A good character for a newbie...

[SamBell]

So my friend Tucker is down from Michigan, an hasn't ever played rifts, what's a good first character for him to play, that gives him the most out of a first time experience?

[Jay05]

Totally agree with the above, basically anything in the main Rifts book is good for newbies with the possiblie exceptions of the Crazies and Dragon hatchlings. As both require a bit of role play experience to play correctly. If your friend has the experience with RP then again Main Book

[ffranceschi]

Coalition SAMAS Pilot O.C.C.. I think it is very good OCC to get a taste of what RIFTS is all about...

[Slight001]

I'd say a Juicer, but I'd be careful you might get addicted to auto-dodge...

[Icefalcon]

I would suggest a Wilderness Scout, good combat abilities plus good skill selection. Can't ever go wrong with one.

[drewkitty ~..~]

Cyborg or PA pilot if he likes just combat
Rogue Scholar if he likes lore and really considering the gravity of his descisions
Cyber-knight if he likes a balance between the two and has a good streak

Adds: Nothing with natural MDC.

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My 1st rifts char was a Wilderness scout.

[Incriptus]

Head Hunter / Merc Soldier / Robot Pilot

Direct combat class without micro management of recources [just make sure he has plenty of ammo and/or quick recharges . . . or if you can find a power armor that has an unlimited ammo main laser]. They lend themselves to the "why is this guy here?" "Because that his job / He was hired".

[Killer Cyborg]

So my friend Tucker is down from Michigan, an hasn't ever played rifts, what's a good first character for him to play, that gives him the most out of a first time experience?

Depends on what the rest of the party is, what the power level of the adventure is, and how experienced the player is with Role-playing in general.

[dragonfett]

Headhunter, Merc Soldier, Robot Pilot, CS Grunt, CS SAMAS Pilot, CS Military Specialist.

Those are the ones I would not hesitate about. Ones I would consider:

Juicer, 'Borg, Glitter Boy Pilot, Cyber Knight, Operator

That is all that I can think of at the moment.

[Nekira Sudacne]

As much fun as magic using classes can be, I think that most casting classes are a bit too deceptive for a first-time player. The main issue is at every level there are some spells which are massively useful and some so niche they aren't used even during a multi-year running campaign. If you don't know that carpet of adhesion and magic net are "I Win" buttons at lower levels your just not going to be as effective, if you try blasting fire bolts or electric arc for DPS your going to be sad when you realize the guy with a gun is consistently out-doing you, and if you rely only on Armor of Ithan at low levels that 10-20 MDC likely won't stop one shot.

[EmeraldToucanet]

As much fun as magic using classes can be, I think that most casting classes are a bit too deceptive for a first-time player. The main issue is at every level there are some spells which are massively useful and some so niche they aren't used even during a multi-year running campaign. If you don't know that carpet of adhesion and magic net are "I Win" buttons at lower levels your just not going to be as effective, if you try blasting fire bolts or electric arc for DPS your going to be sad when you realize the guy with a gun is consistently out-doing you, and if you rely only on Armor of Ithan at low levels that 10-20 MDC likely won't stop one shot.

Yeah, another player and I have been "abusing" a combo of the spells carpet of adhesion and cloud disc. Basically I throw a cloud disc (which knocks the enemy over and back no matter what size they are), and they get knocked over into the carpet of adhesion, and since they are knocked over and not just standing up stuck in the carpet of adhesion, well it's just all the worse for them.

I agree mages can be overwhelming to play at first, and that some spells are very easy to just spam to death, while others you have to either really be creative with, or really have just the right situation come up to use them.

As far as what the new player should play though, it does really depend on the campaign. For example if everyone is something like dragon hatchling or godling, he probably shouldn't be a human vagabond. That might be fine if it ends up that he's very resourceful and creative with the character (though other factors in the campaign besides power level can make certain character types not very fun to play), but other wise the character probably won't be very fun to play, or last very long.