Warning!Violence and the Supernatural

The fictional worlds of Palladium Books® are violent, deadly and filled with supernatural monsters.

Other-dimensional beings, often referred to as “demons,” torment, stalk and prey on humans. Other alien

life forms, monsters, gods and demigods, as well as magic, insanity, and war are all elements in these

books.

Some parents may find the violence, magic and supernatural elements of the games inappropriate for

young readers/players. We suggest parental discretion.

Please note that none of us at Palladium Books® condone or encourage the occult, the practice of

magic, the use of drugs, or violence.

The Rifter® Number 42

Your guide to the Palladium Megaverse®!

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First Printing – April 2008

Copyright 2008 Palladium Books® Inc.

All rights reserved, world wide, under the Universal Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or

whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews. All incidents,

situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity, without satiric intent, of characters or persons living

or dead, is strictly coincidental.

Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.

Palladium Books®, Rifts®, The Rifter®, Coalition Wars®, After the Bomb®, RECON®, Nightbane®, Splicers®, Palladium Fan-

tasy Role-Playing Game®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Phase World®, and Megaverse® are registered trademarks

owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.

The slogan “A Megaverse of adventure – limited only by your imagination,” and titles and names such as Dead Reign, Wormwood,

Minion War, S.C.R.E.T., Hammer of the Forge, Rifts®: Promise of Power, Beyond the Supernatural, BTS-2, HU2, Splicers, Chaos

Earth, NEMA, MercTown, Merc Ops, Tome Grotesque, Beyond Arcanum, Naruni, Mechanoid Space, Dinosaur Swamp, Arzno,

Lazlo, Victor Lazlo, Lazlo Agency, Lazlo Society, Heroes Unlimited, Powers Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Aliens Unlimited, Mu-

tant Underground, Mysteries of Magic, The Nursery, Hammer of the Forge, Hardware Unlimited, Gadgets Unlimited, Three Galaxies,

Void Runners, Gramercy Island, Skraypers, Atorian Empire, Wormwood, Land of the Damned, The Citadel, The Palladium of De-

sires, Wolfen Wars, Wolfen, Wulfen, Cosmo-Knight, Cyber-Knight, Gargoyle Empire, Free Quebec, Xiticix, Xiticix Invasion,

Fadetown, Hammer of the Forge, Siege on Tolkeen, Psyscape, Dweomer, ARCHIE-3, Northern Gun, Coalition States, Erin Tarn, Em-

peror Prosek, Splugorth, Splynncryth, Mega-Damage, Mega-Hero, Skelebot, SAMAS, Glitter Boy, Dog Boy, Dog Pack,

Techno-Wizard, Ley Line Walker, Shifter, Bio-Wizardry, Psi-Stalker, Brodkil, Juicer, Crazy, ‘Burbs, ‘Borg, ‘Bot, D-Bee, Chi-Town,

Triax, NGR, and other names, titles, slogans, and the likenesses of characters are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palla-

dium Books Inc.

Palladium Online www.palladiumbooks.com

The Rifter® #42 RPG sourcebook series is published by Palladium Books Inc., 39074 Webb Court, Westland, MI 48185. Printed

in the USA.

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Palladium Books® Presents:

#42

Sourcebook and Guide to the Palladium Megaverse®

Coordinator & Editor in Chief: Wayne Smith

Editor: Alex Marciniszyn

Contributing Writers:

Braden Campbell

James M.G. Cannon

Aaron Corley

Glen Evans

Dale W. Glaser

Joseph Larsen

Matt Olfson

Kevin Siembieda

Proofreader: Julius Rosenstein

Cover Illustration: Kevin Long & Apollo Okamura

Interior Artists:

Nick Bradshaw

Kent Burles

Mark Dudley

Allen Manning

Brian Manning

Mike Mumah

Apollo Okamura

Charles Walton

Cover Logo Design: Steve Edwards

Credits Page Logo: Niklas Brandt

Typesetting: Wayne Smith

Keylining: Kevin Siembieda

Based on the RPG rules, characters,

concepts and Megaverse® created by Kevin Siembieda.

Special Thanks to all our contributors, writers and artists – and a special welcome on board to the artists and

writers making their debut in this issue. Our apologies to anybody who got accidentally left out or their name

misspelled.

– Kevin Siembieda, 2008

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Contents – The Rifter® #42 – April, 2008

Page 6 – From the Desk of Kevin Siembieda

Publisher, Kevin Siembieda wrote this editorial piece about a

week before Palladium Books’ move from Taylor, Michigan, to

its new home in Westland, Michigan, roughly 25 miles from the

old office. This got him thinking about change and transition.

About the new Palladium Headquarters, about upcoming books

and about the promise of the future. It also got him thinking

about his lifelong friendship with ailing friend and game de-

signer, Erick Wujcik.

Page 8 – News & Coming Attractions

Palladium has moved. The Robotech® RPG is a smash hit.

Palladium has a lot of big plans this year, including three new

role-playing games. You heard right, THREE new RPGs:

Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles®, Dead Reign™

(post-apocalyptic zombies!), and the long awaited Warpath:

Urban Jungle™ (a modern, gritty game of modern combat).

Not to mention sourcebooks for Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy®,

Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane®, Robotech® and other

game lines.

Page 12 – S.C.R.E.T. Around the World

Optional Source Material for Heroes Unlimited™

Glen Evans offers his ideas about S.C.R.E.T. – the

Superbeing Control, Retrieval and Elimination Team, and how

S.C.R.E.T. agencies around the world operate to keep

super-villains and rogue heroes under control.

Canada S.C.R.E.T. – page 13.

Canada S.C.R.E.T. Vehicles – page 15.

Cyberworks Network – page 15.

United Kingdom S.C.R.E.T. – page 21.

U.K. S.C.R.E.T. Vehicles – page 23.

Russian S.C.R.E.T. – page 27.

Russian S.C.R.E.T. Vehicles – page 31.

The Black Steel Guard – page 36.

The Others 37.

Artwork by Brian and Allen Manning.

Page 38 – The Wormwood Addenda

Optional Source Material for

Rifts® Dimension Book One: Wormwood™

Braden Campbell presents a fascinating look at the world and

history of the hellish dimensional realm known as Wormwood.

Part One: The Sundering of the Realm – page 39.

Part Two: The Faith Divided – page 41.

Map – page 41.

Part Three: The Golden Age Ends – page 42.

Part Four: The Tribulation Begins – page 44.

Artwork by Kent Burles.

Page 45 – The Coalition Edge

Optional Source Material for Rifts®

Matt Olfson takes a look at the advantages held by the Coali-

tion States over other nations and organizations.

The Coalition’s solution to a world without satellites – page

47.

The Digital Battlefield – page 51.

Electronic Aided Artillery – page 55.

IAR-2C “Abolisher” – page 58.

The Soldier’s Edge – page 61.

RFE Digital Dog Tags – page 63.

FASSRR-100 Skelebot RECON Rat – page 65.

Artwork by Charles Walton and Mark Dudley.

Page 67 - The Torque of Amemait

Optional Adventure Source Material

Suitable for the Entire Palladium Megaverse®

Aaron Corley reveals the tale of chaos god, Amemait, also

known as “the Devourer,” and how the ancient relic of this dark

god affects any who try to use it.

Artwork by Kent Burles.

Page 74 – Warlords of Boston

Optional Background and NPCs

for the Nightbane® RPG

Dale W. Glaser presents information on a notable Nightbane

gang operating in Boston. He offers stats of key individuals as

well as their motives and aspirations. Ideal as NPCs and source

material to enrich your campaign. Visiting Boston anytime

soon?

Adventure ideas are found on page 82.

New Morphus Tables are found on page 83.

Artwork by Mike Mumah.

Page 84 – Under the Skin

Optional Rules and Ideas

for the Palladium Fantasy RPG® and Rifts®

Joseph Larsen takes a fascinating look at the disgusting and

strange craft of using the hides of demons and other creatures to

create enchanted leather armor and items.

Plus a look at Bio-Alchemy and the mysterious and mystical

human(?) beings known as the Kezel.

Artwork by Nick Bradshaw.

Page 93 – The Hammer of the Forge™

Chapter 42: Yet Another Movie. The latest chapter in this on-

going series written by James M.G. Cannon. Read and enjoy.

Artwork by Apollo Okamura.

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The Theme for Issue 41

The theme for this issue is transition, transformation, change,

and secrets. Lots of secrets and hidden truths.

Another fun-filled issue designed to provoke your imagina-

tion, and inspire and motivate players and Game Masters alike

to try new ideas and expand their gaming Megaverse®.

When are YOU going to submit an article, adventure, place

or characters to The Rifter®?

We are always looking for material for Rifts®, Heroes Un-

limited™, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Nightbane®, BTS-2,

Chaos Earth™, Ninjas & Superspies™, Splicers™ and others.

The Cover

The cover is something different. We took an old, Kevin

Long, black and white illustration of the Masters of Speed, and

had Apollo Okamura apply digital colors to it. The end result is

a cover by two different generations of fan favorites. Cool, eh?

Optional and Unofficial Rules & Source Material

Please note that most of the material presented in The

Rifter® is “unofficial” or “optional” rules and source material.

They are alternative ideas, homespun adventures and material

mostly created by fellow gamers and fans like you, the reader.

Things one can elect to include in one’s own campaign or sim-

ply enjoy reading about. They are not “official” to the main

games or world settings.

As for optional tables and adventures, if they sound cool or

fun, use them. If they sound funky, too high-powered or inap-

propriate for your game, modify them or ignore them com-

pletely.

All the material in The Rifter® has been included for two

reasons: One, because we thought it was imaginative and fun,

and two, we thought it would stimulate your imagination with

fun ideas and concepts that you can use (if you want to), or

which might inspire you to create your own wonders.

www.palladiumbooks.com – Palladium Online

The Rifter® #43

It’s time for Palladium’s third annual Swimsuit Is-

sue. Like last year, we intend to present femme

fatales – female heroes and villains – for Palladium’s

many game settings and RPG lines; Heroes Unlim-

ited™, Ninjas and Superspies™, Nightbane®, Rifts®,

Palladium Fantasy RPG® and others.

� Dangerous and deadly women from across the

Megaverse®.

� Complete stats for each femme fatale, making

them ready to use NPCs and villains.

� The next, epic chapter of The Hammer of the

Forge™.

� Source material for the entire Palladium

Megaverse®.

� The latest news and coming attractions. And

maybe a big announcement.

� New contributors and fun. Please join us.

Palladium Books® role-playing

games . . . infinite possibilities,

limited only by your imagination™

One game system, a Megaverse® of Adventure

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From the Desk of Kevin Siembieda

TransitionA great many changes are going on in Palladium’s corner of

the Megaverse®. Most of them are good, some of them very

good, and some are sad. Overall, excitement at Palladium is

high.

A new place to

weave our magicPalladium Books is moving. Taylor has been Palladium’s

home for 16 years. Those of you who have come to either of the

Palladium Open House gaming events know what a fun place it

was. Big and spacious too. We loved it here and hate to leave,

but the simple fact is we can save a lot of money moving to a

new, somewhat smaller building.

Consequently, the move is a good transition. We save

money, and it gives us a chance to reorganize, consolidate and

upgrade. We’ve added pallet racks and a forklift to our ware-

house operation, the building is newer, and it is more centrally

located for most everyone who works at Palladium Books.

Although the move is lots and lots of work, we’re all looking

forward to a new beginning at our new home.

It was also another opportunity for members of the Palladium

family to gather and work together. What am I talking about?

The 30-40 fans (Palladium Muscle) who will have helped us

make the “Big Move.” Your time, help and muscle were greatly

appreciated. I want to make a special nod to Todd, Lucas, and

Eric, who all worked like mules for a period of several days

over a week or two period, to Carmen for driving the semi-truck

and trailer (and saving Palladium several hundred dollars), and

the Palladium crew who put up with my stress, yelling and ex-

hausted blithering.

New Address and Telephone

Number as of April 2, 2008:

Palladium Books® Inc.

39074 Webb Court

Westland, MI 48185

(734) 721-2903 (help & order line)

www.palladiumbooks.com

New Books, New Games,

Bold New AdventuresWe feel like Palladium is embarking on a new era of creativ-

ity and ideas. That our move to new offices and warehouse

marks a new beginning that will rock your imaginations and the

gaming world.

While many game companies are running away from role-

playing games, Palladium intends to introduce their magic to

new generations of gamers. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it

again, role-playing games are NOT dead or dying. RPGs may be

changing (take a look at our manga-sized Robotech® RPG, for

example), but fading away? I think not. At least not at Palladium

Books.

We are seeing more and more new faces joining the Palla-

dium RPG community every day, as well as many long-time

gamers getting back into gaming. Here at Palladium Books, we

have zillions of ideas swirling around our heads for countless

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