Netbook - Character Backgrounds PDF
Netbook - Character Backgrounds PDF
Ever want to start off the game with a phase weapon, but there was no logical reason why a character from Rifts Earth would have
one? Ever want a suit of power armor, but your O.C.C.'s equipment list did not give you the option? Ever want to have your character
start off with psionics, but the GM will not allow just anybody to be psychic? This will give you the rules that will allow you to customize
your character and have it be balanced and consistent within a party.
The purpose of the backgrounds is to allow a player further develop his or her character beyond the traditional Palladium Books
character generation rules through a system of Merits and Flaws. Each character receives fifteen (15) points to purchase Merits and
fifteen (15) points to purchase Flaws. The player need not spend all of the points and should not spend them for the sake of spending
the points.
Each background gives the character certain advantages and disadvantages. A player should have to explain why the character has
each background. It should not be because the player thinks that the background is just plain cool. The player should explain why he
has a 15 point Coalition Equipment background that gives him a Death's Head transport. The GM may use Debt and Wanted
backgrounds to create more interesting and character-based adventures and campaigns. A character with the Dark Fate background
could be the focus of an entire campaign. These are not meant to just make a character more powerful. The background options are
meant to give a character more depth and personality.
General Merits
Access to Restricted Skills Cost: 2-4 points
The character has access to skills from a category that they are restricted from choosing due to their O.C.C. The character must pay
for each skill separately. The cost depends on the degree of restriction.
Access to Restricted Skills:
• Any category in which is restricted to but a few skills. Such as can not select certain physical skills like acrobatics or boxing. Cost: 2
points.
• Any category in which the character is restricted to only a few skills. For example, a Headhunter O.C.C. can only select only math
skills from the science category. Cost: 3 points.
• Any category in which the character is restricted to "None". Cost: 4 points.
Weaponry: The character begins the game with a weapon developed by the CS.
• C-18 Laser Pistol, eight CS Hand grenades, vibro-blade, neural stun mace, dog boy forearm vambrace, other older light weapons.
Cost: 1 point.
• C-10, C-12, and C-14 "Fire Breather" laser rifles, and similar older laser rifles, enhanced CS mini-missile. Cost: 2 points
• New style laser pistols such as the C-5, CP-20, and CP-30, or old-style heavy weapons like the C-27 plasma cannon, CR-1 Rocket
launcher, enhanced CS short-range missile. Cost: 3 points.
• New style laser rifles such as the CP-40 and CP-50, and CV-212 variable frequency laser rifle. Cost: 4 points.
• New style CS heavy weapons such as the C-29 "Hellfire" plasma cannon and C-200 "Dead Man's" rail gun, enhanced CS medium
range missile. Cost: 5 points.
• Very Heavy weapons such as the CTT-P90 particle beam cannon and the CTT-M20 missile rifle. Cost: 6 points.
Vehicle: The character begins the game with a Coalition vehicle. This can include any flying, ground, or water vehicle, but not robots or
power armor such as the SAMAS, UAR-1 Enforcer, or Spider Skull Walker.
• Very light single person vehicles such as the CS Death's Head underwater sled and CS Jet ski. Cost: 5 points.
• Light vehicles such as the Skull Patrol Car, CS "Scarab" Officer's Car, and CS Command Car. Cost: 6 points.
• Vehicles such as the old style sky cycle, CS Mark IX EPC, CS Scout Rocket Cycle, Warbird Rocket Cycle, CS Wave Demon
Combat Hydrofoil. Cost: 7 points.
• Demon Locust and Black lightning helicopter. Cost: 8 points
• CS Wind Jammer, Death Wing air assault armor. Cost: 9 points.
• CS Mark V APC, Mark IX missile launcher vehicle. Cost: 10 points.
• CS Grinning Skull main battle tank, CTX-52 Sky Sweeper. Cost: 11 points.
• CTX-50 "Line Backer" heavy assault tank, Mark VII "Slayer". Cost: 12 points.
• Navy "Sea Striker", Navy "Shrike" Interceptor, Night Wing (Rifts Mercenaries), CSN Mark I Barracuda. Cost: 13 points.
• CS Death's Head transport, Death Bringer APC, CSN Mark IV Hurricane. Cost: 14 points.
• CS Sky Lifter APC. Cost: 15 points.
Power Armor and Robot Vehicles: The character begins the game with a suit of CS power armor or robot vehicle.
• Old style SAMAS, Trident. Cost: 7 points.
• Amphibious SAMAS (Coalition Navy), "Smiling Jack" Light Assault SAMAS, and Special Forces "Striker" SAMAS. Cost: 8 points.
• Mauler, Terror Trooper, and Super SAMAS. Cost: 9 points.
• UAR-1 Enforcer, IAR-5 Hellfire. Cost: 10 points.
• CR-003 Spider Skull Walker (old style), CR-004 Scout Spider Skull Walker, CR-005 Scorpion Skull Walker, CSN Sea Spider Skull
Walker, and IAR-4 Hellraiser. Cost: 11 points
• IAR-3 Skull Smasher, IAR-2 Abolisher Assault Robot. Cost 12 points.
Weaponry: The character begins the game with additional weapons that would not normally be allowed to due location, cost, or lack of
funds to pay for the weapon.
• Average laser pistol such as the Wilk's 320, NG-56 ion blaster, or the NG-33 laser pistol, MP-23A caseless sub-machine gun, 4-8
grenades. Cost: 1 point.
• Average laser rifle such as the NG-L5 and Wilk's 447 laser rifle, or a heavy laser pistol such as the NG-Super laser pistol. Cost: 2
points
• High quality laser rifle such as the JA-11 Juicer assassin's rifle or the JA-9 Juicer assassin's variable light laser rifle, Wilk's 547
"Double Dealer", NG-LG6 laser rifle with grenade launcher. Cost: 3 points.
• Heavy weapons such as the NG-P7 particle beam rifle, Bandit 6000 grenade launcher, WI-G4 revolving grenade launcher, WI-23
mini-missile launcher. Cost: 4 points.
• Very heavy weapons such as rail guns, 'borg rail guns, WI-GL20 automatic grenade launcher, WI-40M super heavy missile
launcher. Cost: 5 points.
• Any weapons from Naruni Enterprise, Triax Industries or other weapons manufacturer that is exclusive to a specific area. Cost: 6
points.
Vehicle: The character begins the game with a Coalition vehicle. This can include any flying, ground, or water vehicle, but not robots or
power armor such as the SAMAS, UAR-1 Enforcer, or Spider Skull Walker.
• Light single person vehicles such as Speedster, MI-3000 "Firefly", MI-1010 Desert Fox hovercycle or Wastelander or Highlander
motorcycles. Cost: 4 points.
• Combat hovercycles such as the NG-220 Rocket, NG-230 Prowler, NG-400 Stinger, and Assault Hover Bike (see Juicer Uprising).
Cost: 5 points
• Specialty vehicles such as the Tarantula Jump Bike, Road Boss Chopper and vehicles such as the Big Boss and Mountaineer
ATV's. Cost: 6 points.
• Any of the above vehicles with a nuclear engine, Black Eel torpedo boat, Naruni Combat Drones. Cost: 7 points
• Liquid fuel Iron Eagle attack helicopter, APC-10 Iron Maiden, Iron Bolt missile vehicle, Iron Fist and Iron Hammer, Northern Gun
Sky King, Icarus Flight System, UB-300 Mini-Sub. Cost: 8 points.
• Any of the above with a nuclear engine, Naruni Boomerang Attack Aerodyne, Grey Falcon attack jet. Cost: 9 points.
• Carnivore Mark I Light Hover Tank, NE-300 OMAV Combat Pod, Naruni Juggernaut Hover Tank, Crescent Moon Delta-Wing
Spaceplane. Cost: 10 points.
• Triton Patrol Boat, Air Castle Bomber. Cost: 11 points.
• Any vehicle from another continent such as Germany, South America, or Russia. Cost: 12 points.
• Sea King Missile Carrier. Cost: 13 points.
Power Armor and Robot Vehicles: The character begins the game with a suit of CS power armor or robot vehicle.
• CAI-100 Warmonger Combat Suit. Cost: 6 points.
• NG-Samson Power Armor, Terrain Hopper. Cost: 7 points.
• Titan Flying Power Armor, Defender (J.A.P.E. II), X-10 Predator. Cost: 6 points.
• Sidewinder and Wild Weasel SAMAS. Cost: 8 points.
• X-1000 Ulti-Max, X-500 Forager, NG-M56 Multi-Bot, NG-V10 Super Robot Vehicle, Titan Combat Robot, Titan Exploration Robot,
Nomad Scout Robot, Mecha-Knight power armor. Cost: 9 points.
• Glitter Boy power armor, NG-V7 Hunter Mobile Gun. Cost: 10 points
• Death Knight Assault Robot, Behemoth Explorer. Cost 11 points.
• Power armor from another continent/world book such as Russia or Germany. Cost: 12 points.
• Robot vehicle from another continent/world book such as South America, Germany, or Russia. Cost: 13 points.
General Flaws
Addicted Cost: 5 points
The character is addicted to drugs. This drug may be alcohol, conventional drugs, or other dimensional drugs. The character must
have the drug in order for the character to function normally as per the addiction rules in the Main Rifts book. If the character does not
get the drug, then the character will suffer the penalties of addiction. The game master may choose to raise or lower the cost of the
addiction if the drug is extremely rare or exceptionally common.