Other Combat Options

The Palladium rules system offers a number of other combat

options like Pull Punch, Roll with Impact and Simultaneous At-
tack. They are all discussed in the Rifts® Ultimate Edition. Don’t
worry, even with the simplified rule set presented below, you
should still have fun and get hours of enjoyment.

Combat Recap
So now that the various combat options have been discussed
remember how combat happens.
1. Roll Initiative: Everyone rolls initiative. The only exception
is if it is a surprise attack. The attackers in any successful ambush
or surprise attack always have the initiative.
2. Establish your order of combat based on the initiative rolls:
Everyone gets to use their first action, round robin style, then their
second, and so on, in initiative order, round robin style. Keep in mind
that defenders can parry or dodge regardless of where they are in the
initiative order. If dodging, however, they forfeit their next attack.
3. Combat continues until everyone has used their attacks:
Some characters have more attacks than others. Defenders can still
parry these attacks after they, themselves run out of attacks with-
out sacrificing any actions. However, each dodge uses up an up-
coming attack. Constantly dodging depletes the character’s ability
to strike back, but at least he is alive and moving.
4. Combat ends when the enemy is defeated, surrenders or
has run away.

The Bandits Bandit Corporal, Quick Stats

Here are the Quick Stats for the motley bandits. Quick stats
are stats stripped down to the most basic and important information.
How many bandits: As noted earlier, one bandit per player
character plus the Bandit Corporal, below.
Alignment: All are either Anarchist or Miscreant.
Experience Level: First level. These are all level one bandits and
they are still green as can be. They are cocky and bold because
they have M.D.C. armor and M.D. weapons, and their second
in command has power armor. Each bandit has four attacks per
melee, and is +1 to strike with their laser pistols.
Bonuses: +1 to strike, +3 on an aimed shot, but takes two
melee actions.
Armor: Roll 1D4x10+5 for each Bandit, as their armor is old,
beat-up Huntsman armor. That’s 15 to 45 M.D.C. per bad guy’s
armor. Full M.D.C. is 45, so if they have less M.D.C., this rep-
resents how old or used the armor is. The armor also has some
penalties and is -10% to prowl and other physical skills.
Hit Points: 1D6+10 for each bandit.
S.D.C.: Roll 3D6+6 for each bandit.
Skills of Note: Prowl 25%, W.P. Energy Pistol.
Bandit Equipment: The bandits are each equipped with an NG-
33 Northern Gun Laser Pistol. The gun does 1D6 M.D. per
shot, has a range of 800 feet (244 m) and has a payload of 20
shots before the clip needs to be changed. Each bandit has a
total of two clips, plus each bandit also has a Vibro-Blade that
does 1D6 M.D.C.; this is a large hunting knife used for melee
combat. Other gear is basic stuff like a canteen, backpack, ex-
tra set of clothing and some personal items. They don’t have
more than 6D6x10 credits between them, and that includes the
Corporal.
The Bandit’s apparent leader
(really 2nd in Command)
The Bandit Corporal is a Robot Pilot O.C.C. with the Power
Armor M.O.S. He is equipped with a Flying Titan Power Armor.
As this is a suit of flying power armor, the Bandit Corporal has the
advantage of flight and range which he will use. This can make
him a difficult and dangerous foe to battle.
Corporal Roberts, Bandit Stats:
Alignment: Miscreant (selfish evil).
Armor: The Flying Titan has seen action and taken some damage
in the past. As a result, it has 129 M.D.C. (instead of the usual
180 M.D.C.), the head has 50 M.D.C. (normally 70), and the
wings have 32 M.D.C. each. The powered armor cannot fly if
one of the wings is destroyed. (Reduce the M.D.C. of the wing
to zero, and it is destroyed, but requires a Called Shot to strike.)
The Flying Titan has a small selection of weapons available
to the Bandit Corporal. First, is a pair of Wing Lasers, each
blast does 2D6 M.D. with a range of 4,000 feet (1219 m). The
Titan also has 12 mini-missiles (6 on each wing). The Corpo-
ral uses these sparingly only because they are his last 12 mini-
missiles and they cost big bucks to replace. So while the armor
can fire off 1, 2, 3, or 4 missiles (firing a volley of missiles only
counts as one melee attack) at a time, he usually fires only one
or two at a time to try and conserve ammo.
Hit Points: 20
S.D.C.: 25
Level of Experience: Second level. The Corporal is fairly inex-
perienced. The only reason he is the second in command is be-
cause he brought his own suit of power armor to the bandit