One thing that always pained me about converting RIFTS to SDC was that if you went dice for dice, those nifty laser handguns had no advantage and that just shouldn't be so.  Back when I did SDC... I merely added 10 to the damage for Megadamage. Imagine how easy it is when you drop it a notch for Feng Shui and make it # of Dice +9.

Here's the simple damage conversion factors: 

So, now that we have those damage bases... let's convert some heavy weaponry. Let's go through a small selection of the Coalition's combat kit, shall we?

C-18 Laser Pistol        11+ / 3 / 10
The old standard sidearm of the Coalition, this 4 pound laser pistol has a range of 800 feet, holds 10 shots, and fits the hand better than a Desert Eagle, the perfect weapon for a Michelle Yeoh sized lady to pick up and start punching big holes in alien demons.  In wide supply, and quite popular for its balance of size and power, the Coalition went with a more powerfull, but bulkier weapon in the C-20 ( 12 / 4 / 21 ) or the pulse firing C-30 ( 11(14*)  /  4  / 21(7*) ).  Still... the C-18 has developed a following much like the old Colt 1911.

In RIFTS, almost everyone wears armor, and the armor that is worn, generally tends to be a lot lighter than the old ones.  This cuts down on the Agl penalties.  Here's the quick, dirty and simple rules for armor.

Protection for your Mega-Armor is equal to the total RIFTS MDC divided by 30.
Agility or Movement Penalties are equal to one less than the Armor Protection Value of the armour
 

for Example:
Dog Pack Armor:	+1 Armor (mooks go down on a 6 or more)
Old Dead Boy Light Armor:	+2 Armor (mooks go down on a 7 or more)  -1 Move & Agil
Old Dead Boy Heavy Armor:	+3 Armor (mooks go down on a 8 or more) -2 Move & Agil
New Dead Boy Heavy Armor:	+4 Armour (mooks go down on a 9 or more) -3 Move & Agil
Cyborg Heavy Armor:	+6 Armor (mooks go down on a 11 or more ) -5 Move & Agil  unless Body is over 9, then -3

Most armor (aside from Dog Pack and Juicer) is environmental armor.  This means it keeps you cool in summer, warm in winter, and breathing during volcanic gas attacks.  (Even Dog Pack and Juicers have air filters.)  As well, they have nifty little things like radios, mini-computers, and whatever built into them.

That's it! Wasn't that easy?

Mooks

You have the weapons, but what's a good game of Rifts without your avaerage assault by bandits or the Coalition, or some monsterous DB's.  Ya say ya wanna know how to turn all those Palladium type bad guys into mooks, especially when by all rights it takes the better part of an afternoon to take down three to one odds?

For Mooks, you only need three stats (four if you're dealing with Supernatural type DB's or monsters who can throw Blast spells about)

Take the stats PS for Body, IQ for Mind, PP for Reflexes and PE for Chi (we're workin' quick and dirty here guys).

Luckily, for most species, you're given the number of d6 to roll for your mooks.  Here's where the fun begins.  Take the number of d6 and just add it to 2.  And there's your stat!  WOW!  Easy!  If you wanna give them fighting skills... then give the level of Experience and add it to the Ref (or Chi) stat, and you've got your mooks!

So, to begin,  we have a platoon of 1st level Coalition Soldiers...
 

1st level Coalition Soldiers
Bod:5 Chi:0 Mnd:5 Ref:5
Skills:	Guns: 6, Martial Arts: 6
Weapons:	Light or Heavy Dead Boy Armor, C-18 Laser Pistol, and choice of either C-14 "Fire Breather",  C-27 Plasma Ejector, or CP-40 Pulse Rifle.

 

But then, you have what in your group?  A Ghost, a Sorcerer, an Abomination AND a Magic Cop?  Gosh... all that Chi's gonna bring the Coalition's anti-magic forces running like madness...
 

Dog Boys (tough, they're second level)
Bod: 6 Chi: 0 (Psi:5) Mnd: 5  Ref: 5
Skills: Guns: 7, Martial Arts: 7
Weapons:Dog Pack Armor C-18 Laser Pistol, Vibro Knife or Vibro Sabre.     The Dog Boys are tough, hearty little critters who are relentless in their desire to protect their fellow humans from sorcerers, psychics, and fu using martial artists (y'see, their Chi smells an awfull lot like Magic of Psionics). Thankfully, they show up in relatively small groups (generally one for every party member, plus 2).  And, oh yeah, they're generally lead by a Psi Stalker.
(Note: About 1 in 10 of all Dog Boys tend to defect, but they rarely turn against the Coalition unless attacked.  But we'll save that for actual PC Dog Boys.)

 

Psi-Stalker (mook)
Bod: 6 Chi: 0 (Psi:5) Mnd: 5  Ref: 5
Skills:	Guns: 8 Martial Arts: 8
Weapons:	Light or Heavy Dead Boy Armor. Vibro Sword, C-27 Plasma Ejector, and C-18 Laser Pistol.

There's always one of these guys with a Dog Boy pack.  And, of course, Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers are in small groups, and hence get the treatment known as the "Tough Mook."  They're used in numbers generally equal to the number of Player Characters, and require a high outcome to actually take down.  However, not being named, you don't have to sweat them much... just make sure they give the player characters a good workout.

Suggested Attack Patterns:
The Coalition Soldier Boys are ideal for the Players to first encounter.  They are a sign that things are tougher in Rifts Earth, usually have some pretty nifty weaponry, and they come in sufficient numbers which allow you to patchwork armor together for the players if they want it.  Dog Boys and their Psi Stalker leaders travel in general 5 and 1, and should show up only as a "major" menace.  With Laser rifles and pistols, and vibro blades, however, they're still not as tough as Named Villains.
 

In RIFTS, we have superhumanly strong beasties who're known to punch through Armor like it was tissue.  But then, Master Kwan's been doing that, and your kid sister (Scrappy Kid) beats him at arm wrestling.

For named characters, who you already have the stats to, or Supernatural creatures which you have the damage values to, do this conversion: 

Supernatural Creatures or Non-Vehicle Power Armor/Robots with 1 - 150 MDC:
Get normal amount of wound points before snuffing it checks or shutting down (35), but a -1 to Tgh for Body.

Supernatural Creatures or Non-Vehicle Power Armor/Robots with 151 - 700 MDC:
Get normal amount of wound points before snuffing it checks or shutting down (35) and standard level of Toughness for Body Value.

Supernatural Creatures and Non-Vehicle Power Armor/Robots 701 and Up MDC:
Get the Bruiser's Wound Point and Impairment check points before snuffing it or shutting down, and +1 Toughness for Body Attribute.  PLUS for every 1000 over the first, get an additional +1 to Toughness.
 
 

Cyborg Conversions
.
Lets say that a character named Alex is a Partial Conversion Borg.
A Partial Conversion Borg gets their normal body and Toughness, but their Bionic Strength is measured off the Supernatural Strength listings above. He's got a RIFTS Cyborg Strength of 21.  Thus, his RIFTShui Cyborg Strength is 11, his Move is also 11, but his Body is a mere 7, and no Ref bonuses for Cybernetics. Partial Conversion costs two Cyborg Schticks.

Full Conversion Borgs are big, strong and nasty... but oh so much fun to play. Full Conversion Borgs are treated as Supernatural creatures with the mid-range MDC (151-700). Full Conversion costs 3 Cyborg/Arcanowave schticks, and in addition to Ref and Body bonuses, characters also get a +3 to Perception (Cybersenses) and nifty stuff like automatic sense of direction, internal clock, and a cyberjack.
 
A Light Strike Cyborg (Full conversion) has a Bionic Strength of 22, and a Bionic Prowess of 24.  This translates into a Body of 11 (Tough 11), and a Reflexes of 8 (24/5 rounded up, plus 3).

A Heavy Infantry Cyborg (Full conversion) has a Bionic Strength of 26 and a Bionic Prowess of 22.  This becomes a Body of 12 (Tough 12), and a Reflexes of 7 (22/5 round down as normal, plus 3).

Cyber Weapons cost one Cyborg Schtick, and can be based off any normal weapon as above.

Some examples of alternate Cybernetic Weaponry:

Concealed Laser Rod: 12 / 0 or 2 / 10
(Concealment rating is Zero when hidden INSIDE a Bionic limb.  You can also find one of these and conceal it like a normal gun.)

Particle Beam Blaster (forearm mount): 16 / - / 8.
Forearm mounted blasters subtract 1 from your Martial Arts AV when swinging that arm, and are extremely obvious/not concealable.  They can be detatched however with minimum fuss.

Retractable Vibro Saber: Bod + 3.
Forearm retractable vibro blades do not seem obvious and do not subtract from Martial Arts AV's.

Retractable Finger Blades: Bod + 1.
The easiest weapons to conceal.  Many have their finger blades made of silver in order to better counteract the Mexican variety of Vampire and Werewolves.

Cyborg Armor. +6 to Toughness.
Specially Designed Armor plating increases Toughness dramatically, but also drops 3 from Movement, and the Reflex Attributes of Speed and Agility. (Manual Dexterity is not effected.)  This heavy duty armor plating turns your character into a slow moving, nasty tank.  It precludes getting a built-in weapon right away, but if you're going for this much... you might as well be packing a nice C-40R or a Plasma Ejector or even a Mini-Missile launcher.
 
 

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