Gallery Updates

Updates Posted by Edward A. May.


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Past Updates

September-December 1999

January-November 2000

December 2000-September 2001

October 2001-January 2003

February 2003-September 2003

October 2003-May 2005

May 2005-December 2005

December 2005 to October 2012

Recent Updates

3:33PM 12/29/05 - After six years of the same ole same ole, we've decided to update SirTenzan's RIFTS Gallery's layout! We hope you enjoy the changes, as they are the most dramatic change of layout since our September of 1999 update. You will also note that the RRVGG page is FAR different from the rest of the pages, and that is entirely because of the colors of the RRVGG. Also an addition is added to the RRVGG page itself, a comprehensive RIFTS World timeline that underscores the significant events in RRVGG gaming history since July of 1993.

9:50PM 12/31/05 - The last update of 2005, included a complete rework of the TW/Magic Items page, including a more comprehensive listing for Rune Armor, and a few examples of Rune Armor that have appeared in our game. There are several TBA place settings, but hopefully I can fill those in, in the coming weeks or even months. Meanwhile, for Wa-Daisho, I worked out the experience points tables for Wa-Daisho specific O.C.C.s, rather than using pre-existing experience points tables as we had in the past. I'll work up experience points tables for the other area specific occupations described here at a later date.

12:36AM 3/13/06 - The first update of 2006 is a small one, unfortunately. I've been really busy so far this year with real life affairs, looking for work, working on several projects for the Rifter, working on the RRVGG newsletters, and also working on and off on Wa-Daisho. Very briefly, I considered actually attempting to have Wa-Daisho published. After careful consideration, however, I have decided against it. While it is true, Wa-Daisho is my BEST setting created yet. It is exciting, action packed, and extremely well detailed. It does NOT have a dire conflict facing it, however, which is necessary for any good setting to fit into the RIFTS genre. I had considered that the Vampire Wars book, the sequel to follow Wa-Daisho: 125PA, would add that conflict to the Republic. However, with Arzno already appearing as a setting with the Vampires as the villain, it would hardly make sense that the distant threat of the Vampires would become that significant of a threat to this island nation, by canon RIFTS material. Thus, Wa-Daisho will remain as a netbook, a favorite private creation of a writer-to-be. Desert Star AND Kyatashiro will appear in book form after Wa-Daisho is completed, just as planned. In my published works, you can expect a lot from me. I have several projects underway for the Rifter. I am planning a series of stories about heroic characters in the RIFTS setting, an article on Energy Weapon Maintenance, and a series of articles on two obscure races in the Three Galaxies that are about to serve as the crucible to a possible intergalactic war. While I have been encouraged to save this project for a canon dimension book by fellow freelancers, at this point I am still planning to write them as Rifter submissions. Perhaps, like those who came before me with the Arzno project, I will be asked to put this into book form after the fact. We'll see. Meanwhile, for the web site, I have put up two all new creations in the House Rules section! The first is a new way to advance characters skills. It is similar to the old system, but with an added twist; skills can now atrophy to near uselessness. I have also added by-level advancements for physical skills as well, making those old goldies a whole lot more interesting than they were before. Take a look and see. Beware the power creep, however. These skills could potentially make characters significant power-houses! I have also added a new combat system that the RRVGG is experimenting with, that entirely does away with mega-damage! It's a beauty that makes S.D.C. weapons actually semi-viable in a setting dominated by energy weapons. In some ways it makes more sense than the current RIFTS system, but it really does change the flavour of things, perhaps too much. We'll see once the play-testing gets further along. Back to the Wa-Daisho project though, I have created some new weapons for the Republic's armed forces, the Red Devils. These weapons will be appearing in the Wa-Daisho: 125PA book. Since our characters are currently operating in the January 121PA timeline, however, some of this material is pertinent to our current game, which is why I went into the effort to create them. The first one I created is the Type 7/20 'Scout' Variable Spectrum Pulse Laser Rifle. Essentially it is the old Type 7 VSPLR, but with an added feature in the form of a pump action charger, similar in design to the plunger on the NA-LB1 Laser Bow. It's a really neat looking weapon that gives the old beast a tech-evil look, from all the cuts they made in weight, to counter the weight of the pump action generator. Unlike the Laser Bow this weapon has the disadvantage of not being able to use an energy clip, so once the internal stores are drained, you have to manually recharge it. After completing that I went back and looked over the old Type 22 Blue-Green Spectrum Pulse Laser Rifle I sketched out late the year before last. It looked like crap, so I went on ahead and remade it, and I've got to say - it looks wicked! This is set to be a new classic, because of all it's optional attachments. The next additions I plan to make here is to HTMLize some of the monsters and animals I have created for the Wa-Daisho setting. Beyond that I hope to add far more of the book to various parts of that section of this site, before actually putting the finished pdf file up for download. I am aiming for an early summer release, but don't quote me on that. I said the same thing last year, and I've still got quite a ways to go on it. Silverstone is only partially described, and I still have to cover Taylorville yet, plus I have to complete the city maps, do the section on Midnight Blue, touch up the civilian equipment section, and include the encounter/adventuring tables. I figure this will encompass at the very least 50-100 more pages. If I buckle down though, I can have that done within two months.

1:08PM 4/26/06 - I have made two updates within the past week, the first of which did not receive mention here due to time restraints, and the second just now occurred. The first update was in regards to the "Save Palladium Books" drive launched on April 18th. I included a Wayne Breaux Jr. black and white art, with the logo on it, with notes on just how we gamers can help Palladium Books. See the main page for details. Today, it was announced on the Palladium Books Forum just who the scumbag was who did this - Steven Sheiring. Steve is a pig faced fellow who has long been behind the scenes at Palladium. On SirTenzan's RIFTS Gallery, our errata section has carried answers from employees of Palladium Books to various questions for some time. Among those were four produced by Steven Sheiring. I decided that since this fellow had no love for the game/company, at least so little as to go about stealing these items and cash, how much could he seriously know about the system? As such I have removed these four answers from SirTenzan's RIFTS Gallery's Errata section. May the Gods speed you in your' struggle for survival Palladium, and carry you forward for all that you have done for us in the past.

7:45PM 5/6/06 - The first update of May! Today two new R.C.C.s were added for the Phase World setting. These two races were originally created by RRVGG newcomer, Chris Muhm, for the D20 Star Wars system. These races were then adapted by Edward A. May using the rules for creating alien races, with a couple of tweeks here and there to fit the bill. Also added was a brief snippet on the main RIFTS Gallery page telling about the arrival of our two newest members. A HUGE update for the RRVGG website is planned, but we are still waiting on a couple of introductory profile submissions, namely from Anthony, Dennis, Sue, and Levi. As soon as those are submitted - the update will be placed.

5:23AM 5/8/06 - A BIG update for SirTenzan's RIFTS Gallery. After adding the two races a couple of days ago, I decided to also add the monsters created for RIFTS World Book A: The Republic of Wa-Daisho. Consider this a sneak peak towards the book! (Look to the Monsters tab on the left hand side of the page.) While I was at it, I also added a brief description to each creature, so that people wouldn't just be looking at weird names of things and wondering which creature might fit their adventures.

2:10AM 7/12/06 - It has been more than two months since the site has received any special attention. I have been swamped with my work search, spending time updating my main web site, and spending time with my family. In addition to this I have been working on a number of projects for publication. I should mention here that there is a distinct possibility that much of this site over the coming years will be torn down. The reasons for this are simple; it is a gallery of works that I personally have written. With this work already complete, I may wish to submit some of this work to Palladium either for publication in the Rifter or in one or more complete books. With this having been said, I have presented the concepts and notions of Wa-Daisho and Desert Star to Mr. Siembieda, president of Palladium Books, which themselves compose a vast amount of the information presented on this gallery. If they are accepted for further development the material displayed here on the topic will be torn down - and you will have to purchase the books themselves to find the information anew. I know, I know, I can already hear it; "But you said that you wouldn't submit these?!" <.<; Yes, I did, didn't I? I'm sorry if this causes any mixed feelings. While yes, I did say that, I didn't ever really consider them to be publishable materials to begin with, since we had so many timeline differences. In recent months I have thought the topic over, long and hard, and I have been considering reworking much of my material to fit the canon RIFTS setting rather than our own lengthy timeline. It will be a LOT of work, but work that I am willing to attend to. I love these places as though they were my home towns. Wa-Daisho, I can close my eyes, and see every landmark as clearly in my mind as I can see the houses and streets of this town I now live in. Desert Star is much the same in my eyes. They are labours of love - and I would truly love to see these works become canon material that would allow countless others to enjoy playing in these settings. Meanwhile, there is the distinct possibility that Wa-Daisho and Desert Star will NOT be accepted for publication. They do not fit into the canon timeline, their locations contradict what has been previously stated to exist in those places, and they do not fit their immediate settings. If they are accepted at all - you will be the first to know. If they are not, well, then you will still be able to observe them here at the very least. Either way Wa-Daisho & Desert Star will survive. Meanwhile I still have not submitted my ultra modern weapons maintenance and modifications article, but I have touched on it a few times, and I have also been working on a couple of other articles in the meantime. One is a currency article and the other I'd rather not talk about just yet. ;-) Suffice it to say, you will see a lot more published by me in the coming months - if all goes according to plan, that is.

11:12AM 9/25/06 - Many changes have been made to the site overall. The RRVGG site has FINALLY been updated as I have finally decided against waiting for photos of all of the RRVGG members to proceed with its display. This includes an updated campaign list, our newest issues of the newsletter, and an update to our campaign badges throughout. As for the main site itself there are a few changes. Aside from a few minor updates throughout, the most regretful change is the availability of Wa-Daisho. Though you see the Wa-Daisho page still listed it has been password protected, plus the monsters and O.C.C.s from this region have been moved to a secure site exclusively available to members of the RRVGG. They will remain there pending the decision on whether it is accepted for publication. Along with this major change - as mentioned on the main page - the plans for the RRVGG Netbooks have been cancelled until after a decision is made on whether or not Wa-Daisho and it's sequel titles are accepted for canon publication. While it is planned to also submit Desert Star this is at least a year to two years away and as such they will remain on the site in their present form. Even still, Wa-Daisho is a long way from publication. I have to change a great deal of it to fit canon timelines from its founder, to when it was founded, to some of the setting details. Meanwhile I have to do a good bit of research on the Haida so I can write up a more comprehensive understanding for their culture and practices so that Palladium knows more about the arch-villains in this setting. As I stated on the main Gallery, I hope you all support me in this matter and understand my desire to see Wa-Daisho become a canon setting. While my first truly detailed setting - it remains one of the best and unique settings I have yet devised.

6:45AM 12/1/06 - A 'small' development in S-Mart's Aircraft section was added over the past week. Included are the long awaited Whirlwind, Hermes, and Skytruck. The Skytruck was the most in-depth of the three I developed, including profile views of each variant produced, plus a ventral, dorsal, and head-on view of the Skytruck-A. Take a look - I had lots of fun writing this one! While all three types added are non-combat types, frankly, I think aerial transportation is one of those areas oft neglected by folks who create RIFTS vehicles. Simply put, it's the safest, fastest, and most reliable way to travel on RIFTS Earth. VERY few monsters can fly at speeds even approaching the slowest transport plane out there, and comparatively few can teleport their way into the flight path either. Plus most monsters, brigands, and the like aren't just lugging around medium ranged missiles that can really reach out and snag an overflying aircraft. Anyway, I hope adding these creations will enrich your' gaming experience.

12:16AM 12/23/06 - After a week's worth of work, a 'small' update has been made to the RRVGG exclusive portion of SirTenzan's RIFTS Gallery. RRVGG club members, ignore the dates you see on the new section, as these are updated according to the canon-hopeful version of Wa-Daisho. Aside from the dates, however, this new material will serve as an excellent visual for our Mighty Typhoon campaign!

3:48AM 1/31/07 - While there is no new material to present to the regular viewers of SirTenzan's RIFTS Gallery, there is considerable work in motion on the RRVGG Exclusive Wa-Daisho material! Our ye olde tyme viewers will remember Wa-Daisho as a new nation trying to survive amidst the turbulence of the sea in the Pacific North West. This time around, Wa-Daisho is like Shakespear with a strap-on, with more story twists, more background, more adventure, and a far more dramatic setting! This is a ready built setting to launch a series of desperate sea based campaigns from, that will absolutely blow your' players minds away. You want to join American setting groups with those in Tritonia/Japan/China/Australia/Russia/South America? Wa-Daisho is the setting from which all of that can take off! At this time the RRVGG is hard at work play testing these materials in our Mighty Typhoon campaign. With the repeated requests to continue with the campaign, I can only guess that this means I'm doing some good work. I hope that you will agree! At this time I'm expecting a possible submission date of mid to late Summer. After that though the decision is in the hands of Palladium Books. If you crave a sea campaign setting that is functional from the beginning, complete with villains, heroes, tons of new gear, maps galore, new occupations, interesting story lines, and a real melting pot culture to flesh out role play; There is only one Palladium product in the works that can provide all of that; and that, my friends, is Wa-Daisho.

9:54PM 3/4/12 - It has been forever since I've updated this site, thank goodness Tripod doesn't clean up very often. Where to even begin.. The RRVGG has been disbanded for about four years now, due to family issues and some drama that emerged within the group. Only recently have we begun to congregate in a small group to game again. I am still active in creating new materials BUT I have terrible news. The RIFTS World Book AND Sourcebook I have been working on, quite literally, for years is gone thanks to a short in my old computer. I have perhaps 20-30% of the work I originally had still in hard copy and as such its not as though everything is lost. If nothing else this was a blessing in disguise. I overdid it with much of my old work, focusing too hard on details that would have no impact or bearing on campaigns, and in terms of the dreaded power-creep, I have a better handle on balance in the game system. Perhaps the biggest blow was the loss of all of my conception art and detailed maps of the communities for the nation I was designing, but with a clean slate I can straighten things up a bit. I've completely abandoned the name "The Republic of Wa-Daisho" in favor of "The Republic of West Haven" and have revised a great deal of information pertaining to it, including ways of integrating elements of recent World Books to validate why the Republic has remained a mysterious enigma for so long. As I will be backing up data here in case of another computer crash, I hope to update this site on a routine basis again.

11:03AM 3/8/12 - I've been doing considerable work to try to get things back up to snuff around here,. I can't even begin to explain how many gaps in information there was between what I had on my fried hard drive and what was on this website. Thankfully I obsessed over the project so much a great deal of it is still in mind. I've been talking with my wife lately about this turn of events and I think in all reality the loss of the existing data was a blessing in disguise. This will give me a chance to actually rebuild things the way that they were meant to be, part of which being getting rid of the dreaded power creep that I was so guilty of. I'm not saying that I'm abandoning the advanced technology acquired through Wa-Daisho (Now called New Haven) and Desert Star's relationship, but I do intend to tone it down a tad and try to look at it from an objective viewpoint for game balance. A few years ago I mentioned the Mighty Typhoon campaign, with gamers moving on, we never really did accomplish much but we are preparing to start a new campaign that will bring elements of the Republic of New Haven to Japan; Included among those going are the children of the nation's founder - Tamiya Nyan! While it may sound cheap, it's as though it was destiny that he become ronin, to find his path, and then bring his children up with values that may well change the fate of all of Japan. Anyway, The Republic of New Haven is now available to see for one and all, even if some of the links say Wa-Daisho, bear in mind I have a LOT of reworking to do on this website. There are also additional changes being made with the Kingdom of Desert Star, including a substantial portion of its story, and S-Mart is being changed to the Royal Armory of Desert Star or R.A.D.S. for short. Keep checking in and enjoy, hopefully it will enrich your' adventures and campaigns - who knows; One day you may see the Misty Isle of New Haven in a RIFTS Book one day.

10:14PM 7/18/12 - The web site is a bit of a mess at the moment, but its mere growing pains as the vestiges of Wa-Daisho are purged in favor of a more balanced and exciting setting that its closer to a canon stand in; The Republic of New Haven. I've been working on a lot of illustrations as of late, revising timelines, technology, history all the while updating the military. I've also been rethinking the direction of the nation as a whole. I have severed the relationship between New Haven and The Three Galaxies to remedy some of the power creep and stuck with existing technologies that were borrowed from Desert Star and developed in different directions. Despite that, after the fall of Tolkeen and the granting of asylum to many Tolkeenite citizens rescued during the fall of that Kingdom, New Haven acquired a great deal of techno-wizardry expertise that rivals if not exceeds the Hope Barony. Already elements of their experience is being introduced to both military and civil applications. I am considering taking New Haven in a direction that might well make New Haven the first Earthbound nation to have a presence in orbit since the cataclysm. Access to orbit would grant New Haven the ability to monitor events around the world, intercede if absolutely necessary, and if war ever finds its ways to the shores of the Republic a shocking way to strike the enemy at will anywhere and at any time. The adventures of the former Tolkeenite Airship, renamed the Aoikaze (Blue Wind), under the employ of New Haven have only just begun in the fated return of the Tamiya family to the Empire of Japan. What will become of them and their involvement with Japan as a whole remains to be seen. The Kingdom of Desert Star hasn't been forgotten either but a great deal of change is necessary there as well, some of which may even be found on those pages already. Queen Shaquela is a kind ruler and treats her citizens well but her sympathy for those that do not enjoy the comforts of her citizens may well force the N.O.M.A.D. military to begin a campaign of expansion and a series of new alliances that would place Desert Star as the core of a new United Kingdoms of Western America. Meanwhile trouble brews far to the south, the ancient Aztec deities having usurped the rule of the Vampires and united them under one common banner. All signs point towards an organized invasion Northward; But why? What is their objective and in what direction do they intend to advance? Who will oppose them, and can the feudal nations of North America repel such an invasion? Anyway, I am continuing my work to organize New Haven and then will turn my focus towards Desert Star as I have for many years now.

10:17PM 10/12/12 - Since the loss of all of my data on Wa-Daisho/Desert Star I've been given a lot of time to think about both settings. How much do I reconstruct? Was it as good as I had thought more than a decade ago when I initially began laying the foundations to both? Would there have been matters I would have handled differently? Naturally new ideas and concepts have come to me in the aftermath of the catastrophic loss of data - but all in all I don't think it was entirely a bad development. Something I hadn't mentioned before, save for in passing, is that the RRVGG is not really active anymore - I may as well remove mention of it from the website. We grew, prospered, but then ultimately everyone went their separate ways. There were disputes over when we should game, what games we should play, and as a result there was a split in the group that left both sides feeling somewhat sour. In the end, one side began attacking the other with false accusations that actually endangered the host family from being split up. As enthusiastic as I am about RIFTS and Palladium RPGs in general in the end it is just a game and nobody or their family should be put in any sort of danger for gathering to play said games. In the absence of the RRVGG is now just a small game group composed of veteran players from my family. Some members have moved far away, others have established a new group in a community an hour away, while still others have simply quit playing. With only my family play testing new materials its difficult to obtain an honest opinion regarding how poor or good the material actually is. This page will likely become a test bed, a proving ground if you will, for new materials I would like to include in canon submissions. If you are interested in becoming an official play-tester for New Haven/Desert Star story lines and/or equipment please drop me a line and I would be happy to further development, post the materials, and mail you the addresses for these materials. Among the interesting developments that I have included thus far are a few matters, from political to technological. I am working carefully with New Haven to further the story line of their ambition to reach orbit and parts of how they intend to achieve this feat. Early in our campaign story line the location that would later become New Haven was the final North American battleground against the dreaded Mechanoids. With the advent of Naruni and the Mechanoid presence a revolutionary technology that was being experimented more than two decades ago in our true to life timeline has appeared in North America in its completed form. One of the standpoints behind the foundation of New Haven has always been adaptation and innovation to allow them an edge against numerically and fanatically superior adversaries. Thus I have considered carefully the repercussions of granting New Haven a previously impossible ace in the hole for RIFTS Earth; Anti-Gravity technology. While I have no intention of going overboard by suddenly giving them gravity cannons and the like, Republican Industries has steadily been developing more practical and feasible applications of anti-gravity technology for the military. This is one of New Haven's deepest secrets, concealed behind a web of lies suggesting that what anti-gravity capabilities they may appear to have were in fact acquired from extra-dimensional sources. I don't intend for everything under the sun to have these capabilities, remember, the technology is closely guarded. For the moment though anti-gravity tech has been employed in a hybrid fighter design, outnumbered by conventional fighters in New Haven's service, and will likely in time also come to play a role in their tenuous reach for the stars. After that - it's in the air as to how far this technology will go; Quite literally. Meanwhile for Desert Star they have their own advantages. Their development of electromagnetic weapons and propulsion systems are beyond anything like them in North America - but that is not their only advantage. The shining Kingdom has a great deal hidden within the depths of Project Archive that have absolutely nothing to do with the plethora of pre-cataclysm tech hidden beneath its chrome coated walls - but everything to do with the Queen's origins and the truth behind her place in her own world as well as this remote region of North America.

12:34AM 6/8/13 - Early this year my family and I were faced with a major challenge. This past winter was a harsh one for everyone. For us, in a home literally as old as the community itself, it was simply impossible to continue residing within it. At the beginning of winter we learned that we had a minor water leak in the pipes under the house but it didn't seem anything too dire. Despite that we contacted each of the known plumbers in the area several times to try to obtain necessary repairs - to no avail. We were fearful though that once we had a hard freeze it could make problems impossible to make it through. If the ground was frozen solid and liquid water was leaking onto the ground it could create a channel to our small basement. We frantically searched as January bore down upon us but were unable to obtain the necessary repairs. The channel didn't develop as we had thought it would though. Instead an extremely cold snap in February caused the slowly leaking pipe to burst overnight and by the following morning the basement had accumulated six inches of water, destroying the blower on the furnace and shorting out the water heater. With our financial situation not in a comfortable enough position to have the basement pumped, the blower on the furnace repaired, and the water heater replaced we were forced to make the hard decision to relocate to my parents home. It took nearly a week after our departure for the city to realize that their curbside cut-off valve was not functional allowing water to build up over two feet into the basement essentially destroying the furnace in its entirety. After examination and beginning to remove items from the home, we determined repairs for the bay window roof, which was damaged via heavy snowfall, water damage in the bathroom from the burst pipe, heavy drain pipe repairs due to water freezing under the bathtub, in addition to furnace and water heater replacement would likely top $8,000 in repairs. Furthermore, this summer was planned as the time in which we pay off the property taxes, which are another $700-800. We are still considering paying off the back taxes and thus retaining the property for storage if nothing else. However the repairs would be a point in futility. Our finances simply cannot balance that amount. Some of my important works have been transported here but thus far none of my RIFTS books have been transported. This is hoped to be remedied within the coming weeks. I have continued to work on projects related to the Republic of New Haven and gearing it up for a hopeful world book. At present I am working on a revised map of the capital New Haven City. This map will be far more detailed than most offered from Palladium Books and is intended to portray the ethnicity of the groups of people that came together to create the Republic in the beginning. As is typical of my past materials surrounding New Haven's Military Equipment, I have also begun to write up the development of the Republican Industries/L & N Electronics Hayabusa and Sea Hayabusa - a flying wing multi-role hybrid fighter that utilizes license production engines designed for a high performance air dominance fighter in addition to a contragravity system developed via reverse engineering Mechanoid Wasp and Naruni Crescent Moon systems. Additionally the Hachiman and Tenshi power armor are well on their way to their finishing touches. Additionally I've been putting together the prerequisites for a scout hover tank, called the Kama, that will join the Masakari on the battlefield.