Rifts Conversion Book 2: Pantheons of the Megaverse

by C.J. Carella and Kevin Siembieda

Book Overview

You may think you know all about Zeus, Odin, and Gilgamesh and the other gods of myth and legend, but you'd be wrong! Mythological gods done Rifts style! Dimension spanning beings of inhuman nature... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0916211681
• ISBN13: 9780916211684
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Palladium Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.3" x 0.5" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Superior Gaming Supplement

I don't even use the Rifts system, but this book is a phenomenal supplement and well worth the purchase. It's chock full of information on the Norse, Greek, Aztec, Babylonian/Sumerian, Hindu, and other pantheons. (In the case of the Hindu entries, the authors take particular pains to note that the information presented is for gaming purposes only and is not meant to slight any of the real world faithful.) East Asian and African pantheons are notably absent, however.Numerous gods and goddesses of varying levels of power are presented for each pantheon, complete with tons of statistics, motivations, goals, allies, items, and personality quirks. For most pantheons, the deities are divided into the good guys and the bad guys (the latter usually being war, pestilence, or death gods). In terms of the Rifts setting, a lot of these so-called human gods turn out to be vampire lords, alien intelligences, quasi-Lovecraftian horrors, extra-stellar beings, or cosmic manifestations. There's also background on the intentions of each pantheon, their relations with each other and the major powers of the Rifts universe, their attitude towards the embattled humans of Rifts Earth, and their geographic spheres of influence.Also, several pantheons have one, or in some cases, two sets of imposters that are imitating them. (Not all of the "true" pantheons are fully active on Rifts Earth at this time, so in their absence, some opportunists are filling the void.) The fake gods are just as interesting as the true ones, being comprised of mutants, refugees from superhero worlds on alternate planes, alien warriors, amoral sorcerors, and amnesiac beings of unknown origin. Some of these imposters are acting for the cause of good, others are running gigantic scams.This guide is extremely well written, edited very skillfully and tightly, and is packed with professional illustrations. It's definitely one of the best RPG supplements to hit the market in years. Certainly, it would make a great gift for that gamer friend of yours. Give it a try!

An excellent book

This book is quite useful as far as these sorts of things go. I agree that gods shouldn't often appear in RPG games and directly take hands in affairs. However I also think that without using religion of some sort there basically is no game. No society on earth was godless, and neither should a good RPG be.

Gods With Guns... need I say more?

This is one of the best books I have seen for Rifts.If anyone remembers Dungeons and Dragons' out-of-print Deities and Demigods, this book is a lot like it, save that the gods in the Rifts setting have access to modern (that is, in 20th century terms, futuristic) weapons, as well as their own powerful, magical weapons.The illustrations are, in keeping with the other palladium books, breathtaking.I won't go so far as to say it is a MUST have for the Rifts player, but, damn it all, it's a great read!

A lesson in mythology

This book not only gave me cool gods and their servants and godlings and demigods etc, it also got me interested in mythology. It has obscure Babylonian and Persian myths right down to the ever-popular Greek/Roman ones. Truly a great buy, though it wouldn't help cram for a big test.