Human Special Forces build step by step.

first and for most basic stats. (for roll20 i always use a macro: &{template:default} {{name=Stat Roller 3d6r1}} {{1=[[3d6r1]]}} {{2=[[3d6r1]]}} {{3=[[3d6r1]]}} {{4=[[3d6r1]]}} {{5=[[3d6r1]]}} {{6=[[3d6r1]]}} {{7=[[3d6r1]]}} {{8=[[3d6r1]]}} {{All 2's and 3's Set 1=[[3d6r1]]}} {{Bonus Die Set 1=[[1d6]] [[1d6]]}} {{Bonus Die Set 2=[[1d6]] [[1d6]]}} {{Psionics?=[[d100]]}} {{Major=[[0]]-[[9]]}} {{Minor=[[11]]-[[25]]}} {{None=[[26]]-[[100]]}}. I generally have the player roll it twice and i roll it once for good measure.) the macro (for whatever the character build is placed in the Attributes and Abilities section

Like So.

 Then next thing is to do roll it  twice by the player once by the g.m. (keep in mind this is only for a official capacity continued  and G.M. approved, It has only basic to do with a test character you want to try out, maybe with the help of another arena member, You dont need me present to do stuff like this in fact i encourage you all to try out all kinds of things and use roll20 as the impartial/random generator for such tests, fights and fun.)

This is what the macro rolled would look like. I'll explain each part in some sense. 1. I use the r1= reroll 1's 2. the next is the all 2's and 3's (an extra bonus i generally give to humans and such. as player characters that is.) it would replace the lowest stat. the lot. 3. the stat set is what you pick not the best of each . so you would pick either. the: 11, 10, 14, 10, 13, 14, 11, 15, (the 9 is replaced with the 15.). the psionics? (66) is reference to the table on page 12 of the main rifts book. (we're assuming this build is based on the main rifts books and the mercenaries book.page 26-27.).  Or the 9, 12, 10, 17, 15, 13, 9, 10, (the bonus die sets are for the  if you have a 16 or better when making human's that is. There are other races that get similar bonus's its a case to case basis.). thus the 17 becomes a 21

This is cool.  sorry I haven't been on. Had some drama going on. Should be coming back around soon though.  Thanks for your what you did here , this is very nice.

Yeah i dig , no problem.  Continuing on Now that we have the have base stats we would decide where we want them on the build sheet first of-coarse as we will go skill pick by skill bonus. Etc.  Since we're building a mech pilot obviously the one bonus stat is going to p.p. maybe we can improve apon some of the other stats. (it should be noted that though for my regular games i disregard R.U.E., and a most rifters  (the exception, and only rifter 19's mental skills and a number of the physical skills in it ((though none of the running sub skills.)) (i do how ever make ballet a appropriately expensive/exclusive skill (as it should be its a very career style skill. I tend to be flexible but i wont let someone run off on something that the other players ((or opponents)) doesn't have as a option.) and P.U. 2. (the abbreviations and answers about/why would/will be explained in another forum post.). But Basically we wont be cracking those books at all.    

Stats are placed so now lets look at base S.D.C. (humans are sdc guys so they fall under the basic guidelines on page 9 of the main rifts book. As men of arms in this case.)

We'll go along with each thing as this will be a comprehensive guide. If you already know this stuff well its just a refresher but if your new well hopefully this will take up the pain lol. Honestly its not as hard as some people might think. But it can be daunting if your not used to it. There will be more builds done with some notes and help. if you have questions dont be afraid to ask either on here or discord (the link is on a note card in the game room btw.).  There's a great quote (that i'm often mis quoting or representing/crediting lol.) "The  only dumb question is the one not asked." I feel the same, I'm a laid back guy thats why the arena and this guide are here for people to have fun and try stuff out. At present there's 130'ish people in the arena i hope you all try stuff out chat and have fun that's my primary purpose with this. If you want to have it as a serious weekly thing let me know and we'll all try to make it happen. Friday would be a great day for it.

Now then we have the base stuff figured now we go to class stuff and go from there. in the folder i'm using for this guy you'll see that ive copy and pasted the o.c.c. into it. (Occupational Character Class btw.'s) so that its a good quick reference tool. I will try to make sure theres screen captures all along the way to help you all (refresh etc.). I as a g.m. prefer everyone to have thier class/s in there character folder it speeds things up considerably when i'm double checking stuff.(It's not a matter of trust or anything , i'm just very good at skimming through and noticing if there's a missed something/ or mistake or misinterpretation.

Class Bonus's in place. it gives you a good idea n how things are going/where. O . C . C . Bonus: + 2 o n initiative, + 2 t o roll with impact or fall , and + 2 to pull punch.

Now we go onto basic skills and such. Some people  knock on Palladiums skill list/ system from a gamer stand point i like the gritty-ness of a diverse skill set. It really (for me) reflects how people end up with a hugely diverse skill set. Take myself for example i'm a ex-military person who's trained in kungfu for a number of years. I'm also a Chef of 25 years. (i'm 47 btw.) In gaming terms i would have what the heroes unlimited book would term as having the basc military skill package as well as a domestic program (to in this case getting cooking as Pro quality skill (Pro skills is something we'll get into later) and i have book equivalent of hand to hand martial arts (which is what we're planning on upgrading this guy to btw.).  If you look at just my personal skill set its pretty diverse and unique to me. Then again i also have the rpg/strategy games skill which is on display here lol.   The basics of how skills work is that on a scale of 1% to 100% how proficient are you in something. Palladium always leaves in a 2% chance for error meaning that unless you have some other factors most skills top out at 98%. There are other factors that can make it harder to perform stuff like dodging for  your life as a railgun (the modern machine gun of choice, firing bursts of 10's-100's of shards of electromagnetically propelled metal at you. Fun!). that can make it much harder to pick that lock, just saying!   This particular sheet uses elective in reference to the palladium fantasy setting  but its the same as o.c.c. related which we're using here. (the sheet works well enough so its what i use.). This class is one of those that assumes you speak your native language at 98%. (it was one of those funny misprints that made it out there lol).   Now to add a skill as appropriate and you should have something like this.

 Now I'm first going to do this as a level 1 character. then level him up after. You'll see how a lot of things work as we make John here a formidable guy! (I could have made a female character but it's kinda pedantic to worry about that in a how to.).  Now since we're making a proper arena style fighter i'll specifically go with a skill set that will work for that.  this is the ideal way to do you basic set up for the related and secondary skills. Related (O./R./P.C.C.skills) are skills that directly relate to your profession (special forces in this case.). Secondary skills. These are skills you learn along the way an example is the fact that as a chef i've learned both accounting skills and a fair amount electronics, plumbing and mechanical repair skills.   

 The reason I added the robot combat basic skill is that its a requirement for the elite. If you a o.c.c. skill you automatically have the requirement skills for it the promptly go in your related. Now keep in mind a g.m. is/should be well with in thier rights to say hey this power aurmor isnt made by humans nor made for humans you might need to train in it for a while before you can even use it at a basic level.

It's a little meta the skills i'll be picking i will be built from planning and experience. For example making sure to pick Acrobatics, Boxing and Gymnastics. All which will help our fighter in his power aurmor strut his stuff in the arena. Yes I know i'm using some stuff from the g.m.'s  guide that's merely a convenience thing the same bonus's are in the heroes second addition. Which we will be using to make Jane Doe the Mutant Arena fighter later. The basics are all characters (unless they have a ninjas and superspys htoh) start with two base and then at first level get 2 more from thier martial arts training, so 4. Then add 1 from boxing and John has 5 attacks per melee (15 seconds are a melee he'll get a couple more when he's in aurmor so we'll see a competitive guy for a normal human in a power aurmor.)

 I will be getting some mental skills and such to try to give the maximum potential out of our fighter. (as i mentioned to a limited degree i allow some specific stuff from other books in this case rifter 19. If i make to many exception's it can be a whole ball of problems.

At this point your wondering (possibly) why arent all the sub skills from gymnastics and such here? Really its the at this point you would use the higher of the to to start. And aside from possible bonus's from I.Q. Joe has the from the sub-skills from gymnastics a base prowl percentage of 30% and for climbing a 40%. This was intentional as i am just building John to show you a lot of ways to make a character. Depending on the character build i'd likely make sure to have prowl and climbing (and possibly e.v.a.). or other skills like w.p. sword and such so if joe goes melee he'll have better chance, its the same response this is a basic set up we could push the envelope but for now aside from the rolling system i used (most g.m.'s will have thier game specific stuff. As do I the mechanics sheet illustrates that.) If you showed John to most g.m's you'd likely get a pass. 

Ok here's the next stage. Applying the skills and what bonus's they give you. Even if your planning on a mutant or such. We would still have to do this.(and its better to make the basic person up first anyways.).    Now the Basics of why the hit-points is set up as it is . Is that I always allow hitpoints rolls to re-roll 1's it is your vital points whether S./M.D.C.. hit points are always as your per level (in this case as a human is 1d6 per level, it's one of the few times that does the die roll at first level.). 

The next now that we have the attributes and bonus's set out we just need to figure out the bonus's and combat stuff from his skill altered stats.  I will of course have the combat set out for this pilot outside of aurmor included then i' have the in mech bonus.stuff sorted out after. 

 Now we move onto making the character sheet up some we'll plan it out as a normal human outside of his aurmor then go from there.

 There's the basic combat stuff. Not bad as a normal human goes. But really in a M.D.C. world. even with decent aurmor the arena is a tough place.  The main page so far.  Then we move onto that 19 on psionics. So a total 20 I.S.P.

P.P.E. is standard for a human at 3d6. Chi (when applicable) is 17

Since we're looking at a fighter we'll probably want to give him a couple of combat oriented psionics 6th sense is a good one so if he's fighting a stealth fighter. Since it takes out the catching him flat footed surprise! (in gaming terms that means with out your prowess bonus to dodge said attackers first attack.). Then of course the pilot can use all his wondrous sensors to find his invisible opponent. Some may ask why i wouldn't recommend see the invisible. It's simple the sensory suite in a modern mech will do the same. If this were a more adventure based character i might say go for stuff to help him outside of aurmor but at this point we're looking at helping him in the arena. he knows he's going into a fight. At this point i would be torn between two psionics which will help our crazy special forces guy who's going into the arena each have their own potential uses over a variety of fights. Do we go for bonus's and go for the zen state of intuitive combat? Or the Mind block and just make sure he's "protected against further psionic mind f*ckery? in this case we're going pure bonus's and hoping for the best.  Intuitive Combat Range: Self. Duration: Two melee rounds per level of experience. I.S.P.: 10 This is a form of telepathy geared to give the psychic an advantage in melee combat. To put this ability in place, the psychic must concentrate for one melee round (15 seconds), putting himself in a Zen-like state of awareness. For the next two melee rounds, the Intuitive Combat sense makes the character one with his body and weapon, reacting quickly and efficiently with amazing reflex action, balance and grace. Note: The psychic is unable to use any other psionic power, including Mind Block, while this power is in use. He can cancel it with a thought. Bonuses: +3 on initiative, +1 to strike, +1 to parry, +4 dodge, +4 to pull punch, +2 to roll with punch, fall or impact, and +2 to disarm. • Cannot be caught by surprise, even by attacks from behind or from long-range, which means he can try to parry or dodge all attacks leveled at him. • +10% to abilities (balance, etc.) provided by the Acrobatics and/or Gymnastic skills, as well as +10% to Climb and Swim skills. Sixth Sense Range: 90 feet (27.4 m). Duration: Until the danger passes or happens. Bonuses apply only to the first melee round of the attack from the source of the sensed danger. I.S.P.: 2 Saving Throw: None. The Sixth Sense is a power that gives the psychic a precognitive flash of imminent danger to himself or somebody near him (within 90 feet/27.4 m). The character will not know what the danger is or where it will come from, nor who it will be directed at when in a group. All he knows is that something life threatening will happen within the next 60 seconds (4 melees)! The sixth sense is triggered automatically, without the consent of the psychic, whenever his life is in great peril or the life of somebody he greatly cares about (friend, partner, loved one, etc.). The sixth sense is only triggered by an unexpected, life threatening event (a trap or ambush is within 90 feet/27.4 m or a flash flood is rushing his way) which is already set into motion and will happen any second. The power can not be called upon at will to sense for traps or ambush. Instead, it works like an automatic reflex. If the character has used all his I.S.P. the Sixth Sense is temporarily rendered inoperative. Bonuses: The sudden flash of insight provides the following bonuses. All bonuses apply only to the first, initial melee (15 seconds) when the attack/danger occurs. Bonuses are lost in subsequent melee rounds after the danger is revealed. +6 on initiative roll, +2 to parry, +3 to dodge and the character can not be surprised by a sneak attack from behind.

We could go for a lot of things but for now we'll go with the goto psionics. We will stat up his mecha combat sheet and get some basic gear, Cybernetics and then he's pretty much ready to go. Theres stuff like life path that can be done to further round out said character but for now we've basically built said guy.

For Cybernetics we'll goto the Cybernetics source book.  We're making a character based around Piloting his aurmor if that goes down he's likely to surrender pretty quickly as if some one took that down he's likely only wearing a pilot suit, as wearing heavy boy aurmor in a power aurmor or mech is very restricting.and a blast from most mega damage weapons would likely kill him. Now John can see everything his mechsee's and hears. It really brings the whole man and machine bit to life doesn't it. Yay for extra cool factor lol. The only thing missing is something to tie it all together... We truely have made john 1 with his mech now. in it he's faster stronger and has a great deal of capabilities. I'll Illustrate his potential with a second build sheet.

 A few notes from this point on we'll be using the "in mech  John Doe" bit. So he'll have the listed running speed and strength of his power aurmor and he'll have his power aurmor elite combat bonus's as well as the ones from his cybernetics. Psionics are variable so we'll use the combat table and or macro's its not as daunting as it sounds, once you've done it a few times you'll get the hang of it.

Add the cybernetic add ons..+3 init, +10 dodge, +7 disarm, +8 Pull Punch, +16 roll with punch fall impact.  Then we have when the psi's are applicable just a quick add on. So first melee with 6th sense Init +9, +11 to parry, and +13 to dodge. after the first melee Intuitive Combat.: +6 initiative, +7 Strike, +12 Parry, +14 Dodge, +12 Pull Punch, +18 roll with punch fall impact, +9 Disarm and 6th sense and intuitive combat. init: +12, Strike +7 (melee), +12 Parry, +17 Dodge, +12 Pull Punch, +18  roll with punch fall impact, +9 Disarm. Amazingly high combat stat's for a regular human Special Forces.

 Now then Perception there's various guidelines for it across various books (originally came out in recon in the late 80's btw.) But the basics are men of arms characters get a +2 to perception (magic users and psionics usually get a plus 1. Non combat classes usually don't receive a bonus ((but their I.Q. and other possible senses can help you to.)).)  then his plus 1 from I.Q.=+3 to perception  Then when your looking at in mech with sensors you could do a case by basis for sensors but its better to just assume with base "passive" Sensors adding a plus 1 (keep in mind most power aurmor's have motion detectors and the like so its very hard to surprise a active power aurmor. Doubly so when you consider our sixth sense wielding power aurmor piloting guy.). Either way we're looking at a plus4 and plus 5 in most situations.  So there we have it a pretty much ready to go and very capable special forces guy. he's completely legal for any game at this point . Just give him some body aurmor and weapons , roll his credits and hes good for a rifts game.   From this point on we'll look at making him a more to my (from a g.m. standpoint fleshed out character doing some life  path stuff and the like.

Well before I get into the rest of the rounding out details on this i'd like to open this to a Q.and A. forum as there's lots of little things that people might want to know on this build and how we got to a +17 plus a d20 to dodge with a basic human in rifts. I made sure to not pull punches to achieve things and gave this guy a very "master chief" kinda feel.