Rifts
Ultimate EditionCore Mechanic
Combat and saving throws use a d20 plus bonuses, with high results overcoming a target number or opposing roll. Skills use d100 and succeed when the result is at or below the character's percentage.
Best For
Groups who want long-form science-fantasy campaigns that move from a ruined Earth to other dimensions. The game suits tables whose GM will decide which parts of the broad setting a campaign uses.
Highlights
Occupational and racial class packages assign distinct abilities and advancement tracks, giving each archetype a different role in the party. Mega-Damage places many supernatural creatures and war machines on a separate durability scale beyond the reach of ordinary Structural Damage Capacity attacks. Rifts and ley lines make dimensional travel a standing feature of the setting, letting campaigns move between devastated Earth and other worlds.
Considerations
Character creation combines rolled attributes with extensive skill selection, making first-time preparation lengthy. Combat asks each player to track an action economy, active defenses, and which damage scale applies. Magic and psionics use separate point pools and power procedures, adding class-specific rules to the shared system.
Third-Party Publishing
Derivative works based on Palladium text may be posted only on an individual's website or other online service for personal fun and limited use. Required copyright and trademark notices must accompany each work. Sales, advertising-supported use, mass distribution, software, streaming, and other commercial or mass-participation formats require separate written permission.
The permission is revocable, and Palladium's policy states that derivative works are owned by Palladium. The Rifter submission route is publication by Palladium under a separate agreement, not a public commercial license.