The Palladium game company has a long tradition of delivering hefty supplements for a good price. Their house periodical is no exception. Rifter #17 looks more like an official Rifts supplement than a magazine. Perfect bound like most Palladium releases, the total page count runs to 112 pages. The art, typeset and layout are all what you’d expect from a Palladium book. It looks competent without being flashy. Scott Johnson’s cover is the exception, a beautiful piece based on card art for the Rifts CCG. The content is generous and varied, supporting Rifts, Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, and Palladium Fantasy. It also provides a sneak peak at Chaos Earth, Kevin Siembieda’s new project detailing the apocalyptic birth of Rifts Earth. Individual articles include a hefty FAQ, a couple of short stories, a new Mage O.C.C., a stack of new spells, two adventure settings, and a couple of adventures.
The book does cover some of the communications functions of a magazine. There is a report on upcoming releases, company news, and a “state of the company” report from Siembieda. While there are some ads, they are all for Palladium products and presented as upcoming releases. The questions and answers section that follows is interesting and well considered, covering everything from equipment wear to underwater survival. This section readily adapts to most game systems.
Designed for Beyond the Supernatural by Todd Yoho, "Last Street" is a noble effort to create an answer to Arkham and Miskatonic University. A 1920s Chicago alley lit by curious green gaslamps, Last Street is a focus for the weird, and a haven for investigators. Several consultant-style NPCs and shops are adequately detailed, but work better as resources for investigators than as adventure seeds in themselves. A map would have been useful, but I’ll save my thoughts on that for a little later in this review. A nice touch is the addition of a few occult tomes for the requisite occult bookstore. After all, you can never really have too many occult tomes.
One of my major gripes with Palladium is the way that they always make me want to buy more of their stuff. Wayne Breaux's article on the Thropo has sold me on both Revised Aliens Unlimited and the Guide to Imperial Space. Breaux takes an ape-like warrior race and makes them more than another pale copy of Vikings or Samurai. They serve out of gratitude and loyalty, not fear or indoctrination. Very refreshing. Three different character types are offered. The only glitch is the listing for the Thropo full-conversion borg. Heroes Unlimited needs to be an M.D.C. system for the new character type to work seamlessly.
A traditional weakness of Palladium books has been cartography, or rather, the lack thereof. This is nowhere more evident than in the article describing Stilt City. Sonny Rice has created a well-detailed history, the standard series of numbered locations, and a handful of detailed movers and shakers. As complete as it is, this location is dying for a map. The table of contents jokes about the lack thereof, but I don't see the humor in such a massive oversight. There is one good exterior illustration, but no overall view of how the city fits together. As for the adventure hook itself, it would work very well in a campaign based on the Hawk and Fisher books, being slightly anachronistic. In fact, the entire adventure could be thrown into a science fiction setting with no major revisions.
One thing I have always liked about Palladium and Rifts character classes is their consistent grounding in a specific philosophy and worldview. James Calder’s Dweomer Mage O.C.C. is no exception. The dweomer mage specializes in the study of magic itself. This gives them many standard magical abilities, as well as the ability to mess with the P.P.E. channeling of other mages. As the author points out, the dweomer mage believes that the use of magic is a privilege, not a right. A new type of spell is introduced: the P.P.E. curse. The effects of the spell are not evident until the victim attempts to use P.P.E. to cast a spell. This ability is well supported in their spell list, giving them a potent anti-mage capability. A good GM could have a lot of fun with this O.C.C.
"The Bandits of Hollow Hill," by Patrick Nowak, is a perfect example of the Rifts kitchen sink philosophy. A missing trading caravan launches the PCs into a search for a bandit hideout. The hideout itself is adequate, providing a short dungeon crawl. Maps are included, but rather small. This hideout is fairly unique in that it includes toilet facilities for the bandits. Does a bandit poop in the woods? Not anymore, my friend. If the bandit hunt isn’t sufficient excitement, the author provides an aquatic ambush. The ambush includes an interesting set of villains, but since the encounter will probably be exclusively combat-oriented, the PCs will miss the backstory. I would recommend splitting the adventure in two, and link the ambush villains to a larger plot.
Blood Magic first appeared in Rifter #4, and now I have to go back and buy it because the spells in this volume are so gruesomely interesting. The Blood Mage derives his powers from drawing his own blood. The spell effects reflect this gory origin, and Nathan Bingham pulls no punches in inventing nasty new ways of messing someone up. Not for the squeamish.
The first short story, “One Chance in a Million,” by Paul Sillanpaa, is a gem. Sillanpaa’s characters drew me in, making me care about them despite the fact that this was the climax to a three-part story. In fact, he made it feel as if he had written it without consulting a sourcebook. This is a good thing. I may have to buy the previous two Rifters just to complete the story.
James M. G. Cannon’s “Hammer of the Forge” did not grab my attention nearly as well. This installment was a climactic action set piece, and did not showcase the character development that I need to get involved with a story. However, for followers of the story, it should do just fine.
Finally, Kevin Siembieda unveils his vision of Chaos Earth, the prequel to Rifts. This installment describes the events leading up to the catastrophe of the Rifts. The timeline reads like an old Niven/Pournelle novel, with no corner of the globe escaping its particular horror. The characters he envisions are government agents charged with the protection of the innocent victims of this calamity. Unfortunately, Chaos Earth will not be breaking any new ground for the Palladium line. Instead of Mad Max, you get Mulder and Scully in power armor. If you dislike the power levels of recent Rifts releases, you will simply hate Chaos Earth. Mr. Siembieda makes it quite clear that if anything, the power levels will go up, with brand new tech as well as prototypes for old favorites such as Glitter Boys and SAMAS power armor. The nicest thing about this article is the inclusion of conversion notes that allow a GM to start toying with the setting while using Rifts.
Overall, I would recommend Rifter #17 to a fan of the Palladium series of games. Most of the articles have something worth borrowing. The Blood Magic spells, Last Street, and the Dweomer Mage can easily justify the price. If you hate Rifts, however, save your money for something more to your liking.
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