1. What is Rifts?
2. Where does Rifts take place?
3. When does Rifts take place?
4. Why do I love Rifts?5. Conclusion
What is Rifts?
Rifts is a tabletop RPG created by Kevin Seimbieda and published by Palladium Books. Players take on the roles of characters that run the gamut from Men of Arms to Monsters. As of this writing there are more than 60 books separated into Core Rule Books, Sourcebooks, Conversion Books, Dimension Books, and World Books. Each book covers specific areas or aspects of the Rifts universe.
Where does Rifts take place?
The central setting of Rifts is a post-apocalyptic Earth. In the lore of Rifts Earth is a hub for supernatural phenomena known as “rifts”, magical gateways between different places on Earth, other galaxies, other planets, or even other dimensions. Potential launch points for any Rifts campaign are in fact limitless.
When does Rifts take place?
The timeline of Rifts Earth takes place around 300 years after humanity suffers an unknown cataclysm wiped out 98% of humanity and ripped open holes or “rifts” in the time space continuum allowing all manner of horrors to wreak havoc on our planet. Rifts Earth is a dangerous place where humanity is no longer the dominant species on the planet. Chaos and warfare are a constant threat while despair and oppression are commonplace. Humans fight for their survival in a world that is no longer their own.
Why do I love Rifts?
I fell in love with Rifts the first time I read about it. At the time I was reading books like Tunnel in the Sky, After the Bomb, Red Storm Rising, and Hiroshima. I grew up in a world where nuclear threat from the Soviet Union was real but not realistic. I fantasized about having my own fallout shelter and having to live among the ruins of our civilization. The Road Warrior and Robotech were my favorite things to watch because they had two things that fascinated me – technology and a world gone mad. Rifts combined elements from all of these interesting distractions into a unique role playing experience and I fell in love from day one.
I was blown away by the story, the setting, and the complexity of Rifts Earth. The variety of character classes, races, power armor, and robots boggled the mind and the selection grew with each successive dimension book, sourcebook, and world book released. As a teenager, I spent my money on Rifts books, I was all in. I had to have them all. The art work was stunning, the ongoing story engrossing, and the game itself was unique in a way that it spoke to me – more than Dungeons & Dragons, more than Rolemaster, more than Mechwarrior. Rifts made sense to me, and that is why I love Rifts more than any other RPG available today.
Conclusion
Kevin Seimbieda and Palladium Books are still turning out great content for the Rifts RPG and I own and love most of the books available (I think I’m only missing two or three as of this writing). The only criticism I can level at the game system is the books are in desperate need of an editor, bit I’m willing to look past that because I love Rifts.
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