Rifts®: Between Disaster and Atrocity

[calto40k]

Well Harrison is more of a close range blast people in the face type of person since he is more suited to handguns and knives but I do agree on the garage idea also we keep forgetting Harrison's knife is definitely able to damage willy and his corrupted minions (meta gamey but when it does actually take place after harrison unloading into willy it will be awesome). due to harrison being an anarchist I am going to try and do some things with akashic during the week to get us some of the things we need and also Harrison would have a problem with gregor going after his employers...not all of us are the good guys here some of us are trying to make a living and do what they believe they need to by any cost you know like doing wet work to help pay for someone's arm even though said character keeps accusing harrison of things which in turn might hurt the way things stand at the moment.

[GenThunderfist]

Well Harrison is more of a close range blast people in the fast type of person since he is more suited to handguns and knives but I do agree on the garage idea also we keep forgetting Harrison's knife is definitely able to damage willy and his corrupted minions (meta gamey but when it does actually take place after harrison unloading into willy it will be awesome). due to harrison being an anarchist I am going to try and do some things with akashic during the week to get us some of the things we need and also Harrison would have a problem with gregor going after his employers...not all of us are the good guys here some of us are trying to make a living and do what they believe they need to by any cost you know like doing wet work to help pay for someone's arm even though said character keeps accusing harrison of things which in turn might hurt the way things stand at the moment.

I'll private message you so we can sort out your passive aggressive statements about how I play my characters after I post this.

I know what kind of guy Harrison is, but Harrison is the only other guy with plenty of guns and is a solid ranged fighter. I didn't know his knife hurt Willy...when did we figure that out? And all MD hurts the Minions, they aren't the problem. It's the Immortal Burster Shifter Scarecrow we need to worry about.

I never said that we were all good guys. I was saying that for the sake of the team the bad guys could decide to do bad things in a good manner. Kill all you want, as long as the enemy has a gun pointed at you in a threatening manner, take all you want as long as it is from the enemy of the group! This way our party doesn't have any more possibilities from in fighting due to alignment conflicts. We have like 3 or 4 characters that fall in the Good alignment category and if they are played in character they will have serious problems with some of the things the bad guys are dong. I get trying to make a living, but evil deeds can be done for good causes, letting people who fall under anything less than principled turn a blind eye to the goings on in order to benefit the greater good.

The other option is to split the party into two teams for gathering items. One of the Good alignments and the other of the Evil so that our characters actually grow more distant from each other and resent each other, leading to a party disband after Willy is dealt with. I'm not trying to be mean or rude or shove my ideals onto other people, but the Good players can't just go do whatever they feel like. In order to justify it, it needs a noble cause of some sort. Simply killing grandma for money in order to kill Willy just isn't justifying it for them...or shouldn't.

I can't speak for everyone, I admit that, but Gregor is Scrupulous. That means he can steal from bad people and for a greater purpose. He can kill threats to himself. He can lie to bad people. He can torture bad people, but he won't like it if he has to. He has got to have a little better purpose than money and power, even if it is to kill Willy.

We have to deal with the fact that, as a group, we are playing a very morally grey team of people. Unfortunately, unless we split up into Black and White teams, concessions need to be made for those who have moral qualms about how they earn their money and acquire their items. To be honest, evil characters (selfish too) can do generally good deeds and still not be good people. We are still, at base, earning money to kill and taking items that don't belong to us. Gregor accepts that and knows that it's not right, but at least it's not people completely undeserving and he can justify it enough to where he might be able to sleep at night. Harrison does the same "good deeds" of killing off street gang members, and he earns his blood money just as well as killing old men, and he steals his items just as well as breaking and entering. I don't see why this causes a problem between "good guys" and "bad guys", we are doing the same activity with different outlooks. Why does it have to be a mother and child who get killed in their suburban home, or a nice old man in the middle of the street, instead of a Drug Lord. He still has a wife, and probably a kid. He was still alive at one point. Isn't that enough to say that killing him is just as wrong?

[Akashic Soldier]

I said something needed to be done or it would get worse. I never said that anyone HAD to do anything and I never said that a suicide frontal assault is THE ONLY way to deal with the harm house. Uhhh... I mean Farm House.

[DhAkael]

*sings off-key to vaudville piano*
Song of the meat-mooks mashed
"OOOOOOOH we're all gonna die
and we're gonna take it sideways
Gonna take it sideways in the end.
So we'll sing away the gloom
while facing certain doom.
We're just jokers
on a fools err-end!"

~Lyrics by Cybermercy, reprinted with permission by DhAkael


...and people accuse ME of putting their PC's in untenable situations and PvP
Yeah, wut-ev-ah!

[Akashic Soldier]

...and people accuse ME of putting their PC's in untenable situations and PvP
Yeah, wut-ev-ah!

You are only getting like... 1/3rd of what is going on here.

[DhAkael]

...and people accuse ME of putting their PC's in untenable situations and PvP
Yeah, wut-ev-ah!

You are only getting like... 1/3rd of what is going on here.

Funny that...

[Akashic Soldier]

Funny that...

I dont see how.

[GenThunderfist]

I said something needed to be done or it would get worse. I never said that anyone HAD to do anything and I never said that a suicide frontal assault is THE ONLY way to deal with the harm house. Uhhh... I mean Farm House.

Huh? I never said it was the only way either. I was just making what seems like a nice plan, even though it is a bit suicidal, I admit. We still don't have all the information needed to make a better and more clever plan. Like when do the planets (stars) next align? Why does only the Rune Weapon hurt him? How do we kill him? Is there another way to get to the Farm House? There are so many questions and very very few people with answers. Which causes problems when trying to make plans.

[DhAkael]

In response to "Moral Greyness"

The founding member of my MOSTLY principled or scrupulous crew is actually an Aberrent geneticaly engineered assassin (Akash; it's NOt Rika despite what you may think; I'm reffering to her cousin) who tends to finish her kills by tearing out the liver and eating it before the guy she's killd is even dead. Wanna talk morally grey?

..and thing is, she's actually a "GOOD guy" is most respects but will not hesitate to gank someone who is a threat to the team, (even by ommission-of-action on the part of the principled PC) and won't shed tears over it.
You see, when ONE member of a team starts going all Paladin / Lawful stupid especially in a life or death situation, the entire group is put at risk. In most military outfits, said "goody two-shoes" will be either section 8'd or dishonourably dischared.
in most MERC groups, the leader 5-out-of10 times will just have the person dropped off at the nearest port of call, or shot.
*shrug*
But what do I know, I'm just a GM with 30 years under my belt

[GenThunderfist]

First of all, Aberrant is not "Good". Hence eating the liver of he enemies, which is an act of sick depravity. Aberrant can do good deeds, but will not be a good person. An Aberrant person will kill people, but maybe not women and children, meaning that they have some sort of code of ethics. They aren't a role model for sure, but they do good things I suppose. Like the Punisher.

Second, I'm not talking about going Paladin / Lawful stupid or whatever you are talking about. I am saying that we do good deeds and under that guise the people who want to do bad things, like kill and steal, can do it all they want. Like taking out a drug lord, stealing all his money and vehicles, and leaving. That is a "good deed" while people do bad things. Much like your Aberrant freak. So I don't know where you found me asking my team to go and jump off a cliff or shoot themselves in the face for doing bad things, or become good guys. I never said that. Never even hinted at it.

But hey, what do I know, I'm just an 18 year old player/GM with 4 years under my belt, numerous ethics and philosophy classes, and a solid understanding of the books.

[Akashic Soldier]

But what do I know, I'm just a GM with 30 years under my belt

I do not agree with your point of view of either the Aberrant Alignment as it is written or that good people cannot function in a team. Both "Cup" and myself grew up together going through Cubs and Scouts and spent most of our youth with ole Lloydd See who was ex-military. We work amazingly well in a team and have worked amazingly well with people in teams and units and it is normally the "selfish" or "evil" characters that are the problems in a group. Maybe not in roleplaying games but certainly in real life. The problems stem from the people who are concerned about their own needs or their own interests and not what is in the best interest of everyone. Aberrant characters as written are evil people and specifically listed as not good guys.

The problem here is that Harrison and Gregor got off to a bad start, alignment can be blamed but honestly its more about ego than anything to do with ethics. I set up an opening scene that would give the entire group a reason to rally together but instead it seems like everyone except Dale, Rachel and Cup have been primarily concerned with their own best interests and what they want. And I do mean everyone here. I am already considering ending the game after the completion of the first arch because nearly every single person has asked me if they can get away with doing evil things and that isnt the game I want to run. I do not want to run the game for a bunch of characters are trying to backstab one another or grab power of magical items without regard for respect, either to themselves, their companions or the setting,

Sorry for ranting here guys but for me as a G.M. I have had enough. I am sick of the criticism and the complaints and the attempted perversions. The purpose of this game was to explore the lines between good and evil, not to be arrogant **** and treat one another like ********. The entire world is against each one of you and the only people you can trust is one another and if you want to throw that away too then you guys will have no one. Just think about that. And if this game has not been fun for you or if you do not want to play then by all means feel free to step out.

Because I am NOT going to run a game for a bunch of backstabbing anti-hero posers with no loves or passions or motivations beyond "getting more spells, getting more powah or getting more monies." Because that is lame. Each of you gave me a well rounded and interesting character. Play that character and for the love of God, TRY to get along. We're all supposed to be friends and you need one another.

I am not going to let that bullsh!t "teams have to be evil or selfish to work" mentality to leek into my game. It is wrong and the reason teams breakdown and people die.

[calto40k]

I said something needed to be done or it would get worse. I never said that anyone HAD to do anything and I never said that a suicide frontal assault is THE ONLY way to deal with the harm house. Uhhh... I mean Farm House.

Huh? I never said it was the only way either. I was just making what seems like a nice plan, even though it is a bit suicidal, I admit. We still don't have all the information needed to make a better and more clever plan. Like when do the planets (stars) next align? Why does only the Rune Weapon hurt him? How do we kill him? Is there another way to get to the Farm House? There are so many questions and very very few people with answers. Which causes problems when trying to make plans.

I never said I didn't like the plan honestly it seems pretty gung ho and at the least something that we can try and survive through. I was just bringing up the point that harrison is more of a short to mid range fighter

[Giant2005]

But what do I know, I'm just a GM with 30 years under my belt

I do not agree with your point of view of either the Aberrant Alignment as it is written or that good people cannot function in a team. Both "Cup" and myself grew up together going through Cubs and Scouts and spent most of our youth with ole Lloydd See who was ex-military. We work amazingly well in a team and have worked amazingly well with people in teams and units and it is normally the "selfish" or "evil" characters that are the problems in a group. Maybe not in roleplaying games but certainly in real life. The problems stem from the people who are concerned about their own needs or their own interests and not what is in the best interest of everyone. Aberrant characters as written are evil people and specifically listed as not good guys.

The problem here is that Harrison and Gregor got off to a bad start, alignment can be blamed but honestly its more about ego than anything to do with ethics. I set up an opening scene that would give the entire group a reason to rally together but instead it seems like everyone except Dale, Rachel and Cup have been primarily concerned with their own best interests and what they want. And I do mean everyone here. I am already considering ending the game after the completion of the first arch because nearly every single person has asked me if they can get away with doing evil things and that isnt the game I want to run. I do not want to run the game for a bunch of characters are trying to backstab one another or grab power of magical items without regard for respect, either to themselves, their companions or the setting,

Sorry for ranting here guys but for me as a G.M. I have had enough. I am sick of the criticism and the complaints and the attempted perversions. The purpose of this game was to explore the lines between good and evil, not to be arrogant **** and treat one another like ********. The entire world is against each one of you and the only people you can trust is one another and if you want to throw that away too then you guys will have no one. Just think about that. And if this game has not been fun for you or if you do not want to play then by all means feel free to step out.

Because I am NOT going to run a game for a bunch of backstabbing anti-hero posers with no loves or passions or motivations beyond "getting more spells, getting more powah or getting more monies." Because that is lame. Each of you gave me a well rounded and interesting character. Play that character and for the love of God, TRY to get along. We're all supposed to be friends and you need one another.

I am not going to let that bullsh!t "teams have to be evil or selfish to work" mentality to leek into my game. It is wrong and the reason teams breakdown and people die.

Man one game session without Dale and everyone turns on each other .

About everyone else and their strategies, everything you have said is pretty much why my character is a Janitor and not and Adventurer.
You want to go all gung ho and try to save the world but we are in Lazlo. If the name Xy inspires action anywhere on Earth, it would be in Lazlo. Instead of alerting them and letting them deal with it you want to run off and play action man - just because we are the PCs doesn't mean we have to be the heroes of the story. We can be the equivalent of Commissioner Gordon to Batman.

[calto40k]

Honestly I have offered to step out before due to Harrison's actions being outside of the scope of the party and as a person playing a character that is a selfish alignment working towards good hence Harrison not icing the entire family just going for the target he was paid for which was to try to help another pc out and not for personal gain (which is probably out of alignment for him atm) now the issue with the magic weapon had been resolved prior to the last game but Harrison is still trying to do what he originally intended to do with said sword and either return it to its owner for a reward, have someone in the group use it for the time being (which became clear to him when Gregor stated he would give it back to the owner if we ever found said person), or sell it so the group could use the funds to make something for themselves like possibly a base of operations vehicles and gear for all of us(once again Harrison changing alignment like intended) also I was a little disappointed when the MD gut shot didn't straight out kill the guy who got blasted, but oh well stuff happens (which still boggles my mind because I would tend to think having a good portion of one's innards vaporized would cause shock and instant death) How I am playing Harrison is as a person who has nothing left in this world besides the person who taught him how to do what he does. The thing is he doesn't know or trust everyone. Yet he has tried to help out but gets insulted each and every time he does something. Now I am not saying we should all just circle up and play ookie cracker together but for the love of the gods we need to keep in character with in character and out of character where it belongs. Personally no one really knows me in this group nor knows the things I have done outside of the game and to be honest if some of the stuff Harrison does in game is found offensive then you would find some of the things I have done in my time in service as well as things I had to do in my civilian life just to survive offensive. Point blank you guys are only seeing the beginning of what Harrison is working on becoming and the things that are shaping him to what he is in the series of short stories I am writing. Needless to say if anyone wants Harrison out of the game I will step out because none the less I stay up all night into saturday afternoon to enjoy this game

[calto40k]

needless to say this was also the reason I was going to change characters to something more fitting of our group than a loose cannon gunslinger

[Giant2005]

#4: The forum that encompasses everything. Rifts Forum ?!?

It is the "All Things Palladium Books" forum, there he made another thread with the real clue which is "Right now The Drakin is more powerful than any dragon."

No idea what that clue is supposed to mean but the Drakin are known as "The Luck Bird" so I am interpretating it as: we need a **** load of luck .

[calto40k]

Time to add my dime and nickel:

Clues first:
#1: It is neither a photo album or a book and yet in its own way it still is. Hard Drive
#2: Find the man who gave the Ramones shirt to the Dirai Ecto-Man - Mike Mumah (Nice poster btw!)
#3: Unless you know, you cannot win. GI Joe! (cause knowing is half the battle )
#4: The forum that encompasses everything. Rifts Forum ?!?
#5: A world plagued by chaos. Rifts or Chaos Earth...(I think its chaos earth personally).

What does it all mean? No clue..might find Willie's stats in Chaos Earth book maybe?

Next, while I agree with Dale in that we don't have to be THE heroes for this campaign, I never heard of a GM throw in an "easy mode" for the climactic final showdown. That said, if we ARE only limited by our imaginations, I propose we rent(hire), a HighAltitude ship/jet/etc. and VTOL/rappel/free fall/ float in air spell/etc. down to the mainhouse, kick ass, call for evac, and be home for afternoon snack. F*** the forest and everything in it. And save money by just hiring a guy for some quick drop-off/pickup work.

Thirdly - Even old vampire kingdoms showed teams with both evil and good in them. While I probably won't stand for supernatural evil on the team, what a person does for the good of the team MIGHT be acceptable. So while I won't allow a group member to kill babies and rape women - in front of me (what I don't know doesn't affect me) - I might allow good cop/bad cop type of torture or steal from the villians...they deserve it anyways.

I think Yumi and Akhasic are on the rag but makes a decent point in that we have to work together. How we handle things after the mission is done will be very important in determining the length of the game.

Finally, if we have a problem with a PC, role-play it out. If Cal40k apears to be evil then the good characters in the group (myself included) would keep a close eye on his actions IN GAME. Try and help him get on the straight and narrow as it were. Once I find out someone is evil I can assure you I'm keeping tabs on their actions and whereabouts. Complaining to the gm after the session is over is not my idea of role-playing. Thats like complaining to god to immediately change the heart condition of societies rejects. Or running to the boss when a co-worker refuses to do our work. It should take effort on OUR part too.

Hope our week moves a little quicker,

Nox2k

Dude you read my mind while I was going out for a drive didn't you... love the vtol/aircraft idea we drop in like a group of marines fast roping into a hot zone.

[calto40k]

Harrison is looking for a reason to not become a monster like the ones that stole his family. Just a point to ponder.

[calto40k]

We could use the vehicles in the garage Harrison's hover cycle might be able to fit a second rider unless there is a better one in there that he can take. Also we could drop in with some kind of all terrain vehicle parachuting down and use that to blow open an entry way into the house but (we run the risk of killing dolan since we dont know where he is inside of the house) that might not be such a good idea now that i have had some time to think about it. Also we have issues with Harrison being a wanted man and those who were present got paid for the battle so it's on like donkey kong

[calto40k]

i m assuming since he is yumi's master he might be the major amount of ppe needed for the ritual to work so douchecrow is probably keeping him for that purpose

[calto40k]

oh and for anyone who has the new west book harrison now has the ng buffalo rider armor so he is EBA protected

[Akashic Soldier]

oh and for anyone who has the new west book harrison now has the ng buffalo rider armor so he is EBA protected

Wow, Buffalo amour looks pretty impressive. No one is going to recognize you.

[GenThunderfist]

As far as telling people and waiting to see what happens, no offense, but I didn't sign onto this campaign in order to be a ***** and just watch. Gregor is, at heart, a hero, no matter how much of a pompous guy he is.

Next, as for the drop off...yeah I could see it working. However I think it is only a good means of transportation and exit. Even though I am bias, I think my battle plan will give us the best chance for survival. Although, I must admit, I didn't even think of the sky in order to get there, however that lessens the ability to ram cars through buildings and blow them sky high...we could just get explosives and drop them from the plane or something....that will work

Finally, I don't want anyone to leave the game or anything, I love all the characters, and I'm all for solving it in game. I may talk about it out of game, but I know that nothing but in game RPing and actions will ever change anything, and rightly nothing else should. Sorry if my comments lead anyone to believe otherwise.

[calto40k]

oh and for anyone who has the new west book harrison now has the ng buffalo rider armor so he is EBA protected

Wow, Buffalo amour looks pretty impressive. No one is going to recognize you.

decent armor too with its flexibility for a heavier suit

[GenThunderfist]

The only thing I can think of is that weird Rifts Coloring book that Palladium put out, but I don't know how that would help us...haha

[calto40k]

the answer to movie would be dagon why i didnt realize it sooner is beyond me

[Akashic Soldier]

the answer to movie would be dagon why i didnt realize it sooner is beyond me

It's no a movie.

[calto40k]

hmmm so its not a movie a flash drive or a hard drive than what about a computer

[Akashic Soldier]

hmmm so its not a movie a flash drive or a hard drive than what about a computer

Nope.

[Akashic Soldier]

Who is going to be attending this weekend?

[calto40k]

I'll be there possibly a little hung over though

[Giant2005]

I'll be there.

[GenThunderfist]

I'll be here, but I need to leave early for a job...I hate having to leave early

[calto40k]

boooo actually glad to hear you have a job during this economic bs i ve been out of work since feb

[calto40k]

willys powers are weakened in day light and willy has psychic powers that make you love him boo yah 2 more clues down

[Akashic Soldier]

GAME LAUNCHES IN 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES

[calto40k]

ok whoever amanda is pm me for akashics email address

[GenThunderfist]

ok whoever amanda is pm me for akashics email address

Huh? I just PMed her with the information a number of hours ago...?

[calto40k]

lol i just pm'd her as well once liam gave me the full name on facecrack

[calto40k]

well game lite couple player adventure hit liam up on facebook for details

[calto40k]

damn well then i ll get a good nights clubbing and sleep this friday into saturday

[GenThunderfist]

You are all cordially invited to this weekends game by none other than the illustrious Akashic Soldier!
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/57513112/Rifts%20-%20S01e05.pdf

and in other news the statistical data for Gregor:

Height: 5' 11"

Weight: 160 lbs

Nationality/Race/Completion/Etc.: Caucasian, tanned from being in the sun for long duration of time

Build: Athletic / Slim. Most of his weight is from muscles built while training as a swordsman, but they aren't exactly bulging out from his body. He is young, only 19

Attire: Super Dragon hide armor (Juicer Uprising WB 10) High quality, purplish tint, no helmet (doesn't come with one as far as I know).

Weapons or Equipment of Note: Large voulge strapped to his back, with two other longswords, and at his side is the Katana of the storms.

If helpful here are some other details that I can think of, black hair - shaggy, brown eyes. He commonly looks sullen / emotionally drained, since he honestly isn't handling his past, nor his present for that matter, very well at all.

[Giant2005]

Dale (The Janitor):
Height: 5'10"

Weight: 240 lbs

Nationality/Race/Complextion/Etc: Caucasion, very pale.

Build: Obese, suffers from male pattern baldness - his 6" long hair is a greasy, unmaintained mess except for for the part the part that is combed over perfectly in an attempt to conceal his bald scalp.

Attire: Steel capped workman's boots, a ultility belt, knapsack and a bib and brace styled pair of overalls with a hooter's T-shirt underneath.

Weapons or Equipment of Note: A Neural Mace, Wilk's 447 Laser Rifle, Broom and Crowbar all strapped to his body in a very clumsy arrangement

[GenThunderfist]

The Game is still on tonight just going to be missing Harrison from our roster that is all

Darn, Harrison is super helpful

[calto40k]

actually i will probably be showing up late I sent Akashic a message about 15 minutes ago to inform him that I put my foot down and then got told by the wife after a sound drubbing that I can go help setup earlier and then come back somewhere between 6-8am my time and play til about 12ish

[calto40k]

ended up feeling sick so didnt make it

[calto40k]

Message Relay from the GM: Rifts®: Between Disaster & Atrocity
Game Announcement
Rifts®: Between Disaster & Atrocity is officially over. I don’t know if people realize this but I am
not an experienced Game Master. I have learned my storytelling from being a writer and learning how
to storyboard so it is sometimes difficult for me to deal certain novice issues—ESPECIALLY when I
am being pulled in MANY different directions at once.
My strength as a writer and a storyteller has always been my focus and when players are fracturing
that focus again and again and again… I’m going to be frank, I suck. My storytelling sucks, I can’t
shift my thinking from point A to point X and then to point D and then back to point A and still have
the focus I need to build drama and suspense. I cannot mentally do it. I can resolve events (dictate the
world around your characters, handle chronology, etc.) but only as it is relevant to the scene you are in
or the greater story.
That said, at the beginning I said “It is NOT my responsibility to tell you what your character can or
cannot do.” I understand that many of you are new but making game enquiries that break the flow of
play makes it difficult for me to perform as a Game Master. It is your job as a player character to do
the following:
1. Know your character: This means knowing how fast you are, knowing your abilities, and
having the mind and sense enough to read your abilities and know their limits and
applications. If you want to know if an ability you have can do something not listed there…
describe to me what you are doing… and try doing it. You are all low level characters and if
you do not explore your abilities you will not learn the limits of their uses.
2. Create an enjoyable game environment: It is your “job” and to make sure your fellow
players have fun just as much as it is my responsibility. If you think something your character
is going to do is going to disrupt play and ruin the game for others. Do not do it. This is a
social gathering and NOT an elite gaming club. If your ONLY priority is having the
strongest character, being the best, or the MOST POWERFUL this is the wrong group for
you.
I understand that it sucks when people are late and we have to wait but you are still among
FRIENDS. The game will happen and if I am stalling it or not running it because someone is
not there I am doing it for a good reason. Which brings me to…
3. Attend: I am a stickler for continuity. I want your actions to shape your character’s future. I
don’t want to just write stories any character could participate in. I want to write YOUR
character’s story. So when you do not attend, or fall asleep, it screws things up—not just for
you, not just for me, but for everyone else around the table. If you cannot attend the game,
if you are not going to be there please give me at least 3 days-notice. Likewise, if you
cannot commit to the timeslot or stay awake. Please, by all means, come on Skype and say
hello but respectfully bow out. I ONLY want players like Giant that are going to be there
every game session. How many TV shows do you see where half the main-characters just are
not there in some episodes? It’s the same principle. If you cannot commit, that is okay, but
that means you don’t play. Sorry but that is just how it is now.
4. Win: I am serious. I put you guys against some pretty serious **** but that is so when you win
you feel that incredible rush for being a hero. No, it’s not meant to be easy. A lot of the time
the solutions you need are not going to be on the end of a vibro-sword or written on your
character sheet. Think creatively. This is RIFTS® not Dungeons and Dragons®. Now, with Rifts®: Atlantis Rising I was lucky enough to have a group of players with whom I was
familiar with and although it started out clumsily the game proved very successful and everyone
involved had a lot of fun.
However, as a Storyteller (and a player) I had always disliked the fact that Player Character parties
seemed to be a patchwork of characters with no real reason to work (or stay) together beyond what is
convenient. So, when starting my Rifts Series I went to great lengths to ensure that the Player
Character party would have a good reason to bond with one another and form friendships that would
last a life time.
Unfortunately, I am not a player in the game and cannot control your player characters or FORCE
you to take opportunities. Nor can I expect players to peruse the story to its conclusion. Likewise, I
cannot make you care about your fellow player characters. However, when you do not… it makes the
story suck. Does anyone here want to be a part of a sucky story? I did not think so.
So when Cup (the man who had just hours before saved all your lives and rallied you together to
reseal the energy fluxes emitting from the Step Pyramid) dies and no one bats and eye or says or does
anything, you can understand why I might become a little… disillusioned with the group.
But putting that aside for a minute and getting back to the main point here—Some of you are
REALLY good players and are REALLY good MOST of the time and I am lucky to have you.
However, we are making this story TOGETHER. We are building lasting memories with one
another. You don’t need to care about your fellow players, you do not need to be considerate of their
lives or wellbeing, but when you are not… well… what if it was your character?
And to those who cannot regularly attend I ask that you respectfully resign. I have been most
perturbed with Zachary who has logged another game the same day, requested ours be cut short, and
then when I say “Not tonight it’s the final important story” magically falls asleep and stops
responding to messages. That is the kind of behaviour that I find very disrespectful, deceptive,
manipulative, and frankly, intolerable. Again, I cannot say this enough—!
If you cannot be there do not join the “new game” that I am going to be starting.
I’m not asking you all to hold hands and be a parody of the Super Friends but I am asking you to
care about one another (even if only as tools) because I design my stories with each of you being an
important part of the puzzle. Without that piece the team will likely not be able to achieve its goals
and things fall apart; we get holes in continuity, things are left unexplained, and in the grand scheme
things will become confusing.
In conclusion I will be posting the final scene of “the Shadow of Xy” Adventure as soon as I am
able (sometime later today). I think some of you will be interested in finding out how things
concluded and how they have affected your characters. There will be an opportunity to “salvage” and
replay your character in my “New Game” which will be my LAST attempt at running cooperative
storytelling online. However there is a large chance that many of your characters will be irrevocably
changed in ways you had not predicted. So be prepared.
I’m also surprised that no one stopped to ask themselves…
“Why would the ritual caster who has had his power source cut-off be forcing his minions to
mindlessly run to their death?” 
Thank you for Time,
Liam Gray
(AkashicSoldier@gmail.com)

[cyberdon]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/57513112/Rifts ... lusion.pdf

[DhAkael]

...good greif...

[DhAkael]

Justified in I can not BELIEVE the mea-culpa going down by the GM in question.
*shakes head*
...and truth be known I had thought he had potential. Not everyone is cut out for it though; and the long winded explanation? "That" is over the top.
Thus the headdesking.

But yeah..a bit of darma on this end too.
Not appologizing for it though.