Character Creation Workflow

This article describes a revised approach to character creation that should (hopefully) avoid the switchbacks and repeat work that the rules-as-written approach can cause. This section is written to describe starting characters in North America.

Note: the GM may allow players to choose options instead of rolling randomly at some or all of these stages. GM discretion applies.

Step 1: Determine Character Background

Only about 50% of adventurers on Rifts Earth are pure-strain, native humans. Use this table to determine the new character's background. While randomizing character background is recommended, if there is one random table to let players choose an option off of, this is the one - especially if their heart is set on playing a specific type of character.

First D100 Roll	Second D100 Roll	Result	Notes
01-50	N/A	Pure-Strain Human	Earth native. Can select any O.C.C.
51-65	See below	Earthborn D-Bee	Born on earth, but parents are from another dimension. Roll on second column.
--	01-15	Goblin	Limited O.C.C. list: Borg, Crazy, Headhunter, Juicer, City Rat, Operator, Wilderness Scout, Vagabond.
--	16-25	Ork	Limited O.C.C. list: City Rat, Vagabond, Wilderness Scout, Headhunter, Crazy, Borg. Can theoretically be Operators, Techno-Wizards, or Cyber-Docs, but need the attributes to qualify.
--	26-65	Near-Human D-Bee, can (usually) pass as human	Generate as Human Mutant from After The Bomb, but disregard the following steps: Attribute Bonuses, Animal Psionics, Super Powers. Can choose any O.C.C.
--	66-80	Humanoid but non-passing D-Bee	See Steps 2-3 of the Aliens section in Heroes Unlimited, Revised 1st Edition. Skip other sections (though optionally roll Step 6 for your parents' reason for coming to Rifts Earth). Can choose any O.C.C.
--	81-95	Animalistic non-passing D-Bee	Per step 2 and 4 of After The Bomb character creation. Must buy full hands, full speech, partial or full biped. Disregard the "animal psionics" section of the rules. Can choose any O.C.C.
--	96-00	Rare D-Bee Breed	Roll D12: 1: Bearman 2: Wolfen 3: Coyle 4: Kankoran 5: Changeling 6: Dwarf 7: Elf 8: Gosai 9: Quillback* 10: Vrill* 11: Lizard Man 12: Ratling *Run as SDC creature; convert MDC and MD attacks to SDC values Refer to each breed's stat block in the Rifts Conversion Book for allowed O.C.C.s. Rifts O.C.C.s only.
66-75	See below	Earth-Native Mutoid	Native earth genetic stock with mutations. Roll on second column.
	01-50	Product of the Lone Star complex	Choice of Dog Pack R.C.C. or random mutant animal per After The Bomb (for the latter, refer to the replacement table for part 3 found on page 54 of the Rifts Conversion Book). For non-Dog Pack characters, see Rifts Conversion Book page 54 for O.C.C. options.
	51-75	Psi-Stalker	Psi-Stalker R.C.C., can be wild or civilized
	76-90	Mutant Human	Follow steps 2-4 of the Heroes Unlimited Mutants section. OCC limited to Scholars & Adventurers classes. Refer to the Rifts Conversion Book for adjustments for some powers. Alternatively, the character can be a Burster or Mind Melter R.C.C. instead of choosing Heroes Unlimited psionics or super powers.
	91-00	Deliberately Induced Mutation	Follow steps 2-3 of the Heroes Unlimited Experiments section, including the option to be a Super-Soldier. O.C.C. limited to CS Grunt (with half as many secondary skills) or Vagabond. Alternatively, the character can choose to be a Burster or Mind Melter R.C.C. instead of choosing Heroes Unlimited psionics or super powers.
76-85	N/A	Human-D-Bee Hybrid	One parent is a pure-strain Earth human, the other is a D-Bee. Generate as a Human Mutant from After The Bomb, including the option to purchase animal psionics or super powers. Any O.C.C., or the Burster or Mind Melter R.C.C.s, are available if the character does not purchase psionics or super powers. If any of these options are purchased, the character is limited to Scholar & Adventurer O.C.C.s
86-91	N/A	Exotic Earth-Native Mutoid	Roll on the Earth-Native Mutoid (66-75) second column, and also roll for unusual characteristics per Rifts 1st edition page 18. The character can choose to be a Burster or Mind Melter if they do not have other psionic or super powers (or if they choose to waive them).
92-96	N/A	Exotic D-Bee Mutoid	Roll on the Earthborn D-Bee (51-65) second column and also roll for unusual characteristics per Rifts 1st edition page 18. The character can choose to be a Burster or Mind Melter if they do not have other psionic or super powers (or if they choose to waive them).
97-98	See Below	Alien	The character was not born on Rifts Earth. Roll on the second column. Most such characters arrive at Rifts Earth by random chance or misadventure, but optionally roll on the Step 6 table of Heroes Unlimited, page 57 for other ideas.
--	01-50	Time- or Dimension-displaced Human	The character is a pure-strain human, but was born on a different Earth and/or in a different time. Suitable for characters from RECON, Beyond the Supernatural, Ninjas and Superspies, etc. Use O.C.C. or skill selection from native game system; refer to Rifts Conversion Book page 39 for supplementary skills.
	51-75	Alien D-Bee	The character is a D-Bee who has relatively recently arrived on Rifts Earth. Roll on the Earthborn D-Bees (51-65) second column, but character should use O.C.C. or skill selection from the native game system (or Rifts Conversion Book for Palladium Fantasy races) and apply Page 39 supplementary skills. Roll for unusual characteristics on Rifts 1E page 18.
	76-00	Super-Powered Alien	The character is a human or D-Bee mutoid who was not originally born on Earth. Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane, and PFRPG magic-users are all good examples of this category. Develop skills per native game system, plus Page 39 supplementary skills. Roll for unusual characteristics on Rifts 1E page 18.
99	N/A	Dragon Hatchling	Per the eponymous R.C.C.
00	N/A	Sentient Robot	Per Bots R.C.C., Rifts Sourcebook 1

Step 2: Roll Attributes

Review the character's background and note if it changes any of their attribute rolls. Any attribute that does not have specific dice to roll uses 3D6.

Roll the designated number of dice for the eight attributes, in order: IQ, ME, MA, PS, PP, PE, PB, SPD.

Review the results to see if any of the values are exceptional. To determine the exceptional range for an attribute, start with the maximum value, then subtract the number of additional dice beyond 1. This is the exceptional range. See below for examples:

• If you are rolling 3D6, the maximum value is 18 and the number of "extra dice" is 2. This means the Exceptional Range is 16-18.
• If you are rolling 2D4+8, the maximum value is 16, and the number of extra dice is 1. The Exceptional Range is 15-16.
• If you are rolling 4D8, the maximum value is 32, and the number of extra dice is 3. The Exceptional Range is 29-32.

If an attribute is in the Exceptional Range, roll one more die of the same type you originally rolled for the attribute and add that amount as a bonus.

For example: You roll 3D4 for an attribute and the result is 11. You roll another D4 and get a 2. The final attribute value is 13.

Step 3: Choose a Character Class

The Player now has enough information to determine which O.C.C.s they qualify for. They should do so at this point. Note that if the character has rolled poorly on their attributes, this is an opportunity to choose a class such as Borg, Crazy, Juicer, etc., that overrides some of their attributes with new values.

Coalition Military O.C.C.s are available for many backgrounds, but as a rule of thumb players should not normally portray active-duty Coalition personnel. The O.C.C. can be a stand-in for a non-Coalition mercenary or man at arms with a similar skill set, or the character can be a former Coalition soldier who has retired, or they may be a deserter.

If the player chooses to be a Juicer, they should discuss their background with the GM to determine how long they have been a Juicer, and the GM should secretly roll to determine how long they can survive as a Juicer.

Step 4: Roll Hit Points and SDC

See Rifts 1E page 10. Background and/or Character Class may alter what dice are rolled for these values.

Step 5: Determine Psionics and ISP

If the character has not already obtained psionic abilities from their background or character class, roll on the table on Rifts 1E page 12. Note that some character classes modify this chart (Operator O.C.C.).

Once Psionic ability is determined, roll for ISP. Check the character's background and character class to see if they define the starting amount of ISP. If not, refer to Rifts 1E page 12 for fallback values.

At this stage you should also have enough information to determine your PPE score. As with ISP, refer to background and/or character class (in some cases, like Elves, there may be synergy between the two), or to Rifts 1E page 16 as a fallback.

Step 6: Choose Skills

Refer to the background and/or character class to determine the character's selection of skills. Remember that if the character was randomly determined to be a Major Psychic by rolling on the Page 12 table during Step 5 they will receive fewer skills and lower skill bonuses. Also remember the list of banned secondary skills on Page 32:

• Electrical Engineering
• Robot Electronics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Robot Mechanics
• Medical Doctor
• Cybernetic Doctor
• Demolition
• Demolition Disposal
• Acrobatics
• Boxing
• Gymnastics
• Wrestling
• Weapon Systems

Players who are unhappy with their attributes should remember that this is their other chance to modify their attributes by choosing skills that grant attribute bonuses.

Step 7: Determine Money and Equipment

This step is largely determined by character class and/or background. It should not be open season to select all the very best equipment, however. The GM should keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Money: Most characters start with a combination of Credit and Black Market Goods.
• Credit: There are three major credit options in North America: Universal (Coalition) Credits, NGMI Credits (backed by Northern Gun and the Manistique Imperium), and Black Market Credits. Each currency has its own advantages and disadvantages and they are not convertible at 1:1 value (moneychangers will take a cut). After determining how much Credit the character starts with, the Player may choose how to divide it between the three currencies.
• Black Market Goods: These items are primarily trade goods for barter, since the conversion rates to credit are not favorable (see Rifts 1E, pages 208-209). To determine the Character's starting black market goods (if any), first roll the dice described in their character class to determine total value. Then the Player can select a "basket of goods" from Rifts 1E pages 207-208 to meet their "budget" of Black Market goods. Players should not select practical items like working vehicles, hand grenades, etc., and would be wise to diversify their selection of goods since not every trader will be interested in (or at least value the same) each item.
• Equipment: Character classes (and in some cases, background) define the character's starting equipment.
• Mundane Items such as clothing, tools, and storage containers are always available as described.
• SDC Weapons are always available as described. No need to worry about scarcity, let the Player choose whatever they want.
• Arms and Armor that are essential to the class are always available. For example, a Glitter Boy will always have Glitter Boy power armor and Juicer will always have a JA-11 rifle.
• Other Arms and Armor is subject to availability checks just like sourcing it in-game. Players may end up with a knock-off version of what they want or may have to choose something else if their first choice isn't available.
• Transportation should match the character's skills and respect class restrictions (e.g., Headhunters should not choose a magical vehicle). While the GM should lean towards granting reasonable requests, the Player should roll for condition on their starting vehicle as it is unlikely (but not impossible) to be brand new.

Step 8: Choose Alignment

Choosing an alignment is important for determining if the player earned the "playing in character" XP bonus for the session, so they should choose an alignment at this stage and not delay the decision. Note that some character class or skill choices may put constraints on the character's alignment (many classes only allow evil alignments to gain Hand-to-Hand: Assassin training, for example).

Step 9: Finishing Touches

Double-check your derived statistics such as Hit Points to make sure any changes to their parent statistics are factored in.

Review the tables on Rifts 1E page 18 (other than Family Origin, which was rolled in Step 1) and answer each data point or roll for it randomly. Birth Order, Height, Weight, Age, and Type of Environment up are relevant statistical data, and Disposition, Sentiment towards the Coalition, and Sentiment towards Non-Humans are all important for the GM to determine if the player played in character.

Unless specifically required by a background or character class, skip the insanity section at this stage.

If skill levels and combat bonuses were not computed during Step 6, they should be calculated now and filled in on the character sheet.

Step 10: Begin Your Adventure!

Once the GM approves your finished character, you are ready to start playing!