Rifts

Rifts is a post-apocalyptic role-playing game sourcebook that establishes a setting where magic and technology collide in Earth's distant future. The book outlines how dimensional rifts tore open across the planet, unleashing supernatural forces and reshaping human civilization. The core rulebook presents character creation systems, combat mechanics, and world-building elements for players to navigate this transformed Earth. Players can choose from multiple character classes including cyber-enhanced soldiers, mystic warriors, and dimensional travelers. The setting merges elements of science fiction and fantasy, with advanced technology existing alongside dragons, demons, and magic users. The book details key locations, factions, and threats in this new reality, particularly focusing on North America. The work explores themes of survival, adaptation, and the cyclical nature of civilization through its blend of arcane and technological elements. Its fusion of genres serves as a commentary on humanity's relationship with both scientific progress and ancient powers.

Readers describe Rifts as a creative but mechanically dense roleplaying system. Positives: - Imaginative post-apocalyptic setting combining magic, tech, and supernatural elements - Freedom to mix character types from ninjas to cyborgs to dragons - Rich lore and world-building detail - Art style captures the unique genre fusion Negatives: - Complex rules make gameplay slow - Power levels between character classes lack balance - Combat math requires frequent calculator use - Organization makes rules hard to reference - Large number of sourcebooks creates information overload One player noted: "The sheer creativity and ambition outweighs the clunky mechanics." Another stated: "Great ideas buried under needlessly complicated systems." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (300+ ratings) RPGGeek: 7.1/10 (500+ ratings) DriveThruRPG: 4.5/5 (150+ ratings) The consensus views Rifts as an inspiring setting hampered by its rules complexity. Many players modify or simplify the system while keeping the rich worldbuilding.

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🎲 "Rifts" launched in 1990 and became so successful that it spawned over 80 sourcebooks and supplements within the game universe. 🌍 The game world combines multiple genres including fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and post-apocalyptic elements, allowing players to have characters ranging from dragons to cyborgs in the same campaign. ✍️ Kevin Siembieda founded Palladium Books in 1981 and has written or co-written hundreds of role-playing game books throughout his career. 🎮 The Rifts setting was adapted into a video game called "Rifts: Promise of Power" for the Nokia N-Gage in 2005. 🔄 The game's titular "rifts" are tears in space and time that allowed magic to return to Earth, fundamentally changing human civilization and bringing creatures from other dimensions into our world.