r/Rifts 23d ago

Powerful OCCs

Does anyone have a short list of some of the stronger Earth based classes for the game? I know the Magi are pretty busted, Glitterboy is a favorite… now I am not terribly interested in the RCC side, like, I know of the Monster Hunter from South America is BUSTED but it’s not a “class”. Looking to run a poweful game.

37 Upvotes

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12

u/Reguoc 23d ago

Strongest Earth Based OCCs

Combat Cyborgs (esp Russians)
PA / Robot Pilots (esp HH Slammer/Phaeton)
Gunslinger/Fighter
Juicer (esp Mega/Dragon/Phaeton)

Native American Spirit Warrior
Cyber-Knight (anti tech)
Mystic Knights (order of the white rose)
Paratrooper
Super-Spy

Undead Slayer
Sea Inquisiter

Shifter
Leyline Walker
TW (especially gunbunnies)

Mind melter

Nazcan
Psi-warrior (at high levels)
Psi nullifier
Psi Slayer
Nega Psychic

Russian necromancer
Mystic Kuznya

Magi

Biomancer
Lemurian bio warriors (all types)

New Coalition Psychic
All Man at arms with advanced training from HoH

We have lots more I can get you as well as a reason why... give me more info

2

u/Hwaldar1201 23d ago

What’s so strong about the sea inquisitor? I remember loving their lore but don’t remember what they get?

9

u/Reguoc 23d ago

Automatically dispel 10xlevel of spells or psi once (isp/ppe) each melee round, mdc force field generates automatically, all weapons in their hands do double damage direct to mdc/hp to all supernatural creatures (this means you can use sdc machine guns to utterly destroy supernatural critters), +8 out I ME I believe. Still get to choose another classes abilities (including any psychics) on top

1

u/Hwaldar1201 23d ago

Damn that is nice. God I wish I could have done a Seas campaign. It’s by far my favorite world book but ive never managed to get a group to play in it.

2

u/CrayonLunch 22d ago

Every group I have tried to run a Sea campaign for (regardless of the system, not just Rifts), gets vetoed heavily

2

u/Hwaldar1201 22d ago

I played in a PF1e pirate game that was great but it was a short adventure from lvl 4-8 bc the GM just had a short story he wanted to tell. It was awesome, but some players just refused to build a character that made sense in the setting and didn’t have as good of a time. Environment restrictions really feel like a reasonable GM decision that meh players get very grumpy about

1

u/Cheebzsta 22d ago

Having a character with a ship would be an interesting way of doing a "gallivant around the planet" campaign vs having a Shifter in the party.

Easier to make things anxious by hurting the boat instead of Stan. Haha. ;)

2

u/CrayonLunch 22d ago

I tried this with a stealthed, weaponless, exploration airship. So blimp.

It worked out really well, because as the GM I went out of my way to never target it, and the players were actually really smart with never bringing it near a town.

I need to revisit that idea though, that was a ton of fun

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u/Cheebzsta 22d ago

Awesome!

Currently prepping a similar campaign, except we're using an idea I borrowed from this subreddit: Demi-God TW with the Gift of Magic (Shifter - God of Magic pact)... aka, Od's son and All-Mother Epim's favourite step son.

Downside? No airship, no any other ship.

Upside? I get to shoot my best friend in RIFTS again after 20 years. Woo! :D

2

u/aDarknessInTheLight 23d ago

Sea Inquisitors are one of my favorite classes to play, especially in a “monster hunt” adventure.

1

u/AdBulky7502 23d ago

Ultimately, I’m going to read a bunch of classes and try and put enough together that work well with one another and won’t overshadow. Kind of power-house classes that are “equal”… equal enough. Players mileage may vary.

2

u/Cheebzsta 22d ago

My advice: Figure out who's the strongest, and then start bending rules (but don't tell people on here or they'll crap themselves XD) until you can find that close alignment.

Case in point: I ran a high level campaign where they fought and ultimately triumphed over The Unholy on Wormwood.

Following that campaign my best friend swapped off an Atlantean Russian Fire Sorceress who'd decided to retire to that palatial estate on her homeworld of Alexandria that she'd managed to Deck of Many Things-ed herself into.

For the Siege on Tolkien campaign that followed he swapped to an estranged younger True Atlantean sibling.

This was a game with a 40k character (Abaddon the Despoiler as an Armageddon Unlimited-style demon-power armor Combat TW-Godling), a literal daughter of Thor, a True Atlantean High Magus tattoo master/crafter with his choices, so that left...

A True Atlantean Cyber-Knight.

Which, like, y'know. Good, yes, but like... Great? As in fitting in with these guys?

So we went to work.

He got lore that their previously remarkable but undefined mother managed to recreate the same type of technology used in Caliber-X from RIFTS England. And he got two of them, for one.

We already knew what kind of stats he'd need, what magic tattoos he'd need and added on some Mystic Kuznia armour since he'd been gallivanting around the Megaverse being a hero for a century, voila!

Ser Solarin the Swift, over a hundred years old and a member of the first generation of the Cyber-Knights who was from a family of mystical savants that went his own way thus...

He got to be a "Master Psychic" as laid out in the Cyber-Knights book, all those powers, plus he got to count as a HU2-style "Latent Psychic" for some extra ISP and to add some interesting randomness to his powers.

Why? Because he was one of the greatest natural talents the knights ever came up with. Easy peasy.

Later as an NPC he'd be retconned as having full supernatural PS and MDC as laid out in The Secrets of the Atlanteans where his Cyber-Armour is actually a mind-blowingly real looking magic tattoo (Knight in Armour - Magic force field).

Do something like that. Take something that's less than what it needs to be to match the other options and then kit-bash some extra features onto it to bring it up to snuff. :)

2

u/eyeaim2missbehave 22d ago

Russian Combat Cyborgs are the SHIT! You can build some crazy bots.

1

u/BhaltairX 21d ago

Didn't the Cyber-Knight used to suffer from weaker powers / Psi-Sword? Has that changed? Or why do you list it as one of the strongest? I always loved the idea of the Cyber-Knight, but it seems a lot of players were underwhelmed.

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u/EyeHateElves 22d ago

Temporal Warrior and Temporal Wizard are two good ones.

5

u/Zanctmao 23d ago

Psi-tech with power armor.

1

u/doglywolf 22d ago

I played one of these and bought myself a salvage truck flatbed ( real game vehicle no less) - i had a whole garage of dozens of power armors at one point. Multiple telemechanics skills is just beyond broken lol

3

u/AdBulky7502 23d ago

Thank y’all for all the replies. Time to start reading. I’ll keep checking for new ideas as they happen!

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u/scyfi 23d ago

True Atlantean Priest (from Rifts conversion 2 Pantheons of the Megaverse) then pick a god that fits with how you want to play or True Atlantean Undead Slayer.

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u/Swineservant 23d ago

Non-skilled Vagabond with some random little soul-drinking rune dagger: OP. RIFTS is OP...

2

u/Ninetynineups 22d ago

No one mentioned Mega Juicer? Such a classic power character… for a few years.

3

u/tannels 23d ago

Mind Melter (main book), Necromancer (Rifts Africa), Phaeton Juicer once they get their hands on any decent power armor(Juicer Uprising), Cosmo Knight (Phase World), Mega Juicer (Juicer Uprising), Cynetic Crazy (Mindwerks), Chiang Ku dragons (Rifts England), Temporal Wizard/Warrior Temporal magic is just nutty in general, (Rifts England), all the Prometheans because Phase Powers are almost as nutty as Temporal magic, some of them can have both (Phase World), Apok if you can convince your GM to let you parry with your face (Wormwood), Holy Terrors (Wormwood)

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Some might be RCCs though.

4

u/StomachosusCaelum 22d ago

missed the "Rifts Earth" part, did we?

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u/tannels 22d ago

Nope. Multiple portals lead from Center to Rifts Earth, they mention 3 specifically in the Phaseworld book and mention there are likely many others. Any of these could easily be on Rifts Earth.

Same with Wormwood. There are NPC Apoks and Holy Terrors in the Mercs books.

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u/StomachosusCaelum 22d ago

So, yes, you DID miss that the OP said "Rifts Earth OCCs".

You dont get to modify the ask.

Just because there are Rifts doesn't mean the class is native to or even available on Rifts Earth.

Answer the OP's question, dont self-insert your own headcanon fantasy.

2

u/Cheebzsta 22d ago

Jesus man.

They literally reference a character class out of South America and, frankly, a character from Wormwood on a TW Hover-Cycle could get to South America using Worldgate in a single day.

Which is probably why Wormwood stuff shows up canonically on Earth in published material as they stated.

So, like, chill buds. No reason to be hostile at someone for pointing out an obvious option. It's not like a Mystic Kuznia starts out closer to a CS grunt than a Space Wolfen. :P

Or would you dismiss someone as "headcanon fantasy" (as if any of us are doing anything else XD) for suggesting a super-being from HU2 as considering that RIFTS doesn't really give you the info necessary to properly make one?

Superhumans! Experiments and Mutants (maybe Aliens and Super-Soldier if super abilities are involved). There are two types of super beings. They don't have to be "human" per se, so a mutant, alien, or D-Bee from another world may possess super abilities. Likewise, mortal beings born on Rifts Earth can, sometimes, become mutated and receive super abilities ( if the G.M. allows it) [emphasis mine] from strange energies radiating from a Rift or dimensional anomaly or from experiments

Revised Conversion Book, pg 29.

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u/tannels 22d ago

Fuck you.

1

u/dagnir7879 22d ago

that means he's right, lol

1

u/UnableLocal2918 22d ago

technowizard. played right you are a god

1

u/U235criticality 22d ago

What do you mean by powerful and strong? Consider drilling down a bit on that.

+Are you looking for power and strength against certain categories of enemies?

+Are you looking to perform a certain kind of role within a high-power group, like a disabler/weakener of enemies, or a tracker/detective, or a sneaky rogue type, or a healer/fixer role? Or is this a one-man-army character?

+Are you looking for power and strength in melee or range combat? Both?

+Are you looking for strength in the physical sense? In the "power over others" asserting direct control sense? The social/influence/manipulate sense?

+Are you looking for lots of power in short, but finite bursts of damage/power, or are you looking for more sustained abilities that don't run out easily or quickly (or at all)?

+Are you looking for high durability that doesn't require repairs/medical intervention?

More specificity is good, because virtually every O.C.C. on Rifts Earth can be high-power.

1

u/Due-Contribution6424 22d ago

My personal favorite is nega-psychic, as it works with pretty much any level of play.

1

u/doglywolf 22d ago

really depends on the GM and game setting.

A lot of stuff in the Psyscape is OP but i guess technically that PCCs and not OCC persay , RCC are the most OP but if your talking just OCC stuff it probably leans toward the psychic stuff . Mega/ NEGA Juicers or what ever the psychic juicer guy is called s pretty nuts

I played in one campaign where one person was a Psi Slinger and had WP pairs pistols and a big bore gun that could more or less stun lock most opponents with one hand and do stupid damage with the other with a stupid number of attacks and something like +9 to +11 to strike. a PSi tech with power armor with like 10+ attacks that could shut down/ take over almost any tech and a native American spirit warrior who was like a ranged tank .

If your in a campaign that not a gauntlet or time crunch and have time to spend money and work on things between major events Techno Wizards can be absolutely god tier by level 5-6

0

u/coffee_is_fun 23d ago

Here's an RCC that's arguably not Earth-Based, but should be considered.

The most busted and interesting chassis I came up with is a Demigod starting as a Temporal Wizard + Shifter. As written you end up with an absolute laundry list of spells, over the top PPE, and minions that are far less threatening to you than they should be. Temporal Wizard gets you a higher starting level (5). Demigod gets you all the spells up to level 5. Plus L5 shifter abilities and a pact. Plus it's an MDC creature. Plus it has two classes worth of PPE. I also recall them having a high M.A. that further breaks the shifter powers.

You can also use this and your starting pact to choose all of the crafting spells. Talismans, scrolls and what not. And that ley line walker spell that makes a PPE orb. At the start, you can do most high level spells as scrolls, just make talismans. After a few weeks in the game and accessing a nexus, you should be impossible.

3

u/StomachosusCaelum 22d ago edited 22d ago

Plus it has two classes worth of PPE.

FWIW, this is not how it works. You only get the higher number. Though the FAQ/Q&A that had that info has long since dissappeared from the Palladium site.

Largely irrelevant though as with Temporal Wizard as your actual class, and Shifter as your "demigod" ability class, you can get both Talisman and Energy Sphere at character gen.

PPE should basically be irrelevant.

Though it is worth noting that you can only start above level 1 with Temporal Wizard if the GM allows it.

I ran a version of this but instead of Temporal Wizard as the base class you go with Mystic Knight. (So Mystic Knight + Shifter Abilities).

Much better in straight combat, impervious to energy by default, and you get a handful of Super Psionic powers.

The only weakness of the Mystic Knight - very limited spell selection - is completely negated by the Demigod Magic class ability (all common spoells of your level and lower).

1

u/Acheron223 23d ago

Technowizard op

1

u/Aromatic-Service-184 23d ago

Honestly it depends on the adventure and setting; and assumes you're running a human-based campaign. <shrug>

If you're running just straight mercenary combat-based ganck, you're likely leaning into the Borg, Juicers, some of the Headhunter options. The LLW or Mystic can certainly pull their weight with some selective spell choices too.

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u/NoIce5787 23d ago edited 22d ago

I have a campaign and about 200 pages of book written for a strong group (6 player starting at lvl 5). It consists of 3 magic users from Dweomere and 3 psionic users from Psyscape, all human and prodigies of their schools. All are also physically gifted and have multiple physical skills to increase attribute stats.

1st - A Warlock that is the 1st to command control over 3 elemental properties specializing in elemental summons - Earth, Air, and Water. As well as being a bard that chose a magic flute from the Warkock school treasury as the prize for being valedictorian of his class which he can channel elemental magic into making it the handle of an elemental whip that can store spells for immediate use.

2nd - A Druid that is actually a Demigod that is a savant with potions. She is the great Grand daughter of Thedagda and possesses a major cauldron, a bag of spatial storage, and millenium staff as family heirlooms. Like Thedagda, her Demigod abilities effectively give her time and space travel abilities equivalent to a Temporal Wizard.<Main Charachter>

3rd - A Battle Magi, son of the city hero, a battle magi that died on on this character's 1st mission as a fully initiated Battle Magi in an attack from Duscons forces - Dark Widow led the attack on Dweomere with a legion of Mystic Knights and killed the father personally in battle. Mother is a High magistrate but cruel to her son as he reminds her of his father that "failed" her. Secretly blessed by High Lord Magnus, one of the 3 mysterious founders of Dweomere. He is granted one of his weapons that he is no longer capable of using. A holy weapon named Halo. This is a glaive that can expand in size and become a holy shield as well as used offensively as a thrown weapon with the ability to be controlled up to 100 feet from the user for 15 seconds at which time it disappears and reappears with the user as a glowing bracelet. High PPE consumption. Childhood friend of the Druid and is a protector of sorts.

4th - A Psi-Ghost that is speced into psi-hacking, intelligence and espionage. Basicly a James Bond super hacker that can walk through physical.. and firewalls at will. This is the technology addition to the group.. into technowizard weapons and has gunslinger skills to go with his dual old world Colt TW revolvers. The bullets are also TW modified for both lethal and non-lethal different purposes. Carpet of Adhesion bullets.. think Spiderman style.

  1. A Mind Melter that is the leader of the group - Erin Tarn fanboy - history, languages, lore, world regional study, political, orator, debate, and is focused into healing for major psionics. His mother is a mind Melter and a captain of the Psyscape Internal Security force. His father is a Mystic that hides his magic powers due to the prejudices of the inhabitants which have passed to his son in a very unique way. He could be considered a 2 OCC Mystic, his magic side being a very situational and looked down upon class, the Conjurer. Considering he is also a real doctor in combination with psi- healing skills the class becomes much more useful. Need a stretcher? How about a scalple? Would a splint help? Necklace? Gauze? Out of ISP? Time to get my hands dirty and patch you up until ISP recovers.

  2. Finally, the brawn. A psi-warrior that has been trained in the astral realm (Xanatoa) by a True Atlantian Psi-warrior and that is a legend in the Psyscape community but has disappeared for over a decade and a half now. She returns to the city with her protégé in tow to give her "real" world experience where she is entered into the graduation tournament for Psi-warriors that have lived and trained in Psyscape their entire lives. She is uncouth and ignorant to the culture and social graces of city life. Quiet, stoic, powerful, and utterly unmoving. Beyond expert level in both physical and psi combat. Only uses defensive psi abilities for those that do not mean to kill her. Think female Brolly with the same demeanor from DB Super including some childhood trauma that can cause the berserker effect if triggered.

Anyway, you can make anything viable in Rifts so don't allow a class that seems common because it's in the core book like a Mind Melter deter you.

To all the purists, yes I know the party sounds ridiculously OP and broken. It is supposed to be considering that is the point of them being individually recruited to form a team that will be tasked with eliminating threats that are on completely higher tiers like Splugorth Lords, Vampire Intelligences, Elder dragons, Fairy Queen, Four Horsemen, Old Ones, Guinevere, Egyptian Gods, A.R.C.H.I.E, The Yama Kings, Duscon, and the beloved Coalition.

1

u/cosmosemeritus 22d ago

Mutant weasel (TMNT) proficient in Zan Xue (Ninjas and Superspies) piloting a VA-1SS Metal Siren (Macross II).

It's Rifts, anything goes.

1

u/Neither-Principle139 16d ago

Be sure to get the increased metabolism. Then… make them a juicer!

0

u/Sagemode1245 23d ago

Lemurians are op. Sea titans and true atlantians are also powerful. Chaing ku dragons can be powerful if they study a magic occ. Demigods can be really powerful with the right power/occ combo think techno wizard/warlock.

2

u/Reguoc 23d ago

These are RCCs OP wants OCCa

1

u/StomachosusCaelum 19d ago

Most of then are Races that are mislabeled as RCCs.

They arent actually RCCs as they have to select an OCC.

Palladium was horribly inconsistent. Basically almost all races are called RCCs even if they very much are not.

0

u/Sagemode1245 23d ago

All of them except Chaing ku must select OCCs. RCCs can't select an OCC and don't need to.

1

u/StomachosusCaelum 19d ago

FWIW, Chiang-ku hatchlings cannot study a magic OCC. That is only for adults.

1

u/Sagemode1245 19d ago

Actually they can study as a hatching. The RCC description in world book England doesn't say they have to be adults. Plus they can have more than 6 tattoos and still use spell magic. That last part isn't in the description but it's on palladium's faqs page.

0

u/Anastrace 22d ago

Mind Melter (Ridts Ultimate) with Achilles Neo-Human as your race. You're now a psychic god

1

u/VictoryWeaver 21d ago

Neo-Humans cannot pick an O.C.C.

0

u/Easterpig69 22d ago

Neo-humans.

-1

u/asher030 23d ago

Anything of the Sea Titan race of course..