This is a really hard question, but one that I really should answer.
#1. Rifts®: Adventure Guide (★★★★) I am a bit surprised this is here at #1 to tell you the honest truth because it essentially has ZERO player content.
However, as a Game Master it has been pivotal in my understanding of Rifts Earth. Not only does it touch on HOW to build the world, it also taught me in-game economics, pacing, and HOW things operate while giving me hard statistics for the 'Burbs.
● Rules for building communities
● Rules for building guilds/syndicates
● Rules for building mercenary companies
● NPC Archetypes
● The availability of mega-damage weaponry throughout North America (Rifts Earth)
#2. Rifts®: Game Master Guide (★★★) Although a lot of people do not like this book. Its been my best friend since starting the game, and without it there is NO WAY I'd have such a comprehensive understanding of the rules as I have today. Most of the time, the questions folks ask are answered in the Game Master Guide. I see it as "the book with everything the Game Master needs to know" as opposed to the R:UE which I see as "Everything you need to know how to play" (there is a big difference in my experience). Plus, its got the following which is exceptionally handy for a game master on the fly:
● An extensive list of almost every armor in the game.
● An extensive list of almost every skill in the game.
● An extensive list of all (most) R.C.C.s/O.C.C.s and their locations in the books.
● An extensive list of almost every power armor in the game and their location in the books.
● An extensive list of almost every robot in the game and their location in the books.
● An extensive list of almost every weapon in the game and their location in the books.
● Guide to being a successful Game Master (Helped me a lot!); Also appears in the Rifts®: Adventure Guide.
● Common rules Questions and Answers.
#3. Rifts®: Merc Ops (★★★★★) Merc Ops is the Batman's Handbook of Rifts. Want mega-damage rope? It's in Merc Ops! Want Vibro-barbed wire for a fence? Merc Ops! How about an automated walking gun turret? Merc Ops! Golden Age Weapons? Merc Ops! Firearm Accessories? Merc Ops! Well, you get the idea. But its not just a good book for players looking for that handy piece of equipment, it also has a bunch of Bounties in it and the stats of a bunch of NPCs that your players can go over for some quick cash; but don't be fooled, some of these guys are pretty tough or difficult to track down.
● Excellent Equipment.
● S.D.C. Weaponry and Explosives.
#4. Rifts®: Book of Magic (★★★★★) The Rifts Book of Magic sort of completes the trinity along with Rifts®: Ultimate Edition and Rifts®: Game Master Guide. Essentially, its a huge list of (virtually!) every spell in the game. Since I am somewhat predisopsed to playing spell casters (and since my main player character is currently a Warlock), it is invaluable to me. Plus, it has significantly more invocations in it than the R:UE.
● A comprehensive spell list
● An extensive list of all (most) magic using O.C.C.s and their locations in the books.
● Answers & Questions about the use of magic, playing a practitioner of magic, and magical cabals and culture (turns out being a master of cosmic forces beyond the ken of normal men is more than just putting on a robe and a pointy hat.
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#5. Rifts® World Book 11: Coalition War Campaign (★★★★)Yup, Coalition War Campaign. I was shocked this made the list too. Especially since I tend to prefer playing a practitioner of magic. However, it has a few things going for it. For instance, without it I wouldn't know how the Coalition military and police operate. On top of that, the way it was laid out was really cool and assessable. People might not like the "new look" but I did. Plus, it specifically states it doesn't take the old look out of circulation. Also, its a cool little detail, but I love the fact they have all the different uniform pictures and different helmet styles. However, what sealed its position here at number five was the fact it introduced my FAVORITE skill in the entire game,
Trap Construction. I
love Trap Construction and the way its written-up is great too boot. Not only is it cinematic, but its functional, and can make some amazing encounters from both sides of the table.
● Coalition Ranks and Salary (and by proxy better perspective on the income of the AVERAGE person on Rifts Earth; also covered in the Rifts®: Adventure Guide)
● Coalition Combat Strategies and Tactics (How to pull off an ambush and HOW to fight in mega-damage battles without getting "misted")
● Coalition Police Force (The I.S.S.), Laws, and Legal System (Yes, they have jail and they don't shoot every D-Bee/Practitioner of Magic on sight, they have protocol!)
● Important Coalition NPCs!
● New Coalition Armors
● New Coalition Power Armors
● New Coalition Robots
● New Coalition Weapons
● Trap Construction
Honorable MentionsAfter the Bomb™, 2nd Edition (★★★★★) Although not a TRUE Rifts book, in my opinion After the Bomb makes an excellent game supplement for Rifts. It offers a detailed list of mutations for both humans and potential Lone Star freaks, or the descendents of illegal Pre-Rifts eugenics programs.
● Mutants! Need I say more?
Rifts®: Black Market (★★★★★)This book was phenomenal, but it didn't make the list because its a niche. Sure, its a sweeping niche, but its still a niche. Game Masters don't actually NEED it to run their games. After all, its easy to present the Black Market as a background facet of your game. Especially if your heroes travel a lot or spend the majority of their time in the wilderness and rely on killing or looting to resupply themselves. However, it does detail a range of REALLY fantastic options. Including, how businesses operate, how the black market ACTUALLY operates and exactly how much influence they have. Many people never realized they control most of the business in the civilized world and some of these criminal shadow conspiracies have been around longer than NEMA. In my opinion, its not a MUST HAVE but its certainly a SHOULD have. Plus, it seamlessly fills in the business world of Rifts Earth, adds a nice level of espionage that is perfect for City Rats, Headhunters, Mercs, and other "roughish" or criminal characters. Plus, and this is perhaps the most important of all,
availability tables. How often have you wondered what a store ACTUALLY had? Now, you can randomly roll on a table and have a non-bias answer. Are they out of stock today? Roll on the table. Planning on robbing them and need to know how much cash is behind the counter? Roll on the table! And jobs, legitimate jobs (guidelines for making new jobs), and criminal jobs. No longer do your characters have peel the flesh off everything they kill to feed themselves. They can ACTUALLY be a contributing part of civilized society, or a blood sucking lawyer. Your choice.
Rifts®: Conversion Book 1 (Revised & Expanded) (★★★★★) I WANTED to put this on the list. I REALLY wanted to. However, it just didn't make it. This book is excellent. First, it has a list of converted monsters from Palladium Fantasy®: Monsters & Animals, along with a bunch of traditional player character races (Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, etc.), and how they exist on Rifts Earth (Elven sniper anyone?). Plus, some of the writing is remarkable. Don't believe me? Flip open to page 146 and read the Eandroth. Its rare to encounter such an interesting race in literature, let alone in an RPG product. They're like something straight out of Dune, while still being completely original and brilliantly conceptualized. Truly, another fantastic monster by Erick Wujcik. If my RPG work is only ever half as good as his, than I'll be happy.
Rifts®: Bionics Sourcebook (★★★) This is a REALLY good book and it would be on the top five if it wasn't for the fact that I rarely play Cyborgs and no one has
ever bought a cyborg into one of my games and I've never had an opportunity to play one. That said, this book has an awesome writeup that clarifies Pre-Rifts cybernetics, modern cybernetic culture, and how society views cybogs as heroes and defenders of humanity. Plus, the interesting little jewel that states that Cyber Doctors do NOT turn raving psychopaths into combat cyborgs because of the ethical implications and how it could reflect on them. Overall, its a very good book with lots of useful information. It could be formatted slightly better (sometimes finding a specific piece of cybernetics is difficult), but I strongly suspect that if I was as familiar with it as I am the book of magic that wouldn't be a problem. Especially considering, it is
significantly smaller than Rifts®: Book of Magic.
● A complete list of cybernetics and bionics
● Rules for giving cybernetics on Practicioners of Magic and Psychics; it is sometimes used to depower their enemies.
● Rules for becoming a Cyborg and the cost/psychological toll it can take on someone (Role-playing 'Borgs).
● The difference between Cybernetics and Bionics
Rifts®: Source Book 1 (Expanded & Revised) (★★★★)I use this book a lot. It has commonly available equipment in it, including robots (which can be custom built from the ground up!), power armor, robots, and some pretty neat new Wilk's Weapons. It also has an awesome adventure with A.R.C.H.I.E. Three, and a really cool shadow government called The Republicans and some reverse engineered N.E.M.A. technologies. I like this one a lot because the equipment is nice and balanced, nothing too over the top, and its all commonly available. So often we see AWESOME equipment, but it is so rare/exotic that the likelihood of getting your hands on it is, well, it typically requires you suspending disbelief, and whereas, its unlikely that anyone is going to get their hands on Republican Secret Technology without being a member of their clandestine organization, everything else in the book (including the 'Bots) are very genetic and perfect for characters that are NOT part of a standing army/military organization.
Rifts World Book 10®: Juicer Uprising (★★★★) This is a freaking AWESOME book. The Juicer variants are fun (if handled correctly). Plus, J-culture is
really interesting. I mean, Bladerunner eat your freaking heart out right. Plus, the equipment in this book is top of the line. You've got everything from wrist-mounted Vibro-claws and plasma blasters too freaking rocket boots. Rocket boots people! It really is a lot of fun.
Rifts World Book 14®: New West & Rifts World Book 15®: Spirit (★★★)I want to mention New West and Spirit West, because they are two books I thought were "neat" and only read once and then sat them on my shelf and never gave them a second thought. However, when Cyberdon dumped us in The New West, I learned first hand just how much
fun these books are. I know a Good Game Master can make ANY book good, but what Cyberdon did with these books stands firmly in my mind as one of the best RPG experiences of my life. The setting was obviously difficult for him at first, though as soon as he realized that the NPCs were not "real" Cowboys and Indians, and just people acting like Cowboys and Indians because "They thought it was cool" or found cultural identity in a fictional past, the game REALLY picked up and the whole setting flourished. Especially, the Neo Native American culture. The clashing of ideals, philosophy, and way of life was great. I had to mention them. This will sound silly, but its the only setting that I actually want to return to and continue to explore. Normally, once I've experienced something I want to move on to the next horizon, but I had so much fun playing in the New West, that myself (and my character), actually wants to go home and continue adventuring out there. There's just so much I still haven't seen and there is something that feels really authentic to "Rifts" about that area.
Palladium Fantasy®: Monsters & Animals (★★★★★) This would be on the list almost for sure, but you know, its for Rifts books. This book is amazing. The monsters are all interesting and more than 90% are compatible with Rifts. Plus, its got a list of S.D.C. animals. Sure, on Rifts Earth they might not be challenging to someone with a Vibro-Knife or mega-damage weapon (most of the time), but that doesn't mean that they magically cease to exist either. Sure, it might
seem like a "waste of time" to run S.D.C. combats ("Why even roll initiative?"), but it adds a level of realism and it can be an ego boost/a lot of fun. One of the more entertaining encounters I've had in my game so far, was when my player characters attempted to capture and ride wild mountain goats. Don't ask.
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