What is Rifts®? - Expanded

Rifts^® is a world with endless possibilities!

The Great Cataclysm: How it all began

Two hundred years in our future, human civilization is at the zenith of a Golden Age of Science and Technology. Robots, cyborgs, human augmentation, genetic engineering, advanced medicine and sciences are commonplace. Scientists seem to unveil a new miracle every week.

Then, civilization takes a turn.

Hostilities, ironic timing, and a random act of violence changes everything. Ley lines – lines of magic energy – that have lain dormant for thousands of years suddenly erupt with renewed life. What has been an imperceptible trickle of magic energy surges and erupts with such violent force that it sets off a chain reaction that cannot be stopped. The forces of nature and magic cause cataclysmic destruction that obliterates half of human civilization in a matter of hours. Some cities are toppled by earthquakes, others are buried by volcanic ash, coastal cities are smashed by tsunamis and washed into the ocean. The tidal wave of death only fills the surging ley lines with more mystic energy. The greater the level of energy, the greater the carnage.

And this is only the beginning.