Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Word Of God is not a YMMV trope. Moving.
Changed line(s) 42,43 (click to see context) from:
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Every book in the series has a stern warning at the very beginning the game is not for children and contains graphic violence and sexual references. Even so the publishers still get complaints from parents who think it's family friendly like Dungeons & Dragons.
* WordOfGod: System creator Kevin Siembeda enjoys his ability to state what is and isn't canon. He isn't like a lot of other RPG authors who suggest the GM should do whatever they please: the books contain notes and pointers on what to do as footnotes.
* WordOfGod: System creator Kevin Siembeda enjoys his ability to state what is and isn't canon. He isn't like a lot of other RPG authors who suggest the GM should do whatever they please: the books contain notes and pointers on what to do as footnotes.
to:
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Every book in the series has a stern warning at the very beginning the game is not for children and contains graphic violence and sexual references. Even so the publishers still get complaints from parents who think it's family friendly like Dungeons & Dragons.
* WordOfGod: System creator Kevin Siembeda enjoys his ability to state what is and isn't canon. He isn't like a lot of other RPG authors who suggest the GM should do whatever they please: the books contain notes and pointers on what to do as footnotes.Dragons.
* WordOfGod: System creator Kevin Siembeda enjoys his ability to state what is and isn't canon. He isn't like a lot of other RPG authors who suggest the GM should do whatever they please: the books contain notes and pointers on what to do as footnotes.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Removed justifying edit.
Deleted line(s) 42,43 (click to see context) :
** Exposure to a Nonhuman Tactical Strike/Elimination Team campaign aka Supernatural SWAT, which is basically a crash course in just how bad things can get in this department, tends to radically alter the views of players about how much of the Coalition is crazy.
** However, this trope can be subverted with being more on VillainHasAPoint, due to NGR and Lazlo having aspects that are many examples of sane and benevolent non-humans and magic along with both of them having better standards of living compared to Coalition States' [[FantasticCasteSystem highly stratified class system that instill widespread illiteracy]] (excluding state-sponsored scientists and sizable numbers from upper echelons of the government) and their [[ANaziByAnyOtherName campaigns in the name of human superiority]]. Not to mention that Coalition States used to be better (at least allow magic and democratic governance) until [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Karl Prosek's regime]].
** However, this trope can be subverted with being more on VillainHasAPoint, due to NGR and Lazlo having aspects that are many examples of sane and benevolent non-humans and magic along with both of them having better standards of living compared to Coalition States' [[FantasticCasteSystem highly stratified class system that instill widespread illiteracy]] (excluding state-sponsored scientists and sizable numbers from upper echelons of the government) and their [[ANaziByAnyOtherName campaigns in the name of human superiority]]. Not to mention that Coalition States used to be better (at least allow magic and democratic governance) until [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Karl Prosek's regime]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 35 (click to see context) from:
* NarmCharm: Honestly, the game runs on this. It's a mix of absolutely every single thing that, say, a twelve-year-old boy would think was cool, all crammed together, turned up to eleven and treated as absolute SeriousBusiness. It's impossible to look at it without laughing, but very hard to not simultaneously be charmed by how sincere it is in its inanity.
to:
* NarmCharm: Honestly, the game runs on this. It's a mix of absolutely every single thing that, say, a twelve-year-old boy would think was cool, all crammed together, turned up to eleven and treated as absolute SeriousBusiness. It's impossible to look at it without laughing, but very hard to not simultaneously be charmed by how sincere (and confident) it is in its gonzo inanity.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BalanceBuff: The ''TabletopGame/SavageWorlds'' port put serious effort into rebalancing the classes, particularly [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap rescuing from the scrappy heap]] all the LowTierLetdown "mere human" classes that players of the original game invariably shunned. These are grouped into MARS (Mercenary, Adventurer, Rogue, and Scholar) packages, and each offers a special perk that makes them worth considering, ''on top'' of [[BadassNormal getting to start at Seasoned Rank and receive more stats and skills]] -- in a system where skills are all broad and (almost all) useful. No, your Rogue Scholar or your Vagabond still isn't going to beat a Juicer or a Dragon Hatchling in a straight fight, but now they're going to be a hell of a lot more useful ''outside'' of a fight, and creative players in ''Savage Worlds'' combat can perform all kinds of tests or stunts to influence a battle even when they're not the strongest fighter.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
* HighTierScrappy:
** Glitter Boys are pretty much the face of the game and have tons of importance in the lore, story and general gameplay. In addition to hitting like a tank they can soak up Mega-Damage like its confetti and have both a cool and intimidating design. Unfortunately, this means players are more likely to gravitate towards them than the other classes and they regularly steal the spotlight from everyone else.
** Dragons, unlike most human or even D-Bee classes, start off with several extremely OP powers and abilities including access to both psionics and magic from the moment of birth. They are also a base game R.C.C. that quite frankly outclass many of the newer R.C.C. added in later supplemental material and give even Glitter Boys a run for their money in the sheer brokenness department. One of their only real drawbacks is that they tend to dislike others of their kind, which greatly limits the number of dragons that can be in an adventuring party without them literally being at each others throats the whole time. This can easily lead to arguments if more than one player wants to play as one... and as mentioned above this is pretty likely given that they're an available starting class in the base game.
** Mind Melters are some of the most powerful psychics in the entire series and are first introduced in the core rulebook alongside a small handful of others. They get over a dozen useful PsychicPowers at ''level one'' and only grow stronger from there, quickly outclassing and eclipsing the other psionic characters rather quickly. Even the unique special abilities of the other psychic R.C.C. like the Burster's immunity and mastery over fire do little to dissuade players from just rolling up a Mind Melter and having an answer to 90% of the problems the game can throw at them. After all, why bother to specialize when you can have quality ''and'' quantity in the form of over thirty psychic abilities at higher levels, including super class ones like Hypnotic Suggestion or Electrokinesis?
** Juicers haven't quite reached the same level of infamy as Glitter Boys but are often brought up in discussions of the more completely unbalanced character classes in the game. Juicers are super soldiers that use chemical enhancements to boost their natural abilities to superhero levels. In addition to massive bonuses to strength and endurance they get a ton of useful powers such as heightened reflexes that give them a deadly edge in combat. The price for all this OP power? An unavoidable expiration date in... just over five years. Plenty of time for them to completely curbstomp a campaign or two and still have plenty of mileage to spare. In oneshots or shorter play sessions their one major disadvantage becomes a complete moot point, making them warriors with near godlike power at no real cost.
** Ever since True Atlanteans first showed up all the way back in ''World Book 2: Atlantis'' they've overshadowed the rest of humanity more and more as the years rolled on. Not only are they a [[CreatorsPet creator favorite]] but they are, for the most part, an all around upgrade and improvement over normal human beings. They are LongLived, have access to tattoo powers and various magical abilities that other humans do not ''and'' can also take on many of the same O.C.C. available to regular humans while also ''improving'' them with their own natural abilities. Honestly, once a player picks up the Atlantis world book and any of their additional sourcebooks there really isn't any reason to ever go back to wimpy standard humans ever again.
** Gizmoteers are basically what happens when you put a Techno-Wizard on steroids and turn them into a OneManArmy. Gizmoteers are one of, if not ''the'', most broken classes in the entire game and are often held up as an example of how ''World Book 9: South America 2'' was way too overpowered compared to previous world books. In addition to having a slew of useful psychic abilities the Gizmoteer can modify and improve weapons, including the already OP ones introduced in that same book. As one can imagine, all but the most diehard munchkins felt the class was simply too broken to be fair... even by Rifts standards.
** Glitter Boys are pretty much the face of the game and have tons of importance in the lore, story and general gameplay. In addition to hitting like a tank they can soak up Mega-Damage like its confetti and have both a cool and intimidating design. Unfortunately, this means players are more likely to gravitate towards them than the other classes and they regularly steal the spotlight from everyone else.
** Dragons, unlike most human or even D-Bee classes, start off with several extremely OP powers and abilities including access to both psionics and magic from the moment of birth. They are also a base game R.C.C. that quite frankly outclass many of the newer R.C.C. added in later supplemental material and give even Glitter Boys a run for their money in the sheer brokenness department. One of their only real drawbacks is that they tend to dislike others of their kind, which greatly limits the number of dragons that can be in an adventuring party without them literally being at each others throats the whole time. This can easily lead to arguments if more than one player wants to play as one... and as mentioned above this is pretty likely given that they're an available starting class in the base game.
** Mind Melters are some of the most powerful psychics in the entire series and are first introduced in the core rulebook alongside a small handful of others. They get over a dozen useful PsychicPowers at ''level one'' and only grow stronger from there, quickly outclassing and eclipsing the other psionic characters rather quickly. Even the unique special abilities of the other psychic R.C.C. like the Burster's immunity and mastery over fire do little to dissuade players from just rolling up a Mind Melter and having an answer to 90% of the problems the game can throw at them. After all, why bother to specialize when you can have quality ''and'' quantity in the form of over thirty psychic abilities at higher levels, including super class ones like Hypnotic Suggestion or Electrokinesis?
** Juicers haven't quite reached the same level of infamy as Glitter Boys but are often brought up in discussions of the more completely unbalanced character classes in the game. Juicers are super soldiers that use chemical enhancements to boost their natural abilities to superhero levels. In addition to massive bonuses to strength and endurance they get a ton of useful powers such as heightened reflexes that give them a deadly edge in combat. The price for all this OP power? An unavoidable expiration date in... just over five years. Plenty of time for them to completely curbstomp a campaign or two and still have plenty of mileage to spare. In oneshots or shorter play sessions their one major disadvantage becomes a complete moot point, making them warriors with near godlike power at no real cost.
** Ever since True Atlanteans first showed up all the way back in ''World Book 2: Atlantis'' they've overshadowed the rest of humanity more and more as the years rolled on. Not only are they a [[CreatorsPet creator favorite]] but they are, for the most part, an all around upgrade and improvement over normal human beings. They are LongLived, have access to tattoo powers and various magical abilities that other humans do not ''and'' can also take on many of the same O.C.C. available to regular humans while also ''improving'' them with their own natural abilities. Honestly, once a player picks up the Atlantis world book and any of their additional sourcebooks there really isn't any reason to ever go back to wimpy standard humans ever again.
** Gizmoteers are basically what happens when you put a Techno-Wizard on steroids and turn them into a OneManArmy. Gizmoteers are one of, if not ''the'', most broken classes in the entire game and are often held up as an example of how ''World Book 9: South America 2'' was way too overpowered compared to previous world books. In addition to having a slew of useful psychic abilities the Gizmoteer can modify and improve weapons, including the already OP ones introduced in that same book. As one can imagine, all but the most diehard munchkins felt the class was simply too broken to be fair... even by Rifts standards.
* LowTierLetdown:
** Vegabonds are basically apocalyptic hobos that start out with a pathetically low amount of skills and no special powers or abilities. Their only saving grace is that they earn XP at roughly twice the rate of the higher tier O.C.C. available... but that does little to help when their power level is so abysmally low to begin with. What really sealed their fate however, is that they are a base game class available without the need of any additional sourcebooks to play. Yes, the RPG book that ''just'' waved [[TheBigGuy power armored juggernauts,]] [[SmugSuper godlike psychics]] and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent literal dragons]] in front of the players fully expects them to consider playing a basic unskilled human being. No points for guessing which O.C.C. keeps getting passed up time and time again with each new campaign.
** Saloon Bums & Saloon Girls, first introduced in ''World book 14: New West'', are often held up as an example of Rifts often lopsided character class power levels. In a sourcebook filled with all manner of cool gunslingers and cowboys these O.C.C. stick out like a sore thumb and feel like they were only added in at the last minute to provide some additional flavor for the book's western setting. Both are basically normal human rouges who get boosted alcohol tolerance and a few minor stats buffs as their only bonuses... and that's it. No fancy gun tricks or special skills beyond what was already stated. Saloon Girl's even have an additional, completely unneeded weakness that restricts them even further as if they were some sort of OP class that needed balancing... that is, their aversion to cybernetics. Because they need to look "harmless and pretty" to properly do their job they tend to avoid any external cybernetic implants... something that even the other basic human classes have access to.
** Russian Villagers debuted in ''World Book 17: Warlords of Russia'' and were designed to represent the common Russian citizen. The main problem with this? Warlords of Russia, as its name would imply, is a sourcebook built around a group of powerful cyborg warlords and their ongoing conflicts with each other. There are soldier classes, adventurer classes and even a few classes that deal with the supernatural. Now, after having read all that... who in their right mind would ever want to play as a basic farm peasant when they could be a cool and badass Russian cyborg or soldier?!
** Vegabonds are basically apocalyptic hobos that start out with a pathetically low amount of skills and no special powers or abilities. Their only saving grace is that they earn XP at roughly twice the rate of the higher tier O.C.C. available... but that does little to help when their power level is so abysmally low to begin with. What really sealed their fate however, is that they are a base game class available without the need of any additional sourcebooks to play. Yes, the RPG book that ''just'' waved [[TheBigGuy power armored juggernauts,]] [[SmugSuper godlike psychics]] and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent literal dragons]] in front of the players fully expects them to consider playing a basic unskilled human being. No points for guessing which O.C.C. keeps getting passed up time and time again with each new campaign.
** Saloon Bums & Saloon Girls, first introduced in ''World book 14: New West'', are often held up as an example of Rifts often lopsided character class power levels. In a sourcebook filled with all manner of cool gunslingers and cowboys these O.C.C. stick out like a sore thumb and feel like they were only added in at the last minute to provide some additional flavor for the book's western setting. Both are basically normal human rouges who get boosted alcohol tolerance and a few minor stats buffs as their only bonuses... and that's it. No fancy gun tricks or special skills beyond what was already stated. Saloon Girl's even have an additional, completely unneeded weakness that restricts them even further as if they were some sort of OP class that needed balancing... that is, their aversion to cybernetics. Because they need to look "harmless and pretty" to properly do their job they tend to avoid any external cybernetic implants... something that even the other basic human classes have access to.
** Russian Villagers debuted in ''World Book 17: Warlords of Russia'' and were designed to represent the common Russian citizen. The main problem with this? Warlords of Russia, as its name would imply, is a sourcebook built around a group of powerful cyborg warlords and their ongoing conflicts with each other. There are soldier classes, adventurer classes and even a few classes that deal with the supernatural. Now, after having read all that... who in their right mind would ever want to play as a basic farm peasant when they could be a cool and badass Russian cyborg or soldier?!
Deleted line(s) 32 (click to see context) :
* TierInducedScrappy: [[TierInducedScrappy/{{Rifts}} Has its own page.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* PopularGameVariant: The game is often modified. It's intentionally created with no balance to speak of, and each power, spell, and piece of technology is written without considering how it interacts with the rest of the system. Most of the rules were initially created for other Palladium games that focused on human (or human-ish) characters: Ninjas & Superspies, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Robotech, etc. Since Rifts has everything from super-powered humans to giant mecha to demons to gods in it, there aren't any guidelines for, say, when your martial arts stop being effective. (6-foot human throwing a 7-foot insect with Judo? Not mentioned, but probably okay. 6-foot human throwing a 25-foot demon? Still not mentioned.) For bonus points, the rules are (intentionally?) just slightly vague. For extra special bonus points, the entire Palladium game system (of which Rifts is a member) is supposedly cross-compatible, but each particular game uses slightly different rules. House Rules to the rescue! Even ''the creator of Rifts'' uses house rules in his own campaign, though he refuses to put them in an update supplement, even as optional rules.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
** A few books contain some very odd type-setting, including tiny slivers of text at the top corner and a ''huge picture taking up the rest of the page, or a small paragraph and a small picture being the only things visible on another.
to:
** A few books contain some very odd type-setting, including tiny slivers of text at the top corner and a ''huge ''huge'' picture taking up the rest of the page, or a small paragraph and a small picture being the only things visible on another.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 26,28 (click to see context) from:
** Of note, ‘’Rifts Atlantis’’ says that High Lords can be Bio-Wizards, with a note to “see new O.C.C.” Apparently there was supposed to be one, but there is not.
** A few books contain some very odd type-setting, including tiny slivers of text at the top corner and a ‘’huge’’ picture taking up the rest of the page, or a small paragraph and a small picture being the only things visible on another.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The Coalition States is portrayed as a nazi-esque pro-tech anti-magic big bad who are racist against aliens/psychics/mages. Their views are promoted as being irrationally paranoid and intolerant. Actually examining the powers and abilities of something like a dragon or a high-powered psychic makes them sound a lot more sane.
** A few books contain some very odd type-setting, including tiny slivers of text at the top corner and a ‘’huge’’ picture taking up the rest of the page, or a small paragraph and a small picture being the only things visible on another.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The Coalition States is portrayed as a nazi-esque pro-tech anti-magic big bad who are racist against aliens/psychics/mages. Their views are promoted as being irrationally paranoid and intolerant. Actually examining the powers and abilities of something like a dragon or a high-powered psychic makes them sound a lot more sane.
to:
** Of note, ‘’Rifts Atlantis’’ ''Rifts Atlantis'' says that High Lords can be Bio-Wizards, with a note to “see "see new O.C.C.” " Apparently there was supposed to be one, but there is not.
** A few books contain some very odd type-setting, including tiny slivers of text at the top corner and a‘’huge’’ ''huge picture taking up the rest of the page, or a small paragraph and a small picture being the only things visible on another.
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The Coalition States is portrayed as anazi-esque Nazi-esque pro-tech anti-magic big bad who are racist against aliens/psychics/mages. Their views are promoted as being irrationally paranoid and intolerant. Actually examining the powers and abilities of something like a dragon or a high-powered psychic makes them sound a lot more sane.
** A few books contain some very odd type-setting, including tiny slivers of text at the top corner and a
* StrawmanHasAPoint: The Coalition States is portrayed as a
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Critical Research Failure is a disambiguation page
Deleted line(s) 10 (click to see context) :
* CriticalResearchFailure: The first {{Sourcebook}}, now called Sourcebook One, had an animal/monster race called the Ostrosaurus. In the description, they note that despite the name, it's not a lizard like a dinosaur, but closer to a featherless bird. The irony kicks in with the realization that [[ScienceMarchesOn Theropods, which the Ostrosaurus resembles, essentially were featherless birds]]. Or more accurately, [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology birds are feathered dinosaurs]]. Or, even more more accurately, [[ScienceMarchesOn birds are dinosaurs with (perhaps) a few more feathers.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
Changed line(s) 5 (click to see context) from:
* ContestedSequel: Though pretty much every new sourcebook released for this game is hit with [[BrokenBase some degree of disagreement among the fanbase]] few examples can compare to the release of ''South America'' and ''South America 2'' (World Books 6 & 9 respectively) by C.J. Carella. Proponents of these books will often point to the powerful new character classes, equipment and lore as being superior to most of what came before it while detractors will counter that much of the content [[PowerCreep added is ''too'' powerful, even by]] [[UpToEleven Rifts Standards]] and that many of the actual designs and artwork are too silly to be taken seriously. Even fans that have no trouble discussing their favorite books in the series are often wary about bringing both of these titles up on ''either'' end of the spectrum for fear of the potential backlash.
to:
* ContestedSequel: Though pretty much every new sourcebook released for this game is hit with [[BrokenBase some degree of disagreement among the fanbase]] few examples can compare to the release of ''South America'' and ''South America 2'' (World Books 6 & 9 respectively) by C.J. Carella. Proponents of these books will often point to the powerful new character classes, equipment and lore as being superior to most of what came before it while detractors will counter that much of the content [[PowerCreep added is ''too'' powerful, even by]] [[UpToEleven by Rifts Standards]] and that many of the actual designs and artwork are too silly to be taken seriously. Even fans that have no trouble discussing their favorite books in the series are often wary about bringing both of these titles up on ''either'' end of the spectrum for fear of the potential backlash.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* NarmCharm: Honestly, the game runs on this. It's a mix of absolutely every single thing that, say, a twelve-year-old boy would think was cool, all crammed together, turned UpToEleven and treated as absolute SeriousBusiness. It's impossible to look at it without laughing, but very hard to not simultaneously be charmed by how sincere it is in its inanity.
to:
* NarmCharm: Honestly, the game runs on this. It's a mix of absolutely every single thing that, say, a twelve-year-old boy would think was cool, all crammed together, turned UpToEleven up to eleven and treated as absolute SeriousBusiness. It's impossible to look at it without laughing, but very hard to not simultaneously be charmed by how sincere it is in its inanity.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Character Alignment and its related tropes are Flame Bait, and are not allowed to be linked anywhere except on work pages as examples where they are cannonical
Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
* DracoInLeatherPants: For all the atrocities they commit, the Coalition can be surprisingly easy to sympathize with. After all, the vast majority of the world's problems actually ''are'' caused by magic and/or creatures from other dimensions. If it weren't for their zero tolerance policies and ceaseless propaganda, they would easily come off as TheFederation. Specific examples include:
to:
* DracoInLeatherPants: DracoInLeatherPants:
** For all the atrocities they commit, the Coalition can be surprisingly easy to sympathize with. After all, the vast majority of the world's problems actually ''are'' caused by magic and/or creatures from other dimensions. If it weren't for their zero tolerance policies and ceaseless propaganda, they would easily come off as TheFederation. Specific examples include:
** For all the atrocities they commit, the Coalition can be surprisingly easy to sympathize with. After all, the vast majority of the world's problems actually ''are'' caused by magic and/or creatures from other dimensions. If it weren't for their zero tolerance policies and ceaseless propaganda, they would easily come off as TheFederation. Specific examples include:
Changed line(s) 13 (click to see context) from:
** On at least two occasions CS troopers have saved the life of ''[[TheHero Erin Tarn]]'' (admittedly not knowing who she was other than an old human lady) from monstrous threats. It is actually possible for CS characters to be LawfulGood, because so much of the world around them is filled with evil monsters, while they themselves are deliberately undereducated and ignorant of politics. Thus they do not know enough to realize their government is evil until it really gets rubbed in their faces.
to:
** On at least two occasions CS troopers have saved the life of ''[[TheHero Erin Tarn]]'' (admittedly not knowing who she was other than an old human lady) from monstrous threats. It is actually possible for CS characters to be LawfulGood, good, because so much of the world around them is filled with evil monsters, while they themselves are deliberately undereducated and ignorant of politics. Thus they do not know enough to realize their government is evil until it really gets rubbed in their faces.
