Resetting Chaos Earth for a campaign

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Ok,

I managed to get a copy of Rifts: Chaos Earth in my X-mas Grab Bag this year. While I like some of the material presented, I find that I'm not sure I like the idea that its Rifts Earth in the past. I thought the original idea that its an alternate dimension set some 50 years after The Chaos Event was more compelling. It sounded less gonzo/over-the-top than what I've read so far. Also, given that much of the material appeared in revamped form as the equipment of The Republicans, I decided that resetting it for campaign use fits my purposes better anyway. Besides, I've never been too hot on The Coalition War Campaign and Tolkeen War timeline events, so I don't have The Coalition ever get past the initial equipment presented in the first few books (no Super-SAMAS etc) cause I don't like the power creep for Rifts itself (more on that in a moment).

So...what to flesh out and what to do. The year is circa 2148, a full half-century after The Chaos Event. Half the world's population is dead by now. Large cities/heavily urbanized areas, for the most part, no longer exist as population centers but as dead zones where only monsters and scavengers live. While some communication is capable (thanks to the efforts of those in orbit), reception can be spotty at times. What few mass media outlets that exist try their best to give what information they can about combating the monsters plaguing the world.

1.) NEMA is an elite paranatural deterent task force composed of operatives from the Coalition of North America: United States, Mexico (those that didn't get eaten by the Vampires) and Canada. Given the cultural climate and the idea of scaring the ever-loving bajeezus out of the monsters, NEMA has adopted the 'Skeleton Warrior' motif as a matter of psychological warfare (keeping with an old theory that the Skeleton Warriors were Coalition soldiers from an alternate reality). Teams are often deployed into zones of heavy infestation to not only combat monsters but also stamp out rebels and marauders.

a.) Mexico and Central America is almost completely sealed off from the rest of North America via a 7m tall containment wall called The New Hadrian's Wall by some. The wall is fully manned at all times by the vast majority of the troops of The Coalition Army as well as supplemented by local militia. Guard towers and garrisons are placed at intervals all along the length (1 guard tower per every 1 mile and 1 garrison every 25 miles). This setup necessitated the creation of NEMA as Army troops try prevent the vampire hordes from crossing into the United States. The Army uses the standard pattern NEMA armour from the book, while NEMA uses the Skeleton Warrior armour from Coalition War Campaign.

2.) The Coalition of North America started off as a good idea in theory, but has turned increasingly tyrannical in its effort to combat the crisis. As two full generations of humans have grown up after The Chaos Event, citizens of The Coalition are mostly willing to follow the commands of the government in order to survive. Though magic is not banned, per se, its frowned upon. Psychic powers, as well, are not illegal but they can lead to trouble. NEMA, as the elite forces, includes two special formations of psychics and mages to combat the terrors of the night.

3.) Secret Societies/Conspiracies have become more prevalent. The two most noteworthy (who generally dislike one another):
a.) The Lazlo Society - Observers of the arcane who collect, catalogue and store for posterity. They do not believe in getting involved, though, except as self-defense. Mostly composed of scholars and scientists, though a few bonafide paranatural practicioners are members.
b.) NOSTRODOM - Arcane warriors on a holy crusade. They recruit paranatural practicioners (mages, psychics) whenever they can in an effort to combat the monsters.

4.) The United States and Canada, while in tatters, are not the burning craters as on Rifts Earth just after the start of The Great Cataclysm. Certainly, society is grinding to a halt as many of the methods of 'modern living' (as of 2098) are gone or on the verge of going. Technology, mostly, has regressed to a point similar to the late 20th Century. There is still a wireless network for computers and an analogue to cellphones are still accessible (mostly for military/NEMA use only), but the integration of society is just not there anymore. More and more barter and/or Real Money (Gold, Silver, Platinum etc) are needed for transactions. Most people have started to grow their own food instead to survive. The world has mostly become Local again, as people living one hundred miles away might as well be on the Moon for most.

5.) Several large swaths of North America are completely dominated by monsters, mostly the undead (Dead Reign-style Zombies) and the like. Isolated pockets of humanity inside these zones cling to whatever hope they can, often alternating from crying for help to screaming profanities at callous Coalition bureacrats for leaving them to their fates.

I'll update this as I go, from time to time.

[Dustin Fireblade]

Interesting. I've done some work on a alternate setting, where the CS is based out of Texas myself, so I'll look forward to seeing what others do.

How does the CNA feel about D-Bee's?

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

Interesting. I've done some work on a alternate setting, where the CS is based out of Texas myself, so I'll look forward to seeing what others do.

How does the CNA feel about D-Bee's?

Assuming they're humanoid/near-human (Ogres, Elves, Dwarves, Psi-Stalkers etc) they're treated as genetic mutations from The Chaos Event, catalogued and generally left alone. Those living in Coalition controlled areas are, essentially, citizens. Non-humans are usually exterminated if obviously bloodthirsty/violent. Peaceable non-humans are observed and targeted for future assessment. Right now, NEMA is more interested in dealing with the undead and violent monsters. The Coalition of North America currently has no stance on peaceable non-humans other than observation as they have to mostly worry about Vampire incursions and the Zombie Plague.

Since the level of magic isn't quite what it is on Rifts Earth, the number of dimensional doorways are far more rare. The incursion from exo-dimensional creatures is far less. The Coalition is still operating under the belief that part of this is a naturally occuring Rapid Evolutionary Event where the human genome mutated nearly overnight due to the 'anamalous radiative energy' (visible ley lines). Think Unexplained Genetic Expression, Goblinization and The Surge from Shadowrun.

[Warmaster40k]

, really like were this is going, Rabid are we gonna hear some narative set in this world or what? or atleast see how this flows into current Rifts Timeline.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

*pokes thread*

Wow, nearly 6 years. Where has the time gone...

Anyway, I came back around to this a few days ago and had some musings on it. I guess the easiest way for me to start back up is to elucidate a few things. Chaos Earth as published should be retitled Rifts: Year One (my name for it): it chronicles the Northern Eagle Military Alliance's last stand against the dimensional beings that came through the Rifts. Chaos Earth, on the other hand, is an alternate dimension version where the North American Coalition has barely held on since the "Chaos Event" took place 50 years before. This will have an effect on the future Rifts setting, mostly by removing the insane power creep that came with the Coalition War Campaign.

Differences in the two settings
Year One
- NEMA as outlined in the Chaos Earth RPG remains functionally the same. After the events of Year One, some of them will eventually evolve into the secretive group known as The Republicans.
- The technology of The Coalition States Army never advances beyond the 101 P.A. timeline as outlined in the original Rifts RPG. In other words, the CSA fights the Siege of Tolkeen using the technology in the original RPG instead of being equivalent to that of NEMA in Year One. Most of the advanced tech that happened with the Coalition War Campaign supplement instead are transferred to the North American Coalition of Chaos Earth.

Chaos Earth
- Fifty years have passed and the North American Coalition has learned a great deal, though society is in tatters in most instances. The Coalition Army is spread thin across the vast wasteland that is now North America, concentrating on holding the line against the Vampires of Mexico and the hordes of beings in the Demon Zone.
- Most manufacturing has been moved off-world to Cyberworks Lunar Base and the KLS Corporation's Freedom Station. The NAC is regularly resupplied via orbital drops and new personnel are continually rotated in (and out) from Earth, the Moon and Mars. War fighting technology has progressed and a new rearmament campaign has begun utilizing the Skeleton Warrior motif as part of its psychological warfare profile.
- Cloning and genetic engineering technology has advanced to where the NAC now fields Dog Boys, genetically modified and cloned humanoid canine soldiers.
- The Paranormal Support & Intelligence (PSI) Corps is a newly created force consisting of a cadre of NAC soldiers who have experience utilizing so-called Psychic and Magical powers. This includes the newly identified Homo Sapiens subspecies labeled as Psi-Stalkers in popular media.
- The Chromium Guardsmen is now an elite Powered Armor corps within the NAC composed solely of USA-G10 and a slew of variants including the Glitter Girl (from Free Quebec), Shadow Boy (from Black Market; revised to be a more Lo-Viz version w/stealth coating instead of laser-resistant coating) and the Mk.III & Mk.IV Glitterboys (from Mutants in Orbit).
- The Legion is a test-bed initiative to allow 'near-human' troops to fight for the NAC in exchange for citizenship. Near-humans are preferred, though a few other types are allowed (sprinkle in a few Grackletooth and Simvan aliens for good measure).

I'll try and update this more as time goes on as I really did like the idea of an alternate take on Rifts Earth. I especially like the idea of setting back the power creep a bit to make The Coalition States of America more realistic in terms of their fight against Tolkeen.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

*kicks thread*

Boy, I keep forgetting to update this thing. Maybe I'll have time this Fall as I have some ideas. Now that Rifts may be coming to Savage Worlds (I hope I'm not breaking any rule with saying this), it will be less of a headache for me to figure out how Beyond the Supernatural -> Rifts: Year One and Rifts all fit in with Rifts Dimension: Chaos Earth......

[SittingBull]

I like the idea of an alternate Rifts setting.

[Rabid Southern Cross Fan]

I like the idea of an alternate Rifts setting.

I think it makes for a far more compelling idea than merely being the first year of Rifts (which is awesome in its own right...but...)

[say652]

I use an alternate Rifts earth, The world map mainly.

In my medieval Atlantis Heroes Unlimited games.

Ice Raptors.
Rock Goblins.
Stolen Deer.
A Whip tail Killer....

Good stuff.

[say652]

I use an alternate Rifts earth, The world map mainly.

In my medieval Atlantis Heroes Unlimited games.

Ice Raptors.
Rock Goblins.
Stolen Deer.
A Whip tail Killer....

Good stuff.

Sir Vaucluse Turner well always be remembered for his fearsome war cry "RETREAT!!!!"

[RockJock]

Interesting idea, and one I think would be fun to play in.

[say652]

Chasing the whiptail killer through the cobblestone streets, leaping roof top to roof top.

Two failed pp rolls, Sir Mikels lands in the town square, another squire hangs dead off the killers tail, Sir Turner full hero mode two hand stabs with daggers, wearing full plate digs in his spurs, dislodges the beast, to rolls out of the fall and helps Sir Mikels finish the beast.

The knights were physical training strength hero's with deadly combat.

The squires were also physical training but agile and fast.

Great game. Only took twenty years for things to line up.