The problem with a systemless sourcebook is that this function is now better done, and done cheaper, with a wiki that controls write/edit access such as the very successful Wookiepedia for Star Wars.  That is the way to go, and there already is one- albeit a crap one at this time.

Quote from: Novastar;651473For my money, the Coalition also wasn't supposed to be "the best tech" the remnants of Man could make either; they were the best "pig iron" approach, able to mass-produce items that were "good enough", if not the best.

I've always kept the Coalition the way it is in the RMB. Demented, dirty, ridiculous, nasty, and always the bad guy. Their weapons were slightly  better than Northern Gun's, but they weren't lightyears apart like they are currently.

I think of Rifts as being resource depleted, paranoid, always on the run, with jury-rigged magical-steam-powered locomotive hover ships, carrying contraband in the form of reference books and technical manuals, crewed by a bunch of half-starved mutants and freaks, trying to find a meal, a reactor to recharge their weapons, and a safe place to sleep.

Yeah, the Coalition is the bad guy nation, in any game I run. Often we were in areas near their borders, so even if they weren't the main bad guy, a patrol would be spotted that the players might have to hide from.


Also, a low-powered scavenger and scientist level game is  a blast. Any bad guy is super dangerous then.

Quote from: jgants;651481That's how I always saw/used the Coalition as well. The Coalition is a force to be reckoned with out of sheer size and organizational logistics, not because of superior technology/firepower. They are the Wal-Mart nation.

PROSEK: It's Got What Plants Crave (TM)

I actually like the CS as a "complex" villain, with good folk indoctrinated into genocidal xenophobia, but I use them as villains nonetheless. Players with CS OCCs in my games are deserters, period.

I also believe that they've always been supposed to be North America's leaders in tech level (mainly by salvaging and reverse-engineering pre-Rifts tech from the arcologies), I just think that Coalition War Campaign overdid it grossly; the toys in that book outgun Triax and even Atlantean (Kittani) tech.

Yeah, I believe the original intent at least was that the NGR was supposed to be the more technologically impressive one

Personally, I think the Coalition is better represented as a complex villian, or even more of an antihero.  The whole Nazi-to-Boris-and-Natasha-level evil just doesn't do it for me.

[Devil's Advocate]

Freedom of Speech and thought is very nice in a world where someone can't write a how-to manual on how to summon Asmodeus to destroy your city of millions.  It's easy to say discrimination and genocide are bad when we're talking about variants of the same species all native to this planet and/or dimension.  When you have things such as the Splugorth, genocide ain't so bad an idea is it?  If the Cthulhu Mythos were real, wouldn't you exterminate anyone who had the capability to summon them?  You're damn right you would, and you wouldn't think twice about it if they were a Midwest Cheerleader, let alone if they were a 5 headed, 12 armed thing from another galaxy whose entire interest in humanity seems to be cuisine.

Even if the Coalition managed to slay every single non-native species on the planet and close all the Rifts, all of those alien species would still be fine and dandy on their own homeworlds.  All the Coalition is killing are invaders from another world or dimension.  Sure some are unwilling and pose no threat to humanity, but who can tell the difference between the harmless harpseal alien and the one who has been possessed by Orcus?  It's great to say you should accept all extra-dimensional species until they show by their actions they are a threat, but their first threatening action may be vaporizing Chi-Town.  Humanity can't afford that chance.

[/Devil's Advocate]

Quote from: RPGPundit;653953Yeah, I believe the original intent at least was that the NGR was supposed to be the more technologically impressive one

I don't know about technologically more impressive, the early info was pretty clear that NG stuff was cruder, and heavier then the CS normal.  They did have the advantage of more damage in a lot of cases, but NG was an arms manufacturer coming up with their own stuff specifically targeted at people who might be fighting the CS, so some of their stuff is harder hitting or can take more damage, which is great for a merc despite the increased size, weight, and power drain.  

The CS gear is based a lot on US designs reverse engineered, and the CS is outfitting an army where you don't need 12 different battle rifles, you need one rifle and a million of them.

Quote from: CRKrueger;654013I don't know about technologically more impressive, the early info was pretty clear that NG stuff was cruder, and heavier then the CS normal.  They did have the advantage of more damage in a lot of cases, but NG was an arms manufacturer coming up with their own stuff specifically targeted at people who might be fighting the CS, so some of their stuff is harder hitting or can take more damage, which is great for a merc despite the increased size, weight, and power drain.

NGR = New German Republic (= Triax)
NG = Northern Gun (the Ishpeming arms manufacturer favored by just about every Rifts merc that can't get his hands on looted CS guns)

You're describing Northern Gun stuff.

Triax tech is way ahead of the CS in the early books. Sourcebook 1 had the Ulti-Max power armor which had something like 400 MDC, a railgun that did 1d4 x 10 or 1d6 x 10 MD with a range of 4000' and a frickin' 100 MDC experimental force field that's beyond the Coalition's wildest dreams.

Yeah, you're right, I misread.  Triax was technologically superior to the Coalition in probably everything except maybe genetic manipulation.

I've been picking up various Rifts books when I could get them on the cheap. Almost have the whole collection now. I'm planning to use the setting for Rifts with The Lords of Gossamer and Shadow for rules.  After TLoGaS is released, of course.