The problem with a lot of RPG supplements is that they might as well be just a laundry list of statistics. There's usually some token effort to explain a story that links all the statistics together, but the bulk of the writing is dedicated to lengthy explanations of new weapons, or new combat rules, or new monsters, et cetera. If you're into a game purely for the combat, that's fine. If you're looking for a story, for some new horizons for a campaign focused on role-playing, it's awful. Statistics and game items can add a lot of ways for how players can do things in a game, but they usually don't add many reasons for why they should do them.
RIFTS World Book 14: New West is one of those pleasant books that not only adds new material to the RIFTS game, but adds material with depth. New West covers the remains of the Western United States for the RIFTS game universe, and like every other post-apocalyptic RPG in existence, the territory west of the Mississippi has somehow managed to become a cross between Blade Runner and For a Few Dollars More. The majority of the book covers what you would expect – new gunfighter character classes, new weapon proficiencies, and the like. There's enough variations on these features to offer a lot to GMs and players alike. (The Psi-Slinger, a gunslinger reliant on his psychic abilities rather than on six-shooters, is a noteworthy example of this.)
More impressive that the sheer volume of new material, though, is the quality of some of the features unrelated to combat. The section of the book addressing money and barter systems in the ruined towns of North America is a gem, and is quite frankly something the RIFTS game system has neglected for far too long. Another small treasure covered in New West is the subject of traveling carnivals. The shows, which apparently are a main source of entertainment for the NPC population in the world of RIFTS, are carefully detailed – who works at them, what events they put on for their audiences, how they travel, what towns think of them and their members. Yes, a player focused completely on combat will find sections like this useless. For a GM, though, it's a potential treasure trove of information, one that can help flesh out the background of an adventure, set up a memorable encounter with a recurring NPC, or many other small but important details.
RIFTS World Book 14: New West pays great attention to small details. Its strong, solid content and fleshed-out ideas make this book a valuable resource for a GM. Even if the New West campaign setting is ignored, there's enough solid details left to give a boost to any RIFTS campaign.
Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
