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I tend to give the player the benefit of the doubt. If they're really making decisions based around their character, and not just some remaining vestige of the pre-pubescent urge to make things go 'bang', then one would hope they make the pertinent choices anyway.

One of my players wanted to run a rogue scholar. He then tried to kit him out in custom NG Samson armour with a built in C-40R. I just talked it through with him, and explained that perhaps a headhunter or ex CS etc OCC would be more his thang.

I let them choose exotic or even wierd items, as long as it fits with the character rationale.

Larry97501 wrote:Now so far I have had players always trying to get a hold of some little fancie doodad to power up their e-clips, but its been odd because I haven't really stuck them out in the boonies yet?

How do you deal with this issue?

Do you let players purchase an E-Clip recharger that they can drag behind their tanks or whatever, do you give them a something similar to our surge protector boxes?

I just haven't ever seen a device in any of the books to recharge an E-Clip?

I've always assumed, having not yet read anything to the contrary, that E-clip recahrging is a facility found only in the larger cities and towns. The equipment required is large, certainly not something one can tow behind the party transport. I run things this way as it tends to keep game balance and makes the players think carefully about who they fight and it also helps to disuade players from full bursting everything in sight - they have to be more creative when dealing with confrontations.

It also adds to the flavour of the game, considering that most communities in the old USA Post apocalypse are small agricultural settlements with low levels of tech. Sourcebook 1 has some good setting info regarding this and it makes it clear that your 'average' village is comprised of simple folk living off of the land, living in constant fear of technologically advanced bandits or mercenaries walking into town toting MD weapons claiming the land as their own. Once you're out in the 'sticks' you'd better have brought sufficient ammo with you or you will be in for a tough time. Credits won't really be redeemable in the wilderness either, as folk will more readily barter for essential goods than swop hard come buy items or services for practically useless commodities such as credits.

It depends on the type of character and setting.
A game set in Australia would have less available then one in North America and a Temporal Warrior would have a larger selection then a Coalition Grunt.

Larry97501 wrote:Well, I was just wondering what weapons do you make available for starting characters in your games?

I usually limit it to RMB, Juicer Uprising. Mercenaries, New West, Spirit West, Lone Star, Free Quebec, and CWC for those Coalition games since thats what they are issued, and they better have a reason for the items, I am kind of hard on the non-men at arms occ's.

Shifter with a Fire Breather?, LLW with a C-210?, Mind Melter with a J-12? Nope and please start sharing whatever your smoking.

any means any, even with mind melters and line walkers. that's how I handle it.

BrokenChild wrote:full auto on his PlasmaCannon

Larry97501 wrote:Now so far I have had players always trying to get a hold of some little fancie doodad to power up their e-clips, but its been odd because I haven't really stuck them out in the boonies yet?

How do you deal with this issue?

Do you let players purchase an E-Clip recharger that they can drag behind their tanks or whatever, do you give them a something similar to our surge protector boxes?

I just haven't ever seen a device in any of the books to recharge an E-Clip?

the device was never listed because all they really do is use a Nuclear Power Pack to recharge.

actually, there's a skill in some book and the GM's guide that spcifically says that you can hook an e-clip up to any robots, PA's vehicles or whatnot and recharge any e-clip. think it's the jury rig.

anyway, they're just batteries.

they're not hard at all to recharge, you just need a large enough power sourse to recharge the equivilent of 10,000 car batteries

Dr. Doom III wrote:

BrokenChild wrote:full auto on his PlasmaCannon

what? I do it all the time

BrokenChild wrote:

Dr. Doom III wrote:

BrokenChild wrote:full auto on his PlasmaCannon

Yup Crazy isnt it!?!

There is even a part in the Rifts Novels where Cowboy does in fact go fullauto using his Plasma Cannon and totally wrecks a ground transport hovercraft and the half dozen guys inside (thinking it was the leader of the badguys) he did it with 1 long fullauto spray and the descriptions had him blasting the MDC transport so badly that it was horribly charred and melted afterward, they had an impossible time trying to ID their Search and Destroy target and were even fooled into believeing they got him...

So, the 6d6x10 fullauto PlasmaCannon spray which uses up [all] actions...(i've heard people describe this attack several ways, either as all or as 2 actions or its 3d6x10 not 6d6x10 ect ect, but nowhere is it listed in any of the source books that's for sure)... Its a reality in Adam Chilson's perspective anyway! For me though, I don't think I'd allow a full auto spray of plasma to do more then 4x the base damage... you have to assume that most shots will miss....

actually, in Rifts Main book, it had rate of fire standard.

in main book, standard was defined as aimed, burst, or wild. any with standard could to standard, shot, long, or full auto spray.

the Cs plasma cannon was no exception to this. it took a full melee and did 6d6*10 damage.

that was the official rule.

Larry97501 wrote:Well, I was just wondering what weapons do you make available for starting characters in your games?

Depends on the power level and setting I am using. For a high powered campaign, almost anything is allowed, for a bunch of CS grunts it is very limited. I don't worry about parties getting too powerful, its my job as the GM to come up with challenges. When a character that is used to blasting away two miles out, gets surrounded by vampires who quickly pin his arms to his side and start having their way with him, he will realize that he is ill prepared for this combat. Tough guy in one setting, vampire food in the next, its all about the opponent and the setting.

As long as the GM is capable of supplying a challenge of the appropriate level to match the party, I think the gaming is going to be fun.

Larry97501 wrote:Well, I was just wondering what weapons do you make available for starting characters in your games?

Anything readily availible in their area.
Nothing from the books I ignore.

Shifter with a Fire Breather?, LLW with a C-210?, Mind Melter with a J-12? Nope and please start sharing whatever your smoking.

What's the problem?
If a weapon is readily availible on the black market, why couldn't a mage or mind melter get one as easily as anybody else?

Killer Cyborg wrote:What's the problem?
If a weapon is readily availible on the black market, why couldn't a mage or mind melter get one as easily as anybody else?

You know those pesky black marketeers and their prejudices. They're not going to sell just anyone a JA-12 are they? What do think they are, a business?

I agree with KC. If the GM doesn't like the weapon and doesn't want it in his campaign, easy enough, don't allow it. It never existed. Poof it's gone. But if it does exist, I hardly think the black market is going to be choosy in who they sell it to.

Kestrel wrote:As for the above statement, people with funky mind tricks would get huge discounts if a campaign ignores mages and psychics altogether. It's better to believe that the black market would find psychics and mages indispensable on the payroll to avoid getting cheated out of clever mind melter customers with hypnotic suggestion and mind wipe.

Cheating the Mob is never a good idea.

Isn't the skill talked about above Electricity Generation or something? I think it is in Mutants in Orbit maybe? Aren't e-clip chargers listed as equipment for Operators, or the specialized versions found in one of the Rifters? That leads me to think they are at least portable.