Bit of Analysis: Rifts

[Ahriman238]

Perhaps the greatest thing about the Phoenix Empire, from my perspective, is how it attracts all the crossover monsters from Palladium Fantasy and Beyond the Supernatural.

The PF-world hell where all demons and semi-demons (like gargoyles) come from is called Hades. It is a barren and rocky place, shadowed in eternal twilight but outside of a few sections not really the Big Fire you think of. But in Hades, there is a desert larger than any on Earth, this area of Hades is called Taut, and it is the domain of Set, Anupis and Apep. Indeed, the Dark Egyptian Gods are sometimes called the Pantheon of Taut. So anytime something is mentioned as being 'of Taut' or 'from Taut' assume it's connected to Set somehow.


Tautons

Once upon a time, Set's chosen people, the mystic warriors who would cast down the Ramen (or Knights of Ra) for him. But Set spent their lives too cheaply, and without his even realizing it became a war of attrition he could not win. Since then, he has rescinded his favor, and the Tautons hunger to prove themselves worthy again. There are but a few million Tautons (the book says 2, then later 10) and nearly ALL of them have come to Earth to serve Set's Pharaoh or destroy His enemies independent of His chosen representative.

Tautons are lizard-men, 10-12 feet tall with crocodile's heads and scorpion's tails dripping with deadly venom. They are resistant to heat and cold, completely immune to all poisons, have good nightvision and see invisible, and heal twice as fast as humans. They are extremely skilled and strong swimmers and can hold their breath for 12 minutes. They are mystic warriors who start with 7 spells from levels 1-4 (wizard list) and they continue to learn. Being fanatical warriors first and foremost, they tend to learn spells that help them fight, survive or navigate their environment.

Every Tauton has a second form, a large venomous snake. They can shift back and forth in an instant without limit, and remain in either form indefinitely.



Jinn
RIFTS genies

The Jinn were some upstart minor demons who tried to overthrow the Egyptian Pantheon and got curbstomped. As part of an insult-to-injury thing, Thoth cursed the entire race to A.) obey every command from his good friend Set (this was before Set's legendary acts of villainy and the sundering of the Pantheon) and B.) to call anyone who can defeat, capture or rescue them 'master' and grant him three wishes. However, the Jinn are not infinitely powerful, they cannot conjure a mountain of gold for instance, they can only try and fulfill their master's wishes with their own magic and cunning. A further problem is that the prideful Jinn hate to call anyone master, and so act as Monkey's Paws, if there is a way they can interpret a wish to harm their masters (or cause general chaos and misery) they'll do so with glee. So ask a Jinn for a million dollars, and don't be surprised if someone comes looking for the thieves who ripped him off.

Jinn are invisible by default, they can turn visible and appear as men or woman with some exotic skin hue (black, white, green or yellow.) They can see in the dark, and invisible things, and speak all languages. They can turn to mist, or into any insect at will, and increase their size to a maximum of 24 feet tall. They have a mild regeneration and are resistant to cold and heat, but are invulnerable to most weapons anyway. They can cast dimensional teleport to return to Taut when not bound to a master, but it may take a few tries. They have all sensitive and physical psychic powers. The four colors of the Jinn each correspond to an element (yellow=fire, green=air, white=water, black =earth) and a Jinn casts Elemental magic as though he were a max-level warlock of that type. All Jinn are highly skilled at picking locks and pockets.

Jinn are creatures of twilight, and all their powers, health etc. are halved in daylight. Jinn can be found by anyone using see invisible, sense presence/evil or commune with spirits. They can be somewhat hurt by fire and ice, but are particularly vulnerable to silver and Millenium Tree items.




Worms of Taut

The Worms of Taut occupy an ambiguous area between demon and not-demon. They are not sapient, and they have no magic or psionic powers whatsoever. They can be summoned, and it is the easiest summoning in the Megaverse (kill a snake, write the type of worm you want on the ground with the snake's blood, channel a tiny amount of PPE, hey presto!) but they cannot be banished or dismissed. They thrive in the hell-desert of Taut, but also in most any environment you drop them in and by now they have spread over a generous chunk of the Megaverse. They are not repelled by holy sites, and their bones and bodies are useless as mystic components.

Worms may not be capable of speech or reason, but they're about as intelligent as dogs and can be domesticated. As mentioned, the Phoenix Empire's Fourth Legion consists of over 2000 Worms with only a few hundred handlers. There are an estimated 3 million Worms of Taut kept in the Phoenix Empire as pets, they are cherished for the connection to Set, and a best-guess number of 10 million living wild in the Sahara. They are also depressingly common in the eastern US, Central and South America.

All Worms of Taut are regenerating mega-damage monsters, resistant to heat and cold that live for centuries. They usually have incredibly sharp sense though the details vary (one worm is blind etc.) they are usually surprisingly fast burrowers, and some are adept swimmers and/or climbers as well. Some Worms have preferred environments, but they can survive anywhere short of the vacuum of space (and I'm not 100% on that killing them.)

Tomb Worms are the runts of the set, 2.5 feet long with two small legs for climbing and digging. They like the cool,dark and damp and their favorite food is marrow sucked straight from the bone. Care to guess where they can be found? Very good at climbing and sneaking around, can scent blood or decay from miles off and runs in packs of up to 16 Worms.

Fire Worms are also small, 3 feet long and bright red. They can spit small mega-damage fireballs, are totally immune to fire/heat damage and have a highly refined thermal sense and IR vision. They also have a pretty good sense of smell. Extremely aggressive and territorial, it least it doesn't have pack behavior like Tomb Worms.

Nippers run 10-12 feet long, with a large dorsal fin and 8 webbed 'legs' that end in suction cups. The worst burrower (small shallow holes only) is also the best swimmer, a good climber and easily the most trainable Worm. In the wild they have packs, at least one as large as 20, but rarely bigger than 8. Nippers can leap up to 6 feet into the air thanks to their extremely fast and powerful whip-like tails. While they can bite and tail-whip with efficacy, they are primarily constrictors who crush their prey, particularly since they can jump to throat height for most beings...

Tri-Fangs are 20 feet or so long, like three snakes joined at the midpoint so they have three heads and three tails. Yeah, I have no idea how that works either. Tri-Fangs don't really have super senses, but are fairly good at climbing (and dropping on you from trees) and swimming. The middle head can spit an incredibly potent acid, the other two are non-venomous. TRi-Fangs are likewise constrictors.

Serpent Beasts are 25 feet long, and easily the freakiest Worms. They have the same basic snake shape, but four stubby legs near the middle, and a human-like face with twitching spider legs for hair. If the other Worms are as smart as dogs, the Serpent Beast is a wolf. It's also the only Worm of Taut to kill purely out of sadism. Serpent Beasts aren't venomous, but are immune to all drugs and poisons, their nightvision is good but their hearing and sense of smell is incredible. Serpent Beasts are known to hoard gold and magic items, specifically because humans value them so they make good bait. They can also hibernate for years if need be.

Blow Worms are 200 feet long and large enough around to swallow 2 men whole with ease. They have no eyes, but a good sense of smell and the apparent 'teeth' lining their maws are actually a sort of motion sensor. In point of fact, they crush their food after eating. The "Blow" part of the name comes from their ability to spit a great glob of extremely sticky mucus up to 60 feet away, trapping or at least hindering it's prey or enemies. Blow Worms are really unintelligent and placid, attacking only when provoked or hungry and can't really be trained except in the sense of starving or hurting them and then turning them loose in the direction of the enemy.



Gremlins

Humanoid minor demons, about 2 feet tall and pot-bellied with really hairy limbs, big pointy ears and toothy sneers. Gremlins almost seem to be magic's sneering response to technology, they have an incredible instinctive grasp of technology, aided by their psychic gifts (object read, telemechanics, electrokinesis and levitate) and a positive glee for sabotaging advanced technology whenever they can, double points if they can kill someone in doing so. Oh, and they also don't need to breath, are impervious to all drugs, poisons and electrocution and can be very sneaky.


Hell Hounds

Big black dogs with MDC that never grow tired and will never give up chasing you... until dawn anyway. In daylight (or if injured unto 'death') the Hell Hounds become completely invisible and intangible, incapable of interacting with the world in any meaningful way. Why they even become playful happy ghost-puppies, until sunset when they are once again the very hounds of hell on your trail.


Werebeasts

Men-like beings that can turn into an animal and back, or to a halfway point, at will. There are werewolves, werebears, and were-every-big-cat-but-lions. They're mostly evil cannibals (or man-eaters if you subscribe to the idea they aren't human) with only a couple exceptions including all the werejaguars of Mexico. They also have this annoying limited invulnerability where they can only be hurt with silver or Millenium Tree items.

[Ahriman238]

Today is blood, blood and even more blood. The particularly squeamish may wish to skip ahead.


Mind Bleeder

Mind Bleeders are up there with Mind Melters as master psychics, the most powerful and skilled of any species. Unlike Melters, Bleeders aren't actually human, they're D-Bees close enough to pass anything but a detailed medical inspection. The only way besides a detailed checkup or a blood test to spot a Mind Bleeder in a lineup is the way their veins pop when they use their powers. This is one reason for the 'Mind Bleeder' name, others being the micro-hemorrhages in their brains when they use, and their special gifts for forcibly draining psychic energy.

Mind Bleeders, like Psi-Stalkers, have an always active sense for when psionic powers are being used nearby, or when a psychic is within 60 feet or so. They have great saves against psychic attack or mind control, plus their signature 'Mind Bleed' ability where they drain a psychic within 10 feet/level of 10 ISP/level and use, store or even just throw away the energy. This ability doesn't cost any ISP, but can only be used once a minute. Anyway, Mind Bleeders have their own range of 'bleeder' powers that nobody else can use, just like Mind Melters and super powers used to be. They focus heavily on these abilities, by max level they'll have just 6 abilities from the main 3 categories (player's choice) 4 super powers and 14 bleeder powers, all but one basically. So here goes.


Bleeder Powers:

Bleed Aura- copy someone else's psychic aura
Bleed Endurance- rejuvenate self by making others tired
Bleed Memory- the fastest way to extract specific information from a brain, mind block alone saves
Bleed Skills- temporarily gain skills, while the victim temporarily forgets them
Bleed Truth- see mental associations to confirm veracity
Brain Bleed- give someone a blinding headache and panic attack all at once
Brain Scan- find tumors, insanity, mental blocks, altered memories, or repressed trauma
Day Dream- get someone lost in a day dream, great for sneaking by guards. Worthless on alert target.
Healing Leech- drain health from others
Impervious to Bio-Manipulation- immunity to the nasty bio-manipulation super power
Mental Block- suppress memories
Remove Mental Block- unsupress memories
Mind Trip- victim makes some small mental mistake, say doing math, to favor the Mind Bleeder
Neuro-Touch- stun, paralyze arms, jolt, disorient or make the target stumble.
Neural Strike- mental attack does Bleeder's choice of massive damage or total paralysis.



As a rule, given their instincts and culture, Mind Bleeders have zero regard for the privacy or rights of others and see no reason not to use their abilities as frequently as they can and in any way they like. This makes them sort of a nightmare scenario for the CS and NGR, but every rule has a few exceptions.




Blood Shaman

Apparently originally conceived as a supplementary class for Wormwood. Huh.

Blood Shamans have the ability to gain PPE and cast spells by cutting themselves and others. Of course they can, and frequently do go all the way and kill someone for the double PPE burst, but they can stop shy of that when it's useful to do so, and they still need to cut themselves to cast even when they have all the PPE they need. There being only so much murder and self-mutilation a person can stand, they tend to go at least a bit crazy early on and can wind up crazier than actual Crazies. They also seem to have a running competition with Necromancers over who can be the creepiest spellcaster in the game.

Blood Shamans can sense psychic and magic energy like Psi-Stalkers. They can drain PPE by inflicting a very specific amount of damage on themselves or their enemies, or can heal friendlies by pouring their blood into the other's wounds. Like Necromancers, there just isn't such a thing as a good Blood Shaman. Blood Shamans use blood magic, they start with 6 spells from levels 1-4, and cannot learn spells outside of level advancement, like mystics their magic is largely instinctual, 2 spells per level.

Blood Magic:

I
Bleeding Eyes- magical blindness
Bleeding Tears- curse with illusion of gouged eyes weeping blood, hey why is everyone running away?
Lesser Boil Blood- cause great pain, no damage. immune/resistant to heat isn't bothered
Blood Bolt- flick drops of blood that turn into bolts of red light
Blood Curse- halve healing and regen of target
Blood Jar- preserve blood in a jar, PPE not preserved
Chill Blood- like Lesser Boil Blood but affects those immune to heat, not so much cold. vary your torture
Seal Wound- instant scab

II
Blood Shot- turn blood drop into blood bullet
Blood Trail- two people bond and can always see an invisible blood trail left by the other
Heartbeat- causes sound of heartbeat growing ever louder, fear effect
Multiply Blood- double the blood in front of you
Negate Poison- guess.
Taint Blood- turn blood toxic to vampires and other blood-drinkers

III
Agony- cause pain, victim must have a cut or wound somewhere
Bleeding Flame- make blood from a cut (on enemy) burst into flame on contact with air
Bleeding Mind- slash enemies to put them in a trance where they will answer questions truthfully
Bleeding Pit- create 100 sq foot pit of boiling blood that's sticky like tar
Bleeding Tongue- like tongues spell, get all languages until your tongue scabs over
Blood Armor- blood coats person and hardens into 5 MDC/level armor
Bloodlust- instill berserker rage and actual desire to drink blood in target
Crimson Rain- illusion makes flowing water look, smell, and taste like blood. Fun against vamps.
Crimson Vision- creepy X-ray vision where you are seen as a mess of arteries, veins and a beating heart
Open Wound- re-open a treated wound
Slash- open great cuts on victim by snapping fingers

IV
Absorb Strength- drink blood of creature for temporary strength boost
Bleeding Fists- extra damage to punches
Bleeding Veins o' Insanity- enchant bladed weapon to inflict insanity
Bloody Horror- like Bloodlust, but victim now seems drenched in blood causing more fear.
Crimson War Paint- mass version of Bloodlust, half as strong but can affect many people
Heal Wounds
Heart Attack- create illusory experience or an actual heart attack
Mask Undead- AKA Weekend at Bernies, make the undead look alive, if no one looks closely.

V
Blood Draught- heal self by drinking blood
Create Blood- turn water (or any liquid) into blood
Greater Boil Blood- now a lot more debilitating
Greater Chill Blood- same
Hemo-Goblin- summon blood-drinking goblin
Talking Beheaded- interrogate dead head, no compulsion to speak the truth though
Vascular Eruption- burst all veins right beneath the skin, blood jets a full meter in all directions.

VI
Blood Beast- create 7-foot monster made of blood
Blood Curse- causes illusory bleeding that only the victim and Blood Shamans can see
Blood Divination- stare into pool of blood, maybe see the future
Blood Pact- drinking Blood Shaman's blood makes an oath or pact magically binding
Blood Wine- turn water into (heavily drugged) wine
Carnivorous Blood- Ever seen a man eaten from the inside out? Want to?
Greater Blood Armor- like Blood Armor, but 15 MDC/level and half damage from fire, lightning, cold or magic.
Hemophilia- prevent natural healing/regen, psychic or magic healing may work at a penalty
Sea of Blood- turn vast amounts of water to blood, spoil drinking water or ruin crops, feed vamps.

VII
Blood Bath- mass version of Vascular Eruption
Blood Battery- like Blood Jar, but now saves PPE in blood
Blood Brothers- two people share some attributes, get extra strength and health, share weaknesses, takes half the damage the other does
Life Drain- exactly what it says on the box

VIII
Blood Amulet- creat amulet to protect againt vamps, disease, blood magic or necromancy
Blood Cure- press bloody fingerprint into forehead to remove curse, but marks one as associate to a Blood Shaman
Blood Ward- create booby trap to hit someone with any of the offensive blood spells
Control Vampires- holding one vamp in thrall requires a terrible and constant battle of wills for blood mages
Create Blood Golem- make a monster made of blood with an iron heart, that cannot be affected by most magic or psionics

[SAMAS]

Actually, the D-Bee thing about Mind Bleeders war retconned so that they're just another form of Psychic. In fact, the book itself does that nearly thirty pages ahead, where it mentions that 5% of Crocodilians (NOT Tautons) are Mind Bleeders.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I'm pretty sure even the modern-tech Japanese nation could take on the Phoenix Empire, and I think that's just one large city.

[Ahriman238]

Actually, the D-Bee thing about Mind Bleeders war retconned so that they're just another form of Psychic. In fact, the book itself does that nearly thirty pages ahead, where it mentions that 5% of Crocodilians (NOT Tautons) are Mind Bleeders.

Go figure. I read that as them having access to Mind Bleeder powers, but it seems you are correct. Good catch.

I'm pretty sure even the modern-tech Japanese nation could take on the Phoenix Empire, and I think that's just one large city.

In fairness, if the First and Fifth Legions with their high-level magic and natural powers kept out, I think the police department in my city could conquer the Phoenix Empire. Matching them against other groups with Mega-Damage weapons and armor just isn't sporting. Heh, maybe my next Rifts-related thread should be "name one group that couldn't take the Phoenix Empire."

So let's see, we have the cat-people Ramen belove by Ra and rivals to the Tautons, Sobek's Crocodillians some of whom are psychic but mostly they're smart crocs with opposable thumbs. A description of the dark and light gods, and what every part of Osiris does. I already mentioned the Pygmies that guard the biggest Millenium Tree. What's left?

A couple of monsters that were really phoned in and won't matter ever again. The Children of Amon are the monstrous, mutiliated, mutated or otherwise deformed wretched slaves of that crazed goddess. Waiting on a couple of pictures for the Conversion book tie-ins brought up by the Phoenix Empire (the monsters from other games connected to Rifts) but... I feel like I can safely call Africa done. Epic campaign and evil empire described, magic systems examined, no interesting new technologies or classes I haven't covered.

Yeah, I'm done with RIFTS Africa. Heading east, what's our next stop?




SON OF A-

Ok, so these two books on Russia are a touch infamous. It seems the first drafts massively annoyed Siembenda with their lack of flavor, so much so that he held the books 6 months past their release date while he did a personal re-write from scratch. In the process he buried himself in research into Russian history and Slavic folklore. So you have the people who were annoyed by the late release, the people who praise the Russia books as the ones that did the homework instead of pasting over a bunch of stereotypes, and the ones who claim that the books are still stereotypes, just less pronounced.


Russia was hit really hard by the Cataclysm. As in, they got a winter that didn't end for 8 decades. Oh, and Moscow was turned into a smoking crater, while the ground split and a mountain range (called St. Peter's spine) swallowed Lenningrad, St. Petersburg and everything between them. Anyways, whatever civilization survived the initial nuking and rearranging of the landscape fled for warmer climes, though many came back eventually.

Russia is now a very magically active land, lousy with ley lines and inhabited by a great many supernatural monsters and spirits. Not to mention witches and necromancers, I believe there's two or three new variants of each. Most of the magic stuff is covered in the second book, Mystic Russia. There are 3 new caster types, Old Believers use Nature Magic to do things like turning honey into a healing balm, while Fire Sorcerers use a "Living Flame Magic" distinct from Fire Magic. There's also a mystic blacksmith/warrior I mentioned earlier, as the one class that can make magic items and doesn't even suck.

The general technology level and lifestyle of Russians could most accurately be described as "wretched medieval serfs" with the odd plasma cannon to make life interesting. The main exception to this rule are the titular Warlords of Russia. See, Russia became one of the world leaders in cybernetics (mostly by providing cheap, low-quality knock-offs of Triax and American products, which seems counter to the "Russian is always better" of the present) and this technology has been kept alive by feuding Warlords who ah, "protect" their people form the monsters and assorted evilness. A couple even do it with good intentions. Most of the Warlords have their own exclusive full conversion Borg designs. So expect some good cyborg discussion here.

There is also a Soviet government in the West, centered in New Moscow a dozen miles west of the Moscow Supercrater. There are two stories about how and why this happened, within the same 20 pages, even. The first story, just reading through, is that the government coalesced around a group of Old Guard Soviet survivalist nuts in their bunkers where they somehow managed to survive the long winter. The second is that the Russians, buoyed by some truly brilliant and charismatic individuals decided to give communism another go 50 years into our future. I'm not particularly attached to either story, as long as there's a semi-plausible explanation for why there are Soviets, but I would like a bit more consistency, especially since this is known as the book where Siembienda really, really tried.

Anyways, the Soviets have backslid to about a WWII tech level, though they do get some advanced tech through their limited contact with elements of Triax/NGR, mostly criminal contacts but some legitimate trade exists. Joseph Stalin Hospital, in particular, is noted as being as advanced and caring a hospital as exists anywhere on Rifts Earth. The ironies abound. As an aside, I'm sure the Coalition, which claims to be the ideological and physical heir to the USA and the NGR, who are basically run by corporation, must have been thrilled to discover communism survived the apocalypse. The Soviets have about a dozen mid-sized cities and nonaggression pacts with most of the Warlords. They tend to try and play peacekeeper, and the Warlords find the Soviets useful as a trading partner, mediator or simply as neutral ground in their conflicts.

Like the NGR, Russia has a serious Gargoyle/Brodkil problem. The Ural mountains in particular are infested with Gargoyles who at least don't seem to be as organized or determined as the Gargoyles the NGR has been dealing with.




There are 7 Warlords who between themselves control most of human-inhabited Russia. Each is very high level, with many devoted followers and treated as a legendary warrior-king, with the appropriate amount of reverence and/or fear. They are Warlords; Alekseyevna, Burgasov, Kolodenko, Orloff, Romanov, Seriyev and Sokolev.

Yuri Alekseyevna is an old man know, the last survivor of the first generation of warlords. A hard man from a hard school, he was incredibly ruthless and devious in youth, but of late has grown bored with war and politics, and delegates much to his commanders while he tends his greenhouses. Alekseyevna commands 54,000 fighting men sheltering 200,000 civilians. He has one major city that houses half his subjects, 3 industrial towns and 60 farming villages, the general technology level is around WWII like the Soviets. His banner is a white dragon on a green field.

Pyotr Burgasov "the Bear of Moscow" has a reputation of a man of honor who will always keep his word, and will annihilate his enemies down to the last child if they're stupid enough to refuse the opportunity to surrender he always extends. Harsh but fair, and a man who leads and fights from the front. He makes his stronghold in Novgorod, with 750,000 civilians and 98,000 troops in his care, tech is mid-20th Century in the cities, about 17th Century in villages and towns. His banner is a silver bear claw on a red and brown field.

Stephan Kolodenko "the Mountain King" is a reasonably skilled military mind, but he is a great administrator and engineer who received his education in the NGR and has devised at least one novel amphibious Cyborg. He controls the Caucasus Mountains and the lowalnds around the Black and Caspian Seas. He keeps 3 mountain strongholds as 'capitals' he moves between, Windshorn, Stone Haven and Meadowspire all with late 21st Century tech. He has a very small population and army compared to the other Warlords, 26,000 troops and 130,000 subjects, but his troops are the best trained in Russia and his economy is strong as he mines and drills. His banner is a pouncing tiger, his colors are white, black and silver.

Boris Orloff "Snowdemon" is hands-down the most brutal, feared, thuggish and sadistic warlord, a bully and a slaver. He probably murdered his own father to get where he is today, as the youngest and most ambitious of the Seven. His two capitals are in Donetsk, an futuristic city, and Kurybyshev, a medieval fortress. 1 million or so serfs and slaves with 87,000 warriors. Orloff also has the greatest percentage of cyborgs in his army. His banner is a black snake with very large fangs on a white field.

Sonya Romanov "Sonya the Great" is the only female warlord. She claims to be descended from the Tsars, who visited her in a youthful fever-dream to reveal her magnificent destiny to her. She is the greatest force pushing for a unified Russia and a ruling Council of Warlords. She has worked hard to make her domain the most economically productive of any of the warlords. Romanov's Winter Palace can be found in Kharkov, though Kiev is her largest city. She has somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million subjects and 76,000 troops. Her banner is a pair of crossed gold swords on a purple field, with a dove in flight above them.

Igor Seriyev "Black Knight" or "Rat of Minsk" is probably the most intelligent, cultured, well-educated and downright likable of the warlords. Too bad he's a compulsive backstabber and conniving opportunist. He's probably the best informed man in all Russia regarding the movements of the other powers, and is certainly the most skilled in playing them against each other. He's worked very hard to sanitize his image for the last decade and mostly succeeded in worming his way into the trust of Romanov. His capital is Minsk, around late 19th/early 20th Century tech level, and he has 600,000 subjects and 36,000 troops. He actually has almost as many assassins and spies as he does actual troopers, and most of his cyborg designs are built for assassination rather than frontline combat. His banner is a black rose and dagger on a yellow field.

Grigori Sokolov "Demonfist" is like Orloff in that he is a violent thug and a bully. He keeps his army in a nomadic lifestyle, ever on the move and his troops alone are 'his people' while the many peasants of Russia are things that give him food and supplies or squeal while they die. Orloff is his ally, while others, Kolodenkov and the Soviets in particular are his unremitting enemies. Sokolov is also the only warlord to use spellcasters in his army, around 3% of his men are witches or necromancers. Sokolov has no cities or subjects as such, he raids for whatever he needs. He commands 78,000 troops. Sokolov's banner is a white stylized eagle's claw on a blue field.

And yes, any one of these Warlords versus the Phoenix Empire would be a hilariously one-sided curbstomp.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I remember playing a campaign in Russia based around Sonya and Igor forming an alliance/marriage and declaring themselves the new Tsar and Tsarina of an imperialist Russia. As you can imagine, the gargoyles shit a stone wall and all hell broke loose.

[gigabytelord]

And yes, any one of these Warlords versus the Phoenix Empire would be a hilariously one-sided curbstomp.

I think we've found the catch phrase for any Rifts thread you make.

From this point all military fighting forces shall be rated by how bad or good they would be versus the Phoenix Empire

The Phoenix Empire itself of course rates at a 1

[Simon_Jester]

It would be amusing to come up with a military power unable to defeat itself: i.e. one that has strong natural defenses that its own offensive forces couldn't handle, or conversely has offensive advantages like WMD that it has no defense against.

[Ahriman238]

It would be amusing to come up with a military power unable to defeat itself: i.e. one that has strong natural defenses that its own offensive forces couldn't handle, or conversely has offensive advantages like WMD that it has no defense against.

Isn't every nuclear power this already?

And yes, any one of these Warlords versus the Phoenix Empire would be a hilariously one-sided curbstomp.

I think we've found the catch phrase for any Rifts thread you make.

From this point all military fighting forces shall be rated by how bad or good they would be versus the Phoenix Empire

The Phoenix Empire itself of course rates at a 1

The sad thing is, it is a 1. Defeating the Phoenix Legions in the field is one thing, trivially easy for anyone who has, say a division of troops. Subjugating a hostile population of demons and monsters who would outnumber the Warlords by about 10,000 to 1, more like 20,000 to 1 for Kolodenko, is a different story. The Phoenix Empire's military only comprises 0.0000008% or so of the population (discounting slaves for convenience of math) and even including the militias, about which we know nearly nothing, would only raise the bar to ~0.000003%. I find this... odd, in a militarized state of bloodthirsty monsters and demons, who worship war and death and wish to conquer/destroy the world. Has any government at any point in human history ever had such a low rate of soldiers to civilians?

That's not even getting into quality. Small armies have worked in the past when they were well-trained, disciplined and equipped, none of which apply to any but the First Legion. 25% of their army is made up of cowards and weaklings who are only worth anything fighting at night, reinforced by zombies. 25% are trained animals with about 1 handler for every 10 beasts. Shoot the handler and the animals will do their own thing. A further 25% are fearsome monsters, orcs, trolls, ogres and the odd minotaur, who are slave soldiers and half of them will desert if given the chance. The unreliable elements of the Phoenix Legions make up 75% of ALL their military! Only one of these three Legions are even given armor and weapons! These Legions canonically exist as cannon fodder for the First and Fifth Legions, i.e. the only ones worth a damn!

The First, the Legion of Demons, is well-trained, disciplined and made up of demons and very powerful monsters. They have a high proportion of spellcasters, supernatural beings with magical powers and magic items. They're actually a serious threat, but they're more or less the only ones! And they're only a regiment-scale formation! The Fifth is just a company, granted a company of Necromancers who can probably raise and control a regiment's worth of demons and undead. Big whoop, that gives them almost 4000 combat effectives in 2 Legions, plus 6000 weak and unreliable elements.

If a single moderate-sized city in the Phoenix Empire declared they didn't want to be part of the Empire anymore, I don't think all of Pharaoh's Legions could force their return to the fold. I seriously don't. A military power unable to defeat itself, as Simon says.



Well, I should probably speak some as to the Russians as long as I'm writing. Russians really love cybernetics, and revere full-conversion Cyborgs as heroes and mighty warriors. This usually removes one of the great downsides of cyborg conversion, the subject's felling disconnected from humanity that can lead to depression, insanity, even suicide. I believe I've mentioned before that the Cyborgs, Juicers and Crazies were always written as a vehicle for exploring how much people are willing to sacrifice for the power to achieve all their goals. Would you give up your sanity, your humanity, your life? But in Russia, cyborgs are so celebrated and commonplace it hardly feels like a sacrifice, and only a handful truly regret signing on.

Russians divide cyborgs into 3 broad categories. Light Machines are human-sized cyborgs, they can wear human clothes, fit in a car etc. but are less heavily armored and armed. Heavy Machines are the classic full-conversion 'Borg, 8 or 9 feet tall, humanoid except some trade in legs for treads. Ultra Machines, or Cyborg Shocktroopers are the elite warriors of a Warlord, and tend to the most inhuman of designs, some are like gargoyles or other monsters, one is the treaded monstrosity I put a picture of when we first discussed Cyborgs.





There is a type of Light Machine I feel deserves mention, the hilariously mislabeled Bio-Humanoid. The BH is a Cyborg with a fleshly covering so it can pass for human, like the Terminator, complete with blood filled veins and tiny pumps to simulate a pulse and prevent pooling. They're frequently used for infiltration work, they aren't as fast, strong or armored as a more obvious full-conversion Borg, and they can't exactly walk around with a giant arm cannon without giving away that they are at least partially a Cyborg. So they tend to go all out on discreet sensor and mobility-enhancing options, maybe a couple of really discreet weapons like retractable finger/wrist blades or garrote wire. I mention this because I had one in my one and only RIFTS campaign party. We didn't tell each other what classes we took, except for the GM, though half of us were obvious it took the others a short while to twig on that I was a dragon (allowing an in-character discovery to that effect) and it took all of us several sessions to learn our fifth companion was actually a cyborg.

[Simon_Jester]

It would be amusing to come up with a military power unable to defeat itself: i.e. one that has strong natural defenses that its own offensive forces couldn't handle, or conversely has offensive advantages like WMD that it has no defense against.

Isn't every nuclear power this already?

Unless you go hardcore with ABM, yes. I should have been more clear... I was trying to imagine a situation where advantage goes decisively to the attacker, or the defender, with an asymmetrical outcome.

Modern nuclear powers are this if they have first strike capability but no retaliation capability- so if they attack Mirror-Them, whoever attacks first wins. Likewise, a nation that has a very weak standing army, but great terrain advantages and a citizenry who would fight to the death on the defensive... in a war between them and Mirror-Them, the defender wins every time.

The sad thing is, it is a 1. Defeating the Phoenix Legions in the field is one thing, trivially easy for anyone who has, say a division of troops. Subjugating a hostile population of demons and monsters who would outnumber the Warlords by about 10,000 to 1, more like 20,000 to 1 for Kolodenko, is a different story. The Phoenix Empire's military only comprises 0.0000008% or so of the population (discounting slaves for convenience of math) and even including the militias, about which we know nearly nothing, would only raise the bar to ~0.000003%. I find this... odd, in a militarized state of bloodthirsty monsters and demons, who worship war and death and wish to conquer/destroy the world. Has any government at any point in human history ever had such a low rate of soldiers to civilians?

It may well be that the government troops are so few in number because there's no practical point- the entire state is an armed camp, but most of its warriors are private citizens.

Some barbarian tribes work this way- every free man is a warrior, and there may be systems of feudal obligations, but only a small minority of all fighting men are in the direct service of the chieftain/king/whatever.

If a single moderate-sized city in the Phoenix Empire declared they didn't want to be part of the Empire anymore, I don't think all of Pharaoh's Legions could force their return to the fold. I seriously don't. A military power unable to defeat itself, as Simon says.

This may give insight into their social structure- that it's sort of voluntarist/theocratic; the Empire's monstrous citizens obey royal/divine commands out of love and feelings of personal loyalty (toward an evil ruler), and the Emperor himself has no personal means to compel them to do so.

They would suddenly become a lot more threatening if their ruler actually called a 'crusade' that the citizens would join en masse.

Another note- as always, we have the problem that army sizes and so on are calibrated to make the Phoenix Empire stattable in RPGs. As a practical matter, an army of several thousand is about as large as the PCs can reasonably hope to defeat in the course of a reasonable story arc, since anything much larger requires command and control beyond their grasp, and will be so invincibly large that even if they're all driving nuclear-armed walking gun platforms they personally won't be able to make much of a dent.

I think the powers with armies much over the low tens of thousands are simply the ones the PCs are not meant to be able to conquer in a reasonable span of time. Decapitate maybe, conquer, no.

[SAMAS]

Like the NGR, Russia has a serious Gargoyle/Brodkil problem. The Ural mountains in particular are infested with Gargoyles who at least don't seem to be as organized or determined as the Gargoyles the NGR has been dealing with.

Gargoyles nothing. Russia has it's own Demon hordes to deal with.

There are 7 Warlords who between themselves control most of human-inhabited Russia. Each is very high level, with many devoted followers and treated as a legendary warrior-king, with the appropriate amount of reverence and/or fear. They are Warlords; Alekseyevna, Burgasov, Kolodenko, Orloff, Romanov, Seriyev and Sokolev.

There used to be ten Warlords, actually. Funny story about how that changed.

Yuri Alekseyevna is an old man know, the last survivor of the first generation of warlords. A hard man from a hard school, he was incredibly ruthless and devious in youth, but of late has grown bored with war and politics, and delegates much to his commanders while he tends his greenhouses. Alekseyevna commands 54,000 fighting men sheltering 200,000 civilians. He has one major city that houses half his subjects, 3 industrial towns and 60 farming villages, the general technology level is around WWII like the Soviets. His banner is a white dragon on a green field.

Alekseyevna has one of the largest holdings in sheer landmass. This is because he managed to get Warlord Serovka to declare war on Warlord Tobolsk with the promise of his backing. The fact that you didn't see either of those two names listed above gives you a hint about how well that ended for everyone but Alekseyevna. The downside of course is that his territory is really too big for him to manage effectively. Outside of his western holdings in the Ural mountains, Much of the rest is regularly troubled by D-Bees, Demons, and the like.

Pyotr Burgasov "the Bear of Moscow" has a reputation of a man of honor who will always keep his word, and will annihilate his enemies down to the last child if they're stupid enough to refuse the opportunity to surrender he always extends. Harsh but fair, and a man who leads and fights from the front. He makes his stronghold in Novgorod, with 750,000 civilians and 98,000 troops in his care, tech is mid-20th Century in the cities, about 17th Century in villages and towns. His banner is a silver bear claw on a red and brown field.

Burgasov was a favorite knight of his old Warlord, who actually bequeathed his entire kingdom (and daughter) to him over his own sons. They protested, it didn't end well for them. Shortly afterwards, he declared war on Warlord Kahzmyr, whom he blamed for the death of the old Warlord Burgasov. The resulting war was short, brutal, and bloody, and in the end, we were down to the seven Warlords we know and love.

Stephan Kolodenko "the Mountain King" is a reasonably skilled military mind, but he is a great administrator and engineer who received his education in the NGR and has devised at least one novel amphibious Cyborg. He controls the Caucasus Mountains and the lowalnds around the Black and Caspian Seas. He keeps 3 mountain strongholds as 'capitals' he moves between, Windshorn, Stone Haven and Meadowspire all with late 21st Century tech. He has a very small population and army compared to the other Warlords, 26,000 troops and 130,000 subjects, but his troops are the best trained in Russia and his economy is strong as he mines and drills. His banner is a pouncing tiger, his colors are white, black and silver.

Kolodenko is also sweet on Warlord Romanov. Keep in mind that Kolodenko is the only Warlord with all his original body parts, while Romanov is a ten-foot tall Heavy Machine weighing nearly half a ton. Thankfully, she still has her original face, so the imagery is not as weird as you may be thinking.

Boris Orloff "Snowdemon" is hands-down the most brutal, feared, thuggish and sadistic warlord, a bully and a slaver. He probably murdered his own father to get where he is today, as the youngest and most ambitious of the Seven. His two capitals are in Donetsk, an futuristic city, and Kurybyshev, a medieval fortress. 1 million or so serfs and slaves with 87,000 warriors. Orloff also has the greatest percentage of cyborgs in his army. His banner is a black snake with very large fangs on a white field.

Demons aside, Orloff is pretty much the Big Bad of the book.

Sonya Romanov "Sonya the Great" is the only female warlord. She claims to be descended from the Tsars, who visited her in a youthful fever-dream to reveal her magnificent destiny to her. She is the greatest force pushing for a unified Russia and a ruling Council of Warlords. She has worked hard to make her domain the most economically productive of any of the warlords. Romanov's Winter Palace can be found in Kharkov, though Kiev is her largest city. She has somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million subjects and 76,000 troops. Her banner is a pair of crossed gold swords on a purple field, with a dove in flight above them.

And yes, she likes Kolodenko back. Unfortunately, the both have their thrones (and the territories of the two biggest assholes in Russia) between them.

She is also close friends with Seriyev, though she probably shouldn't trust him as much as she does...

Igor Seriyev "Black Knight" or "Rat of Minsk" is probably the most intelligent, cultured, well-educated and downright likable of the warlords. Too bad he's a compulsive backstabber and conniving opportunist. He's probably the best informed man in all Russia regarding the movements of the other powers, and is certainly the most skilled in playing them against each other. He's worked very hard to sanitize his image for the last decade and mostly succeeded in worming his way into the trust of Romanov. His capital is Minsk, around late 19th/early 20th Century tech level, and he has 600,000 subjects and 36,000 troops. He actually has almost as many assassins and spies as he does actual troopers, and most of his cyborg designs are built for assassination rather than frontline combat. His banner is a black rose and dagger on a yellow field.

Seriyev is best described in three words: "Sneaky-ass Motherfucker." He loves the boost his reputation has gained from throwing his lot in with Romanov, but knows in his heart that if it comes down to it, he will betray her. It actually says a lot about how Romanov has affected him that he honestly hopes that he never has to (or at least that she'll see through him before he does). He's not evil per se (nowhere near as bad as Orloff and Sokolov, or even Burgasov and Alekseyevna), it's just that he knows the game and will do whatever it takes to win/survive, and if it means leaving his friends and allies in the lurch, so be it (he'll simply feel really guilty about it).

[Ahriman238]

Necromancy is a huge deal in Russia, as is Witchery. Some of this is accounted for by Russia's being such a mystic land, a lot has to do with encouragement and support from the Phoenix Empire, but even accounting for these things, there are an awful lot of Necromancers in Russia.

The Soviets and all of the Warlords have officially declared Necromancy a Black Art, anathema and punishable by death, but some are more zealous in pursuing the great crusade against theu ndead scourge than others. Romanov, Kolodenkov and Burgasov are the hardliners, all the Necromancers in their lands are dead or have gone deep underground. Alekseyevna and Sokolov pay lip service to dealing with the threat, but honestly don't care much as long as the Necromancers don't challenge them or harm their interests. Orloff has ordered his men to kill any Necromancer they come across, but doesn't have anyone actively looking for the death mages. He'll also harbor them, as well as other bandits and raiders, so long as they attack the other Warlords' lands and not his. Seriyev has the most complex relationship with Necromancy. Officially, his domain is kept rigorously clean. Off the record, he has revived the old concept of the Russian Mafia. All the families are made up of powerful Necromancers, but they all answer to him and pay him a generous share. They are also far more thorough and rigorous in keeping out rivals than Seriyev's army ever could be.

Mystic Russia is, AFAIK, the only substantial addition addition to Necromancy. There is 1 new class, the Russian Necromancer who can learn not just traditional Necromancy but Bone Magic which centers around making skeleton warriors (or charms, or furniture) from bones and enhancing them in various ways. There are also a couple new Necromancy spells. So the new complete list with additions underlined.

I
Animate Body Parts- animate a single limb, easier if dismembered

II
Stench of the Dead- foul smelling mist causes people to cough and vomit. What an evil man you are!
Hide Among the Dead- blend into heaps or crowds of bodies and undead

III
Accelerated Decay- cause weeks worth of rot and spoiling to food or drink
Recognize the Undead- identify wraiths, ghouls, vampires, etc.
Object Read the Dead- like Object Read, see where the dead people went and what they did

IV
Command Ghouls- make ghouls obey you
Eyes of the Dead- corpse-like eyes protect from hypnotism, identify all undead with ease
Funeral Dirge- song can be heard for miles, acts as chow bell for ghouls and warning to intruders
Kill Plants- exactly what it says
Maggots- infest meat with maggots, now 4th level
Necro-Armor- summon armor of bone and rotting flesh
Summon the Dead- like Animate, but the dead rise from the grave and come to you

V
Death Mask- frightening appearance, immunity to poison, curses and disease
Divine Tombs and Graves- sense where the dead are buried
Consume Strength*- too complex to explain here. see footnote.
Grip of Death- zombie/skeleton hands burst from the ground to restrain foes
Locking Hand- dead hand used to grip doors shut, or snatch at passing intruders
Maggots- infest corpse or meat with maggots

VI
Poison Touch- poison others by grabbing them
Wear the Face of Another- cut of a stiff's face for flawless disguise

VII
Death Wish- curse enemy with no fear of death or regard for life

VIII
Death Bolt- black lightning attack bypasses armor, heals undead
Death Strike- double damage of hand to hand strikes, convert to mega-damage in some cases.
Mock Funeral- powerful curse laid with mock funeral in effigy of victim**

IX
Curse of Hunger- like Famine's power, victim is compelled to drop everything and eat
Death's Embrace- curse with feelings of defeat
Funeral Pyre- all corpses and undead within range burst into flames. Handy for cleanup.
Geater Animate Dead- strength, speed and number of undead doubled
Shadows of Doom- curse someone with sense of inevitable looming doom.
Shadows of Death- scary dancing shadows. Cast on self to seem scary, or on another to curse them with paranoia.

X
Control Vampires- exactly what it says, only Wild and Secondary vamps can be controlled
Curse of Wasting- victim starves no matter how much he eats
Strength of the Dead- steal half the MDC of a corpse
Summon Insect Swarm- summon and control insects

XI
Summon Vampires- all wild/secondary vamps within 1000 miles come and obey you
Transfer Life Force- possess a corpse or undead, lose spellcasting while doing so

XII
Summon Worms of Taut- someone aggressive worm monsters

XIII
Curse to Hell and Back- send someone on character building journey to darkest portion of their brain
Summon Magot- summon a Magot (demon that petrifies with eye-beams)

XIV
Return From the Grave- if proper ritual is done weekly for at least a year, the Necromancer will rise from the grave as a master vampire if killed. This is the only known way to become a vampire without being enslaved by a Vampire Intelligence.


** the coffin must be found by the person cursed before the curse takes effect. There are a wide variety of curses available. If the coffin is filled with dirt, the victim will feel trapped, pressed in and constantly worried and fearful. If it's full of snakes he is very susceptible to poison and spells cast by dragons, if mice fill it he is vulnerable to disease. If the effigy is torn apart, the victim becomes confused, particularly about directions and is easily lost. If the effigy holds a dagger and is covered with blood, they are cursed with Death Wish. If burned, the victim takes double damage from fire, if impaled on a spike, double damage from electricity. If the coffin is full of water, he forgets how to swim. If the casket is overturned and the body dumped on the ground, the victim loses his sense of balance and cannot save from falling or getting punched. Finally, if the effigy is wrapped in a flag, the nation or warlord represented by that banner will hound the victim to the ends of the Earth for crimes real or imagined.

And Bone Magic available only to Russian Necromancers (I'd say screw it, let everyone play, but that's just me) and a handful of other Russian casters:

I
Assemble Bones- form heap of bones into complete skeletons, or neatly sorted stacks
Bone and Joint Bonding- create cartilage and sinew to bind bones together. Makes a better skeleton.
Rattling Bones- make bones shiver and rattle to disturb the enemy
Talking Bones- magic ventriloquism, use a skull as a speaker

II
Crawling Bones- Animate Limbs for the skeletal appendage
Fragile Bone to Wood- turn bones into strong wood good for building and furnishing, still shaped like bones

III
Recognize the Master- program bone locks or skeleton sentries to know their maker and let him pass

V
Fragile Bone to Stone- turn bones into hardened stone, wood bones can be turned to.

VIII
Fragile Bone to MDC Bone- make MDC skeletons, bone armor, furnishing etc.

XI
Bone Scepter- create magic weapon that can cast 3 Necromancy spells a day
Bone of Invisibility- Bone charm that grants superior invisibility 6 times a day

XII
Bone Staff- a more powerful version of Bone Scepter
Bat Skull Necklace- bone charm gives perfect hearing and nightvision
Bird Skull Necklace- bone charm gives 20/20 vision, long-range vision and can see a bit into UV spectrum
Dragon Teeth Necklace- bones charm gives see invisible
Snake Skull Necklace- bone charm protects from poison and disease

XIII
Flaming Eyes Skull- permanently enchant skull to act like lantern, eyes light up when the sun is down
Goblin Skull Necklace- bone charm gives nightvision, knowledge of Faerie and Gobblely languages.
Skull of Knowledge- answers questions, can speak most languages and codes, see invisible, see auras, has sporadic visions of the future and identifies plants.

[Ahriman238]

Bogatyr

Russian Knight-Errant. Like the Knights of Camelot, and unlike Cyber and Cosmo-Knights, there are no special skills powers or weapons, just someone mad enough to swear the knight's oath and go tilting at windmills.



Mystic Kuznya

Where 'Kuznya' is Russian for 'Blacksmith.'

Worthy individuals in Russia have been known to be visited in dreams by Svarog, the Slavic fire/smith god, who questions them at length about their lives, hopes, dreams, ambitions, etc. Those who answer satisfactorily are given the powers and skill to serve as Svarog's agents.

Kuznya are good warriors with some magic abilities, but where they excel is in a forge. Kuznya can produce anything, top quality, in a tenth the time it would take a normal blacksmith to forge a basic version. They are experts in all forms of metal-craft and can identify most gems. They also have a special ability that lets them get any sort of forging job done within 24 hours, though they have to burn a lot of PPE and will be drained for a while afterwards. And of course, their signature ability to forge magic items. I'll get back to that.

Kuznya are immune to any non-magical fire or cold. Their skin is 'something like metal' making them MDC creatures, and they have vast supernatural strength. They only know a handful of spells and cannot learn new ones, what they do know are: ignite/extinguish fire, fuel flame, superhuman strength, create steel, manipulate objects, enchant weapon, deflect, ricochet strike, implosion, speed weapon and power weapon.

The signature weapons/tools of a Kuznya by which they are know are an indestructible iron sledgehammer, at least 100 lbs (45 kg) head atop a 6' (2 m) iron stave that serves as their primary weapon and badge of office. 3 smaller sizes of gold hammer, also indestructible and 3 gold tongs. They will also have a suit of masterfully-crafted MDC armor 5x tougher than the infantry of most nations use, it will be either chain or scale mail, gold or silver.

Kuznya are revered, and get the superstar treatment whenever they show up. Not only are they selfless heroes, they might make you a magic item! However, all Kuznya are sworn to Svarog not to support any region, nation, chieftan, warlord or king but to help and inspire all people. They also know all too well how even the most benign of gifts can be abused, and what tends to happen to undefended villages with lots of valuable magic items. He will think carefully, sometimes for days while learning everything he can about the region and people before making a choice. Kuznya can NOT be threatened, tortured, blackmailed, extorted or otherwise compelled to produce magic items. The moment duress is applied, all knowledge of how to forge magic flies from his head, to return only when it is safe. It doesn't matter if you'll destroy the whole village, they literally cannot give you what you want.



Different metals have different mystic qualities that the Kuznya can draw out. Gold for instance, is good for precision tools and weapons, silver for fighting weres and demons, bronze can be made to cast flash of light or even produce a laser-like light beam. Copper is impervious to flames after being fashioned into any tool, it can make the user resistant or immune to flames as well, or be enchanted to burst into a powerful magic fire. Iron weapons forged by a Kuznya can harm ghosts and entities as though they were solid, and can be enchanted to make the wielder resistant or immune to electric damage.

Okay, Kuznya can make any metal MDC, or even completely indestructible if they're willing to spend the PPE on it. They can fireproof things against even MDC flame. They can make a simple weapon do mega-damage, or double damage against supernatural creatures, or lucky or easy to draw quickly. They can also give weapons the ability to burst into MD fire. Armor, aside from being made MDC or indestructible can be built to be silent and/or feather-light. Arrows can be made, depending on metal, to fly twice as far, light the target on fire, hurt ghosts, demons, or weres or just correct it's flight slightly to hit better.

A few things Kuznya are known to forge are scissors or bolt-cutters that can shear through MDC cords or chains, indestructible plows and hammers, and nails that never come loose. When they're serious? Well, there are Angel Horseshoes that double a horse's endurance while adding 50% to it's speed and 30% height/distance to it's leaps, those are always a hit with the Bogatyrs and Cossacks. Angel Armor gives one the power of flight and to cast globe of daylight, and repels vamps like a holy symbol. Dragon Armor is scale mail (naturally) and makes one impervious to all forms of fire, and the breath weapons of all dragons. A Dragonblade is a mega-damage sword that does quadruple damage to dragons, while a Spiritblade is extra powerful against entities. A Serpent's Rod is an iron staff that makes one immune to venom and poison, makes all snakes reluctant to attack and does serious damage against all serpents, dragons and the Worms of Taut.

Do you hear that? That's the sound of an item-crafting class being awesome. It's completely unlike the Druids in every meaningful way.



Russian Ley Line Walker

Same as in the West, except the Russian LLW can learn 4 of his initial spells in Nature or Bone Magic. He cannot learn more from these schools afterwards.



Old Believer

Somewhere between Gandalf and Radagast, and owing much to the wizards of Earthsea stands the Old Believer. Here is a wise man who knows all about nature and folklore, is a friend to all animals and knows all the spirits of the forest and how to chase them off when they get too rowdy. He's also an expert in masonry, jewelry, wood-crafting, and the making and use of ropes. Why not? Given the spell list, I'm thinking it's safe to add 'beekeepr' to this impressive list of credentials.

Old Believers get a bad rap, most Russians are in love with cybernetics and profoundly distrustful of magic (unless, it seems, it comes from a Kuznya) which given their experiences with demons, witches and necromancers, sounds pretty fair. Add that Old Believers refuse to swear fealty to the Soviets or any of the Warlords, or divulge any of the secrets of their order and powers, and that they call themselves "Monster Chasers" instead of "Monster Slayers" (they'll hunt a demon if they really have to, but generally consider driving the monsters away from people enough of a win) and it's really, really easy to make a case for them colluding with the many supernatural threats out there.

Old Believers get an animal familiar. To become an Old Believer, they need to have a pedantic knowledge of Russian myth and folklore, and handcarve their own staff. Then they plant the staff in the earth and fast and meditate for a week. If they did it right, the staff should start glowing and they take it up and bond with it. The staff is now indestructible, though it will rot away swiftly after it's owner dies. While he holds it, he can speak and understand all languages, even Elemental and if he raises it over his head and channels PPE to make it glow, it can ward off vampires and some demons like a holy symbol. Finally, the staff unambiguously identifies him as a good and wise practioner of magic, Faeries and Woodland Spirits in particular will give respect to an Old Believer. Also, any oath an Old Believer swears "in the name of Moist Mother Earth" or "Mokosh" is magically binding, If he breaks his word once, he shall lose half his powers until he can do a proper penance, if he does so twice he loses them entirely.

The Old Beliver, and one or two minor classes, wield Russian Nature Magic. Old Believers can also use the standard spell list, and even pick spells 2 levels above their own. This is how it goes:

I
Crunching Egg Shell- scattered eggshells crunch really, really loud if stepped on as alarm
Melt Bee's Wax- instantly melt a couple pounds of wax
Sacred Oath- the above magically binding pledge, all Old Believers have this spell

II
Glue With Bee's Wax- beeswax works as well as high-quality glue
The Bee's Friend- bees refuse to sting, even as the hive is cracked open and honey and wax removed
Make Honey and Syrup Candy- make a candy/coughdrop form honey or syrup
Sustained by Earth- handful of dirt provides as much nutrition as 3 sq. meals. Still tastes like dirt.

III
Bake Magic Kulich- sweet bread feeds up to 10 people
Bless Food- protect from magic spoiling and decay
Seal Wound With Bee's Wax- wax now doubles as a liquid bandage

IV
Bee's Wax Disguise- melt wax over a person, then mold into their temporary new face
Colored Egg- hard-boiled brightly painted egg equals 3 square meals again
Hold Tight With Bee's Wax- beeswax makes airtight seal good for jars or cracks in the wall
Make Honey Medicine- a spoonful of honey cures all minor disease, antidote to poison
Negate Spoiling Magic- save food attacked by Famine, Witches or Necromancers

V
Wood and Water Divination- fortune telling for the whole community
Rope of Steel- enchanted rope as good as mega-damage steel cable

VI
Strength of the Earth- Turn into supernaturally strong MDC creature, by eating dirt.
Magic Knots- OB can tie a fake knot that looks good, a knot that will hold insubstantial spirits, a noose that can hand MDC monsters, a charm that protects from curses or disease, one that protects whole house from spoiling magic, one that fuses two ropes into one, one that doubles the weight a rope can hold, and one that simply cannot be untied. Just get the spell.

VII
Living Bones of Stone- bones become unbreakable, body MDC and strong
Living Bones of Air- become insubstantial, twice as fast, can float 10 feet in the air
Demon's Mock Funeral- ritual to fake someone's death via illusion, get demon or spirit to go away
Swords to Snakes- turn swords and knives into snakes.

IX
Enchant the Mighty Rooster- rooster can now sense undead, it;s crowing hurts and frightens them a lot.
Magic Egg- contains an armor of Ithan spell, calm storms, free PPE battery or 1-4 bees that sting evildoers.
Speed of the Snail- makes enemies slow

X
Healing Waters- heal people, with a ton of PPE and a drop of blood, can revive the dead
Snakes to Swords- turn snakes into daggers/swords

XI
Circle Dance- festive community dance protects from and drives off witches and evil spirits
Protective Magic Ring- ward area against minor demons and evil spirits
Summon Fog

XII
Calm Storms
Summon Rain
Bee's Wax Effigy- make a voodoo doll of beeswax that extends magical protection to the person it's of, making him/her impervious to cold, fire, poison, mind control, or highly reistant to the magic of witches or give him great strength and endurance.

[Ahriman238]

Alright, a brief detour back to something that at least relates to Africa. A few of the monstrous inhabitants of that land, and Rifts Earth in general. Here are some of the things that fill the ranks of Rama-Set's elite First Legion.


Loogaroo

The name will make you think 'werewolf' but it's actually a supernatural vulture monster. The popular theory is that witches turn into these when they die, so they can continue to serve and amuse their benefactors. In any case, Loogaroo generally only attack the helpless or the distracted.



Loogaroo can fly, clearly and see and turn invisible at will. They can sense magic, sense good, and are impervious to both poison and all SD weapons not made of silver. Casting ability can vary wildly but is most often equivalent to an 8-10th level wizard/Shifter.


Scarecrows

Psychotic straw golems created by an insane wizard (it's always an insane wizard) who was murdered by one of his creations after producing a few thousand. Given their nature, scarecrows are immune to SD weapons, cold, heat, poison, drugs, and any magic that depends on the recipient having a vaguely mammalian or even living anatomy. In fact, Scarecrows can regenerate from anything overnight, except total incineration, fire being a particular weakness. Couple this invulnerability to their serial killer mindset and you have a bad slasher flick already lined up.



Given that a Scarecrow is immortal unless killed with fire, and they were all created centuries ago, they tend to pick up a lot of skills, particularly those related to stalking and killing people. They also tend to pick up magic, most Scarecrows are Mystics. About half of Scarecrows are major psychics, any class. This leads in to one of the most famed RIFTS exploits, a Scarecrow Burster will, by definition, be totally immune to the one thing that could permanently kill him AND will wield his greatest fear as his special power.

Good thing Scarecrows aren't generally permitted to be PCs.



Sphinx

The classic giant lion-eagle-man monster. Sphinxes are very curious creatures who love the fine things in life, and frequently become adventurers just to see the world and get rich in the process. They generally also have a serious scholarly bent, and many learn magic to a greater or lesser degree. They can fly too, have great eyesight and gnossolalia (magically speaks/reads all languages) but mostly Sphinxes are just non-squishy wizards. Sometimes, just that can be really, really scary.

Mind, one of the other consistent features of Sphinxes is their utter contempt for and opposition to demons and supernatural intelligences, so why any Sphinx, much less several thousand, would work with the Phoenix Empire is something of a mystery.


Syvan

Syvans may look undead, but they're actually an immortal supernatural race of considerable psychic power, that look hideous. Hells, they consider themselves and each other ugly, and jealously resent everyone with a better appearance (hint: it's everyone.) Also, for some reason their left side always looks more rotted than the right. Syvans tend to favor armor or robes that conceal their features. Syvans see others as puppets, pawns and threats. They worship no gods, and respect no laws except in taking care not to get caught.



Syvans can see invisible things and in complete darkness, and are immune to all magical illusions. They have special empathic senses, and can sense the supernatural like a psi-stalker. They have all physical, sensitive and healing powers, and also bio-regnerate, bio-manipulation, empathic transmission, super TK, TK forcefield, electrokinesis, auto-mind block, mind bond, wind wipe, psi-sword and shield, and mentally possess others. Having long lives, they tend to be extremely wealthy and loaded down with inconspicuous magic items.



Za

A winged dog. There's one earlier in the book, a Water Nix, that's a trickster spirit, but Za tend to be a lot more malicious. Their usual MO is steal a vast treasure, either bit by bit or all at once, then dig a lair to stash the loot and defend it. They'll also try and corral some dumber monsters into helping protect their horde and territory. Anyone snooping around gets ambushed, but if potential thieves are obviously too powerful, the Za will fall back and follow them to the ends of the Earth if need be, waiting for a vulnerable moment. Still, despite being territorial as all get out, they can sort of function in a society as long as it's made up of powerful evil beings they can respect, then they engage in pack behavior. They are also known to engage in temporary alliances if there's treasure in it for them.



Za can fly, of course and despite appearances their forepaws have opposable thumbs. They can see in the dark, see invisible and track by scent. They regenerate slowly and are totally impervious to fire, including magical and MD fire. They have the magical powers of a mid-level Fire Warlock.

At least one Za is mentioned as a prominent figure in the Phoenix Empire, part of the triumvirate of generals that leads the Pharaoh's Fourth Legion (Legion of Worms.)



Goqua

20 foot slug/cuttlefish thing. The Goqua comes to Rifts from Beyond the Supernatural, which is based on the Cthulu Mythos. This thing is more-or-less a poor man's Shoggoth, with psychic powers. And what a difference a couple of centuries make! In BtS, if you saw one of these htings, it was probably time for the climatic battle to end the campaign and maybe escape with your life. If you see one in Rifts, it's probably Wednesday. The Goqua are masters of magic and skilled deceivers and manipulators, the sort of entities that can play plan-pile up with half a dozen trickster gods and come out on top. They are particularly fond of tricking human catspaws into thwarting, even destroying, the competition.



Goqua are MDC beings, about 10% of a Splugorth in toughness and can regenerate besides. They turn invisible at will, speak and read all languages and are impervious to all poisons and drugs. They have all sensitive powers plus auto-mind block, empathic transmission, meditation, hypnotic suggestion, mind bolt and hydrokinesis. They know all magic rituals, and 24 spells of the GM's choice from any magic discipline.

[Ahriman238]

Sowki

More supernatural evil humanoids come to Earth in search of power and wealth. Sowki are self-aggrandizing megalomaniacs who'd fit right in with a cult leader, which is something they used to do all the time in Pre-Rifts Earth Beyond the Supernatural, found cults to worship them. But being compulsive megalomaniacs they always go that little bit too far, descending into villain cliches like gloatingly explaining their evil plans and leaving the heroes in escapable death-traps. And they never, ever, learn from experience.



Sowki are, oh, about twice as strong and tough as a human (who isn't a Juicer) and can see exceptionally well even in darkness. Their uppermost eye can see invisible and operates on a slightly different visible spectrum than the other two. They also have gnossolalia (magically speaks and reads all languages.) They like very hot climates, hate the cold are are largely indifferent on the topic of humidity. That said, there's nothing about cold weather that will significantly impair their abilities it just makes them miserable. They have a mildly venomous bite but can usually find or buy more potent poisons. Sowki know all illusion and most ritual magic, including how to summon and control entities and assume the shape of a man or animal. They'll generally know a handful of other spells to. Their psychic powers include meditation, speed reading, total recall, object read, sense magic, summon inner strength, mind block and hypnotic suggestion.

As an aside, the Sowki aren't even the most dysfunctional part of the Phoenix Empire, and you sort of have to respect Rama-Set for holding the whole mess together. Sphinxes hate demons, which are something like a quarter of the population, Dragons and Za are territorial, and so on. Then again, it's made pretty clear that the Empire is highly stratified, mostly by personal power, to the extent that Greater Demons and Dragons are virtually immune to criminal charges.



Death Weavers

Are giant spider-demons that eat people, or wrap them up in webbing, drug them into a coma and use them as PPE batteries. They look like... 8 foot long spiders. They have only very mild psychic powers, total recall, presence sense and hypnotic suggestion. All their magic is dedicated to protection or getting around easier. Naturally they have a venomous bite, can climb most surfaces and weave MDC webbing.



Lasae

8 inch bug-like demon that normally runs in groups of 12. Loves to harm and maim humans, may need to wait for them to sit down first. Like all demons, MDC with regeneration, gnossolalia and able to dimensional teleport back to Hades. Lasae can also see invisible and turn invisible at-will. They are surprisingly good at tracking, climbing and swimming.





Alu, Shedim & Gallu Bulls

A trio of demons, each type represents 5% of the Phoenix Empire's population. The first two don't have much in the way of magic or psychic powers, but can use advanced weapons, vehicles or armor as well as anyone.

Alu are just 12-foot wolf men. No special powers or talents besides tracking with scent, regeneration at-will invisibility, decent nightvision, gnossolalia (it's safe to assume all demons have this) and the odd dimensional teleport back to hell. Oh, well I guess it shouldn't be normal for them to jump 40 feet high or long. Still, a bit of an embarrassment to the demon set, even compared to the Lasae.

Shedim are similar, but bird-men. Not even in the sense that they can fly, just that they are humanoids with hawk-like heads, covered in feathers with talons for hands. They are well known for being savage and fearless, and never retreating unless ordered by their lord. They can see in the dark, see invisible and have the standard regen and gnossolalia. Their dimensional teleport is a bit lacking, it only works about 10% of the time. Their hollow bones and lighter weight lets them leap 50 feet high/long despite being about the same size as the Alu.

Now Gallu Bulls are actually Greater Demons like Jinn and Baal-Rogs, if not up to the standards of demon lords. They look like Minotaurs, with darker coloration, glowing red eyes and small puffs of smoke and fire whenever they exhale. They have a natural magical ability to fly, a beefed up regen and gnossolalia, dimensional teleport back, are resistant to fire, good nightvision and see/turn invisible. Physical strength is a range, but in the neighborhood of lifting a ton. Zero psionics, magical powers are lighter than most demons of their weight class. Specifically, can cast: blinnding flash, cloud of smoke, globe of daylight, thunderclap, fear, phobia, repel animals, animate & control dead, turn dead, exorcism, luck curse, remove curse and heal wounds.



Magot

A greater demon that can turn people to stone with it's eyebeams. The effect wears off in 5-20 minutes, but Magots like to eat people and don't see any need to wait until they turn back into fleshy screaming creatures to get started. They can chew up stone easily enough and as long as it all turns back to meat in their bellies, it's fine. Magots serve Mictla the Devourer, and thus have literally insatiable appetites. Magot can be summoned by any ritual that would call a greater demon, only Necromancers seem to have a dedicated "summon Magot" spell. Why is unclear.



Standard demon powers, regen, gnossolalia, and dimensional teleport home. Nearly universal powers of see/turn invisible and nightvision. Magots are also impervious to fire and can turn into mist. No psychic powers or magical spellcasting, but they get summoned all the time for their power to petrify. Also, they're 20 feet tall and weigh 2 tons, and have the rare gift of a mega-damage body-check.

Also pictured are the scorpion-tailed man-sized Demon Locusts of Biblical fame. The Locusts are the highest in station of the Greater Demons, and can command anything short of a demon lord. Most Locusts hibernate while waiting to be unleashed in apocalyptic war against the Gods, and those that are up and about tend to be very intelligent, patient and disciplined. They have all the common powers of demons, a paralyzing sting, all sensitive psychic powers and can cast all 1st level spells from all schools, plus fire bolt, fireball, call lightning, earthquake, dispel barrier, negate magic, animate & control dead, turn dead, exorcism, luck curse, remove curse, spoil, sickness, phobia, and id barrier.



Night Owl

No relation to Watchmen, a man-sized owl demon with a human head, less the eyes which are more like an owl's. All the power and skill needed to command the legions of Hell, but most Night Owls prefer to work alone or to mentor evil sorcerers. All the common demon powers, plus flight and fire resistance. All sensitive and physical powers plus PPE shield, hypnotic suggestion, auto-mind block, mind bolt, and bio-manipulation. Spellcasting includes globe of daylight, chameleon, repel animals, fear,phobia, ignite fire, animate & control dead, turn dead, exorcism, curse, luck curse, remove curse and heal wounds.



Raksasha

Tony the Tiger made flesh. Demons of treachery and deceit, lovers of political intrigue whose idealized place in the cosmos is vizier to an evil or easily manipulated king (or lord, emir, president, prime minister, they're not picky.) Of course, not everyone wants to take advice from a demonic tiger, which is where their talent for shapeshifting and disguise comes in. Traditional shapeshifting via the metamorphosis spell only lasts 6 hours, but a Raksasha can hold any humanoid form between 1 and 10 feet tall indefinitely, and by abusing total recall, see and alter aura, it needs very little observation time to convincingly impersonate a specific individual.



All common demon powers, along with turning to mist, resistant to fire/cold and lesser teleport at will. Being demons of deception, they know and masterfully use all illusion spells, plus create scroll, animate & control dead, turn dead, exorcism, healing touch, remove curse and 6 more spells. They know all psychic powers and have tons of ISP to burn. They are skilled swordsmen, and favor psi-swords or magic blades.

There are at least 2 Raksasha on Rifts Earth, the ones willing to openly declare themselves. One is the closest adviser to Little Dunscon in the Federation of Magic, and one is the strong right hand of Pharaoh Rama-Set because what could go wrong with taking all your advice from a demon of treachery and deceit? To what extent the Raksasha involved are the power behind the throne or a somewhat loyal ally of an aligned ruler is left vague, and I believe that is intentional.

[Ahriman238]

This may give insight into their social structure- that it's sort of voluntarist/theocratic; the Empire's monstrous citizens obey royal/divine commands out of love and feelings of personal loyalty (toward an evil ruler), and the Emperor himself has no personal means to compel them to do so.

They would suddenly become a lot more threatening if their ruler actually called a 'crusade' that the citizens would join en masse.

Another note- as always, we have the problem that army sizes and so on are calibrated to make the Phoenix Empire stattable in RPGs. As a practical matter, an army of several thousand is about as large as the PCs can reasonably hope to defeat in the course of a reasonable story arc, since anything much larger requires command and control beyond their grasp, and will be so invincibly large that even if they're all driving nuclear-armed walking gun platforms they personally won't be able to make much of a dent.

I think the powers with armies much over the low tens of thousands are simply the ones the PCs are not meant to be able to conquer in a reasonable span of time. Decapitate maybe, conquer, no.

It could well work just as you say, Simon. It's a good theory. As for game-balance, you really do have point. The Vampire Kingdoms also restrict themselves to regiment scale armies. The main difference I see is that the vamps are a handful of really small 'cities' and villages, while the Phoenix Empire claims almost half the African Continent.

Alright, old business with the Phoenix Empire finished.




The Warlords control 80% of the cybernetics facilities in Russia, which are heavily fortified and will contain proprietary technologies of that Warlord. They can turn out a full conversion 'Borg in 6-7 hours, and most simple implants can be done in a hour or less. The real time-sink is people who want to be half-man, half-machine (what would be called Headhunter in the former US) they can tie up an OR for a full day, and will almost always need another day of recovery before they can be allowed to leave.

Cybernetics being so universal in Russia, it may be best to start with a refresher of what sort of gizmos people can stick in their heads since we last spoke of this... 7 pages ago. Time flies.

Boot Rockets
Grappling hook with 20-100 ft cord
Clock Calender
Computer-Calculator
Depth Gauge
Compass-Gyroscope
2-shot nano-repair kit
Headjack (DNI computer interface)
Fingerjack (like R2's scomp-link, but a finger)
Finger Camera (48 pic memory)
Nearly-Universal Translator
Small Secret Compartments (also like R2)
Whisper Mic
Noise Filter
Variable-setting voice modulator/PA system
Molecular Analyzer (imitates scent, allows total awareness of chemical makeups, cannot track by scent.
Motion Detector
Geiger Counter
Radio Receiver
Radar Detector
E-Clip Port, recharge standard ammo clips from nuclear generator
Jumping-Optimized Legs
Extra Arms

Plus Eye options:
Eye-camera
Eye-video Camera
Light-Amp
Thermal Imaging
IR vision (which in RIFTS is more like lidar, low power light beam sent out, measure the return)
Macro-vision (microscope eye 50x mag max)
Telescopic vision (2-500x)
Targeting vision (projects crosshair)
Multi-Optic (very expensive, all of the above modes)
Small Laser gun

And whats the point in even becoming a cyborg if you can't replace a hand with a really big gun. Or at least mount something cool on your forearm.

Sensor Hand (includes heat, motion, radiation, radar detector, calc-comp and compass-gyro)
Garrote Wire
Finger Laser
Retractable Blades (finger, knuckle, wrist)
Retractable Needle (for drugging people in a hurry)
Light, Medium, or Heavy Laser
Ion Blaster
Machine Gun
Mini-Missile (basically an RPG launcher, 3 shots)
Plasma Ejector
Jackhammer
Drill
Plasma Torch

- and the aesthetic:
Custom Paint Job
Custom Face Plate

Not bad, but not nearly scary enough for Mother Russia! And so we add to the list:

Gromenko IFF Comp- 800 hostiles and their weaknesses uploaded, stats on request, ID banners and badges
Psionic Dampeners- causes interference when psychics try to read or control Cyborg
Cyberlink Interface- control vehicle or weapon with DNI
Weapons Energy Link- plug external weapons into cyborg power supply
Bio-Comp Monitor- measures hormones, pulse rate data. Useless for full-conversion, good for halves.
Cyborg Jetpack- 2000 ft altitude, 250 mph speed, flies for 3 hours before overheating
Cyberjet Nodes- double running speed, jet-assisted 100 ft leaps, can hover for brief stretches
Hydraulic Leg Booster- 20% faster running, jump a few feet higher or further
Head Collar & Hood- retractable armor protects back of head and neck in battle
Tread Legs- replace arms with treads, keeping body lower to the ground and adding swivel capability. Same speed

While for the eyes:
Light Filter- sort of an obvious upgrade, no?
Macro-Eye Laser- for delicate things like visual surgery
Multisystem Eye-Socket- port so advanced eyes are interchangeable
Wide-Angle Eye Lens- 180 degrees of vision, freaky appearance
Panoramic Cluster Lens- 360 degrees of vision, freaky appearance and jumpiness
Passive Nightvision- more-or-less the light-amp eye by a different name
Third Eye- socket allows extra advanced eye on forehead
Spectra-Eye- see in gamma rays to radio waves and everything in-between
Super-Telescope Eye- less magnification than US version, but more settings and light-filters built in

And some new audio options:
Low-Frequency Rig- feel quakes, armies, cavalry and vehicles through ground vibrations
Audio Filter & Enhance- listen to a soft conversation across a noisy room
Synthetic Voice Enhancement- flip on/off the signature deep gravelly voice of a Cyborg

While for arms as both limbs and weapons...
Medical Sensor Hand- adds pulse detector, stethoscope, finger camera, laser scalpel and fingerjack to old sensor hand
Schematic Sensor Hand- circuit tracer/modeler, schematic diagnostic scanner, remote repair
Tool Hand- fingerjack, drill, pliers, screwdrivers, laser welder, and a flashlight on each finger
Tool Mechanic's Arm- mechadendrite additions to Tool Hand with even more tool ends
Cutting Arm- three retractable tentacles, one with vibro balde, two with laser cutters
Palm Laser Torch- more powerful laser welder than other hands have
Extendable Arm/Leg- add up to 6 feet of length at need

Shoulder Weapon Mount
Retractable Vibro-Blade
Cyber-Shield- a thick metal buckler or tower shield that snaps onto most Cyborg arms, especially weapon arms
Electro-Cannon Blaster- short range, very powerful electric burst
Forearm Weapon Guards- protect your arm cannon!
Hydraulic Hammer Hand- fist turns into high-power jackhammer, shatters steel and stone
Hydraulic Ram Arm- Huge arm turns fist into non-gravity driven pile-driver
Railgun Arm- 20 round burst, roughly as powerful as SAMAS railgun
Laser Cannon- bigger than American laser arms
Barrage Arm- laser cannon, ion blaster and 2 mini-missiles all on one hand
Vibro-Blade Arm- laser sniper rifle with 2 vibro-swords and an underarm parrying blade, small and fast


Oh, and this isn't the ultimate list, just the implants generally available in Russia. The good stuff the Warlords hold back will be covered real soon when I get to the unique Cyborg Shocktroopers the Warlords have.



For now, I'd like to talk about the Warlord's armies, their composition and skills. Every solider and technical specialist is a class in their own right, and I have to note again that you could easily form a whole party of squishy humans with no special powers at all trying to make it in this lunatic world of gods and monsters. It'd even be a compelling and interesting story, it'd just be less fun.

The simple Soldati are infantry, with some basic armor and laser weapons. Only born Russians may become Soldati. Romanov calls hers "Knights of the Realm" but it's a meaningless title. A third will have some kind of cybernetic implant.

Lower than the Soldati on the totem pole are Reavers, barbarians, mercenaries, mages, psychics and D-Bees. They may be accepted to thicken the ranks, they generally make up 25-35% of a Warlords army, but their inherent lack of Russianess means they can never be truly trusted and will be the first to be used up.

Around 5% of a Warlord's armies are Cossacks, foreign cavalry that are very skilled, able to perform all manner of trick-riding and trick-shooting feats. They are higher regarded then the humble Soldati, but still not true Russian patriots so their masters must be cautious. Have been known to occasionally buck orders to do "the right thing."

Depending on the Warlord 45-60% of their force will be made up of Cyborgs, making them more common than the humble infantry and the Reavers. The exact breakdown of partial-conversions, light, heavy and ultra machines will also vary.

War-Knights are elite warriors, making up 5% of a Warlord's forces, they are all born Russians who have proved their courage, skill and loyalty through years of exceptional service, and so are elevated to a sort of unofficial nobility (some Warlords do make it official.) Largely they serve as an officer corps, but each Warlord maintains a small elite unit composed entirely of War-Knights.

A different sort of elite, Wingriders are crazed jet-jockeys that fly a larger and more imposing version of the Goblin Glider from Spider-Man. Aircraft outside of the Wingriders are nonexistent in Russia, so it is they who rule the skies. One feature that could only exist in RIFTS is a grapple hook deigned to latch onto trees and cliff faces to help the craft turn. Think about it for a second. Wingriders are few, about 1% of a Warlord's forces.

Dimiye Soldati, "Smoke Soldiers" are the most trusted agents of a Warlord, his elite spies, investigators and assassins. They're sort of like the Inquisition of 40K or the Spectres from Mass Effect in that they are empowered to go wherever they like, do whatever they like and kill whomever they like, using the authority of the Warlord, they only person they answer to. Their duties will include infiltrating the territories of other Warlords to set up intelligence networks, assassinating high-value targets, searching for Necromancers, Witches, Other Weird Stuff and other Dimiye Soldati infiltrating their own territory, and occasionally saving the world when someone comes up with a doomsday plot. All Dimiye Soldati are masters of disguise and said to be uncannily perceptive "A Smoke Soldier sees all and forgets nothing." About a third of them are psychic to a greater or lesser degree. All the Warlords have around 50 Dimiye Soldati, save Suriyev who has a hundred.

[Simon_Jester]

There are at least 2 Raksasha on Rifts Earth, the ones willing to openly declare themselves. One is the closest adviser to Little Dunscon in the Federation of Magic, and one is the strong right hand of Pharaoh Rama-Set because what could go wrong with taking all your advice from a demon of treachery and deceit? To what extent the Raksasha involved are the power behind the throne or a somewhat loyal ally of an aligned ruler is left vague, and I believe that is intentional.

The Rakshasa are inhuman enough that they might not see a difference between those two possibilities:

"What, of course I would give my master advice that benefits myself, secures my own power and pleasure, and makes him feared and hated by all squeamish fools throughout the cosmos! Now that's what I call service!"

This may give insight into their social structure- that it's sort of voluntarist/theocratic; the Empire's monstrous citizens obey royal/divine commands out of love and feelings of personal loyalty (toward an evil ruler), and the Emperor himself has no personal means to compel them to do so.

They would suddenly become a lot more threatening if their ruler actually called a 'crusade' that the citizens would join en masse.

Another note- as always, we have the problem that army sizes and so on are calibrated to make the Phoenix Empire stattable in RPGs. As a practical matter, an army of several thousand is about as large as the PCs can reasonably hope to defeat in the course of a reasonable story arc, since anything much larger requires command and control beyond their grasp, and will be so invincibly large that even if they're all driving nuclear-armed walking gun platforms they personally won't be able to make much of a dent.

I think the powers with armies much over the low tens of thousands are simply the ones the PCs are not meant to be able to conquer in a reasonable span of time. Decapitate maybe, conquer, no.

It could well work just as you say, Simon. It's a good theory. As for game-balance, you really do have point. The Vampire Kingdoms also restrict themselves to regiment scale armies. The main difference I see is that the vamps are a handful of really small 'cities' and villages, while the Phoenix Empire claims almost half the African Continent.

I like the image of the Phoenix Empire as this monstrous voluntarist-theocracy in which the average citizen is an unrecognizable inhuman fiend... but they are honestly and sincerely loyal to their overlord by and large, and really would fight for the Empire if asked, though the central government can't really organize them effectively because it lacks the power to compel huge numbers of magic-wielding MDC monsters.

Come to think of it that's another limit on the size of army the Empire might mobilize. The emperor, even given that he's a dragon, might be paranoid about just what some general might do to him with an army of several thousand MDC magic-using creatures. So large forces of that nature are entrusted only to a handful of picked beings. The limit on the size of the armed forces is the supply of loyal commanding officers, not the supply of manpower or materiel.

[CaptainChewbacca]

My favorite cyborg implant of all palladium was the finger that you could break the segments off of and each was a small MDC grenade.

[Ahriman238]

My favorite cyborg implant of all palladium was the finger that you could break the segments off of and each was a small MDC grenade.

See, I'd run out of fingers too quickly.


The "totally not racist" Gypsy Thief and Fortune Teller classes are repeated in this book. Along with the new Gypsy Witch (who doesn't make a pact with dark forces and is, in fact, just a self-taught dabbler in black magic) Gypsy Beguiler and Gypsy Enforcer. Note that the section on Witches includes a disclaimer in case actual Wiccans get offended, the Gypsies don't get that.

Strangely, there are also stats for a Catholic Priest class. To avoid controversy (and there is still a note saying this class might be too controversial for your campaign) the priest has no supernatural abilities whatsoever, not even what a priest of, let's say Thor, does. What he does have is a bit of money, less skills than a Rogue Scholar and more than a Vagabond.

There's also a Russian Villager class, skilled in farming, fishing and construction, and the wandering Story-Teller who can... tell stories. Some of these are pretty silly to have in the same books that let you play as 20-ton cyborg death-engines and people who can bitchslap the laws of physics.

On the more useful side of the spectrum, we have Huntsmen-Trappers who are accustomed to sharing the wilderness with, tracking and trapping all sorts of monsters and demons. They're sort of like the Wilderness Scout class of the main book (which in turn is a ranger) with the priceless ability to play 'spot the shapeshifter.'

The Ecto-Hunter is from here as well, though they're apparently global. Rifts ghostbusters who dedicate their lives to studying the paranormal, usually due to a traumatic experience. Ecto-Hunters can immediately recognize possession, have a strange sort of telepathy that only works on ghosts and other entities, and can charge their fists or weapons with PPE to injure and kill said entities. They can also heal themselves when on a ley line.

There's also an Explorer class that's sort of a generic every-adventurer. People who wander the world, and the wider Megaverse, looking for riches, solving mysteries, finding the fabled Lost City of Detroit. That sort of thing. Again no special magical or psychic powers or cybernetic enhancement.

[Simon_Jester]

I sometimes wonder if US-based RPG storytellers actually grasp that "gypsies" are a real ethnic group, as opposed to being some sort of brightly-colored fictional construct European mythology made up for the sheer coolness.

[Ahriman238]

And here we go again!

The major distinction between Ultra Machines, or Cyborg Shocktroopers, is one of hardware. Ultra Machines get the best stuff, particularly rare and expensive implants, and tech that's kept secret from the other players. Some of that is pre-Cataclysm, some alien tech brought through the Rifts, and even a couple of original innovations. In any case, it is shiny and good, and the Warlords (and Soviets!) don't feel like sharing. They could probably have quite the revolution of cybernetics if they wanted, or dared, put their heads together, but it's not to be.

Naturally, only the most dedicated and trusted of a Warlords warriors gets to be an Ultra Machine.

So let's start with a little love for the Soviets of New Moscow, mostly because 'Soviet Cyborg' sounds like bad pulp fiction.


Soviet Thunderhammer

The premier design of Soviet Cyborg, the Thunderhammer is a Pre-Cataclysm design that utilizes slightly more advanced metallurgy in it's armor than most Cyborgs, making it a bit tougher. It also has a novel arm design I'll get too in a second. The main drawback is that a lot of the newer shinier add-ons (jetpack, cyberjets) aren't compatible. The Soviets haven't had much luck innovating Cyborgs, which is why the Thunderhammer is still their gold standard for heavy combat 'Borgs.



Alright, so the Thunderhammer is 12 feet tall, weighs 2.6 tons and can lift a bit shy (1900 lbs) of a ton. It can run at 90 mph (144 kph) and jump 12 feet high and 20 long. You can see it pictured with it's signature, standard-issue weapons, an 80-pound electrified hammer and vibro-sickle (how cute.) though some wield more advanced "ranged" weapons and rely on their retractable knuckle blades for close-in combat. Oh, and the hammer can fire electric arcs over short ranges. The hump on it's back contains 32 mini-missiles for AA purposes. The right arm has a high-powered laser rifle and a smaller forearm inside that can split off at the elbow, it usually ends in a tool hand, sometimes in a sensor hand or small laser gun. The left arm has a plasma gun in the forearm and a souped-up laser torch in the palm.



Soviet Thunderstrike

An attempt to build a replacement for the Thunderhammer, a few hundred were made before the concept was largely abandoned. The Thunderstrike has much heavier armor, and seriously suffers in mobility, and thus flexibility, for it. Even with the new ability to use a Cyborg jetpack, now standard issue, they found the speed and altitude halved by the sheer weight of all that advanced MDC armor. Oh, and if the head seems weird, it's because they tried to increase situational awareness with by including 360 degree vision.



Okay, so a Thunderstrike is 13 feet tall, weighs 4 tons, and can lift 2100 lbs. Running speed is 70 mph, can jump 10 feet high and 15 long. With the jetpack, it can fly up to 1200 feet off the ground at speeds of up to 175 mph (280 kph) while cruising speed is more like 70. It has a SAMAS-like railgun on each arm, and both hands have palm laser torches and knuckle blades. Typically given the hammer or sickle (or both) of the Thunderhammer as a sidearm. I am not even kidding.

Common add-ons for the Thunderstrike include: cybershield, collar & hood, and up to two more visual options. The forearms can each support an additional weapon or may be swapped out for different weapons arms, 25% of Thunderstrikes opt for the hydraulic hammer/ram.



Soviet Thunderstorm

Anyone else sensing a pattern in these names? Anyways, this hulking gorilla may just be the biggest Cyborg ever made. It's a platform for what I'll just call the Thunderstorm gun, an advanced self-loading double barreled howitzer that does twice as much damage as a basic tank gun with each barrel. So it's a heavily armored artillery piece that can navigate swamps and mountains. The gun unit is so heavy, the normally erect Cyborg can only knuckle walk like, well, a gorilla while carrying it. Good thing is the unit can be detached when the 'Borg isn't on duty. Bad news is it takes a crew and a crane to get it back on. The Thunderstorm is also a semi-experimental unit introduced 5 years ago and with only 1200 in active service.

There was apparently considerable concern about placing a human brain in such a hulking and inhuman body, ensuring the pilots couldn't partake in the vast majority of normal activities. So, the Soviets have assured the pilots that anytime they give the word they can be transferred inside a human-sized Cyborg body inside 48 hours, though they can never be made back into Thunderstorms. So far it's working fine, and just knowing there's an out has had a huge stabilizing influence on the'Borgs.



Thunderstorms are 15 feet tall and weigh 19 tons without a cannon unit, 38 tons with. Amusingly despite the weight they carry all the time, they can only lift 2250 lbs with their arms. Armor is more than a Glitter Boy and a half. They can run at 50 mph (80 kph) and jump 10 feet high and 15 long, as long as they don't have the cannon unit on their backs, which sort of discounts jumping. On their backs are the Thunderstorm cannon which have a range of 1.5 miles?!? Anyways, the unit carries 20 shells, and a 3-man team with power armor or exo-frames can reload the magazine in 30 seconds. The unit also has a mini-missile launcher with an unknown number of missiles. The head contains tri-barreled anti-tank laser cannon on each side, they're capped in the photo. The arms each have a SAMAS-grade railgun, a hidden compartment with a heavy duty laser rifle (more like a pistol to the 'Borg) and the now-expected knuckle blades.

Frequent add-ons include wide angle and panaromic vision, up to 2 more bionic eye types, internal comp-calculator, head collar and hood, low frequency audio rig and sound filtration system. The arms each have room for one extra weapon.



Alekseyevna's Tempest

Another pre-Cataclysm design (to my knowledge, the last) the Tempest Cyborg was going to be the Russian rebuttal to the rock-star success of the American/NATO SAMAS armor before the world went to shit. Admittedly, the design has been tweaked a lot in the ensuing decades. I'm thinking the old one wasn't so over-gunned. Anyways, it's slower and less agile in the air than a SAMAS but makes up for it with armor and especially weapons.



Alright so the cyborg itself is 13 feet tall and weighs 2 tons, same strength as a Thunderhammer. It can run at 70 mph (113 kph) but who cares? It only needs to land every 8 hours to cool the jets. Max airspeed is 240 mph (384 kph) at an altitude of 500 feet. It's feet can supposedly double as skis/ice skates and it can rocket-ski pretty much indefinitely. Like SAMAS, the wings fold down when not in use. As for firepower, let's start with the obvious. Yes, an arm is usually replaced with a railgun or plasma gun. Yes, the hand and foot claws are functional vibro-blades. Yes there is a prehensile spiked tail and the weighty ball at the end can deliver a hefty electric shock. As for less obvious, the eyes have laser guns, the mouth has a flamethrower and the shoulder pads pop down to reveal 4 mini-missiles.




Burgasov's Butcher

Burgasov (who is based on Ivan the Terrible) has always valued pragmatism and brutal simplicity. His Butcher Cyborgs are certainly all that. Nearly as heavily armored as the Soviet models (and only less so because he can't duplicate their armor material) with the head that is the Achilles' Heel of all Cyborgs even more carefully protected.



The Cyborg is 11 feet tall and weighs 2.3 tons. It can run at 120 mph (192 kph) and jump 12 feet high and 20 across. The right arm has 3 mini-missile launchers with 3 missiles each, and a high-powered laser cannon disguised as a fourth missile launcher, plus knuckle blades. The lefts arm has 2 vibro-swords and a high-powered laser torch in the palm. Does anyone just get the standard laser torch? It's not really clear what special techniques or hardware might have gone into the Butcher's creation but they are undeniably Burgasov's trademark.

About a quarter of the Butchers have cyberjet nodes for added speed, rocket assisted leaps and hover. They can swap out weapons arms, and a popular option is to replace the blade arm with a hydraulic ram. Cyborg jetpacks are also common, and they can add on one eye upgrade.



Burgasov's Ripper

I think Burgasov may have a naming theme too. Anyways, Ripper tactics are simplicity incarnate, charge the enemy while firing off all your missiles, then eviscerate the survivors with your bare... hand, and other appendage. The main disadvantage is they're a bit slow and clumsy in attacking and in picking things up, having only one clumsy three-fingered hand.



Rippers are 11 feet tall, weigh 2 tons and can lift 2200 lbs. They can run at 90 mph (114 kph) and jump 15 feet high and 20 long, due to advanced leg hydraulics. The two spikes on the back are mini-missile launchers with 9 missiles each, it also has two discreet cheek laser pistols. For close in, it has a chemical sprayer in the mouth that can dispense acid or a variety of poison liquids and gasses. It also has finger blades, a laser torch palm, and a limb with 3 buzzsaws and a very heavy cybershield.

About a third of Ripper have cyberjet nodes, and the buzzsaw hand can be swapped out for a variety of weapons arms, but the hydraulic ram/hammer are the next most popular options.



Kolodenko's White Tiger

Being the only Warlord who builds his own tech, and an enterprising young engineer, it should come as no surprise that Kolodenko designed his own ultra Machines. The White Tigers are meant for combat in his mountainous strongholds, and are excellent climbers. They can run quickly bipedal, but are even faster on all fours. They are also the only Ultra Machines built to handle stealth and frontline combat, and one of but two to employ camouflage. In their case, a white or light grey with dark tiger stripes. I still say they look closer to the Predator then any feline though.



Tigers are 10 feet tall and weigh 2 tons. They can lift 2300 lbs, being strong for their size. They can run at 144 mph (230 kph) on all fours and jump 20 feet high and 25 across, despite being no less armored than any other Cyborg (again this is blamed on advanced hydraulics.) As for armament, they have a number of weapons all meant to be somewhat discreet and not stand out on viewing the cyborg. Like the Ripper they have a chemical spray in the mouth. They also have retractable climbing claws that double as vibro-blade weapons, a tri-barreled laser in the left forearm, a plasma gun as part of the right hip, and a hidden compartment in the left thigh with a laser pistol. Oh and the right arms has 3 tentacles, 10 feet long with blades on the end, strong enough (barely) to lift a man and capable of delivering a fatal electric shock.

Audio filter and enhancement are almost universal add-ons, cyberjet nodes are a bit rarer at 5% while 20% get either wide-angle or panoramic vision. A handful take a weapons arm, but it compromises the running speed, jet packs are issued as needed.



Orloff's Holocaust

Oh Orloff, why are your Cyborgs so crazy? Could it be that you recruit exclusively from a pool of psychopaths? These are called Holocaust Cyborgs, and it's not because good things happen when they roll into town. Orloff has secretly gotten his hands on some alien tech he uses to enhance his most loyal Cyborgs, mostly this manifests in miniaturization of existing parts but he's gotten a couple of good weapons too. Orloff's Cyborgs are the cautionary tales you hear about people losing their humanity after being stuffed in a living shell, and generally follow this logic tree.

Orloff's army? (y/n)

if (y) command to go away, intimidate into submission

if (n) shoot first, shoot next, shoot last and who the frak cares about questions?



Holocausts are 8 feet tall (not having legs really trims you down) wiegh 4 tons, can lift 1 ton. Their top speed is 80 mph (128 k) and as for jumping, . They have two box launchers near the base with 27 mini-missiles apiece, a big plasma cannon on the right shoulder that tracks the cyborg's eyes, while the left does the same with a SAMAS like railgun. The right arm has a pulse laser and the left a particle-beam, while the two normal human-sized arms handle any other weapons the Cyborg picks up along the way.

Oh, and they can swivel a full 360 degrees on the joint connecting their torso to their treads. That's sort of cool I guess.


Orloff's Aftermath

Also called Orloff's Grim Reapers, the Aftermaths are usually sent in to mop up after the Holocausts. The main raison d'etre is a powerful alien particle-beam gun, mounted on the right shoulder. The gun needs extensive cooling, which is why there's a hump that constantly vents steam. When the guns been firing for a while, the whole Cyborg can be easily lost in the cloud. To allow the Cyborg to see behind, the neck can actually extend up to 5 feet, and the head can swivel all the way around. Naturally they're as psychotically violent as the Holocausts, but that's no fault of the hardware.



Aftermaths are 12 feet tall, weigh 4 tons and can lift 1 ton. They run at 100 mph (160 kph) and can jump 20 feet high and 25 long owing to, wait for it, hyrdraulics (I'm starting to wonder if the other Warlords haven't robbed Burgasov blind of his design.) The right arm has a massive chainsaw that can carve through tank armor, along with 6 mini-missiles and a hooked vibro-blade at the end of a 12-foot telescoping arm. Then there's the p-beam cannon, slightly more powerful than most tank guns, and tracking the cyborg's gaze. The left arm, almost prosaically has an actual hand, a railgun and a retractable vibro-sword.

About 20% go for wide-angle visors, 8% get cyberjet nodes, cybershields are also common and the chainsaw arm can be swapped for any other weapon arm.



Romanov's Avenging Angel

So yes, Romanov went with a design that looks like a knight in gold armor grew wings, probably with an angelic face-plate too. Comparisons to the Tempest 'Borgs are inevitable, and the Angels are like Tempests that sacrifice firepower and armor for better flight performance. In fact, they can glide and frequently do so, killing engines to swoop down in absolute silence and surprise the enemy. The wings are a separate module that can be detached if needed, say it became damaged and an encumbrance. It may be hard to make out details, since the angel in the picture is engaged in battle and facing away.

The Avenging Angels are also the only Cyborgs to be color-coded (Really? the only woman Warlord color-codes her warriors?) and the only ones besides Kolodenko's Tigers to really be painted any color but dark military grey. The scouts are light blue and white, sky camouflage. The average Angel is gold with purple, silver, or white trim depending on rank. Officers are blood red with gold or black trim. The wing packs can be white or silver, I don't know if there's a rank distinction.



Angels are 10 feet tall, weigh 1.2 tons and can lift 1800 lbs. Angels can run at 70 mph, 130 if they ditch the wings, and leap 15 feet high and 20 long using just their legs. Their flight may be unmatched in the low-flying armor/cyborg class. They have a max altitude of 12000 feet and can hover at any height they can reach. Without engines, they can glide for a very long time in the manner and speed of a hawk, and dive at up to 100 mph. With engines, they can hit 340 mph (544 kph) and go for 8 hours before needing to let the jets cool. Their signature weapon is a polearm (often a scythe, sometimes a glaive) with a vibro blade and an ion gun in the blunt end. The wing pack contains 8 mini-missiles for dogfights, while the forearms have laser-rifles built in and the hands and feet have retractable, silver-plated vibro-blades.

Super-telescopic eyes are really common with the Angels, as is audio enhancement. About 20% have wide-angle visors, while a handful take a weapon arm.



Seriyev's Assassin

The Rat of Minsk's favored shadow warriors, though he only uses them for intelligence work these days, not offing his enemies in their home at all. You believe him, right? Ironically, the only Ultra Machines to have their plans stolen and generalized among Russian forces. Seriyev's are still better, because he uses top-shelf Triax components, like the his rivals find it hard to acquire, lacking his contacts in the NGR. Assassins are the smallest and stealthiest Ultra Machines, not to mention very acrobatic, otherwise they would really, really suck at their jobs.



Assassins are 10 feet tall, weigh 1200 lbs, and can lift 1800 lbs. As you can see, it has 4 arms. One of those will have two vibro-blades, a fingerjack and a needle leading to an internal drug/poison reservoir. Another will have all the vibro-blades. A third will have a finger-camera, grapping hook and cord, exploding knuckle spikes and a particle-beam. The last arm is a tool hand with garrote wire and/or a small secret compartment added. Seriyev's all have psionic dampeners he gets from the NGR black market, the others do not.

The other Warlords tend to skimp on sensory equipment in favor of more weapons, like swapping out the tool hand for a missile launcher. The Assasin can accomodate two more weapons if they're not too large and heavy. Cybershields also work. Seriyev's tend to panoramic vision, audio filter and enhancement, low-frequency audio rigs, and molecular analyzers.



Seriyev's Mantis

An Ultra Machine designed for climbing, hiding and ambushing before straight combat. The Mantis has many vibro blades, it's eyes are replaced with advanced sensor clusters and it's feet and hands can grip most any surface. They're also meant to be extremely acrobatic.



Mantises are 12 feet tall, weigh 1 ton and can lift 2200 lbs. They can run at 120 mph (192 kph) and normally leap 18 feet high and 32 long. However, the majority are fitted with cyberjet nodes that allow them to jump 100 feet high or 200 feet long. They have the massive arm blades, smaller forearm blades and 6 tiny laser-pistols in the arms for shooting people wrestling with their blades.

Mantis cyborgs are incompatible with the Cyborg Jetpack. They typically get sensory upgrades and can fit an extra weapon on each arm. About 15% have psionic dampeners.



Solokov's Demonfist

Solokov is nicknamed "Demon Fist" and his cyborgs are Demonfists. Solokov does not care. Solokov's cyborgs are 20 years obsolete by the standards of the other Warlods. Solokov does not care. Everyone else has years of experience in dealing with this model. Solokov does not care. Solokov loses many men and Cyborgs in every major battle with a semi-equal opponent. And Solokov does not care.

Granted, his Cyborgs are simple, but they're also walking tanks, and well-reputed for their resilience.



Demonfists are 12 feet at the shoulders, weigh 7 tons and can lift 2500 lbs. Running speed is 50 mph (80 kph) and can jump 8 feet high, 14 feet long. It has 2 tank-grade plasma cannon on it's shoulders. Each arm has a double-barreled laser cannon, a laser finger and a chemical spray and one has three vibro-blades, Wolverine style. There's also a silver spike (for spirits,demons and weres) and a fingerjack on one hand, and a garrote wire in the other. I'm sure a 12 foot stell monstrosity with blades can find all sorts of use for a garrote wire. There's a hidden compartment in the left calf with an ion blaster (what is it with all the secret compartment weapons?)

The Demonfist can swivel 360 degrees at the waist, and there are also two more secret compartments large enough to fit a small child. Popular add-ons include Cyborg jet packs (40% normal speed and altitude due to weight) and wide-angle lens.



Whew.

I know it's hard to generate discussion from game stats, so a question. If you had to pick one of these to be your new body (say, there was an alien invasion and you had one chance to turn yourself into something capable of ensuring you and your loved ones survive) which would you choose and why?

[SAMAS]

My first choice isn't in that book, but out of the Russian Cyborgs, I would probably go with Kolodenko's designs.

[gigabytelord]

I'd have to go with Seriyev's designs, lighter, faster and built more for stealth.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Ever wonder what a 12-foot cyborg does when he's off duty? Is there a massively reinforced pub somewhere they go to unwind?

[SAMAS]

Most likely. The book also mentions that when Warlord Burgasov (Partial Conversion) wants to unwind with his family, he actually has his metal bits replaced with Bio-Systems.

And so there are some faces to go with the names:


Warlord Burgasov. He's just like a big ol' Bear. Especially the Rip-Your-Face-Off part.


Kolodenko


Orloff.


Romanov


Seriyev


Sokolov. Cuddly, isn't he?


A few samples of Warlord Troops:


Cavalry is a large part of Russian War Camps. These guys are riding Megasteeds, namely a type called the Ursan Forest Steed. Yes, that means Bear Cavalry. Russian Bear Cavalry. Cyborg Russian Bear Cavalry. And yes, you most certainly are fucked.

(Also, note the dude at the top. To quote C-3PO: "He's holding a Thermal Detonator!")


War-Knights are the highest-ranking members of the War Camp outside of the Warlord himself (and maybe his advisors). I'll leave the particular details to Ahriman, in case he happens to be writing it up now. This particular Knight, like many others, is riding a True Megahorse, a creature that looks like a normal horse, except for being about 50% larger, about as tough as a suit of Power Armor, and is smart enough to be a Player Character.


Alekseyevna and Romanov's Shocktroopers aside, this is the primary air force of the War Camps. The Wingrider Flying Wing is one of those things whose very existence probably says a lot about the Warlords. It probably says a lot more that Kolodenko was the one who came up with it.


A note on Russian Weapons. Russians are really into the idea that "Bigger is Better". Thus, the invention of the Servo-Harness Rig, also known as a Servo-Rig, or just "The Rig". These are used to hold weapons from underneath a soldier's arm or over their shoulder, and allows them to carry a weapon weighing up to twice their body weight. Consequently, a large majority of the weapons in this book weigh between one hundred and two hundred and fifty pounds.


The Tek-20 YY-210 Borgbike is exactly what it says on the tin: A motorcycle for Cyborgs.