Rifts (role-playing Game) - Setting - Earth

Earth

Rifts begins with two future-historical premises: first, that there will be a golden age of humanity with tremendous advances in science, technology, military, and society. Humanity as a whole will get along as a majority of Earth's nations decide to stop a world war and begin to share ideas and technology freely. Much of the solar system will be conquered, humanity's wars will end, and harmony will reign. Second, this golden age will be followed by an apocalyptic nuclear war that starts with a border incursion by NEMA (North American Economic Military Alliance, comprising Canada, The U.S., and Mexico) forces in South America during the year 2098. The special circumstances of Earth's mystic position in the Universe at that time (namely, a multi-planetary alignment combined with the naturally higher levels of mystic energy present during the Winter Solstice at exactly midnight) changes what would "normally" be the deaths of a few million living beings into a psychic energy flood that triggers the eruption of ley lines and triggering natural disasters across the world and also causes the return of Atlantis which raised the water levels causing even more death. The additional deaths in turn releases even more mystic energy in a vicious cycle. Ultimately, the PPE of billions of human beings dying nearly simultaneously, multiplied by the mystic alignments mentioned earlier, energized the ley line networks crisscrossing the globe and caused many rifts to open, both on Earth and throughout the Megaverse - while simultaneously ripping untold numbers of alien beings from their own homeworlds and alerting the Great Powers of the Megaverse of a new planet to conquer. Many creatures, both mythical beasts and alien beings, come through the Rifts - some of them now permanently opened - to wreak havoc. This period is covered in Palladium's Rifts Chaos Earth spin-off series. The old world is gone, a new dark age has dawned and humanity's shrinking population is reduced, due to catastrophe and domestic failure, immeasurably.

Rifts game play takes place roughly 300 years after this event, described as 103 P.A., or "Post-Apocalypse", a calendar established at the formation of the Coalition States. This is equivalent to the year 2389, according to the New German Republic. Although different story lines may begin before or after, such as with the invasion of Chi-Town by the Federation of Magic (before) or as the Four Horsemen appear in Africa (after), most of the series "World Books" are described with a kind of snapshot of 103-109 P.A. In the latest World Books, the current date is around 110 P.A. (2396).

By this time, most of the disasters have quieted down, though Earth is still bathed in the released PPE. The planet's mystical energy has added untold numbers of alien beings from other dimensions, who continue to arrive through the Rifts both accidentally and deliberately. These creatures include humanoid Dimensional Beings (called D-Bees). Some are familiar fantasy races, such as elves and dwarfs, others have never before been seen (created specifically for the game setting). Also now sharing the planet are monstrous creatures and mystical demons with hides as strong as tank armor. The most powerful (and a common theme in the Palladium Megaverse) are the "Alien Intelligences," Lovecraftian, living mountains of flesh, lidless eyes and wriggling tentacles with great supernatural powers. In some rare cases, even the ancient gods of mythology have returned to reclaim their former lands.

To cope with these natural, supernatural, and alien menaces, the human race has tried to change in a variety of ways, many of them borrowed from the technological developments of the lost Golden Age. Augmentation of the human body has become common with three basic categories: the "Juicers" do it chemically, the "Borgs" do it mechanically, and the "Crazies" make use of performance-enhancing brain implants. All such augmentations boost strength, speed, endurance, and dexterity to superhuman levels. However, they all come at great cost. Chemicals cause the body to wear out faster, decreasing life span to a few short years. Mechanical Borg augmentation causes a loss of humanity, causing those with multiple limb and organ replacements to become more machine than human, also making use of magic impossible. Brain implants cause mental instability ranging from mild phobias to crippling neurosis or psychosis. Those people who choose to be augmented in these ways accept these risks in order to become powerful. Some are required to receive these augmentations either for self defense, or for work, or even against their will by another individual. The minimalistic, needy, and weak are often forced or coerced into these roles to serve their rulers. Another popular theme used by humans to combat the dangers of Rifts Earth are powered armor suits, and giant robot vehicles.

Some turn to other means to become "more" than human. Magic abounds on Rifts Earth, and many people turn to the magical arts. Others form pacts with alien intelligences or deities in exchange for great magical knowledge, almost always becoming pawns of the beings they dared turn to for power. Still others discover that they have great psionic potential, and dedicate their lives to discovering the abilities of their own minds.

The Ley Lines, formerly invisible, now dominate the landscape, appearing as massive lines of bluish energy half a mile wide, some twice that tall, stretching thousands of miles, crisscrossing the globe. The largest can even be seen from space.

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Famous quotes containing the word earth:

    Now Morn her rosy steps in th’ eastern clime
    Advancing, sowed the earth with orient pearl.
    John Milton (1608–1674)

    The last sound on the worthless earth will be two human beings trying to launch a homemade spaceship and already quarreling about where they are going next.
    William Faulkner (1897–1962)