Northern Gun 1 & 2

[runebeo]

My gm came up with a alternative dimension where a M.D.C. race similar to Demi-gods(the Breetar), but with additional perk and abilities like the tamer minor super powers (super speed of 90 mph and wingless fight tops out at 120 mph) 2 minor powers or one major super power (toned downed with more limits) to start and another perk at level 4,8 & 12. Castles, dragons, knight, paladins, sorcerers, quests with a fantasy/horror theme but with dark-age feel but some advance technologies like laser lances and electrified maces. The twist to make the game unique is as the Breetar gain levels & human worshippers it corrupts them into minor demon lords becoming their own worst enemies. Some may hold on to their alignment for a decade or two but everyone slides to the dark-side. The young are noble heroes out to defend the weak from their own evil kin, yet fate will one day make them the very evil they fight.

The Breetar follow the Great Oath which is to keep their destiny a secret or be ladled a traitor and usually quickly killed, since the human nations have preformed cullings in the past to eradicate the Breetar. The problem was the Breetar ended up eradicated nearly all the humans till their secret was a true secret again. Theses acts of genocide helped rusher in the race's demonic change and greatly increase the enemies numbers.

Dark Cults tricks its followers to worship the Breetar and sacrificing their lives to empower them to fight the demons, never knowing they are making things worst.

The main religion worships a pantheon of elemental deities with ties to different kind of angels. Theses angelic enforcers look for opportunities to kill Breetar so they won't have to deal with them later.

The one major advantage humans have over the Breetar is their advancing science and discovery of a millennium tree, its wood deals double damage to Breetar and triple to the Fallen Breetar. The next culling won't be so one sided this time.

Mostly toned down super powers and abilities similar to nightbane characteristics nothing incredible to stop it from becoming a superhero game. If it's a mega powerful power like invulnerability, body transformation to stone, fire, water ice, or sonic flight their powers are very reduced. Powers like Matter Expulsion crystal, Karmic power, mind control, mimic and negate powers are perfectly fine but cost two selections. The Fallen Breetar can grant copies of their abilities to their top worshippers. Once they become demon lords they can create witches with summoner type abilities. The greater the powers the faster they fall to corruption.

[Daeglan]

If you have to house rule the system to get it to play at a reasonable speed the system is broken. Dodge and are one of the major culprits in making the system slow. you can accomplish the same detail by setting a target number.

[Sureshot]

I would allow critical strikes from the start rather than have the players wait until 6th level. Where even hand to had gets one. Allowing critical strikes from the start imo will speed up combat somewhat since a character can potentially do double damage from the start. As it stands unless youi get a natural 20 your not doing double damage until later.

As for the NG I want more fluff and hope it's not just another weapons catalog. At the very least make one a toy catalog. The other information. No valid reason imo to have both books become a toy catalog.

[DBX]

As for the NG I want more fluff and hope it's not just another weapons catalog. At the very least make one a toy catalog. The other information. No valid reason imo to have both books become a toy catalog.

I hope that they do manage to pack in alot of fluff in these two books. Its something PB are good at but for some reason they have gone away from.

I also would like to see alot of information on the dwarves that supposedly work for NG. give them a rifts take, culture and lifestyle.

[Bood Samel]

I'm one of the longest lasting posters on here, from 2000 as you can see. People have been complaining the whole time about these issues non-stop. Palladium isn't going to change. Honestly do you need more books? Do you need another gun that does 6d6 over the million other ones that do? Are the new classes or races gonna be so unique that they aren't a variant of or reinterpretation of a pre-existing one?

Create fan made e-book pdfs and file share them. When people are using fan made books as much as cannon made stuff then you'll see change. I was working on one before a lap top was stolen. I had about a source book size of material written and I've been too distraught and playing other games to re-write it. An RPG setting is a shared imaginary construct. We have an investment in rifts unique to us and our experiences with it. Our take on it isn't any less valid the palladiums and we should be putting it out there for each other to share. I personally don't care about IP laws. You don't like how palladium manages rifts, then appropriate it.

Belive it or not.... but there are people out here, like myself, that are looking forward to the NG books, NOT for the guns or power armor, but for the setting information. I --live-- in the area of Northern Gun in rifts. lol It's my part of the country. I have enough guns. As you say. I don't need a different gun. I'm looking forward to the fluff. The Setting. How they've designed Northern Gun and the UP.

Not for nothing, but "Equipment books" and "Gun catalogs" Are --not-- my favorite RPGs. I've got 100s and 100s of RPGs and I usually buy those books last, and only to complete collections.

in the case of the NG books. yep.. It's where I live. I can't wait to see how it's fleshed out Rifts style.

Oh yea I completely agree with you. The background text is all I mainly use. I always look for those obscure hooks buried in the text.Like those spider demons in vampire kingdoms sitting on two glitterboys caked in mud.Stuff like that.

[Zamion138]

I would allow critical strikes from the start rather than have the players wait until 6th level. Where even hand to had gets one. Allowing critical strikes from the start imo will speed up combat somewhat since a character can potentially do double damage from the start. As it stands unless youi get a natural 20 your not doing double damage until later.

As for the NG I want more fluff and hope it's not just another weapons catalog. At the very least make one a toy catalog. The other information. No valid reason imo to have both books become a toy catalog.

Every palladium based game i have ever played in no matter what you critcal strike and double damage at any level and it does not speed things up.
its a 1 in 20 chance to deal double, its not a speed in crese worth mentioning
and as far as i know you do not need to be level 6 to deal double damadge with hands, knives guns , ect. inless im completly missing something but a natrual 20 always hits and deals twice as much as far as ive always understood it and played it.

[earthhawk]

I would allow critical strikes from the start rather than have the players wait until 6th level. Where even hand to had gets one. Allowing critical strikes from the start imo will speed up combat somewhat since a character can potentially do double damage from the start. As it stands unless youi get a natural 20 your not doing double damage until later.

As for the NG I want more fluff and hope it's not just another weapons catalog. At the very least make one a toy catalog. The other information. No valid reason imo to have both books become a toy catalog.

Every palladium based game i have ever played in no matter what you critcal strike and double damage at any level and it does not speed things up.
its a 1 in 20 chance to deal double, its not a speed in crese worth mentioning
and as far as i know you do not need to be level 6 to deal double damadge with hands, knives guns , ect. inless im completly missing something but a natrual
20 always hits and deals twice as much as far as ive always understood it
and played it.

What does this have to do with release dates of books?

[Zamion138]

its just that at lv6 youu get critcals at an improved rate from 19 and 20 with basic....to 18,19,20 on expert/martial arts......commandohth gets it at lv 15 and then its 17-20....long time to wait for the extra didgit as rarely do people make it to lv 15

I would allow critical strikes from the start rather than have the players wait until 6th level. Where even hand to had gets one. Allowing critical strikes from the start imo will speed up combat somewhat since a character can potentially do double damage from the start. As it stands unless youi get a natural 20 your not doing double damage until later.

As for the NG I want more fluff and hope it's not just another weapons catalog. At the very least make one a toy catalog. The other information. No valid reason imo to have both books become a toy catalog.

Every palladium based game i have ever played in no matter what you critcal strike and double damage at any level and it does not speed things up.
its a 1 in 20 chance to deal double, its not a speed in crese worth mentioning
and as far as i know you do not need to be level 6 to deal double damadge with hands, knives guns , ect. inless im completly missing something but a natrual
20 always hits and deals twice as much as far as ive always understood it
and played it.

What does this have to do with release dates of books?

it doesnt have anything to do with realse dates......good job spoting that.

[Icefalcon]

I would actually like to see NG streamline their rifles and pistols. Not along the lines of wilks yet neither the overly large monstrosties that some of the heavier weaposn are. Seriously some of the older NG weapons require the user to have a certain PS requirement. No reason they could not modernize some of the newer weapons. imo.

I will agree the looks could be updated. I just don't want to see damages go above and beyond what they have been.

[Sureshot]

I will agree the looks could be updated. I just don't want to see damages go above and beyond what they have been.

I agree about the damage values. Yet the weapons could use some streamlining in weight and appearence. I remember reading in one of the books that NG was feeling the effects of other weapon manufacturers with sleeker, better looking design cutting into their profit margin. Not to mention many years ago when Mercanries first was released we used to play with 2 guys who were at the time enrolled in the Canadian military. They always had a good laugh whenever they read how heavy some of the weapons were. Or that those who bought from NG wanted the weapons to be heavy bulky and in some cases fugly. On the battlefleld the lighter sleeker weapons will always win over the bukly one. As on said who wants to lug all that extra weight across the battlefield when lighter options are available.

[Icefalcon]

I will agree the looks could be updated. I just don't want to see damages go above and beyond what they have been.

I agree about the damage values. Yet the weapons could use some streamlining in weight and appearence. I remember reading in one of the books that NG was feeling the effects of other weapon manufacturers with sleeker, better looking design cutting into their profit margin. Not to mention many years ago when Mercanries first was released we used to play with 2 guys who were at the time enrolled in the Canadian military. They always had a good laugh whenever they read how heavy some of the weapons were. Or that those who bought from NG wanted the weapons to be heavy bulky and in some cases fugly. On the battlefleld the lighter sleeker weapons will always win over the bukly one. As on said who wants to lug all that extra weight across the battlefield when lighter options are available.

I will agree with the weight and sometimes the look. For the most part, I love the look of NG equipment and usually have most of my characters use them.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I will agree the looks could be updated. I just don't want to see damages go above and beyond what they have been.

I agree about the damage values. Yet the weapons could use some streamlining in weight and appearence. I remember reading in one of the books that NG was feeling the effects of other weapon manufacturers with sleeker, better looking design cutting into their profit margin. Not to mention many years ago when Mercanries first was released we used to play with 2 guys who were at the time enrolled in the Canadian military. They always had a good laugh whenever they read how heavy some of the weapons were. Or that those who bought from NG wanted the weapons to be heavy bulky and in some cases fugly. On the battlefleld the lighter sleeker weapons will always win over the bukly one. As on said who wants to lug all that extra weight across the battlefield when lighter options are available.

I will agree with the weight and sometimes the look. For the most part, I love the look of NG equipment and usually have most of my characters use them.

It's not always that cut and dry. Some weapon systems don't get chosen because they look too weird or whimpy. The french bulpup rifle comes to mind. Noone much likes it because it's so ugly. The FAMAS. At one time there was talk of trying to replace the M16 with it but it's just fugly and US troops hate the look of them.

So there is some credence to solid and nicer looking weapons. Part of NG's problem is there's been good and not so good artists that deplict their stuff. There's the "Aliens Colonial Marines" NG Rifle that looks awesome. But in some books it looks like a 10 year old drew them.

Some of the new weapons in the new books look awesome. The stuff in Traix 2 and Black Market, the firearms and stuff. Look amazing. If they get those artists or Walton to illustrate them, they'll be fine.

I think what they're "Going for" With NG weapons, is that they're rough and rugged, "Meat and patatos" Type weapons. Just what you need with out all the frills and bells and whistles and designer trademarked colors for the season, ect ect ect.

They can be clunky and rough, but they work ---every time--- you pull the trigger. I think that's the design element they're trying (( In their own limited "We don't know anything about military or guns" sort of way)) for.

[Icefalcon]

I will agree the looks could be updated. I just don't want to see damages go above and beyond what they have been.

I agree about the damage values. Yet the weapons could use some streamlining in weight and appearence. I remember reading in one of the books that NG was feeling the effects of other weapon manufacturers with sleeker, better looking design cutting into their profit margin. Not to mention many years ago when Mercanries first was released we used to play with 2 guys who were at the time enrolled in the Canadian military. They always had a good laugh whenever they read how heavy some of the weapons were. Or that those who bought from NG wanted the weapons to be heavy bulky and in some cases fugly. On the battlefleld the lighter sleeker weapons will always win over the bukly one. As on said who wants to lug all that extra weight across the battlefield when lighter options are available.

I will agree with the weight and sometimes the look. For the most part, I love the look of NG equipment and usually have most of my characters use them.

It's not always that cut and dry. Some weapon systems don't get chosen because they look too weird or whimpy. The french bulpup rifle comes to mind. Noone much likes it because it's so ugly. The FAMAS. At one time there was talk of trying to replace the M16 with it but it's just fugly and US troops hate the look of them.

So there is some credence to solid and nicer looking weapons. Part of NG's problem is there's been good and not so good artists that deplict their stuff. There's the "Aliens Colonial Marines" NG Rifle that looks awesome. But in some books it looks like a 10 year old drew them.

Some of the new weapons in the new books look awesome. The stuff in Traix 2 and Black Market, the firearms and stuff. Look amazing. If they get those artists or Walton to illustrate them, they'll be fine.

I think what they're "Going for" With NG weapons, is that they're rough and rugged, "Meat and patatos" Type weapons. Just what you need with out all the frills and bells and whistles and designer trademarked colors for the season, ect ect ect.

They can be clunky and rough, but they work ---every time--- you pull the trigger. I think that's the design element they're trying (( In their own limited "We don't know anything about military or guns" sort of way)) for.

I think this is close to what I believe. If all of the NG weapons looked similar to the rifle from Mercenaries (NG-LG6) or the pistol from Juicer Uprising (NG-45LP), I think people would like the NG stuff more. I still do not agree with the weights that they have listed for those weapons though. It seems a bit much to have almost 20 lb. rifle, especially for a mostly human owned company that sells to mostly human customers. Even some body armors are lighter than this weapon.

[Finegael]

In my opinion there is still room enough for world & source books

- China 3 (long promised)
- Australia 2 (long promised)
- Antarctica
- India
- Scandinavia
- Laszlo
- Southern Afrika
....

[Icefalcon]

well NG were goimg to make lighter, better weapons, but their CEO is adamant that he review amd approve every design and feels the older clunky mechanics don't need revising so they still go with that old style.
Now it's my understanding that Northern Gun has appealed for a crowdsourcing to get new battle armor to the manufacturer, but they have been accused of actually only having the helmet done and the breast plate and leggings still need layout...

This is hilarious.

[earthhawk]

well NG were goimg to make lighter, better weapons, but their CEO is adamant that he review amd approve every design and feels the older clunky mechanics don't need revising so they still go with that old style.
Now it's my understanding that Northern Gun has appealed for a crowdsourcing to get new battle armor to the manufacturer, but they have been accused of actually only having the helmet done and the breast plate and leggings still need layout...

This is hilarious.

Well played, sir. You have won the internet.

[Daeglan]

well NG were goimg to make lighter, better weapons, but their CEO is adamant that he review amd approve every design and feels the older clunky mechanics don't need revising so they still go with that old style.
Now it's my understanding that Northern Gun has appealed for a crowdsourcing to get new battle armor to the manufacturer, but they have been accused of actually only having the helmet done and the breast plate and leggings still need layout...

This is hilarious.

Like Bill Ruger did with Ruger Firearms?

[Sureshot]

well NG were goimg to make lighter, better weapons, but their CEO is adamant that he review amd approve every design and feels the older clunky mechanics don't need revising so they still go with that old style.
Now it's my understanding that Northern Gun has appealed for a crowdsourcing to get new battle armor to the manufacturer, but they have been accused of actually only having the helmet done and the breast plate and leggings still need layout...

This is hilarious.

I saw what livewire did there. And agree it is funny. If NG was run like PB they would have been bought out by wilks years ago.

[Zamion138]

well NG were goimg to make lighter, better weapons, but their CEO is adamant that he review amd approve every design and feels the older clunky mechanics don't need revising so they still go with that old style.
Now it's my understanding that Northern Gun has appealed for a crowdsourcing to get new battle armor to the manufacturer, but they have been accused of actually only having the helmet done and the breast plate and leggings still need layout...

This is hilarious.

Like Bill Ruger did with Ruger Firearms?

That. Back stabber..........siding with the Feds in the idea only military and l.e. deserve guns over a 10 round capacity..........
But ruger has defiantly moved away from that stance today.

[Daeglan]

well NG were goimg to make lighter, better weapons, but their CEO is adamant that he review amd approve every design and feels the older clunky mechanics don't need revising so they still go with that old style.
Now it's my understanding that Northern Gun has appealed for a crowdsourcing to get new battle armor to the manufacturer, but they have been accused of actually only having the helmet done and the breast plate and leggings still need layout...

This is hilarious.

Like Bill Ruger did with Ruger Firearms?

That. Back stabber..........siding with the Feds in the idea only military and l.e. deserve guns over a 10 round capacity..........
But ruger has defiantly moved away from that stance today.

I was more talking about how Bill Ruger insisted on guns being these huge chunks of metal. But once he passed Ruger now gives people what they want.

[Sureshot]

They can be clunky and rough, but they work ---every time--- you pull the trigger. I think that's the design element they're trying (( In their own limited "We don't know anything about military or guns" sort of way)) for.

The problem imo with that line of thinking is that the competiton is that they make the sam weapons. lighter, sleeker, better looking and for the most part can also take the same abuse. Unless it Cheapo I mean Chipwell armaments most companies like the NG would be going under if they offered weapons that malfunctioned otr even worse blew up when used.

[Pepsi Jedi]

They can be clunky and rough, but they work ---every time--- you pull the trigger. I think that's the design element they're trying (( In their own limited "We don't know anything about military or guns" sort of way)) for.

The problem imo with that line of thinking is that the competiton is that they make the sam weapons. lighter, sleeker, better looking and for the most part can also take the same abuse. Unless it Cheapo I mean Chipwell armaments most companies like the NG would be going under if they offered weapons that malfunctioned otr even worse blew up when used.

I may not be articulating what I think they're going for... Think of.... say the AK47. The type of gun that can be dropped in the mud, taken through a swamp, thrown in the sand and then dunked in a bucket of water and fires when you pick it up. There's film of Chimps picking up AK's and firing off bursts. (( No clue what all they hit.. but still))

Other battle rifles work great but not all of them are that sturdy and forgiving of rough usage. I mean if you tried that with a P90 or something.. whoo..

I think the NG Weapons are supposed to be the AK47. The rugged, hard to break, will take a beating and work every time.

Stuff like Wilks is on the other end of the spectrum. Yes they're md weapons and all but one MD to them and you might be off by 5 feet on your optics or something. The Wilks weapons are more like delicate single usage sniper rifles. Yes... for that one shot they're amazing, but if you bump it off one tree or door frame or you fall down when carrying it... your shot could be off by meters.

Now.. Rifts weapons are MD, so even the most delicate of them will take amazing amounts of casual usage before they're even scratched. I'm just sort of giving real world examples for what I THINK... they're trying to capture with wilks being big and heavy but almost indestructible and idiot proof.

Coalition weapons I figure land square in the middle. They're not fragile or delicate, but they're not solid hunks of metal that can't be broken either.

And again, I speculate that some NG guns just suffer from who ever's little brother drew some of them in some of the books. I'm highly looking forward to the new books with Walton and the other guys who have been doing weapons lately adding into this one. They should be awesome.

[Icefalcon]

I agree that the Walton art should go a long way to improving the standard.

[azazel1024]

They can be clunky and rough, but they work ---every time--- you pull the trigger. I think that's the design element they're trying (( In their own limited "We don't know anything about military or guns" sort of way)) for.

The problem imo with that line of thinking is that the competiton is that they make the sam weapons. lighter, sleeker, better looking and for the most part can also take the same abuse. Unless it Cheapo I mean Chipwell armaments most companies like the NG would be going under if they offered weapons that malfunctioned otr even worse blew up when used.

I may not be articulating what I think they're going for... Think of.... say the AK47. The type of gun that can be dropped in the mud, taken through a swamp, thrown in the sand and then dunked in a bucket of water and fires when you pick it up. There's film of Chimps picking up AK's and firing off bursts. (( No clue what all they hit.. but still))

Other battle rifles work great but not all of them are that sturdy and forgiving of rough usage. I mean if you tried that with a P90 or something.. whoo..

I think the NG Weapons are supposed to be the AK47. The rugged, hard to break, will take a beating and work every time.

Stuff like Wilks is on the other end of the spectrum. Yes they're md weapons and all but one MD to them and you might be off by 5 feet on your optics or something. The Wilks weapons are more like delicate single usage sniper rifles. Yes... for that one shot they're amazing, but if you bump it off one tree or door frame or you fall down when carrying it... your shot could be off by meters.

Now.. Rifts weapons are MD, so even the most delicate of them will take amazing amounts of casual usage before they're even scratched. I'm just sort of giving real world examples for what I THINK... they're trying to capture with wilks being big and heavy but almost indestructible and idiot proof.

Coalition weapons I figure land square in the middle. They're not fragile or delicate, but they're not solid hunks of metal that can't be broken either.

And again, I speculate that some NG guns just suffer from who ever's little brother drew some of them in some of the books. I'm highly looking forward to the new books with Walton and the other guys who have been doing weapons lately adding into this one. They should be awesome.

That is kind of how I've always pictured them as well.

Yeah, I know they are all made of MDC materials, but I picture the Wilkes stuff as being relatively fragile MDC materials that maybe don't have the best weather sealing in the world, are nice and light weight, extremely accurate and percision weapons.

NG stuff...well they are design to be dropped in the cesspool, dug out a week later, have a borg grab it and play smash happy with some skelebots and keep working. Wilkes...pray you don't attempt most of that.

The Wilkes is probably going to weight 75% of what the NG rifle does and probably is a bit more accurate at range and might have some other fancy features (like aiming computer, laser targetting, variable frequency laser, etc).

[earthhawk]

I agree that the Walton art should go a long way to improving the standard.

Chuck Walton is an amazing artist. As much as I like his Rifts work I hope he gets a chance to work with other gaming companies (let's hope he's a freelancer). His work should find its way beyond Palladium Books. By the way, I just saw some artwork for Splicers 2013... amazing.

[azazel1024]

I agree that the Walton art should go a long way to improving the standard.

Chuck Walton is an amazing artist. As much as I like his Rifts work I hope he gets a chance to work with other gaming companies (let's hope he's a freelancer). His work should find its way beyond Palladium Books. By the way, I just saw some artwork for Splicers 2013... amazing.

I think I like Chuck Walton's equipment (guns, armor, bots, vehicles) the best of any PB artist ever. When it comes to people/monsters and whole panel scenes I think I still like Ramon Perez' art the best. Walton's work is a pretty close second though (that said, PB has a crap load of talented artists that they've used over the user and currently use).

[Sureshot]

Whether it's Walton or the orginal artist it's still not going to make me want to take the NG weapons. I don't hate the NG weapons. Just too many of them are bulky and heavy. That and there are other similar weapons that do the same. In terms of range and damage. I would love to see NG written as coming up with some osrt of breakthrough in terms of either range or damage. That is one of the few things that has bothered me from the start. Different arms manufacturers issuing the same thing except it looks different. I wish each faction had something that they could include in their weaposn that stood out. As an example NG ion weapons do more damage. Wilks has the sleek ultralight look. Good art or poor art. I'm still not going to be buying a rile and power pack that stands a good chance of giving one of my characters multiple hernias if I decided to use it in combat. I think the original art was Wayne Breaux. It was not the best imo certainly not as bad as some are making it out to be.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Whether it's Walton or the orginal artist it's still not going to make me want to take the NG weapons. I don't hate the NG weapons. Just too many of them are bulky and heavy. That and there are other similar weapons that do the same. In terms of range and damage. I would love to see NG written as coming up with some osrt of breakthrough in terms of either range or damage. That is one of the few things that has bothered me from the start. Different arms manufacturers issuing the same thing except it looks different. I wish each faction had something that they could include in their weaposn that stood out. As an example NG ion weapons do more damage. Wilks has the sleek ultralight look. Good art or poor art. I'm still not going to be buying a rile and power pack that stands a good chance of giving one of my characters multiple hernias if I decided to use it in combat. I think the original art was Wayne Breaux. It was not the best imo certainly not as bad as some are making it out to be.

Well there's been multiple people that have drawn some NG Stuff. As pointed out the "Aliens" Rifle in one of the mercenaries books is awesome. But then there's others that quite literaly look like the stuff my 12 year old draws when he draws army guys.

As for the weight.... well... this is just me, but I chalk it up like I do much of the 'military' things with Palladium. They're 'created' by guys that probably have never touched a gun in their lives. Weren't in the military and don't have lots of people around them that are. These guys have produced gamebooks for all their adult lives. They're RPG Guys. It's not that they are 'purposefully making them ungodly heavy'. It's that they go "Ok this is a big badass plasma gun. How much should it weigh?" "Well it's rugged, it's made of MD metal... and it does alot of damage.. how's 20 pounds sound?" And the other guy goes. "I can pick up 20 pounds. I brought in the cat food yesterday!"

They don't really go much deeper than that. boom the gun is 20 pounds because 20 pounds is a nice weight for something made of metal that does damage that surpasses a main battle tank.

on the other hand when they're doing Wilks stuff it's mucch the same. First guy looks to the second and goes "How much should this thing weigh?" and the second guy is playing duck hunt with a plastic gun and weighs it in his hand and goes. "I don't know..... 3 pounds?" and the first guy goes "Cool" and it's written down.

This doesn't mean that they're dumb or anything. They just haven't carried a rifle though a jungle like some people. or hauled one across the desert... or whatever. In the decades I've bought palladium books it's been --extremely-- clear that Palladium's military 'knowledge' comes from the movies we all watch. Maybe a bit off the news. Their FICTIONAL creations pick up the highlights from there and roll on. It's a game. You don't need 100% accuracy. But it's there if you look. Just trying to look at the CS military and their equipment shows this.

So if you think the NG Weights are too much. Reduce them. Maybe in your rifts world they found a new material that allows for the same weapons produced at half the weight.

To be honest, unless someone's trying to carry everything and the kitchen sink, the weight of our rifle hasn't come up. Some, like big ol railguns have special needs but past that, our groups don't sit around and weigh their gun, their clips their knives, their MRE's their clothing, their shaving kits, ect ect ect and then cross referencing it against their char's PS score.

We just eyeball it. If someone's trying to carry a stupid amount of stuff. That's pointed out. "That's stupid. You can't carry that much"

[azazel1024]

Whether it's Walton or the orginal artist it's still not going to make me want to take the NG weapons. I don't hate the NG weapons. Just too many of them are bulky and heavy. That and there are other similar weapons that do the same. In terms of range and damage. I would love to see NG written as coming up with some osrt of breakthrough in terms of either range or damage. That is one of the few things that has bothered me from the start. Different arms manufacturers issuing the same thing except it looks different. I wish each faction had something that they could include in their weaposn that stood out. As an example NG ion weapons do more damage. Wilks has the sleek ultralight look. Good art or poor art. I'm still not going to be buying a rile and power pack that stands a good chance of giving one of my characters multiple hernias if I decided to use it in combat. I think the original art was Wayne Breaux. It was not the best imo certainly not as bad as some are making it out to be.

You hit on a good point. It would be nice, since this is an RPG, not simply a war game, to include at least a little more flavor text, or maybe extra "stats" that are useful.

For example, an add on feature of some weapons is better accuracy through scopes, balance or aiming computers. Seeing a little more of that would be nice. As is variable frequency lasers. Also some differentiation in there.

Maybe some manufacturers VFL is uber smart/good in that it can "ping" the target with a low power laser micro seconds before the main laser fires, calculate the return, adjust the main laser frequency and the first shot out of the gate ALWAYS does full damage against laser reflective coatings. Maybe other ones don't have that feature, but have to actually shot the thing once at half damage and then it'll adjust. Maybe other ones once you shot it, you have to manually input a new frequency (taking a melee attack action to do).

Or, other things like mentioning something has a scope mount, or bayonet mount and also listing out such accessories. Maybe the rifle has an optional grenade launcher mount that can take a universal grenade launcher. Or maybe just have that be a universal under barrel mount and you have universal add-ons for grenade launchers, maybe a light ion canon, single shot naruni plasma cartridge gun, etc that you can mount under barrel on some weapons.

Or how about a retractable stock being mentioned (or fixed stock).

Maybe the weapon has or can take a quick load e-clip system where you hit eject on the spent e-clip and it automatically pushes one e-clip over in to place and its ready to fire (like the redi-mag system) and such weapons have effectively zero reload time instead of having to spend an action to reload your weapon (figuring the 1-2s it might take to operate the system doesn't rise to the level of a full action).

Or maybe some weapons can take cannister e-clips in addition to regular eclips where it looks like a regular e-clip with a big cannister on the bottom, but functions more like the Coalition canister e-clips with significantly more energy storage, but at the cost of a lot of extra bulk when loaded with one (unlike the coalition weapons that are either or though).

Maybe some guns have or taken take a heads up display armor integration kit (HUD AIK) where a sensor(s) is mounted on the weapon both displaying a targetting reticle/cross hairs on your armor/PA HUD to aid in aiming, but also allows you to shoot around corners in full cover with no penalties.

Maybe some rifles have survival kits in their stocks.

Just some thoughts on ways to make weapons a bit more unique. That way one 3d6MD rifle with a payload of 20 with a short e-clip and weighing 8lbs is very much different from another 3d6MD rifle with a payload of 20 with a short e-clip that also happens to weigh 8lbs...but has different art work and someone else makes it.

Well maybe that 3d6MD NG weapon has a survival kit in the butt, under barrel rails for an add on weapon, top rails for a scope, front lugs of a vibro bayonet and can take either optional e-clip cannisters or a redi-mag e-clip system as optional add ons, but weighs in at 14lbs. That Wilkes 3d6MD weapon has the same ammo capacity and range, but it has a VFL system that can prejudge the correct frequency of the laser and set it before firing as well as an aiming computer and HUD IAK kit to shoot around corners blind and give a +2 to strike with the extra accuracy it adds.

[earthhawk]

Whether it's Walton or the orginal artist it's still not going to make me want to take the NG weapons. I don't hate the NG weapons. Just too many of them are bulky and heavy. That and there are other similar weapons that do the same. In terms of range and damage. I would love to see NG written as coming up with some osrt of breakthrough in terms of either range or damage. That is one of the few things that has bothered me from the start. Different arms manufacturers issuing the same thing except it looks different. I wish each faction had something that they could include in their weaposn that stood out. As an example NG ion weapons do more damage. Wilks has the sleek ultralight look. Good art or poor art. I'm still not going to be buying a rile and power pack that stands a good chance of giving one of my characters multiple hernias if I decided to use it in combat. I think the original art was Wayne Breaux. It was not the best imo certainly not as bad as some are making it out to be.

You hit on a good point. It would be nice, since this is an RPG, not simply a war game, to include at least a little more flavor text, or maybe extra "stats" that are useful.

For example, an add on feature of some weapons is better accuracy through scopes, balance or aiming computers. Seeing a little more of that would be nice. As is variable frequency lasers. Also some differentiation in there.

Maybe some manufacturers VFL is uber smart/good in that it can "ping" the target with a low power laser micro seconds before the main laser fires, calculate the return, adjust the main laser frequency and the first shot out of the gate ALWAYS does full damage against laser reflective coatings. Maybe other ones don't have that feature, but have to actually shot the thing once at half damage and then it'll adjust. Maybe other ones once you shot it, you have to manually input a new frequency (taking a melee attack action to do).

Or, other things like mentioning something has a scope mount, or bayonet mount and also listing out such accessories. Maybe the rifle has an optional grenade launcher mount that can take a universal grenade launcher. Or maybe just have that be a universal under barrel mount and you have universal add-ons for grenade launchers, maybe a light ion canon, single shot naruni plasma cartridge gun, etc that you can mount under barrel on some weapons.

Or how about a retractable stock being mentioned (or fixed stock).

Maybe the weapon has or can take a quick load e-clip system where you hit eject on the spent e-clip and it automatically pushes one e-clip over in to place and its ready to fire (like the redi-mag system) and such weapons have effectively zero reload time instead of having to spend an action to reload your weapon (figuring the 1-2s it might take to operate the system doesn't rise to the level of a full action).

Or maybe some weapons can take cannister e-clips in addition to regular eclips where it looks like a regular e-clip with a big cannister on the bottom, but functions more like the Coalition canister e-clips with significantly more energy storage, but at the cost of a lot of extra bulk when loaded with one (unlike the coalition weapons that are either or though).

Maybe some guns have or taken take a heads up display armor integration kit (HUD AIK) where a sensor(s) is mounted on the weapon both displaying a targetting reticle/cross hairs on your armor/PA HUD to aid in aiming, but also allows you to shoot around corners in full cover with no penalties.

Maybe some rifles have survival kits in their stocks.

Just some thoughts on ways to make weapons a bit more unique. That way one 3d6MD rifle with a payload of 20 with a short e-clip and weighing 8lbs is very much different from another 3d6MD rifle with a payload of 20 with a short e-clip that also happens to weigh 8lbs...but has different art work and someone else makes it.

Well maybe that 3d6MD NG weapon has a survival kit in the butt, under barrel rails for an add on weapon, top rails for a scope, front lugs of a vibro bayonet and can take either optional e-clip cannisters or a redi-mag e-clip system as optional add ons, but weighs in at 14lbs. That Wilkes 3d6MD weapon has the same ammo capacity and range, but it has a VFL system that can prejudge the correct frequency of the laser and set it before firing as well as an aiming computer and HUD IAK kit to shoot around corners blind and give a +2 to strike with the extra accuracy it adds.

You're asking an awful lot from a company that uses the same artwork and descriptions via cut & paste over and over and over again. If you like Chuck Walton's art don't worry you'll again in about 2-3 more books, but perhaps with a different name and description.

[Sureshot]

You're asking an awful lot from a company that uses the same artwork and descriptions via cut & paste over and over and over again. If you like Chuck Walton's art don't worry you'll again in about 2-3 more books, but perhaps with a different name and description.

Possibly yet the books have not made it to print yet. They do occasionally look through these forums. So who knows. Maybe they might take my suggestion. Probably not. I see no reason not to suggest it. They might surprise me.

[Sureshot]

Lots of good stuff in reponse to my last post.

Rather than make a large post even bigger. Decided to shorten it. Hope you don't mind AZ. Those are some really good ideas. They way I read the weapons tech is that no one really tries to add something unique to their weapons beyond possibly wilks with their streamlined look. A better part of the time a laser rifle is a laser rifle. A ion pistol is a ion pistol etc. Why not add something unique to every weapons manufacturers weapons imo. Would make them stand out. As it stands unless a weapon has a certain bonus feature or does more damage against a certain creature. I always take the same weapons over and over. No real in game reason not to.

[Icefalcon]

Possibly yet the books have not made it to print yet. They do occasionally look through these forums. So who knows. Maybe they might take my suggestion. Probably not. I see no reason not to suggest it. They might surprise me.

+1

[Sureshot]

Well there's been multiple people that have drawn some NG Stuff. As pointed out the "Aliens" Rifle in one of the mercenaries books is awesome. But then there's others that quite literaly look like the stuff my 12 year old draws when he draws army guys.

As for the weight.... well... this is just me, but I chalk it up like I do much of the 'military' things with Palladium. They're 'created' by guys that probably have never touched a gun in their lives. Weren't in the military and don't have lots of people around them that are. These guys have produced gamebooks for all their adult lives. They're RPG Guys. It's not that they are 'purposefully making them ungodly heavy'. It's that they go "Ok this is a big badass plasma gun. How much should it weigh?" "Well it's rugged, it's made of MD metal... and it does alot of damage.. how's 20 pounds sound?" And the other guy goes. "I can pick up 20 pounds. I brought in the cat food yesterday!"

They don't really go much deeper than that. boom the gun is 20 pounds because 20 pounds is a nice weight for something made of metal that does damage that surpasses a main battle tank.

on the other hand when they're doing Wilks stuff it's mucch the same. First guy looks to the second and goes "How much should this thing weigh?" and the second guy is playing duck hunt with a plastic gun and weighs it in his hand and goes. "I don't know..... 3 pounds?" and the first guy goes "Cool" and it's written down.

This doesn't mean that they're dumb or anything. They just haven't carried a rifle though a jungle like some people. or hauled one across the desert... or whatever. In the decades I've bought palladium books it's been --extremely-- clear that Palladium's military 'knowledge' comes from the movies we all watch. Maybe a bit off the news. Their FICTIONAL creations pick up the highlights from there and roll on. It's a game. You don't need 100% accuracy. But it's there if you look. Just trying to look at the CS military and their equipment shows this.

So if you think the NG Weights are too much. Reduce them. Maybe in your rifts world they found a new material that allows for the same weapons produced at half the weight.

To be honest, unless someone's trying to carry everything and the kitchen sink, the weight of our rifle hasn't come up. Some, like big ol railguns have special needs but past that, our groups don't sit around and weigh their gun, their clips their knives, their MRE's their clothing, their shaving kits, ect ect ect and then cross referencing it against their char's PS score.

We just eyeball it. If someone's trying to carry a stupid amount of stuff. That's pointed out. "That's stupid. You can't carry that much"

I get what you are saying PJ. Yet why not give a in game reason for NG to slow get the top spot back. It's all good to have them "go to war with the competetion". Yet some time has passed on rifts earth since the RUE was released and to me at least makes no sense a company that is hurting in sales and losing sales not try and improve their weapons. The NG are still in development. would love to see NG R&D try and improve their tech. I see no real reason not to. As for NG I may reduce the weight of the weapons may not. As I mentioned to AZ too many similar options. Not enough variety amongst the weapons imo.

[Icefalcon]

I like the idea of each of the companies having something special about their weapon (something better than the other companies) to make each of them attractive to different people.

[Pepsi Jedi]

The Star Wars RPG does this with Droids and the Droid manufacturers.

For Rifts I could see it something like.....

Wilks: Pro: +1 to strike on an aimed shot due to their light weight construction and the accuracy of the laser manufacturer. Con: If damaged, -1 to strike (( For a total of -2 as you lose the +1 and go -1 below)) Showing that while they are MD materials, the calibration and exacting technical detail needed in the weapon is easily marred.

Northern Gun: Pro: Twice the MD for a standard weapon of it's size, and the gun will work untill it is at 0 MD. Con: Increased weight. While not quite as heavy as the books have them listed now. (( Which even I think is absurd in some cases)) They are roughly 25% to 35% heavier than a rifle from another company of the same type.

Coalition Weapons: Pro: Prolific. Easy to find replacement parts and repair. Cost to repairs on the weapons are 50% of the cost to repair other weapons of size. The CS produces it's weapons by the millions, and they are good guns so they're stolen alot. Salvaged, ect. Con: "Death mark" If you're found in possession of a CS weapon in the CS territories, BY the CS, at best you're looking at imprisonment, if not summary execution, for the only way to aquire them is to steal them from the Coalition States. Likewise, if you have CS weapons, other mercs and such might think you ARE CS, in disguise. Thus it's harder to earn trust when everyone thinks you're ISS and might just vape their face off.

Naurni: Pro: (( they already have this)) POWERFUL. The weapons tend to be a die or two stronger than standard weapons. (Again, this is already in the game) Con: Death mark: Outlawed by the CS. Shoot on sight. As well as "Non standard Ammunition/Expense" The Naurni weapons are costly, and you can only get the replacement ammo from the Blues.


That sort of thing?

[Icefalcon]

The Star Wars RPG does this with Droids and the Droid manufacturers.

For Rifts I could see it something like.....

Wilks: Pro: +1 to strike on an aimed shot due to their light weight construction and the accuracy of the laser manufacturer. Con: If damaged, -1 to strike (( For a total of -2 as you lose the +1 and go -1 below)) Showing that while they are MD materials, the calibration and exacting technical detail needed in the weapon is easily marred.

Northern Gun: Pro: Twice the MD for a standard weapon of it's size, and the gun will work untill it is at 0 MD. Con: Increased weight. While not quite as heavy as the books have them listed now. (( Which even I think is absurd in some cases)) They are roughly 25% to 35% heavier than a rifle from another company of the same type.

Coalition Weapons: Pro: Prolific. Easy to find replacement parts and repair. Cost to repairs on the weapons are 50% of the cost to repair other weapons of size. The CS produces it's weapons by the millions, and they are good guns so they're stolen alot. Salvaged, ect. Con: "Death mark" If you're found in possession of a CS weapon in the CS territories, BY the CS, at best you're looking at imprisonment, if not summary execution, for the only way to aquire them is to steal them from the Coalition States. Likewise, if you have CS weapons, other mercs and such might think you ARE CS, in disguise. Thus it's harder to earn trust when everyone thinks you're ISS and might just vape their face off.

Naurni: Pro: (( they already have this)) POWERFUL. The weapons tend to be a die or two stronger than standard weapons. (Again, this is already in the game) Con: Death mark: Outlawed by the CS. Shoot on sight. As well as "Non standard Ammunition/Expense" The Naurni weapons are costly, and you can only get the replacement ammo from the Blues.


That sort of thing?

This is exactly the type thing I am talking about.

[Sureshot]

Exactly what I'm talking about. Now if only the could include something like that in a sourcebook and make it official.

[Icefalcon]

Exactly what I'm talking about. Now if only the could include something like that in a sourcebook and make it official.

I would like this type of thing applied to weapons and equipment both. Heck, they could even apply it to power armor and robots.

[Mack]

Regarding late books...

I want to take a moment to talk about late books.

I know many of you are frustrated and disappointed with delays of new releases, especially about the delays of Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook, Rifts® Northern Gun One and Two, Rifts® Megaverse in Flames and Robotech® Genesis Pits. Heck, I owe many of the Lemuria and Northern Gun crowdfunding participants telephone calls.

You are not forgotten. You are NEVER forgotten. None of you.


I am very, very sorry to have disappointed so many of you with these delays. We are disappointed by them ourselves. More than you can know. There are some days where Alex or Kathy pull me to aside to get me stop beating myself up about it.

Please know that the delays are not for lack of trying or hard work. There are only five of us and we are working all the time to keep Palladium up and running. While things are better, it has still been a rough year.

I try to be positive and paint a rosy yet realistic picture in these Weekly Updates and my Murmurs from the Megaverse. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of gloom and doom wherever I turn. And things have gotten better at Palladium. And the incredible promise of next year actually brings tears to my eyes when I think about it sometimes. (I try not to get too hopeful, but we are so excited about the future.)

While things are better, we remain way understaffed and all of us have much too much to handle on a daily basis. Though Alex, Wayne and Julius try to pitch in on the creative side of things, as do some of our freelancers when they can, I am the main creative force. We don’t have the financial resources to hire more people, so we are stuck with the five of us. Each doing the work of two or more people. And we have been doing so for much too long. The matter is complicated by the fact that in addition to the creative, I have the duties of CEO, Art Director, Marketing Director, and Product Development. Don’t get me wrong, Wayne and Alex help on many fronts. Julius handles the warehouse, shipping and receiving almost single-handedly, and Kathy handles all the order processing, bookkeeping and payroll in addition to a second, full-time job.

I’m telling you all this because I like to be open and honest, and because I want you to understand that if we could have gotten these books out sooner, we most certainly would have. We NEED the sale of new products to pay our bills and get stronger. Every new release boosts sales across the board, creates excitement and builds momentum. All of which we need very much.

Please do not think we are sitting around doing nothing or playing games. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As I’ve noted before, the guys typically put in 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, sometimes more. I typically work 12 hour days 7 days a week, too often 14 or more hours. And have been for a very, very long time now. Something my doctors aren’t too thrilled about. Neither am I. Yes, I truly love what I do. If I didn’t, I couldn’t put in those kinds of hours. But I wish I could take weekends off. I wish I could work 8-10 hours a day. I wish I had a life outside of Palladium. I can’t at the moment and that’s okay. But please don’t think we don’t care about you or getting books out on time. We do.

One of the many things I’ve been working on is trying to line up books and put things into place to get products out faster next year. That’s why I haven’t shared much about our plans for 2013 or the Robotech® RPG Tactics game and game pieces. I want to wait till things are in place and we are closer to actual release. I have two people lined up to fill positions at Palladium as soon as we have the money to hire them. And if we can get darn new books released soon and on a regular basis, I should be able to hire them by March. Likewise, we have big plans for the Robotech® RPG line and game pieces (which everyone involved wants to be epic and gorgeous), as well as the rest of the Palladium game lines. There is some stuff that I’ve been wanting to do that would blow some people’s minds if they new about them.

For those of you who may be thinking, “Heck, if Palladium only did videogames, or online games, or Facebook games, or a board game, or sold more PDFs, or did comic books, etc.,” they’d have the money to hire more people and release more products (and on time!). Trust me, it is not as easy as that may sound. It is never quick or easy. If it was, we and Palladium’s agents at Surge Licensing would be signing licensing deals left and right. And yes, we’ve have some plans for doing Kickstarters for various big projects, but it all takes time and personnel. It needs to be done right, not fast or sloppy. Like I said, none of this is as easy as it may sound. ‘Nuff said on that subject.

Again, my sincere apologies for being so late. Please don’t be angry or frustrated. Please don’t feel abandoned or think for a second we don’t care. We are working hard to get books released. Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook and Robotech® Genesis Pits Sourcebook should be out by the end of November, Northern Gun 1 in December, NG-2 in January, and Megaverse® in Flames shortly thereafter. And then, watch out. Big things are brewing.

Meanwhile, enjoy the products that are available. Take advantage of the Christmas Surprise Package to try new game settings, fill in holes in your collections and to get gifts for the gamers in your lives. Thank you for your time and understanding. Keep those imaginations burning bright.

[earthhawk]

Regarding late books...

I want to take a moment to talk about late books.

I know many of you are frustrated and disappointed with delays of new releases, especially about the delays of Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook, Rifts® Northern Gun One and Two, Rifts® Megaverse in Flames and Robotech® Genesis Pits. Heck, I owe many of the Lemuria and Northern Gun crowdfunding participants telephone calls.

You are not forgotten. You are NEVER forgotten. None of you.


I am very, very sorry to have disappointed so many of you with these delays. We are disappointed by them ourselves. More than you can know. There are some days where Alex or Kathy pull me to aside to get me stop beating myself up about it.

Please know that the delays are not for lack of trying or hard work. There are only five of us and we are working all the time to keep Palladium up and running. While things are better, it has still been a rough year.

I try to be positive and paint a rosy yet realistic picture in these Weekly Updates and my Murmurs from the Megaverse. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of gloom and doom wherever I turn. And things have gotten better at Palladium. And the incredible promise of next year actually brings tears to my eyes when I think about it sometimes. (I try not to get too hopeful, but we are so excited about the future.)

While things are better, we remain way understaffed and all of us have much too much to handle on a daily basis. Though Alex, Wayne and Julius try to pitch in on the creative side of things, as do some of our freelancers when they can, I am the main creative force. We don’t have the financial resources to hire more people, so we are stuck with the five of us. Each doing the work of two or more people. And we have been doing so for much too long. The matter is complicated by the fact that in addition to the creative, I have the duties of CEO, Art Director, Marketing Director, and Product Development. Don’t get me wrong, Wayne and Alex help on many fronts. Julius handles the warehouse, shipping and receiving almost single-handedly, and Kathy handles all the order processing, bookkeeping and payroll in addition to a second, full-time job.

I’m telling you all this because I like to be open and honest, and because I want you to understand that if we could have gotten these books out sooner, we most certainly would have. We NEED the sale of new products to pay our bills and get stronger. Every new release boosts sales across the board, creates excitement and builds momentum. All of which we need very much.

Please do not think we are sitting around doing nothing or playing games. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As I’ve noted before, the guys typically put in 10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, sometimes more. I typically work 12 hour days 7 days a week, too often 14 or more hours. And have been for a very, very long time now. Something my doctors aren’t too thrilled about. Neither am I. Yes, I truly love what I do. If I didn’t, I couldn’t put in those kinds of hours. But I wish I could take weekends off. I wish I could work 8-10 hours a day. I wish I had a life outside of Palladium. I can’t at the moment and that’s okay. But please don’t think we don’t care about you or getting books out on time. We do.

One of the many things I’ve been working on is trying to line up books and put things into place to get products out faster next year. That’s why I haven’t shared much about our plans for 2013 or the Robotech® RPG Tactics game and game pieces. I want to wait till things are in place and we are closer to actual release. I have two people lined up to fill positions at Palladium as soon as we have the money to hire them. And if we can get darn new books released soon and on a regular basis, I should be able to hire them by March. Likewise, we have big plans for the Robotech® RPG line and game pieces (which everyone involved wants to be epic and gorgeous), as well as the rest of the Palladium game lines. There is some stuff that I’ve been wanting to do that would blow some people’s minds if they new about them.

For those of you who may be thinking, “Heck, if Palladium only did videogames, or online games, or Facebook games, or a board game, or sold more PDFs, or did comic books, etc.,” they’d have the money to hire more people and release more products (and on time!). Trust me, it is not as easy as that may sound. It is never quick or easy. If it was, we and Palladium’s agents at Surge Licensing would be signing licensing deals left and right. And yes, we’ve have some plans for doing Kickstarters for various big projects, but it all takes time and personnel. It needs to be done right, not fast or sloppy. Like I said, none of this is as easy as it may sound. ‘Nuff said on that subject.

Again, my sincere apologies for being so late. Please don’t be angry or frustrated. Please don’t feel abandoned or think for a second we don’t care. We are working hard to get books released. Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook and Robotech® Genesis Pits Sourcebook should be out by the end of November, Northern Gun 1 in December, NG-2 in January, and Megaverse® in Flames shortly thereafter. And then, watch out. Big things are brewing.

Meanwhile, enjoy the products that are available. Take advantage of the Christmas Surprise Package to try new game settings, fill in holes in your collections and to get gifts for the gamers in your lives. Thank you for your time and understanding. Keep those imaginations burning bright.

Is this post from ten years ago?

[Tiree]

Is this post from ten years ago?

No, it's from his latest murmur

[Premier]

Possibly yet the books have not made it to print yet. They do occasionally look through these forums. So who knows. Maybe they might take my suggestion. Probably not. I see no reason not to suggest it. They might surprise me.

+1

Thank You guys for the positive critics, compliments, votes of confidence and suggestions!

Indeed some of us are taking heed. I can't make promises as we are assigned our workloads, but I will see what I can do to get your words passed around among the Artists. I am a huge fan of "Function begets form" philosophy when designing things and I seek reference and understanding for a great deal of design work. This is not to mention that Palladiumbooks actually has a plethora of old to modern to future military books on weapons, vehicles, etc. I think some of you might be surprised at the library. However, we sometimes have to contend with design constraints based on the the actual setting & game balance. I wanted to take numerous designs and revamp them sort of speak, but if only so many years have transpired from one design aesthetic production release to another, and there aren't major changes in the manufacturer via designers, technological breakthroughs, resources & or political stances/restraints, then these elements provide limitations as well.

So in "some" cases, I have to build off of previous designs versus new introductions and see where there is feasible room for creative deviations, interpretation & or innovations that still looks like they can actually function and belong to that manufacturer (in the case of NG). Some of us also base illustrations on what is written, so that also can limit what we can and can't do. I will do my VERY best however to deliver the best I can for NG books 1 & 2. I will also strive to get word to the other Artists as stated so that they are aware of your expectations and suggestions.

Thanks for the support and ideas and keep em flowing! That way we can strive to produce the best quality for you all.

[azazel1024]

Hmmm, especially since it is NG1 & 2 and Northern Gun likes providing its clients lots of things, even if we aren't going to get a by weapon or by manufacturer "advantage" to buying them, it would be nice to at least see a weapon modification section.

It doesn't have to be "how to add an extra die of damage" or anything like that...though I'd think a very compentent weapon smith could figure out a way to swap out the discharge capacitors and/or tweak the voltage regulator, replace the lasing chamber or mirror, alignment crystals/lenses, etc to make something more powerful than it was from the factory (possibly at a slight payload penalty or something).

It would be nice to see a section on "Norther Gun and independent weapon smiths offer these kinds of services (and if you have the appropriate skill and materials you can do it yourself at half cost or something)"

Add a vibrobayonet mount, or flashlight mount, telescopic sights, or nightvision, thermoptic, undermount grenade launcher, or chemical projectile undermount gun (or big bore?), or ion cannon, plasma ejector, etc. Maybe quick reload capacity or two eclip ports, etc. Maybe a weapons computer.

WB5 Triax has a very small section on weapon scopes (and I don't think anything else), but that is it.

It would be really nice to see some book expand upon this.

Actually it would be really nice to see this for body armor as well. We know what the most basics are that EBA includes, but why not be able to expand on that. Maybe you want to tweak your body armor to have short range motion detectors, or short range radar a long range homing beacon or long range radar built in. Maybe you want vibro vehmbraces or elbow spikes. Retractable climb claws for hands and boots? What about a partial naruni forcefield to make a force shield from one or both gauntlets with a certain amount of MDC? Built in parachute that self retracts for those HALO/BASE jumps for special ops mercs?

I can think of a whole slew of really fun ideas on how to modify weapons and body armor to both make them unique, add an RPG element and make them cooler. Either for "from the factory" distinguishing, or even just a 2 or 3 page weapon modification section and a 2 or 3 page armor modification section.

Hmmmm, I am probably all talk (because I ususally end up too lazy to do anything about it), but I just might actually get off my butt this time and write something up for a Rifter on weapon and armor modification.

[Icefalcon]

I have been thinking of writing an article on weapon modifications myself. I have also been thinking on an article about general "adventuring gear" for adding flavor to the game.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Possibly yet the books have not made it to print yet. They do occasionally look through these forums. So who knows. Maybe they might take my suggestion. Probably not. I see no reason not to suggest it. They might surprise me.

+1

Thank You guys for the positive critics, compliments, votes of confidence and suggestions!

Indeed some of us are taking heed. I can't make promises as we are assigned our workloads, but I will see what I can do to get your words passed around among the Artists. I am a huge fan of "Function begets form" philosophy when designing things and I seek reference and understanding for a great deal of design work. This is not to mention that Palladiumbooks actually has a plethora of old to modern to future military books on weapons, vehicles, etc. I think some of you might be surprised at the library. However, we sometimes have to contend with design constraints based on the the actual setting & game balance. I wanted to take numerous designs and revamp them sort of speak, but if only so many years have transpired from one design aesthetic production release to another, and there aren't major changes in the manufacturer via designers, technological breakthroughs, resources & or political stances/restraints, then these elements provide limitations as well.

So in "some" cases, I have to build off of previous designs versus new introductions and see where there is feasible room for creative deviations, interpretation & or innovations that still looks like they can actually function and belong to that manufacturer (in the case of NG). Some of us also base illustrations on what is written, so that also can limit what we can and can't do. I will do my VERY best however to deliver the best I can for NG books 1 & 2. I will also strive to get word to the other Artists as stated so that they are aware of your expectations and suggestions.

Thanks for the support and ideas and keep em flowing! That way we can strive to produce the best quality for you all.

Looking forward to your work Mr Walton!! Very much so.

If you need "In world reasoning" For new stuff. Remember NG has that "under the table" Deal with the CS now to produce their gear, and the tech boost from both them, and the influx of traix stuff in NA is fully acceptable 'Reasoning' for NG to be pouring out 'New models' onto the market to keep competitive with other weapons manufacturers.

Every gun company that's still in existence puts out new models most every year to keep fresh and on the cutting edge.

So give us YOUR VERSION Of NG stuff. I know it'll be awesome!

[Sureshot]

At the very least if what has been talked about cannot make it into either NG a official article in the rifter.

[Icefalcon]

At the very least if what has been talked about cannot make it into either NG a official article in the rifter.

Agreed. If they can not make it into the book a Rifter article or two could go a long way to supporting that kind of material.

[Pepsi Jedi]

At the very least if what has been talked about cannot make it into either NG a official article in the rifter.

Agreed. If they can not make it into the book a Rifter article or two could go a long way to supporting that kind of material.

Being in a rifter. It'd also be 'optional' so those that like it.. can use it.. and those that don't... don't have to.

[Icefalcon]

At the very least if what has been talked about cannot make it into either NG a official article in the rifter.

Agreed. If they can not make it into the book a Rifter article or two could go a long way to supporting that kind of material.

Being in a rifter. It'd also be 'optional' so those that like it.. can use it.. and those that don't... don't have to.

Which is totally fine with me.