Game Balance
One of the first criticisms a person has with Rifts is the game balance between O.C.C.s, or lack thereof. There are many who criticize Rifts for lacking the balance that other games, such as D&D, allegedly possess. They claim that the mega-damage system throws it all off because, in theory, a nobody with a mega-damage pistol could obliterate a person or structure of S.D.C. material. I will concede that there is a lack of balance in Rifts. Here’s my rebuttal to that: so what?
Is there a rule etched-in-stone that all characters must be balanced in order to have a playable game?
First, there’s a difference between the mechanics of the game versus what actually happens in the game. Actions have consequences, both in real life and in-game. Suppose that villain with a mega-damage device kills a thousand villagers. It’s unlikely that the villain is going to get away with it without consequence. Headhunters will pursue the culprit. Maybe the Coalition States will put a bounty on the murderer’s head. Perhaps this is a job for the players. Who knows?
Let’s suppose real-life time travel was possible and we sent a marine with a modern machinegun back in time to the Civil War. That marine could do a lot of damage in a short time. One-on-one, no one would have a chance. Do you think that marine is invincible? Of course not. There will be consequences and some sniper or mob is going to address the problem.
Even among characters in a party, a case could be made that there are gross inequities in character power. Yes, that Juicer is going to be more effective in combat than a Rogue Scholar. And if your GM set-up an adventure where the power gamers whose sole purpose is to kill bad guys, then maybe the player with the Rogue Scholar could become bored. This is where the GM needs to accept some responsibility. If the party is going to be a mixture of, say, men-at-arms and vagabonds, then the GM should create encounters or situations that give the “non-combat-oriented” character opportunities to shine.
When I write a Rifts one-shot, I like to vary up the pre-generated characters with different O.C.C.s. I try to make sure there are various types of encounters so that everyone can have their chance to shine. One time I was criticized for having an “Operator” (essentially a vehicle specialist/mechanic O.C.C.) available as a pre-gen in my one one-shot. The Operator was the last pre-gen selected, probably by the player who showed up late. There was an encounter in the adventure where players had to navigate a truck across difficult terrain while under attack. This is where the Operator got to shine as other characters probably would not have had the skill or know-how to handle a truck under those circumstances. Actually, in that particular game, I remember the player playing the Operator had a lot of fun with the character and found ways to be useful throughout the game.
Glitterboys have big guns and are virtually indestructible — until someone with psionic powers orders the Glitterboy pilot out of their suit. The party is searching for a pre-Rifts city for a specific pre-Rifts book. Sounds simple enough - except the Juicer and grunts may not be literate. (Literacy is uncommon in Rifts.) You can bet they’ll be appreciating the Rogue Scholar at that point, and will probably take measures to protect the scholar!
It comes down to what you’re looking for in a game. If you want “balance,” or at least the illusion of balance, go play D&D. If you want a bit of realism in an otherwise totally unrealistic world, then accept that imbalance is part of life and make the best of what resources you have available to you. If you’re a GM, make those character resources useful. As a player, get creative!
So, no, the lack of balance in Rifts is not a bad thing.
Palladium Books offers a defense regarding ‘balance’ in the Rifts Game Master Guide, pages 21–23.
Hmm… Maybe I should have named this series of articles “Rifts RPG — A Defense.”
Future articles will include reviews of various Rifts expansion books. I will also share updates on some game-related projects that I am working on.
