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I am preparing my next Rifts adventure and I am looking to ask for some advice.

This will be a 1 shot game adventure with premade PC's for each of the players. Each character will be around 5th level.

What I would like to know, is...

1# What do you think would be the Best Man at Arms OCC that would best suit a lone wolf bug hunter style character. (Please no CS Occ's) This PC would have to be a Human PC, non Psy character.

#2 What Mage class OOC would be best suited for a PC that is the "lore" "history buff" type of the group?

#3 Would a Crazy (@ level 5) be more of a hazard to the group then the actual bugs while sneaking around in a hive somewhere? Or should I stick to the idea of some sort of Juicer?

#4 Also, does it sound somewhat plausiable to have a Hive structure built over some old city ruines, and the lower down into the hive a person would travel, the chance of finding sections of older pre existing buildings "inside" the hive tower? (the premise, is that somwhere in this area, a strutcure of sort is holding what the PCs may be looking for. The thing is, when they get to the location they find a small Hive tower built all over the area in which it was recorded as being. So, they need to search the hive, and try and find the structure, and then a way inside of it)

Ideas, comments, anything would be nice.

Thanks
SGJ

2. Any "learned magic" class should be good, like a ley line walker, or a shifter, but not a mystic, warlock or anyone who uses magic intuitively.

3. A crazy shouldn't be too bad at level five - especially if you just pick some interesting insanities for the character yourself, rather than rolling them.

1) I would say Robot Pilot OCC would be the best for lone-wolf style bug hunts. Flying powered armor like the NG-11F Red Hawk (Merc Ops), the Flying Titan power armor, or the Triax X-10 Predator (Sourcebook 1) would be good choices. The main danger in Xiticix hunting is being swarmed and unable to retreat. Mobility, range and firepower are good on these armors, so they should be good to counter the advantage of numbers that Xiticix swarms have. Keep in mind that you don't want to go head to head with large numbers and if you see them coming you should get out while you can.
rs
Larger Robots can take and deal out more damage, but they would eventually be pulled down.

2) Core book: Ley Line Walker or Shifter would both be good "Loremaster" types.

3) It depends on the player. If you trust the player to be responsible, then it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

4) I would say that yes, you could have a hive built on ruins. I'm not the final authority on this, so if people disagree, please chime in.

Update for point 1: A glitter boy makes an excellent Xiticix killer. Xiticix hivelands are pretty wide open (they basically terraform and get rid of all the trees, etc), and the boom gun can one-shot xiticix warriors and hunters. Given the relatively slow flying speed of xiticix, a GB gets a lot of unopposed shots.

Shotgun Jolly wrote:1# What do you think would be the Best Man at Arms OCC that would best suit a lone wolf bug hunter style character. (Please no CS Occ's) This PC would have to be a Human PC, non Psy character.

Aside from those being already said, maybe a Combat Cyb with drilling arm could be a good addenda specially if they manage to "tunnel" in.

Shotgun Jolly wrote:#2 What Mage class OOC would be best suited for a PC that is the "lore" "history buff" type of the group?

Agreed. LLW or Shifter. Also a TW for mobility support (TW wings or other "silent" vehicles) or mages from FoM such as High Magus.

Shotgun Jolly wrote:#3 Would a Crazy (@ level 5) be more of a hazard to the group then the actual bugs while sneaking around in a hive somewhere? Or should I stick to the idea of some sort of Juicer?

I wouldn't use a crazy in this sitaution (alas all depends on the PC mental instability). Better use a Juicer indeed.

Shotgun Jolly wrote:#4 Also, does it sound somewhat plausiable to have a Hive structure built over some old city ruines, and the lower down into the hive a person would travel, the chance of finding sections of older pre existing buildings "inside" the hive tower?

Wow, that's a great idea. Many insect like animals use preexisted structures for their nests. I don't see why xiticix wouldn't do it, specially if their are MDC structures already. But keep in mind that buildings should be refitted to accommodate xiticix way of life: vertical holes, blocked stairs, new saliva walls, etc. Don't expect human building features.

mobuttu wrote:Aside from those being already said, maybe a Combat Cyb with drilling arm could be a good addenda specially if they manage to "tunnel" in. ?

That never occured to me, thats a good idea.

mobuttu wrote:Agreed. LLW or Shifter. Also a TW for mobility support (TW wings or other "silent" vehicles) or mages from FoM such as High Magus.?

Ill have to read up the the High Magus

mobuttu wrote: I wouldn't use a crazy in this sitaution (alas all depends on the PC mental instability). Better use a Juicer indeed. ?

Yeah, thats the thing.. a jucier is all combat and good. But the crazy is just that.. Crazy.. Depending on what 'problems' he has, he may make it very hard on the group, depending on what happens.

mobuttu wrote:Wow, that's a great idea. Many insect like animals use preexisted structures for their nests. I don't see why xiticix wouldn't do it, specially if their are MDC structures already. But keep in mind that buildings should be refitted to accommodate xiticix way of life: vertical holes, blocked stairs, new saliva walls, etc. Don't expect human building features.

Thanks, The idea is that the human structure would be almost like you suggested. But the lower the group goes, the more "human" is becomes. The Bugs built into and around the upper levels, and just never used all of it. (the building is mainly a subterrainain complex)

The idea is for them to explore the Hive, find the entrence, Find what it is they are looking for..

superbat_99 wrote: 1. I'm partial to the gunfighter saying he can hold his own in a fight because of his w.p. sharpshooting, but I'd probably go with a power armor pilot, or a wilderness scout if they haven't played rifts before.

Well, they all played rifts before. So none of it will be new to them. A Gunfighter eh? Ill have to think about that one too. The only issue being, is that in a Hive, there may be alot of "in close" fighting. Still think he would be as good?

Talavar wrote:Update for point 1: A glitter boy makes an excellent Xiticix killer. Xiticix hivelands are pretty wide open (they basically terraform and get rid of all the trees, etc), and the boom gun can one-shot xiticix warriors and hunters. Given the relatively slow flying speed of xiticix, a GB gets a lot of unopposed shots.

Yeah. He would, but how would the rest of the group handle being inside a Hive complex near the GB when the Boom Gun starts to go off?

I can see the GB knocking alot of the bugs out of the air. And be great heavy support.. but inside the hive, Id be a little wary.. But then again, I can use maybe some of the GB varrients from Free Qubec.

Oh, btw.. the main source books I will be drawing my adventure from will be stuff gathered from:

Free Qubec
Xiticix Invasion
Canada
Bionic Source Book.
Merc Ops
Mercenaries
Juicer Uprising.
Federation of Magic

I would want a borg with lots of onboard energy weapons, since they never run out of ammo.(Great against overwhelming odds.) A warlock might be good, since a Fire Elemental, for instance, could do major damge in a hive.

A glitterboy is definitely less-effective once inside a hive, but they can use a decent backup weapon in a pinch.

Air, fire or earth warlocks could all be pretty nasty vs. Xiticix, the only problem being their relative 'glass-cannon' status. I mean, cast Tornado in the Hivelands, and you're going to have a lot of dead bugs, and Earthquake could take out the hives themselves, but aside from summoned elementals, warlocks don't get much in the way of protective spells.

CS paratrooper with all the shooting skills firing from a blind with a NE shoulder cannon is the best loan wold

give him som of that Narunbi Wave stealth armor and a good camoflgue and pworl skills plus demolitions you are golden

Shotgun Jolly wrote:I am preparing my next Rifts adventure and I am looking to ask for some advice.

This will be a 1 shot game adventure with premade PC's for each of the players. Each character will be around 5th level.

What I would like to know, is...

1# What do you think would be the Best Man at Arms OCC that would best suit a lone wolf bug hunter style character. (Please no CS Occ's) This PC would have to be a Human PC, non Psy character.

Well, a Juicer is always good.
But I'm thinking Borg. Not Full Conversion- partial conversion, which I suppose these days would be a Headhunter.
Somebody who lost limbs fighting bugs in the past and has a personal vendetta against them.

#2 What Mage class OOC would be best suited for a PC that is the "lore" "history buff" type of the group?

Mystic is pretty good for that.

#3 Would a Crazy (@ level 5) be more of a hazard to the group then the actual bugs while sneaking around in a hive somewhere? Or should I stick to the idea of some sort of Juicer?

That would depend on what his insanities are.
If he's got a phobia that won't come up much in the adventure, a fairly benign Affective Disorder, and his Random Crazy Insanity is something like Frenzy or two useful personalities, that could work out pretty well.

#4 Also, does it sound somewhat plausiable to have a Hive structure built over some old city ruines, and the lower down into the hive a person would travel, the chance of finding sections of older pre existing buildings "inside" the hive tower? (the premise, is that somwhere in this area, a strutcure of sort is holding what the PCs may be looking for. The thing is, when they get to the location they find a small Hive tower built all over the area in which it was recorded as being. So, they need to search the hive, and try and find the structure, and then a way inside of it)

Yes.
It's not only plausible, it's canon.
In the old adventure "The Green Death" or whatever it was called, you find pre-rifts tunnels and structures beneath the Hive.

superbat_99 wrote:

Shotgun Jolly wrote:

superbat_99 wrote: 1. I'm partial to the gunfighter saying he can hold his own in a fight because of his w.p. sharpshooting, but I'd probably go with a power armor pilot, or a wilderness scout if they haven't played rifts before.

Well, they all played rifts before. So none of it will be new to them. A Gunfighter eh? Ill have to think about that one too. The only issue being, is that in a Hive, there may be alot of "in close" fighting. Still think he would be as good?

He would be a little out of the loop but he does get paired pistols and revolvers so he can shoot two guns per action. And in a building he would be able to shoot around corners without sticking his head out by using a mirror. So I'd say that more then makes up for any penalties he would have.

Thats something I never thought about.. that could lead to some really cool situations for roleplaying.

Shotgun Jolly wrote:I am preparing my next Rifts adventure and I am looking to ask for some advice.

This will be a 1 shot game adventure with premade PC's for each of the players. Each character will be around 5th level.

What I would like to know, is...

1# What do you think would be the Best Man at Arms OCC that would best suit a lone wolf bug hunter style character. (Please no CS Occ's) This PC would have to be a Human PC, non Psy character.

#2 What Mage class OOC would be best suited for a PC that is the "lore" "history buff" type of the group?

#3 Would a Crazy (@ level 5) be more of a hazard to the group then the actual bugs while sneaking around in a hive somewhere? Or should I stick to the idea of some sort of Juicer?

#4 Also, does it sound somewhat plausiable to have a Hive structure built over some old city ruines, and the lower down into the hive a person would travel, the chance of finding sections of older pre existing buildings "inside" the hive tower? (the premise, is that somwhere in this area, a strutcure of sort is holding what the PCs may be looking for. The thing is, when they get to the location they find a small Hive tower built all over the area in which it was recorded as being. So, they need to search the hive, and try and find the structure, and then a way inside of it)

Ideas, comments, anything would be nice.

Thanks
SGJ

1. I would go with a PA user or Mining Borg. Realistically the borg digging a hole would be too noisy and attract the whole hive, so stick with the PA. Theres a headhunter that was meant to combat things like Xiticix but I don't care for them. Anything that attaches an energy weapon would be good, I would tend towards things that have a built in energy weapon like the preditor (can I get two pulse guns, whirlng drill/claws & a forcefield with that?). Using a GB in a situation like this is silly...its meant for long distance attacks, being swarmed is its worst case scenario - and a waste of 25 million credits where a 2 Million credit preditor would shine.

2. Absolutely a shifter. They can get the rest of the group out of tight spots when swarmed or into and out of the hive, depending on their choice of minions & links they may be able to solve the hive problem by themselves.

3. Definately a Juicer.

I'd use a psi stalker juicer. They would have all the lore & wilderness skills you would need. They would be invaluable once in the hive, able to detect/track the Xiticix & have autododge to keep them alive. They would be much better than a gunslinger. The juicer bike might be an interesting vehicle of choice..but its actually too big to be inside a hive, I'd use an Icarus, putting the flight pack on remote when going inside (if you need to escape you just set it to blow a hole in the exerior wall near you. It could also be used to distract the Xiticix, drawing them away from the PCs, etc). That would allow you to have fun with all those toys in the juicer book like the FIWS, rocket boots, napalm flamethrower, deadball grenades - all of which would be great in a hive.

4. I like it.

I think you need a psychic. I would switch out the man at arms PA pilot for a psychic. The man at arms might get outshone by the psycho stalker & Shifter. However a powerful psi could pilot a PA if they felt like it. You don't really need them for astral projection or healing, as the mage can take care of that - but having two people able to do it does help. The burster or psi ghost would probably be the best choices. Mind melters or zappers would be okay choices. Idle thought - a fire and brimstone preacher from SA2 with an 'armor of the sun' amulet - great for eithor the burster or the psi ghost. I would go for the psi ghost if they have the amulet.

I could see a psi ghost (with amulet of the sun), Shifter (with link/minions) & psycho stalker (with Icarus & toys) having a lot of fun & doing very well in an adventure like this. I suppose they would do well in many adventures, its a pretty balanced and powerful combination.

Also plan for them to be rescued (when necessary) by a Xiticix hunter...its a fun rescue & you could make a whole little side story with it.

Edit: You could also spice up the adventure with a Merc group being hired to take out the hive by a nearby town. They have a dozen tanks and plan to start a 5 minute medium range missile bombardment that will leave a giant smoking crater where the hive was from 30+ miles away. Its a rather cheap option for the town as they will only have to pay for the missiles as there will be no retaliation

Edit2: Don't forget to have some people stuck in walls for the PCs to rescue, some of whom have already been eaten. They won't all be in one area, but each area should contain a certain type of people. For example people from the nearby town, psi stalkers from a local tribe & a small CS strike team (who once rescued will both help and hinder the PCs in the future - make one a bugboy which will make their escape and helping PCs be easier). Seeing if the PCs will rescue people who will kill mages & dbees etc in the future will be fun.

Also have a vampire living at the bottom. The Xiticix don't ned the space, and the vampire likes the protection. The vamp has been living there for a long time and scavenging things. The vampire has an interesting relationship with the Xiticix - they can't catch the vampire (gas) who occassionally stops to snack on one of their foodstock, steal (even rarer), or leave them more food stock (from his collection, when the vampire is tired of them would leave two for each one taken). The vampire could rescue the PCs (an animate dead spell would create enough skeletons to free the PCs and create a distraction for them to escape) or a bat swarm to help them escape...neither would reveal the vampire.

The Vampire can scry the PCs from a distance (magic) and could have an incredable array of reactions to them; from helping the Xiticix (if the vamp sees them in action) if you want to toughen the combat. To asking them what they want and giving them directions just to get rid of them. Or perhaps the vamp has what they want. Either way consider having the first encounter with the vamp being it rescueing the PCs in order to make hurting (or robbing?) the vamp morally grey. Have the vamp communicate by telepathy or distant voice to make them mysterious.

Edit 3 (or more). You should also have the building still partially working. The PCs might be able to find & use an elevator shaft, stairs, fire alarm, ventilation shafts, air conditioning (perhaps the bugboy & CS were planning to use this to disperse chemical agents to kill the hive), some security cameras, etc.. The CS & vamp can use all these things as well.

Edit 4: Remember the Xiticix aren't dumb they are just alien. Have them do smart things like cement a Skelebot here or there to their walls where they can't escape - near the exits. However the skelebot will be in combat mode, have an energy weapon & shoot anything that is not CS (including the Xiticix). Of corse if a CS person escapes they would be able to use get one of these...possibly using it to radio for help or riding a centaurbot to safety.

I'd better stop now, I could probably go one like this for a while. PM or email me if you want more ideas.

Have fun!