Warning! Violence, War, Magic & the Supernatural

The fictional world of Rifts® is violent, deadly and filled with supernatural monsters. Other-dimensional beings often referred to as "demons," torment, stalk and prey on humans. Other alien life forms, monsters, gods and demigods, as well as magic, insanity, and war are all elements in this book. Some parents may find the violence, magic and supernatural elements of the game inappropriate for young readers/players. We suggest parental discretion. ® Please note that none of us at condone or encourage the occult, the practice of magic, the use of drugs, or violence.

Dare to imagine the impossible, and make it so.

Sample file

A guide to creating role-playing game adventures for the Rifts® RPG series

1 Dedication To Julius Rosenstein, , the Defilers (you know who you are), Bill Coffm , Randi & Roger Cartier, and every- body who has gone adventuring with me. To Maryann, thegreatest adventurer I know, in real life and in gaming. To my Mom and Dad who taught me to dream. And to the memory of the Gaming Center. - , 2002

Dedication ® To Kevin and Maryann Siembieda, who were good enough to green light the Rifts G.M. trio of books, of which this is the third. Folks, nobody is more dedicated to providing good, inexpensive gaming funto its fans than Kev and Maryann. What can I say? They're the best. To John Runski, an old buddy of mine with whom I spent countless hours at the gamingta ble. Back in the day, we played it all, and it was with John that I think I first really started to enj oy being a G.M. To my wife AlIi, for being there in my darkest moments. Every project has them, and she gets me throughthem all. Thank you, princess. And to my daughter Fiona, for being a ray of light in those times of darkness. Innocence never shone so brightly. Thank you, sweetpea. - , 2002

Also for Rifts® .•. ® ® Rifts Game Master Guide™ Revised Rifts Conversion Book One ® ® ® Rifts Book of Magic™ Rifts Phase World : Anvil GalaxyTM ® ® ® Rifts Aftermath™ Rifts Phase World : Cosmo-KnightsTM ® ® ® Rifts Coalition Wars (Tolkeen) #1-6 Sourcebook series and more.

The cover is by John Zeleznik, depicting a band of adventurers prowling through the back alleys of a Chi-Town 'Burb with a precious cargo.

PDF Edition - June 2017

No part of this publication may be scanned, OCRed or reproduced in any way for electronic publication on the web/internet or any other medium.

Copyright © 2002, 1994, 1991 Palladium Books Inc. & Kevin Siembieda All rights reserved, worldwide, under the Universal Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews. All incidents, situations, insti­ tutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity, without satiric intent, of characters or persons living or dead, is strictly co­ incidental. Rifts®, The Rifter®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, ®, After the Bomb®, Phase World®, and Palladium Books® are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Palladium Books Inc. and Kevin Siembieda.

Coalition Wars, Coalition War Campaign, Coalition Navy, Cyber-Knights, Dragons & Gods, Federation of Magic, Free Quebec, Juicer Uprising, Lone Star, Mindwerks, Mutants in Orbit, Mystic Russia, New West, Psyscape, Rifts® Conversion Book, Rifts® Game Master Guide, Rifts® Book of Magic, Rifts® Mercenaries, Rifts® Underseas, Skraypers, Spirit West, Splynn Dimensional Market, Triax & the NGR, Vampire Kingdoms, Warlords of Russia, Wormwood, Phase World, Xiticix Invasion, Coalition States, Free Quebec, Chi-Town, 'Burbs, Lazlo, Tolkeen, Freehold, Northern Gun, Manistique Imperium, Iron Heart, Naruni Enterprises, Triax, Glitter Boy, Skelebots, Xiticix, Dog Boy, Dog Pack, Wolfen, Biomancer, Bio-Wizardry, Mind Melter, Mind Bleeder, Cloudweaver, Conjurer, The Corrupt, Stone Master, T-Man, Tattooed Man, Maxi-Man, Undead Slayer, Techno-Wizard, Temporal Raider, Ley Line Walker, Shifter, Millennium Tree, Whalesong Magic, Headhunter, Psi-Stalker, Simvan, Cyber-Knight, Mystic Knight, Mystic Kuznya, Burster, Zapper, Psi-Slayer, Psi-Ghost, Juicer, Mega-Juicer, Titan Juicer, Crazy, 'Borg, Bio-Borg, 'Bot, 'Burb, D-Bee, Cyber-Doc, Dragon Kings, Shadow Dragons, Emperor Karl Prosek, Joseph Prosek the First, Joseph Prosek II, Erin Tarn, Sir Thorpe, Lord Coake, Splugorth, Splugorth Slaver, Splynncryth, Splynn, Kittani, Powerlord, Metztia, Sunaj, Horune, Lyn-Srial, Iron Juggernauts, Daemonix, Larmac, Brodkil, Witch ling, and other names, tities, characterSample names, character likenesses and slogans are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Booksfile Inc. Palladium On-Line: www.palladiumbooks.com

® ® Rifts Adventure Guide™ is published by Palladium Books Inc., 39074 Webb Ct, Westland, MI 48185. Printed in the USA.

2 Palladium BDDk!i� Pre!ienbi:

Advent:ure liuide

® Rifts Creator, Designer & Chief Writer: Kevin Siembieda

Written by: Kevin Siembieda

Additional text and words of wisdom: Bill Coffin & Erick Wujcik Additional Adventure Ideas: Kurt Freiberger, Brian Garner, Alex Marciniszyn, Julius Rosenstein, Steve Sheiring, and Wayne Smith. Additional Writers (includes some material taken from various Rifts® titles written by): Wayne Breaux Jr., C.J. Carella, Ben Cassin Lucas, Steve Sheiring, and Siembieda.

Editors: Alex Marciniszyn Wayne Smith Proofreader: Julius Rosenstein Cover Painting: John Zeleznik Interior Artists: Wayne Breaux Jr. Kent BurIes Apollo Okamura

Ramon Perez Freddie Williams Michael Wilson

Art Direction & Keylining: Kevin Siembieda Typography: Thomas Bartold & Maryann Siembieda

SpecialSample Thanks to Brian Garner, Wayne Smith, Julius Rosenstein, Wayne Breaux, file Jr., Bill Coffin, Erick Wujcik, Adam Donald, Alex, Steve, and everybody who offered ideas and suggestions for what should go into this reference book. And to Palladium's artists who continue to amaze and Palladium's stalwart staff.

- Kevin Siembieda, 2002 First time G. M.s·.... ·40 Contents Player Checklist . . . 40 The value of this guide 7 Pre-Game Warm-Up' · 41 It's a story . . . . . 7 Adventure Considerations . · 41 The Ultimate Adventure . 8 Game Master Checklist 42 Role-Playing ...... 9 Before you get started . . . · 42 A common understanding· . 9 How Siembieda does it· ... • • 43 The player' s job ...... 9 Laying the groundwork fo r adventure' · 43 A note about encounters . 9 The basics ... ·43 Other things players should consider . 10 The bottom line ·44 Teamwork ' ...... 10 The plot .. ·44 The Nash principle' ... 11 What next?· .. 44 Players, work with the G. M.· 12 The twist · ... 44 Players should ask questions 13 An RPG campaign is a continuing epic . 44 An important player tip . 14 Defeat ...... 45 The Game Master' s Job, .. 14 The returning villain . . . . . 45 Creating adventures · ... 15 Tricks of running a large group . 46 Step One: Getting started . 15 The cliffhangertactic 46 Step Two: Inspiration .. . . . 16 Comedy · ...... · 46 Where to look to get started' . . 16 Experience Points ...... 46 Other places that are hiding ideas' . 18 When does use of skill count as experience? . 46 Step Three: Building on an idea· . 18 Experience Points are their own reward . 47 Different strokes fo r different fo lks' 19 Other Rewards' . 48 Kevin Siembieda (the villain) . 19 In the final analysis . . ·48 Erick Wujcik (top-down) ... ·20 Game Master Tools · 49 Vega & Marciniszyn (gizmos)' 21 The Dungeon Crawl . · 49 Bill Coffin (adventure helix)· . · 21 Here is the basic concept · 49 Wayne Breaux (plots/events) · 22 The firstchallenge . 49 Julius Rosenstein (event/quest) ·22 A simple mystery 50 A quick note about "power gaming'" ·22 The answer' .... 50 Just remember, variety· . . . 23 The next challenge' 50 Step Four: Outlining the story 23 Design Note . . . . 50 Story Structure' ...... 23 Using a dungeon the right way 50 The beginning, middle andend . 23 My oid Defilers campaign . 53 The Aftermath of Defeat adventure 23 Archetypes .. . .. 54 Movies take a four part approach . . · 24 Conflict Archetypes' . 55 The "classic" five acts of drama' . . · 24 Man vs. Society . . 56 Step Five: You are power · .... ·25 Character Archetypes . 57 Game Masters YOU are power ·25 The Mentor' .... 57 Travel, a classic pitfall· ...... 26 The Trickster' . . . 58 G. M. Rule of Thumb Number One · 26 The Sympathetic Villain' 59 Help! My wonderful plans aren't working 27 The Commander . 61 G. M. Rule of Thumb Number Two ' · 27 The Rogue ' .. 61 G. M. Rule of Thumb Number Three' ·27 The Egghead' .. 62 Flexibility ...... ·27 The Champion ' 62 Where to go from here' .... · 28 The Spunky Kid . 62 You are power, but only to a point 30 The Sanctuary . . 63 Elements of the Game ' · 31 Dramatic Archetypes 63 Dice, luck and fa ir play . . · 31 The Quest ... 64 Fair play · ...... 32 The Adventure . 65 Alignments are your guide 33 The Rescue' . 65 Role-playing can generate heat . 34 The Rivalry· . . 66 Secret information' ...... 35 The Underdog ' 67 Options and chances' ...... 35 The Temptation 67 Consequences and logical progression 36 Transformation· 68 There are logical consequences to everything . 37 Love ' ..... 68 Loose endsSample, use 'em and tie 'em up' . . . . . 38 The Discovery . file69 The adventure ends too soon ...... 38 Ascension ... 70 Player Knowledge (vs character knowledge) . 39 Wujcik Words .. 71 How many players in a typical group? 39 The Art of the NameGi ver ' 71 Game Sessions' ..... 40 Names as Foreshadowing 71 First time adventuring· ...... · 40 Tools of the Namer ..... 72

4 Dice ...... 72 Quick Find Making Lists' . . . 72 Adventure Considerations' ...... · 41 Reference Books' . 73 Adventure Example: Breaux's Bank Robbery .. · 22 Building Original Names . . . ..74 Adventure Example: A RiftsDungeon/Laby rinth· · 50 Magic Names ...... 75 Adventure Example: Splugorth Slavers' . . . . . · ..28 Names with Roots' ...... 76 Adventure Idea: Defeat ...... ··45 Thinking Big . • . . . . • . . • . . • • . . • • . • . • • 77 Adventure Idea: Dungeon Crawl · ...... · . 49 Top-Down· ...... 77 Adventure Idea: Race against time or another · . 46 Thinking Big for the First Time·...... 78 Adventure Idea: Returning Villains' . ··45 The CS 'Burbs •.•..... •.•.••.••.•.•. 82 Adventure Idea: Aftermath of Defeat · · . 23 The Structure of the 'Burbs ...... 83 Adventure Ideas: See Archetypes' . . · . 54 Old Town 'Burbs' . . . . . 83 Adventure Ideas: 32 in the 'Burbs' .. 98 New Town 'Burbs . . . . . 85 Adventure Ideas: 101 adventure ideas' 157 Shanty Town 'Burbs' . . . 85 Adventure Ideas: 10 adventures elsewhere in the world 180 Lexicon of Slang in the Suburbs . 87 Adventure Ideas: Where to look to get started 16 Working in the 'Burbs· . . . . . 87 Alignments are your guide ...... · 33 Street & Crime Gangs . . . 88 Asking yourself questions to build on ideas' · 19 City Rats ...... 89 Beginning, middle & end (three acts) . ·23 Some notable businesses' . 90 Bionic cockroach ...... · 18 'Burbs - Phantom Cities ' . . 92 'Burb Shakedowns & Purges . . . . . · 96 Lawlessness in the 'Burbs· ...... 94 City Rats (different types)' ...... · 89 CS Zero Tolerance' ...... 95 Classic approach to stories (five acts)' ·24 The Coalition's six big problems ...... 97 Cliffhanger tactic ...... ·46 'Burb Adventures • . • • . • • . • • . . . • . . ••.• 98 Consequences ...... · 36 Apocalyptic Earth • • . • . . • • . . . • • . • • . • . • 102 Dark Age myths about the Great Cataclysm · 103 The pre-Rifts mythos ...... 103 Dark Age lingering beliefs & superstitions . · . 106 The Post Apocalyptic Age' ...... 104 Defilers, The' . . . . . · . 53 Barbarians . . . . . 105 Detroit Gaming Center . . · . 25, 29 Setting down roots' 105 Disneyland' ...... · . 26 The Dark Age lingers . 106 First Time Adventuring . . · . 40 Ancient Ruins . . . . . 108 Flexibility & Inventiveness . ··27 Creating Towns & Cities' •.•..•••.••..•••11 0 Flexibility, again (#1) . ....30 Type & Size of Community· ...... 111 Fork in the road story ' ... · . 30 Creating Organizations • . . • • . . . . • . . . • . . . 123 G . M. Checklist·...... ·42 Syndicates & Secret Organizations' • . . • • . • . • • 123 G. M. First time adventure' · . ·40 Type & Size of Syndicate ...... 123 Idea building' ...... · 18 Headquarters · ...... 128 Inspiration · ...... · 16 Mercenary Companies' •.•.••••...... • • 132 Movie approach to stories (four acts) . ·24 Size and Orientation ...... 132 Palladium of Desires' · 53 Traveling Shows . • • • • . • . • • . . . • . . . . . • • 142 Player Checklist ...... ·40 Size and Orientation ' ...... 144 Player Knowledge' . . . . · . 39 Types of Acts ...... 150 Player suggestions & tips . · . 9 Player-Created Organizations' ...... 154 Power Gaming (a quick note) · .. ··22 Trails of Adventure • • • . . . • . • • . • • . • • • • . 157 Psi-Stalkers ...... · . 108 101 Adventure Ideas' ...... 157 Rifts:Diff erent Types (see tables)' · . 183 12. A new Warlordin Lone Star· ...... 158 Running: Don't bore us ...... · ..26 24. Rescue from evil mercenaries ' ...... 160 Running: Fair play· ...... · 32 42. Subterranean pre-Rifts ruins· ...... 165 Running: Keep the story moving . · 27 51. Shatter Sword and Amulet· 168 Running: Let your players lead, sometimes (#2) . · 30 62. Barbarian village· ...... 171 Running: Luck is in the dice' ...... · 31 74. The child· ...... 174 Running: Player Secrets' ...... · 35 79. The search for legendary NORAD· 175 Siembieda: How he plans an adventure ' . ··43 86. Ley line wars' ...... 177 Siembieda: Outline the environment · . 43 96. The Chop-Chop gang ...... 179 Siembieda: Vampire adventure ' ..... · 30 A few other quick Adventure ideas ...... 180 Siembieda: Villains come fr rst ...... · . 19 Rolling for Rifts . • • • • • • • . • . . . • . • . • . • • 182 Some players need to be dragged into action . . . ··28 Rift Duration & Conditions ...... Sample183 file. . . . 8 What motivates different G .M.s· 1 Constant Rift Table ...... 183 Xarxar's rage (a tale of keeping control) ..... · ..34 Periodic Rift Table' ...... 185 Random RiftTable ' ...... 186 Random World Generation Table ' 186 Making Your Own Tables' ...... 187 Sample file

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