Has anybody ever introduced a biker gang in Rifts earth?

[Shorty Lickens]

Have any of you ever PLAYED a biker gang on Rifts earth?

For that matter, have any of you ever run a Mad Max type campaign on Rifts earth?

[guardiandashi]

not really

with that said most of our campaigns used characters created out of the books, but we did a lot of random rifting into other "universes" or settings
like poof you are in robotech/macross, pr poof you are in the S. W. setting on a desert world with 2 suns, or poof you are on a space station that is names DS9 or other location in that verse etc.

[Blue_Lion]

There are several good motorcycles and hover cycles in rifts. The big issue with motor bikes is limited cargo space, and do not work well with PA and bot pilots.

So you looking at a group that is most likely lacking the fire power of PA/bots,heavy combat borgs. Lack the cargo space to carry very much mayber your personal affects but that is about it. The setting itself does not have lots of safe open roads for the gang to ride on.

Basically the setting itself kind of limits biker gangs as we know them.

Carnivals need cargo space, Merc companies need cargo space. I think most vehicles that those groups use will be at least the size of big boss ATV.

Motor cycles/hover cycles would most likely be used by scouts. IE the people from a merc company/carnival that are looking for a safe path for the main body. Bandits may have an advance party on hover cycles or motor cycles go out stop a mark, but they would have several cargo vehicles to pick up the goods.

Black market has the same issue they need to move goods so while some scouts may be on cycles most transport is going to be vehciles with some cargo space.

[glitterboy2098]

biker gangs were part of the first two rifts novels, as several of the CS characters had been part of one inside chi-town prior to joining the military, and WB1 vampire kingdoms has a few street gangs in the mexican cities that are depicted as having very motorcycle gang like style and activities.

generally though most books just don't give us the kind of close up view of a settled place needed to even mention gangs of any sort, instead being more 'big picture' in nature.

[Hotrod]

Have any of you ever PLAYED a biker gang on Rifts earth?

For that matter, have any of you ever run a Mad Max type campaign on Rifts earth?

An outlaw biker gang was the inspiration for one of the Glitter Boy associations I wrote up in my Glitter Boy Pilot Culture article that's going to be in the upcoming Rifter.

One of the Juicer variants I came up with in my NPC generators was a biker; I used that one as the basis for the "Last Callers," a biker gang of mostly older Juicer mercs who'd finished their contracts, didn't want to detox, and just wanted to fill their final days getting theirs: living hard, sampling every pleasure they could find, and settling every old score they can think of as they look to go out fighting in a final blaze of glory.

I used these as villains, having them going after and brutally beating or killing people who'd wronged or slighted them, often from before they became Juicers, or picking fights with anyone they don't like. With death coming soon anyway, these killers had no compunctions and didn't care about long-term consequences, collateral damage, or anyone outside their gang. They'd take near-suicidal risks and try tactics that would be bold even by Juicer standards.

The most notable Last Caller I used had a servile, sidekick Juicer Wannabe. When the Last Caller died, the Wannabe inherited his stuff and his drug harness, which he then used to become a Juicer off-stage. The new Juicer then took on hunting down the players as a vendetta/initiation requirement to join the Last Callers. Unfortunately, the new Juicer died so fast that I never had a chance to do a dramatic reveal of his backstory and tie it to the players' actions. That campaign pittered out soon after anyway.

While I didn't use them this way in the adventure I made, I could have also had them be a chaotic presence that might help the player characters. Perhaps some of them might be looking for some kind of act of final redemption in death, something worthy of remembrance.