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Okay, so I am slated to run the next arc of our ongoing game, currently the game is in RIFTS and they are playing characters from all over North America, we are doing a round robin of GMing. The ground rules we agreed on was that it was going to be a team based (mercenary/job taking) type of game, and that we didn’t have to stay on RIFTS EARTH. The other addition that all the GMs have been talking about is a McGuffin that allows the party/group the ability to travel dimensions, like Sliders/John Carter/Primeval. They basically are at the mercy of this McGuffin as it takes them places, originally the players think this item simply is dimensional based, but im changing the rules a bit to add a new element, Time Travel; but not as its normally depicted.

Now the group is exploring an abandoned facility, basically a pre-rifts NEMA facility, with paranormal activity going on. We have encountered a telekinetic entity and another entity that is trying to make us want to “burn everything”. (I dont know the whole story on this arc as I am a Player, Im just setting up for when the 'torch' is passed)

MY idea for when I take over is to have the characters “consciousness’” of sorts at a point decided on by me and the GM (when he’s done his arc) transported ‘Mystically’ to another place, specifically more of a when… The players will go to sleep in this facility or something will happen in this abandoned facility that will ‘cause’ the translocation of the consciousness’s’.

The players will then wake up, one by one in different locations, depending on where the person they are inhabiting is, each person they inhabit is a person DIRECTLY connected to the Lazlo Society. Now, I have been perusing the pre-gens on ‘House of BTS’ and plan/would like to use them as the ‘vehicles’ for the players.

My quandary here is the connecting of these dots, I need to connect “WHO/WHAT’ has sent these ‘consciousnesses’ back in time, I know WHAT they are going back for, it is the original discovery of the McGuffin and to deal with a bunch of supernatural menaces in the Seattle area. Basically, a WHO/WHAT/ (got the when/got the where)/WHY.

Any advice as to help with my issue, eventually Ill work it out on my own but id figure id toss this baseball out and see who wants to play ball.

Important note, the players have not FOUND or come into contact with McGuffin yet, nor dp they know of its existance and it also doesnt need to be the catalyst that sends them back.

Thanks for your help!

Also thanks to the creator of House of BTS for the pre-gens and ideas based around that!

EnlightenedVagabond wrote:
Also thanks to the creator of House of BTS for the pre-gens and ideas based around that!

Your welcome! I'm glad your enjoying the pregens, Ive put a lot more work into the creations and characters sheets themselves than I should have, but I the time's been well spent.

My advice thoughts is that the WHO sent them back would be to go with an ancient evil or incredibly smart on who for one reason reason or another cant get his hands of the mcguffin, so its resorting to getting the players to get it for him.

mrloucifer wrote:My advice thoughts is that the WHO sent them back would be to go with an ancient evil or incredibly smart on who for one reason reason or another cant get his hands of the mcguffin, so its resorting to getting the players to get it for him.

I have been going over this with the other GM, who is currently running it and he suggested that "half" of the MCguffin is in the past and needs to be 'found' with nudging by "WHO" to collect it and store it someplace where (his words and I laughed) it can be "Bill and Tedded" for the players characters in the future... so the artifact/mcguffin can be made whole.

Still trying to decide on who is powerful enough to do this but unable to go himself/herself/itself.

EnlightenedVagabond wrote:Still trying to decide on who is powerful enough to do this but unable to go himself/herself/itself.

I'll toss in a couple of possibilities for this.

1.) An Alien Intelligence who can't quite get enough of itself into Rifts earth for whatever reason.

2.) An imprisoned god - there are numerous examples of this in legend and literature. They have enough power to manipulate things but can't free themselves without the McGuffin thingy. Or, IIRC, the Pantheons of the Megaverse book mentions Odin or one of the other heads of a pantheon has lost their memory; perhaps a small part of their subconscious remembers who they are and needs the McGuffin to restore themselves back to fullness.