Forums of the Megaverse®

Elthbert wrote:These are amazing. I know it has been about 8 months since you posted here but I really hope you continue the project.

Thanks! I intend to. This is a slow-burn project that I pick up from time to time when I'm not working on others. I've got two big Palladium-related projects that have sucked up a lot of my hobby time since I last posted here.

I started work on The Ley Line Walker N.P.C. generator last fall, and I was working on a way to condense down all the spell information into something easy to use and manageable on a single sheet, because frankly the spell list seems big, complicated, and very poorly-organized, and I thought it would be hard to keep all the options straight for a random disposable N.P.C. (I know it is for me as a GM).

When I shared this idea on the board, I found little enthusiasm for it and a great deal of skepticism about its worth. Several posters criticized me for not knowing the spells in the game cold. I found myself in the odd position of defending an idea that I had thought wouldn't be remotely controversial, which made me think that I ought to step back for a while and come back later with a fresh perspective. Thus, I haven't touched the Ley Line Walker NPC generator since late last year. I may pick it back up again later, but for now, other projects have my attention.

I have made some more N.P.C. generators for Palladium Fantasy for one of the other projects I'm working on, and I'm certainly open to making more for Rifts. If you've got a generic O.C.C. or R.C.C. that you'd like to see a generator for, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

These are awesome!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Some Robot/Power Armor Pilots would be great for a future one.

Devjannz wrote:These are awesome!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Some Robot/Power Armor Pilots would be great for a future one.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.
The tricky thing about RPA pilots is that, by themselves, they are incomplete; you need the stats of the robot or power armor to really make them work. Is including MDC by location, speed, weapon damage/range/ammo/rate of fire and all that kosher to put on a publicly-shared file? I'm not sure. That said, I've kind of already done that with these generators with things like weapons and such. I'll think on it.

In the meantime...

Update: I've drafted an NPC Spell Selector tool. It has all 158 RUE spells on it sorted into nine functional categories:
1. Disable
2. Attack
3. Protect
4. Empower
5. Heal
6. Move
7. Communicate
8. Spy/Evade
9. Miscellaneous

Within each category, spells are sorted according to how long each takes to cast (1, 2, or 3 actions, or ritual), and then by level/alphabet. This sheet includes the name, PPE cost, effect/damage, duration, and range of every spell in RUE. It does not include the text or spell-specific rules. The first page is focused on combat spells and includes the first four categories. Everything else is on the second page.

Due to the amount of published information included in this, I may have to share a redacted version that doesn't include all the information (or leaves blank spaces for the user to fill in) or just see if Palladium is willing to publish it as a digital product. Either way, I think that, with this tool, I could make an NPC generator for a magic user. that would be useful for GMs.

Just wanted to say thanks for the creation of these NPC generators.

I've been playing RPG's since the year dot, but Rifts (and Chaos Earth) is something I've only recently taken up.
One of the first things that I noticed was the enormous time sink that NPC creation becomes when writing games - that's not a big thing of itself, but when you're relatively new to the game system, it often does mean the difference between using it, or falling back on a game you already know how to streamline.

So, again - thanks for the effort. Greatly appreciated.

Ganelon wrote:Just wanted to say thanks for the creation of these NPC generators.

I've been playing RPG's since the year dot, but Rifts (and Chaos Earth) is something I've only recently taken up.
One of the first things that I noticed was the enormous time sink that NPC creation becomes when writing games - that's not a big thing of itself, but when you're relatively new to the game system, it often does mean the difference between using it, or falling back on a game you already know how to streamline.

So, again - thanks for the effort. Greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the boards, and I'm glad these are helpful to you. I'll be making some more of these (got a few other irons in the fire right now, but I might knock out one or two simpler ones like City Rats or Vagabonds.

Hotrod wrote:

Devjannz wrote:These are awesome!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Some Robot/Power Armor Pilots would be great for a future one.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.
The tricky thing about RPA pilots is that, by themselves, they are incomplete; you need the stats of the robot or power armor to really make them work. Is including MDC by location, speed, weapon damage/range/ammo/rate of fire and all that kosher to put on a publicly-shared file? I'm not sure. That said, I've kind of already done that with these generators with things like weapons and such. I'll think on it.

As for the issue of RPA pilots, you could always go the route of what the GM Guide did and only have the most crucial information readily available with book and page references for full stats. If you can manage to fit all of the necessary character information on the front page, you could utilize the back page to list several of the more common robot vehicles and power armors.

dragonfett wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

Devjannz wrote:These are awesome!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Some Robot/Power Armor Pilots would be great for a future one.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.
The tricky thing about RPA pilots is that, by themselves, they are incomplete; you need the stats of the robot or power armor to really make them work. Is including MDC by location, speed, weapon damage/range/ammo/rate of fire and all that kosher to put on a publicly-shared file? I'm not sure. That said, I've kind of already done that with these generators with things like weapons and such. I'll think on it.

As for the issue of RPA pilots, you could always go the route of what the GM Guide did and only have the most crucial information readily available with book and page references for full stats. If you can manage to fit all of the necessary character information on the front page, you could utilize the back page to list several of the more common robot vehicles and power armors.

That's possible, but even the GM Guide is a published book, and I want to respect Palladium's copyright. That said, perhaps I could strip the stats down to the bare minimum... I'll think about that.

Hotrod wrote:

dragonfett wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

Devjannz wrote:These are awesome!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Some Robot/Power Armor Pilots would be great for a future one.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.
The tricky thing about RPA pilots is that, by themselves, they are incomplete; you need the stats of the robot or power armor to really make them work. Is including MDC by location, speed, weapon damage/range/ammo/rate of fire and all that kosher to put on a publicly-shared file? I'm not sure. That said, I've kind of already done that with these generators with things like weapons and such. I'll think on it.

As for the issue of RPA pilots, you could always go the route of what the GM Guide did and only have the most crucial information readily available with book and page references for full stats. If you can manage to fit all of the necessary character information on the front page, you could utilize the back page to list several of the more common robot vehicles and power armors.

That's possible, but even the GM Guide is a published book, and I want to respect Palladium's copyright. That said, perhaps I could strip the stats down to the bare minimum... I'll think about that.

Technically speaking, you have already done that by including weapon damages and body armor for all of the other sheets. Robots and Power Armor just happen to be really big armors with built in weapons.

dragonfett wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

dragonfett wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

Devjannz wrote:These are awesome!! Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Some Robot/Power Armor Pilots would be great for a future one.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.
The tricky thing about RPA pilots is that, by themselves, they are incomplete; you need the stats of the robot or power armor to really make them work. Is including MDC by location, speed, weapon damage/range/ammo/rate of fire and all that kosher to put on a publicly-shared file? I'm not sure. That said, I've kind of already done that with these generators with things like weapons and such. I'll think on it.

As for the issue of RPA pilots, you could always go the route of what the GM Guide did and only have the most crucial information readily available with book and page references for full stats. If you can manage to fit all of the necessary character information on the front page, you could utilize the back page to list several of the more common robot vehicles and power armors.

That's possible, but even the GM Guide is a published book, and I want to respect Palladium's copyright. That said, perhaps I could strip the stats down to the bare minimum... I'll think about that.

Technically speaking, you have already done that by including weapon damages and body armor for all of the other sheets. Robots and Power Armor just happen to be really big armors with built in weapons.

I think that as long as you don't include any artwork or descriptive text then you will be OK and I would limit the MDC by location to just the most important parts.

So I have a little news on this on-again, off-again project of mine. I've created a handy spell selection tool for Rifts magic users. With that done, I think I can start thinking about making some NPC spell caster generators. I'll share the selection tool once I finish my first magic user NPC generator.

Before I do that, though, I'd like to create a couple more basic adventurer/man-at-arms O.C.C.'s. Any requests?

Right then. At my own request, I'm making a vagabond generator. Rifts needs more hobos.

Immediate issue: Vagabonds are written with a lot of variation in the O.C.C. skills. I'm not really sure how to capture all the optional skills on the front page.

Hotrod wrote:Right then. At my own request, I'm making a vagabond generator. Rifts needs more hobos.

Agreed. I love Vagabonds in Rifts.

Ok, I've got the front page just about done and drafted now, with two basic versions of the Vagabond.

The Drifter is a wanderering vagabond whose skills are a bit more focused on traveling between settlements. Riding an ordinary horse or a beat-up motorcycle, drifters carry a single-shot energy rifle. They take fishing and brewing to help keep off hunger and thirst.

The Scavenger is a vagabond who tends to stay nearer to settlements, scrimping a living by picking through ruins, wrecks, and trash for odds and ends to sell. They take recycling, sewing, and general repair, and they can drive a car (though they may not own one). Scavengers carry a single-shot energy pistol.

Both basic versions also carry a knife and wear Homemade, Fury beetle, or Patchwork body armor, and I'm scaling their armor M.D.C. from 30 at level 1 to 100 at Level 15.

Other variants I'm contemplating for the back page:
Hobo: Migrant laborer
Poacher: Petty wilderness criminal
Some sort of petty criminal in settlements (need a good name for it)
Handyman: vagabond mechanic who'll fix anything for cheap.

Happy to take suggestions.

Petty criminal:
Crook
Yeggman
Bum (not to be confused with a homeless person)
Badger
Booster
Bunco
Louse
Fagin
Grifter
Hooligan
Hoodlum
Derrick
Nick
Nuck

Here's my rough draft of the basic Vagabond NPC Generator.

Overall, I don't love the presentation and how I group skills with the two basic options. Happy to take suggestions on how to improve these. I'll work this into a more aesthetically pleasing format for the final draft once I have the variants worked up.

I've scoped out four variants for the back page.

There are two Drifter variants. The Hobo is a laborer wandering between odd jobs on farms, ranches, and mines, and adds Gardening, ID Plants/Fruits, Herding Cattle, Excavation, and Mining. The Poacher is a petty hunter who gets by hunting animals without caring too much whose land he's on, and adds Prowl, Land Navigation, Skin/Preserve Animal Hides, and Lore: Cattle & Animals.

There are two Scavenger variants. The Handyman is a general repairman, basically a discount Operator, who adds Basic Mechanics/Electronics, Jury-Rig, Salvage, and Automotive Mechanics. The Crook is someone who specializes in petty crime and adds Appraise Goods, Pick Pockets, Tailing, Cardsharp, and Find Contraband.

There will likely be plenty of extra room on the back page, so I can add some other variants, weapon/vehicle options, or other stuff that might be useful to GMs. Any ideas?

Good work Hotrod.. Thanks man.

I always thought Vagabonds were the quick-and-dirty expendables anyway.

I've added two additional variants:

A new Drifter variant I'm calling the Fisherman, who uses paddle and/or wind-powered boats to do some coastal fishing for subsistence. Fishermen get Swimming, Preserve Food, Pilot paddle boats, pilot sailboats, and rope works.

A new Scavenger variant I'm calling the Peddler. This is a street merchant and trader who's good at figuring out the value of a thing and finding the right buyer. Peddlers get Appraise Goods, Gemology, Research, Find Contraband, and Math: Basic.

I've also changed the Crook variant's skills a bit to make it more of a petty thief and hustler.

I'll add in some transportation options, and then I'll put up Page 2 for review.

This may be the most helpful chart you've created. I almost never create an actual NPC for Vagabonds I usually just create a generic OCC with the skills I need and drop him in. Same with city rats and mercs too I guess but I am still way more likely to create one of those than a vagabond.

Two Vagabond variants come to mind, of varying usefulness.

First Responder: The two Advanced Training options in Heroes of Humanity explicitly made available to the class are Rescue and Salvage Expert. A line on page 79 intimates that all training programs are available, for what that's worth. Given how skill costs change depending on level it's most efficient for a Vagabond to take these two packages at level 3, for which they sacrifice all O.C.C. Related skills gained after level 1, and all Secondary Skills gained after level 3. In exchange they receive, in addition to minor physical bonuses and several Perception Roll-based abilites, the following skills: Appraise Goods (+20%), Barter (+16%), Basic Mechanics (+10%), Find Contraband (+12%), Mathematics: Basic (+20%) or Advanced (+10%), Recognize Weapon Quality (+10%), Recycling (+20%), Salvage (+20%), Climbing (+15%/25%), Detect Concealment (+5%), Excavation (+ 15%), Firefighting (+20%), Mining (+15%, limited), Paramedic (+20%), and Rope Works (+20%)

Percentile-Denial: a RMB Vagabond can almost entirely forgo rolling for skill use. Their only O.C.C. skills are a couple of languages, Cook, and Pilot Automobile, and selections made could emphasize RC:E/W.P./Physical selections.
I've played this character in the past in conjunction with superpowers, for which those Vagabonds created with the Conversion book received a minor bonus. What skills they would have to roll could through lack of use be argued to atrophy, which allows for the goofy character hook of a character with no need to eat unfortunately convinced they're a good cook.

Curbludgeon wrote:Two Vagabond variants come to mind, of varying usefulness.

First Responder: The two Advanced Training options in Heroes of Humanity explicitly made available to the class are Rescue and Salvage Expert. A line on page 79 intimates that all training programs are available, for what that's worth. Given how skill costs change depending on level it's most efficient for a Vagabond to take these two packages at level 3, for which they sacrifice all O.C.C. Related skills gained after level 1, and all Secondary Skills gained after level 3. In exchange they receive, in addition to minor physical bonuses and several Perception Roll-based abilites, the following skills: Appraise Goods (+20%), Barter (+16%), Basic Mechanics (+10%), Find Contraband (+12%), Mathematics: Basic (+20%) or Advanced (+10%), Recognize Weapon Quality (+10%), Recycling (+20%), Salvage (+20%), Climbing (+15%/25%), Detect Concealment (+5%), Excavation (+ 15%), Firefighting (+20%), Mining (+15%, limited), Paramedic (+20%), and Rope Works (+20%)

Percentile-Denial: a RMB Vagabond can almost entirely forgo rolling for skill use. Their only O.C.C. skills are a couple of languages, Cook, and Pilot Automobile, and selections made could emphasize RC:E/W.P./Physical selections.
I've played this character in the past in conjunction with superpowers, for which those Vagabonds created with the Conversion book received a minor bonus. What skills they would have to roll could through lack of use be argued to atrophy, which allows for the goofy character hook of a character with no need to eat unfortunately convinced they're a good cook.

Interesting ideas on both of those variants, and I think either one could be the basis of an interesting N.P.C. That said, it seems to me that both of those would produce exceptional vagabonds.

The first one is clearly a highly-trained specialized technical expert. A disposable vagabond shouldn't have high levels of training and generally isn't an expert. The variants I've made so far have enough skills to be competent, but their competencies are the product of making their way without wealth, training, or organizational support in a hard and unforgiving world. That said, it's quite compatible with the basic generator I've made. If you want to make another variant sheet, go for it!

The second one is interesting as a NPC concept, but in terms of stats, it's not compatible with what I've put together. One of the tricky things about making these is that any kind of super-powers, psionics, magic, and even many high-tech benefits confer a lot of situational bonuses that tend to take up a lot of space. This is particularly difficult when a character has more than one source of situational bonuses and you have to account for different combinations of bonus overlaps (for example, getting attacked on horseback with 6th sense in the first round vs subsequent rounds). This is why I try to be choosy about what abilities I pick and actively avoid selecting powers and upgrades that make a disposable NPC better at doing something they can already do.

Here is my rough draft of Page 2 of the Vagabond Disposable NPC Generator, providing variants. Happy to have thoughts/critiques.

I'm still not 100% ok with the fact that I have two options on the front page and variants of those two options on the back. What I have seems clumsier than I'd like. When I make the optimized version in Powerpoint, I may do some reorganizing.

Next step is to come up with some Vagabond icons for the final version. I'm open to suggestions on that. Ideas I have so far:
1. Have a stick figure in a sleeping bag up at the top.
2. Use real-life hobo symbols from history here and there (used by hobos historically as signals to each other).
3. Do some basic pictographs for the variants according to the focus of each.

I have finished the second draft of the Vagabond NPC Generator. Here is Page 1. Here is Page 2.
+I've worked all the stuff from the rough drafts into a powerpoint setup. It's higher-definition and should print a lot cleaner.I'm going with a slightly simpler look than what I did with the Combat Cyborg, with no bevels this time.
+I had some space at the bottom of the Variants page, so I've included some optional vehicles: a horse, motorcycle, small ATV (big boss), big ATV (mountaineer), and a small fishing boat (imported from Palladium Fantasy's Adventures on the High Seas).
+I added some icons to go with the variants. Most of them come from this excellent website for free RPG graphics. The only icons I did myself were the Drifter icon and the hand-to-hand special attack icons.

I couldn't think of a generic icon for vagabonds in general, so the top of the front page is kind of plain. Of course, kind of plain is rather symbolic of what vagabonds are all about.

Pending revisions, this NPC generator is done. I'm thinking I might try a City Rat, Headhunter, Merc Soldier, CS SAMAS pilot, CS Technical Officer, or take the plunge and try a Magic N.P.C. generator next. Before I do any of those, though, I need to finish a map project.

Why are cooking and begging listed as "Awareness" skills?

Thank you. I appreciate your efforts.

-STS

Glistam wrote:Why are cooking and begging listed as "Awareness" skills?

Because I forgot to rename that category. When I make the pretty version, I make objects in a Power Point file. The categories are rounded rectangles with some text above them, and I usually duplicate and adjust them as I go.

Thanks for the catch! I've fixed it. Please point out any other goofs you find.

slade the sniper wrote:Thank you. I appreciate your efforts.

-STS

My pleasure! I do plan on making another of these in the next few months. My hobby time is limited and split right now between a Glitter Boy miniature and another map project.

These are great! But I have a question. Why is there an innate penalty to "Aimed Called Shots" and "Quick Called Shots"? These should be made without penalty if the character has a valid WP. A penalty would apply to small targets, but that's situational. Am I missing something?

narcissus wrote:These are great! But I have a question. Why is there an innate penalty to "Aimed Called Shots" and "Quick Called Shots"? These should be made without penalty if the character has a valid WP. A penalty would apply to small targets, but that's situational. Am I missing something?

Thanks, and that's a good question. I used Rifts: Ultimate Edition to create these, and the rules for called shots come on p361:

"Penalties on a Called Shot: Furthermore, a bull's-eye or any small target is difficult to shoot, and even with an Aimed and/or Called Shot, the shooter suffers a penalty of -3 or -4 to strike (sometimes more depending on the target)."

My rule of thumb for these NPC generators is the most average value, rounded down, so the default penalty is -4. You are of course correct that the penalty should be situational, and a GM could adjust or eliminate this penalty if the player is shooting at a larger target. I made the W.P. charts to be a default baseline, not to cover all possible situations. p361 has a bunch of other useful situational bonuses.

It's been a while since I've made one of these, so I started a City Rat generator today. I've never created a City Rat character, so this is my first time diving into the class. A few notes as I go:

City rats are fast! Coming with the running skill plus 1D6+1 to speed, this makes for a median speed of 25.
City rats get three weapons as standard equipment (knife, pistol, and energy pistol), but only one W.P. of choice in their O.C.C. skills. This seems weird to me, because all three weapons seem like they would be important, so I'll treat this generator as if each one is proficient in all three weapons. A GM can always disregard bonuses as appropriate.
All city rats are literate? I honestly did not expect that. Operators aren't literate by default. I would have thought that those would be switched.
RUE mentions a hacker, thief, assassin, and hero/thug as if those are variants and gives attribute requirements, but it provides nothing else on these. This is weird to me. I'm going to ignore the attribute requirements since they have no impact on game mechanics, and I'll probably make the variants according to what's here.
City Rats are the only scholar/adventurer class with no special O.C.C. abilities in RUE.
City Rats are the only O.C.C. I know where the character's P.P.E. actually drops. When the character turns 22, the P.P.E. drops by half.

For the standard handgun, I'm providing three S.D.C. and two M.D.C. options to give G.M.s some range.

For the energy pistol, I'm using my default energy pistol selection, mostly NG options.

For the knife, I'll just let the GM decide if S.D.C. or M.D.C. (vibro) is more appropriate.

Otherwise, the O.C.C. skills all seem straightforward. Picking O.C.C. Related skills for the variants page will likely be a bit more complicated.

With these initial observations, I'd call this class the red-headed stepchild of R.U.E., and that seems poetically appropriate for a city rat. The basic version of this generator is one of the simpler ones I've made so far.

There was a book with City Rat O.C.C. variants, that could be what was being referenced by hacker, thief, assassin, and hero/thug.

EDIT: It was the Bionics sourcebook, pages 15-28.

Hotrod wrote:All city rats are literate? I honestly did not expect that. Operators aren't literate by default. I would have thought that those would be switched.

City Rats are often hackers, which requires literacy.

But more importantly, The Man wants them to be illiterate, and rebels are gonna rebel.

The basic City Rat generator (page 1) is drafted now. Here it is. Notes on this version:
+Unusually for these generators, I'm including 2 O.C.C. Related skills with the front page in order to allow this N.P.C. to be skilled in all the basic starting weapons: basic pistol, energy pistol, and knife.
+I'm giving this City Rat homemade armor, mostly because I like how it scales. I might throw in some other optional suits.
+I'm including 3 S.D.C. pistols and 2 M.D.C. pistols for the standard pistol.
+I'm including the same Energy Pistol options as the Bandit: mostly Northern Gun stuff.
+Since all the knife bonuses are the same, I'm leaving it up to the GM to decide if the damage is going to be 1D6 M.D. or 1D6 S.D.C. Damage bonuses from hand-to-hand will remain S.D.C.
+Vehicle options for this character are a bicycle, two types of motorcycles, and two types of hovercycles. I don't have any options for cars at this point (I don't really remember where I could find some at this point). I'm going for an S.D.C. and M.D.C. option for both of the motorized vehicles.
+City Rats start with an impressive median of 9100 credits/tradable goods. I'm rounding that down to 9K and increasing that with level by increasing amounts.


I've also put together a rough draft of the variants page. Here it is.I'm including the Goon, the Hacker, the Con Artist, and the Thief. This page isn't finished yet; I have a dilemma I want to sort out first (see below).

The Goon variant is a straight-up murderer made to get close to an unsuspecting victim, kill, and get away. For breaking in, the Goon gets prowl, climbing, and pick locks. For getting a murder weapon close to a victim, the Goon gets concealment. The Goon also gets ID Undercover Agent to keep an eye out for guards, and Roadwise to help get away after a crime and have some good places to ditch a vehicle or body. For cybernetics, Goons get a tracer bug/tracker, nightvision eye, garrote wrist wire, and cyber-stinger that can paralyze or poison. Note that I'm not giving this variant upgraded hand-to-hand skills or physical skills; this character is meant to be all about sneak attacks and getting the drop on victims, not fights (fair or no).

Dilemma: I want to give the Goon an additional weapon or two with S.D.C. and M.D.C. options, but I'm not sure what would be appropriate. My first instinct was to go with the JA-11 for some casual across-the-street murder, but that would break the rule of these characters not starting with nice things. The C-12 is a decent choice that gives the character some S.D.C. and M.D.C. options, but I'd rather give the character a range of options for different weapons within a weapon type. Suggestions are welcome on this one.

The Hacker variant is built for cyber crime, with the skills you'd expect to tap into all sorts of communications. For cybernetics, Hackers get a Universal Headjack, Optic Nerve Video Implant, Radio Bandit's Ear, and Telephone Jack.

The Con Artist is built to swindle people out of their money, property, and secrets via fraud (begging, seduction, and imitate voices) and cheating (palming, gambling: dirty tricks, cardsharp, and concealment). For cybernetics, they get disguises, micro-recorder, and a cyber-stinger that can inject a tranquilizer or a truth serum.

The Thief variant is built to straight-up steal stuff, either by pick-pocketing or by breaking and entering. For cybernetics, Thief variants get a Clock Calendar, Nightvision Eye, Climb Cord, and Radar Sensor.

Hello again,

Its been a while and I hope that you are still making these.

I've had time to play a few games and I found that the following list of NPCs (in addition to what you have already made) seem to come up the most - at least in our games:
Almost everything from the New West world book (Gamblers, Bounty Hunters, law men, etc.)
Bounty Hunters
Brodkill
Headhunters
Pecos Raiders
SAMAS Pilots
Simvan
Vampires (the lesser ones)
Xiticix
Demons

I'm not expecting you to make charts for everything I listed. I know its a lot of work. But it would be a boon to everyone in the hobby.

Again, THANK YOU!!

MackDaMerc wrote:Hello again,

Its been a while and I hope that you are still making these.

I've had time to play a few games and I found that the following list of NPCs (in addition to what you have already made) seem to come up the most - at least in our games:
Almost everything from the New West world book (Gamblers, Bounty Hunters, law men, etc.)
Bounty Hunters
Brodkill
Headhunters
Pecos Raiders
SAMAS Pilots
Simvan
Vampires (the lesser ones)
Xiticix
Demons

I'm not expecting you to make charts for everything I listed. I know its a lot of work. But it would be a boon to everyone in the hobby.

Again, THANK YOU!!

You’re quite welcome! It’s great to hear these are coming in handy.

It’s probably time to make another one. I kind of shelved this project as I was wrapping up my dissertation, but that’s all done now. I’ll do some thinking on which one to do next; thanks for the list of suggestions!

That’s quite a range of possibilities there. I’m not sure what I’ll do next, but I’ll start by looking at the creation rules for vampires, Brodkil, Xiticix, and Simvan. I’d rather like to try something different from what I’ve done thus far.

Update: It's been a while since I did this, and I realized today that I had never finished polishing up the City Rat Generator, so I spent some time on it today:
+Tweaked the layout to align the category labels better and cleaner.
+The NG P-7 was listed as an optional energy pistol on the front page, which is wrong, as the P-7 is a particle beam rifle. I adjusted it to the NG-45 LP.
+I opted to include some optional concealed energy pistols, which I thought might be appropriate for City Rats. The last entry is a laser cane, which I'm counting as a pistol (New West doesn't specify which W.P. gets used). I think this satisfies my desire for more weapon options for the Goon, while providing some options for the other variants, too.

Here's the final version of the City Rat Basic NPC Generator.
Here's the final variants page of the City Rat NPC Generator.

I'll add these to the original post, too.

I've been thinking of doing a Simvan Generator next.

Ok, I got the itch today, and I put together a rough hack at a basic SAMAS Pilot N.P.C. Generator. Some notes:

-I put in all the C.S. energy pistol options I could find. There are 3, so I also included the C-5 Pump Pistol (even though W.P. Energy Pistol probably doesn't apply) and the NG-57 heavy ion pistol (even though it's not C.S. make).

-The front page of this N.P.C. generator is crowded. The reason for this is that I have to do all the combat stats twice: once for when the N.P.C. is in body armor, and once in the SAMAS. I'll need to make some adjustments to fit the skills and equipment in. Right now I have 5 optional pistols and rifles included, and I may need to cut them and put them on the variants page.

-SAMAS pilots don't start with W.P. Heavy Mega Damage Weapons, which is weird, since that's the W.P. associated with the rail gun and mini-missile launcher of the basic SAMAS. I use the "of choice" W.P. to do just that. While this does make this N.P.C. more effective, it seems like an omission in the O.C.C. write-up.

-I still need to do a graphic for the SAMAS and its M.D.C. by location.

-I also need to populate the % skills once I find room to squeeze them in.

Here is the first draft of the SAMAS NPC Generator.

Notes:
+I had to reduce both the energy pistol and energy rifle options to two for each, to reflect old and new styles.
+I created a very simple pair of hit-location diagrams to give M.D.C. by location.

The result is functional, but not exactly stylish. I might try doing a faded skull icon watermark across the whole thing to make it a little cooler.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Wow, those are great. Eagerly looking forward to your take on LL Walker and Psi NPC generators. Only way I've been able to keep my spell list straight as a LL Walker is by using TheBrain, basically a fancy GUI for a database that makes it easy to see the spells grouped by level or Category, or cast time, like you did.

Dracolych68 wrote:Wow, those are great. Eagerly looking forward to your take on LL Walker and Psi NPC generators. Only way I've been able to keep my spell list straight as a LL Walker is by using TheBrain, basically a fancy GUI for a database that makes it easy to see the spells grouped by level or Category, or cast time, like you did.

Thanks! Psychic characters are tricky, as they have lots of situational bonuses with some powers. The ones that are built around a common set are doable (see the Psi-Stalker and Dog Boy generators I've already done), so a Burster wouldn't be very much trouble.

At some point I should probably ask Palladium if they're cool with me posting my Spell Selector Tool (which sorts and categorizes every spell in RUE) and a similar Psychic Power Selector Tool, which would definitely open the door for me to make some basic magic user NPC generators. Even so, classes like the Mind Melter and Ley Line Walker are tricky to capture in a simple 1-sheet NPC generator, because there's so much customization in how they level up. Players pick and choose spells as they advance, and there's no set progression or order to spell selection. What I might do is come up with a basic set of stats and then have a few lists of powers/spells for a given LLW or MM with particular focus areas. That's a ways off now.

Right now, I need to figure out what to do with the back side of the SAMAS NPC generator. Usually I throw in skill packages to give some additional capabilities and focuses for the NPC, but in this case, I think it might be more useful to provide stats enabling a GM to use this NPC generator for pilots in a Super SAMAS, Smiling Jack, Striker SAMAS, and maybe the FQ Violator.

This is great stuff. Thank you for all the hard work.

Makes me wants to play a city rat now our Worldy Sasquatch (random thought).

I've caught and corrected some mistakes in my first SAMAS Pilot NPC Generator:
+The Skills category had a bunch of stuff from the SAMAS weapons section above it, because I was lazy and copied/pasted it and forgot to delete the extras. It's fixed.
+The SAMAS Weapons category didn't have the range or ammunition capacity for the CR-40 Rail Gun, or the number/volley capacity of the mini missile launcher. It does now.
+I didn't include anything about the running, leaping, or flying speed of the SAMAS in the first draft. I've added that into the Hand-to-Hand (in SAMAS) category.

Overall, I'm satisfied with how I've done the skills/bonus, but I don't like how I'm kind of jamming information about the SAMAS suit itself into the available space. I think it would be better to come up with a single condensed stat block that has all the suit's stuff: weapons, missiles, MDC by location, robot P.S., and movement stats. I need to re-think my approach here.

Also, I'm not sure what kind of variants/specialties might be appropriate for a SAMAS pilot.

hbrika wrote:This is great stuff. Thank you for all the hard work.

Makes me wants to play a city rat now our Worldy Sasquatch (random thought).

Thanks! I'd never played a city rat, myself (true of quite a few of these NPC Generator classes, actually), and it was fun to dive into it.

Adore the tiny picture icons next to the skill sets.

Please, do more.

I'm working up another N.P.C. generator right now, but this one's for a new O.C.C.; I'm working it up as part of a submission.

For the next one, though, I'm thinking I'll dive in the deep end and do a spell caster. Probably a Ley Line Walker, as I don't want to complicate the heck out of it by mixing in magic and psionics (Mystics and Techno-Wizards will have to wait).

These are great and were a huge help in my last few convention games. One thing that I think PB has always needed and you've done a great job.

Two suggestions:
1) Have you considered doing 3 or 4 versions instead of 15? What I always thought would be helpful, and I did this for Robotech 1e back in the day, is create 3 or maybe even 4 versions of a particular class. Low, medium, high and mybe very high. So doing a level 2, 5, 8 and maybe 12 for them. This might really help when you're doing more complex characters like mages.

2) have you considered doing demons and Monsters? Things like gargoyles, brodkil, neoron beasts, etc. That could be really helpful.

Wow! Awesome work!! Please, keep it coming!

I agrre with this too:

Warshield73 wrote:2) have you considered doing demons and Monsters? Things like gargoyles, brodkil, neoron beasts, etc. That could be really helpful.

mobuttu wrote:Wow! Awesome work!! Please, keep it coming!

I agrre with this too:

Warshield73 wrote:2) have you considered doing demons and Monsters? Things like gargoyles, brodkil, neoron beasts, etc. That could be really helpful.

I did a prototype monster generator a couple of years ago for a Manticore in Palladium Fantasy. [url]Here it is.[/url] It has five power levels with different dice roll averages. For monsters and creatures that don't have experience levels, this would be a pretty straightforward process for creating some Rifts monster generators.

Warshield's idea of having maybe 5 power levels for NPCs might also work with this approach, by setting N.P.C. or monster experience levels to 1, 3, 5, 8, and 12. That could simplify future N.P.C. generators. I'm already using only five level-based weapon options, so there's a certain elegance that might come with that.

What Rifts monster/demon/creature would you want to see me try first?

Hotrod wrote:What Rifts monster/demon/creature would you want to see me try first?

Pick one: Brodkil, Gargoyles or Secondary Vampires.