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Blazen
2009-05-28, 09:32 PM
Our GM is starting us at level 5. It is 109 PA, and we are limited to good/selfish characters in North America. He says we can play pretty much what ever we want, but we have to know our characters, and be ready for the consequences. I wanted to build a frontlines psionic, or magic user. Almost every book is available to us (It's our DM's favorite system, and he has been collecting for a while).

kyoten
2009-05-28, 11:39 PM
Might I suggest a Crazy, Mind Melter, or Mystic from Rifts: Ultimate Edition. I'll suggest some others later.

ShneekeyTheLost
2009-05-28, 11:41 PM
MDC is a must. Don't care how you get it, as long as you got it, and it won't go away any time soon. Dogboy armor is decent for budget-level MDC armor.

Crazy isn't a good idea, doesn't last long.

Mind Melter is a lot better, maybe have your own Dogboy pack?

Full Conversion 'Borg is also an idea, as is a Juicer (although with limited lifespan)

Avoid Glitterboy. Trust me. When you are not in your mech, you are squishy.

Grynning
2009-05-29, 12:20 AM
About what kind of power level are you looking at here? Because Rifts is one of those games that varies so much that it kind of makes a difference. I love low-power Rifts (where MD wielding characters are actually "rare" like they're described in the original RPG) and like medium power Rifts (about the level of the early world books up to Underseas/Japan). The game starts to get crazy if you include everything, and if the GM allows players to be supernatural beings of any kind.

"North America" doesn't narrow it down much. New West, Vampire Kingdoms, Free Quebec, Coalition territory, all of them are pretty different settings in their own right, although in Rifts, who knows where you'll end up after a while. Maybe if you gave us a better idea of what kind of campaign it'll be, we could help you out more.

109 PA puts you after the Tolkeen war, so most of the high magic stuff is scattered to the winds, but magic using refugees and renegades are pretty common. The Dwoemer Magus Classes from Federation of Magic are all combat casters with good OCC bonuses, and could be found anywhere with a minimum of RP justification. I recommend them for a mid to high power game, and they sound a lot like what you're going for (particularly the Battle Magus, it's basically a mage with gunslinger type abilities).

If you want a really easy to play character, go with a combat cyborg. You have tons of MDC, you can use heavy weapons, and you're pretty much set to face anything straight out the gate if you buy the right stuff (the psionic dampeners and high running speeds are definitely recommended purchases). They're also pretty fun to RP, the whole loss of humanity thing mixed with some self-sacrifice (same goes for Juicers and Crazies). The only thing that sucks about playing a cyborg (or any tech character, really,) is that you've pretty much peaked at low to mid levels, you really can't get much better than you are at levels 1-5; aside from a couple more melee attacks, you have little to look forward to when leveling up.

kjones
2009-05-29, 02:14 AM
Hyperion Juicer, Titan Juicer, Phaeton Juicer... the possibilities are endless!

*goes to sleep hugging his copy of Juicer Uprising*

Seriously, do you have that book? Because Juicers are a lot of fun, both mechanically (since they kind of kick ass and take names for a living) and RP-wise (why did you become one, will you try to detox or do you accept your fate, etc.)

How do you anticipate on dealing with the CSA? Because that limits your options to an extent.

Crazy Scot
2009-05-29, 08:35 AM
One character I enjoyed playing was a Dragon Hatchling. They can be powerful (MDC creature), with good stats. And depending upon the type you choose, you could get some magic/psionics to go with it (as requested). The part I liked about it the most, though, was the "normal" mentality of a hatchling. Imagine a kid (6-7 year-old human) who is just learning about itself and what it is capable of, and you have a pretty good idea of what they are like. Easily distracted (little to no attention span), but when push comes to shove and the group needs it you can melee up, or blast stuff from the back. Like I said, the mentality of what they are supposed to be like was fun to RP, and it came with some nice goodies with it to make it possible to fill the gap in the group wherever it was needed at the time. I also took liberal use of the "distration" quotient to absent myself if I seemed to be overpowering things, or if (with the DM's permission) things needed to be prodded forward a bit. And nothing quite moves the story along like the friendly dragon wandering into an area they should be. :smallbiggrin:

LibraryOgre
2009-05-29, 10:50 AM
Crazy Scot left out that Dragon Hatchlings are geniuses... so you have a genius child crossed with a hyperactive kitten cross with a tank... that is psychic and can cast spells.

However, given what you're wanting (a frontlines wizard or psychic), I'd look at a Battle Magus (from Federation of Magic) or one of the physical-type psychics (the Burster, from the Rifts: Ultimate Edition is cool, and you might look at the Zapper, from Psyscape). I've had a lot of fun with a psi-stalker, even before they gained the ability to take some MD damage without armor, but they don't really use psionics in combat so much as are psychics who are combatants. Furthermore, compared to a Battle Magus, they're common and unencumbered with organizations (since you don't have to be a CS Psi-stalker). You're also great at crippling enemy psychics and wizards.

Blazen
2009-05-30, 09:51 AM
Sorry, I haven't had a chance to reply. The GM is waiting until everyone has made a character to reveal the setting. Did I mention that my GM is incredibly evil? He won't mercilessly kill our characters, but he Will make us work for our victory. So, not evil as much as, we better know our characters, and what we are doing, or suffer.

We currently have one person going with gunslinger, and another is thinking of being a mind melter. I have decided on and rolled up a battle magus. The only thing I am missing are 4 level 4, or lower combat oriented spells. The book states that this includes augmentation spells. Does that include healing? I will list my current 28 spells when I get a chance.

LibraryOgre
2009-05-30, 10:57 AM
Whether or not that includes healing is up to your GM; I would say that it does not, but that's me (I personally hate the class; it's poorly written, contradictory, and doesn't have good drawbacks for all its power).

Grynning
2009-05-30, 11:02 AM
I'm pretty sure it doesn't include healing, and magical healing in Rifts is nigh-useless anyways, as almost all the combat involves your mega-damage armor (if a point or two hits of MD hits your SDC body, you're toast anyways).

"Augmentation" magic would include anything that boosts your physical abilities, like Superhuman Speed, Strength spells, etc, and they are very useful. One to look for when you hit level 8 is Magical Adrenal Rush (Rifts Book of Magic p. 122). It basically makes you a juicer for one fight for 45 PPE.

Also note that even though you're limited to mostly "offensive" magic spells, that doesn't limit you to just energy blasts. Things like Domination, Paralysis, Life Drain, Mental Shock, etc are all definitely offensive and give you a lot of debuffing and control ability. Remember too that most of your "blasting" will be with weaponry, not spells, as spells take two melee actions, and a weapon blast only one. Get a badass techno wizard rifle from Federation of Magic and you'll be fine for straight damage.

Rifts magic isn't like D&D in that there are certain spells that you have to take to survive, for the most part you can pick the ones that fit your theme and that sound cool. However, you should check the PPE costs of any spells before selecting them. Rifts is NOT a well playtested or edited game and some spells cost WAYYYYY too much for what they do, and can often be cheaply replicated by another spell or a techno-wizard weapon/item. As a Battle Magus you don't have a ton of PPE to play around with so try to pick spells that give you the most bang for your buck.

Some cool and inexpensive Battle Magi spells for your level (5) and next level (6), excluding the ones Battle Magi already start with:


Lvl 1:
Blinding Flash - 1 PPE for an AoE blind. Doesn't work against a lot of enemies due to armor and cybernetics, but against enemies like Dog Boys and monsters, even vampires, it's amazing.

Lvl 2:
Climb - Saves you a skill selection, and would be an augmentation spell.

Cloak of Darkness - pretty good defense against ranged attacks for 6 PPE

Lvl 3:
Invisibility: Simple - Bread and butter defense/evasion spell, although it is also easily counteracted.

Paralysis: Lesser - Would be great if it wasn't blocked by environmental armor. Situationally can be really powerful.

Telekinesis - Good utility, and does SDC based damage if it ever becomes necessary.

Lvl 4:
Blind - Decent but again, blocked by environmental armor, which at least half your enemies will be wearing. Blinding Flash is actually better, and gives a higher penalty to strike for some mysterious reason.

Carpet of Adhesion - Considered by many to be the best spell in the game. Can lock down a giant robot all by itself. I would highly recommend it.

Chromatic Protection - Interesting, but doesn't work against ranged attackers, and uses one of your precious defense/evasion selections. If you're going for a "light" based theme it's cool though

Magic Net - As good or better than Carpet of Adhesion, also prevent attacks. Only works on human sized foes though.

Trance - Really powerful, but again has the problem of being blocked by even simple MDC armor.

Lvl 5:
Armor Bizarre - Better than Armor of Ithan if you're ok with being covered in creepy tentacles

Domination - Really handy, and has non-combat/RP uses, but again, blocked by armor.

House of Glass - This is just neat, and cheap for the amount of damage it can potentially do to a single target. Granted, you're eating the damage too, but with your armor spells up they'll often die before you do.

Implosion Neutralizer - Can be helpful, with your high initiative you could probably cast it on any missile or bomb that happens to hit you.

Lifeblast - Golden against vampires and undead, also gives a decent minor buff for allies if you're so inclined.

Mental Blast - Great for stealth attacks. Also, a mental spell that actually works through armor! Hallelujah!

Superhuman Endurance, Strength, and Speed: All useful, though Strength and Speed more so.

Lvl 6:
Call Lightning - Always hits if you're outside. Very nice.

Frequency Jamming - Neato.

Frostblade - Good if you don't have a techno-wizard or other magic sword yet. Considerably better than the overpriced Power Weapon (which you start with).

Ice - Versatile and has a lot of defensive potential

Impervious to Energy - I almost forgot this one! While Targeted Deflection is much cooler and cheaper, this is basically an invincibility star in Rifts. You should already have it Tech-wizarded into your body armor in my opinion, but if you don't, it's a good investment for your defensive slot.

Power Bolt - Expensive but has good range and damage. You're usually better off with a tech wizard or even a conventional rifle, but handy if you're disarmed.

Targeted Deflection - Amazing. You're a gorram Jedi. Get it, use it, love it.

Teleport, Lesser - Handy for obvious reasons.

Time Slip - Good for retreating and regrouping.


Wow that went way longer than I planned. Anyways, hope that helps.

Edit: Added a couple more that I forgot.

Jayabalard
2009-05-30, 11:28 AM
I'm pretty sure it doesn't include healing, and magical healing in Rifts is nigh-useless anyways, as almost all the combat involves your mega-damage armor (if a point or two hits of MD hits your SDC body, you're toast anyways).That depends on if you're a squishy human or a not so squishy magical monster of some sort that has natural MDC.

Grynning
2009-05-30, 11:29 AM
That depends on if you're a squishy human or a not so squishy magical monster of some sort that has natural MDC.

True, but all the magical healing spells specifically don't work on MDC creatures, except one, the level 10, monstrously overpriced (70 PPE) Super-Healing spell.

Also, he's a Battle-Magus, which means he has to be an SDC creature.

Jayabalard
2009-05-30, 11:49 AM
Also, he's a Battle-Magus, which means he has to be an SDC creature.It's been a while since I've done anything in rifts... is the human only something specific to the battle-magus? There were, as I recall, several races out of the Rifts conversion book 1 that could pick up otherwise human OCCs.

TerrickTerran
2009-05-30, 12:21 PM
Battle Magus isn't human only..it's SDC only. Elemental Transfusionist is the only one I'm certain is human only.

Blazen
2009-05-30, 12:41 PM
Here is my current spell list. Keep in mind that battle magi only focus on combat oriented spells.

Initial (spells that the class automatically has):
Manipulate Objects
Globe of daylight
lantern light
Armor of Ithan
Breath w/o air
escape
death trance
Magic shield
deflect
ricochet strike
light target
energy bolt
fire bolt
fire blast
electric arc
circle of flame
orb of cold
fist of fury
throwing stones
power weapon

spells I picked for level 2-4 (9 offensive, and 3 defensive/evasive level 4 or lower):
lesser paralysis
carpet of adhesion
blind
befuddle
Magic Net
(need 4 more offensive spells)
Negate poison
energy field
multiple image

spells I picked for level 5 (3 offensive, and 1 defensive/evasive level 5 or lower):
Mental blast
sleep
horrific illusion
Armor Bizarre

Grynning
2009-05-30, 12:52 PM
Here is my current spell list. Keep in mind that battle magi only focus on combat oriented spells.

Initial (spells that the class automatically has):
Manipulate Objects
Globe of daylight
lantern light
Armor of Ithan
Breath w/o air
escape
death trance
Magic shield
deflect
ricochet strike
light target
energy bolt
fire bolt
fire blast
electric arc
circle of flame
orb of cold
fist of fury
throwing stones
power weapon

spells I picked for level 2-4 (9 offensive, and 3 defensive/evasive level 4 or lower):
lesser paralysis
carpet of adhesion
blind
befuddle
Magic Net
(need 4 more offensive spells)
Negate poison
energy field
multiple image

spells I picked for level 5 (3 offensive, and 1 defensive/evasive level 5 or lower):
Mental blast
sleep
horrific illusion
Armor Bizarre

I would ditch the following spells:

Blind, for the reasons I pointed out above. Get Blinding Flash instead, cheaper and more effective. Higher level =/= better spell in Rifts.

Sleep - Sleep is not really a battlefield spell, the name is misleading and makes you think it's D&D sleep. It should be called "Sleeping Potion," because that's what it does, makes food or drink into a knockout drug. Grab Superhuman Strength or Speed instead.

Review my list if you're having trouble coming up with other choices, and I'm sure Mark Hall will chime in with suggestions too (he is our resident Palladium expert). I'm signing out for the day, happy gaming.

LibraryOgre
2009-05-30, 02:38 PM
Review my list if you're having trouble coming up with other choices, and I'm sure Mark Hall will chime in with suggestions too (he is our resident Palladium expert). I'm signing out for the day, happy gaming.

I'd have more suggestions if I weren't at work, yeah.

Grynning
2009-05-30, 07:00 PM
So I'm back.

Just real quick, with the four you have left to pick, I would probably grab Telekinesis, Blinding Flash, Climb, and Trance. Swap out Blind for Swim as a Fish. IMO climb and swim are augmentation spells - makes you a good assault trooper in other terrains, and thus count as "offensive" selections. Your GM will probably be ok with it since there really aren't many overt offense spells at the low levels that you don't already have. If he's more picky, there's always Energy Bolt, Ignite Fire and Fuel Flame, though I don't consider them very useful, they're easily replaced by gunpowder, matches and gasoline :smalltongue: Repel Animals and Turn Dead are also available to you, depending on the campaign they may be good to take. Just remember Turn Dead only works on animated dead, it won't do a damn thing to vampires or similar undead beasties.

Blazen
2009-05-30, 11:57 PM
Thanks for the help man, I'll go ahead and make the changes. As for the campaign, I have more info. It's 8 years before the siege on tolkeen, and we are in a mercenary company. I can't remember the location at the moment, however tomorrow is our first meeting. We will be finalizing, and if we have time start the campaign.