Greetings and Salutations. Early disclaimer, this post will be a long one.
First, I'll address the Original Poster. Quick answer is that I'd say both roll as normal. For a more in depth answer to some house rules, see this link:
http://www.prysus.com/horror_factor_expanded.htmNow, onto other matters ...
Glistam wrote:The interesting part to me is where it talks about only humans and/or mortals having to roll for Horror Factor.
This is a false statement. The book does NOT say "only" humans/mortals. I know you quoted the book, but I'll quote it again.
Rifts Ultimate Edition; Page 367 wrote:Whenever a human/mortal encounters one of these terrors, the character must roll a 20-sided die (1D20) to see whether or not he or she is momentarily stunned by the sheer horror of the thing.
Let's try this with a different statement.
"Whenever you encounter a square, it will have four sides."
Following the same thought process from the RUE quote, you'd read that as: "Only squares have four sides." Except, that's not what I said, and it's definitely not true. The book quote neither includes nor excludes other types of beings. At best, from this statement alone, it's an unknown.
Now, in other books such as Rifts Conversion Book One (Original)*, there are other interesting quotes.
*Note: I'm using Rifts Conversion Book One (Original) and not Revised because I cannot find any description of Horror Factor in the Revised book. Meanwhile, I believe (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong), that Rifts Conversion Book One (Original) introduced Horror Factor into Rifts (it was not in the Main Book that I can find). As it's an introduction, it may (though not a guarantee) cover it better than basic recaps.
Rifts Conversion Book One Original; Page 22 wrote:The more frightening and inhuman a creature is, the more horrific it is to humans and most humanoids. [snip] ... they radiate an "Awe Factor" that works the same as a Horror Factor - humans and mortals are stunned by their beauty, while the forces of evil are horrified by their power, reputation, and radiance.
So, to me, this tells us three important things.
1: The term "humans and most humanoids" is used and later "humans and mortals," which from reading it seems the equivalent of your "humans/mortals" line in RUE.
2: This states that "Awe Factor" works the
same as Horror Factor. So the two work (mechanically) the same, though the fluff text and description may change.
3: Then goes on to say "humans and mortals are stunned by their beauty, while the forces of evil are horrified by their power ..." Considering the context, the "while" seems to be in contrast. So something OTHER than the humans and mortals being used in the rest of the example. This tells us that beings that are NOT human/mortal are affected by Awe Factor (ergo, Horror Factor as well because it works the SAME way).
Now, we could assume that RUE tried to change this by removing other types of beings, but it never states this. What it does is continue to use the terms such as "humans/mortals" which is basically the same as the Conversion Book One write-up. The only real difference is that RUE doesn't discuss Awe Factor. We could try to say that only Awe Factor can affect other types of beings, but that would mean that it works
differently than Horror Factor. We could try to say that maybe RUE removed Awe Factor, but I can tell you Awe Factor was used in Rifts books after RUE came out.
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Furthermore, we have to ask why do all these beings (such as Gods and Alien Intelligences) have Save vs. Horror Factor bonuses? Before you try to give an answer, consider the next question. Where will you find the rules for Horror Factor? If it's Page 367 of RUE (or equivalent), then you'll have to go back to the rule that only humans (which I'll repeat, isn't written) are affected.
Also, if you think things like magic spells (as suggested in a previous thread) are why gods and A.I. have Save vs. H.F., then let me ask why you think that a spell giving a magical aura exuding Horror Factor is somehow scarier than a creature with a magical aura exuding Horror Factor? I admit not all magic is equal, but if the Supernatural is affected by magic, then it shouldn't be somehow
not affected by magic.
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Now, if I had to explain why Palladium used terms like "humans/mortals" and not more general, it's because Palladium tends to write with the concept that player characters will be humans/mortals. And if you think not, then look at Character Creation. The first step written isn't pick a race, but to roll your attributes and provides the stats for
human characters. Though I will admit this is only my explanation of why it's used, and I cannot prove it. Of course, I have yet to see proof that H.F. only applies to humans/mortals.
That's all for now. Farewell and safe journeys to all.