WORST OCC for new players?

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kaid
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by kaid »

Mack wrote:Agreed. Whether the Mystic's system is a bust or a boon depends on the player/GM involved.

And the same applies to the (rare) situation where you bring an old character into another GM's game. (I don't care that your previous GM let you have XYZ...)



Mystics are always pretty solid you get a good amount of psychic powers and magic powers. Not the best at either but you have a pretty good assortment of stuff to use.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by kaid »

Orin J. wrote:crazies, elemental fusionists, pretty much anything in the black market book or any other class that requires the GM's heavy cooperation to be useful and not a collection of skills only useful when the GM needs to plot device something in.


I am curious about why you would feel fusionists are not good for new characters. Default MDC force field or hardened/flamy skin. Solid if not top of the line attack spells that are all very PPE efficient. They also have some attack spells like the one that shoots trees/tree branches at people that both has some sizable range pretty rapidly as you level + strong knock down debuffing effects.

For new players if you just keep it to fusionist abilities without throwing in the warlock options off the start its all pretty much covered on a couple pages of options so not a lot of info overload to worry about.

Unless you are focused on a city focused adventure even without any gear they are pretty capable of standing with normal classes.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Hotrod »

kaid wrote:
Orin J. wrote:crazies, elemental fusionists, pretty much anything in the black market book or any other class that requires the GM's heavy cooperation to be useful and not a collection of skills only useful when the GM needs to plot device something in.


I am curious about why you would feel fusionists are not good for new characters. Default MDC force field or hardened/flamy skin. Solid if not top of the line attack spells that are all very PPE efficient. They also have some attack spells like the one that shoots trees/tree branches at people that both has some sizable range pretty rapidly as you level + strong knock down debuffing effects.

For new players if you just keep it to fusionist abilities without throwing in the warlock options off the start its all pretty much covered on a couple pages of options so not a lot of info overload to worry about.

Unless you are focused on a city focused adventure even without any gear they are pretty capable of standing with normal classes.

Lore-wise, Elemental Fusionists don't fit in anywhere. They're not mentioned in any other book as far as I know, including books published after RUE.
Crunch-wise, it's the only class in RUE that tells you to look in another book for its class abilities.
Art-wise, it's totally out-classed by basically every other character concept in RUE.

I see nothing particularly interesting or unique about Elemental Fusionists; they're an import from a failed mobile device's Rifts game. If we have a second Ultimate Edition (a "Just Kidding" edition?), I'd encourage Kevin to cut it.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

Elemental Fusionists were brought in from the Rifts card game.

It is also the only warlock class that indicates that there are oppositions between the elements.
These oppositions are the same as those in traditional western lore: Earth vs. Air & Water vs. Fire.
It is up to each GM to decide if these stated oppositions effect a dual element warlock.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

The class is brought up several times in WB30, detailing which D-Bee species are eligible. As pre-fab low-tech Warlock-lites go it's fine, although it strikes me as more evocative in a Savage Rifts game. Maybe that's a factor of the associated art.

As for the earlier question you posed, Hotrod, I'd tool an adventure for a magical whale so as to appeal to the sensibilities of a tween with thoughts of becoming a marine biologist, insofar as dolphins to a certain perspective are aquaponies. An émigré from Wormwood is essentially a character in a post-robbery or prison game, with the possible addition of the sort of crisis of faith priests of extradimensional gods might suffer. The Mutants in Orbit rules are goofy, with gravity being no exception. I'd handwave the effective insta-death and encourage the player of such a character to consider something akin to one of the invalid-friendly options out there, such as going Astral, VRRDS, Ecto-Traveler, or DB3 Robo-Jockey.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by kaid »

Hotrod wrote:
kaid wrote:
Orin J. wrote:crazies, elemental fusionists, pretty much anything in the black market book or any other class that requires the GM's heavy cooperation to be useful and not a collection of skills only useful when the GM needs to plot device something in.


I am curious about why you would feel fusionists are not good for new characters. Default MDC force field or hardened/flamy skin. Solid if not top of the line attack spells that are all very PPE efficient. They also have some attack spells like the one that shoots trees/tree branches at people that both has some sizable range pretty rapidly as you level + strong knock down debuffing effects.

For new players if you just keep it to fusionist abilities without throwing in the warlock options off the start its all pretty much covered on a couple pages of options so not a lot of info overload to worry about.

Unless you are focused on a city focused adventure even without any gear they are pretty capable of standing with normal classes.

Lore-wise, Elemental Fusionists don't fit in anywhere. They're not mentioned in any other book as far as I know, including books published after RUE.
Crunch-wise, it's the only class in RUE that tells you to look in another book for its class abilities.
Art-wise, it's totally out-classed by basically every other character concept in RUE.

I see nothing particularly interesting or unique about Elemental Fusionists; they're an import from a failed mobile device's Rifts game. If we have a second Ultimate Edition (a "Just Kidding" edition?), I'd encourage Kevin to cut it.


I know they are mentioned in D Bee's of north america and weirdly enough immediately break the only humans lore. The book of magic is mentioned for a few of the magic using classes for fleshing out their stuff. They are pretty self contained if you ignore the warlock stuff and the warlock stuff is mostly there to add some utility options for them. They seemed like an early attempt at something like the combat mage somebody who actually uses magic as a primary type combatant not as mostly augmenting other stuff or utility. They are a lot more solid class than a lot of the psychic options like zappers or the ice version from the sovietski book.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by ZINO »

Killer Cyborg wrote:
Mack wrote:That Barmaid (Saloon Girl?) OCC from New West.


OOooh!
Good one.
:ok:

Good one.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Hotrod »

Aside from the "because of silly rules that should have been axed/adjusted, you die/permanently lose your powers immediately" classes and the "you're such a different life form that you cannot possibly relate to it" classes, the Saloon Bum has got to be the worst O.C.C. in the game.

In a post-apocalyptic setting with antitank pistols, mechs, magic, interdimensional invaders, and psychics, it's a character with the class-defining power of alcoholism. I wouldn't ever play one. I wouldn't ever make anyone play one. I wouldn't ever use one as an N.P.C. I don't hate anyone that much, including myself.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Hotrod wrote:Aside from the "because of silly rules that should have been axed/adjusted, you die/permanently lose your powers immediately" classes and the "you're such a different life form that you cannot possibly relate to it" classes, the Saloon Bum has got to be the worst O.C.C. in the game.

In a post-apocalyptic setting with antitank pistols, mechs, magic, interdimensional invaders, and psychics, it's a character with the class-defining power of alcoholism. I wouldn't ever play one. I wouldn't ever make anyone play one. I wouldn't ever use one as an N.P.C. I don't hate anyone that much, including myself.


Might be fun to play, if I took a shot every time my character did.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Defender_X »

Though if you run a less combat heavy game, some of those may work. AKA Rifts:Gunsmoke.
I get that many attacks with my beam cannons?!
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Colt47 »

I think the answer to this question is... just about every single OC because Rifts has a huge lack of power scaling when it comes to characters. You basically have to work with the GM to figure out what the right level of power is for the group, what OCCs are going to work, what the setting is, and then make sure you don't accidently one shot someone into oblivion and have to spend another couple of hours making a character for them again. :p

Also, I think just about anything in Rifts China 2 should be avoided like the plague. I mean this game is definitely one that favors someone being more of a role player than a roll player. Anyone who is a roll player can build Trogdar the annihilator of worlds and smiter of thine enemies, roll over entire townships, and yes, I've seen one player actually take down a platoon of deadboys backed up with deaths head transports and freaking tanks. Albeit the latter case he was a combat RPer by trade and just knew how to take advantage of every situation you presented, so it was at least an honest victory.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by kaid »

Colt47 wrote:I think the answer to this question is... just about every single OC because Rifts has a huge lack of power scaling when it comes to characters. You basically have to work with the GM to figure out what the right level of power is for the group, what OCCs are going to work, what the setting is, and then make sure you don't accidently one shot someone into oblivion and have to spend another couple of hours making a character for them again. :p

Also, I think just about anything in Rifts China 2 should be avoided like the plague. I mean this game is definitely one that favors someone being more of a role player than a roll player. Anyone who is a roll player can build Trogdar the annihilator of worlds and smiter of thine enemies, roll over entire townships, and yes, I've seen one player actually take down a platoon of deadboys backed up with deaths head transports and freaking tanks. Albeit the latter case he was a combat RPer by trade and just knew how to take advantage of every situation you presented, so it was at least an honest victory.


If you are doing rifts china 2 occ they should be mostly kept in china. Its kinda like skraypers sure you are all really powerful super heroes but you are so massively outnumbered if you get to stupid and bold you get squashed.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by Zer0 Kay »

Colt47 wrote:I think the answer to this question is... just about every single OC because Rifts has a huge lack of power scaling when it comes to characters. You basically have to work with the GM to figure out what the right level of power is for the group, what OCCs are going to work, what the setting is, and then make sure you don't accidently one shot someone into oblivion and have to spend another couple of hours making a character for them again. :p

Also, I think just about anything in Rifts China 2 should be avoided like the plague. I mean this game is definitely one that favors someone being more of a role player than a roll player. Anyone who is a roll player can build Trogdar the annihilator of worlds and smiter of thine enemies, roll over entire townships, and yes, I've seen one player actually take down a platoon of deadboys backed up with deaths head transports and freaking tanks. Albeit the latter case he was a combat RPer by trade and just knew how to take advantage of every situation you presented, so it was at least an honest victory.


That isn't saying much. I could stop the same with a vagabond, or a hatchling dragon, or a mage. The issue isn't that the characters are powerful it is how the GM deals with the characters. As always Rifts is balanced, by the GM. If you have a bad or slow on their feet GM, then they'll get steam rolled and it doesn't matter if it is Big Geofront in Chitown or A dirty Vagabond in The Silver River Republic. The GM is the one and only balance point of a Rifts campaign.
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Re: WORST OCC for new players?

Unread post by kaid »

Zer0 Kay wrote:
Colt47 wrote:I think the answer to this question is... just about every single OC because Rifts has a huge lack of power scaling when it comes to characters. You basically have to work with the GM to figure out what the right level of power is for the group, what OCCs are going to work, what the setting is, and then make sure you don't accidently one shot someone into oblivion and have to spend another couple of hours making a character for them again. :p

Also, I think just about anything in Rifts China 2 should be avoided like the plague. I mean this game is definitely one that favors someone being more of a role player than a roll player. Anyone who is a roll player can build Trogdar the annihilator of worlds and smiter of thine enemies, roll over entire townships, and yes, I've seen one player actually take down a platoon of deadboys backed up with deaths head transports and freaking tanks. Albeit the latter case he was a combat RPer by trade and just knew how to take advantage of every situation you presented, so it was at least an honest victory.


That isn't saying much. I could stop the same with a vagabond, or a hatchling dragon, or a mage. The issue isn't that the characters are powerful it is how the GM deals with the characters. As always Rifts is balanced, by the GM. If you have a bad or slow on their feet GM, then they'll get steam rolled and it doesn't matter if it is Big Geofront in Chitown or A dirty Vagabond in The Silver River Republic. The GM is the one and only balance point of a Rifts campaign.


In rifts there is always something bigger and nastier out there. Also gear wears down and gear from the far corners of the world eventually becomes difficult to keep repaired and you are forced to swap out armor/weapons.
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