It may seem like a small thing, but after 15 years, why no character sheet?
Scott
I should have addressed this point, especially as it was a fairly major topic recently in the RPGs Open forum. Honestly, I don't fault the book on the lack of a character sheet. I don't get much use out of pre-printed character sheets. And I've never found the previous Rifts character sheets worth using. Therefore, it was a bit of a non-issue to me that I forgot completely about.
It may seem like a small thing, but after 15 years, why no character sheet?
Scott
It is annoying isn't it. I have however found that http://www.rpgsheets.com/ is a good resource for this kind of thing. They have a very good 5 page sheet for Rifts which gives plenty of space to write things in.
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Re: [RPG]: Rifts Ultimate Edition, reviewed by Gabriel (1/3)
Kudos for going with the "Substance = 3" rating. I agree that the lack of monsters in this book sounds like a step backwards from the first edition.
Incidentally, if the length of time spent on character creation equates with character depth, PCs from World of Synnibarr must have the most subtle, intricate personalities of any characters anywhere.
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It is annoying isn't it. I have however found that http://www.rpgsheets.com/ is a good resource for this kind of thing. They have a very good 5 page sheet for Rifts which gives plenty of space to write things in.
Oh NO. The Serenity RPG got whipped, hogtied, and hanged in several threads for lacking this most basic, essential, and obvious accessory.
No prisoners! Rifts must BURN!
By the way, does RUE have a functional index?
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Running: The Cleveland University Mysterious & Paranormal Society (CL.U.M.P.S) (Horror Rules)
Here's yet another thing I forgot. This time the reason isn't because I don't find indexes useful, but I'm so used to Palladium products not having them. Instead, Palladium books have a "Quick Find" section near the start of the book. RUE features just such a Quick Find table.
I decided a good test of the table's utility would be to reference a few simple things. I'd made one completely unfair test and search for the definition of Cybernetic implants in the table. To balance that out, I'd have one gimme test that the quick find table should definitely easily have: the page of the SAMAS power armor used by the Coalition Army. Lastly, I'd look for two things I always find myself looking for: ley line effects on magic and psionics, and character SDC.
Cybernetic Implants: Sorry. The book doesn't really explain the difference between Cybernetics and Bionics and the Quick Find table is no help.
SAMAS: There are TWO listings for this, but neither are under "S". One is under "CS: SAMAS Power Armor" and the other is under "Power Armor: SAMAS." I guess that's fair.
Ley Line Effects on magic and psionics aren't really in the quick find table. Ley Lines and PPE is the closest it gets, and that does direct you to effects of Ley Lines on PPE (magic points) available. So, a semi-win there.
Character SDC: The Quick Find table makes no mention of SDC at all.
So, the Quick Find table is an unreliable tool at best. If all you're looking for is an O.C.C. description, it will be helpful. Anything else will require you to actually flip through the book a bit.
Re: [RPG]: Rifts Ultimate Edition, reviewed by Gabriel (1/3)
"I want to give the book a "4 - Meaty" for Substance, but I find I can't. While the book offers a springboard to tons of ideas, it really doesn't provide much help implementing those ideas. You really have to dig and do your own work to realize things as a playable game due not only to the poor organization, but also poorly explained elements. The biggest lack of gamer guidance is represented by those demons the text talks about having overrun the world but which are conspicuously absent from the book. At least the original edition had a couple of monsters and a quick roll table to generate demonic bad guys. Now the explicit instruction is, "Buy a supplement for that!""
While I know better than to expect good organization from Palladium, I did at least expect them to learn from past mistakes. The original edition left out the definition of D-Bee (spelling?), after all, which is a concept you can't run the game without!
Looks like they didn't. Another concept that you can't run the game without is gone, leaving a gaping hole in the setting. One surrounded by fiddly scrollwork and a 'Here Be Daemons' label, but a hole nonetheless, even if it does reference a supplement. Not a very Ultimate Ultimate Edition.
BTW, does anyone here know if the term Auto-G's was ever defined? It's mentioned in the original book, under the Coalition Grunt OOC (I think; it's been years since I opened my Rifts book), but a definition was every bit as missing as the D-Bee definition, and the Rifts Sourcebook didn't address that one.
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