Forums of the Megaverse®

Since they aren't practitioners of magic I don't see why you would add the PE attribute number in PPE. Based on the old main book a normal character has 2d6 PPE, a Cyber Knight has 6d6 PPE, which I read as replacing the 2d6. If you take the 10 PPE listed in Atlantis as a bonus you are still low. I always read the passage in Atlantis that talks about the 10 PPE being the base to be in place of the randomly roled 2d6 most Occs have, but I play it as a +10 PPE bonus.

In Arzno, in the section talking about PPE batteries it talks about adults raised in a TW using society may have 18-28 PPE instead of the normal 2d6, but that is about it.

That all being said, the Arzno NPC, Onra Misvina has a large amount of PPE without being a magic Occ. I meant to ask Jason about this, but haven't gotten around to it.

I might be missing something somewhere about using the PE number of PPE somewhere. Please point it out if I have.

LOL I'm not sure to be honest. i always added PE as a "rule of thumb" because i read it somewhere, probably under the magic user OCC's.

Are you looking at the original main book or the RUE main book? I just quickly looked at both, and from what I see it only adds the PE bonus for men of magic. If you are looking at RUE, under the City Rat it mentions kids and teens having extra PPE which they lose in their early 20s.

PPE becomes a real issue for TAs who are not mages. Even a handful of tattoos become hard to use when you double the casting cost due to them not being T-Men. I've played with the idea of all TAs using the standard PPE cost instead of the doubled number, but there is no book reason to do it. I just think that it is stupid for the run of the mill TA to have the Marks of Heritage and not be able to power them. That is why I usually use the 10 PPE base listed in Atlantis as a bonus instead of it replacing the standard 2d6. I've switched to using the slightly number mentioned in Arzno for those raised in TW/Magic using communities. This will give the average TA enough PPE to activate each of the Marks, at least one at a time.

Lol, gee thanks Dark Max.

Very few True Atlanteans should have more then the Marks of Heritage. Heroes who are still active members of their Clan should have access to one or two more as rewards, but even that should be rare. Having 6 should be down right rare, and the mark of a renown hero. Even outsiders like the few Cyber Knights with tattoos would fit in along these lines as well.

SUUUUURREEE you were:)

If you want to see munchkin start thinking of a True Atlantean Shifter connected to Odin, who becomes a warrior of Valhalla, survives being attached to the World Tree, has his 6 standard tattoos, cybernetic hearing, became a Sea Inquisitor after a run in with the Lord of the Deep, was a major psychic to start with, gets exposed to that crazy Rift in Atlantis, and undergoes some Gene Splicer experiments before getting his biowizardry enhancements. Did I say he? It should have been she since females characters can seduce more NPCs then a male.

Now that is the start of munchie.

I could see tattoos having a lot of style. Different swords representing different clans. Different styles of skulls being done by different artists, that sort of thing. I could also see non magical tats being used to sort of hide the magical ones. Non hide as much as camouflage. Having the burning skull be the head of a burning skeleton man, or something like that.

Like I said I could be wrong. The group that I play with, and the group before that for a few years...we all used the rule o thumb that you always added your PE to calculate your base PPE. Guess its been a house rule and not canon.
It makes sense to me, not for power gaming but from a psi stalker stand point...if humans have PE+2d6 PPE that explains why they stalk them.
I dunno I'm kinda lost now.



My mind melter only had his marks of heritage...

Yeah that kinda irks me though. I started playing rifts with that previous group oh so long ago and thought the PE thing was just "how its done"...

Even with relatively low PPE of 2d6, you still double it at death. The Psi-Stalker has to kill their prey to feed unless it is a psychic, practitioner of magic, creature of magic, or supernatural monster.

I'm not saying it is a bad house rule, but I'm pretty sure it is a house rule. The problem is that it gives just about anyone the PPE to use TW equipment with training, and allows things like magic tattoos to be much more useful for non-magic types. It narrows the gap between magic users and the rest of the population. It means that people like the CK or Japanese Samurai are run of the mill PPE wise.

All game rules, and especially Palladium game rules have a way of evolving over time. If you GM for long, or even just play in the same circle for long house rules and specific interpretations become THE accepted position.

Well its not so bad of a rule...
I started runnin a game last friday, and included this rule, so I'm kinda stuck with it for now.

I'm not saying it is bad, just not universal. That's it. I wasn't making any kind of judgment other then that I thought it was a house rule instead of a book rule.

OH! I know man, no worries.
No harm no foul
I usually don't get offended or take offense unless personal attacks on my intelligence are made.

Only 1 person in my 7 person group has played Rifts or any other palladium game consistantly before, so I'm considering after they get comfortable with the game system giving them the option to make new characters. If at that time anyone plays a TA, I'll clarify that rule for them.

Right now we have (all 5th level):
Cyber Knight (TA) NPC
Mystic (TA) has 6 tats.
Human Operator (rifts veteran player )
Human Shifter
Human ex-cs commando
Achilles Neo-Human from SA2 (way powerful, in hindsight)
Royal Frilled Dragon hatchling

What area is your group playing with? The ex CS soldier has a North American back ground, but the Neo-Human is decidedly South American. While the Cyber Knight is North American in origin, being a TA they could be from anywhere. A nice mixed group. I'd be interesting with how the CK, Ex-CS soldier, and the Shifter work things out.

They are in S. Dakota atm.
The Neo human had quite the hike...yeah, she walked. I figure took a year or so, its in her background...not to mention some vampire thrashing.
The ex-CS left becasue of the Tolkeen debacle. He is distrustful of magic users, but does not write them off, either.
The Mystic is from PW, she heard Atlantis came back and came to earth to check it out...and had to flee immediately.
The CK is spending time defending the little town they are in, excorsising his own demons, having left the fellowship to defend Tolkeen...
The shifter...well he just a wandering type. (difficult player to motivate).
Operator is a happy-go-lucky type.
Dragon is still trying to figure out where he fits...especially 4 hours a day

I've got them investigating some random strangeness and carnage caused by a lizard mage who has found "the perfect world". Should prove interesting.

Yeah...cuz like I said, all but one of em has never played rifts before.
But they did all play what they wanted, so they will figure out the power curve...I hope.
That's also why I'm considering letting them make new characters after a while.

Maybe and maybe not. Kryzbyn make sure to show the newbies how to maximise their characters like the one person who knows how to use the system already. That way everyone will feel like they got a fair shake with the system.

The operator is the one who has played before.
He is the proud owner of a self-tricked out Hunter mobile gun.
At 5th level, he has increased his MDC by 10% (450 Main body).
Added a pop-up SRM laucher in each shoulder.
Added 3 LRM tubes on the back (2 proton, 1 multi-warhead nukes).
Increased the speed to 77 mph.
Replaced the "belly" gun with a gatling laser (1d6x10).

He has shown them how to maximize their characters, if they can recognize it as such.

LOL I wanted him to add arm shields and come up with a transformation sequence to have VHT's in Rifts, but he said his character wouldn't do that

Too bad he can't find and retrofit it with one of those CADS systems from the saber cyclone!

His background is he worked for NG, then got bit by the adventuring bug.
After stumbling accross the aftermath of a battle, he was able to salvage and sell a few things and cashed in his pension to buy himself a brand new hunter off the line.
The class itself tells ya what you can and cannot do to a robot.
He just uses his former employer for the occasional "hook up" for parts.

I demand and reward good backgrounds.
If you don't have one, guess who gets picked on.

Specially when I have to do it.
The shifter did not make up a background, but wanted a "pact".
So I told him he has made contact with "Enki" the god of magic.
But its SOOOO not Enki.

I sure did...
I'm thinking of having it be Rynnslpynnth (?) while he's takin a break.
ROFL
In all fairness to him though, he doesn't know enough about Rifts to make a background...

I disagree. Even if he has never played Rifts, or any RPG he can come up with some sort of background. Small town farm boy who wanted to explore the heavens, something.

The only character I've ever allowed without much a a background was a newly wild born Altaran Warrior Woman clone. The best thing plot wise was everyone else knowing more then she did about everything society wise.

yeah, honestly he's kind of a rules lawyer type in GURpS and D20, and he's never played palladium before. I think he's just bein difficult because im makin him learn a new system he can't just quote off the top of his head. hasn't stopped him from arguing though

Aye i think so.

I can blame him when his insecurity disrupts my game.
he was damn near demanding that other players "OK" with him what they did, becasue he wanted to do a specific thing. BS. I said "thats not necessary", and had the other player roll to hit. He said "well I dont know if 3 medium range missiles will be enough to take it (A baal rog) out. So, I'm gonna have a spell ready in case its not enough." I said "you have your character do what you want him to do, and (the other player) will do what he's doing. He may roll high enough on damage to kil it outright, he may not. He doesn't have to OK with you what he's doing. If he doesn't roll high enough, then you can decide whether or not your character thinks that 3 med range missiles isnt enough, or if he rolls high enough it is. You're a shifter. You don't know dick about missiles. He is an operator, he knows about missiles..." and so on. I can understand how frustrating it is to learn a new system, but RP is RP. Luckily the other player is the vet so he just smiled and nodded instead of it escalating into a shouting match. I gave him an extra 150 xp for keepin a cool head.

This is where you remind them to play in character. If the Shifter wants to yell "Are you sure that is enough to take the demon out?", that's great. If he wants to have a private sideboard conversation, that's another story.

These guys are new to palladioum, not roleplaying. i shouldn't have to remind them to stay in character...

I hate having to wrangle players, they can be as bad as herding cats.

not the great ones
These guys are great RP'rs usually, so I'll give em some time before layin some smack down.