Dragons
Metamorphosis clarification:
As per Dragons and Gods, when the duration of a dragon's metamorphosis expires, a dragon hatchling has to wait in their natural form for 12 hours before shapeshifting again. Since Phase World isn't quite on the same level as Palladium fantasy, I will be modifying the rule slightly.
For low-magic worlds (i.e. the Palladium Fantasy world) the 12-hour limit still applies.
For mid-magic-level worlds (i.e. MDC), and most of interstellar space in the Three Galaxies, the limit is halved to 6 hours.
For high-magic-level worlds (i.e. Phase World), and parts of interstellar space with heavy ley line activity, the limit is reduced to 3 hours.
It is ultimately up to your GM to determine the level of ambient magical energy and the effect it has on metamorphosis duration.
Chiang-Ku clarification:
Chiang-Ku hatclings are allowed in Phase World, but they are not able to create magic tattoos nor the elixir of power and deceit. They have the knowledge to do these things, but the materials to do so are rare (bordering on impossible to find) and will not be made available to PCs. NPCs will be able to provide additional tattoos for leveling up, similar to other T-man character classes on PbP RPG.
House Rules: Miscellaneous
Moderators: Game Masters, AGMs
House Rules: Miscellaneous
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Purchasing Forcefields [REPOST]
NOTE: This is a rough guideline only. Discussion on the subject has not been closed.
The only two existing stats for purchasing spaceship forcefields are in Manhunter and the AU Galaxy Guide.
In the former book, generators cost 80,000 credits per 150 MDC (roughly 534 credits per MDC point). In the latter, they cost 600 credits per force field MDC point for non-variable, and 1500 credits per point for force fields that can be shifted.
I'm inclined to use the AU numbers as the basis of a house rule for PW, just because a) That tech level is closer to the Three Galaxies than is Manhunter's, and b) It actually allows for purchasing variable vs. non-variable force fields.
Thumbing through the PW books, it looks like the standard variable FF is 6,000 MDC (1k per side). So, outfitting a similar ship with a force field of that type would cost about 9 million credits in PW. Given the versatility/damage capacity of variable force fields, this strikes me as way too cheap. Anything but the most basic spaceship weapons systems cost several tens of millions of credits in PW, so at the moment I'm kicking around the idea of multiplying the prices in the GG by 10 for both types of force field.
Using those modifiers, a standard, 1,000 MDC/side variable FF would cost 90 million credits, while a 1,000 MDC nonvariable FF (standard for most smaller ships) would cost 6 million. Much better, but not perfect IMO.
The only two existing stats for purchasing spaceship forcefields are in Manhunter and the AU Galaxy Guide.
In the former book, generators cost 80,000 credits per 150 MDC (roughly 534 credits per MDC point). In the latter, they cost 600 credits per force field MDC point for non-variable, and 1500 credits per point for force fields that can be shifted.
I'm inclined to use the AU numbers as the basis of a house rule for PW, just because a) That tech level is closer to the Three Galaxies than is Manhunter's, and b) It actually allows for purchasing variable vs. non-variable force fields.
Thumbing through the PW books, it looks like the standard variable FF is 6,000 MDC (1k per side). So, outfitting a similar ship with a force field of that type would cost about 9 million credits in PW. Given the versatility/damage capacity of variable force fields, this strikes me as way too cheap. Anything but the most basic spaceship weapons systems cost several tens of millions of credits in PW, so at the moment I'm kicking around the idea of multiplying the prices in the GG by 10 for both types of force field.
Using those modifiers, a standard, 1,000 MDC/side variable FF would cost 90 million credits, while a 1,000 MDC nonvariable FF (standard for most smaller ships) would cost 6 million. Much better, but not perfect IMO.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
MDC/PPE/ISP Recovery [REPOST]
All RUE Guidelines for squishy beings will be followed including blood loss for each injury sustained. If it ever comes up, I will be using optional pain/trauma rules. 
Mega-Damage Beings:
Psychic Healing of MD: direct conversion of SDC-MDC, costs twice as much ISP. When a trance or similar state is required, the length of meditation required is also doubled. This also goes for powers such as psychic surgery/diagnosis when used on MDC beings.
Medical Treatment of MD: Requires state-of-the-art facilities and costs 5x as much as standard medical treatment
As most magical spells specify an amount of MD they can heal, magical healing of MDC will be as per the book. If a spell does not specifically say it can heal MDC, it can't.
For those characters with aptitude in both psionics and magic, meditation restores PPE and ISP simultaneously. Note that this does not change the rate of regeneration, it merely means a character does not have to choose which one to recovery when meditating.
Addendum: Armor provided by a Millennium Tree item regenerates at a rate of 3d6 MDC per hour. Corrupted items heal slightly slower, at a rate of 2d6 MDC per hour.
Mega-Damage Beings:
Psychic Healing of MD: direct conversion of SDC-MDC, costs twice as much ISP. When a trance or similar state is required, the length of meditation required is also doubled. This also goes for powers such as psychic surgery/diagnosis when used on MDC beings.
Medical Treatment of MD: Requires state-of-the-art facilities and costs 5x as much as standard medical treatment
As most magical spells specify an amount of MD they can heal, magical healing of MDC will be as per the book. If a spell does not specifically say it can heal MDC, it can't.
For those characters with aptitude in both psionics and magic, meditation restores PPE and ISP simultaneously. Note that this does not change the rate of regeneration, it merely means a character does not have to choose which one to recovery when meditating.
Addendum: Armor provided by a Millennium Tree item regenerates at a rate of 3d6 MDC per hour. Corrupted items heal slightly slower, at a rate of 2d6 MDC per hour.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Field Repairs
Color me surprised this hasn't really come up before...
Barring certain specific magic spells that can also do the job, there are two ways to repair armor and other damaged technology.
The first is going to a civilized spaceport- the costs are the same as those listed in SB1 (P. 55), with GM discretion on how long the wait will be/how long they'll take. For spaceship repairs, consult the Aliens Unlimited Galaxy Guide (P. 169). GMs are also expected to extrapolate from the costs listed for larger vehicle and spacecraft repairs. In the absence of extenuating circumstances, take the rule of two hours per 10 MDC repaired from Robotech. We'll say that's the same for everything. The end result will be clean and professional-looking- good as new for all intents and purposes. Operators and similar characters may, at GM discretion be able to negotiate for the use of such facilities in exchange for services, or a modest reduction in the credit costs listed in SB1.
The second is field repairs- do-it-yourself repair work for technologically inclined characters. For this one, I'm going to combine rules from Rifts and Robotech, since of course there is no clean explanation. For reference, most of the details for the following are taken from the Rifts Bionics Sourcebook, P. 67-68. In the event a character is conducting more extensive repairs, consult Robotech II P. 21 for a guideline on repair times (the skill penalties listed may also be applicable).
Each character with an appropriate skill can make one and only one attempt to repair damage to a piece of armor or technology, assuming that adequate tools and raw materials are available (always a GM call). Each attempt to make field repairs to armor will take six hours in the field, and multiple tinkerers will not be able to work on anything smaller than a sports car simultaneously. If characters have less than six hours to devote to the task, it is up to the GM to determine the results depending on circumstances (e.g., a fraction of the MDC normally restored, or partial completion of the task similar to learning a new skill, or nothing at all). Anything not repaired by this first attempt will require professional facilities- see above.
Characters who want to make the attempt must present two skill rolls- the first to diagnose the problem(s) and the second to try to fix them. Characters who are repairing more than armor damage (e.g. fixing a subsystem that is completely destroyed/broken), or who want to get ambitious can post a third roll against their skill. The third roll will be at a penalty ranging from -10% to -40%, depending on the skill, and in the case of armor repair success or failure affect the amount of MDC that is restored.
Since armor repairs will likely be the principal concern, I will post a short summary of the results from the Bionics Sourcebook for quick reference only. Note that these rules apply to armor repairs only- check the book to see which skills are necessary to fix more extensively damaged systems.
Basic Mechanics- Repair 1d6 MDC, 2d6 if the character has access to a robotics toolkit. Double if the third skill roll succeeds at -40%.
Automotive/Aircraft Mechanics, Field Armorer- Repair 4d6 MDC with basic tools, 6d6 with a robotics toolkit. Double if the third skill roll succeeds at -20%.
Mechanical/Electrical Engineer, Robot Mechanics- Repair 1d4x10 MDC with basic tools, 1d6x10 with a robotics toolkit. Double if the third skill roll succeeds at -15%.
Extensive field modifications of armor take as long as repairs, and require similar skill rolls (using the guideline for mechanical engineer above). More basic modifications have their time/difficulty scaled down at GM discretion. They can only be done with one of more of the following skills: Robot mechanics, weapons engineer, or vehicle armorer. Environmental seals can only be created/modified through the use of the latter skill. Furthermore, extensive modification of a suit of armor reduces the MDC of all locations modified by 1d4x10%.
Creating crude body armor in the field is also possible, but takes twice as long as repairs/modifications. Use the stats on P. 101 of the Bionics SB for the final product- 30-40 MDC for light, 50-65 MDC for medium. Heavy armor, and environmental armor, are not possible, and it generally doesn't look too pretty. The materials being used for construction will dictate whether a suit of armor is considered light or heavy- GM call.
Barring certain specific magic spells that can also do the job, there are two ways to repair armor and other damaged technology.
The first is going to a civilized spaceport- the costs are the same as those listed in SB1 (P. 55), with GM discretion on how long the wait will be/how long they'll take. For spaceship repairs, consult the Aliens Unlimited Galaxy Guide (P. 169). GMs are also expected to extrapolate from the costs listed for larger vehicle and spacecraft repairs. In the absence of extenuating circumstances, take the rule of two hours per 10 MDC repaired from Robotech. We'll say that's the same for everything. The end result will be clean and professional-looking- good as new for all intents and purposes. Operators and similar characters may, at GM discretion be able to negotiate for the use of such facilities in exchange for services, or a modest reduction in the credit costs listed in SB1.
The second is field repairs- do-it-yourself repair work for technologically inclined characters. For this one, I'm going to combine rules from Rifts and Robotech, since of course there is no clean explanation. For reference, most of the details for the following are taken from the Rifts Bionics Sourcebook, P. 67-68. In the event a character is conducting more extensive repairs, consult Robotech II P. 21 for a guideline on repair times (the skill penalties listed may also be applicable).
Each character with an appropriate skill can make one and only one attempt to repair damage to a piece of armor or technology, assuming that adequate tools and raw materials are available (always a GM call). Each attempt to make field repairs to armor will take six hours in the field, and multiple tinkerers will not be able to work on anything smaller than a sports car simultaneously. If characters have less than six hours to devote to the task, it is up to the GM to determine the results depending on circumstances (e.g., a fraction of the MDC normally restored, or partial completion of the task similar to learning a new skill, or nothing at all). Anything not repaired by this first attempt will require professional facilities- see above.
Characters who want to make the attempt must present two skill rolls- the first to diagnose the problem(s) and the second to try to fix them. Characters who are repairing more than armor damage (e.g. fixing a subsystem that is completely destroyed/broken), or who want to get ambitious can post a third roll against their skill. The third roll will be at a penalty ranging from -10% to -40%, depending on the skill, and in the case of armor repair success or failure affect the amount of MDC that is restored.
Since armor repairs will likely be the principal concern, I will post a short summary of the results from the Bionics Sourcebook for quick reference only. Note that these rules apply to armor repairs only- check the book to see which skills are necessary to fix more extensively damaged systems.
Basic Mechanics- Repair 1d6 MDC, 2d6 if the character has access to a robotics toolkit. Double if the third skill roll succeeds at -40%.
Automotive/Aircraft Mechanics, Field Armorer- Repair 4d6 MDC with basic tools, 6d6 with a robotics toolkit. Double if the third skill roll succeeds at -20%.
Mechanical/Electrical Engineer, Robot Mechanics- Repair 1d4x10 MDC with basic tools, 1d6x10 with a robotics toolkit. Double if the third skill roll succeeds at -15%.
Extensive field modifications of armor take as long as repairs, and require similar skill rolls (using the guideline for mechanical engineer above). More basic modifications have their time/difficulty scaled down at GM discretion. They can only be done with one of more of the following skills: Robot mechanics, weapons engineer, or vehicle armorer. Environmental seals can only be created/modified through the use of the latter skill. Furthermore, extensive modification of a suit of armor reduces the MDC of all locations modified by 1d4x10%.
Creating crude body armor in the field is also possible, but takes twice as long as repairs/modifications. Use the stats on P. 101 of the Bionics SB for the final product- 30-40 MDC for light, 50-65 MDC for medium. Heavy armor, and environmental armor, are not possible, and it generally doesn't look too pretty. The materials being used for construction will dictate whether a suit of armor is considered light or heavy- GM call.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Super Powers and Bionics/Cybernetics
Per HU2, a super-being can get up to one bionic limb and three bionic implants without it affecting their super abilities. Bio-systems neither count towards this limit, nor interfere with super abilities any more than they do with psionics or magic, but they are subject to the stats and limitations as listed in the bionics sourcebook.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Re: House Rules: Miscellaneous
Super Power Revisions
(Credit to CS High Command)
Energy Expulsion Powers (and other Bolt Powers and Spells)
The bonuses for Energy Expulsion Powers (as listed in Rifts Conversion Book 1 (revised) and in Skraypers (Dimension Book 4)) are not consistent with the RUE combat rules.
Anyone with these powers will use the following bonuses. These also apply to spells, psionic powers, and any other super powers that require (or should require) a strike roll.
+1 to strike at level 1, with an additional +1 to strike at level 5, 10, and 15. The character can use the aiming, called shot, and wild shot modifiers from the RUE rules for modern weapons and require a modified roll of 8 to strike. Additionally, the character can add their Physical Prowess bonuses to strike to this as well. Otherwise, the powers and abilities are unchanged.
(Credit to CS High Command)
Energy Expulsion Powers (and other Bolt Powers and Spells)
The bonuses for Energy Expulsion Powers (as listed in Rifts Conversion Book 1 (revised) and in Skraypers (Dimension Book 4)) are not consistent with the RUE combat rules.
Anyone with these powers will use the following bonuses. These also apply to spells, psionic powers, and any other super powers that require (or should require) a strike roll.
+1 to strike at level 1, with an additional +1 to strike at level 5, 10, and 15. The character can use the aiming, called shot, and wild shot modifiers from the RUE rules for modern weapons and require a modified roll of 8 to strike. Additionally, the character can add their Physical Prowess bonuses to strike to this as well. Otherwise, the powers and abilities are unchanged.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Re: House Rules: Miscellaneous
Attribute rolls
Per PbP RPG guidelines, attribute bonus/exploding dice for high rolls only apply to humans. For PW, 'human' is defined as any character that begins creation rolling 3d6 for each attribute. Thus, an HU2-style immortal (for example) would benefit from these rules.
Additionally, during character creation only attribute die rolls can be swapped but only if they roll the same number of base dice (i.e., the site-wide requirement for all attributes to be flat rolls to do this is waived).
As per site standards, when rolling attributes at character creation roll one die more than the book calls for, then drop the lowest. Do this before swapping rolls as above.
Per PbP RPG guidelines, attribute bonus/exploding dice for high rolls only apply to humans. For PW, 'human' is defined as any character that begins creation rolling 3d6 for each attribute. Thus, an HU2-style immortal (for example) would benefit from these rules.
Additionally, during character creation only attribute die rolls can be swapped but only if they roll the same number of base dice (i.e., the site-wide requirement for all attributes to be flat rolls to do this is waived).
As per site standards, when rolling attributes at character creation roll one die more than the book calls for, then drop the lowest. Do this before swapping rolls as above.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Character Class Updates
True Atlantean Psychics
True Atlanteans are treated as humans for the purposes of selecting a psychic class. Meaning, they can select any psychic OCC a human can (e.g., psi-slayer, psi-nullifier).
Super Soldier Updates
Any basic military OCC and Rifts rules can be used in conjunction with super soldiers made using HU2 rules. Experiments that only have mutant powers are made using the standard HU2/CB1 rules.
True Atlanteans are treated as humans for the purposes of selecting a psychic class. Meaning, they can select any psychic OCC a human can (e.g., psi-slayer, psi-nullifier).
Super Soldier Updates
Any basic military OCC and Rifts rules can be used in conjunction with super soldiers made using HU2 rules. Experiments that only have mutant powers are made using the standard HU2/CB1 rules.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Re: House Rules: Miscellaneous
Availability and Rarity in Phase World
This house rule needs to be modified slightly for use in this setting. All shopping in Center is done in a single location, the Mall, meant to represent all stores in aggregate. A strict interpretation of the global PbP RPG house rule would thus limit characters to making a single shopping 'attempt' each quad- which is both draconian and not really reflective of Center's status as a trading mecca. At the same time, expecting the GM team to list out every shop contained in all of Center's levels that could possibly be relevant to all present and future shopping trips is heavily burdensome and frankly not worth the trouble.
To that end, I'm making the following adjustments to availability and rarity for PW:
1) When shopping in Center (i.e., The Mall), players may visit a number of stores based on the rarity of the item in which they're interested. One store per quad for legendary items, two for ultra rare, three for very rare, four for uncommon, and five for common. Note that this does not change the number of successful rolls needed, nor any other aspect of the house rule as written. Center has lots and lots of stuff for sale- but most of it will be common. Wading through it all to find something rarer will thus be more difficult without a contact, plot hook, or other direct 'line' on high-end items.
2) When shopping anywhere else in the Three Galaxies, the house rule is applied normally. A given spaceport should be assumed to have only one store that the PCs can find, unless the GM specifically rules otherwise.
This house rule needs to be modified slightly for use in this setting. All shopping in Center is done in a single location, the Mall, meant to represent all stores in aggregate. A strict interpretation of the global PbP RPG house rule would thus limit characters to making a single shopping 'attempt' each quad- which is both draconian and not really reflective of Center's status as a trading mecca. At the same time, expecting the GM team to list out every shop contained in all of Center's levels that could possibly be relevant to all present and future shopping trips is heavily burdensome and frankly not worth the trouble.
To that end, I'm making the following adjustments to availability and rarity for PW:
1) When shopping in Center (i.e., The Mall), players may visit a number of stores based on the rarity of the item in which they're interested. One store per quad for legendary items, two for ultra rare, three for very rare, four for uncommon, and five for common. Note that this does not change the number of successful rolls needed, nor any other aspect of the house rule as written. Center has lots and lots of stuff for sale- but most of it will be common. Wading through it all to find something rarer will thus be more difficult without a contact, plot hook, or other direct 'line' on high-end items.
2) When shopping anywhere else in the Three Galaxies, the house rule is applied normally. A given spaceport should be assumed to have only one store that the PCs can find, unless the GM specifically rules otherwise.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?
Re: House Rules: Miscellaneous
Additional Rifter Content in PW
The space environment rules in Rifter #10 are available to GMs for their use if they desire. The rest of that article was ruled on here.
For Rifter 12, the TR-490 Saracen and the electromagnetic weaponry are disallowed from play. Everything else needs to go through the validation process (i.e., an item can only be used after its stats have been finalized, properly formatted, and posted to the armory).
For Rifter 34, the starship construction rules are allowed but entirely at GM discretion.
The space environment rules in Rifter #10 are available to GMs for their use if they desire. The rest of that article was ruled on here.
For Rifter 12, the TR-490 Saracen and the electromagnetic weaponry are disallowed from play. Everything else needs to go through the validation process (i.e., an item can only be used after its stats have been finalized, properly formatted, and posted to the armory).
For Rifter 34, the starship construction rules are allowed but entirely at GM discretion.
Why kill a PC when you can torture their player?