Author: Kevin Siembieda
Release Date: April 2002
GENERAL
As the copious number of books produced by Palladium Books for Rifts continues around the turn of the Millennium, there was some online chatter as to what the official canon timeline would be for other regions of Rifts Earth. How did the NGR war turn out while the CS was grinding away in Tolkeen? Was there any major geo-political shift in South America? Africa? Australia? Asia? Up until now, Game Masters were largely left to their own devices to figure this out. That wasn’t good enough for many, ergo we get the official Palladium Books baselining of events and themes impacting the globe that brings them all up to around 109 P.A.
TOLKEEN 109 P.A.
The crux of the plot line movement in Rifts has been centered around the Siege on Tolkeen. The war is over, the CS the victor. The remains of the once-great magical kingdom sets the scene for ruin and constant conflict as the CS looks to solidify control, and opportunists seek to plunder what’s left or fight for some sort of payback. The streets of Tolkeen are the scenes for any number of adventures and conflict, but also opportunity if you are looking for it; supporting the CS security campaign, Tolkeen freedom fighters, escorting refugees through the warzone, Black Market smugglers, Larsen’s Brigade, or the Second Juicer Uprising.
THE WORLD OF RIFTS – 109 P.A.
North America
Canada. On overview of the wilderness communities, living conditions and expectations.
Lazlo. The Techno-Wizardry capital of North America in a post Campaign of Unity and Tolkeen War dynamic. Not much new and largely a lame duck entry to the continental players.
Free Quebec. Now a fully recognized independent state, Free Quebec faces increasing troubles to its eastern, southern and northern borders, and still has the “pesky” community of Lazlo to deal with; but they don't seem to be up to too much....
Xiticix Hivelands. The Hive Networks are at war with the Psi-Stalker clans. Where's Ellen Ripley when you need her?
Calgary Monster Kingdom. Now benefitting in the fallout of the Tolkeen Wars, Calgary is now a haven of monstrous and demonic that have gained a foothold.
The East. The refuge of the Shemarrian after their Declaration of Sovereignty and secretly “controlled” by ARCHIE-03.
Dinosaur Swamps. Still a wilderness infested by any manner of dinosaurs or other monsters rifted into the region so you can play out your Jurrasic Park fantasy adventure; don’t forget the bug-eating plants aren’t choosy enough to not also eat humans. Often the site of Atlantis slave raids.
The Federation of Magic. Initially reveling in the problems besetting Tolkeen, the various city-states of the Federation have galvanized into a more cohesive entity with the influx of refugees and stories of CS atrocities. There remains a significant discrepancy in how each views the recent events.
Lazlo Refugees. Now being protected by the Cyber-Knights, they are being taken in by whomever will take them; of note the Lyn-Srial have welcomed them.
Manistique Imperium. Northern Gun has largely burgeoned under the arms deal with the Coalition States and mercenaries purchasing their wares.
Psyscape. Revealing its existence to the world, they remain hidden.
Coalition States. Now undisputed powerhouse of North America, it covers their position against a myriad of other nation states and powerful alien forces (e.g. Atlantis). It gives a bit of an overview for each remaining Coalition State.
Mexico. The Vampire Kingdoms have sat quietly in the shadows of the turmoil further north. We get a précis on the various kingdoms and what each is looking to accomplish; you know, aside from growing like a blood-sucking, festering weed.
South America. Much like North America, we get a series of truncated updates for the various city-states and influential groups through the continent. I did find the parallel of New Peru and Free Quebec, both fighting to be absorbed by larger local powerhouses, all the while leveraging Glitter Boys to do so.
Atlantis. Lord Splynncryth remains the many-tentacled puppeteer across Rifts Earth. He’s been sending forces deep into North America to salvage artefacts and magical components, or just slave stock to sell. He cares so little for the CS that he sent troops over to the ruins of Tolkeen to rummage through the remains! Otherwise, a summary of the regions of the Atlantean continent.
Africa. Interesting hints of a World Book: Africa 2, things are pretty much where we left off after World Book 4. Not much to see here, which was a problem with World Book 4: Africa, and remains so in this update.
Europe
England. There’s not much here in terms of updates, really. Mrrlyn and New Camelot are still a thing, as is the Splugorth colony at London.
France. Once again France is the target of acquisition from the forces of England, Germany, and the Maghreb (Northern Africa). Insert some more vague references to the Blood Druids and barbarian hordes.
The NGR. Still fighting the fight with the Gargoyle Empire and the shadow support of Atlantis and the Phoenix Empire (Africa). With added support from the CS, things are swinging the way of humans more and more.
Poland (Kingdom of Tarnow). Remains much the same.
Poznan Collective. The rough ‘burg among the jewels of NGR and Tarnow cities. Still constantly under siege from possible invasion and overrun.
Mindwerks. Still crazy cyborg doctors doing crazy cyborg doctor things to their Brodkil underlings. Oh, and using thousands of minions to kill thousands of Gargoyles if they mess with her ego. It’s a thing.
Brodkil Empire. Best estimates for the number of Brodkil is only half the reality. Of the 8 million Brodkil, half are willing to follow the Angels of Death from Mindwerks and take on the Gargoyle Empire, the other half not. I sense a fight, just saying.
Gargoyle Empire. Relatively new concept of organizing into more formal military units paid off for a while. Things are not so great at the moment though.
Russian Frontier. Serious augmentation and bionic conversions make for a pretty grumpy bunch of winter soldiers, most of which have a problem with anything not human; and also the humans of rival warlords. Quick, someone pass another bottle of vodka.
Asia/Australia. Given that both the China and Australia World Books had only recently come out, there is very little to update.
High Seas/Outer Space. Underseas isn’t too far removed from initial publication, and given the likely gaming group participation in this adventuring milieu, I'm not terribly surprised there was little to no update. At this point the World Book: Lemuria is a ways away but in planning stages and does a much greater job moving the yard sticks. Likewise, the Outer Space setting plays such a minor role that it almost begs the question: Why bother to include it? I always found this to be a missed opportunity, but I can see why reintroducing satellite communications and intelligence would make things a little hard to manage.
CONCLUSION
Initial Assessment (6/10). I recall getting this book long before I had refreshed my Rifts library. I wanted a better understanding of the Rifts World and this book came advertised to give me just that. What I recall was my immediate fascination with the North American portions, and suddenly realizing how little of the books was left to read. As I’ve rarely ever bothered to have my adventures leave North America, this never affected me. There was a generic precis for the majority of the major conflict zones, some with more detail, others much less. But at the time, I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and my perspective was limited to my personal gaming group. So no real skin of my teeth that it played a much greater role on my shelf then envisioned.
Current Assessment (4/10). This book is a bit of a mixed bag. Whereas is looks to compile the geopolitical and conflict narratives into a baseline set at 109 P.A., it is very heavily favoured to the North American continent. Sure, it mentions the others, but largely provides lip service. As much as I want to like this book, I found many of the entries more like very short summaries of the World Books rather than giving anything substantive. One must also look at the World Book publication dates in context to get an idea of Aftermath's relevance. Now, I never judge a book by the cover, and there is some great stuff to be found in here – but boy-oh-boy, that sweet Dave Dorman cover! The remainder of interior art and maps are reprints of thematic images, all of it top notch. Is it necessary for a GM (new, returning, or experienced)? After my most recent read through and thinking about whether I would recommend this to new Rifts GMs, I would suggest this book could be overlooked, particularly if you are not too attached to maintaining the canon timeline and events. For any GM running a North American campaign, there are some great plot hooks and adventure ideas to be had; outside North America, much less so. It was an interesting read, and I’m sure I’ll be pulling it off the shelf again soon. It just won’t necessarily be the first one I reach for.
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