Here is a rifts world book 26 dinosaur swamp review. This book is one that has a lot of our childhood dreams come to life: dinosaurs roaming the lands!
Dinosaur swamp is a mix of dinosaurs, secrets hidden in the swamps, mysterious wilderness barbarians, and more weirdness.
This book will surprise and delight readers, as a portion of the east coast of North America is outlined and described for the first time. The imagination of Todd Yoho will take players to places they never imagined even existed. And if you’re looking for dinosaur and general weirdness . . . look no farther.
Rifts World Book 26 Gm Material
An entire region is described in detail to draw from, what more could a GM desire? In addition to all that is going on in the area, GMs get access to a bunch of dinosaurs fully described. You will also enjoy the world background listed and adventure ideas.
There is a good roll table for aerospace bunkers in the Florida area. It could also be used for other areas of Rifts Earth if desired. You could make your own table for ruins being discovered, then a sub-list of types. Within it, you could include this one, and others from many different books.
Near the end of the book is a rolling table for use in a D-shifting area. Dinosaur swamp has a large section in the mountains on the north side of the swamp. This mountain range is one of a few ways to get into the swamp area. The other main way is through Archie-3 held territory and Splugorth known patrol areas. So while dangerous it’s essentially the least dangerous option.
One main city exists in Dinosaur Swamp, Char. Char is described in detail and is used as a trading place for many travelers throughout the area.
Dinosaur Swamp Player Material
For the most part, players will get access to some new OCCs that are tied to the region. They are support-style classes and are OK. Generally speaking, you won’t see, or most likely play, them outside of the Dinosaur Swamp.
Want to fight robots, then check our Rifts Sourcebook 2 The Mechanoids Review.
Rifts World Book 26 Dinosaur Swamp Story material
Our modern-day Florida is known for its space program. In Rifts Earth much of that gets covered by the ocean. The locations are high-tech and hardened bunkers so some of the riches within are still viable.
Atlanteans are humans from Atlantis that were dislodged when catastrophe befell them after an experiment. It’s what led to the loss of Atlantis on Earth. When the Rifts returned, so did Atlantis. It is now home to one of the Atlantean’s enemies, the Splugorth. A small group of Atlanteans have gathered in Dinosaur Swamp and are making plans to liberate Atlantis. Main NPCs are described as Sunaj trackers attempting to kill them all.
The originality of Rifts World Book 26
This book really helps flesh out the south eath of Rifts North America in an entirely different way. There are so many dinosaurs including many new ones that I find this book so much fun to read through. I spent many many hours looking through it when I started playing the Shifter as my first major magic OCC. So many dinosaurs are of low to high animal intelligence that they are usable for shifters helping you avoid dealing with evil demons.
Personal favorites are the Azhure bird, Panthera-Thrinax, and Allosaurus. Some of my other favorites are in the Rifts New West book so check that review out here.
Azhures make a great familiar or perhaps even a good house pet. The challenge with them is getting the food they need to maintain their amazing steel blue color.
The Panthera-Thrinax is a really fun idea for mages or perhaps big game hunters to raise. For one they are predators to start with so they should take easily to hunting. In addition, they are MDC and have supernatural strength. Mages can make really good use of animals through spells to buff them, summon them, make friends, and even use them as familiars.
Is Rifts Dinosaur Swamp Game Breaking
Nothing from the book is that disruptive at all. While new dinosaurs are described and can be used by players and GMs alike, monsters and dinosaurs already exist of similar scope. So World Book 26 just helps give you more variety.
How good are Rifts World Book 26 OCCs
I don’t really consider the OCCs to be that intriguing personally. In fact, when I came back to do this review I had to go reread them. That could be due to time, and the vast number of OCCs available in Rifts, either way, they weren’t memorable for me.
The eco-wizard for example seems like it could be fun IF you were in a dinosaur swamp doing a low-tech adventure-style game, but once you got past that then I’d want to play another class. When I find classes that give me this sort of feeling I usually avoid them for something that has more utility and appeal outside their confined environment.
One other example is the Trysia Faerie. It is a race that has a symbiotic relationship with a plant in the swamp. Now they can stop using the plant but if they do they are considered outcasts. more so, the race is described as caring little for exploration, adventure, or any noble cause. This is one example of a race that is about as contrary to the idea of roleplaying as you can get. Note- I know it’s a faerie and this isn’t exactly uncommon for faeries it’s just an example.
How well does Rifts World Book 26 mix with the core book
I love this book and the follow-up adventures in dinosaur swamp add. Even if there were only a couple of adventure ideas or set pieces to draw from then they would still fit great with the Ultimate Edition.