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House Rules

Combat Clarification

• Critical Strikes calculate the total damage, then double for the final amount.

• Attacks on missiles or mini-missiles count as a normal attack with normal penalties to strike.

• PCs may forfeit initiative, but they may not hold their attacks until the end of the combat round.

Perception Rolls

• This type of roll uses the same mechanics as combat, horror factor, and saving throws.  Perception rolls are used to simulate the character’s five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) in situations where noticing something might be important or relevant.  Searching a room, standing watch listening through a door, peering into night-shrouded underbrush to see what might be lurking there; these are all situations where a perception roll might be called for.

• To determine whether the character’s perception finds something, the player must roll a 20-sided die.  Add I.Q. bonuses (use the M.E. bonus table, but use I.Q. instead: ex. an I.Q. of 20 give a +3 bonus), and any O.C.C. and R.C.C. bonuses.  Also, all characters get a +1 to perception at levels three, nine, and fifteen.  The Game Master then compares the roll to the table below.

  • • Perception Roll 4 or Better: Easy; hearing a loud noise, finding a bright-colored object against a white background.

    • Perception Roll 8 or Better: Moderate; looking for somebody in a well-lit area, hearing a slight noise.

    • Perception Roll 14 or Better: Challenging: looking for something in a poor light, hearing something over a noisy background.

    • Perception Roll 17 or Better: Difficult; finding something in the dark; hearing a snake sliding over a carpet.

• Combining Perceptions rolls with Skills: Several skills, among them prowl, detect ambush, concealment, and detect concealment, all may impact on perception rolls.  When a perception roll is attempted against a skill roll, treat it as a combat roll; both characters (the person using the skill and the one using a perception roll) roll a 20-sided die and the higher roll wins.  To quickly convert a skill percentage into a bonus, divide the skill total by 15.

Speed Class

• For game simplicity, PCs may NOT change their airspeed during a combat round.  Airspeed must be declared at the beginning of each round.  The players may not change their speed until the beginning of the next round.

• At higher airspeed, PCs will forfeit attacks due to speed.  To determine the number of attacks a player may have per round by applying this formula:

• Speed Class penalties are not to be applied only when a PC dodges.  The penalties are constant when attempting to determine a target number with which to strike.  Example:  Cpl. Kaminski is cruising along at 300 mph, with a Coalition trooper drawing a bead on him.  The trooper base-number to strike is a 5 or better.  With Kaminski’s Speed Class bonus, the troopers base-number to strike is now a 23 or better.  This is before Kaminski attempts to dodge.

• Missiles (not mini-missiles) are not affected by speed penalties because their guidance systems are built independently lock on to high-speed targets.

Talking During Combat

• Talking is a free action, but monologues are not.

Rifts Timeline

1956 A.D.

• APRIL Birth of Kevin Siembieda, creator of Rifts and founder of Palladium Games (All Hail this Blessed Day!)

1972 A.D. 

• JULY Birth of the gamesmaster (All Hail this Blessed Day!)

1990 A.D.

• AUGUST Rifts is first published as a multi-genre role-playing game.

2089 A.D.

• ????? The Coming of the Rifts

2287 A.D./1 P.A.

34 P.A.

• ????? The Coalition States are formed with Chi-Town, Missouri, Iowa, and the Illinois Contingent. Joseph Prosek I is elected Chairman of the new nation.

105 P.A.

• JUNE The Juicer Uprising tears through C.S. Arkansas.

• NOVEMBER C.S. Quebec secedes from the Coalition States creating Free Quebec

106 P.A.

• ????? The Coalition begins its military invasion of Tolkeen in south-central old American Minnesota.

• https://www.worldanvil.com/w/rifts-earth-jninness82/t/history-of-rifts-earth

Campaign Redundancy

• Army Recce Battalions (ARB) - The Recce is an infantry unit developed specifically for ground level patrols and holding operations. With most of the land claimed by Free Quebec being unmonitored wilderness, the ARB plays an increasingly important role in the defense of the nation. Recce Platoons and Companies are sent into the wilderness on long missions with little or no support. They are expected to be self-sufficient, relying on periodic supply drops and living off the local environment or economy.

• Glitter Boy Legion - The Glitter Boy Legion is a separate and distinct Army Corps of approximately 18,000 combat troops of which roughly 12,800 are active Glitter Boys. The Legion works hand in hand with the Regular Army and serves many functions, from infantry troop support and defense operations to reconnaissance, rescue and front-line combat, and everything in between. They are generally deployed like how pre-Rifts armies used tanks and armored divisions. 

• Le Surete du Quebec (SQ) - Le Surete du Quebec (SQ) may be considered the Civil Intelligence Agency assigned to national security. It is this agency that maintains security within the government and cities of Quebec, keeping its government and civilian leaders, as well as the public at large, safe from enemy infiltrators, spies, saboteurs, and traitorous sympathizers. Gathering, updating and confirming the accuracy of information, following enemy positions, troop movements, infiltration, threats, suspicions, counter- espionage, and other matters relating to National Security are all the jurisdiction of le Surete du Quebec. It is also responsible for setting intelligence mission parameters, conducting briefings, debriefings, and interrogations.

• Quebec Military Intelligence Corps (QMI) - Quebec Military Intelligence is the espionage wing of the Military. While it is responsible for the coordination of most intelligence operations and the assessing, rating and distribution of data, it also orchestrates Special Operations, including Black Ops (sabotage, assassination, and similar). In fact, the QMI plays a key role in all Military Special Operations. Some critics believe the QMI's aggressive involvement in proactive espionage operations severely diminishes their effectiveness in intelligence gathering, which is why the civilian le Surete du Quebec is much more proficient in this area. However, the QMI is so good at espionage the Quebec Military ignores its shortcomings.

• Quebec Rapid Deployment Force (QRDF) - These regular army troops are the warriors that spearhead infantry charges and are the first to respond to enemy aggression. They are able to remain in the field and sustain an offensive action with or without any assistance or logistical support from the rest of the Military, however, they are part of the Regular Army and get support by other branches of the Military as the situation calls for, such as Glitter Boy Legion, and the Air Force.

• SAMAS Battalions - Specializing in power armor tactics and combat support roles with the infantry, these units are typically deployed as battalion and brigade-sized military units. They are more frequently found supporting infantry and armored ground troops or providing mobile support for fixed defensive outposts and escorting convoys and troop movements. They also engage in aerial border patrols, low altitude reconnaissance, fly-bys, rescue missions, hit and run raids, search and destroy, and surgical strikes, but the SAMAS Battalions specialize in SAMAS-to-SAMAS dog-fights and power armor counter-measures to eliminate enemy armor, robot and air support. Very much the specialists in their tactical field, they are often placed as direct support units for armored infantry divisions, including the Glitter Boy Legions. Battalion level units consist of 640 combat troops divided into four companies of 160 each. Although predominantly SAMAS of one kind or another, each company includes at least one platoon of (40) Sky Cycles or other type of fast aircraft. Each Battalion will also have one Death's Head Transport.

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