UGC Clariont Flag.	Optional NEW Rules.		UGC Clariont Flag.
There are some rules in the books that I felt needed some amplifying info. Missiles have been done to death. (Here's one.) Instead, I decided to concentrate on body armor, a one-in-a-million miracle shot, and how to add points to your merc, secret/government, ninja, etc agency.
Body Armor Adjustment Rules The Million Dollar Shot Changing Sponsors Corporate Points Earnings		"System of Systems" Armor Upgrades Damage Control and YOU Character Creation Adjustments
Body Armor Adjustment Rules.
Each type of body armor has a set AR and MDC; Adding pieces increase these amounts in the overall armor. For AR, add the TOTAL PIECES plus 1 to a maximum of 20; For example, Pants (6) and Long Sleeve Shirt (8) equals an AR of 15 (6+8+1=15). Adding a coat/jacket or sweater (2) gives the wearer an AR of 17 (6+8+2+1+17). Wearing tactical armor (5) gives the wearer an AR of 20, the maximum possible. The attacker still has to make the 20 (with bonuses) to do damage directly to the wearer or tear the armor to shreds; But since no armor is perfect, it can still be defeated with a well-placed (or lucky) shot. Equally, each layer provides increasing protection; The first layers are pants and t-shirt (there are long and short sleeve t-shirts available); Next can be Tactical Armor; After that is USUALLY a work or dress shirt (in the case of BDU's a coat is added instead). Shirts and coats also ad 1/2 their MDC to the legs. Example: Private JONES puts on her t-shirt and pants (current MDC upper 15+25), then puts on tactical armor (+10), then dress shirt (+15), then a sweater (+15), Eisenhower (+15), and finally a trench coat (+15). This gives her a total upper-body MDC of 95 and lower body MDC of 62 (95÷2=47 [rounded down]+15=62). Once inside a normal building, however, regulations say she has to remove her trench coat; In the mess hall, chapel, and infirmary, she also has to remove her Eisenhower. (She also has a PB of 19 and a great rack, so it's all good.) Regulations say a trench coat can only be worn over the Bravo jacket; However, MOST units interpret this regulation to mean over a dress uniform; In combat front-line units don't care either way. Note: Uniforms still have to be worn under Battle Armor, but there's not enough space inside the armor to allow for jackets other than BDU coat, though there is enough flexibility in there for a sweater to be worn. Available Armors: Pants; Two types: BDU and uniform. Uniform pants come in two types; Dress and work. AR: 6 MDC: 25 Shirts; Three types: T-Shirt, Dress Shirt, and Work Shirt. All three types are available in both long and short sleeves AR: Short Sleeves: 5 Long Sleeves: 8 MDC (both types): 15 Tactical Armor; This is the traditional under-shirt type body armor, and is normally worn over a t-shit. Only one type is available. AR: 5 MDC: 10 Jackets; 7 types: BDU (this is normally worn like a shirt), foul weather jackets, Eisenhower (windbreaker with emulates), class Bravo (business-suit style), class Alpha (Tuxedo-style), trench coats, and sweater. BDU and foul weather jacket can be combined, and the sweater can be combined WITH EITHER a foul weather OR Eisenhower and trench coat; A trench coat can b worn over either the Bravo or Alpha as well. NOTE: The sweater can not be combined with a BDU, Bravo, or Alpha. AR: 2 MDC: 10
The Million Dollar Shot.			Unaimed. Unpracticed. Unbelievably DEAD.
An SD weapon, on a NATURAL 20, against a MDC LIVING OBJECT, can do MD. Example: A 5D6 SD rifle (such as the RDF Light Laser Rifle) in the questionably reliable hands of a 1ˢᵗ level psychic without ANY weapons proficiencies takes a shot at a Dragon. A NATURAL 20 to strike causes the Dragon to take 5D6 MD BUT THE SHOT IS NOT A DEATH BLOW. This rule does not incorporate ANY bonuses; However, if the total, after bonuses, is equal to or greater than 25, the shot takes double damage. The target CAN roll to dodge, but if successful the shot takes 1/4 damage, not totally dodges the shot.
Corporate Points Earnings.
All corporate entities, be it private, public, or government, over time will grow and develop; No such rules for this are mentioned anywhere in any Palladium Books. My general rule of thumb is to take all the experience P that the players earn for any given adventure, divide that by the total number of players, then again by 10, always rounding down. In the event rounding down leaves the group with less than 1 FULL point, this point is rounded up. This is the corporate points which are added to the general fund. Example: Tom and Joe play out a run, do fair, and get their XP awarded; Tom gets 25, Joe 30. Combined, they got 55 P; Divided by two, they get 27, then again by 10 is 2 (rounded down). These 2 points are added to ANDY REDDSON'S ROBOTECH CAMPAIGN'S 13 points, giving the players 15 total points. The next time all the players are together, they decide to spend a few points; By a vote, the group decides they want to upgrade their Specialty Outfits (20) to Gimmick Outfits (30). Ten points are deducted from the general fund and now they have 5 points AND Gimmick clothing (maybe adding distinctive patches to their outfits). Reputation- Special: Successful missions add 1 P to the Reputation; Failure, cowardice, etc will cause the group to LOSE 5 points; These points add up fast. This simulates the real-world effect that nobody's watching until you fuck up. The players CAN prop the reputation up by taking points from the general fund (spinning the bad, capitalizing on the good), but the GM can override this (public opinion and/or influential public figures is/are against them, advertisers refuse to carry their ads, potential clients hear unflattering rumors, etc). Worse, actions by other groups can effect the group; Major screw up by other groups can hit groups with a reputation LESS that famous.
Changing Sponsors.
So, the PC's group, ANDY REDDSON'S ROBOTECH CAMPAIGN, are a merc group who's secret sponsor was the RDF; But now the PC's have had a change of heart, realizing the RDF is filled with corrupt politicos and power-mad psychos like Max STERLING (he even married a T'sentraedi woman as a ploy to power!). So they decide to go freelance, dumping the RDF and all it's iniquities. Ok, no problem. They WERE progressing up the corporate world, but only with RDF backing; Now that they've given that up, they lose any points the RDF's patronage gives them: That's 20 P each to Outfits, Equipment, and Weaps. They HAD 5 points in the bank; Not nearly enough to cover the losses. Also, they have to start with points lost by category, and in their case, ALL the lost points are category-specific. The decide to down grade their outfits form Gimmick (30) to utility; This give them 5 point that they still get to keep from Outfit. Then, Equipment is downgraded from Medical Clinic to medical Equipment- Since this is ONLY the 20 P they lost, they don't add points to the bank. Finally, Weaps; They HAD Unlimited (60), but downgrade to Extensive (40); Only the points they lost. Now, they make a fairly bold (or stupid) move- They sell the former farm they were using, going from Permanent Bases: Headquarters (10) to None (0), adding 10 points to the 5 points they got from downgrading to Utility outfits and the 5 points they had already in the bank for a total of 20 points. This was a smart move; The RDF was about to blast their base, so selling now and getting out of town gave them the points to buy a few other vehicles, upgrading from Basic Transportation (3) to Fleet Vehicles (10), giving them the wheels to head south to Argentina- Well away from the RDF bloodhounds coming for them. Of course, GAINING a sponsor carries fewer penalties; Any points they bring IN gets added to the group. Example: The group starts getting cozy with the black market, doing a few odd jobs for them. Eventually, the PC's get an offer they can't refuse- And don't want to. They now have a new sponsor, Organized Crime, giving them 20 Intel, 20 Criminal activity, and 10 general points. They have to USE OR LOSE the points as is- If they don't want to get into criminal activity, fine. Lose those points. (And no, they can't use the points to get criminal activity, then sell it later.) Since they already WERE smugglers, they decide to open their own prostitution ring, dropping all their points into them.
"System of Systems" (it's not exactly a "System of a Down Syndrome").
Everyone knows the Palladium's Agency Generation Tables (Mercs, Traveling Circuses, Spy Agencies, etc.) at initial generation almost invariably force you to make certain sacrifices; Better comms? Or better wheels? Decent or devastating firepower? How much to skimp on pay? Using the "system of systems" model, however, you can avoid SOME of these issues, by division of labor. For example: You want to build a traveling circus. Fine and good, but now you discovered that even by cutting Vehicles to "Basic Transportation" (3 Pts) and Comms to "None" (0 Pts), you're STILL a few points "over budget." No problem. You then cut Internal Security to "Lax" (2 Pts) and Defense/Military Power to "Basic Defense" (5 Pts), then form a secret agency to fill the Internal Security and a merc company to fill the Defense/Military voids, with each formed around the needs of the traveling circus. Likewise, you could cut all three's transportation to "basic" (around 3 Pts), and form a merc company geared SPECIFICALLY to the transportation needs. You can again sub-divide this even further; The mercs and trans can cut their "Intel" budgets (and perhaps "Criminal Activity") through a sub-company (being an intelligence element, the seemingly obvious choice would be a secret agency, though of course anything could be used). As long as each service CUTS programs funded to other services to the bare bones WITHOUT selecting "None" (or equivalent), with the possible exception of "Administrative Control", pay (which could still be varied, if so desired), and other "Chain of Command" related elements, the system continues to work; By having them interconnected in their necessities, they remain one unit. Some "supported services" may need to be separate; For example, the merc Security Element may require special, separate transportation (though, one would think, it would be the spy agency that requires this, to allow them more mobility). Such discrepancies, of course, would have to be explained during generation, and should NEVER exceed the outside supplier capabilities. I first explored the System of System model when working up my Robotech Armies- As I started the MASH unit, I began with a Traveling Circus (a Medicine Show, IIRC), but felt that defense and a few other "issues" simply weren't capable of handling the task. A traveling circus, no matter HOW big, simply isn't an army, and a merc company ISN'T a hospital, etc. So I began making "special purpose" units, but I still couldn't QUITE get the thing right. A few days ago, I heard the term "a system of systems" and realized that was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Each system has it's own sub-systems, while being responsive to a larger system. The Spy Agency ("SpiesЯUs"), therefore, would serves as EVERYBODY'S intelligence (and possibly "criminal activity") element. Things to keep in mind- 1. To "contract out" any activity, you still need to at LEAST use the bare minimum for that category (spending at least 1 point). 2. Some categories have special requirements; For example, to out source "Criminal Activity", but still have "some interest" in the grey-to-black market, you need a con man to make the deal, even though this is NOT the bare minimum cost. 3. Multiple purchases of the same material normally is banned; However, as a system of a system, this is overcome ONLY if the system is created SPECIFICALLY for this purpose. For example, a Traveling Circus, normally, would NOT be allowed to purchase "Medical Clinic" at all; But as a system of a system, they can not only purchase it (using the mercs table, at a cost of 20 Pts, and again to upgrade not to a "traveling medicine show" but to an actual, possibly fixed, hospital). 4. You can NOT in-source an out sourced material; An infantry company can NOT have their own hospital, but they may need their own field medics (perhaps even a doctor). 5. Non-system purchases must be scrapped (or curtailed heavily); What DOES an infantry company need with it's own hospital? What DOES a hospital need with it's own artillery? What DOES an artillery unit need with it's own intelligence command? What DOES an intel unit need with it's own infantry battalion? Before beginning the task of building a system of systems, try mapping out the larger unit. Start with a simple chain of command flow chart, and as needed, begin "webbing" the chain as otherwise un-connected units (ones following completely different branches of the chart) begin to tap into each other's resources. "System of Systems" really IS only meant for really big unit, or for specialized companies. An AVERAGE PC party probably would not be able to benefit from this model, except as one element (at that, a bottom-rung element) of the larger concern.
Armor Conversion.
With thanks to Glitterboy 2098 Converting REF Mecha to Rifts Standard armors is really fairly easy with this chart. Simply multiply by the appropriate amount. NOTE: Glit originally used Rifts Earth Early CS as the standard, so I had to convert it to the lowest common denominator as the standard- Since RDF MK1 alloys was 0.375, I started from there. This list SHOULD be correct.
Rifts Standard: 2.66 (early CS, Titan Industries, ect.) Chrome: 3.99 (laser reflective, GB's armor) Composite: 2.926 (Robotech Cylones and Power Armor ONLY) RDF MK2 Alloys: 1.33 (Robotech Macross era including T'sentraedi) RDF MK1 Alloys: 1.0 (Robotech tanks, MAC 2) REF/A.S.C. Standard: 1.1704 (ASC/REF/Tiresian Mecha)		MA Crystal: 2.66 (TIW Mecha) MA Chrome: 4.0964 (Basara's LGSA setting hyper glitterboy- hybrid MA crystal and GB chrome.) MA Composite: 3.192 (TIW cyclones) Coalition MK2: 2.66 (CWC army, Triax, Japanese.) Phase World Standard: 3.724 (average phase world)
Damage Control and YOU; Not "just" for spin doctor anymore!
Damage Control (DC for short) is the controlling of fires, flooding, and atmospheric escape on ships. Lacking any kind of DC rules, I kind of came up with some on my Crossed Axe And Maul; Symbol Of The DC Rate And Duties. own. It works simply enough: For flooding and atmospheric escape, you plug the hole. Though it won't totally stop the causality, it can slow it down to where the water can be pumped out, or the atmosphere (in sufficiently critical compartments) can be replaced. Additionally, you only have to keep it plugged until a full-breach patch can be tack-welded over it to permanently seal it. For loss of atmosphere (as a starship would suffer), you can also TEMPORARILY patch the breach with water- Just put a piece of ice big enough to cover the hole over it, then melt the edge (a laser will wok if you lower the setting) and the patch WILL hold until a proper patch can be effected. (For ships that have ice in the hull void, such as warships, this patch will automatically be in effect for holes smaller than 12' across at any length. If it's too big, spray the area with a fire hose and it will freeze up near the hole.) Note these patches are just that- PATCHES. As soon after as possible, the damaged hull section must be covered with a PROPER steel or plastic (etc) patch, or air pressure behind the ice will force the patch out into space (you have about 04 hours for "most" patches). This time can be extended by keeping it manned, but this is not a good idea unless actively engaged in combat. You should withdraw as soon as possible and get the damage repaired. The damage can be repaired in as little as 20 minutes, even under fire, if scrap metal is available, and ALL warships keep scrap metal on-board; Civilian ships are required to as well, but often don't (only high-risk cargos, such as Toxic Waste ships and Fuel Tankers, do, on account that the crew is highly respectful of their cargos and therefore take the necessary precautions in case of disaster). Fire, on the other hand, is a little harder. Assuming the pc is "armed" with a fire hose, fire's base to hit is 10+1D4 to start. The player rolls his/her D20, and having rolled OVER the base, rolls 1D4. The difference is then subtracted from the base for every SUCCESSFUL turn. For each 2ⁿᵈ CONSECUTIVE unsuccessful action, add 1D4 to base to hit. Example: I am entering and engine room on fire. The base is 12, and I roll a 10, with +4 strike. Rolling a D4 I get a 1. The base in now 11. Now I roll a pair of 2's. Damn… The fire grows, gaining +4 to be a 15. I now roll a pair of 12's, +4 to strike, making a pair of 16's, and on each roll 4's. The base is now 7. Adding pressure I add a second fire team, and between us get the fire out.
Character Creation Adjustments.
Firstly, no "1's" during character generation: If during rolling up your attributes you rolled a 1, re-roll. During character creation for a typical Terran, I roll a 2, 1, and 3 while rolling up Iq. I keep the 2 and 3, and re-roll against the 1 and get another 2. I have a character with an IQ of 7, so I name him Torr BUCKNER. I discovered to my surprise that I was not the only person to use this rule. FOR FEMALE CHARACTERS ONLY: Unless the species states that the females are generally stronger than the males it tends to be the opposite way; As a result females can CHOOSE to do everything a male can. However, females are generally much smarter, graceful, attractive, and always able to handle more pain but are often physically weaker than males. To reflect this for a female character the player may CHOOSE to reduce PS, PE and Spd by up to two each for a total of six. These points may be distributed among IQ, ME, PP or PB. This is the ONLY way to trade point for point. In the original version Zer0 Kay (who first told the world of this "house rule" so far as I know) stated "NO bonus die roll may be made if qualified for by using this method." I didn't agree with this, so I am altering it to the allow the bonuses ONLY; For a species with an IQ of 4D6 and PS of 4D6, the 1D6 bonus can be shifted, but ONLY that, to the IQ. This is very similar to the character creation rules for Fallout, and I happened to like it on it's own merits. With due credit to Zer0 Kay.