# Speaking of RPG's **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2000, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049 "2000-11-07T02:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RocknRoll\_Killing\_Machine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@RocknRoll\_Killing\_Machine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RocknRoll_Killing_Machine)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/1 "2000-11-07T02:28:31Z")
Does anyone play Rifts? ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/2 "2000-11-07T04:31:47Z")
No, no one plays Rifts… I think the game world just got to big… [hijack] I’ve got a friend who has all the Rifts books, and is starting in on the paperback novels… but he doesn’t play. In fact, he doesn’t play at all. VVC, if you were to ask me… [/hijack] I love reading the books, and I’d like to play, but no-one GM’s that game. ah well _resume rummaging for my GURPS hi-tech book_ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/3 "2000-11-07T11:37:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Havok \* > \*\*Does anyone play Rifts? \*\* Yes! I do! And it kicks ass! ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/4 "2000-11-07T13:56:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Max the Immortal > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > Originally posted by Havok > > Does anyone play Rifts? > > > > ``` > > ``` > Yes! I do! And it kicks ass! > > ``` No. **NO.** I’m sorry, but I cannot stand Rifts. It was, originally, a fairly good game. Now, it’s no good for anything but munchkinism- every new supplement tries to outdo the rest in terms of ultra-powerful, ultra-efficient classes and weaponry. Now, Personally, I think that the original concept was good. I also think that Robotech was one of the coolest licensed games ever. **However** , the cross-pollination of mega-damage into Rifts, in order to make Rifts mecha somewhat competitive with the Robotech stuff, started Rifts itself on the road to total crappiness. Sorry, but it’s true- and Rifts is now unplayable except as a game of one-upsmanship: you find a character that’s written to be incredibly powerful, and show it off to your friends. Ho Hum. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2000, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/5 "2000-11-07T21:07:17Z")
Damn, I thought we were talking about Rocket-Propelled Grenades. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![RocknRoll\_Killing\_Machine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5daacb/32.png) [@RocknRoll\_Killing\_Machine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RocknRoll_Killing_Machine)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/6 "2000-11-08T03:21:04Z")
Yeah, I havn’t played in a while, mainly because I found it too hard to DM, and nobody else would. I liked the game world, but now that I recall, there was a huge munchkin factor in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/7 "2000-11-08T15:26:36Z")
The main problem with Rifts is NOT power creep. The main problem is that it is more difficult to GM well than other games. A good GM will make sure that a game does not become munchkin. A bad GM (or one used to GMing for other games) will allow the PCs to get too much power (i.e. more than they can handle without disrupting the game) either very soon or even initially. The only major beefs I have with Rifts are how each part of the world gets infested with creatures from its ancient mythology, and how the Siege on Tolkeen is portraying the CS millitary as incompetent and full of insane officers. Then again, it depends on what kind of RPG you like. I don’t like D&D (any edition) very much because in that game characters are defined too much by their equipment. The characters in all of Palladium’s games are more “self-reliant”. Oh, and please NEVER, EVER use the word “mecha” in a Rifts context. That’s worse than using the term “DM”. _Shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Ranma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@Ranma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranma)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/8 "2000-11-08T17:33:26Z")
Rifts is probably the best system around. Why? Because even over-powerful characters have weaknesses, and good GM’s can take full advantage of that. Others will play with the psychology with an emotionally involving storyline. Hell, last game I played I was a tech-samurai, one was a demi-god, and the other was an ‘angel’(don’t remember the correct term for that race) We could pluck Juicers like fish in a barrel. Yet, we barely survived the last quest. Why? Because our GM was able to create a situation where he could play with our minds at his will. What was real? What was unreal? There was no difference. Now THAT is what I call RP!(I have to say though that the GM was a pure genius) ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/9 "2000-11-08T20:52:15Z")
Um, I don’t see how someone can complain about D&D characters being defined by their equipment when you have character classes in Rifts that by their definition are defined by their equipment - Glitter Boys (who are defined as ‘people who wear Glitter Boy powered armor’), Juicers (who are defined as ‘people who get their power from equipment that injects them with drugs’), and Tech-Samurai (self explanatory). ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-rpgs/40049/10 "2000-11-08T22:56:57Z")
The Hero System is _still_ the best RPG system ever devised by the mind of man.