RiftsHouseRules

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House Rules and Clarifications

RevisedJuly4,2009

Armor Repair

Riftsisratheruniqueinthatitgiveseven1stlevelcharacterslargeamountsofdamagecapacity;however,
thatcapacitydoesnotreallyincreasewithlevels.Riftsisalsoaveryviolentworld.Inafewshortroundsof
combat,acharactercanberendereduselessbecausehisarmorisdamagedandhecannotheal.Thisis
extremelyrealistic,whichisgood;however,itisnotsogoodforanactionpackedroleplayinggame.Inashort
time,gamesdevolveintotripstotowntorepairarmororcarryingaroundmanysparesuitstochangeinto.

Asolutiontothisistoaddsomeunrealistic,butactionenhancing,modificationstothegamesystem.Inour
campaigns,M.D.C.armor,powerarmor,robots,andvehiclesgettheirstrengththroughacombinationof
materials,nanotechnology,andforcefieldtechnology.Afterbeingdamaged,itcanrepairitselfthroughnano
robotsandselfrechargingofthefields.Thissimulatesthenaturalhealingthatoccurstothebodyinmany
RPGsthatismissingintheM.D.C.Riftsworld.

Thisisgoodformakingcharactersabletorecoverovernightorafterholingupforawhile.However,thereis
stillnotanabilitytohealincombat.Again,thatisrealistic,butinanactiongamewewanttheabilityto
avoiddeathandpulloutawin,despitesomeheavydamage.Thepointistobeheroicandtakerisks.Like
mostvideogames,thereneedstobesomeabilitytorecoverintheheatofthemoment.Asurgeofsome
sortisneededtoslightlyrepairarmorinbattle.

Thegoaloftherulesistomakesomethingthatissimpleandeasytorememberanduse.Itshouldworkfor
anymechanicalM.D.C.equipmentthecharactercouldbewithinorpiloting.

M.D.C.SelfRepair

Automaticallyselfrepairs10%perhour.

M.D.C.CombatSurge

Onceperencounter,aPCmayactivateanemergencyrechargeofforceshieldsandnanobotrepair,recovering
25%M.D.C.Thiscanonlybeusedonceperencounterpercharacter,notpersuitofarmor,powerarmor,or
vehicle.

E-Clip Compatibility

Therulesseemtoimply,butarenotincrediblyclear,thatEClipsareinterchangeable.Forclarity,anEClipis
anEClipandcanbeusedinanyweaponEClipcompatible.YoudonotneedtopurchaseadifferentstyleE
Clipforeachdifferenttypeofgunpossessed.

Melee Combat

Therulesdonotadequatelyhandleclosequartersrangedcombat,andthedamageinmeleeissolow
comparedtorangedattacksthatnooneusesit.Toencourageexcitinghandtohandactionsometweaksare

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needed.Withoutthem,closequartercombatdevolvestothreeenemiesstandingright
nexttoeachfiringawaywithplasmacannons.

Arangedweaponcanbeusedagainstanadjacentenemy;however,thatenemyisentitledtoanautomatic
Dodgeattempt(i.e.itdoesnotcostanattacktoattempt)ifawareoftheattack.Therearenobonusesor
penaltiestohitordamage.

WiththelowdamageofmeleeattacksandtheabilitytoautomaticallyattemptaParry,playerstendtoshun
thosestyleweapons.Tomakethemmoreattractive,doublethedamageofallMegaDamagemeleeweapons
(suchasvibroblades),psiswords,andhandtohandpowerarmorandrobotsattacks.Donotdoublethe
naturalMegaDamagemeleeattacksofDBees,demons,andotherRiftsmonsters.

Topreventattacksfromgettingaverageswayoutofhand,sometimesthenumberofdicewillnotincrease,but
sizeofdicerolledwill.Thisapplieswhenmultipledicewouldbedoubled.Usethefollowingconversions.

1d4=2d4
1d6=2d6
1d8=2d8
2d4=2d8
2d6=2d12

Number of Attacks

HandtoHandcombattrainingaddsattackstoacharactersbase2attackspermelee.Thus,whenHandto
Hand:Basicsaystwoattacksatlevel1,thatistwoadditionalattacksfor4total.

Power Mind Bolt

Thispowerisunfortunatelyweakinmostcircumstances;40I.S.P.resultsinlessdamagethanmanyenergy
pistols.However,ifthegroupisunarmed(suchasinaCoalitioncity),suddenlytheabilitytoinflictmega
damagefromnowherebecomesextraordinarilypowerful.Keepinmindthough,psiswordscanstillbe
generated,soacheaperM.D.mindboltisntallthatoutofbalance,buttheattackisatrange.Heresan
attempttomaintainbalanceforarangedattackatalltimesandstillkeepthepowerusefulandfun.

Amindboltisarangedenergyattackcomprisedofpurementalforce.AgainstaS.D.C.target,itdealsS.D.
damage;againstaM.D.C.target,itdealsM.D.damage.TheamountofdamagevariesdependingontheI.S.P.
expendedtopowerthebolt.Spending2I.S.P.=1d6damage,4I.S.P.=2d4damage,and6I.S.P.=3d6damage.
Amindbolthasa+4strikebonusbutadding10I.S.P.addsanadditional+4strikebonus.Arollof5orhigher
hitsmosttargetswithin60ft.,anda12orhigherhitsat61ft.andbeyond.Rangeisequalto100feetperlevel
ofthepsychic.

Power Psi-Shield

Thisdescriptionisabitambiguousandcanbeinterpretedtwoways.First,itcanbeusedonlyasaParrying
implementandtheM.D.C.listeddoesnotcomeintoplayunlessaParryisattempted.Second,itcanbeused
asaParryingimplement,ifdesired,anditaddsM.D.C.toarmor.Weusethelatterinterpretation.Apsychic

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activatingapsishieldhas80M.D.C.thatisdamagedbeforedamageisappliedtoarmoror
hisperson.Ifholdingapsishield,hecanuseittoparryMegaDamagemeleeattacks.

Adamagedpsishieldcanberechargedatthecostof2I.S.P.per5M.D.C.restored.NoamountofI.S.P.
expenditurecanraisethepsishieldsM.D.C.above80.

Shooting the Head

Aheadshotisnotasimpleendeavor;theheadisacomparativelysmallandmovingtargetonmostcreatures.
Inmostcases,shootingtheheadrequiresanaimedcalledshotata2penaltywitha12orhigherhittingthe
head.A5thru11willhitthemainbodyinstead.A4orlowerwillmissentirely.

Shooting Weapons

Shootingaweaponoutofsomeoneshandshouldbeheroicandpossible,butitshouldnotbethedefault
actionineveryfight.Itisdifficulttoaccomplish!Tosimulatethis,hittinganopponentsheldweaponrequires
anaimedcalledshotwitha2penaltytotheroll.Ona12orhigher,theattackhitstheweapon.Onan11or
less,theattackmissesentirely.

Forweaponsthatareattached(notheld),suchaswornvibroblades,bionicarmimplants,andsoon,a
standardaimedcalledshothitsona12orhigher.A5thru11willhitthemainbodyinstead.A4orlowerwill
missentirely.

Speed and Mapping

Ourmappingusesa5footsquaresystemforsimplicity.SpeedinRiftsiscomputedinyards;however,weuse
feet.Speedattributetimes12equalsnumberofsquaresthatcanbemovedinoneminute.Speedtimes3
equalsthenumberofsquaresthatcanbecoveredinonemeleeround(15seconds).Todeterminehowmany
squaresacharactercanmoveinoneaction,divide(Speed*3)/NumberofAttacks.Acharactercanmovehalf
thisdistanceandmakeahandtohandattackoraWildshotinthesameaction.

Spraying an Area

Weaponscapableofburstorgreaterfiringratemaybeusedtosprayanarea.Anareaisdefinedasupto
fourtargetswithnoindividualmorethan5feet(1square)awayfromanother.Whenasprayisdeclared,a
Wildshotisattemptedatthearea(rolld20and5ormorehits).Roll1d4todeterminehowmanytargetsare
struck.Doublethatnumberishowmanyroundswereactuallyfired.Iftherearemoreavailabletargetsinthe
areathansuccessfulhits,determinerandomlywhicharestruck.Damageequalsoneshot,andtheopponent
mayattemptanormalDodgeagainsttheattackersroll,ifdesired.

AsaWildshot,asprayisneverconsideredanAimed,Called,orBurstshot.

Weapon Proficiencies

WefoundtheWeaponProficiencysystemabittoolimiting;thereweretoomanyS.D.C.andM.D.C.modern
weaponproficiencies(9inall)toallowcharacterstosmoothlyfluctuatefromwildernessandcitysettingsand
stilluseareasonableamountofweapons.Toresolvethis,severalWeaponProficienciesaremergedinto3
groups.
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W.P.SmallArms:Includesenergyandprojectilepistols,revolvers,automaticpistols,andSMGs.

W.P.Rifles:Includesenergyandprojectilerifles,huntingrifles,shotguns,andassaultrifles.

W.P.HeavyWeapons:Includesgrenadelaunchers,machineguns,mortars,plasmacannons,plasmaejectors,
railguns,rocketlaunchers,andmountedweaponry.

Ancientweaponproficienciesremainunchanged.