Sometime in Earth's future, after an age of peace and technological advancement, global war plunged the world into fire and madness.

Billions of people died, sending immeasurable amounts of psychic energy into the world's mystic ley lines - lines of invisible supernatural energy that crisscross the planet. The ley lines flared to life with unstoppable waves of energy creating storms, earthquakes, and dimensional anomalies. Where two ley lines crossed, the very fabric of space and time were torn asunder creating dimensional Rifts to other worlds. All manner of creatures and magic spilled forth from the Rifts onto the dying Earth, inadvertently transforming it into an alien landscape!

It is approximately 300 years later (nobody knows for sure). Human beings are emerging out of a dark age to reclaim the planet. A strange and alien Earth inhabited by unimaginable, and sometimes terrible, creatures.

Thus, the Earth has become a place of contradiction and infinite possibilities. Alien and supernatural beings trod the planet. Ancient gods, creatures of legend, vampires, faeries, dragons and alien monstrosities co-exist with human cyborgs, androids, giant robots, high-tech mercenaries and dimensional raiders. Creatures of legend, demons, and faeries use technology to bolster their already formidable powers, while humans augment themselves with implants, bionics, power armour, chemicals, magic and alien technologies.

Beyond Rifts Earth is the entire Megaverse® — infinite worlds accessible through the dimensional Rifts!

Rifts® is a multi-genre role-playing game that captures the elements of magic and the supernatural along with science fiction and high technology. It spans countless dimensions making anything and everything possible. Players are limited only by their imaginations!

Rifts® is a complete, role-playing game that can stand alone or be combined with characters and elements from the entire Palladium Megaverse®. Players can easily bring in characters from Heroes Unlimited™, Robotech®, Nightbane™, RECON®, Mystic China, The Palladium Fantasy RPG, or any of Palladium's RPGs.

Highlights Include:

Nearly 30 unique Occupational and Racial Character Classes including Cyber-Knights, Borgs, Glitter Boys, Psi-Stalkers, Dog Pack (mutant humanoid dogs), Juicers, Crazies, Techno-Wizards, Line Walkers, and many others.

Supernatural creatures. Some, like the dragon, are actually player characters, other are horrifying menaces from the Rifts.

Bionics and cybernetics, offer a vast range of mechanical augmentation.

Psionics include the Burster and Mind Melter O.C.C.s, plus new psionic abilities.

Magic! In addition to the more traditional wizard types, we introduce Techno-Wizardry, the true synthesis of magic and technology with some fabulous results, as well as the Ley Line Walkers and Shifters.

Super-technology with Mega-Damage™ body armour, energy weapons, rail guns, power armour, and human augmentation.

The Coalition States. Humankind's salvation or its own demonic nightmare?

From the Palladium website, which can be found at www.palladiumbooks.com