W.E.

OptionalHouseRulesforPalladiumRifts

CombatModifications
MegaDamage InthecaseofamegadamagehitdoingmoredamagethanthearmorhasremainingMDCthe followingruleapplies.Thearmorwilldissipatetheenergyfromthelasthit(thearmormay wellfalloffoftheweareratthispointorjustvaporize/meltaway).Younowhavenoarmor. Meleecombat Calledshotsinmeleeusethesamerulesasrangedcombat(2actions)or4tohit. HTHdamagebonusesworkwithmeleeweaponsandhandtohandonly. Rangedcombat Calledshottakestwoactions;occursonthefirstaction Aimedshottakestwoactions;occursonthesecondaction(i.e.takesanactiontoaim) Therefore,called+aimedshottakesthreeactions;occursonThirdactionofthree Youmayaimuptothreeroundsadding+1foreachroundaimed.Ifdistractedyouwillloose thisbonus. Laserpulseattackcountsasasingleshot Dodgingshots:10forenergy;projectileis5 Cover:partialcoverrequiresacalledshottobeattacked,difficultywillbebasedonthe extentofthecover.

PerceptionBonuses
MenatArmsOCCs:+1atlevels4,7,10,13, PractitionersofMagic:+1atlevels2,5,8,11,14 RacialOCCs:+1atlevels4,7,10,13 PsychicOCCs:+1atlevels2,5,8,11,14 AllOtherOCCs:+1atlevels1,3,6,9,12,15 NOTE:Onlyoneoftheseappliestoyourcharacter.Youcannothavemultiplebonusesonthe samelevelregardingperception.

Stuffyoumaywanttoknow
1. Awellstatedargument(evenifwrong!)maybenefittheplayer/character. 2. Firstpersonincharacterspeechbetweencharactersisencouraged. 3. Teamplay,incharacterplay,style,delivery,andROLEplayingarewhyIplaythese games.Iwanttoenjoythegame;Pleaseconsiderthiswhenarguingyourpoint. 4. Deadcharactersarenotthatuncommoninmygames.Pleasedon'ttakeitpersonally.In somecasesitisnotfair.Insomecasesyouwon'thavedoneanythingtocausethisto happen.Theworldisaterribleplacewhereinnocentpeoplegethurtorworseallthe time.

W.E.OptionalHouseRulesforPalladiumRifts

HANDTOHANDCOMBATOrder
ThecombatsystemisreallyjustanadaptionoftherulesfromHeroesUnlimitedandNinja Turtles.Itisdesignedtobefastmovingandeasytounderstand.Allcombatstrikes,parries anddodgesareresolvedby rollingtwentysideddice. STEP1:DetermineInitiative Anytimeopponentssquareoffforbattle,thegamemastermustdeterminewhohasthe initiative.Inotherwords,whowillattackfirst.SuccessfulSneakAttackorLongRange Attackwillalwayshaveinitiativeforthatmelee.Otherwise,whoeverrollshighestona twentysideddiewillattackfirst.Inthecaseofatie,reroll.Initiativeisrolledonly oncepermelee.Thatrollwilldeterminethepacetorthatentiremelee. STEP2:AttackerRollsStrike Thenextstepisforthefirstattackertorollatwentysideddie.If theresultisafouror less(countingbonuses),thentheattackermisses.AD20rollof1isacriticalfailure,a rollof2isacriticalfumble.Anyrollaboveafour(4)hitstheopponent.But,iftheroll isafive(5)orbetter,andlessthantheopponent'sArmorRating(A.R.),thendamagemaybe doneonlytotheS.D.C.oftheopponent'sarmor(seeA.R./ArtificialBodyArmor).Arollover theopponent'sA.R.Doesdirectdamagetothecharacter'sS.D.C.andHitPoints.Notethat specialattackslikeKnockout/StunorDeathBlowmustbedeclaredBEFORErollingtostrike.
[ArmorRatingSeeP.39RiftsorP.339UltimateRifts]Armor Ratings apply only to conventional S.D.C. combat.

STEP3:DefenderMayParry,DodgeorEntangle Anytimeanattackerrollsasuccessfulhit,thedefendercanchoosetoparry,dodge,or entangle.Parrying canbedoneautomatically byanyonetrainedinanyformofHandtoHand combat.Thatmeansthattheparrycanbeperformedwithoutspendingameleeattack.Noncombat trainedcharacterswilllosetheirnextmeleeattackeverytimetheyparry.NOTE:Bulletsand energyattackscannotbeparried,butCANbedodged.Defendingbydodgingorentanglingmeans automaticallygiving upthenextmeleeattack .Entanglemeansthecharacteractuallypinsor snaresanopponent'sweaponsorarm.Thedefendercanonlydefendagainstattackswithinhis lineofvision.Attacksfromtherearcannotbeparried,dodgedorentangled. STEP4:AttackerRollsDamage Ifasuccessfulstrikeisnotparried,dodgedorentangled,theattackerrollsfortheamount ofdamageinflictedandaddsanydamagebonuses.Criticalstrikesdodoubledamage.Combined criticalstrikes,likeanaturaltwentyandajumpattack,dotripledamage.Addthedamage bonustotherollbeforedoublingortripling.Anatural,unmodified,anatural20isalwaysa criticalstrike. STEP5:DefenderMayAttemptToRollWithPunch Iftheattackisablunt,physicalattack(fist,foot,club,staff,etc.),thenthedefender canattempttoRollWithThePunch.Inordertorollwithpunch,thedefendermustmatchor bettertheattacker'srollto strike .Successfullyrollingwithapunchmeansthecharacter takeshalfdamage.Successfullyrollingwithaknockoutpunchmeansthecharactertakesdouble damage,butisNOTunconsciousorstunned.Rollingwithadeathpunchresultsinlossofhalf ofallremainingS.D.C.andhitpoints.Failingtorollwithpunchmeanstakingfulldamage offofthedefender'sS.D.C.and/orhitpoints.Fallingmayberolledwithtoreducedamage fallingmorethan40feetisequivalenttoadeathpunch. Next,inorderofinitiativeuntiltheroundiscompleted.

W.E.OptionalHouseRulesforPalladiumRifts

COMBATTERMS
DeathBlow:Anautomatickill.Thedefendercantrytorollwithdeathblowbyrollingovertheattacker'sstrike.If thedefenderisnotkilled,thenthecurrentS.D.C.andhitpointsarereducedtohalf.Thisattackisavailableonly undercertainconditions. Dodge:Acharacterdodgesbymovingoutofthewayoftheattack.Dodgingalwaystakesuponeattack/actionpermelee round.ToDodge,thedefendermustrollhigherthantheattacker'sstrikerollonatwentysideddie. Entangle:Adefendercanattempttotraptheweaponorarmofanattacker.Thisisdoneinsteadofparryingor dodging,andtakesuponeattackpermelee.Anentangleissuccessfulifthedefenderrollsabovetheattacker's strikeroll.Ittakesoneattackandarolltoentangletokeepanopponent'sarmorweaponentangledeverymelee round.Inordertogetfree,theentangledopponentmustrolladodgeagainsttheentangleroll. HandtoHandCombat:Fightingskillsthatprovidethecharacterswithattackspermelee,bonuses,andtechniques. Characterswithoutcombattraininghaveonlyoneattackpermeleeandhavenoautomaticchancetoparry. HitPoints:Thisisthenumberofpointsofdamageacharactercantakebeforedying.Charactersdon'tlosehitpoints untiltheirS.D.C.isdowntozero.Acharacter'sbasehitpointsistheP.E.plus1D6.Another1D6ofhitpointsis gainedeverytimethecharacteradvancesanexperiencelevel.Losthitpointsarenotrecoveredwithoutmedical attention. Initiative:WhoevergetstoattackfirstisconsideredtohavetheInitiative.Initiativeisautomaticinsneak attacksandlongrangeattacks.Inmostothercases,eachopponentrollsatwentysided,highestrollgetsthe initiative.Rollingforinitiativetakesplaceatthebeginningofeachmeleeroundofcombat. KickAttack:Thisisakaratestylekick.Itisanormalattackthatdoes1D4damagefortheuntrained,orhigherwith handtohandskills(1D6orIDS).Anyonetrainedinhandtohandcombatcandoakickattack. Knockout/Stun:Anyonehitbyaknockoutorstunattackwillbetemporarilyincapacitated.Thevictimisnot necessarilyunconscious,justdazed. JumpKick:AJumpKickisperformedbyleapingcompletelyoffthegroundandattemptingtolandfeetfirstonan opponent.JumpKickcanbeusedonlybythoseskilledinhandtohandmartialarts.Theadvantageofajumpkickis thatitworksasacriticalstrikeanddoublesthenormaldamageinflicted.Thedisadvantageofajumpkickisthatno otherattackmaybeperformedinthatmeleeround(allattacksforthatmeleeareusedupinthekick).Thejumpkick mustbethecharacter'sfirstattackofthatmeleeround.Fortherestofthemeleeround,thecharactercanonly parry,dodgeormoveintoposition. LeapAttack:Anairborneassaultwheretheweaponsand/orfistsarewieldedinmidleap.Aleapattackmustbemade onlyatthebeginningofameleeroundand,likethejumpkick,usesupallattacksforthatmelee.Usually,onlya singlestrikecanbemadeduringaleapattack.However,iftwoopponentsareclosetogether,theattackercanleap betweenthemandstrikebothofthematthesametime;rolltostrikeforeachcharacter.Aftertheleap,the charactermaynotattackagainuntilthenextmeleeround,butcanparryordodgeormoveintoposition.Automatic parriesworkinmidleap,butdodgesareimpossible.Asuccessfulleapattackisacriticalstrikeanddoesdouble damage. LongRangeAttack:Byusingalongrangeweaponfromadistance,anattackercanperformanundetected,firststrike. Providedtheattackerisnotseen,thedefenderautomaticallylosesinitiativeandmaynotdodgethefirstattackthat meleeround.MeleeorMeleeRound:Exactly15seconds.Thesegmentoftimecombatantshavetostrike,counterand/or returnstrike.Generally,playingcharactershavetwoormoreattackspermelee. MultipleAttackers:Takesplacewhenanopponentisfacedbymorethanoneattacker.Characterswithhandtohand combatskillscanattempttoparryanyattackswithintheirlineofsight.Thedefenderfrommultipleattackerscan strikeatonlyonetargetatatime(seeleapattackforarareexception). NaturalTwenty:Thisistheresultof20whenrollingatwentysideddie.Astrikewithanaturaltwentywillalways beacriticalstrike.Ifsomeonewithastrikebonusof+2rollsan18,thentheyhaveanattackrollof18plus unnatural,bonusmodification;NOTanaturaltwenty,andisnotacriticalstrike.Anaturaltwentybeatsallother rollsandcanonlybeparriedordodgedbyanothernaturaltwenty. PairedWeapons:Certainkindsofweapons,suchasSais,Nunchaku,knives,clubsandswords,canbeusedaspaired weapons.Usersofpairedweaponscanstrikeandparrysimultaneously,candotwinstrikesagainstasingletargetor againstapairoftargets,andcanparrytwo,differentopponentsatthesametime.Inotherwords,warriorsskilled inpairedweaponsoftencandotwoactionsforeveryoneoftheirmeleeattacks.BUT,everytimetheyusetwinactions theyLOSEtheirautomaticparry. Parry:Adefendercanattempttoparrymostphysicalattacks.Thisisdonebyblockingtheattacker'sblowwith aweaponorhand.Characterstrainedinhandtohandcombatcanparrywithoutlosingmeleeattacks.Bulletsandenergy attackscannotbeparried! PullPunch:Theabilitytocontroltheforceofahandtohandattack.Usuallyusedtoreducetheblowtolessthan killingforce.Thecharactercanchoosetohalfdamage,quarterdamage,asinglepointornodamageatall.A charactermustdeclareapulledpunch,andtheplayermustroll11orbetteronatwentysideddie;failuremeansfull damageisinflicted. RollwithPunch/Fall:HandtoHandcombatfighterscanreducethedamagefromblowsandfallsbyrolling.Ifthe defenderissuccessful,thenonlyhalfdamageistaken.Rollwithpunch/falldoesnotworkagainstenergyblasts, bullets,fire,bladedweapons,psionicsorradiation.Victimsmustrollhigherthantheattacker'sroll.Falling charactersmustrolla14orhigher,onatwentysideddie,torollwiththefall. SavingThrows:Occasionally,charactersmustrolltosaveagainstexoticattackslikepoison,gas,insanity,psionics, etc.

Attack

Save

Attack

Save

W.E.OptionalHouseRulesforPalladiumRifts LethalPoison NonLethal HarmfulDrugs Insanity PsionicsMaster Magic(ritualmagic) 14 16 15 12 10 16 Acid Psionics(major& Minor) Magic(spellmagic) n/a;consider dodging! 12 12

S.D.C.:ThisstandsforStructuralDamageCapacity,whichistheamountofdamageanobjectcanabsorbbefore breaking.LivingcreaturesalsohaveS.D.C.;itrepresentstheirphysicalresistancetodamage.AlltheS.D.C.ofa livingthingmustbereducedtozerobeforethehitpointscanbeaffected. SimultaneousAttack:Insteadofdefendingwithaparry,dodgeorentangle,acharactercanchoosetodoasimultaneous attack.Inthiscase,thecharacterdoesnotdefend("Goahead,hitme;Icantakeit!")andsimplyattacksin response.Theadvantageofasimultaneousattackisthatneitheropponentcanparry,dodgeorentangle.Inall probability,bothwilltakedamage.Exception:Anopponentwithpairedweaponscanengageinsimultaneousattack(with oneweapon)ANDparry(withtheother),OR,boththepairedweaponscanbeusedtostrikewithNOparry. SneakAttack:Anattackermaylieinwait(ambush),attackfrombehind,orsneakup(prowl)onanopponent.Ifthefoe doesnotdiscovertheattacker,thenthesneakattackissuccessful.Thesneakattackeralwayshasinitiative,andthe defenderisnotabletoparryordodgethesneakattack. Strike:Anyoneattemptingtohitanopponentmustrolltostrike.Aswithallcombatrolls,arolltostrikeismade withtwentysideddice. Throw:Simply,thismeansthrowingaweapon.Rollingtothrowisexactlythesameasrollingtostrike,exceptthat therearedifferentbonusesperweapontype.SeeWeaponProficiency.NOTE:AcharactermayuseANYtypeofweapon,but getsnocombatbonuses,suchasstrikeorparry,unlesshehasaWeaponProficiency(W.P.)inthatparticularweapon. Thisappliestomodernandancientweapons. CustomizedWeapons WewillbeusingtheburstfirerulesfromthebookP.33,astheyarestated.Meaningifitsaysitcanburstthenit canifitsaysitcantthenitcant.Thatbeingsaidalltheweaponsinthebooksarethestockversions.Theycan bemodifiedifpeoplesowish,butmostofthetimeyoullseejustthestockversionsoftheweapons. WeaponQuality Stockisjustthat,stockrunofthemillmassproducedtypeofweapon. Nowthereareseverallevelsofqualityforweapons. Level1:+1tostrikeanddamage Level2:+2tostrikeanddamage Level3:+3tostrikeanddamage Custom:+1tostrikeanddamage Levels13arenotcumulative.OnlyLevelmodificationandCustomarecumulative. Yesthatmeansifyougeta+3weaponandcustomizeitjustforyouiteffectivelybecomesa+4weapon.Howeverthere isadrawback. Customizedweaponsarecustomizedforasingleuser,ifanyoneelseweretouseacustomizedlaserpistoltheywould losethebonustostrikeanddamageandbeatanadditional2tostrikeuntiltheweaponcouldberecustomizedto thenewuser. WeaponCustomizationCosts Level1willcostdouble(x2)thestockprice. Level2willcosttriple(x3)thestockprice. Level3willcostquadruple(x4)thestockprice. Customizedisdoublewhateverlevelyougetwhentheweaponisconstructed. ReCustomizationfeesstartat5Kplusthecostofthelevel3. Armor Armorworksalittlebitdifferentlythenweaponsdo.Costsarestillthesamehowever.Thecustomizationandlevels ofqualitycanalsobeappliedtopowerarmorandsmallvehicles,nobiggerthanatractortrailerrig,butnotrobots orrobotvehiclestheyrejusttoobig. Armorquality Level1:+10%tototalarmorvalueonalllocations,rounddown. Level2:+15%tototalarmorvalueonalllocations,rounddown. Level3:+20%tototalarmorvalueonalllocations,rounddown. Custom:15%toanyprowl/skillormovementpenalty. Levels13arenotcumulative. OnlyLevelmodificationandCustomarecumulative. Level1willcostdouble(x2)thestockprice. Level2willcosttriple(x3)thestockprice. Level3willcostquadruple(x4)thestockprice. Customizedisdoublewhateverlevelyougetwhenthearmorisconstructed. Forarmorcustomizedarmorbringswithitaspecialkindofproblem.Onlythepersonitwasdesignedtobewornbycan useit.

W.E.OptionalHouseRulesforPalladiumRifts
**Recustomizationofarmorcostsasmuchasthearmorsbaseprice.