Help with a Rifts session

[sHaka]

Hey guys,

Finally have a chance to run Rifts after a long break (my group is widely dispersed and they always ask me to GM Call of Cthulhu) and I can't wait to return to get stuck in. I'm feeling a bit nervous though as it's been a while and I'd appreciate it if you guys could let me know what you think of what I have planned.

I wanted to keep things pretty simple as it's a real change of pace and the setting isn't too familiar to one or two of the players.

Hook: The party, based out of Kingsdale, are approached by the representatives of a wealthy merchant who has a very attractive offer that they cannot refuse, and asks to meet.

Line: The merchant, known simply as "The Collector", offers the group 1 million credits of their chosen denomination or the equivalent in finely cut emeralds. Their task, to retrieve an ancient artefact from the ruins of temple located behind a small, little-known constant rift not far from Kingsdale. He warns that the mortals in the group should not touch it.

Sinker: The Collector is actually Sub-Regent Festius - a Deevil Serpent in the employ of Lord Nickodeamis, unbeknownst of course to our players. The artefact he is after is an unholy relic of great power - The Hand of Brulyx - and its resting place is in a subterranean temple on a habitable desert moon in the Anvil Galaxy. It is not unguarded however and a small Demon detachment keeps the relic safe, waiting for their masters to call for it in use during the escalating Minion War against the Deevils.

The details for the players should be quite straight forward; jump through rift, steal relic from demons and get back to Kingsdale. Only if the session's successful and we continue the story will the extraneous fluff (The Collector's and the relic's true natures) be revealed. Of course the players may go off on a tangent and all hell could break loose, literally!

So, what do you think?

[sHaka]

Sounds like fun. I always liked plot twists and betrayals, they add a bit of emotion to the game.

Just make sure you have some backups planned:

- What if the group doesn't take the job?
- What if they decide to keep the item for themselves, or sell it on the black market?
- What if they go through the rift, and decide not to come back?
- What if they take it to a mage/mystic/cyberknight/etc for appraisal and find out what it really is?

Be prepared to cover the angles and it should be a fun night.

Good thinking Lucky, hadn't considered some of those - reckon I'll have to stat up some various NPCs/places just to cover the bases. Cheers for the flame-free input

[sHaka]

Well, we got together last night and had a great time. One chap had to bail on us so we ended up with three players plus me. The group was composed as follows:

Sirrush - Whip-tail Dragon Hatchling, approx six months old
Nikoli - Rogue Scholar, a loftie runaway from New Chillicothe
Cutter - Hyperion Juicer Assassin, best buds with the hatchling, no memory before juicer conversion

We started on a sunny day in Kingsdale in a small piazza near the centre plaza, where Nikoli was giving an open air lecture on Coalition Ethics under the shade of a tree to a small crowd of curious onlookers. Cutter, with Sirrush floating by his shoulder, saw this odd sight and decided to grab some burgers and hang around. When Nikoli wrapped things up, finished chatting with a few of the onlookers, he saw the odd sight of a 60ft hatchling and juicer with a plate of 4lb burgers (cutter has the beginnings of Metabolic Induced Voracity) and just had to go over and chat (curious fellow, cloistered in New Chillicothe most of his life).

They chatted about this and that and decided to grab a drink - cutter and Sirrush were fresh back in town and without lodgings so they took up Nikoli's recommendation of the Happy Days Inn (that could cater for plus-sized guests like Sirrush). On route, Sirrush noticed that a black hover limo passing by, slowed down briefly only to speed off.

They booked in and decided that the Inn's restaurant was too crowded and so headed off to an Italian meets Biker bar called Porcini's a short walk away for a serious helping of the meatballs. Nikoli then quickly began interviewing them over lunch. Turns out he's putting together a vid-blog about his experiences out "in the Wild". Sirrush didn't like the bar's vibe and used Presense Sense until he was happy, and began to relax. Just as Cutter was ordering his fifth helping of meatballs, a blonde woman of stunning beauty entered the bar. She wore a leather jacket, trousers and a form hugging vest top, a claymore sized sword sheathed at her hip. Unknown to our players, this was a metamorphosed Succubus by the true name of "Eros Bile". She was accompanied by a bald, toga wearing elf with an obvious attitude problem (a surly mindmelter and her psychic shield/bodyguard, group mind block engaged) called Derron Kyle.

She approached the group and asked if the spare seat was indeed spare. Cautious, but happy to oblige (Cutter's bio-comp barely keeping his testosterone in check) they invited them both to sit. Carla, as she introduced herself was a recruitment officer for her employer, looking for "tough troubleshooters" (read: green saps) such as themselves. Interested, they accepted her card which gave directions to a warehouse in the industrial quarter - Sirrush noted concern that his psionics were being blocked. They agreed to finish their lunch and then to do some digging on this mysterious company.

The party was now together and had the beginnings of a mission! We took a break before diving into part two...

[jaymz]

Very nice man, excellent start up

[Noon]

"they cannot refuse"
Your shooting yourself in the foot, working from this principle.

It might have been interesting if they'd heard some group of evil mercs was doing a job - even if they ignore that, what the mercs do has fallout for the area the players are in (even if it doesn't affect them directly, it affects everyone around them).

Even now you could change it so that actually they are being hired merely as a distraction for what is the real job (no, they aren't on the real job), and a distraction that'll probably get them killed - and they find out about that perchance and about the real operation. Or do they just do the job, thinking they can tough it out, then go sit in a bar drinking booze...jeez, they'd have to be a bunch of dismal shut in characters for that.

[sHaka]

"they cannot refuse"
Your shooting yourself in the foot, working from this principle.

Thanks for the input Noon.

It was just a figure of speech though, I'd never rail-road players to do anything and as always, I had very general notes to allow for the whims of party.

As this was a new group, some players unfamiliar with the Megaverse, I wanted a simple go to A, get B and bring it back to C style scenario to kick things off - nothing too complicated. Depending on the outcome of this basic mission, the complexity levels may begin to ratchet up as events unfold.

As it happens, my players were happy to take the bait and the offer of 5 finely cut emeralds worth ~190,000 creds each, one as down payment, apparently was an offer they couldn't refuse.

[sHaka]

As I see it its fine to have a specific thing for the group to do. As in a hook line and sinker. They should be willing to go along with it. But you shouldn't have a specific way that they have to go about it. Ex. If they want to blow the front door down and run in let them deal with the consequences of that. They could be captured or black out and wake up in a pit somewhere near by. or let them try and sneak into the back door.

Exactly, this the approach I take