RIFTS -- COOLEST OCC from the Mainbook ??

[TechnoGothic]

COOLEST OCC from the Mainbook ??

NOT listing any RCC of any kind. Just the OCCs.

Up to 3 Selections. Can re-vote aka change your answer if you want.

[TechnoGothic]

I voted :
Glitter Boy
Vagabond (only OCC that can get super-abilities)
Techno-Wizards

[Riftdevil]

CYber-Knights are just killer now!!! I also love Battle Mages from FoM!!
The Borg creation rules are pretty cool too!

[GaredBattlespike]

Greetings!

I voted:
A) Headhunter
Reasons:
1) Skills available are AWESOME! HTH: Commando! ANY Miltary Skill with a + 15% Bonus! Can have RPA: Elite !
2) Bionics/Cybernetics!
Do I REALLY need to explain just how awesome this advantage is?
3) OCC Bonuses: + 1 Vs HF every few levels, + 1 to Initiative Rolls over several Levels (+ 4 Total), + to Perception = SURVIVAL!!! + 3D6 SDC is nice for ANY Man of Arms OCC!

B) SAMAS Pilot!
Reasons:
1) SAMAS Suits ARE awesome! Versitile, Fast and well armed, they are the best FLYING PA Suits in Offical PB use!
2) RPA ELITE in a good suit makes it better, RPA ELITE in a great suit is a nightmare for enemies!!!
3) Prestige! Flyboys get the girls, glory and the GOOD booze! SAMAS Pilots get em all in spades!!!

C) Ley Line Walkers
Reasons:
1) Spells! The ALMOST unlimited selection makes the LLW THE PREMIER general Spellcaster of Rifts Earth!
2) Line Walker Abilities.
So many uses near a Ley Line it's not even funny! Seriously. I do not mind True Atlantians having the same abilities, as long as I have them!!!
3) Nice + 4 Vs Horror Factor is good. Spell Strength and Save Vs Magic Bonuses are even better!

Thank you, but I wanted to vote Mind Melter my #2 Choice over the CD SAMAS Pilot. Oh well.

Good Gaming, GaredBattlespike

[jaymz]

Cyberknight
Headhunter
Ley Line Walker

[Killer Cyborg]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

[jaymz]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

I myself think both incarnations can be pretty kick ass so....also yb the book yo cna be a power arour using spell lobbin monster as a ley line walker

[jaymz]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

Not a fan of the zen techno combat fighting.

Yeah but even without the Zen combat trainig the update is a decent one

I houserule teh Zen to be optional versus Tech OR Supernatural, that way yousort of get specialist with a third option of taking a Physical MOS to add to the already formidable physcial abilites and to be a more balanced knight but that just me.

Aside from the the head hunter is hte all around best man at arms in either RMB or RUE I think adn the Ley Line walker is hte staple of magic users.

[jedi078]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

I agree that the 'vs tech' stuff needs to be removed from the Cyber-Knight OCC. I don't mind the living cyber armor.

Anyhow my three choices:
Glitter Boy
Cyber-Knight
Rouge Scientist

[Bood Samel]

Headhunters are a long time favorite of mine. Just a well rounded ass kicker. BK Headhunters even more so.

[Zer0 Kay]

Crazys because I get to act completley normal... for me
Rogue Scholar by best my favorite Rifts game was at POH 09 when I was a RS. I had all the info and the brains to use it. Basically everyone ended up having to depend on me in order to complete the mission.
Techno Wizard hell why not I like making gadgets in other games what tech could possibly be used to make a sniper rifle that allows you to see through walls and then fire a bullet which would teleport inside a persons armor to strike them dead?

[csbioborg]

the CS grunt is by far the coolest
he is the man on the front fighting for god and country
against impossible odds
he's the man that looks the dragon in the eye and keeps firing just to by the human villagers a few xtra seconds to escape
the other OCC's are men of little honor that fight for personal glory
even the cyberknight is a individual that is unwilling to unconditionally believe in their cause
look at the siege of tolkeen and how they acted as evidence
nah when the hard choices need to be made its 20 year old lance corprals fresh from Chi town that are saving humanity
guided by the wise hand of there staff NCOs
they don't have psi swords or mdc just conviction and with it they have taken on the xenos hordes and made them run

[batlchip]

operator:I can always find work or mod things to help the party.
headhunter:It's always fun to blow stuff up because you need the money.
crazy:It's a really fun O.C.C to play.

[Damian Magecraft]

mages any of them.

[keir451]

For me, all of these O.C.C.s are cool in their own ways.

Borgs are cool, because they get a M.D.C. body and weapons attached to it.
Coalition Grunts are cool, because they are soldiers in an army.
Coalition Elite RPAs are cool, because they can operate Power Armors, particularly the SAMAS.
Coalition Military Specialist are cool, because they are officers in an army.
Coalition Technical Officer are cool, because they get to specialize themselves in 5 areas that are vital to an army.
Crazies are cool, well, because they are crazy enough to do things.
Cyber-Knights are cool, because they are Knights with effective powers and a Code of Chivalry to follow.
Glitter Boys are cool, because they have Glitter Boy Power Armors.
Headhunters are cool, because they are hired warriors and gets to decide who lives and dies in a business contract.
Juicers are cool, because they live for the motto, "Live fast, die young.".
Body Fixers are cool, because they are medical doctors who get to hang around cute nurses.
City Rats are cool, because they just hang around do things that are fun and interesting.
Cyber-Docs are cool, because they get permission to redesign someone.
Operators are cool, because they can fix lots of fun things.
Rogue Scientists are cool, because they get to figure out interesting things.
Rogue Scholars are cool, because they can do heavy research on interesting things.
Wilderness Scouts are cool, because they get to explore the surroundings.
Vagabonds are cool, because they just stick to surviving day by day.
Ley Line Walkers are cool, because they get to play around Ley Lines.
Mystics are cool, because they play on the metaphysical aspects in life.
Shifters are cool, because they get to play with dimensional doorways to other places in the Megaverse.
Techno-Wizards are cool, because they get to mix magic with technology.

There are simply all wonderful O.C.C.s to play with. I made characters of all of these, including all of the R.C.C.s too, back when I was still playing.

What he said in spades!!! Tho' three votes just ain't enough!

[The Baron of chaos]

For me, all of these O.C.C.s are cool in their own ways.

Borgs are cool, because they get a M.D.C. body and weapons attached to it.
Coalition Grunts are cool, because they are soldiers in an army.
Coalition Elite RPAs are cool, because they can operate Power Armors, particularly the SAMAS.
Coalition Military Specialist are cool, because they are officers in an army.
Coalition Technical Officer are cool, because they get to specialize themselves in 5 areas that are vital to an army.
Crazies are cool, well, because they are crazy enough to do things.
Cyber-Knights are cool, because they are Knights with effective powers and a Code of Chivalry to follow.
Glitter Boys are cool, because they have Glitter Boy Power Armors.
Headhunters are cool, because they are hired warriors and gets to decide who lives and dies in a business contract.
Juicers are cool, because they live for the motto, "Live fast, die young.".
Body Fixers are cool, because they are medical doctors who get to hang around cute nurses.
City Rats are cool, because they just hang around do things that are fun and interesting.
Cyber-Docs are cool, because they get permission to redesign someone.
Operators are cool, because they can fix lots of fun things.
Rogue Scientists are cool, because they get to figure out interesting things.
Rogue Scholars are cool, because they can do heavy research on interesting things.
Wilderness Scouts are cool, because they get to explore the surroundings.
Vagabonds are cool, because they just stick to surviving day by day.
Ley Line Walkers are cool, because they get to play around Ley Lines.
Mystics are cool, because they play on the metaphysical aspects in life.
Shifters are cool, because they get to play with dimensional doorways to other places in the Megaverse.
Techno-Wizards are cool, because they get to mix magic with technology.

There are simply all wonderful O.C.C.s to play with. I made characters of all of these, including all of the R.C.C.s too, back when I was still playing.

I think we can all agree with this Ryu.

[Ice Dragon]

Techno Wizard
Coalition R.P.A.Elite (Samas Pilot)
Glitter Boy

Nuff said.

[DBX]

at the moment
TW
ck
dragon

like concept
shifter
juicer
crazy

[dragonfett]

I voted Headhunter because I have always envisioned them as a futuristic, high-tech private investigator.
I voted Operator for several reasons.
1. They are described as people with an intuitive sense about machines and electronics.
2. They can learn how to pilot (and fight in) what they fix.
3. They are like Clerics from D&D, just way cooler (and yes, I was that guy that liked to play the healer every now and again in D&D)
I voted Techno-Wizard for several reasons as well.
1. They combine magic with technology (both of which I like).
2. If you think about it, they are basically magical operators (as opposed to psionic).
3. They can make damn near anything you can think of, or add features to existing items.
4. In short, they can do more with magic than a LLW ever could IMHO.

[RoadWarriorFWaNK]

Glitter Boy - because its probably the most awesome power armor suit anywhere in pop culture. I like the way they are handled in-game; as living legends who are to be feared and respected. I don't like the proliferation of Glitter Boy armor in the world books; most of them are pretty crappy and uninspired. The original USA-G10 outshines them all. (see what i did there?)

City Rat - a good class with an emphasis on urban living and rogue skills. You dont see a whole lot of classes that nullify the City Rat or make it obsolete. They can be anything; bruisers, shooters, thieves, junkies, hackers, smugglers, con-artists. I love that versatility.

Shifter - So rifts tear open and creatures emerge to devour humanity, right? the shifter is the master of both those creatures and the rifts they crawl out of. A very powerful class that is thankfully not game-breaking like so many others.

i feel all of the classes have their place. These three are my favorites.

[Subjugator]

I love borgs.

/Sub

[taalismn]

I went with 'Borgs for combat munchkinry, Rogue Scholars because the OCC perforce have to use their brains to survive, and TechnoWizards because they can come up with cool stuff.
If it had been FOUR choices, I'd have tossed on CyberKnights because of their Zen-like powers, but they alos tend to have big targets painted on them(since almost everybody seems to hate the psionic Boy Scouts).

[Subjugator]

I added operators and rogue scientists, because they are the power behind the fist.

/Sub

[Shawn Merrow]

Body Fixers (Doctor): Most of my PC have been doctors.
Coalition RPA Elite or "Sam": I just love the SAMAS.
Rogue Scholar: Love the intellectual classes.

[JuliusCreed]

First choice... Juicers! I love 'em! "If it's dangerous, do it . If it's suicidal, do it NOW!" Never really cared about the limited lifespan because these are guys that, more often than not, really don't care what happens, as long as there's a brilliant blaze of glory in the end. For the unfortunate few who are forced into the life, they make the greatest tragic hero or embittered villain, hoping to be able to come up with the cash for detox before their time runs out or just saying screw the world, if I'm going down and taking as many of these SOB's with me as I can before I fall! And considering the rather amped up abilities compared to many other OCC's, they can take down quite a few!

Second choice... Glitter Boys! A piece of walking combat history, worthy of the respect of any who face one on the battlefield. Carrying one of the most powerful weapons on the planet, they are a force to be feared. He may not connect as often as some of the lighter and faster PA suits, but when he does connect, you KNOW you've been hit! Couple that with enough armor to take a beating that would leave lighter suits as scrap, and still dish out a world of pain, and you've got yourself a nice addition to any group. The only real drawback to this OCC is being the Lone Ranger. Without a little backup to cover your butt, you can get taken down pretty quick when you get into the thick of it against a well trained team. If your a GB, DON'T WALK ALONE!

And Finally... Line Walkers! Knowledge is Power! And these guys have a lot of Power! Rogue Scholars are good for knowledge. Line Walkers just have that little extra edge of having knowledge that does damage! The largest base of magic knowledge available in the world and, with the right skill choices, the brains to know how, when and where to use it make these guys devastating in the right players hands. Need to take out that platoon of troops? A well placed River of Lava, Tornado or Earthquake should do the trick. And if there happens to be a ley line, or even better, a NEXUS around... forget about it! Toasty Black Lobster on the menu tonight, boys!

[VooDu]

Rogue Scholar. They can have super powers and be smart.

[Dr Megaverse]

1.) Juicer. Live hard, live fast, die well. That's what makes a great game of Rifts.

2.) RPA Pilot. Any of em, power armor is sahweet!

3.) Shifter. Whoa, did that guy just cut open the fabric of reality and willingy step through?!? Holy *explative deleted*!

[Riftdevil]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

Not a fan of the zen techno combat fighting.

Curious, why are several posters not a fan of the Zen Techno Combat Fighting? Just want to hear the arguments against it.

I thought it was a great addition to the Cyber Knight. They are like Ninjas vs Tech. I loved the idea that a normal sdc character could learn the skills to take on high tech and survive!

They are tough characters w/o it, but even more fun with it. IMHO

[jaymz]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

Not a fan of the zen techno combat fighting.

Curious, why are several posters not a fan of the Zen Techno Combat Fighting? Just want to hear the arguments against it.

I thought it was a great addition to the Cyber Knight. They are like Ninjas vs Tech. I loved the idea that a normal sdc character could learn the skills to take on high tech and survive!

They are tough characters w/o it, but even more fun with it. IMHO

I think it is more of the fact they are JUST as well known for fighitng the supernatural yet they get no bonuses verus the supernatural.

[Riftdevil]

Headhunters are a long time favorite of mine. Just a well rounded ass kicker. BK Headhunters even more so.

I also love the HHs!! Never liked the idea of the Juicers!! Especially the ones who won't even consider detox. My characters usually just consider them dangerous suicides who take to long too die and want to take as many people with them as they can. These are the types who want power with no actual training! But they are extremely fun to mess with!!

[Riftdevil]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

Not a fan of the zen techno combat fighting.

Curious, why are several posters not a fan of the Zen Techno Combat Fighting? Just want to hear the arguments against it.

I thought it was a great addition to the Cyber Knight. They are like Ninjas vs Tech. I loved the idea that a normal sdc character could learn the skills to take on high tech and survive!

They are tough characters w/o it, but even more fun with it. IMHO

I think it is more of the fact they are JUST as well known for fighitng the supernatural yet they get no bonuses verus the supernatural.

Ahh! Makes sense!!

[jaymz]

Are you talking about the original Cyber-Knights, or the new ones?
Because the original were pretty cool, but the new ones are crap.

Not a fan of the zen techno combat fighting.

Curious, why are several posters not a fan of the Zen Techno Combat Fighting? Just want to hear the arguments against it.

I thought it was a great addition to the Cyber Knight. They are like Ninjas vs Tech. I loved the idea that a normal sdc character could learn the skills to take on high tech and survive!

They are tough characters w/o it, but even more fun with it. IMHO

I think it is more of the fact they are JUST as well known for fighitng the supernatural yet they get no bonuses verus the supernatural.

Ahh! Makes sense!!

I think most of us just took the bonuses versus tech and applied them against the suprernatural then allowed the OCC to choose a focus, tech or supernatural.

[Riftdevil]

Okay, but zen combat against tech requires training and learning abilities vs tech, which would include sensors and weapon systems that are pretty fungible in all types of tech. However, for supernatural you would have to have training vs the various types of monsters. I could see picking one or two types to specialize in, like a demon or vampire hunter, but to use it against all supernatural doesn't make sense to me. I could just be overthinking it a bit!!

[Killer Cyborg]

Curious, why are several posters not a fan of the Zen Techno Combat Fighting? Just want to hear the arguments against it.

I thought it was a great addition to the Cyber Knight. They are like Ninjas vs Tech. I loved the idea that a normal sdc character could learn the skills to take on high tech and survive!

Some of my posts from previous threads on the subject:

viewtopic.php?p=454110#p454110

Cyberknights were pretty tough in the main book, expecially at higher levels. Their Psi-sword couldn't stack up with a high level Mind Melter's Psi-sword, but it was always cool weapon and the damage stacked well with the other melee weapons in all the books up through Atlantis.
Power creep crept along and eventually the psi-sword was outclassed by TW swords that do 1d6x10 and make you invulnerable.
But that still doesn't make the original Cyber-knight outdated.
As has been mentioned, Cyber-knights can use any weapon that a CS grunt or Headhunter can.
They automatically get Cyber-Armor, which is a nice back-up way of saving your life.
They get attribute bonuses, extra SDC, and combat bonuses.
They have an 80% chance of having psionics.
Also, check out their skill selection.
They are restricted in Mechanical and Medical skills, other than that, they can choose from ANY of the other skills in the book.
Their skill selection is second only to Rogue Scholar.
They are the best overall blend of all aspects of Rifts excepting only magic. They have skills, firepower, combat abilities, cybernetics, and psionics.
Anybody who scoffs at them isn't paying attention.

Still, I agree that they could use some buffing up to compensate for power creep. The Psi-sword doesn't stack up against the TW swords and absurdly powerful MD chainsaws in later books.
I actually like the way that they fleshed out the Psi-Swords in SoT, but the rest of it was inappropriate for the OCC.

First of all, the OCC is called "cyber-knights".
There is nothing Cyber about having psychic powers that help you dodge technology. If they wanted to pump up their power level they could have just given them more cybernetics at later levels in addition to their Cyber-armor.

Second, The anti-tech powers don't fit the class because Cyberknights exist to fight evil in all it's forms. Not just in the form of the CS or other technological powers. It says this clearly in the main book under the OCC description.

Third, they took the only Cyber aspect of the OCC, the Cyber-armor, and made it less cyber by making it become a living part of them.

So the "cyber"-knights are now a class that gets the bulk of their powers from psionics, lose their Cyber aspect at higher levels, and are geared to destroy technology.
Does this make sense to you?
Maybe if they changed the name to "Psyber-Knights".

A friend of mine pointed out that if they were going to go the whole "living armor" route, they should have extended this power instead of having the anti-tech psionics.
Picture this:

As the CKs increase in level, they can pick new cybernetic implants here and there. These implants all bond with the CK and become a living part of him (or her). Because the cyberware is alive and part of the CK, none of these implants actually interfere with their psionic powers.

I certainly would find that to be more appropriate.

The people who argue for the new anti-tech powers usually argue one of two views:
-That the Cyberknights needed to be more powerful.
Maybe so, but the powers should have been in line with the character class. mages needed to be more powerful, but they didn't start giving mages free cyberware as they level up because it wouldn't make any sense...

-That Cyberknights purpose is to battle the growing CS.
Except that this goes directly agains their stated purpose to fight all evil and corruption.
Main Book, p. 63
"Some believe that the cyber-knights came into being to oppose the ever growing and corrupt Coalition. Others say that they came to fight the hordes of supernatural beings that terrorize the land. The truth is that they are the champions of all who are oppressed, weak, and innocent, whether they be threatened by the Coalition or monsters from a rift."

Any gain in powers that the Cyberknights get, if they MUST have their power jacked up at all, should be able to be utilized against ALL enemies, not just foes with technology. It should be able to be used against xiticix, vampires, Nyxla and his followers, dinosaurs, witchlings, thornhead demons, faerie folk, neuron beasts, rhino-buffalo, and even the Lord of the Deep.
By giving the CKs powers that are limited to only one type of foe, they chop the purpose of the CK in half and change the class from a fighter against all evil to a specialist against one type.

The rest I'll put in spoiler tags:

Spoiler:

What about Zen is anti-technology?
Nothing.
They might as well have chalked it up to feng shui or oragami.

They should put the "cyber" in "Cyber-Knight, not take it away.
They're not Zen-Knights, and they're not Psyber-Knights.
At least they shouldn't be, IMHO.

viewtopic.php?p=950359#p950359

My complaints:
1. The original cyberknight was already powerful enough.
2. The changes don't fit the idea that cyberknights battle evil in any form. It gears them way too heavily in one direction.
3. The zen-combat giving bonuses against technology is stupid. Where's the zen in anti-tech powers? Zen archers are fantastic archers against any target, not just against tech devices.
4. They're called cyberknights. The changes make them the opposite of cyber. It gives them anti-tech powers, which is about as anti-cyber as you can get. And it takes the only thing about them that WAS cyber, their cyber-armor, and makes it less cyber by having the armor become a living part of them.

The only things I like about the changes:
1. The expanded description of the psi-sword.
2. The psi-shield.

I find the powers lame altogether.
Cyberknights are not juicers. They should not get auto-dodge.
Part of the appeal of cyberknights originally, for me, was that they were 97% ordinary guy with good training. They had a psi-sword for special circumstances, and they had cyber-armor as backup in case their outer armor got trashed.
The champions of the people were practically ordinary people. They had good training, but were not superhuman.

The new cyberknights are superhuman.
They're on the same level as Crazies and Juicers, but without paying any real price.

IF they had decided to come up with an entirely NEW OCC with super-funky-zen-autododge-powers and other crap, I wouldn't have had nearly as much of a problem with it.
But instead they trashed a class that I liked in order to give me something I despise.

In making the Cyberknights superhuman, they took away their humanity.

One of the things I liked about the original Cyberknights is that they were MODERN knights. They used modern weapons, just like King Arthur's knights would do if they were formed today. There's nothing that says that knights can't move with the times.
Knights have always used the best technology of the day. You didn't see them using bronze weapons in the Iron Age, for example.
Why would you see them using swords in the energy rifle age, other than as a backup weapon or for duels of honor?
You wouldn't.

On the other hand, I tend to think that giving a knight auto-dodge and other superpower tricks IS taking away from their "knightness".
Knights are elite, highly skilled humans.
Not superhumans with zen powers that give them an edge.

Originally, power in Rifts came with a price. Crazies were superhuman, but at the cost of their sanity. Juicers were superhuman, but it cost them their lives. Borgs were superhuman, but it cost them their humanity. Power Armor pilots were superhuman, but only in their armor, which cost a lot to maintain and repair and which made them high profile, high-priority targets.
Now Cyberknights have the same level of power, and they don't pay any real price for it. Their super-powers are free.
It goes against the original nature of the game and the class...
...they always had the will and determination to deal with super opponents.
Now they have the power, which is one heck of a lot less impressive.

[jaymz]

Okay, but zen combat against tech requires training and learning abilities vs tech, which would include sensors and weapon systems that are pretty fungible in all types of tech. However, for supernatural you would have to have training vs the various types of monsters. I could see picking one or two types to specialize in, like a demon or vampire hunter, but to use it against all supernatural doesn't make sense to me. I could just be overthinking it a bit!!

It does if you think that they are focused on essentially psychically clouding minds instead of technology. They cloud minds the smae way they can cloud any and all technological sensors evne though there are different version fo sensors as well. Youc an psychically recognize or see what a lvingin being will do nistead of robot or artifical intelligence adn there are amny different version of technologial oponetns as wel.

[gaby]

I like Cyber-knight,Operatons and Ley line Walker.

What about the New OCC, in Ultimate Edition of the main book?

[strtkwr]

I have always been partial to the Glitter Boy OCC. probably because I was 14 when Rifts came out, and the GB (with it's 770 MDC and 3d6x10 boom gun) was like the end-all-be-all of mecha.

[Vrykolas2k]

Borg
Cyber-Knight
Ley Line Walker

[TechnoGothic]

The Coolest OCCs so far seem to be :

Cyber-Knights
Juicers
Techno-Wizards

[Lord_Dalgard]

Chello!
Or me, Borgs, crazies, and SAMAS pilot. All for different reasons, but I do tend to like "fighter" typers over mages in any game.

[TechnoGothic]

Most likely not. Ryu.
I was in a Rifts Mainbook mood that day.

Right now I'm in a Nightbane Mood.