Alternate Timelines

[Killer Cyborg]

For that matter, If we're talking about an alternate timeline... which would mean an Alternate Tolkeen and an Alternate Free Quebec (as well as an Alternate Coalition).

In which case any number of factors might be different enough for such an alliance to have worked.

[Incriptus]

Alternate Siege: A few different events happen after the sorcerer's revenge. 1) Holmes was wrong Xiticix's Eliminate all the his soldiers. 2) The Quebec / Tolkeen combined sneak attack goes through as planned 3) The lose of Quebec and the damage done causes Bradford to reassess his feelings towards Karl and Lone Star succeeds as well 4) The Demonic forces at Tolkeen turn on their masters, they really belonged to the Federation of Magic the entire time. The power blocks are suddenly redefined with Chi-Town, Quebec, Tolkeen, Federation of Magic, & Lone Star all on vaguely equal footing.

[SolCannibal]

Alternate Siege: A few different events happen after the sorcerer's revenge. 1) Holmes was wrong Xiticix's Eliminate all the his soldiers. 2) The Quebec / Tolkeen combined sneak attack goes through as planned 3) The lose of Quebec and the damage done causes Bradford to reassess his feelings towards Karl and Lone Star succeeds as well 4) The Demonic forces at Tolkeen turn on their masters, they really belonged to the Federation of Magic the entire time. The power blocks are suddenly redefined with Chi-Town, Quebec, Tolkeen, Federation of Magic, & Lone Star all on vaguely equal footing.

Either that or Tolkeen turns inside out as its summoned help turns against them in a effort to subvert the nation to the interests of one of the factions in the Minion War. But i really like the idea of Lone Star seceeding from the CS states.

Also - is there some way, magic, psychic or otherwise, an individual or group could assume control of a Xiticix queen or hive? It's something i have thought about once or twice but never really given a serious look upon.

[taalismn]

Lone Star Secession(expanded)---Desmond Bradford in this timeline does NOT have an ironclad respect for Karl Prosek, and steadily his growing conviction that he is a GOD erodes his extension of equality-among-great-men to Karl's genius. Increasingly, Lone Star becomes more of an armed camp clamoring for more and more autonomy in its self-management in the CS, and more and more non-native CS officials are driven from office in the Lone Star territories. When a mission thrown together by Joseph Prosek Jr. to neutralize Bradford and have him quietly replaced with somebody more tractable to Chi-Town is botched and exposed(by a new generation of Lone Star genetic monstrousities), hostilities flare outright in the territory.
Before long the Texans are witch-hunting anybody with suspected ties to the rest of the CS, there's rioting in the streets, and trouble on the internal borders. Bradford now feels free to unveil his own 'War Machine' campaign, including new robots, new mutants, and new genetic boosts to troops loyal to Lone Star.
Civil war brews from an unexpected quarter as the Man Who Would Be a God marshalls his nation against the Emperor of Chi-Town.

Yah, different reasoning/inception from Incriptus's Lone Star secession, but hey, take away their genetic/industrial powerhouse, and see the CS squirm...

[glitterboy2098]

especially since dogboys are just now (post SoT) starting to become accepted parts of the CS forces.. lonestar leaving would not only cut off supplies of dogboys (since a lot of them are still cloned there, not natural born), but would also cause the CS to seriously question their loyalties (since they were all trained at Lone Star.)

[Zer0 Kay]

I was working on one based on PBs no God policy. Rifts: Origins Zer0
The technologies are polarized. Magic common place. Technology advanced earlier, everyone's language is from a common base and simply different accents/terms like English/Canadian/Australian/South African/ECAmerican/WCA/SCA/CVA/Scooby-Doo
No Christian, Jew or Islam.

[taalismn]

I was working on one based on PBs no God policy. Rifts: Origins Zer0
The technologies are polarized. Magic common place. Technology advanced earlier, everyone's language is from a common base and simply different accents/terms like English/Canadian/Australian/South African/ECAmerican/WCA/SCA/CVA/Scooby-Doo
No Christian, Jew or Islam.

Instead the terms 'heretic' and 'heathen' are used in thus universe to refer to 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' fans by the other respective fanbase, and they both agree they despise the 'My Little Pony' followers.

[SolCannibal]

I was working on one based on PBs no God policy. Rifts: Origins Zer0
The technologies are polarized. Magic common place. Technology advanced earlier, everyone's language is from a common base and simply different accents/terms like English/Canadian/Australian/South African/ECAmerican/WCA/SCA/CVA/Scooby-Doo
No Christian, Jew or Islam.

Instead the terms 'heretic' and 'heathen' are used in thus universe to refer to 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' fans by the other respective fanbase, and they both agree they despise the 'My Little Pony' followers.

Heresy implies a strong deviation of a canon, so it would make more sense to overly passionate fanon and crack pairings of ship wars.

[Zer0 Kay]

I was working on one based on PBs no God policy. Rifts: Origins Zer0
The technologies are polarized. Magic common place. Technology advanced earlier, everyone's language is from a common base and simply different accents/terms like English/Canadian/Australian/South African/ECAmerican/WCA/SCA/CVA/Scooby-Doo
No Christian, Jew or Islam.

Instead the terms 'heretic' and 'heathen' are used in thus universe to refer to 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' fans by the other respective fanbase, and they both agree they despise the 'My Little Pony' followers.

Lol. Nope cuz the old religions are strong and wouldn't allow the infidel beliefs like atheism and the force to be viewed in their nations. Now ponies, are okay but wars gave been started over which one is better, Avalon says it's Doctor Hoove.

[Tor]

Considering there was probably a Temporal Wizard or two fighting to defend Tolkeen, perhaps 1 dimension summoning them away using the Summon Alter ID spell (or whatever it was called) in another dimension is what tipped the scales toward a Tolkeen victory on that plane and a Tolkeen loss on this one.

I was working on one based on PBs no God policy. Rifts: Origins Zer0
The technologies are polarized. Magic common place. Technology advanced earlier, everyone's language is from a common base and simply different accents/terms like English/Canadian/Australian/South African/ECAmerican/WCA/SCA/CVA/Scooby-Doo
No Christian, Jew or Islam.

Instead the terms 'heretic' and 'heathen' are used in thus universe to refer to 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' fans by the other respective fanbase, and they both agree they despise the 'My Little Pony' followers.

Lol. Nope cuz the old religions are strong and wouldn't allow the infidel beliefs like atheism and the force to be viewed in their nations. Now ponies, are okay but wars gave been started over which one is better, Avalon says it's Doctor Hoove.

Such agreement is not going to unanimous. I happen to like all 3.

[Bill]

67 PA - Bandits discover the Lone Star Complex before the CS does, and use it to found a true Pecos Empire...

You mean the new cs state of Pecos introducing the Pecos psi hound or SoP maybe another free state like Quebec

I like this idea. Particularly if it were to go Planet of the Apes and the human population is subjugated by their canid-mutant creations.

[SolCannibal]

67 PA - Bandits discover the Lone Star Complex before the CS does, and use it to found a true Pecos Empire...

You mean the new cs state of Pecos introducing the Pecos psi hound or SoP maybe another free state like Quebec

I like this idea. Particularly if it were to go Planet of the Apes and the human population is subjugated by their canid-mutant creations.

Don't know, i think the good doctor might be well-educated enough to know the films and the tale of Dr. Moreau and think twice before trying to play god - at least while not physically upgraded into something more than human himself, that is. Some kind of "super custom MDC psi-stalker variant clone body" could be a great starting point, due to their natural psi-empathy with canids and dogboys both.

[SolCannibal]

To Solcanibal that was part of the what if the cs ever found the loanstar complex and that Bradford never got his hands on loan star Pecos bandits found it first but I guess Bradford could be part of the bandit group who finds it. He was run out of the CS because of his god complex/killed a higher up because he failed to see he was a superior being

My bad, mixed it up with Taalismn's variant. But anyway one of the fun things about a Lone Star secession scenario for me is that it is pretty viable a storyline in the canon setting itself with little to no modification.

[Glistam]

• The Arkhon invasion fleet doesn't fail to materialize properly in space and their attack upon Rifts Earth goes much more smoothly (for them). They overwhelm the Nazca defenders and carve out a significantly bigger portion of South America for themselves. As they expand their territory to conquest Earth they strike a deal with the Megaversal Legion, basically hiring them as mercenaries. Those two factions working together cause the other nations in South America to fall one by one, creating a potential worldwide threat that, if not stopped, will divide and conquer the entirety of Earth.

• The Xiticix overrun North America. Once the war turned against the defenders the survivors focused their efforts on survival and a massive evacuation. But to where? Do they find some place on the planet where they can carve out a niche and survive? Or do they retreat to other dimensions and face the unknown dangers of those places? With North America taken, what's next for the Xiticix? Is there anywhere on Earth that will ever be safe? With the ley lines, nexus points and rifts, is there anywhere in any dimension that will ever be safe?

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

• Tolkien and The Federation of Magic never have a falling out and remain allies, forming a strong Magic kingdom in a world where the Coalition States never formed, and thus never became the dominant power. The isolated human supremacists at the city-state of Chi-Town are the weak prey the Federation sets its sights on conquering first. But the other cities in the continent know that ultimately the Federation won't be satisfied until they've crushed all those who refuse to share their views.

[HWalsh]

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

People are not overly fond of that one even being possible.

[SolCannibal]

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

People are not overly fond of that one even being possible.

Not to mention the Vallax of Juicer Uprising might be just as effective as an alternative when it comes to crazy advanced nanotech.

[Zer0 Kay]

• The Arkhon invasion fleet doesn't fail to materialize properly in space and their attack upon Rifts Earth goes much more smoothly (for them). They overwhelm the Nazca defenders and carve out a significantly bigger portion of South America for themselves. As they expand their territory to conquest Earth they strike a deal with the Megaversal Legion, basically hiring them as mercenaries. Those two factions working together cause the other nations in South America to fall one by one, creating a potential worldwide threat that, if not stopped, will divide and conquer the entirety of Earth.

• The Xiticix overrun North America. Once the war turned against the defenders the survivors focused their efforts on survival and a massive evacuation. But to where? Do they find some place on the planet where they can carve out a niche and survive? Or do they retreat to other dimensions and face the unknown dangers of those places? With North America taken, what's next for the Xiticix? Is there anywhere on Earth that will ever be safe? With the ley lines, nexus points and rifts, is there anywhere in any dimension that will ever be safe?

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

• Tolkien and The Federation of Magic never have a falling out and remain allies, forming a strong Magic kingdom in a world where the Coalition States never formed, and thus never became the dominant power. The isolated human supremacists at the city-state of Chi-Town are the weak prey the Federation sets its sights on conquering first. But the other cities in the continent know that ultimately the Federation won't be satisfied until they've crushed all those who refuse to share their views.

the important question with the nano virus... How much of the CS tech is metal? Most armor and weapon casing is probably plastics, carbon tubes, and ceramics. Is a weapon that is entirely metal but wrapped in a carbon fiber, ceramic or advance polymer going to react?

[Zer0 Kay]

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

People are not overly fond of that one even being possible.

which people?

[Glistam]

• The Milky Way galaxy community (as noted in Aliens Unlimited, properly "modified" to M.D.C. as per their Phase World conversion notes) used to largely ignore the Earth. But once news arrives that it has erupted into a dimensional nexus they decide it is no longer beneath their notice. The various factions amass their armadas in an attempt to secure the planet and its treasure trove of dimensional anomalies before any of the other factions. Each wants the planet for their own unique reasons, but it's the natives that suffer as they are caught in the crossfire.

• The Chaos Generators used as a plot point in Armageddon Unlimited were used instead to kick off the apocalypse in 2098 A.D.. When the Earth erupted into Ley Lines and Nexus points they all connected to Dyval, allowing Sahtalus to link his vile dimension with Chaos Earth. Amidst the chaos Humanity has no chance to stop the organized and methodical Deevils. The Earth quickly falls and becomes a stepping stone for Dyval in Megaversal mayhem.

[taalismn]

[

which people?

Those who don't like grimdark viral plagues that deprive them of access to technology. aaaaa---aaAAA---AAAA-CHOOO!!

[Slight001]

the important question with the nano virus... How much of the CS tech is metal? Most armor and weapon casing is probably plastics, carbon tubes, and ceramics. Is a weapon that is entirely metal but wrapped in a carbon fiber, ceramic or advance polymer going to react?

As per the write up for the nano plague 'insulating' yourself from the metal will only delay the reaction not prevent it. However the machine does something that prevents the plague from activating on active robots... iirc its a kind of FoF signal.

[SolCannibal]

which people?

Those who don't like grimdark viral plagues that deprive them of access to technology. aaaaa---aaAAA---AAAA-CHOOO!!

I thought it had more to do with Splicers being consistently kept outside of the usual range/frame of the Megaverse.

That said, i think the Vallax alien insects from Juicer Uprising might have more than enough know-how in robotics and nanomechanics to fill the niche in a Rifts game already.

[Zer0 Kay]

[

which people?

Those who don't like grimdark viral plagues that deprive them of access to technology. aaaaa---aaAAA---AAAA-CHOOO!!

Here I'll cure you. Lets go to Nightspawn and back... Hope you don't have any cybernetics.

[Zer0 Kay]

Rifts t shirt for Nightspawn tourist.

My friend went to Nightspawn with our friend Dave the cyborg and all he got me was this lousy brain and a t shirt... Where's Dave?

[HWalsh]

All I'm taking away is: Yes, there should logically be a way to take out the CSs tech that makes sense... Despite how difficult it could be... As well as, "Yes, if someone can take tech out of the equation the CS is at a considerable disadvantage."

[SolCannibal]

All I'm taking away is: Yes, there should logically be a way to take out the CSs tech that makes sense... Despite how difficult it could be... As well as, "Yes, if someone can take tech out of the equation the CS is at a considerable disadvantage."

Spread a dyslexia-based bio weapon in CS territory, like in one of the first DS9 episodes, It will amount to the same as those most at risk are exactly the ones with the capacity to deal with it and considering the majority of the Coalition's populace is illiterate their capacity to recoup their losses is somewhat limited to say the least.

[Nox Equites]

The best way to take on the CS is with your own special forces. They have too much to protect to protect all of it all the time. Temporal raiders/wizards of a decent level with good support can go anywhere and wreck it with a squad of mayhem makers. Or pull in Phase tech and watch the doom of people without force fields. Any decent star fighters with atmospheric ability will gain air superiority.

[SolCannibal]

But back on alternate timelines, one i'm working on is a "post-apocalyptic space setting", partly inspired by Mutants in Orbit i admit, where civilization did grind to a halt but it was due to a freak combination of overly successful cyberwarfare and a solar storm frying so much of the infrastructure most governments quickly crashed down. The space habitats and colonies who were already dependent in very high levels of magnetic shielding and web security for their continued survival, were less affected and were forced to invent ways to eke out a living.

From this would result alliances, lots of diplomacy and discussion, some conflict, the formation of "reaper bands" that would take whatever they might need by force, a few efforts to return to Earth and try to restablish order and civilization on it - some utter failures, some partial sucesses, a few corrupted in to dictatorial states - not to mention the occasional "unifying warlord/liberator/etc" that would try to go to space and impose Earth authority upon "rogue colonials", among other tales. The result, a few centuries later is a bunch of city-states, nations and spaceship consortiums spread across Mars, the Moon, Venus, Mercury and a number of asteroids in a morass of conflict and intrigue part cyberpunk, part Italian city-states, with ninjas & superspies and mecha instead of mutant animals and extradimensional critters.

[Tor]

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

People are not overly fond of that one even being possible.

which people?

I would oppose it on the basis that Technojackers have not exhibited the ability to create of manage a nano-plague. Something about their mind or genes or both allows them to alter the nanobots infecting their body to prevent reactions to them personally, or to directly take control of things via cables, but that's about it.

Although CS tech is vulnerable to the nano-plague, because we are told nano-bots do not replicate on their own, this means that only a small amount of tech directly worn by non-Technojacker infected people would be able to be taken over.

For enough nanobots to enter the world to permanently take over CS tech armies, you would most likely need a new nanobot production facility constructed on Rifts Earth, or a portal open a long duration for the Machine to intentionally send waves of them through.

Considering that Splicers Earth is basically saturated with the nanobots I'm not even sure if it bothers still making them anymore.

I guess if the entire infected human population moved to Rifts Earth that could cause some problems. They can pass for normal humans unless (until?) the CS makes a habit of scanning candidates for their army for nanotech, and even then it could cause a lot of confusion due to cybernetic implants and IRMSS kits which are wide-spread.

To be able to infect a CS PA or Bot you'd have to be in close contact with it (much closer than on Splicers due to lack of adequate nanobots) meaning basically wearing it, meaning you're probably going to be on a suicide machine unless you can escape the vehicle or bot quickly.

I don't see Splicers-humans doing this instinctively, but it could be a kind of infiltration-warfare they could engage in if the CS targets them for their co-operation with alien entities, which is pretty likely.

The best bet is to have your envoys dress in ceramics and plastics and keep all your Host and Living Armor and other organo-tech as secret underground resources. Have the CS dismiss you as low-tech almost-retro-savage technophobes who are not a big danger, because they would view the Engineer/Librarian rulers and their spawn as a betrayal to Humanity.

As per the write up for the nano plague 'insulating' yourself from the metal will only delay the reaction not prevent it.

I'm not sure if this is actually a canon rule.

When page 10 mentions insulation like thick gloves, ceramic handles and plastic tongs only delaying the inevitable, that is actually just something being said by David Anhorn (per start of page 9). Anhorn might be misinformed about the 'proof' of that being ineffective. He also might be lying. For all we know the thick-glove ceramic-handle plastic-tong approach prevents nanobot activation PERFECTLY... but he thinks most people are clumsy and going to screw up somehow if they even get close to tech, and so invents a fake rumor about it NOT working so that people won't even try it.

This could be with perfectly good intentions. Imagine:

SCENARIO 1 barefoot kid has a set of plastic tongs "just going to pick up and try to fire this laser pistol the robot dropped with my tongs!" Kid attempts this, but since it's hard to do exact fine manipulation with tongs, he drops the laser pistol on his foot. Laser pistol reacts to flesh, kills kid.

SCENARIO 2 confident-guy wears a pair of woolen mittens "oh how clever I am, I can shoot this laser pistol wearing these mittens". He does so competently for a few weeks. Then, one week, he gets a small cut on his thumb while sharpening his knife. No matter, it clots, he mans up, it'll get better... except an hour laser he hears a noise! He slips on his woolen mitts and grabs his laser pistol! Tense while gripping the pistol and scanning the nearby pushes, he grips a little harfer than necessary... and his recently-clotted thumb-cut opens up again. Not very much mind you... just a small trickle of blood... which gradually begins to seep through his woolen mittens... and a drop contacts the metal of the laser pistol... HUMAN DNA DETECTED KILL KILL

SCENARIO 3 smart-guy wears waterproof leather gloves, always wears shoes, takes all precautions while operating his laser pistol. But then, a rat is foraging for food and pauses for 15 seconds next to the pistol, with his tail gently resting against it... MAMMAL DETECTED, ATTACK

Better, in the minds of the pragmatic warlords, to keep the tong/glove/handle trick to working with tech TOP-SECRET. If the population found out en-masse they would begin taking stupid risks, overestimating their manual dexterity, and begin getting people killed. If people think they cannot possibly use the tech then fewer will attempt it, and this will lessen the risk of accidents.

The actual word-of-god on the matter is only page 11, not the preceding Anhorn rant, and it says the human actually has to contact the metal, meaning gloves and tongs and handles should protect them perfectly. The problem is what seems perfect sometimes has flaws (holes in gloves, clumsy tong-handling skills, roaming rat, etc) so some Warlords amplify how dangerous it is, how you could not POSSIBLY manage the risk, increase technophobia and decrease accidents.

The common sheep will simply believe what Anhorn and his like tell them. The critical thinkers will find ways to test the claim under controlled circumstances, which is pretty darn easy.

You would just have to find some insulation and handle the least damaging kind of object possible, a Simple Metal Item, per page 11, like a spoon. Then you just hold it for 10 melees (150 seconds) and if nothing happens by that time, you have disproven the rumor.

Due to the possibility of MD flame, MD poison, MD drone or MD acid, this experiment should be done by an MDC being like a Biotic, a Saint, a Skinjob, or a Scarecrow. Due to being the most expendable and potentially having the most MDC (and MDC being customizeable upgrades in them to guarantee they will have more than the minimum needed, just experiment using a highly-armored assistant) they are the best candidates for your test subject.

Although other SDC classes can have MDC protection by wearing Living Armor or Host Armor, I am not sure whether metal reacts to being touched by those things like it does human flesh. Does anyone know?

Although a permanent spoon-drone could inflict the most damage over time, they are pretty easy to destroy, you can have a strong Host Armor nearby as security to destroy them instantly in that case.

The greatest threat damage-wise from touching a spoon would be the 91-00 acid roll. It has the potential to inflict a total of (assuming you immediately drop it) 72 MD. I'm also not even sure if this would hurt someone not actually touching it flesh-to-metal because you actually have to contact the stuff for it to eat away at you...

Although it is possible with minimum rolls to be under this, the average Biotic will have more than this in MDC, and by giving them armor upgrades you can guarantee they will be protected enough to not die from the nano-acid.

Probably a more realistic threat is the flame-explosion which atmost only does half that, 36MD, which can be survived by all Biotics, Saints and Skinjobs (it's possible for a bad-rolling Scarecrow to die from that though).

However the machine does something that prevents the plague from activating on active robots... iirc its a kind of FoF signal.

Isn't this just for machines already under the Machine's control though?

[Brayon]

Back on Topic of Alternate Timelines, and not the Do's and Don'ts of Splicer Tech....


Erin Tarnn kills Carl Prosek and assumes leadership of the Coalition States. This is done through a massive coup that involves well over 50 individuals, who strike at a time, that wipes out all of CS High Command and Leadership. Jericho Holmes swears allegiance to Tarnn and Plato, and Lazlo becomes the new capital of the New CS. Forging alliances with the Cyber-Knights, NG, Psyscape, and others. They turn their attention towards the Xiticx bugs, and Nixla.

[Tor]

Someone proposed a Splicer-timeline, that was on-topic.

LOL at Tarn conquering CS, try NGR instead.

[Bill]

LOL at Tarn conquering CS, try NGR instead.

How does that statement promote contribution to the thread? As part of a larger coup I think it could make sense. Particularly if the true masterminds are only using Erin Tarn as a puppet. Perhaps several "benign" deities are backing the play.

[Killer Cyborg]

LOL at Tarn conquering CS, try NGR instead.

How does that statement promote contribution to the thread? As part of a larger coup I think it could make sense. Particularly if the true masterminds are only using Erin Tarn as a puppet. Perhaps several "benign" deities are backing the play.

Alternate Tarn, alternate CS, and so forth.
I don't see why not.

[Nox Equites]

The New Madrid fault goes mega quake at a critical time in CS history, say 50 PA. This means massive damage to most of the larger communities in the Heartland. Kingsdale and Whykin have to band together for mutual survival. Alternately one takes this as an opportunity for conquest of the other. The new power bloc prevents future expansion of CS to the south. No CS Lonestar and CS Arkansas is implausible. No Dog Boys for the CS.

Up the power of one invasive species and the ecology of RE is screwed. Perhaps a mutation of the locusts in the highlands of Montana, which would recover after a few centuries unopposed, destroys the crops for one year. Suddenly the CS has a severe refugee problem as hundreds of thousands come begging for help, flooding the burbs. The increase of victims makes the burbs into far worse areas of crime and even the BM has trouble keeping crooks in line. The CS takes a hard line against these squatters, but the squatters are being lead by a charismatic maniac who sets the burbs ablaze. This shakes high command confidence in the Prosek family. Joseph agrees to lead a coup against daddy and the entire command structure is shaken to its core. How many officers are going to be loyal to which Prosek? This unwelcome distraction results in a cessation of all current campaigns as the backstabbing officers of the High Command bloody the halls of power. Whoever wins has to clean up a hell of a mess.

Someone decides to take the bounty on Karl, and succeeds, throwing the CS into confusion. The Fed Magic takes this opportunity to ravage the CS and hundreds of thousands die. The slaughter shatters the Mississippi valley. Ley line storms run rampant for months. The kicker? Dunscan doesn't pay up and is in turn assassinated at his time of greatest glory. Who could pull this off? Major Demon? Ahriman? Alien Intelligence? Nobody really knows but NA has a power vacuum. Who will fill it?

[Tor]

Even if using Tarn as a puppet, it seems like she would be a better tool for conquering the NGR since she is already beloved there.

If you want to conquer the CS, Lady Prosek would be a better idea I think.

[Zer0 Kay]

• A chance encounter with a Tolkien techno-wizard and a Splicers technojacker provides Tolkien with the tool they need to turn the war with the Coalition to their favor: the nexus machine nano-virus plague. Once unleashed the Coalition soldiers are rendered helpless without use of their technology. The Coalition severs ties entirely with the infected in hopes of preventing its spread throughout its main forces or cities. Tolkien turns the tide of war but with the nano-virus plague running rampant across North America now, at what cost to the survivors?

People are not overly fond of that one even being possible.

which people?

I would oppose it on the basis that Technojackers have not exhibited the ability to create of manage a nano-plague. Something about their mind or genes or both allows them to alter the nanobots infecting their body to prevent reactions to them personally, or to directly take control of things via cables, but that's about it.

Although CS tech is vulnerable to the nano-plague, because we are told nano-bots do not replicate on their own, this means that only a small amount of tech directly worn by non-Technojacker infected people would be able to be taken over.

For enough nanobots to enter the world to permanently take over CS tech armies, you would most likely need a new nanobot production facility constructed on Rifts Earth, or a portal open a long duration for the Machine to intentionally send waves of them through.

Considering that Splicers Earth is basically saturated with the nanobots I'm not even sure if it bothers still making them anymore.

I guess if the entire infected human population moved to Rifts Earth that could cause some problems. They can pass for normal humans unless (until?) the CS makes a habit of scanning candidates for their army for nanotech, and even then it could cause a lot of confusion due to cybernetic implants and IRMSS kits which are wide-spread.

To be able to infect a CS PA or Bot you'd have to be in close contact with it (much closer than on Splicers due to lack of adequate nanobots) meaning basically wearing it, meaning you're probably going to be on a suicide machine unless you can escape the vehicle or bot quickly.

I don't see Splicers-humans doing this instinctively, but it could be a kind of infiltration-warfare they could engage in if the CS targets them for their co-operation with alien entities, which is pretty likely.

The best bet is to have your envoys dress in ceramics and plastics and keep all your Host and Living Armor and other organo-tech as secret underground resources. Have the CS dismiss you as low-tech almost-retro-savage technophobes who are not a big danger, because they would view the Engineer/Librarian rulers and their spawn as a betrayal to Humanity.

As per the write up for the nano plague 'insulating' yourself from the metal will only delay the reaction not prevent it.

I'm not sure if this is actually a canon rule.

When page 10 mentions insulation like thick gloves, ceramic handles and plastic tongs only delaying the inevitable, that is actually just something being said by David Anhorn (per start of page 9). Anhorn might be misinformed about the 'proof' of that being ineffective. He also might be lying. For all we know the thick-glove ceramic-handle plastic-tong approach prevents nanobot activation PERFECTLY... but he thinks most people are clumsy and going to screw up somehow if they even get close to tech, and so invents a fake rumor about it NOT working so that people won't even try it.

This could be with perfectly good intentions. Imagine:

SCENARIO 1 barefoot kid has a set of plastic tongs "just going to pick up and try to fire this laser pistol the robot dropped with my tongs!" Kid attempts this, but since it's hard to do exact fine manipulation with tongs, he drops the laser pistol on his foot. Laser pistol reacts to flesh, kills kid.

SCENARIO 2 confident-guy wears a pair of woolen mittens "oh how clever I am, I can shoot this laser pistol wearing these mittens". He does so competently for a few weeks. Then, one week, he gets a small cut on his thumb while sharpening his knife. No matter, it clots, he mans up, it'll get better... except an hour laser he hears a noise! He slips on his woolen mitts and grabs his laser pistol! Tense while gripping the pistol and scanning the nearby pushes, he grips a little harfer than necessary... and his recently-clotted thumb-cut opens up again. Not very much mind you... just a small trickle of blood... which gradually begins to seep through his woolen mittens... and a drop contacts the metal of the laser pistol... HUMAN DNA DETECTED KILL KILL

SCENARIO 3 smart-guy wears waterproof leather gloves, always wears shoes, takes all precautions while operating his laser pistol. But then, a rat is foraging for food and pauses for 15 seconds next to the pistol, with his tail gently resting against it... MAMMAL DETECTED, ATTACK

Better, in the minds of the pragmatic warlords, to keep the tong/glove/handle trick to working with tech TOP-SECRET. If the population found out en-masse they would begin taking stupid risks, overestimating their manual dexterity, and begin getting people killed. If people think they cannot possibly use the tech then fewer will attempt it, and this will lessen the risk of accidents.

The actual word-of-god on the matter is only page 11, not the preceding Anhorn rant, and it says the human actually has to contact the metal, meaning gloves and tongs and handles should protect them perfectly. The problem is what seems perfect sometimes has flaws (holes in gloves, clumsy tong-handling skills, roaming rat, etc) so some Warlords amplify how dangerous it is, how you could not POSSIBLY manage the risk, increase technophobia and decrease accidents.

The common sheep will simply believe what Anhorn and his like tell them. The critical thinkers will find ways to test the claim under controlled circumstances, which is pretty darn easy.

You would just have to find some insulation and handle the least damaging kind of object possible, a Simple Metal Item, per page 11, like a spoon. Then you just hold it for 10 melees (150 seconds) and if nothing happens by that time, you have disproven the rumor.

Due to the possibility of MD flame, MD poison, MD drone or MD acid, this experiment should be done by an MDC being like a Biotic, a Saint, a Skinjob, or a Scarecrow. Due to being the most expendable and potentially having the most MDC (and MDC being customizeable upgrades in them to guarantee they will have more than the minimum needed, just experiment using a highly-armored assistant) they are the best candidates for your test subject.

Although other SDC classes can have MDC protection by wearing Living Armor or Host Armor, I am not sure whether metal reacts to being touched by those things like it does human flesh. Does anyone know?

Although a permanent spoon-drone could inflict the most damage over time, they are pretty easy to destroy, you can have a strong Host Armor nearby as security to destroy them instantly in that case.

The greatest threat damage-wise from touching a spoon would be the 91-00 acid roll. It has the potential to inflict a total of (assuming you immediately drop it) 72 MD. I'm also not even sure if this would hurt someone not actually touching it flesh-to-metal because you actually have to contact the stuff for it to eat away at you...

Although it is possible with minimum rolls to be under this, the average Biotic will have more than this in MDC, and by giving them armor upgrades you can guarantee they will be protected enough to not die from the nano-acid.

Probably a more realistic threat is the flame-explosion which atmost only does half that, 36MD, which can be survived by all Biotics, Saints and Skinjobs (it's possible for a bad-rolling Scarecrow to die from that though).

However the machine does something that prevents the plague from activating on active robots... iirc its a kind of FoF signal.

Isn't this just for machines already under the Machine's control though?

Technojckers should be able to replenish with any of the nanite equipment available in Rifts. And someone has got to make them because they're never treated as lost tech the characters are lucky to find.

[Glistam]

An alternate timeline where Erin Tarn IS the dictator of the CS, ruling it with an iron fist. It was her family that founded it and her bloodline that is currently in power. Meanwhile the Proseks are the good-natured Rogue Scholars trying to bring knowledge to the world and incidentally opposing the Tarn-ruled Coalition.

The ruse that Archie is pulling off in Northern Gun has been exposed! Titan Robotics were revealed to be housing alien technology and spying on North America! Titan Robotics became as reviled and shunned as Naruni Enterprises. The search is on, and the major powers of North America have banded together to offer a massive reward to anyone who can find the mysterious "Cyberworks" company's headquarters. Archie has responded by pulling back his forces and enhancing his defenses. No-one's connected the Shemmarians to him yet, but who knows what the future holds? And what role did/do the Republicans play in this?

[Svartalf]

An alternate timeline where Erin Tarn IS the dictator of the CS, ruling it with an iron fist. It was her family that founded it and her bloodline that is currently in power. Meanwhile the Proseks are the good-natured Rogue Scholars trying to bring knowledge to the world and incidentally opposing the Tarn-ruled Coalition.

And Dr Desmond Bradford is secretly raising an army of rebel animal boys in the secret levels of Lone Star to spearhead a revolution. (he's still friends with Karl Prosek)

[Zer0 Kay]

An alternate timeline where Erin Tarn IS the dictator of the CS, ruling it with an iron fist. It was her family that founded it and her bloodline that is currently in power. Meanwhile the Proseks are the good-natured Rogue Scholars trying to bring knowledge to the world and incidentally opposing the Tarn-ruled Coalition.

And Dr Desmond Bradford is secretly raising an army of rebel animal boys in the secret levels of Lone Star to spearhead a revolution. (he's still friends with Karl Prosek)

And Plato is really Styphon the Dragon God not the pretender.

[Nox Equites]

FQ never joined the CS or FQ is the leading force and the equivalent of the CS is focused along both sides of the old US/Canada border. They control the great lakes completely and are an industrial powerhouse that competes with Triax. No NG, WI, Lazlo or New Lazlo exist in this timeline in their current locations at least. With a coast to coast empire and huge resources of metals they can do serious exploration and suppression of the super nexuses. Good news, no Xiticix and a more uniform culture. Bad news, no dog boys and far less gengineering tech. Lifespans are dramatically shorter and their bio-sytems are lower grade. Lazlo equivalent is in some place like Ohio or PA. Perhaps Lonestar is a separate nation barely holding on against Pecos raiders. Without CS presence nearby GAW is a regional kingdom of significant power. Their fleets of barges on the Mighty Mississippi feed the small nations of the central NA making them rich as they gobble up their neighbors. Some of these conquests are bloodless, others are genocides in all but name.

[Tor]

If someone wants a canonical alternate timeline, I think the Experimental Arcology of Patagonia (one of the three cities of the Southern Federation within the Silver River Republics of South America 2) would qualify. It comes from Pre-Rifts yet there is no record of it in OUR known Rifts...

[Glistam]

• Though the technology of the past has been uncovered and factories have been repaired, there are not enough raw materials left in North America to go around in this timeline to allow the various powers to grow into significant individual kingdoms. The commerce, trade and alliances between fledgling kingdoms falter as wars over resources break out. But even these wars amount to little more than skirmishes because no-one can afford to let their nearly-irreplaceable tech get destroyed or majorly damaged. Meanwhile, those who have embraced magic are poised to become the dominant powers on the continent.

• The Coming of the Rifts and the Chaos it ushered in destroyed the old world too well, and there were no factories or repositories of significant technology left to salvage. After 300 years, there are still no major kingdoms in the world. Chaos still runs amok, unchecked, and the mortal inhabitants of the planet dare not gather in large numbers, fearful that will make them a target for the creatures stalking the planet. They live instead as nomads, banding together in small tribes and struggle to eke out a meager, fearful existence. Salvaging what they can, always moving, and never looking back.

[Glistam]

• The gods of old take advantage of the Coming of the Rifts to swoop in and help save Humanity, ushering in a new era of believers and worship not seen on Earth since Ancient Days. Though the collapse of civilization can't be stopped, with the help of the gods the Dark Ages span only a few decades at most before new civilizations arise, each dedicated to a god or pantheon. Rifts Earth becomes cut up into domains protected by the gods that over time begin to reflect their own realms due to the dimensional nature of the planet. (Think like Rifts: China, but on a global scale using the gods from Pantheons of the Megaverse, Spirit West, South America 2, the Russian Gods in the Rifter, the Egyptian gods from Dragons and Gods, and others.)

[Bill]

If someone wants a canonical alternate timeline, I think the Experimental Arcology of Patagonia (one of the three cities of the Southern Federation within the Silver River Republics of South America 2) would qualify. It comes from Pre-Rifts yet there is no record of it in OUR known Rifts...

It is specifically from an alternate timeline, but it's completely undetailed beyond stating that their world is even more advanced technologically than the Golden Age of Humanity. I'm actually writing something to expand that blurb. Rather than try to come up with even more technologically advanced weapons and whatnot, I decided to give the Patagonians the most advanced medical technologies.

[Killer Cyborg]

The Coming of the Rifts is triggered by the Large Hadron Collider test in 2008, instead of a war during the Golden Age.
So there never is any Golden Age (or mega-damage) Earth technology with which to battle the demons and other creatures that come through the rifts, only modern-day (circa 2008) technology at best.

[Tor]

I always figured the picture of a neat skyscraper above Southern Federation was of Patagonia since it didn't look like a Wormwood town or a Wizard fortress.

[Bill]

It certainly could be. Or it could be one of the mentioned other d-bee communities that crossed over. Or it could be a settlement erected over the last three centuries. I am a fan of the traditional archology description; a single self-contained architectural environment where people live and work without need to venture beyond its confines. The illustration doesn't quite hit that for me.

[Svartalf]

The Coming of the Rifts is triggered by the Large Hadron Collider test in 2008, instead of a war during the Golden Age.
So there never is any Golden Age (or mega-damage) Earth technology with which to battle the demons and other creatures that come through the rifts, only modern-day (circa 2008) technology at best.

Then Earth would become Demonworld... since we'd lack the means to resist the invasions at all

[Bill]

The Coming of the Rifts is triggered by the Large Hadron Collider test in 2008, instead of a war during the Golden Age.
So there never is any Golden Age (or mega-damage) Earth technology with which to battle the demons and other creatures that come through the rifts, only modern-day (circa 2008) technology at best.

Then Eath would become Demonworld... dince we'd lack the means to resist the invasions at all

Could still be fun to play out the slave revolts, the pacts and other means that we have to adopt to effectively resist the monsters, the attempts to escape this world/time to one that is more friendly to human life. I'm not seeing a demon-world alternate reality as a bad gaming option.

[Svartalf]

If I wanna play Demonworld, I usually just go for Wormwood...