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Basing it more on skills than combat is usually necessary in a case like that, whrere the focus is on solving problems.

Aequitas wrote:Let's say you had to run a game using players that had all picked Rogue Scientists, (emphasis on Science rather than Mechanics) Rogue Scholars, Vagabonds and Hacker City Rats? How do you balance the whole adventure so that each character contributes? Are there any advantages to a combat-light game of Rifts?

Yes there are advantages for combat light games.

1 being they actually have to roll play thier game more so then normal which I like .

The other being that as Rogue Scholars, Vegabonds and Hacker City Rats thier not going to be able to merely fight thier way outta every situation, and they will in fact have to play each possible battle type scenario out VERY carefully.

And another is that you do not need to present a bad@$$ up against them. 1 single Coalition Soilder of evuivlent lvl would be more then sufficient to make thier lives horrible. Especially if thier on a "Wanted" list an that Soilder was trying to bank in on them.

Without combat/rules based conflict handling of some kind, roleplay becomes rather like talking the talk without walking the walk. The omph of roleplaying is that you face some sort of potential consequences for what you said. That's what makes what you said more than alot of hot air.

Mind you alot of groups fudge it so combat only has the appearance of potentially having consequences. So you don't really need rules based conflict in those situations.

Aequitas wrote:Let's say you had to run a game using players that had all picked Rogue Scientists, (emphasis on Science rather than Mechanics) Rogue Scholars, Vagabonds and Hacker City Rats? How do you balance the whole adventure so that each character contributes? Are there any advantages to a combat-light game of Rifts?

Like many said, you're going to have alot more RP than usual.

The most important thing is coming up with a campaign.

Some ideas

1) An erin tarn type adventure. They are part of a caravan that goes into areas for a more indepth look at areas Erin tarn has been too. They start at lazlo, and move to mexico, south of there, then across the sea. Each one using their skills to catalog information about the city. The Scientist any types of technologies, the Scholars are the navigators and face of the group, the Vegabond the sort of "jack of all trades" and the hacker the comp expert.

2) Espionage. This is a group who is paid by a company (such as wilks) to try and find secrets other companies have (such as Triax). Scholars are catalogs and faces, Vegabonds are the "street" guys...hacker helps bypass security...ect...

3) Commisioned to follow a lead: A group paid to find out of X prerifts item existed and see if they can get it operational. This could mean a trip to madhaven.

4) Government: Set out to sabotage a government. Maybe it's CS, maybe it's Lazlo maybe it's FQ. Their to use their skills to get into and find items of value.

5) Diplomats: As with #1 but with more of a focus on long term stay. This could mean they are going as representitives to New Camalot and find the place to be full of fail and lose and decide to nuke the area.