The Poor:
The gap between the haves and the have-nots is
much wider in the post-apocalyptic era than it has ever been. On
one extreme are the wealthy and powerful, who own technologi
cal and magical conveniences that are far better than the most
decadent 20th Century billionaire could have imagined. On the
other, are the destitute people living in conditions that would not
have been tolerated in 20th Century America - conditions, in
fact, no better than those endured by medieval peasants, if not
worse. The poor of Rifts Earth live in squalid villages or slums,
eking a meager living and are constantly exposed to plagues,
bandits, and supernatural predators. The life expectancy of these
unfortunates is lower than it has been since the Industrial Age;
surviving to age thirty when you are poor is an accomplishment.
To these unfortunates, the poorest adventurer is incredibly
wealthy. Owning an energy weapon and M.D.C. armor, each
worth tens of thousands of credits, is an incredible achievement
to people whose average income is often less than one thousand
credits per year!
Faced with such a life, many people will do anything it takes
to escape it. Even the Juicer' s short life looks like a better option
than what they have. So, many people will volunteer for the con
version. Some reason they can make their money and quit before
the Juicer process kills them. Some have written off their own
life as lost, but hope to make enough money to help their family
to escape their life of poverty or subjugation under a foul ruler.
Others simply don't think ahead.
Many of these Juicers feel a great deal of hatred for the
wealthy; some become bandits and commit atrocities against
anybody they consider to be rich. A number of them, on the
other hand, embrace the decadent culture of the affluent and
powerful, and do their best to forget their humble origins. Some
never manage to acquire either wealth or glory and die an
anonymous death. Very few actually manage to help those they
left behind.
Unwilling Juicers:
Not every Juicer chooses his fate. A sig
nificant number are forced into it. Unwilling Juicers are basi
cally slave-warriors, pressed into service, made to endure the
Juicer process, and used as cannon fodder by their enslavers. Al
though slavery is illegal in most of the larger kingdoms, a
number of small nations and groups have no such qualms.
The largest slave market in the world is the monster-popu
lated continent of Atlantis. There, the Splugorth and their min
ions use humans as anything from servants to food. Juicers are
not an exception. Many slaves are turned into Juicers and used
for labor or forced to fight in the arena for the entertainment of
the masses. These Juicers are either the human technology vari
ants or more powerful and grotesque bio-wizardry Juicers (for
more information about bio-wizardry Juicers, refer to the
Splu
gorth Juicers section;
general information about bio-wizardry,
alien symbiotes and other Splugorth technology can be found in
Rifts World Book Two: Atlantis).
Slave Juicers are slightly better off than normal slaves and
forced laborers, inasmuch as they have valuable skills and abili
ties - and also have a good chance to escape and maybe get re
venge on their tormentors. Ex-slaves can make great tragic
characters - doomed to die through no fault of their own, but
willing and able to right some wrongs before their demise.
12
Breaux
The Juicer Procedure
"This Won't Hurt A Bit. "
-Handwritten sign over a Body-Chap-Shop in Ishpeming.
Contrary to popular opinion, Juicer conversion is neither in
stantaneous or painless. It requires two surgical procedures, a pe
riod of adjustment, and often serious side-effects. Some people
come out of the operations without Juicer powers, with reduced
or altered forms of those powers, or as physical wrecks, weaker
than when they started!
Undergoing the Juicer procedure can take as long as two
months. First, the operations installing the bio-comp and the
IRMSS internal housing each take 2-6 hours, and the patient
must convalesce for at least two days in between the operations.
Rushing the procedure increases the chance of a catastrophe by
1 5 % (i.e., reduce the chance of success by 1 5%, or by 20% if
both operations take place on the same day; see below). After
the bio-comps and nano-machines are in place, the new Juicer
must undergo a period of adjustment as his body is modified and
enhanced by the drugs. Over the first week, the Juicer will get
one half of his final bonuses. For example, a Juicer whose
strength has been raised from 14 to 26 will only have a P.S. of
20 for the first week. Initial combat and initiative bonuses are
likewise half those provided by the end of the procedure. It will
take 2D4 weeks for the full benefits (bonuses) to manifest them
selves. Sadly, many neophyte Juicers go out looking for trouble,
relying on their abilities and often getting themselves killed be-
fore they are fully empowered and capable of handling them
selves.
A competent doctor with the proper equipment can perform
the procedure with a 98% chance of success without ill effects.
This chance will decrease proportionally with the skill and shod
diness of most body-chop-shops. In an illegal "bodybuilding
clinic" in the Coalition States, unscrupulous cyber-docs will use
substandard techniques and implants, often "recycled" bio
comps and injection collars, usually taken from the corpses of
dead Juicers ! If characters undergo the Juicer conversion in the
course of play, the Game Master might want to reduce the
chance of success by 6% to 48% (giving a range of 50% to
92%), depending on the type and quality of body-chop-shop
used by the would-be Juicer. Then roll percentile dice
the
modified chance of success. If the roll succeeds, the Juicer proc
ess is performed normally, with only the common dangers and
side effects listed under
Dangers and Side Effects.
If the roll
fails, however, a mistake has been made ! Roll on the following
table:
01-30 % : Reduced bonuses:
Reduce one of the physical bo
nuses (P.E., P.S. or P.P.) by half! Everything else remains the
same.
31-50 % : Poorly calibrated bio-comp:
The bio-comp system
overdoses the Juicer, increasing his attributes but greatly de
creasing his life span ! Add I D4 to any two physical attrib
utes, but reduce the character' s life span by I D4 years !
51-60 % : Narcolepsies:
This strange phenomenon is caused by a
faulty bio-comp circuit in charge of monitoring the Juicer's
health level. Occasionally, the bio-comp will think the Juicer
is severely injured, and will place the victim into a temporary
healing coma! Consequently, the Juicer has a 1 -5 % chance of
suffering Narcolepsies (sudden states of unconsciousness) for
no apparent reason every day; this chance is reduced to 1 %
during combat or strenuous activity. Roll at the beginning of
each day: 0 1 -05% means the Juicer will suffer an attack of
Narcolepsy during the day; roll 4D6 to get the time (military
time; i.e. 400 to 2400 hours, or 4:00 a.m. to 1 2:00 a.m.) of
day when the Juicer will, for no apparent reason, collapse into
a coma. This period of unconsciousness will last 2D4 min
utes. A sudden impact (being struck or attacked) has a 50%
chance of snapping the character out of this state.
61-70 % : HSS Syndrome:
Roll on the HSS table.
76-85 % : Metabolic-Induced Voracity:
See the MIV entry be
low.
86-90 % : Psychosis:
Roll on the Random Insanity Table.
91-97 % : Roll on the Last Call Effects Table.
The Last Cal1
Effects will affect the Juicer from the beginning of his new
life, causing many people to think he or she is nearing death!
98-00 % : Near-lethal backlash!
The victim rejects the poorly
administered drugs. The bio-comp needs to be removed, and
the patient suffers the effects of undergoing Detox! All physi
cal attributes are reduced to 8+ 1 D4 (or the original attribute
-2, whichever is lower), and the victim is permanently weak
ened. The Juicer procedure can be attempted a second time,
but also reduce the chances of success by an additional - 1 0% !
13
Dangers and Side Effects
Even during their first 1 -3 years of life, Juicers are not ex
empt from side effects, possible malfunctions in their bio-comps,
and other dangers. Power always has a price, and the more pow
erful the Juicer is, the steeper - and more lethal - that price
becomes. A significant percentage of Juicers are never able to
lead a normal life, even by the standards of what is normal on
Rifts Earth.
Among the most common side effects of the Juicer conver
sion are the following:
Hyper-Strength Syndrome (HSS)
This condition is common among Juicers with a P.S. of 30 or
higher, or any Juicer variant with supernatural P.S. HSS suffer
ers are not always able to control their strength, and often end up
breaking things and hurting people without meaning to. The con
dition comes about when the Juicer' s nervous system does not
develop wel1 enough to cope with the increased strength of his
body. Symptoms include clumsiness when handling fragile ob
jects, sudden bouts of trembling, muscle spasms, and jerky, un
coordinated movement. About 27% of all super-strong Juicers
are afflicted with this syndrome, but among Titan Juicers (see
the
Juicer Variant Section),
the chance is even greater: studies
show a 40% chance of being afflicted with HSS.
During character creation, the Game Master or the player
may rol1 (at the G.M . ' s discretion) to determine if a super-strong
Juicer (P.S . 30+, or any level of supernatural P.S.) suffers from
HSS . A roll of 0 1 -27% (or 0 1 -40% for Titan Juicers) means the
character is afflicted with that syndrome. In that case, roll on the
following table.
HSS Symptoms Table:
01-20 % Tremor/Spasms:
The character is afflicted by occa
sional muscle spasms. His muscles start trembling uncon
trollably, causing the character to drop objects, knock things
down, etc. The spasms are not overwhelming or paralyzing.
Furthermore, adrenaline seems to keep them under control, so
the spasms do not affect the Juicer' s combat performance
whatsoever; they tend to
during quiet moments. Every
day, there is a 5% chance that the Juicer will suffer the
spasms at some point. To determine the time of the spasm,
roll 4D6; a 4 is 4:00 a.m. and a 24 is 2400 military time
( 1 2:00 a.m.); however, if the character is in combat or physi
cally active, the adrenal surge produced by the bio-comp sup
presses any spasms. The episodes last I D4 melee rounds,
during which the Juicer is at -20% to any skill roll and will
accidentally inflict I D6 S.D.C. damage to any thing or person
in his grasp (drop, crush, bump, knock over, etc.).
21-40 % Severe Tremor/Spasms:
As above, but the muscle
spasms are more frequent and may happen any time, even in
combat! Every day, there is a 1 5 % chance the character will
be afflicted by one or more spasms; roll four times a day (as
many as four attacks each day)! To determine the time of
each spasm, rol1 4D6; a 4 is 4:00 a.m. and a 24 is 2400 mili
tary time ( 1 2:00 a.m.). Each episode lasts 2D4 melee rounds
(30 seconds to 2 minutes). The effects are as above, except
that if the Juicer is in combat, he is at -4 on al1 combat actions
during the episode, and -30% on al1 skills.
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