Rifts homebrew

[Thom001]

Has anyone ever taken the info from the world books and used it more "as guidelines than actual rules"? If so what did you use? What did you throw away? How did you change what was given? If you never have what are some things you think you would want to turn on its heads?

[darthauthor]

Juicer Uprising.

I changed the adventure in the book.
Player prevented the destruction of Newtown Arkansas.

I used what was in the book but did not force events regardless of the players choices.

The players decisions rather changed events or at least postponed them.

Villains still had their goals and motivations but I made them smart about it and about set backs to their plans.

Players did not have to be super-powered or use super-powers to thwart plans.
They just had to be smart about things and do the things that are smart.

[MyDumpStatIsMA]

A big one for me would be not gutting the WB China characters outside of China. The nerfs to their stats are excessive in my opinion, especially when many of the OCCs from China aren't overpowered in the least. Only a few are, and even those aren't any more game breaking than characters from other world books that don't get an automatic nerf for leaving their setting.

I would further advocate spreading tech and OCCs from all over the world, wherever you want to use them. There's so much diversity that goes to waste if you strictly follow the dictates of realism and plausibility (i.e, that Rifts Earth is a group of isolated pockets of civilization rarely interacting with each other). I respect realism--up to a point. When it prevents me from using an OCC the way I want to use it, even though I spent X number of dollars to buy books to expand my choices, then I suddenly feel a lot more flexible regarding realism.

*Edit for clarity: obviously the kind of game the GM wants to run is important. But if plausibility is the only thing preventing you from using a certain OCC, or piece of tech, or type of magic, then I say ignore the restrictions.

**Second Edit: Especially because this is a setting where, yes, every nation or city-state is geographically isolated from traditional methods of travel, but to offset this, Shifters and rifts exist that allow instant transport anywhere. Cultural and technological exchange should be minimal, but not so rare/impossible that a player can't choose an OCC from anywhere in the world.

[slade2501]

I have giant Landships patrolling through a Missouri corridor of land that repels CS patrols and allows safe passage for anyone traveling through. also psychic powers and magic spells can effect pilots of vehicles or giant robots with a saving throw.

[slade the sniper]

Everything in Palladium books I take as suggestions.

-STS

[Dustin Fireblade]

Has anyone ever taken the info from the world books and used it more "as guidelines than actual rules"? If so what did you use? What did you throw away? How did you change what was given? If you never have what are some things you think you would want to turn on its heads?

Well been a long time since we played Rifts, but basically it all changed when Gen Sawyer went to Texas instead of Illinois. The Coalition then became based in Texas.

The city creation guide in the Adventure Guide book formed the foundation of pretty much each/every city. So basically none of the big CS style fortress cities.

Didn't have the Native American Preserves