Alternate Timelines

[eliakon]

Usually the Rifter has statements saying stuff is not canon, but I do not remember seeing it in Rifter 9.5, which could be interpreted to mean that Giga-Damage is indeed canon. Forgiveness please if I simply overlooked it

The entire Rifter line is non-canon to start with, that is why specific articles require notification that they are canon. But the multiple statements that this is a silly joke issue may be your clue that this issue is indeed just a Rifter.
So no, none of it is canon. Not Gigadamage, not Ludicrous magic, not tourists, not the credit card.....the whole thing is a joke.

[SolCannibal]

Has anyone experimented with the idea of a transdimensional Atlantean Empire that managed to become a force to be reckoned because it managed to bridge, colonize and develop every iteration of the continent of Atlantis they could get their hands into through countless thousands of alternate Earths? A multitude of versions of the same place, all in constant and regular contact and trade with each other... Does that sound interesting or feasible?

[Zer0 Kay]

Usually the Rifter has statements saying stuff is not canon, but I do not remember seeing it in Rifter 9.5, which could be interpreted to mean that Giga-Damage is indeed canon. Forgiveness please if I simply overlooked it

The entire Rifter line is non-canon to start with, that is why specific articles require notification that they are canon. But the multiple statements that this is a silly joke issue may be your clue that this issue is indeed just a Rifter.
So no, none of it is canon. Not Gigadamage, not Ludicrous magic, not tourists, not the credit card.....the whole thing is a joke.

Ludicrous has changed from complete joke to optional magic

[Zer0 Kay]

Has anyone experimented with the idea of a transdimensional Atlantean Empire that managed to become a force to be reckoned because it managed to bridge, colonize and develop every iteration of the continent of Atlantis they could get their hands into through countless thousands of alternate Earths? A multitude of versions of the same place, all in constant and regular contact and trade with each other... Does that sound interesting or feasible?

Oh my gosh, I've got a optical migrane and and and thought you just turned it into a full migrane.

[Glistam]

• The inhabitants of the planet of Seeron (remember them, from Dimension Book 4: Skraypers?) never lost touch with their True Atlantean heritage. They didn't thoroughly abandon the practice of magic but instead continued to practice it even as they developed technology. Believing they were the only Atlantian Clan to survive the disaster on Earth they rebuilt their society in solitude, unintentionally isolating themselves from the rest of their brethren in the Megaverse. When the Tarlok invaded the planet still begins to fall to the invaders. In desperation they re-open long dormant dimensional pyramids in a call for help - a call which is answered by the surviving clans! The True Atlantean clans rally to their aid, helping them to fight off the Tarlok and exposing them to the rest of the Megaverse.

[Tor]

You overlooked the entire book being nonauthorized and therfore not official. Some magic's later appeared, expanded in other Rifters making them officially optional instead of completely non-official.

Kevin Siembieda was behind rifter 9.5, Wayne Smith doesn't have to sign off on a Rifter for it to include official content.

Keeping Wayne out is probably why they overlooked the necessity of a non-canon statement.

Meaning that Siembieda actually pranked himself into making giga-damage and ludricrous magic official.

The only non-official ludicrous magic would be the additions in Rifter 0 which are awesome.

The entire Rifter line is non-canon to start with, that is why specific articles require notification that they are canon. But the multiple statements that this is a silly joke issue may be your clue that this issue is indeed just a Rifter.
So no, none of it is canon. Not Gigadamage, not Ludicrous magic, not tourists, not the credit card.....the whole thing is a joke.

Every book is canon until we are told otherwise. 9.5 lacking a non-official disclaimer overrides all previous content implying Rifters were default-canon, which were book-specific disclaimers. Later Rifters did not de-caonize 9.5 so until that happens it's all good.

Fear my balloon ley-line army.

[taalismn]

Has anyone experimented with the idea of a transdimensional Atlantean Empire that managed to become a force to be reckoned because it managed to bridge, colonize and develop every iteration of the continent of Atlantis they could get their hands into through countless thousands of alternate Earths? A multitude of versions of the same place, all in constant and regular contact and trade with each other... Does that sound interesting or feasible?

Dovetails nicely with my idea of the Rifts event and Rifts Earth being better represented as a chain of firecrackers rather than a single firecracker in the megaverse.
I've also dealt a little with it in my Paladin Steel 'verse, where they are actually trading with themselves in at least one adjacent and slightly different Rifts Earth.
Sounds like your 'verse, however, could do with an even ore advanced version of the Avatar Registry, which ID's and tracks the various versions of a person, so as to streamline banking and prevent cases of mistaken/stolen identity.

[Zer0 Kay]

You overlooked the entire book being nonauthorized and therfore not official. Some magic's later appeared, expanded in other Rifters making them officially optional instead of completely non-official.

Kevin Siembieda was behind rifter 9.5, Wayne Smith doesn't have to sign off on a Rifter for it to include official content.

Keeping Wayne out is probably why they overlooked the necessity of a non-canon statement.

Meaning that Siembieda actually pranked himself into making giga-damage and ludricrous magic official.

The only non-official ludicrous magic would be the additions in Rifter 0 which are awesome.

The entire Rifter line is non-canon to start with, that is why specific articles require notification that they are canon. But the multiple statements that this is a silly joke issue may be your clue that this issue is indeed just a Rifter.
So no, none of it is canon. Not Gigadamage, not Ludicrous magic, not tourists, not the credit card.....the whole thing is a joke.

Every book is canon until we are told otherwise. 9.5 lacking a non-official disclaimer overrides all previous content implying Rifters were default-canon, which were book-specific disclaimers. Later Rifters did not de-caonize 9.5 so until that happens it's all good.

Fear my balloon ley-line army.

Well then every rifter after 9.5 that's states rifters are optional material except where marked "official" supercedes all previous rifters which didn't state if they were or were not official and until countered carries over to all new rifters making your statement non canon.

[taalismn]

Yes,yes, the Rifter is non-canon unless specifically stated as such, but given the growing popularity of Ludicrous Magery, what with expansions in both the 'Best of Rifter', Rifter 0, and citings of the Mage in other Rifter articles(they're cited as being responsible for the creation of 'action figure familiars'), it would be foolish to ignoreit as a candidate for being canon. It's much more likely to become canon than, say, the sex magic hinted at in the 'Mysteries of Magic' book, which IS canon.


Anyways; Atlantis as populated by an oddball group of god-like 'gamers' who are either actively manipulating the mainland peoples into endless wars and intrigues, or are lurking on their Atlantis estates, watching it all unravel on the mainland, for their entertainment. The few visitors to Atlantis report the bizarre society ruled by the outcome of rolling various forms of dice, and endless arguments over the 'rules' as handed on down from another universe.

[SolCannibal]

Has anyone experimented with the idea of a transdimensional Atlantean Empire that managed to become a force to be reckoned because it managed to bridge, colonize and develop every iteration of the continent of Atlantis they could get their hands into through countless thousands of alternate Earths? A multitude of versions of the same place, all in constant and regular contact and trade with each other... Does that sound interesting or feasible?

Dovetails nicely with my idea of the Rifts event and Rifts Earth being better represented as a chain of firecrackers rather than a single firecracker in the megaverse.
I've also dealt a little with it in my Paladin Steel 'verse, where they are actually trading with themselves in at least one adjacent and slightly different Rifts Earth.
Sounds like your 'verse, however, could do with an even ore advanced version of the Avatar Registry, which ID's and tracks the various versions of a person, so as to streamline banking and prevent cases of mistaken/stolen identity.

That kind of stuff might be less of a problem in my games as i tend to apply high levels of "butterfly effect" to alternates, read every major change usually relates to dozens of minor ones, before or after, so depending on how distant "milestone events" separating the alternates are in time, the chances of "alternate twins" may become infinitesimal. Still, a service to check things out and maybe keep a look out for "alternate relatives" when they do exist - not to mention descendants left in dimension or earths not of one's birth should be of value indeed.

Anyway, thanks for the Paladin Steel callout, going to look out for it.

[Tor]

every rifter after 9.5 that's states rifters are optional material except where marked "official" supercedes all previous rifters which didn't state if they were or were not official and until countered carries over to all new rifters making your statement non canon.

The disclaimer is book-specific, not line-specific. Just as "page xx" and "the cover" are descriptions of what is within that particular volume, so is the 'Optional and Unofficial', any Rifter missing that is canon-by-default and must be opted-out of canonicity further in the book rather than opted into it.

Yes,yes, the Rifter is non-canon unless specifically stated as such, but given the growing popularity of Ludicrous Magery, what with expansions in both the 'Best of Rifter', Rifter 0, and citings of the Mage in other Rifter articles(they're cited as being responsible for the creation of 'action figure familiars'), it would be foolish to ignoreit as a candidate for being canon. It's much more likely to become canon than, say, the sex magic hinted at in the 'Mysteries of Magic' book, which IS canon.

I'm sure we'll get sex magic, but it probably won't be as erotic as some of us might want, definitely not FATAL. Probably stuff like 'gender swap' or 'healthy pregnancy' or 'abortion' or 'caesarian section' or 'resist sleep' or 'superhuman endurance'.

Was not aware of new content in Best of Rifter, should check out I guess.

I think baloons and carnies would destroy action figures.

[eliakon]

every rifter after 9.5 that's states rifters are optional material except where marked "official" supercedes all previous rifters which didn't state if they were or were not official and until countered carries over to all new rifters making your statement non canon.

The disclaimer is book-specific, not line-specific. Just as "page xx" and "the cover" are descriptions of what is within that particular volume, so is the 'Optional and Unofficial', any Rifter missing that is canon-by-default and must be opted-out of canonicity further in the book rather than opted into it.

Yes,yes, the Rifter is non-canon unless specifically stated as such, but given the growing popularity of Ludicrous Magery, what with expansions in both the 'Best of Rifter', Rifter 0, and citings of the Mage in other Rifter articles(they're cited as being responsible for the creation of 'action figure familiars'), it would be foolish to ignoreit as a candidate for being canon. It's much more likely to become canon than, say, the sex magic hinted at in the 'Mysteries of Magic' book, which IS canon.

I'm sure we'll get sex magic, but it probably won't be as erotic as some of us might want, definitely not FATAL. Probably stuff like 'gender swap' or 'healthy pregnancy' or 'abortion' or 'caesarian section' or 'resist sleep' or 'superhuman endurance'.

Was not aware of new content in Best of Rifter, should check out I guess.

I think baloons and carnies would destroy action figures.

"All material in The Rifter<tm> has been included for two reasons: One, because we thought it was imaginative and fun, and two we thought it would stimulate your imagination with fun stuff that you can use (if you want) r which might inspire you to create your won wonders."
Not that the disclaimer is "in The Rifter" not "In this issue of the Rifter", or "In Rifter #x". They use the name of the entire book line. This suggests that they are, in fact, speaking of the line as a whole. Which is why things have to be labeled as NOT being covered by this policy to be official.

You can of course use them yourself in your games as is, but there intent of The Rifter policy is fairly clear. Is an unofficial house magazine, and not a rules supplement, unless it is explicitly said to be official. (Either in the article, or retroactively elsewhere)

[Bill]

Tor is just messing with you. Stop dragging the thread off topic, please.

[Zer0 Kay]

Tor is just messing with you. Stop dragging the thread off topic, please.

Your absolutely right. I wonder if he is trying to get on the naught list, which means foed, by annoying everyone to the point that they don't want to listen to him. So back to our regularly programmed schedule...

I'm kinda since no one said a single thing about my ridiculous alternate Rifts Earth. Is it too much? Is it , , or is it just with a helping of ?

[taalismn]

It might not have been ridiculous enough, ZeroKay, or just too mind-blowing for words.

[Zer0 Kay]

It might not have been ridiculous enough, ZeroKay, or just too mind-blowing for words.

DaNg I'm gonna have to up my Ridiculousness game. Would it be ridiculous enough if the Nomads were floopers who have figured out how to give other sdc races flopping and so "We're all flopping down here hehehehehehe" And the poles are Mulkas? Of course all of the Shemarians have migrated and taken over the crescent and have since become a single unified nation and become "civilized", some still hate that term associating with a loss of edge.

[Glistam]

I'm kinda since no one said a single thing about my ridiculous alternate Rifts Earth. Is it too much? Is it , , or is it just with a helping of ?

Honestly I got as far as "Splicers happens in wormwoods past. The splicer planet mass shifted through Nightspawn Earths dimensional barrier..." before I just couldn't read anymore.

[Bill]

When the cataclysm struck an enormous space station flickered into existence in geosynchronous orbit over Antarctica. This space station was the Judicature™, the home and base of operations for The Tribunal™. The Tribunal™ was an extra-national band of superhumans who had raised themselves up to act as the final arbiters of justice on their homeworld and a large portion of their version of the Milky Way galaxy. At the head of The Tribunal™ sat Ayin™, a nigh omniscient clairvoyant thought to have been able to see all possible worlds. They were mistaken.

Ayin™ did not see the mystical forces that tore the Judicature™ from its own universe and brought it into ours along with a thousand members of The Tribunal™, ten thousand Judicature™ bailiffs (men and women armed with pacification gear that acted as guards for the prison section of the Judicature™), and five thousand prisoners (many of whom were powerful super villains). Worse still, the defenses of the Judicature™ had never needed to ward off a conventional attack before and the satellite was taken by surprise when the orbital defense systems opened fire on it. In a moment, the peaceful symbol of justice that had hovered above its own earth was rocked by lasers and missiles. Then it began to fall.

Much of the Judicature™ was destroyed in its descent from the heavens. Many of The Tribunal's most powerful heroes sacrificed their lives to save what they could. In the end, even the villain Paurusada™ was released to lend her terrible strength to the effort. When the dust had settled what was left of the Judicature™ had come to rest on the Antarctic Supernexus. Half of its inhabitants were dead. Many of the more powerful prisoners fled their shattered prison while those beings that remained began to regroup and assess what had happened.

The year is 2391. The Tribunal's™ heroes have spent the last 293 years battling alien forces around the globe. Their greatest champions, Ayin™, Paurusada™, Dr. Catastrophe™, The Chartreuse Beaver™, and Fusion Woman™ have all fallen. Some of the villains that abandoned the fallen station and their descendants have carved out empires for themselves, sometimes subjugating demons and aliens in the process. The Tribunal™ has become a rallying point for heroes the world over though. Mutants, psychics, practitioners of magic, and anyone that places right before might is welcome to join. The current leader is a young shape-shifter known as Magdaraya™, who's coming was predicted by Ayin™ before madness claimed him. Under her leadership, the southern hemisphere has been largely reclaimed from the monsters that warred over it.

[Zer0 Kay]

I'm kinda since no one said a single thing about my ridiculous alternate Rifts Earth. Is it too much? Is it , , or is it just with a helping of ?

Honestly I got as far as "Splicers happens in wormwoods past. The splicer planet mass shifted through Nightspawn Earths dimensional barrier..." before I just couldn't read anymore.

why what was wrong with that?

[Nox Equites]

What if Leylines in RE solar system were common? TW Space jockeys. With Create Air/water spells you could really reduce life support costs. Low end TW starships cruising the spacelanes and Create Steel to recycle wreckage and mine asteroids.

Arnzo and Manoa have a link through clan Skellian. What if you had Amazons and Monster hunters from Manoa helping in AZ and AMC troops fighting the forces of Lagarto?

Angel of Death didn't survive cataclysm. How will Brodkil fare without her support? No psynetics tech and very little enhancement of MOM implants.

South Africa weathered the Cataclysm pretty well. Imagine an Armscor corporate state similar to Triax/NGR. The gold and diamond mines could be very useful for a regional power. There is enough of a distance between them and Phoenix Empire that they will leave each other alone for awhile.

[Tor]

Bill and Zer0 Kay are mistaken, please reject their unsourced speculations. I am making a serious argument for Ludicrous-Giga canonicity.

"All material in The Rifter<tm> has been included for two reasons: One, because we thought it was imaginative and fun, and two we thought it would stimulate your imagination with fun stuff that you can use (if you want) r which might inspire you to create your won wonders."

Not that the disclaimer is "in The Rifter" not "In this issue of the Rifter", or "In Rifter #x". They use the name of the entire book line. This suggests that they are, in fact, speaking of the line as a whole. Which is why things have to be labeled as NOT being covered by this policy to be official.

That portion about fun imagination stimulation says nothing about the entire line being optional or non-canonical though.

It is an entirely different paragraph from the one that insinuates that.

[Bill]

You're inconsiderately doing it in the wrong place then. Please, take it elsewhere.

[Glistam]

Or feel free to propose an alternate timeline where the Ludicrous Mage is one of the main four mages available in the main book. Which mage did they replace and what would that Rifts Earth look like?

[Zer0 Kay]

What if Leylines in RE solar system were common? TW Space jockeys. With Create Air/water spells you could really reduce life support costs. Low end TW starships cruising the spacelanes and Create Steel to recycle wreckage and mine asteroids.

Arnzo and Manoa have a link through clan Skellian. What if you had Amazons and Monster hunters from Manoa helping in AZ and AMC troops fighting the forces of Lagarto?

Angel of Death didn't survive cataclysm. How will Brodkil fare without her support? No psynetics tech and very little enhancement of MOM implants.

South Africa weathered the Cataclysm pretty well. Imagine an Armscor corporate state similar to Triax/NGR. The gold and diamond mines could be very useful for a regional power. There is enough of a distance between them and Phoenix Empire that they will leave each other alone for awhile.

Oh, what if the rift erruption brought back a medium within solarsystems that was breathable and due to its presence also allowed jets and other combustion engines to work?

[Zer0 Kay]

Bill and Zer0 Kay are mistaken, please reject their unsourced speculations. I am making a serious argument for Ludicrous-Giga canonicity.

"All material in The Rifter<tm> has been included for two reasons: One, because we thought it was imaginative and fun, and two we thought it would stimulate your imagination with fun stuff that you can use (if you want) r which might inspire you to create your won wonders."

Not that the disclaimer is "in The Rifter" not "In this issue of the Rifter", or "In Rifter #x". They use the name of the entire book line. This suggests that they are, in fact, speaking of the line as a whole. Which is why things have to be labeled as NOT being covered by this policy to be official.

That portion about fun imagination stimulation says nothing about the entire line being optional or non-canonical though.

It is an entirely different paragraph from the one that insinuates that.

Then do like you did for missiles and start a thread for the canonicity/optional status of Rifter articles.

[taalismn]

[

Oh, what if the rift erruption brought back a medium within solarsystems that was breathable and due to its presence also allowed jets and other combustion engines to work?

It would still take your average jet airliner MONTHS to reach Mars, even provided they carried enough fuel for the tribe.
I remember an Edgar Rice Burroughs story, Beyond the Farthest Star, in which the hero finds himself on a planet so close to several other planets that the outermost fringes of their atmospheres touch(and ignoring the catastrophic effects the close gravity fields would have). The locals are in the process of mounting an expedition to the next planet using high altitude propeller=drive aircraft with pressurized cabins .
Compare to the more modern John Baxter story Raft, where gravity in a universe is so intense that galaxies are the size of solar systems, stars the size of moons, the stellar gaseous medium is dense enough to breath, and stellar evolution takes centuries, at most millennia, rather than billions of tears.

[Zer0 Kay]

Yeah but a rocket that only needs the fuel because the oxidizer is all present can carry more fuel.

[taalismn]

The Splugorth adopt Ludicrous Magic as their effective 'state' or 'theme' magic style. This means that anybody traveling to Atlantis with fell intent will be facing millions of Kydian Klowns, Kittani Komedians, Splugorth Stand-Ups, Altaran Tap-Dancing Girls, and Sunaj Mimes. Not to mention the twists to Rune Magic("I was once a High Champion of the Light...now I'm a Whooppee Cushion of Flatulence...oh death, where is your sting?!!!!") and Biowizardry( "If you don't leave Atlantis with a smile on your face, we'll graft there").

[Zer0 Kay]

The Splugorth adopt Ludicrous Magic as their effective 'state' or 'theme' magic style. This means that anybody traveling to Atlantis with fell intent will be facing millions of Kydian Klowns, Kittani Komedians, Splugorth Stand-Ups, Altaran Tap-Dancing Girls, and Sunaj Mimes. Not to mention the twists to Rune Magic("I was once a High Champion of the Light...now I'm a Whoppee Cushion of Flatulence...oh death, where is your sting?!!!!") and Biowizardry( "If you don't leave Atlantis with a smile on your face, we'll graft there").

You had me until the mime. Your soooooo evil.

[taalismn]

The Splugorth adopt Ludicrous Magic as their effective 'state' or 'theme' magic style. This means that anybody traveling to Atlantis with fell intent will be facing millions of Kydian Klowns, Kittani Komedians, Splugorth Stand-Ups, Altaran Tap-Dancing Girls, and Sunaj Mimes. Not to mention the twists to Rune Magic("I was once a High Champion of the Light...now I'm a Whoppee Cushion of Flatulence...oh death, where is your sting?!!!!") and Biowizardry( "If you don't leave Atlantis with a smile on your face, we'll graft there").

You had me until the mime. Your soooooo evil.

Clowns had already been claimed by the Kydians. The Sunaj had to settle for the next available most evil thing...and they resent the Kydians for stealing the clown slot from them.

[Zer0 Kay]

The Splugorth adopt Ludicrous Magic as their effective 'state' or 'theme' magic style. This means that anybody traveling to Atlantis with fell intent will be facing millions of Kydian Klowns, Kittani Komedians, Splugorth Stand-Ups, Altaran Tap-Dancing Girls, and Sunaj Mimes. Not to mention the twists to Rune Magic("I was once a High Champion of the Light...now I'm a Whoppee Cushion of Flatulence...oh death, where is your sting?!!!!") and Biowizardry( "If you don't leave Atlantis with a smile on your face, we'll graft there").

You had me until the mime. Your soooooo evil.

Clowns had already been claimed by the Kydians. The Sunaj had to settle for the next available most evil thing...and they resent the Kydians for stealing the clown slot from them.

What no old fashioned Harlequins or are we afraid Gamesworkshop will come after us?

[Kagashi]

Everything in the Rifter, unless specifically stated that it is Official material, is not canon. Especially 9.5.

[Zer0 Kay]

Everything in the Rifter, unless specifically stated that it is Official material, is not canon. Especially 9.5.

You sure the Rifter doesn't need to declare it a whole number first?

[Bill]

The Splugorth adopt Ludicrous Magic as their effective 'state' or 'theme' magic style. This means that anybody traveling to Atlantis with fell intent will be facing millions of Kydian Klowns, Kittani Komedians, Splugorth Stand-Ups, Altaran Tap-Dancing Girls, and Sunaj Mimes. Not to mention the twists to Rune Magic("I was once a High Champion of the Light...now I'm a Whoppee Cushion of Flatulence...oh death, where is your sting?!!!!") and Biowizardry( "If you don't leave Atlantis with a smile on your face, we'll graft there").

You had me until the mime. Your soooooo evil.

Clowns had already been claimed by the Kydians. The Sunaj had to settle for the next available most evil thing...and they resent the Kydians for stealing the clown slot from them.

What no old fashioned Harlequins or are we afraid Gamesworkshop will come after us?

Might have to go with the whole Comedia dell'Arte cast just to avoid the question. Octomen would make for decent Pulcinellas, if you want to racially segregate the roles.

[eliakon]

One of my alternate timelines had the experimental vanguard unit pushback the Federation of Magic attack, at the cost of the lives of almost all the mages....Which meant that there was no cause for Joseph the First to launch is purge. The result is that vanguard mages are regarded as Heros of the Coalition and the Proseks are just another career military family. Lazlo, Tolkeen and Kingsdale are all full CS states. In the current time line the CS was preparing for Operation Cortez, a projected 5-10 year campaign to exterminate the Vampires. Its a two prong operation with Army Group North staging out of Lone Star and Army Group South staging out of the CS State of Columbia.

[taalismn]

One of my alternate timelines had the experimental vanguard unit pushback the Federation of Magic attack, at the cost of the lives of almost all the mages....Which meant that there was no cause for Joseph the First to launch is purge. The result is that vanguard mages are regarded as Heros of the Coalition and the Proseks are just another career military family. Lazlo, Tolkeen and Kingsdale are all full CS states. In the current time line the CS was preparing for Operation Cortez, a projected 5-10 year campaign to exterminate the Vampires. Its a two prong operation with Army Group North staging out of Lone Star and Army Group South staging out of the CS State of Columbia.

Great Zot, taken a step further, fully magic- and -technology-integrated CS? Scary!

[Genhuman]

One of my alternate timelines had the experimental vanguard unit pushback the Federation of Magic attack, at the cost of the lives of almost all the mages....Which meant that there was no cause for Joseph the First to launch is purge. The result is that vanguard mages are regarded as Heros of the Coalition and the Proseks are just another career military family. Lazlo, Tolkeen and Kingsdale are all full CS states. In the current time line the CS was preparing for Operation Cortez, a projected 5-10 year campaign to exterminate the Vampires. Its a two prong operation with Army Group North staging out of Lone Star and Army Group South staging out of the CS State of Columbia.

Yeah, but what all of the Fangs want to know is; why, in every timeline, the CS still experiments upon Miharu and him?

Actually I had run a similar type of game...oh, about 20 or so years ago, on the same premise. Of course, only the True Atlantean Temporal Wizard in the group knew that they had rifted back to an alternate time line, but, as he and the group had personality problems at times, he decided not to share. Much fun was had by all.

[eliakon]

One of my alternate timelines had the experimental vanguard unit pushback the Federation of Magic attack, at the cost of the lives of almost all the mages....Which meant that there was no cause for Joseph the First to launch is purge. The result is that vanguard mages are regarded as Heros of the Coalition and the Proseks are just another career military family. Lazlo, Tolkeen and Kingsdale are all full CS states. In the current time line the CS was preparing for Operation Cortez, a projected 5-10 year campaign to exterminate the Vampires. Its a two prong operation with Army Group North staging out of Lone Star and Army Group South staging out of the CS State of Columbia.

Yeah, but what all of the Fangs want to know is; why, in every timeline, the CS still experiments upon Miharu and him?

Actually I had run a similar type of game...oh, about 20 or so years ago, on the same premise. Of course, only the True Atlantean Temporal Wizard in the group knew that they had rifted back to an alternate time line, but, as he and the group had personality problems at times, he decided not to share. Much fun was had by all.

You should feel lucky. You haven't encountered any of the worlds I have where there ISNT a Miharu, or a Fang, or a Sapphire Garden....

[Tor]

Everything in the Rifter, unless specifically stated that it is Official material, is not canon. Especially 9.5.

All books published by Palladium are canon unless it says within the book that it is non-canon, 9.5 has no disclaimer, so it is born-canon and would need to be decanonized explicitly at a later date.

If you wish strongly for that, you may view viewtopic.php?f=4&t=77496 as such a 2007 de-canonization via-omission since NMI did not add <OFFICIAL> next to anything 9.5

[taalismn]

People, unless you take the whole canon-noncanon argument to its own thread, I am going to unleash every Ludicrous Mage, Familiar Wrangler, CS Janissary, New Model CS Skelebot, Card Sharp, Media Reporter, and fan-robot I can find in the megaverse on your personal universe!

I will then document the resulting dimensional snarl as 'a Global Rift Event that started before the Golden Age in the last month of 2014 with a massive dimensional rift incursion that started out in the residence of some person known to history only '(insert your name here, you know who you are)', which rapidly spilled out unchecked and uncontrolled and swallowed Earth into the Megaverse'.

I don't care if it's canon or not; I want the width, breadth, and depth of the Megaverse for my entertainment.

[Glistam]

There we go. An alternate universe where all the Rifter material exists in Rifts Earth. It either exists in the context the article was written in, or if it conflicts it is something that was rifted in. Everything from the Rifter is here, including the events of all the stories and adventures.

[taalismn]

There we go. An alternate universe where all the Rifter material exists in Rifts Earth. It either exists in the context the article was written in, or if it conflicts it is something that was rifted in. Everything from the Rifter is here, including the events of all the stories and adventures.

Some of which may require duplicate and co-existing persons and organizations. Let the dimensional avatar wars begin!

[Nox Equites]

What if some of the idiot commanders in CS never rose higher than Lt.? Their strategies would be better and they might actually recognize threats more effectively.

Tolkeen never existed. CS has to deal with Xiticix as a primary threat.

Age of Man developed anti-grav. Aerial combat will never be the same. Vehicles won't need wings except as missile hard points.

Reflective armor is drastically cheaper, but only for body armor. This leads to expanded ion and particle beam personal weapons on the market.

Lonestar experiments 20 years ago accidentally opened a rift that flooded facility with handwavium rays and shortly thereafter strange children are born with super powers. Hundreds of little mutants with a wide degree of utility in powers are brought into the military as a secret project. This new force of heavily indoctrinated super soldiers is test bedded in the Tolkeen front adding great confusion to the situation. The catch? Not all children with powers were obvious mutants and were not caught in gene testing. Can the original experiment be repeated?

Psi-stalkers never developed in NA. Standard psychic sensitives have to fill the gap and they don't quite have the same effectiveness. Dog Boys can fulfill the role but this leads to a relaxing of the anti-nonhuman sentiments in CS as more people interact with Psi-hounds in everyday life. This only helps mutant canines at first, but its a start.

[taalismn]

Naruni Enterprises found Rifts Earth early, and made a secret backdoor sweetheart deal with Emperor Prosek's father, making the CS partners in the sale and distribution of NE armaments. In return, NE gets a share of the loot from conquered territories and exclusive marketing rights inside CS territory. The economic readjustment of the meaner more advanced CS with its NE sponsorship polarizes Northern Gun, Wilks, and other native arms manufacturers against the CS, and the Republicans start looking for somebody else to support against the alien-backed Coalition States.
On the other hand, skull-motif NE products begin appearing in other universes, and NE is inspired to back a subcontractor, Chipwell Armaments, that sells dirt-cheap armor and weapons, into megaversal sales.

[Tor]

Hard to believe this due to CS pro-human anti-alien tendencies, unless Naruni had the good sense to only use human or human-disguised merchants.

Then if the d-bee secret every came out, by that time the CS may have figured out how to make force fields or at least stockpiled them and suddenly all the SAMAS out there have them

[Kagashi]

Back in 2099 AD, Cyberworks and KLS refine FTL travel, colonize Mars, the moons of Jupiter and five nearby stars, incorporating alien technologies from previously unknown intelligent populated societies (providing more powerful armor and guns on their ships). Through cloning and genetic manipulation, they boost the number of mutant animals one hundred fold while continuing to contain Earth after The Flash.

In 2150 AD, KLS activates their dimensional gateway aboard Freedom Station and travels to Florida (where that gateway lies abandoned), establishing a beachhead and bypassing the counter orbital debris field. Striking a Coalition Pact with Cyberworks (whom has now been acclimated to the gravity of the moon), KLS sends an expeditionary force to Earth during the Dark Ages (with Yuro and Laika advisers) while Cyberworks continues to enforce the containment zones along with the other orbital communities (KLS no longer would need the resources of the moon with the Earth in range of mining...thus no reason for Cyberworks and the other communities to become hostile). KLS establishes communication with Earth survivors, including the not-insane-yet ARCHIE III whom releases the reserve NEMA army, the US Navy (Nemo), and other NEMA survivors. They reestablish the United States and quickly quash a pro-Fascist movement in Illinois and befriend survivors wielding magic from the former Canadian territories, standing up the country of Canada once again utilizing the industrial might of Quebec.

The Yuro and Liaka Advisers, through help of the US Navy, discover Germany and most of Russia had survived. Russia unifies under a Commonwealth government and Germany and the Scandinavian countries reveal they are trying to get back into space, allowing IFF transmitters to be installed in their spacecraft and avoid attack from the containment of killer satellites and Cyberworks spaceships.

Because of the knowledge that aliens exist, the orbital communities were more than ready when the Arkhons attacked in 74 PA and completely obliterate them, subsequently doing the same in 104 PA.

Reestablishing NATO; Russia, Germany, Canada, and the United States attempt to contain the aliens in Atlantis (in which they may be unified, but have no real chance of defeating...therefore containment is the next best thing).

Magic and technology wielding mutant animals wielding NEMA and space technology Chromium Guardsmen are the new champions of humanity by 99 PA. They extend membership to the Federation of Magic provided they cease using Necromancy and Witchcraft and NEMA vows to liberate Mexico from vampires and to expand the United States and Canada to the west coast. NATO establishes radio communication with the Republic of Japan and learns of the Chinese Geofront and plans sends explorers to establish political ties to Asia by 109 PA.

Unfortunately, all d-bees are viewed as aliens and are rounded up and taken to nearby star systems if they are non-hostile. Hostile aliens of any kind are destroyed by the new champions of Earth.

[Bill]

Hard to believe this due to CS pro-human anti-alien tendencies, unless Naruni had the good sense to only use human or human-disguised merchants.

Then if the d-bee secret every came out, by that time the CS may have figured out how to make force fields or at least stockpiled them and suddenly all the SAMAS out there have them

It's an Alternate Universe. One where the CS clearly is open to extradimensional trade. Or at least willing to participate in it clandestinely.

[taalismn]

Hard to believe this due to CS pro-human anti-alien tendencies, unless Naruni had the good sense to only use human or human-disguised merchants.

Then if the d-bee secret every came out, by that time the CS may have figured out how to make force fields or at least stockpiled them and suddenly all the SAMAS out there have them

Money and power can change quite a few minds...or the right minds. And the Naruni have had lots of experience figuring out which palms to grease.
Now....a related take on the same idea might be if HARTIGAL discovered Rifts Earth, and made a human-presented pitch, with the added slant that they were ex-slaves laboring under oppressive Naruni overlords, and that dealing with Hartigal Combine would help strike a blow against those nasty Naruni. Not easy in the increasingly xenophobic CS, but hey, what if it WORKED?

[Tor]

Money and power can change quite a few minds...or the right minds. And the Naruni have had lots of experience figuring out which palms to grease.

There is a third factor besides money and power too, still involving greasy palms, but coupled with the varied metamorphosis abilities of the Uteni Shifters.

[taalismn]

Money and power can change quite a few minds...or the right minds. And the Naruni have had lots of experience figuring out which palms to grease.

There is a third factor besides money and power too, still involving greasy palms, but coupled with the varied metamorphosis abilities of the Uteni Shifters.

I keep seeing the comic of Tony Stark being seduced by a Skrull shapeshifter disguised as Natasha, and she's utterly troutsmacked when he shows absolutely no shock when she reveals herself as a Skrull, and just casually and smugly asks if there's still going to be sex.