Rifts Dimension Book 14 Thundercloud Galaxy Review. Of the different galaxies books in the dimension series, I find this one to be my least referenced. I would say I am rather neutral in opinion. I like the Elder race and Dominator portions but find the settler information lackluster.
The Thundercloud Galaxy does have its own special direction like each of the others do. It’s the galaxy that has a tremendous amount of exploration and colony creation. So what do GMs get from the book you may wonder.
GM material from Rifts Dimension Book 14 Thundercloud Galaxy
Gms can look forward to an Elder race template (main bad guy, or helpful NPC perhaps?). You also get actually Dominator tech used for their slaves, so players can get some if they dare. Also, a colony creation table is included.
A list of adventures based on the discovery of ruins is included. It’s rather long too, we are talking 101 adventures. So you could use it to create an entire campaign if desired. Adventures ranging from Gene-Tech Bounty Hunter to an ancient dragon lair and far more.
In addition, a description of many different races in the thundercloud is included. This is the part in my opinion where things are kind of boring. The races aren’t bad, but they really just don’t grab my attention. When we start off the dimension book series with things like the Promethean and then start adding races on par with humans (like in Thundercloud Galaxy) I find them to be a rather waste of space. Especially since there’s a race generator that can make thousands of them.
Our recommendations of the best Rifts books for a Minion War game.
Rifts Dimension Book 14 Thundercloud Galaxy player material
Players will love the idea of getting Dominator tech. I mean their stuff is just far and above the technology of soooo many races. Just the names are awesome, I mean look at some: Nova Plasma Accelerator Weapon, Molecular blades, Dominator Auto-armor. The auto armor is like a belt with a pouch on it that has nanotechnology and comes out and covers the body. How cool is that?
Rifts Dimension Book 14 Thundercloud Galaxy story material
Hundreds of years ago the Consortium of Civilized Worlds attempted an investigation into Naruni Enterprises. Those involved didn’t return, vanished, or had some terrible experiences. This wasn’t the beginning though.
Tens of thousands before that a race called the Dominators started hunting down and killing all other Elder races. In return, the other Elder races banded together and used a Black Hole Projector to destroy their homeworld. The resulting explosion changed or destroyed life across thousands of worlds.
In response, other civilizations find the Thundercloud Galaxy a hot bet for settling new worlds. After the Transgalactic Empire agreed to a peace treaty with the CCW a colonization race began. This rush was expanded even more when the TGE returned and when Killaryte was discovered. Each event causes more and more desire to send settler ships into the galaxy.
The originality of Thundercloud Galaxy
On the whole, I think the setting and story information for the Thundercloud Galaxy is very well done. It creates a completely different environment for adventure and exploration. There is easily something different in this area that draws me to make games here instead of the Corkscrew or Anvil galaxies.
I personally think all the time about how fun would it be to make an adventure series about ridding the galaxy of the TGE. Specifically through the Free World Council which demands their freedom from the TGE. As a previously conquered set of planets that have rebelled it makes for a fun underdog situation.
How game-breaking is the book?
Top tier, Id say 5-star game-breaking dominator tech. If you include that tech, without even talking about allowing the use of the Elder Race template no other setting compares. If you in any way allow players to discover how to make elder tech it’s revolutionary for whoever they sell it to.. well sort of. We are still talking about galaxies with trillions of people. So it might change the balance in thousands of years, certainly not “RIGHT NOW”.
How good are the OCCs(classes) of Rifts Dimension Book 14
While the Denlech Settler OCC seems powerful compared to a base human, the Three Galaxies setting as a whole needs to be accounted for. It’s kind of garbage I think. Why use this OCC when you could just roll a normal superhero? Or just play a basic race from the Phase World book with no OCC. That’s all I’m going to say.
How well does Dimension Book 14 mix with the core Rifts game
Ya no. There is no way I would include the races, the tech, or the Elder template to Rifts Earth. The colony creation table sure that could be modified but in general, zero stars.