From: bkropp@hematite.Mines.Colorado.EDU (Bryan Kropp)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: regarding RIFTS
Keywords: MEGA damage, rules, Glitter Boys, Borgs
Date: 29 Jul 92 01:16:30 GMT
Organization: Colorado School of Mines

Regarding RIFTS, by Palladium Games...

In a misc article, Chris Beauregard writes:
>The sheer destructive capabilities of the hardware in the game didn't help all  
>that much.  Full conversion Borgs should not be PCs, IMHO.  Ditto for Glitter  
>Boys.

In another article,  Skeksis writes:
>Another thing I hate about Palladium's stuff is this insistance on this MEGA  
>damage concept.  Oh boy, another way to make poor
>insignificant humans feel like dirt!  If the best the designers at Palladium  
>can do is create yet another stilted, stultifying, and restrictive way to  
>allow referees to pass out moral judgements and limitations, count me out.

It is extremely important to remember that in any role-playing game, the game  
master and (hopefully) the players are in complete control of the gaming  
system.  Kevin Siembieda may have the copyright on the books themselves, but it  
is up to you to adapt the game to suit your own (and your players) wishes and  
desires.  K.S. even suggests you make any changes you wish.

I would agree with you that the MEGA damage system of 100 S.D.C. (Hit Points) =  
1 M.D.C. seems somewhat implausible.  However, there is nothing inherently  
wrong with the concept, it just needs revision.  You atomize trees and rocks  
with stray shots, and humans and other S.D.C. structures are destroyed if their  
armor is breached.  In the RIFTS conversion book, they suggest a 1:1 ratio  
rather than a 1:100 ratio for MEGA damage.  This however, makes lasers and rail  
guns no more useful than an AK-47.  I personally have found that a 1:10 ratio  
for S.D.C. to M.D.C. works the best and seems the most feasible.  MEGA damage  
weapons are still far more powerful than conventional arms, but they are not so  
deadly that breaching someone's armor means instant death.  M.D.C. weapons are  
likely to kill normal humans, but not guaranteed.  Juicers can afford to get  
hit with a pistol, and maybe even a low powered rifle...but not many times:)
I feel that the 1:10 ratio does not imbalance the game at all, and gives it a  
bit more realism or at least believability.  Unarmored Humans stand a chance,  
but need to be careful!!!
_______________________________________________
If anyone has any comments about this idea of a 1:10 MEGA damage ratio, please  
post and let me hear them.
_______________________________________________

As far as Glitter Boys and Borgs being too powerful, take a look at some of the  
monsters you have to fight.  They can chew up a borg and wait for the main  
course.  Remember that the objective of players should not always be to build  
an invincible fighting machine.  A slave Borg is very tough and strong, but has  
little or no weaponry and can make a very interesting character for  
role-playing.  Borgs also might have a great deal of interesting background and  
maybe don't even want to be a borg.  Glitter boys are unbelievably powerful in  
a purely combat sense, but they have few other advantages.  They are relatively  
slow and cumbersome, and they have to repair that really great armor  
occasionally or lose it (which can be a challenge in itself considering the  
cost of repairs).  And once in a while, they have to come out.  In fact a good  
player might only spend a small amount of time in the suit.  It would get very  
uncomfortable.   

A supposedly "invincible" G.B. in one of my campaigns was nearly killed my a  
mischievous gremlin (gremlins are physically weak S.D.C. creatures who can be  
beaten up by unarmored humans) who messed with his controls, causing him to be  
sealed in and deprived of life support (and believe me, gremlins can do it).

A possible cure for players who try to make god-death invincible characters is  
to mess with them in a non combat situation.  Even the most powerful character  
can be injured because of his own stupidity.  You can't wear armor all the  
time, and it doesn't help against some things.

As far as RIFTS goes, I think the world presented to adventure in is superb,  
colorful, and well thought out.  If you get tired of Earth, go to another  
dimension!  The world description provides a basis on which to build very  
intriguing scenarios without being too restrictive.  The combination of magic  
and tech leaves a great deal of opportunity for really creative and strange  
methods and ideas to be used.  The combat system could use improvements, which  
you can do on your own or with the help of others.

I would be interested in hearing other people's opinions of the game, and any  
changes they have made to make it more playable or improve upon the initial  
system.  Sharing improvements is the best way to make the game system better.
--
____________________________________________

"Initiative comes to thems who wait."
                                     --Alex
__________bkropp@mines.colorado.edu_________
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp