Quickfind

1. What is Rifts Online: Megaversal Highway
2. What do I need to play?
3. Can I Join?
4. Terms & Conditions

For nearly two years now I have run RIFTS® via Skype Voice Chat and it has bought a lot of fun into the lives of my friends and family. However, as we all know life happens and I have often found my games fall apart when players of characters that were pivotal to the story could not longer attend, or had their available time for gaming dramatically reduced. So what was I to do?

Well, the short answer is I took a break and gave it a lot of thought. A number of games I had run had really stayed with the people and I had gotten a lot of positive feedback. Almost daily I would have at least one or two stories recounted to me about events or characters but I just wasn’t feeling it and I wasn’t sure what to do. Then finally my partner and my best friend gave me a kick in the rear-end and told me to start running games again. I started out with a smaller group but I was instantly enamored with the characters, they were quirky, fun, and it was good having no pressure. However, even with a small group attendance started to suffer. It seemed like every week someone else was missing in a continual rotation so we never had all the players. If it was only one player that would’ve been hard enough but the fact it could’ve been ANY of the team left me scratching my head.

Then it occurred to me… “Why not play off the fact that sometimes people do just VANISH and reappear without explanation?!”

So I put on my thinking cap and drawing on the rich history of characters from previous games, previously established adventures, and back stories dating back to my first Rifts Game I came up with the idea for Rifts®: Megaversal Highway™!

Essentially, the players would play characters from anywhere (even their old characters!) who were being plucked from time and space by Yggdrasil the World Tree and divine forces beyond their ken, then unwittingly pitched in battle against the diabolic forces of a churning sea of alien evil and nefarious cultists! Sometimes someone would be there, other times they would not. The player characters themselves would not know the HOWS or the WHYS of their fate at first. However they would quickly learn that by vanquishing the evil plaguing the land they would be transported back through time and space to their home.

Well, that is the concept in a nutshell. Of course, in my classic fashion I have opted to include a wide and rich tapestry of character-driven story elements, memorable NPCs, fantastic encounters, and plenty of opportunity for adventure!
~Liam Gray, Game Master

Rifts® RPG, Ultimate Edition
Rifts Ultimate Edition is a completely rewritten and updated version of the original game played and enjoyed by an estimated 1.5 million gamers.
Not exactly a Second Edition, because most of the rules remain unchanged, Rifts Ultimate Edition is expanded and improved. There is more world information, tips on how to use the time-line and World Books, rewrites on O.C.C.s, and in some cases, expansions of and more details on O.C.C.s such as the Headhunter, Mercenaries, the Techno-Wizard and Shifter, as well as a few new O.C.C.s. Our goal was to make Rifts more exciting and compelling than ever, while at the same time making the rules better organized, clearer and easier to use. The wonder and infinite possibilities of Rifts all brought to pulse-pounding life like never before. Of course, there are a few fun changes and additions, but nothing so dramatic as to make the 40+ available sourcebooks obsolete.


Skype for Windows desktop
PC running Windows® XP, Vista or 7, both 32- and 64-bit operating systems.
Internet connection – broadband is best (GPRS is not supported for voice calls).
Speakers and microphone – built-in or separate.
For voice calls we recommend a broadband connection with 100 kbps down / 100 kbps up.
For group video calling everyone on the call needs Skype 5.0 for Windows or Mac or higher plus webcams, and at least one person on the call needs to have a Skype Premium subscription. For best quality we recommend you use a high-speed broadband connection of 4Mbps down / 512kbps up and a computer with a Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz processor. As a minimum you’ll need a high-speed broad connection of 512kbps down / 128kbps up and a computer with a 1 GHz processor.

Skype for Mac
1GHz Intel processor.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard and above.
100 MB free disk space.
Either USB or regular headset if your Mac does not have a built-in microphone.
Download drivers if you are using an external webcam.
For voice calls recommend broadband connection with 100 kbps down / 100 kbps up.
For group video calling everyone on the call needs Skype 5.0 for Windows or Mac or higher plus webcams, and at least one person on the call needs to have a Skype Premium subscription. For best quality we recommend you use a high-speed broadband connection of 4Mbps down/512kbps up and a computer with a Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz processor. As a minimum you’ll need a high-speed broad connection of 512kbps down/128kbps up and a computer with a 1 GHz processor.

Imagination
The most important requirement for joining my game is a vibrant imagination and desire to contribute to the world and the game as a whole. I don’t just want enthusiastic players, I want players that aren’t afraid to role-play. Anyone can crunch numbers and munchkin out a combat machine, but it takes something special to put yourself into the shoes of a character. Those are the players I am looking for, the guys and girls who aren’t afraid to do silly voices, laugh, and let their imagination run wild.

Currently my game is full. However, I am not above inviting new players under certain conditions. For example, the female Gamer in our group has expressed a desire for other females to join the group because she feels a little overwhelmed being the only woman in the group sometimes. As such, female players (at least until we fill up) will receive a higher priority over male players. I’m sorry if that seems unfair, but don’t let it deter you. Feel free to become a fan and who knows what will happen.

I’m sorry that I cannot take on everyone, but I have found that more than 10 players makes it difficult to maintain and keep orderly via Skype.

Those who are approved will be expected to follow certain terms and conditions, these are in place for a reason. If you do not think you can adhere to them, please do not apply.

1. Play Nice. Do not plot to murder or betray your team mates (fellow players). There is enough adversity in the big bad Megaverse as is without the group turning on one another in senseless PVP. If you want to kill other players go play a video game.
2. No Sexual Deviancy. This is not to say your characters cannot seduce people or have wild romances, but don’t expect me to play out sex scenes or talk smut to other player characters. It makes everyone uncomfortable.
3. No Drug Use. Although I will tolerate in game drug use and have been known to address substance abuse as a compelling story element in the past, I find actively partaking in such substances during play to be disruptive. Sobriety at the table is a must for participation. This rule is in place for a good reason, respect it or please find another group.

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