Rifts HERO?

[The Main Man]

I also think adding a Side Effect that takes away some of their lifespan for every use should be added, such as -1 Month per use.

As an example, if the Juicer uses it 100 times in the course of a campaign, that takes away 100 Months of their life. That means they lose (100 / 12) 8 Years, 4 months from their life.

[AlHazred]

I'd go more with a story-oriented limitation; most campaigns won't last long enough for the Juicer to "wear out". Alternatively, I think most GMs would let the PC play the character at least until the big finale. I'd give them a Physical Limitation (5 points - it can't be worth more than Age), and a Vulnerability: 2x Effect from Aging Attacks (Uncommon) for 10 points. Assuming you have things that Age people in your game.

[NuSoardGraphite]

A quick and dirty Juicer write-up

Aid All Physical CHAR (+2) 10d6 (Standard Effect: 30 Character Points; +0), Delayed Return Rate (Fades at 5 per Minute; +1/4), Trigger (mental command (reflex) +1/4); 1 Recoverable Charge (Recovers after last charge wears off; -1 1/2), Self Only (-1/2), Restrainable (-1/4)

Active Points: 350 CP
Real Points: 108 CP

This grants the character, on mental reflex, +30 STR, +10 DEX, +15 CON, +15 BODY, +15 PD, +15 ED, +3 SPD, +15 REC, +60 END, +30 STUN, which makes a pretty accurate Juicer, assuming that the character has not bought up their physical CHAR already.

If you do not swing with the whole Standard Effect/1 Charge thing, then reduce it to 5d6.

Nicely done. Except by my calculation, the Active Point cost on that is 210pt with a real cost of 65pts. The bonuses are just about right (the STR is a little high but no big deal)

[The Main Man]

Trigger (+1/4)
Variable Effect (+2)
Delayed Return Rate (+0.25)
Total Bonus: +2.5

1 Recoverable Charge (only after last use is faded away) (-1.5)
Self Only (-0.5)
Restrainable (-0.25)
Total Penalty: -2.25

Aid 10d6 = 100 Base Points x (1+2.5 = 3.5) = 350 Active Points / (1+2.25 = 3.25) = 107.69... Real Points --> 108 Real Points

Yeah, the Strength part was also iffy to me, but I figured that everything else was rather accurate, so why not?

In actuality, an average Juicer should have 30 STR exactly.
Rifts states that if a Juicer has a minimum Physical Strength of 22.
22 x 40 (PS > 16 is x 40, not x 20) = 880 lbs x 4 (Juicers can lift and carry 4x as much as equivalent STR) = 3520 lbs / 2.2 (convert to kg) = 1600kg --> 30 STR.

Moving on, I also thought about a story-based device for the same reason you pointed out (few PCs actually live out their Juicer's life).

Another question arose when I was designing a Crazy for a Player: should Crazies take the Restrainable (-0.25) Limitation that 'Borgs and Juicers take?

There seems to be no indication on the matter that I have seen.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Trigger (+1/4)
Variable Effect (+2)
Delayed Return Rate (+0.25)
Total Bonus: +2.5

1 Recoverable Charge (only after last use is faded away) (-1.5)
Self Only (-0.5)
Restrainable (-0.25)
Total Penalty: -2.25

Aid 10d6 = 100 Base Points x (1+2.5 = 3.5) = 350 Active Points / (1+2.25 = 3.25) = 107.69... Real Points --> 108 Real Points

When I was at work to day, thinking about this write up, I realised I made a mistake and was taking the old 4th edition cost of Aid into consideration instead of the new 5th edition price! DOH!

Yeah, the Strength part was also iffy to me, but I figured that everything else was rather accurate, so why not?

In actuality, an average Juicer should have 30 STR exactly.
Rifts states that if a Juicer has a minimum Physical Strength of 22.
22 x 40 (PS > 16 is x 40, not x 20) = 880 lbs x 4 (Juicers can lift and carry 4x as much as equivalent STR) = 3520 lbs / 2.2 (convert to kg) = 1600kg --> 30 STR.

If I were going with a Standard Effect Aid write up like the one you came up with, I'd go with 7D6 Standard Effect which would give bonuses of:
+21STR, +7DEX, +10CON, +10BOD, +10PD, +10ED, +2SPD, +10REC, +42END, +21STN and +10" Running.

Now take, Joe Normal (all 10 Characteristics) and convert him into a Juicer and you get:
31STR, 17DEX, 20CON, 20BOD, 12PD, 12ED, 4SPD, 14REC, 62END, 41STN and 16" Running. (which, consequently, allows our Juicer to run at 76.8kph!)

Another question arose when I was designing a Crazy for a Player: should Crazies take the Restrainable (-0.25) Limitation that 'Borgs and Juicers take?

There seems to be no indication on the matter that I have seen.

I think you have to determine if the basic MOM chip is susceptible to the same attacks as regular Bionics and Cybernetics (EMP and whatnot). If so, then yes, I'd say it qualifies for the Restrainable limitation.

[The Main Man]

I was wondering if maybe that was the case. Oh well.

Your scaling of the Juicer power is pretty good.

I'll have to think about the Crazy M.O.M. chip.
I could probably make my decision based on others' interpretations.

Last night I was working on Weapon SFX and how to build them.
I aim to make an apparent advantage and disadvantage to each type.
Here's a rundown as I see it, but I'm open to suggestion and modification.

1. Laser - RKA (vs. ED) - Invisible (Hearing Group); Beam
2. Plasma - RKA (vs. ED) - Possible AOE (Line or Cone)
3. Ion - EB (vs. ED) - No Modifiers
4. Particle Beam - RKA (vs. ED) - Penetrating; Beam
5. Rail Gun - RKA (vs. PD) - Often has Autofire; Beam

I also want to make a Standard E-Clip cost and effect.
Basically, I imagine it as an END Reserve of so much END, so much Limited REC.
An energy device's Charges depend on the END Reserve divided by the END Cost.

[TheQuestionMan]

Rifts - Wikipedia (For the uninitiated)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifts

[NuSoardGraphite]

Your scaling of the Juicer power is pretty good.

Thank you.

I'll have to think about the Crazy M.O.M. chip.
I could probably make my decision based on others' interpretations.

Absolutely. A conversion project the size of something like RIFTS would require a concerted effort on the part of many contributors to come close to modelling even a fraction of stuff inhabiting that game setting. In fact, I would say that RIFTS is the second most prolific game system/setting in all of the RPG community, second only to D&D/D20 with White Wolf's World of Darkness coming in a close third.

Last night I was working on Weapon SFX and how to build them.
I aim to make an apparent advantage and disadvantage to each type.
Here's a rundown as I see it, but I'm open to suggestion and modification.

Sweet! Lets compare how we do SFX for various weapons...

1. Laser - RKA (vs. ED) - Invisible (Hearing Group); Beam

My Lasers are RKA (ED) - Invisible to Hearing (and Sight for IR-based Lasers) Armor Piercing; Beam, No Knockback.

2. Plasma - RKA (vs. ED) - Possible AOE (Line or Cone)

Plasma: RKA (ED) [Exceptionally high DC compred to similarly sized weapons]; options include AE-1 hex (for Plasma blasts that "splatter") AE-Line (for "Wide Beam" plasma blasts) Explosion (for contained plasma blasts where the magnetic bottle collapses upon impact allowing the plasma to greatly expand at the impact point) +1 Stun Multiplier (Incindiary, lots of pain) Autofire (in rare cases, usually not more than 5 shots but generally around 3)
Limitations include: Limited Range, Bulky OAF (sometimes)

3. Ion - EB (vs. ED) - No Modifiers

Ion: Energy Blast (ED)-Penetrating; Beam

4. Particle Beam - RKA (vs. ED) - Penetrating; Beam

Particle Beam: RKA (ED)- Penetrating, Autofire, +1 StunX; Beam

5. Rail Gun - RKA (vs. PD) - Often has Autofire; Beam

Railgun: RKA (PD) - AP, Autofire, +1 StunX (depending on ammo); OAF-Bulky

[The Main Man]

My Lasers are RKA (ED) - Invisible to Hearing (and Sight for IR-based Lasers) Armor Piercing; Beam, No Knockback.

Good call on IR Lasers. The No Knockback Limitation raises a question. Should there be Knockback or Knockdown in Rifts HERO? I forget if No Knockback affects Knockdown rules (I think that it does).

Plasma: RKA (ED) [Exceptionally high DC compared to similarly sized weapons]; options include AE-1 hex (for Plasma blasts that "splatter") AE-Line (for "Wide Beam" plasma blasts) Explosion (for contained plasma blasts where the magnetic bottle collapses upon impact allowing the plasma to greatly expand at the impact point) +1 Stun Multiplier (Incindiary, lots of pain) Autofire (in rare cases, usually not more than 5 shots but generally around 3)
Limitations include: Limited Range, Bulky OAF (sometimes)

I left out the Focus limitation because it is not inherent to the attack itself and the same goes for Charges.

Now, should a Plasma weapon be built with a selected AOE Advantage, or should it be built as a Multi-power with slots for each effect?

I think that the Multi-Power option sounds better.

Autofire? I don't remember any Plasma weapons with that Advantage.

Ion: Energy Blast (ED)-Penetrating; Beam

Do Ion Beams (I guess there's my red flag for Beam) have the Penetrating effect in Rifts?
I guess that it gives them an extra kick to KO the opponent.
I notice that KOs will occur much more in Rifts HERO than in RIFTS.

Particle Beam: RKA (ED)- Penetrating, Autofire, +1 StunX; Beam

Once again, the Autofire aspect.
I imagine that any Pulse [insert SFX] weapon would have it.

I agree on the +1 STUNx, just like the Plasma.

Railgun: RKA (PD) - AP, Autofire, +1 StunX (depending on ammo); OAF-Bulky

I'm iffy on the AP aspect, but I can dig it.
For example, if converted literally, the SAMAS Rail Gun does 10 Shots, so maybe 1 Level of AP halves the shots to only 5.

By the way, what did you think of the END Reserve --> Charges analogy for E-Clips?

[Captain Obvious]

Good call on IR Lasers. The No Knockback Limitation raises a question. Should there be Knockback or Knockdown in Rifts HERO? I forget if No Knockback affects Knockdown rules (I think that it does).

Rifts is over-the-top enough that Knockback wouldn't be out of place. I would use it personally.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Good call on IR Lasers. The No Knockback Limitation raises a question. Should there be Knockback or Knockdown in Rifts HERO? I forget if No Knockback affects Knockdown rules (I think that it does).

I think RIFTS should be a "middle of the road" game when it comes to Knockback. That means most weapons and attacks should do Knockdown, but heavy weapons and big, strong creatures (like Dragons and Demons etc) should be able to do knockback.

I would assume that most man-portable weapons merely do knockdown. However a weapon with a heavy impact could possibly do knockback, which would be represented with the Does Knockback advantage. Weapons that do neither knockback or knockdown (or doesn't have significant kinetic effect on physical objects, like a Laser) would get the No Knockback limitation.

I left out the Focus limitation because it is not inherent to the attack itself and the same goes for Charges.

I see. Well, pretty much every weapon in RIFTS would get OAF and Independant with very few exceptions. I wouldn't charge points for normal weapons either. (tens of thousands of credits are another matter entirely)

Now, should a Plasma weapon be built with a selected AOE Advantage, or should it be built as a Multi-power with slots for each effect?

I think it should depend on the weapon itself. This is one of the reasons to model RIFTS in HERO rather than using Palladium system. Their weapons have very little variation to them. Some do big damage, others don't, and thats about it. With a game like HERO, you can use advantages and limitations to make individual weapons systems stand out from one another.

I think that the Multi-Power option sounds better.

For some weapons, sure.

Autofire? I don't remember any Plasma weapons with that Advantage.

The one Plasma rifle in the RIFTS basic book has a rate of fire of "Standard", which means it is capable of bursts. This is explained in more detail in the RIFTS Conversion book (I think. Its been a long time)

Any weapon that is only capable of single shots is normaly noted as such, as in the case of the JA-11 Assasin Energy Rifle's laser setting (however the Ion beam setting is capable of Aimed, Burst or Wild fire as Standard)

Do Ion Beams (I guess there's my red flag for Beam) have the Penetrating effect in Rifts?

No. Thats something I add to Ion beams in my own games. Again, to differentiate them from other similar weapons.

I guess that it gives them an extra kick to KO the opponent.

Exactly

I notice that KOs will occur much more in Rifts HERO than in RIFTS.

Not necessarily. S.D.C. tended to go away fairly quickly in RIFTS. And it is pretty much moot in most combat situations in RIFTS where MDC weaponry are brought to the table.

Once again, the Autofire aspect.
I imagine that any Pulse [insert SFX] weapon would have it.

Well, I'm not saying that all Ion or Particle Beam or Laser weapons would have autofire...that would be incorrect; however its possible for the weapon to have Autofire depending on its design.

Definately a pulse weapon would have Autofire. Autofire-3 to be precise with bonuses to garuntee extra hits. Of course, one could design Pulse weaponry simply with a higher base DC to represent a longer energy pulse pouring more damage into the target...

The weapons in the basic RIFTS book that I would consider to have Autofire include:

C-10
C-12
Wilk's 447
NG-L5
L-20 Pulse
JA-11 (Ion blast setting)

(and all the Railguns of course)

The rest of the weapons in the book I would consider to be "Semi-Automatic" and capable of use with the Rapid Fire maneuver, but not necesarily capable of Autofire. The one exception is the JA-11's laser setting, which is capable of Single Shot fire only and can't be used with the Rapid Fire or Blaze Away maneuvers.

I agree on the +1 STUNx, just like the Plasma.

Considering that Particle Beam weapons oftentimes have secondary electrical effects to them, +1 Stun multiplier sounds reasonable.

I'm iffy on the AP aspect, but I can dig it.
For example, if converted literally, the SAMAS Rail Gun does 10 Shots, so maybe 1 Level of AP halves the shots to only 5.

The reason I mentioned AP for Railguns is because it uses solid ammo, and thus various rounds can be used with them. There can be Armor Piercing rounds, Squash Head rounds (penetrating!) explosive rounds, High Velocity rounds (extra range and stun multple and possibley +1DC) etc. Railguns should be extremely versatile. Their main limitation is the fact that they take both electrical power and use consumable ammunition, unlike most beam weapons which merely use light, and easy to carry rechargable E-packs.

By the way, what did you think of the END Reserve --> Charges analogy for E-Clips?

I like it. You can create generic E-clips that are swappable between different weapons, but each weapon has a different energy drain depending on how much power they draw....very nice.

[Rifter]

Do you take the characteristics from the Rifts Books for the weapons, like Weight, Rate of Fire, Range, Payload, Bonus to strike, or do you make your own characteristics.

Especially I think about the Range of the weapon, that in Hero System is 5� x Active Points.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Do you take the characteristics from the Rifts Books for the weapons, like Weight, Rate of Fire, Range, Payload, Bonus to strike, or do you make your own characteristics.

Especially I think about the Range of the weapon, that in Hero System is 5� x Active Points.

I take the base weapon and make a Hero equivalent. Of course, since Heros weapon stats are far more detailed than Palladium/Rifts, there are additions you have to make to the Hero versions to make them complete.

I do take the weight of the weapon and the payload straight over, and I try to get the range and accuracy statistics as close as possible, while still being reasonable for the weapon at hand.

For example, I pretty much give all lasers +1 OCV and +2 Rmod. The Wilks laser pistol in the basic RIFTS book has a note that states it gives an additional +2 to strike on an Aimed shot, thus I would give the Wilks laser pistol an additional +1 OCV bonus for a total of +2 to OCV.

Most Rifles I give a +2 Rmod for increased accuracy over pistols or SMG's. Lasers have an inherent bonus of +2 Rmod, so a typical Laser Rifle would have a +4 Rmod.

[Rifter]

I just convert some weapons from Rifts for my Hero Rifts Campaign starting next Saturday.
I like the way you catagorize the different kind of weapons and i take it over in my campaign like:

1. Laser - RKA (vs. ED); Invisible (Hearing Group); AP; No Knockback; Autofire; Beam
2. Plasma - RKA (vs. ED); AOE 1 hex; +1 Stun Multiplier; Autofire; (no Beam limitation)
3. Ion - EB (vs. ED); Penetrating; Autofire; Beam
4. Particle Beam - RKA (vs. ED);Penetrating; +1 Stun Multiplier; Autofire; Beam
5. Rail Gun - RKA (vs. PD); Autofire; AP; +1 Stun Multiplier; (no Beam limitation)

I will only convert a handfull of weapons for a short starting session, but i will try to convert the most important/famous weapons of Rifts.

The payload, range, cost and weight i take over from rifts.

How many damage deals out the typical above mentioned weapons?

Laser Pistol - RKA 2D6
Laser Rifle - RKA 3D6
Plasma Pistol- RKA 3D6
Plasma Rifle - RKA 4D6
Ion Pistol - 6D6
Ion Rifle - 9D6
Particle Beam Pistol 2D6
Particle Beam Rifle 3D6
Rail Gun - RKA 5D6
Rai Gun Samas - RKA 6D6
Boom Gun -RKA 8D6

And what about Body Armor?

Light Dead Boy 5/5 (+3/+3 for the man inside the armor)
Heavy Dead Boy 8/8 (4/4)
Gladiator 7/7 (+4/+4)
Samas (15/15) (+8/+8)
Glitter Boy 24 DEF, 50 Body; 50% Energy Reduction Only against Lasers

This is only rough data, but i want to know your opinion about it. We don't need every stat calculated out for our starting session, but hopyfully with your help i will do it over the course or between our game sessions.

Thanks :-)

[TheQuestionMan]

I really like the work you folks have put into this. I hope to see it all together soon.

Thank you

QM