Palladium games

[Snicker]

Without making any promises, is there any interest on Myth-Weavers in the Palladium line of games?

Has anyone played any of their games?

Would anyone be interested in playing any of their games, and if so, which ones?

[Malkavian Grin]

I once played the TMNT Palladium game on OGMW. It didn't go far as the GM either ghosted or killed the game due to not knowing what to do after we started. Truthfully, I only really played because I have a deep love for the Heroes in a Half-Shell.

In my opinion, it seems like too complex a system for what it's trying to do. I don't recall much of it, but I remember thinking "this is a GURPS ripoff but worse" while trying to figure it all out. Maybe it was just trying to shoehorn mutant ninja antics into a simulationist ruleset that didn't jive well.

I don't think I answered your questions well.

[Cirlot]

~Sticks hand up~

I've played Rifts, Palladium Fantasy and a (heavily) houseruled variant of Heroes Unlimited in my time, and I've a fondness for Nightbane to the extent I've lobied for the chance to play some of it's OCC's and RCCs in other games (the joy of the Kitchen Sink that is RIFTS.) I also have a real fondness for RIFTS: Manhunter - lots of interesting ideas in that one though it doesn't plug in well with the other Palladium games (Phase World is the nearest fit but Phase World characters tend to be considerably more powerful as a baseline . . .).

That said, the system has never been the draw for the Palladium games, at least not for me? The settings are wonderful and interesting, with so many plot and character hooks it's like the gods own coat rack but mechanically it's always been a bit of a slog. Play by post I think doubles down on the rough edges - depending on how you adjudicate 'em the multiple combat actions per PC can slow things down to a slog if things every get pointy, and I'm not sure how to fix it without gutting some of the OCCs - like, a Juicer is defined in part by it's stupid number of actions per round, take that away and how do you balance it.

However I might be in the minority on this and also if I'm playing rather than running it might not be my problem to solve😅: I know other GM's have made it work on the Weave. Back pre-Baldur there was a small but pretty devoted rifts community; anytime a palladium game add went up there were a half dozen applications or so sight unseen, more or less depending on the game or GM. Not sure how many made the transition but I'd wager there'd be at least a small audience.

As for my interest - yes but I couldn't guarantee availability: I'm in two games right now, pitching an app for a third and that will put me more or less at capacity with my RL commitments.

[cailano]

I had TMNT back in the day but never played it. I always wanted to play their Robotech RPG as I was a huge fan of that series.

[Morphling]

Maybe if it's a skip the system play the setting type of game.

[Cirlot]

Well, Savage Worlds: RIFTS does exist . . .

 

That said, outside of combat the core skill mechanic is pretty simple, and the powers/spells/psionics are effectively self contained rulesets. It's just combat that would break in half via PbP? The more I think about it a socially oriented palladium game might work pretty well; maybe it's a RP on the weave, run combats on discord sort of thing.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Cirlot (see edit history)

[Lando The Archmagi]

I own a bunch of Palladium's games and have GMed all of them. Rifts, TMNT, HU, Palladium Fantasy, Robotech etc. I'd be game to play in one.

[leons1701]

On 12/13/2023 at 12:58 AM, Cirlot said:

~Sticks hand up~

like, a Juicer is defined in part by it's stupid number of actions per round, take that away and how do you balance it.

 

What's that second to last word? I do not recognize that word in the context of Palladium at all.

 

Seriously, if you have the slightest concern for balance, you're in the wrong system.

[Michael Silverbane]

34 minutes ago, leons1701 said:

What's that second to last word? I do not recognize that word in the context of Palladium at all.

 

Seriously, if you have the slightest concern for balance, you're in the wrong system.

 

Very true. I mean, you can play a dragon alongside a "Non-Skilled Vagabond." On the other hand, with judicious selection of classes and equipment, some semblance of balance can be achieved.

I wouldn't mind playing in a North America focused game with something like, a juicer, a psi-stalker, a cyberknight, a rogue scientist, and a (ex-)coalition special forces character.

Similarly, a game with a city-rat, headhunter, rogue scholar, cyber-doc, and soldier could be cool and relatively balanced.

Rifts also got ported over to... (goes to look it up) Savage Worlds, so that could be cool.

[leons1701]

Oh, you can come up with a selection of classes that is at least as "balanced" as early editions of D&D with a little work. And the games can be fun, with the right group.

A slight aside, I LOVE the concept of the cyberknight, but it's also an example of how Rifts designers never understood their own system. It gets a cool summonable Mega Damage blade as its signature weapon. Said blade is basically only useful for showing off against things that DON'T have MDC because its damage is essentially non-existent. In most games I've been in, virtually everything has MDC. It's a real pity because the character basically has to break concept and grab an MDC gun to actually play the game. That's the essential issue with pretty much everything from Palladium, neat concepts hampered by game design straight out of the late 70's, early 80's and a total refusal to update or even admit the system has flaws. I STILL have no idea how they ever got Siembieda to allow Rifts: Savage Worlds.

[Lando The Archmagi]

Another way to balance games like Rifts is to limit the selection of options by picking a starting area like (only North America) and either the main book, Merc Ops etc.

I've had successful games that way. I'm trying to run a Savage Rifts game so I'm still learning that system, but I'd be open to it too.

 

 

[Lando The Archmagi]

12 minutes ago, leons1701 said:

It's a real pity because the character basically has to break concept and grab an MDC gun to actually play the game. That's the essential issue with pretty much everything from Palladium, neat concepts hampered by game design straight out of the late 70's, early 80's and a total refusal to update or even admit the system has flaws. I STILL have no idea how they ever got Siembieda to allow Rifts: Savage Worlds.

The fix for this is to get the Cyber-knight a magic / or technical mdc sword, but you could also upgrade their psi-sword to do mdc too.

[Michael Silverbane]

Its got its flaws, for sure. Most of them can be overcome with a lenient GM and judicious house ruling. I think our group's solution to the Cyberknight thing was to scale the psi-sword by 1d6 per level. I think we also scaled the cyber armor.

As I understand it, KS basically ignores most of the rules when he runs the game, allowing player characters to do more or less whatever, as long as it seems cool and they come up with any sort of explanation for it.

[hakootoko]

On 12/12/2023 at 8:22 PM, Malkavian Grin said:

In my opinion, it seems like too complex a system for what it's trying to do. I don't recall much of it, but I remember thinking "this is a GURPS ripoff but worse" while trying to figure it all out. Maybe it was just trying to shoehorn mutant ninja antics into a simulationist ruleset that didn't jive well.

It's older than GURPS.

I recall that when it first came out (Palladium Fantasy, that is), it was an improvement over AD&D 1 because it allowed for customization of character abilities and it had more character classes. I played it a couple of times, but once Rolemaster came out it outdid Palladium Fantasy at customization and I never went back to it.

I still have my Palladium Fantasy book in a box somewhere. I recall it had a disclaimer in the front about how the folks at Palladium aren't Satan worshipers and abhor such practices. The RPG scare was in full effect at the time. Surely they don't still print it that way...

[Michael Silverbane]

Just now, hakootoko said:

I recall it had a disclaimer in the front about how the folks at Palladium aren't Satan worshipers and abhor such practices. The RPG scare was in full effect at the time. Surely they don't still print it that way...

They still have a similar disclaimer.