Crafting a RIFTS character

God help me, Alex is finally getting a chance to run the RIFTS game he's been wanting to run for a few years now.  And yes, I'm playing in it.

Yet another reason I haven't been blogging much this month!

Anyway, I had a concept I wanted to try out (a cyborg commando), but it wasn't nearly cool or overpowered enough for the game Alex wants to run.  This game will be the sort where we're taking on demi-gods and alien intelligences and demonic ancient vampires and whatnot (so I'm told).

So after looking at the sheer number of titles available for options to sift through...yes, just literally only looking at the number of  books available for RIFTS (not to mention the Palladium system as a whole, from which things can easily be ported/grafted on), I gave up in frustration.  As the meme-makers like to say, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

Well, turns out Alex actually DOES have time for that.  He's graciously stepping in and helping me.  He scoured various sourcebooks for something close to my concept, but at the power level of the game.  He gave me some options.

I sorted through the options, and I've got my character basically sorted out.

I'll play an Oni Ninja (from the Phaseworld Sourcebook) who is also a Mystic Ninja (from RIFTS Japan) to boost his psychic powers, and who practices the version of Ninjitsu found in Ninjas and Superspies.  So I'll have mega-damage martial arts along with awesome psionically powered ninja skills.

Close enough to the Solid Snake meets the $6 Million Dollar Man concept I started with, and I can play a pseudo-Japanese culture without breaking a sweat.

HOWEVER, now I've got to sort through the Oni Ninja special abilities, Mystic Ninja abilities, Ninjitsu abilities, and also decide if I want magical or technological equipment (and what, of course).

Oh, and reacquainting myself with the Palladium system, since I haven't actually played a game since I was in high school.  P.E. and P.P. and all these acronyms...  There's definitely something to be said here about system familiarity and ease of use.  Luckily, this game will be a PbP game, so I'll have plenty of time to look up rules if they become relevant.

Alright, I'm off to read through some character options before my next class.  Excelsior!