Settling/Retiring PCs

[Sohisohi]

Between First and Third D&D, high level gameplay wad built around statecraft. The simple fact that you managed to reach such a high level inherently amassed fallowers both from your deeds and the power you held. That's not to say you couldn't step onto a battlefield, but you wouldn't be adventuring like you started.

This is my question, when do you reach said point in Rifts (if at all); at what level is it no longer possible for my players to simply adventure/merc? For the sake of argument, let's say I limit it to Rifts Earth (and running an apocalyptic event of-the-week is unappealing).

Personally, I don't believe this is an issue as you'd just because a hero/villain of the megaverse- fighting off much stronger threats. For instance, an AI with a handful of Godlings/Demi-Gods/Gods could put up quite the battle no matter how powerful the PCs get.

[dreicunan]

Between First and Third D&D, high level gameplay wad built around statecraft. The simple fact that you managed to reach such a high level inherently amassed fallowers both from your deeds and the power you held. That's not to say you couldn't step onto a battlefield, but you wouldn't be adventuring like you started.

This is my question, when do you reach said point in Rifts (if at all); at what level is it no longer possible for my players to simply adventure/merc? For the sake of argument, let's say I limit it to Rifts Earth (and running an apocalyptic event of-the-week is unappealing).

Personally, I don't believe this is an issue as you'd just because a hero/villain of the megaverse- fighting off much stronger threats. For instance, an AI with a handful of Godlings/Demi-Gods/Gods could put up quite the battle no matter how powerful the PCs get.

For some OCCs, like most Men at Arms or scholars and adventurerers, level is an almost negligible increase in power, amounting to the occasional increase in a combat bonus of some kind or an extra move and an extra 3-5% in skill performance. For example, HtH basic, expert, and martial arts all top put at +2 to strike, and Commando at +3 (while Assassin gets +6, as well as +2 to thrown and +3 to strike with guns!). For most characters the bonuses never really stack up to the point that you are as far above a lvl 1 or 2 character as lvl 8-9 AD&D were above lvl 1 characters.

Even for some of the psychic or magic based classes who gain a whole lot from level ups the power level rarely makes adventuring impossible. Inefficient, perhaps, compared to the wealth they could gain by exploiting their abilities in other ways, but not impossible.

I really don't see this happening due to level reasons, only due to story reasons. That could happen at quite low levels depending on what the characters do and who they tick off.

[Jack Burton]

I've never thought about retiring a PC. That's an interesting concept. I can picture a retired PC returning as an NPC as part of a storyline.