APOK as a hero

[RockJock]

I look at converting characters from other games two ways. You can port them over as is, or you can use the class with a different background. As an example, you can play a Nightbane in exactly how they are in NB, with the only change being Dark Day is at some point in the future, or something similar. The other approach is to use the Nightbane as an Occ, but change the background totally. I did this by having a Nightbane be the end result of centuries of breeding and experimentation by a secret magical society, with the Bane being their end result super soldier. The character was built as a Nightbane, but had a totally unconnected background.

To get to the point, I think you can do an Apok the same way. It would work to have them as an alien who got to HU Earth, or to build an Apok with a totally different background.

[csyphrett]

I don't see why not. MD would have to be turned to SD just like any other RIFTS alien, but that shouldn't be that big a deal.
CES

[AlanGunhouse]

Possibly a variation of the Magic Item or Super Invention class, with the "Mask" as the item?

[Steeler49er]

The book said that the mask stops working (Doesn't trun to dust though, like other symbiotes), but the Apoks other power would still stick around, and they should <most reasonablily> be give at least Some AR. They'd make Great Heroes as they'd be tough as heck and dedicated to fighting Evil on almost a BatMan-esque' level on obssession. But if your going fer a mystically Masked type character, the try what the Fostian Court does in Rifter. I've had an PC I ran Called Chicago that was as dedicated as any Apok.

[AlanGunhouse]

Umm, are we talking an actual Wormwood Apok? I though they were asking about something locak with the same abilities.

[Steeler49er]

Come to think about it... Necroms talkin got me to remember that rifter that had New Shifter spells, one of them gave wormwood symbiots the ability to survive. Seem real easy to get a god to help you out in this case.

[kevarin]

if you had a member of the host or salmoe teach someone from VU to make the life force cauldron and you allow it to be adapted to HU2 or have a version of the same thing useing HU2 magic i dont see a problem with a full power apok but thats going to have to be one bad villians group considering how the cauldrons are made

[kevarin]

here is my try at a HU apok my book are kinda old so some of this might not be right anymore

Life force well
The life force well or soul well is a powerful force of magic.
The well is made from special enchanted stones .
The stones lining the bottom of the well create a thick and
foul smelling liquid that fills the well in 1D4 hours .
The stones that line the walls adsorb the life force of the living
beings tossed in to the well at the time of there death
That energy is then used by dark priests to summon
zombies, demons , and magic slime .
The bones of the dead sink to the floor of the well .
Later, they are used to create zombies .




For the apok i would just change the +40 MDC to sdc
and the 200 MDC from mask to sdc

would change the lore wormwood in occ skills to lore earth
think i might go for haveing the apok come out of the well
with a magic weapon made from the same thing as the mask
but just an option

for spells would just have create and close opening
make a person size hole in a wall or make an opening close
create shelter could just make a small cave form in the ground
but not sure what to change impervious to and repel symbiotes to
tho any thoughts would be greatfull was thinking expel demons and devils


for becoming an apok thats kinda easy your pc is a villain trying to turn his life around
and make amends for what he has done.
He gets abducted by the mages with the well he is the last in line to be tossed in to the well .
After he is thrown in well the rest is standard apok . Would think the feeding of people to the well would probably be done by zombies or demons while the mages got ready for summoning nasty things later . Since they wouldn't be expecting someone to come out of the well they probably wouldn't have guards on the well and should give you a few min to get your bearings. Could have the other people you play with do a raid on the place with the well at this time and you join them to fight the bad guys


this is just my thoughts on how you could add the apok to the game any ideas on this would be cool not sure if i missed anything

[Jockitch74]

If I remember correctly (which I can't remember which page) but in Rifts: SA1 it mentions that an Apok's mask will survive away from Wormwood but other like crystals and symbiote turn to dust after 1D6 hours. it's under the Soul Worms kingdom with the rift gates. I know, not much info but it what I can remember off hand without my books on hand.

[kevarin]

thoughts on this would you just up an apoks sdc or would you up his hit points too
and would it be good to change his wormwood magic to elemental magic sounded good to me

just something here that i came up with would like thoughts on it to much things to change
any comments welcome


Demon Blade
when a apok emerges from the well he has in one hand his demon mask
in the other his demon blade his most powerful weapon against evil
the weapon takes the shape of a dagger or short sword but the
blade is almost transparent and can pass thru any armor
or sdc structure or person unless they have an evil alignment
then they receive full damage from the strike only mystic shield
or armor spells can reduce the damage by half and the weapon can't pass
thru an enchanted blade
the weapon has a damage of 2D6x2

[barna10]

The Apok's mask is the only Wormwood symbiote that doesn't turn to dust after it leaves Wormwood. It continues to function the same as it did on Wormwood as well. This is stated in the Old FAQ under OCC questions

18. If you were an Apok from wormwood would the mask survive off of wormwood? Could you be an Apok on earth or anywhere else in Megaverse with the mask?
Answer: Yes to both questions. The Apoks mask is the only wormwood symbiote that can survive away from Wormwood because it is linked to the Apok, not the planet.

[RockJock]

??? I'm assuming a bot?

[Axelmania]

The book said that the mask stops working (Doesn't trun to dust though, like other symbiotes)

Page 45 doesn't initially make it seem like they would turn to dust, only the other categories...

symbiotic organisms shrivel up and fall off
stones and crystals turn to dust
parasites curl up, die and then turn to dust

Stones/Crystals/Parasites you're basically out of luck once they go to dust...

Symbiotes though, it's plausible you might be able to counteract their death with a costly resurrection spell, like any being.

Pg 91 seems to disagree with 45's applying 1d6 to everything, even though that included crystals+stones, pg 91 gives them an "about six hours" listed differently from the "within 1D6" for symbiotes.

It also seems to explicitly "dust" symbiotes too: "the organisms shrivel up, fall of and turn into dust".

Apparently this afterhought was forgot on 45.

Aside from the questionable FAQ, I don't know of anything implying they operate differently than other symbiotes.

but the Apoks other power would still stick around

45:

All OCC special powers such as those of the Wormspeaker, confessers and priests, instantly disappear the moment they step into a different dimension
..
only retains their natural attribute abilities and learned skills

The only exception seems to be that Firetown guy (Fortune, pg 27) who has some kind of special ritual set up to re-activate his powers and stop his mask from shriveling up. It does take some time for them to die, so it seems like the Tolkeenites saved his mask just in time.

Super interesting is that Fortune can actually use the "Close Opening" Wormwood Communion power off of Wormwood... given that was designed only to close gaps in the planet's skin, I'm really curious what else it might apply to!

Same with Create Shelter: normally that creates a shelter out of the planet's skin. He can use these when there's both evil (like demons) and energy (like nexus) around. But mechanically I'm curious what it does...

Perhaps because his mask is part of wormwood, the shelters actually come out of the mask? Then he can create openings in them?

What I don't understand is how he compares the PPE vampirism to psi-stalkers. Does that mean he can only get it by killing or bloodletting?

28 says he can feed off ley lines and they don't even taste bad, and that he can also get "willing donors". I mean presumably he can't use his own PPE to do this...

Couldn't a pair of Apoks in this strait just feed off each other though? Meditating even 1 hour per day would get you 70 PPE back a week, more than enough to feed each other.

The Apok's mask is the only Wormwood symbiote that doesn't turn to dust after it leaves Wormwood. It continues to function the same as it did on Wormwood as well. This is stated in the Old FAQ under OCC questions

18. If you were an Apok from wormwood would the mask survive off of wormwood? Could you be an Apok on earth or anywhere else in Megaverse with the mask?
Answer: Yes to both questions. The Apoks mask is the only wormwood symbiote that can survive away from Wormwood because it is linked to the Apok, not the planet.

Old FAQ had questionable canonicity. Firetown seems pretty clear that Fortune relies on his PPE vampirism to keep it alive.

If I remember correctly (which I can't remember which page) but in Rifts: SA1 it mentions that an Apok's mask will survive away from Wormwood but other like crystals and symbiote turn to dust after 1D6 hours. it's under the Soul Worms kingdom with the rift gates. I know, not much info but it what I can remember off hand without my books on hand.

Page 126 ("The Tower of the Hundred Gates") mentions:

Among the many dimensions connected to Cibola are the city of Worldgate on Wormwood (which has an additional 2 gates on other parts of the planet) and the Palladium World

I don't see anything else related to Wormwood (much less Apoks) in the section. Combed through it. Mine is a Second Printing from October 1995, does anyone have any later printings they could check for a possible shadow-update that might've incorporated the FAQ errata as canon?

Page 159 of SA2 mentions the 3rd city of Southern Federation is from Wormwood, and page 21 of Rifter 19 mentions:

The region right around the city does have the same ambivalence as Wormwood and allows the symbiotes to work.
However, such symbiotes that are
away from the transplanted city by more than 50 miles
or away for more than 48 hours,
become dormant and the powers they provide disappear
until they return to Wormwood
(instantly revive at full strength)
or the trans-dimensional city
(revives at full strength within 1D4 hours of returning home)

Pg 4 "officially endorsed by Palladium Books", co-authored by Kevin Siembieda. That thing is totally going to swallow up Rifts Earth eventually if you just keep doing 112 PPE perma-shelters, 104 PPE perma-stairs/bridges and 100PPE perma-walls to extend the borders of the city outward to create a greater protective area for the symbiotes.

It may not even require that: Mold Structures (pg 87) "can accelerate the normal growing/creation process of organic structures" implying they'd just grow/create on their own. Pg 41 talks about that. You'd need population to compel the natural growth though, so direct building is better.