PLEASE NOTE: The updated version of this quick comparison system has been moved to its own posting.
http://palladium-megaverse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=129640----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is just kind of an overview way of approaching this general subject rather than a specific answer. Hopefully its still interesting and appropriate.
Most of the commonly used play style terms (power gamer, munchkin, etc) have varying degrees of negative connotations connected with them. (Why require terms if all is well hehe).
Ultimately such common play style labels tend to develop once players begin to exceed the "Intermediate" player status (see below). Above that level any imbalances between the Players' Characters' Competence levels and the GM's Campaign Challenge Level are usually what lead to offensive terminology.
BEGINNER (B): Basically people start off with their best guess for building a character who ends up being completely obliterated in a remarkably spectacular or equally as likely remarkably unspectacular way.
No real understanding of the basic game mechanics. May take several characters before overcoming this. Generally only occurs during first and possibly second campaign played in.
Playing the game is like running through a minefield while blindfolded.Play Style - Common Sense: Unarmored SDC player starts a fist fight with an apparent human who is actually a metamorphosed dragon (one of the more common - "Welcome to the mega-damage system" intros), etc.
NOVICE (N): Has played several characters over time, usually in several campaigns and possibly with various GMs.
Good grasp of the basic and essential game mechanics.
Play Style - Common Sense: Usually knows better than to badmouth the Glitterboy with the boom gun already pointed at him.
INTERMEDIATE (I) - VETERAN: "Veteran" of numerous campaigns, may have been a GM for some. Comprehensively builds characters utilizing essential combinations of skills, abilities, equipment, and tactics. Almost always competently wins and finishes his appropriate 1-vs-1 portion of combat then moves on to aid other players, etc. This is essentially the
standard competent player status.
Play Style Example - Tactics Possibility: Uses a jump, flip, or other maneuver/movement to get around opponent to gain that auto-critical from behind attack (RUE HTH Basic and Expert), etc.
ADVANCED (A) - HEROIC: Veteran of even more campaigns, almost always has been a GM for at least one. Uses at least one truly exceptional, moderately obscure, combination of skills, abilities, equipment, and tactics. Able to competently regularly eliminate at least 2-to-1, as many as 5-to-1, or even 10-to-1 apparently similarly powerful opponents. Maintaining interesting and challenging combat situations (without reverting to extreme overkill)
can begin to become a challenge for the GM. This is the
"Heroic" level to which most players aim to achieve with their characters. Note:
this is NOT a slaughterfest, the players are genuinely challenging their characters and wits to maintain this level of competence. The player's characters are still easy enough to understand that the GM can simply put in more powerful/higher level equivalent versions of them to keep things challenging if nothing else.
Play Style Example - Character Design Possibility: Autododges 90% to 95% of attacks (excluding missile vollyes of 4+).
A simple, cohesive teamwork-based party of this type might be:
- a
Phaeton Juicer (original vehicle operating juicer)
or possibly any type of autododging pilot as of RUE. Limited psionics (random minor/major, etc) can also help backup the TW activation (see below).
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operating a heavily modified Glitterboy Transport (WB22:FQ): maximized speed, extra MDC - especially force fields, Techno-Wizard additions - instantly renewable max MDC force fields, immunity to energy, possible stealth/invisibility options, etc.
effectively autododging for the entire group/single vehicle. Easily modified to function as a mobile GB repair base and ammo loading/storage facility (huge storage/troop capacity). The small Reloader Hover Vehicle in WB22:FQ repairs/reloads GBs via minimal space.
- while
most of the remaining party members operate glitterboys locked-in via feet anchors acting as turrets (4 or 6 maximum?). This turret portion is standard usage by design for this vehicle.
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while caster/psi folks co-pilot/activate/reactivate TW abilities on the transport. Especially refreshing maxed out MDC magic force field 150+ MDC each time it is depleted or nearly depleted = replaceable 150 MDC each time co-pilot/caster has an attack. Around 200+ PPE and/or ISP is ideal (both if possible) for several melees of constant MDC field refreshing.
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Boom Gun Ammo Option: possibly firing
custom MD silver or MD wood boom gun flechette rounds for anti-supernatural capabilities and other custom ammo. There are several methods for making these: MD wood is very easy via various magics (finding a MDC forest, using Ironwood spell, etc); MD silver a bit more challenging to obtain and to make and it requires science or magic (Mystic Kuznya from WB18:MR, Rogue Scientist, etc;
various forum postings address this type of stuff). Boom Gun Ammo is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ammo to build customized versions of.
Single shot, flechette rounds: grenade/mini-missile sized capsules of jagged MDC material slivers/shards launched by the electro-magnetism of the rail gun
propelling the capsule. This means as long as the internal slivers are razor sharp MDC then any material is fine for full standard 3D6x10 MD. ANY degree of Weapon Engineer or equivalent (Field Armorer, etc) can build standard boom gun ammo out of battlefield scrap metal. This simple ammo can easily be built utilizing a simple weapon engineering tool kit (laser torch/scalpel) and possibly a simple workspace such as a bench/desk surface in a vehicle, a flat level tree stump or remains of a vehicle/robot vehicle. Add in a simple custom mold or two to precisely bend the metal for the outer casing around completes and radically speeds up the process. With materials properly arranged should be able to
hand-make about 1 round per minute (60/hour). A properly programmed labor-bot could probably crank these out 24 hours a day if need be (1440/day at same rate). Very few rounds are used each combat so always having enough is easy to maintain by building them while traveling or during downtime. Even buying Boom Gun Ammo if need be is dirt cheap (<150 credits each, possibly as low as 1 or 2 credits each; RUE?). If need be can build or obtain the special materials elsewhere then bring them to a NPC weaponsmith to build them.
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no doubt many other possibilities or add-ons could be included as well, these are just some of the basics- so presuming
4 GB as turrets on the party transport +1 autododging pilot +1 caster/psi this group should be able to
take out 12 to 60 stationary organized GB opponents; mostly due to the benefit of the
transport pilot's autododge further protected by the
caster's instantly renewable 150+ MDC force shield absorbing up to that amount for each of the caster's attacks.
Anti-missile defense system(s) also essential for shooting down incoming volleys of 4+ missiles (can't autododge them) = mini missile launcher (common availability, least expensive missiles, less storage space) possibly using the pilot's actual attacks and/or requiring another party member as a designated gunner/missile shooter (possibly a labor robot with combat programs instead). Further, the
Impervious to Energy eliminates roughly half of the hi-tech weapons and missiles from being able to do damage. Of the remaining physical damage weapons most are
rail guns (burst weapons with low attack bonuses), the less powerful missile types (fragmentation, armor piercing), or melee weapons. Further: could use the
TW invisibility (superior) addition for stealthy quick exits from overwhelming combat, etc.
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Combat Note 1: Statistically at 20 or more opponents means at least one of them is rolling a natural 20 each round which can only be autododged on a natural 20.
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Combat Note 2: Ironically the
GBs as "turrets" should require a
basic called shot to be hit.
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GB Transport's various built-in weapon systems allow non-GB party members to have other combat options available to them.
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Individually: When unable to utilize the GB Transport (indoors, underground, etc) each member of that team should still be able to function in at least lower end of the Advanced category. As listed above the characters' key basic gear is fairly straightforward. Only the very basic elements of the characters are listed: 1 autododging pilot (possibly with limited psionics), 1 caster (with high PPE and possibly ISP as well), 4 GB pilots (many class possibilities), +1 missile countermeasures gunner (most likely a combat programmed labor robot), plus room for several more crew/party members.
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Combined Output: As GB Transport combat team functioning as 6 medium to upper end Advanced characters.
As a team via this combo they might be able to take on 1 lesser VT/Epic character.
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TW Modification Note: TW Mods in RUE can basically be used to build or modify virtually anything in any way. The original Rifts Main Book had a limited selection of specific TW Mods (RMB p93). The above mods essentially just use the original mods for simplicity. The comprehensive "anything TW" RUE building system further enables TW Mods, TW Items, or TW Variations that are not on that list. Using the RMB list for inspiration and the anything's possible under the RUE TW system could just simplify the: Armor of Ithan for the MDC, just use double or triple the RMB power armor PPE creation costs and credit/BMI cost per 10 MDC. Aim for a level 15 Techno-Wizard to initially build the modifications. Various possibilities allow for higher than level 15 beings: Ancient Dragons, Sea Titans (WB7: Underseas), quite possibly any XP class that uses the dragon XP table, exceptional beings that exceed level 15 (main doctor in WB13: Lone Star, etc), etc. A higher MDC per level spell effect might be possible as well.
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CS Note: This is probably a good example of why the CS doesn't like people running around with GB gear (hehe).
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Overall Basic Crew Nicknames: Prosek's Bane, Prosek's Headache, CS Hunters, @#%@#ing Autododging Flying Glitterboys, Air-to-Air GBs, GB Jets, etc.
VARIOUS TERMINOLOGY (VT) - EPIC: The combinations of species/subspecies, abilities, skills, tactics, and/or equipment have reached brutal levels of effectiveness. Huge portions of core material opponents are completely ineffective vs the characters. These
"Epic" characters have brutally effective combinations of:
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immunity to energy and/or physical: invulnerability major superpower, werebeasts, vampires, well built evil shaman converted human-ish being (Spirit West or New West), etc combined with other abilities;
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have thousands of easily renewable MDC (possibly instantly and ideally full recovery in less than 1 hour; less than 10 minutes is better; less than 1 day may still be feasible): force fields - major superpower, magic tattoos + high level, huge SDC to MDC conversion via Japanese Mystic Martial Arts powers + Sixth Sense to always activate in time + easy SDC healing, etc;
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huge MD attacks inflicting sustainable hundreds or even thousands of MD per hit requiring only one attack for each such damage: custom built TW Annihilator weapons (2d4x100 MD per hit, auto-hit if 30 feet or less range - NO dodge or autododge, total disintegration if even 1 MD of overkill - includes vampires, etc.); Master Psychic Cyber-Knight (extra MD: 1D6 CWC, fairly sure its +4D6 as of RUE) dual wield Psi-Swords + Gene-splicer x2 (= +100% base) one psi-power damage + psyscape training x2 (= +100% base) of same + high level = dual wielding two 21D6 psi-swords CWCyberKnights (30D6 RUE?) with no ISP cost or duration limits, toss in south america psi-sword augmenting device for more MD, or if multi-arm/limb effect is allowed use 4-arm being, plus autocrit x3 attacking from behind (HTH Expert + medium level character), etc.
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ridiculous mobility: faster than any opponents, constant teleporting, stealth/phasing, huge autododge (natural 20 to be hit for 90%+ of opponents), etc.
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various other abilities, contacts, etc: rune weapon building, etc.
Characters are generally so complicated that the GM has a tough time gauging their power level and may end up allowing characters that are far more powerful / invulnerable than expected. A character will probably achieve some degree of
game breaking ability. Ultimately the GM has to be equally ridiculous to keep things interesting but it probably requires custom empires, creatures, etc. GM biggest problem is often that anything he uses that can actually be a challenge to one such character might instantly slaughter other party members even if similarly powerful but in different ways.
This is often where GMs become truly fiendish.
An appropriate setting might be open warfare in Atlantis that appropriately humbles the characters into more subtle tactics (even the immune to magic characters have a bad day; even combined with immunity to physical and energy, the common availability of psi-attacks still do damage and effects).
Play Style Example - Combined Abilities Effectiveness: Able to either completely destroy or completely bypass all opponents from a particular empire (especially CS with limited psionics, and limited independent vanguard magic). Could literally zip through enemy lines kill Prosek and zip back out again.
Best Usage: GM who has specifically designed a campaign to function for this power level of characters and is capable of comfortably running such a campaign. If this is anything more than a constant mild to moderate challenge for the GM then the campaign will not likely last very long.
Note: this category can cover a wide range of capabilities. Being able to bypass enemy lines of the CS and kill Prosek is one level of achievement (
due to a gap in their defensive and/or sensory abilities, etc.). However being able to bypass the enemy lines of the Splugorth in Atlantis and kill Lord Splynncryth is a very different achievement (
impenetrable defenses within pyramids and other important structures vs teleporting, dimensional incursions, presumably various phasing types, etc).
The following summary is essentially
the balance between the Players' Characters' Competence levels and the GM's Campaign Challenge Level. Experienced gamers can usually accurately gauge their own characters, approximate other players characters, and the GMs typical campaign.
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BNI: Ultimately any combination of players and GM that are of
Beginner, Novice, and Intermediate can usually result in a fun game session.
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A: Having any
Advanced players usually require most remaining players and the GM be of either Intermediate or Advanced competence as well.
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VT: The
Various Terminology level generally requires calm, patient, mature players and GM or it can easily degenerate into frustration for any/all participants at any moment. Advanced characters seem more like Beginner characters if played at this level of campaign.
Ultimately most terminology occurs when one or more players have characters that are operating at a more effective level than the GM can easily deal with. Inter-party character competence can be problematic as well but that usually just results in a dead character which is then replaced by a usually more competent character.
The remaining defining factor is each Player's maturity and the GM's maturity. Game with good folks plus the above balanced game elements and most likely have a good gaming session/campaign.{Edited numerous times to better clarify content.}
If something makes the RPG experience better that's great. If not don't use it.
If not overly informative hopefully it was at least mildly amusing. Munchkin Clown Away! <fwoosh... honk, honk>
you some might think you're a 
but you're cool in book 
... anyway. As I already said in much fewer words. Acquisition of power is a need to meet a lofty goal not the goal itself. All goals and aspirations will fall flat without sufficient power.
