrians are fake"!

No argument there, but I would have expected that as the Republicans gained access inside two or more of Archie's factories, stealing raw materials and components to manufacture Republican weapon systems, that they might have had such an encounter.

That's okay, because imagine how much roleplaying fun that will be for a group of Republicans to discover that Archie is manufacturing life-like androids, and later to realize that the entire Shemarrian Nation is one big android deception!

The only thing I couldn't reason out is why Manufacturing Center Number Two is located at the site of Lykens, Pennsylvania. (Could that just be a location near and dear to the author, perhaps?) I could find no tactical or strategic justification for it being located there.

Maybe Archie is counting on others not having any reason to look there, but that is a stretch for a master of deception and infiltration. I would have liked if more history was provided about that site, considering that we know so much more about each of the other Archie locations.

Still, the book was about the Shemarrian Nation, not the explanation of Archie's operations, so the author did remain focused on the topic.

Jeffrey W.
(rogue scholar)

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Aftermath mentions that Archie has a new factory site in Pennsylvania, so I chose Lykens for it's remoteness (it's more or less equally far from several regional population centers, or at least far as a place in Penn can be) and for the surrounding natural resources.

Also, Lykens is in a low valley surrounded by some short "mountains" (infact one is called "Short Mountain") providing some cover, plus the valley has plenty of space for a manufacturing center and is very defensible. Also, researching the area, I found it to be prime real estate for both Obsedai and Shale Bogles which would keep most people away (including the overwhelmingly majority of - if not all - wilderness folk and those living in small feudal kingdoms).

It is a strategic gamble on Archie's part, requiring vigilance by his Shemarrians and other bots in the area. People have likely found it already, though they've never made it back to civilization. Eventually someone will find it and live to tell the tale.

~ Josh

[Jeffrey W.]

Thanks, Josh. Yes, since the publication of "Aftermath", I have often wondered where Archie might try to hide that factory.

I was actually pleased that you provided a specific location, and that all of your statements were synoptic with previous books in the collection.

Having never been to that county myself, (but flying over it many times in the armed forces), I had to do Google satellite photos and streetviews to look at the surrounding landscape to get a less than accurate guesstimate of what the area might look like to characters.

The first thing which occurred to me is that the Coalition or Free Quebec aircraft should have already recorded the location by aerial recon photos.

Does Archie have much in the way of claiming the airspace of the Shemarrian Nation? It would seem that his thinking has been two dimensional, or very terrestrial in nature. His only flying robots seem to be for the purpose of spying.

At least his factory in upper Michigan is well hidden by being disguised in the open populace. But the Factory in Pennsylvania might be too obvious to passing aircraft.

(Just my two cents)

Jeffrey W.

[The Beast]

Oh, and the War goddess should have Stolen mechanoid forcefields.

The lack of any mentioning of the mechanoids is the only thing I find sorely missing from the book. I could see the Shemarians not having any mechanoid weapons, but Archie should be working on replicating the technology. His "bird" spies could be using anti-grav instead of hoverjets to fly. I agree with ratty on the War Goddess.

Personally I could see Archie using copied mechanoid tech to become the "next great danger."

I think the biggest problem with the book is the detectability of the signal that links to the satellites. I would assign it a penalty, but it should still be detectable by communcations experts and people doing random sensor sweeps. There need to be rules covering that.

Maybe it's on a freq that people don't know to look at/for? Like maybe normal com channels are at the "ABC" end of the spectrum and satellite coms use the "XYZ" end (just descibing it that way to make my point).

I'd like to see a Titan Robotics book as well.

I too would like to see something similar to DB8 for Titan/Cyberwerks, just without any mentioning of Archie.

[Hystrix]

Hey Josh,

I've been reading through the Shemerrian book, and I just wanna say -- Awesome. Keep up the good work.

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Oh, and the War goddess should have Stolen mechanoid forcefields.

The lack of any mentioning of the mechanoids is the only thing I find sorely missing from the book. I could see the Shemarians not having any mechanoid weapons, but Archie should be working on replicating the technology. His "bird" spies could be using anti-grav instead of hoverjets to fly. I agree with ratty on the War Goddess.

Personally I could see Archie using copied mechanoid tech to become the "next great danger."

Actually, the Mechanoids are mentioned several times, just not by name. Most of the Shemarrian energy weapons are copied Mechanoid designs, for example. They just aren't mentioned by name because Palladium needs to keep the game lines (in this case Rifts and Mechanoid: Space) seperate for liscencing reasons (similar to the Space Wolfen in Phase World now being called Wulfen).

~ Josh

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

Hey Josh,

I've been reading through the Shemerrian book, and I just wanna say -- Awesome. Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Hystrix. I appreciate it.

~ Josh

[LunarYoma]

josh i finally finished the book last week. good work. i have been waiting on a book like this on the shemarrianfor nearly a decade.

now a question, when you were putting the book together, did you think about having archie putting a supply depo or a small factory in the vicinity of madhaven? the effects of madgaven on living people/outsiders is a perfect natural defense to keep outsiders away & the locals would be easy to deal with(trade with, kill on sight, or whatever)?

[Lenwen]

Oh, and the War goddess should have Stolen mechanoid forcefields.

The lack of any mentioning of the mechanoids is the only thing I find sorely missing from the book. I could see the Shemarians not having any mechanoid weapons, but Archie should be working on replicating the technology. His "bird" spies could be using anti-grav instead of hoverjets to fly. I agree with ratty on the War Goddess.

Personally I could see Archie using copied mechanoid tech to become the "next great danger."

Actually, the Mechanoids are mentioned several times, just not by name. Most of the Shemarrian energy weapons are copied Mechanoid designs, for example. They just aren't mentioned by name because Palladium needs to keep the game lines (in this case Rifts and Mechanoid: Space) seperate for liscencing reasons (similar to the Space Wolfen in Phase World now being called Wulfen).

~ Josh

Why would Palladium need to keep species "Seperated" from game to game if they are the owners of the said species ?
I guess I always thought if they owned that species as its creator in this game then they could do what ever they pleased with them .

[cornholioprime]

VERY well-researched.

Josh pretty much went from one end of the Palladium Megaverse to the other, and even to my eyes he hasn't overlooked a single solitary thing about prior Shemarrian history (Josh even remembered that SOMEBODY, somehwhere in the Magic Zone, is onto his ruse).

With one possible (and arguably unimportant) exception, his additions to Rifts History don't supersede existing Rifts History in any way.


Oh, yeah, and him knows how to write words good, too.

[Josh Sinsapaugh]

now a question, when you were putting the book together, did you think about having archie putting a supply depo or a small factory in the vicinity of madhaven? the effects of madgaven on living people/outsiders is a perfect natural defense to keep outsiders away & the locals would be easy to deal with(trade with, kill on sight, or whatever)?

I thought about it and talked to Brandon (at the time Madhaven wasn't published yet), and decided it didn't mesh entirely well with his and Taylor's idea of Madhaven - at least canonically. That doesn't mean there couldn't be one there though. Next time I run a campaign in that part of the country I might just place one there,

VERY well-researched.

Josh pretty much went from one end of the Palladium Megaverse to the other, and even to my eyes he hasn't overlooked a single solitary thing about prior Shemarrian history (Josh even remembered that SOMEBODY, somehwhere in the Magic Zone, is onto his ruse).

The first thing I do when I start a new project is take heed of all the relevant and existing canon, which means flipping through a dozen books, asking my fellow Freelancers, and sometimes subversively asking you guys here on the forums. Is Josh asking for mentions of Floopers outside of Vampire Kingdoms because of a book he is working on? Or because of a campaign he is working on? Oh, the fiendish possibilities!

And thanks once again for all the kudos and critiques that are being doled out. I appreciate it.

~ Josh

[Talavar]

Oh, and the War goddess should have Stolen mechanoid forcefields.

The lack of any mentioning of the mechanoids is the only thing I find sorely missing from the book. I could see the Shemarians not having any mechanoid weapons, but Archie should be working on replicating the technology. His "bird" spies could be using anti-grav instead of hoverjets to fly. I agree with ratty on the War Goddess.

Personally I could see Archie using copied mechanoid tech to become the "next great danger."

Actually, the Mechanoids are mentioned several times, just not by name. Most of the Shemarrian energy weapons are copied Mechanoid designs, for example. They just aren't mentioned by name because Palladium needs to keep the game lines (in this case Rifts and Mechanoid: Space) seperate for liscencing reasons (similar to the Space Wolfen in Phase World now being called Wulfen).

~ Josh

Why would Palladium need to keep species "Seperated" from game to game if they are the owners of the said species ?
I guess I always thought if they owned that species as its creator in this game then they could do what ever they pleased with them .

It's not licensing issues within their own company, but for licensing to other companies - for movies, games, etc. Basically Palladium wants to be able to license out Rifts, Palladium Fantasy, Beyond the Supernatural, etc. all as separate deals, rather than all bunched up together in one deal, which just makes good business sense.

[Talavar]

Quick question: a few people have mentioned Mechanoid force fields for the Shemarrian War Goddesses, but where are Mechanoid force fields statted? I haven't seen any sign of them in Sourcebook 2, though maybe I've just temporarily gone stupid, and can't find them.

[BookWyrm]

Reading through it now. Very well written. It's sure to spark more supplemental material via The Rifter.

[Greyaxe]

Thanks to everyone that has given me kudos, as well as for those that have nits with the book. I appreciate it.

And seriously: If anyone hates the book, speak up too. Part of me wants to hear those reviews more. If you are afraid that you'll be flamed or construed as a hater then by all means PM me or E-mail me instead.

~ Josh

Yes, that way you can be flamed as a hater privately