Complete Breakdown of all Changes/New Elements

The base game is Pathfinder. If you are not familiar with Pathfinder, then a lot of this is going to sound like techno-babble and make no sense to you. The game is marvelous, I highly recommend it to anyone. What follows is a brief description of all the added features and new rules to be implemented into Pathfinder. A few rules that already exist have been augmented or expanded on (Environmental dangers, vehicular movement/combat), while some new ones had to be created from scratch to maintain the "Rifts" feel (Mega Ratings, changes to some Size rules).

Rule #1) Mortal Points and MR Ratings

In order to preserve the feel of having various "levels" of combat, I've adapted to Pathfinder a system similar to one I found in the Alternity books (another really solid system that I'm excited to eventually try with some friends). From now on, all creatures, armor, weapons, vehicles, building materials, and objects in general will have a Mega Rating (MR for short). Different MRs interact in different ways.

Rule #2) Miscellaneous Changes to equipment and New Items

Vehicles, new objects, new armors, and new weapons are detailed on other pages.

Rule #3) Skills and Feat additions

Several new skills have been added to the game. See the individual pages for each skill, but here is the basic breakdown.
1) Knowledge (Communications) = used to operate sensors, communications devices, and encrypt signals

2) Knowledge (Computers) = used to operate and design computer programs, identify computer capabilities, and override computer programs through hacking

3) Knowledge (Demolitions) = used to set and disarm explosives, as well as identify them

4) Knowledge (Military) = used to identify military factions and provide bonuses when commanding an army

5) Pilot (Vehicle) = used to perform maneuvers, tricks, and special moves in vehicles of various types.

Some new feats have been added as well! See the “Feat” page for more details. The important ones are as follows:

“Ordinary MR Spells” = A way to conserve power, this feat decreases the MR and Level Requirement of a spell by 1 stage, changing it from a Good MR to Ordinary MR.

“Amazing MR Spells” = A very potent feat considering the raw damage output possible for high-level spellcasters, this feat increases spell level by 3, but it allows spells to do Amazing MR damage and negates the save bonus given to foes using technological equipment, and bypasses the first 10 points of SR for any opponents without Amazing sources of SR.

ALSO, all sapient characters now receive bonus skill points. All characters have one additional skill point per level that can only be put into a knowledge skill OR a Pilot (Vehicle) skill. Once chosen, it cannot be changed. This is meant to reflect the overall focus on knowledge and piloting that all young people growing up on Rifts Earth are exposed to.

Rule #4) Classes: New,Retextured, and Augmented

Some new classes have been implemented into the game. They are as follows: Borg, Coalition
Soldier, Crazy, Cyber-knight, Glitter Boy Pilot, Operator, and Techno-wizard. Several class Archetypes have been created as well, to add some new variations on old classes. They are as follows: Ley-Line Walker, Ley-line Rifter, and Shifter are wizard Archetypes. Several Prestige classes were implemented as well, to create some specializations that prove quite entertaining. They are the Body-fixer, the Cyber-doc, the Juicer, and the Mecha Pilot.

Finally, some changes have been made to core classes to make them capable of keeping up with the new rules and systems.

Barbarian – No bonus knowledge skill, instead the point goes into Survival. At 9th level, they increase in MR by one whenever they rage

Bard – Adds Knowledge (communications) and Pilot (Vehicle) to the class skill list, gets the “Amazing MR Spells” Feat at 10th level.

Cleric – Adds Knowledge (communications) and Pilot (Vehicle) to the class skill list, gets the “Amazing MR Spells” Feat at 7th level.

Druid – Gets the “Amazing MR Spells” Feat at 9th level.

Fighter – DR from Armor Mastery stacks with DR from normal armor

Monk – At 9th level, they become one MR higher so long as they have one point in their Ki pool, and at 20th level they become one MR higher permanently

Paladin – At 7th level, their Smite is considered one MR higher, and at 16th level it is considered two MR higher. It cannot exceed the MR of the target, however.

Ranger - Adds Knowledge (communications), Knowledge (Demolitions), and Pilot (Vehicle) to the class skill list.

Rogue - Adds Knowledge (Communications), Knowledge (Computers), Knowledge (Demolitions), and Pilot (Vehicle) to the class skill list

Sorcerer – Adds Knowledge (Communications) to their class skill list. Gets the “Amazing MR Spells” Feat at 8th level.

Wizard – Gets the “Amazing MR Spells” Feat at 7th level.

Any class proficient in ALL simple weapons is instead proficient in 8 chosen simple weapons. Any class proficient in Martial weapons is instead proficient in 8 chosen martial weapons, or can swap out 2 martial proficiencies with 1 exotic proficiency. Any class proficient in select weapons is still proficient with the same weapons, but can swap out any martial weapon for any other martial weapon or sacrifice two martial proficiencies for 1 exotic proficiency. If they are NOT proficient with any martial weapons, they can sacrifice two simple weapon proficiencies for a proficiency in a single martial weapon.

Rule #5) Magic and Technology do not mix!

The biggest issue with technology and magic in Rifts Earth is that they do not mix well. A suit of technological armor or a vehicle are effective disruptors and blockers for all magic. When inside a vehicle, within 15 ft. of a large source of technology (such as a large robot or vehicle), or in an advanced city, all spells (Including divine magic!) are cast with at least 35% Spell failure chance. Generally, Spell Failure means the spell simply fails, but the page details additional rules and possibilities. Good MR spells have a 10% less chance of failure due to technology, and Amazing MR spells have a 20% less chance.

The same holds true for technology in relation to magic. Any technological piece of equipment within 5 ft. per five caster level (Min 0) (0 at 1st level, 5 at 5th level, 10 at 10th level, 15 at 15th level, 20 at 20th level, etc.) has a 2% failure chance per caster level. This overlaps if there are multiple spellcasters all within one another's fields as well! The lower CL character(s) add half of their CL to the highest CL character to determine range and effectiveness. So, 3 6th level wizards would have a 10 ft. disruption radius and a 24% failure chance, but they all must be within 5 ft of one another. When a piece of technology fails, it really depends on the type of equipment. Most minor objects simply power down for 1 round per disruption level, and are not subject to failure again for 6 hours. Surveillance systems will flicker on and off for the same amount of time, weapons will jam, vehicles will move in an uncoordinated fashion. See the page for a complete list of possible Disruption events. While on a ley-line, technology has an automatic 30% Failure Chance.

Rule#6) Spellcasting on Rifts Earth

Spellcasting is mostly the same. Spell-like abilities are cast at the same MR as the caster's MR, while Spells are by default Good MR due to the immense amount of ambient magical energy. Ordinary MR spells cast against Ordinary MR (Or any combination where the MR is equal) opponents function as normal. However, Good MR opponents are considered to have Evasion (or the equivalent for other Saves), and have SR = 7+Hit-die against Ordinary MR spells/spell effects. Against Amazing MR opponents, not only must the spell bypass the SR (which increases to 14+Hit-die), the target is also considered to have Improved Evasion.

Good MR spells cast on Ordinary targets or Amazing spells cast on Good targets are a bit different. If the spell does damage, it does an additional point of damage per damage dice rolled, on top of the normal damage rules for Higher MR attacks. If the spell calls for a save, the DC is increased by 5. If the spell has a duration, its duration is increased by 25%.

Amazing spells cast on Ordinary targets have double the bonuses (+2 damage per dice, +10 to save DCs, and 50% duration increase).

Rule #7) Currency

The currency used on Rifts Earth are Credits. A single credit is equal in value to a Silver Piece, but there are no denominations smaller than a credit, so any object worth a copper piece or some fraction of a silver piece will have to bought as a two-pack or something like that. Also, due to the incredibly expensive nature of some of the objects on Rifts Earth, selling things is actually far less lucrative.

It is hard to find someone who will buy weapons, armor, robots, and vehicles, since most people do not have nearly enough credits to even put a dent in their exorbitant value, so selling one for any reasonable sum is very difficult to do. Anything that costs less than 1,500 credits can be sold at ½ price, as normal. Anything between 1,501 and 5,000 can be sold at ¼ price. However, anything that costs more than 5k but less than 15k can only be sold at 1/6 price. 15K to 25k and the price drops to 1/8th, and 25k to 50k and the price drops to
1/12th. 50K to 75k and the price drops to 1/16th, and 75 to 125 thousand can only be sold at 1/25th its purchase price. Anything higher than that would be sold at 1/50th its price.

Keep in mind, this is the price to sell the equipment to a vendor. Selling the equipment to an adventurer could net you more. Setting up shop as a mechanic or builder is not a particularly lucrative venture unless one is in a large town. Being hired on by someone else is a far more rewarding experience.

Rule #8) Size differences and new size rules.

Two additional size categories have been added into the game to bridge the gap between
massive structures and characters.

A size with the Slim modifier is usually a bit smaller than the average object of that size, and is capable of squeezing into a smaller space. Their space is often slightly smaller but their reach remains the same. In fact, they can be considered one size smaller whenever it benefits them, and their size penalty to Stealth checks is 2 lower. They can use weapons one size category smaller at ½ the usual penalties as well. They do suffer a
-2 penalty to CMB/CMD, or are considered one size category lower for whatever bonus they have, which ever is the lesser penalty. For example, a Huge creature has a +2 size bonus to CMB/CMD, and a Huge Slim would have a +1 (A Large creature's bonus). A Gargantuan creature has a +4 bonus, and a Gargantuan Slim would have +2, and a Colossal creature has +8. A Colossal Slim would have +6. Their size penalty to AC decreases by 1 as well. So, a Medium Slim would
have a -1 CMB/CMD penalty but a +1 to AC but no change to attacks,
and a Gargantuan Slim would have a +2 size bonus to CMB/CMD and a -3
to AC but a -4 to Attack..

A size with the Bulky modifier is usually a bit larger than the average object of that size. They may take up a bit more space, but not enough to be considered a larger size. However, they receive the higher CMB/CMD bonus of being a size larger, or a +2 bonus, whichever bonus is less. So, a Gargantuan Bulky creature would have a +6 not a +8, and a Medium Bulky would have a +1 not a +2. Their size penalty to AC increases by 1 as well. A Medium Bulky would have a +1 CMB/CMD bonus, but a -1 to AC but no penalty to attack rolls, and a Gargantuan Bulky would have a +6 CMB/CMD bonus and a -5 to AC and a -4 to attack rolls. Bulky objects can use weapons one size category larger at ½ the penalties, and can use two-handed weapons one size category larger.

Rule #9) Environmental Hazards

The concept of environments have been a bit overhauled. Creatures all have a few additional statistics: Pressure Rating and Temperature Rating. When exposed to different environments, there are penalties and dangers. See the Environmental Hazards section for more detail. There are also new rules for functioning in zero-g environments. Otherwise, the rules for gravity are identical to those presented in the Pathfinder documentation.