Apologies if this has been done before but I've always wanted a proper section in rifts called something like : Adventuring Hazards.
There isn't one so I thought this thread could acts as a reference for the rules (or page refs for the rules, old skool rifts and RUE) relating to:
Falling
Starvation
Dehydration
Drowning
Strangulation (both breath chokes and blood chokes)
Suffocation (where it differes from the above)
Extremes of Heat
Extremes of Cold
Exposure
Being Deafened
Being Blinded
Losing the use of a hand
Losing the use of a foot
Losing the use of an entire leg
Losing the use of an entire arm
Common Poison Effects
Common Disease Effects
Rockslides
Avalanches
Falling trees
Storms on land
Storms at sea (including swimming / drowning rules during them)
Extreme Humidity
Fires and Fire Damage (all sizes)
Sleep Depravation
Exhaustion
PExposed to extreme pressures (like undersea stuff)
Exposed to a vacuum
Common Long term illnesses and effects
Having feet bound
Having hands bound
Any I've missed and anyone want to start off with page / book refs?
Where gaps exists or blatant stupidity arises (yes Rifts: Canada Avalanche rules I'm looking at you ) let's talk houserules
Unfortunately, such rules coverage is few and far between in Palladium. So, I'll break down what you've listed as best as possible.
Falling - This is pretty much covered under most hand to hand combat sections (with the exception of the much debated MDC vs falls debate)
Starvation & Dehydration - These are pretty much grouped together because what limited coverage occurs has these in the same places. Dehyrdation is best covered in Baalgor Wastelands and LOD1: Chaos Lands, and while the only starvation notes are for transport animals, at least there are some. Starvation, or more appropriately, diet, is covered loosely for carnivores and herbivores in ATB2 (in vestigial disadvantages). Otherwise, starvation is best covered by LOD1: Chaos Lands.
Drowning - I've seen three or four different rules for drowning, check out the adventure To Serve the Pixie Crown in Adventures in the Northern Wilderness, Baalgor Wastelands for flash floods, and Rifter #17.
Strangulation (both breath chokes and blood chokes) - Basically there are only two instances of coverage for this, N&S and ATB2 have rules for choke attacks, and Rifts Merc Ops has rules for garrote strangulation (similar to that of the Rifter covering the New Wolfen Empire in Rifts Italy).
Suffocation (where it differes from the above) - Suffocation is covered in various places, with a variety of rules, such as AUGG's rules for suffocation and depressurization in space (I also believe Mutants in Orbit offers some coverage of the same material).
Extremes of Heat - These are best covered in the various "Jungle" books of Palladium; Return of the Masters, Yin-Sloth Jungles, and Recon. More importantly, HU2 has rules for temperature extremes, and gives particular coverage to very hot conditions in its super power descriptions.
Extremes of Cold - There are only four books that cover extremes of cold (with the exception of HU2's rules for temperature extremes), Canada, Adventures in the Northern Wilderness, LOD1: Chaos Lands, and Northern Hinterlands.
Exposure - To what?
Being Deafened - See Bio-Manipulation, though Mystic China's coverage of disruption of the inner ear is also useful.
Being Blinded - There are many, many instances and varieties of blindness coverage, check out Bio-Manipulation, hand to hand combat descriptions (in newer books), blinding agents (typicall chemical weapons), Mystic China (for the Blind Mystic, and Atemi Blindness), Canada for snow blindness, and several other places.
Losing the use of a hand, Losing the use of a foot, Losing the use of an entire leg, & Losing the use of an entire arm - The best rules for these are the optional damage tables found in the HP/SDC sections of most core books.
Common Poison Effects - Palladium Fantasy's main book is the best source of these (though animal poisons are better covered in Mutants and Animals, and general plant poisons are given decent general coverage in the HU2 superpowers).
Common Disease Effects - Your best bet is Yin Sloth Jungles, though Rifter #17 also has some useful information.
Rockslides - I think the only mention I've seen is in Further Adventures in the Northern Wilderness.
Avalanches - Rifts Canada and LoD1: Chaos Lands , though Adventures in the Northern Wilderness may also have some coverage.
Falling trees - No coverage really.
Storms on land - Baalgor Wastelands and the similar material from Rifts Canada. Several of the Robotech Books cover weather, though rarely in any detail.
Storms at sea (including swimming / drowning rules during them) - High Seas and Rifts Underseas. For swimming/drowning, the flash flood rules in Baalgor Wastelands is your best bet.
Extreme Humidity - Again, the Jungle Books have the best coverage.
Fires and Fire Damage (all sizes) - The spell Ignite Fire is your best coverage, and it really only covers small fires.
Sleep Deprivation - The HUGMG has the only rules to date on this.
Exhaustion - While there are some fatigue rules typically found in the attributes section of core rules books, and LOD1: Chaos Lands has some rules for climbing (see also the skills Swimming and Running, particularly in ATB2), there's no standard for exhaustion, fatigue, and exertion in Palladium.
Exposed to extreme pressures (like undersea stuff) - Rifter #17
Exposed to a vacuum - AUGG has the best coverage to date.
Common Long term illnesses and effects - The Jungle Books again, particularly Yin Sloth Jungles.
Having feet bound & Having hands bound - APS: Ice in HU2 has some rules, the RBOM has some stuff on magic restraints, there's a note on hitting restrained targets in CB1, and Grammercy Island has some notes on restraints, other than that, spell/superpower/psionic descriptions are your best bet.
Wow, talk about knowing your books! Thanks so much for going through that list for me.
Trouble is I'm a Rifts player and while I have the rifters you mention and canade, underseas etc. I don't have (and certainly won't be buying for 1 or 2 rules!) the PF books mentioned.
Are small snippets of rules like those allowed to be posted on here?
Seems unfair if not, I mean my 'complete' RPG system I paid for is pretty incomplete without these rules for common occurences / hazards!
How much can characters take for how long, and how bad does it
have to be to overload environmental armour? Can you just tromp around the wreckage of a nuclear war indefinitely?
Tigermuppetcut wrote:Wow, talk about knowing your books! Thanks so much for going through that list for me.
Trouble is I'm a Rifts player and while I have the rifters you mention and canade, underseas etc. I don't have (and certainly won't be buying for 1 or 2 rules!) the PF books mentioned.
Are small snippets of rules like those allowed to be posted on here?
Seems unfair if not, I mean my 'complete' RPG system I paid for is pretty incomplete without these rules for common occurences / hazards!
Nope, if you want the info you pretty much have to buy the books.
Braden, GMPhD wrote:Radiation poisoning...?
How much can characters take for how long, and how bad does it have to be to overload environmental armour? Can you just tromp around the wreckage of a nuclear war indefinitely?
Radiation Poisoning is best covered in Adventures in the Northern Wilderness, though HU2 does have some rules for it. The only places radiation & nukes are covered in Rifts is the mention about nuke power supplies in the RMB, dead zones in Warlords of Russia, and the effects of strategic nuclear weapons in Coalition Navy.
gadrin wrote:I'm not certain about Mutants in Orbit, as I simply can't bring myself to read that...thing.
I've wished forever that MiO would be disavowed, and something better written in its place that allows for some kind of interaction between earth and the rest of the milky way.
Tigermuppetcut wrote:Apologies if this has been done before but I've always wanted a proper section in rifts called something like : Adventuring Hazards.
I completely agree. This is something that's been worrying lacking from Core books for sometime - having such rulings scattered through a back catalogue is not helpful or encouraging for the new comer. Perhaps this is something that could feature in the RUE 2nd printing or an updated GM's Guide?
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) let's talk houserules
