Method and Madness: Savaging the Undead Slayer

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Venatus Vinco
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Method and Madness: Savaging the Undead Slayer

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Editor's Notes
Method and Madness is a potential format for blog posts where we post our creations but also offer insight to the thought process involved.
Method and Madness: Savaging the Undead Slayer
The Undead Slayer from classic Rifts® is a confluence of three things: the True Atlantean Race, Tattoo Magic, and the Undead Slayer OCC. In fact, almost all abilities listed under the Undead Slayer in Rifts® World Book 2: Atlantis are just a reprint of the True Atlantean racial abilities. Thus, in order to build one properly one has to Savage all three of those ideas and figure out how to blend them together into some sort of Iconic Framework.

The Method
There are a number of approaches to take. One is to treat the True Atlantean like the Dragon Iconic Framework - a powerful supernatural race with many amazing abilities to choose from including Dimensional Travel and Undead Slayer themed options. In this approach the race and the Iconic Framework are collapsed into one. This works and is somewhat consistent with the presentation of the Undead Slayer in the source material. In many ways it is easier but less flexible. It also leaves the question of Tattoo Magic unresolved.

A second, more complex, approach is to build all the constituent parts: True Atlantean Race, Tattoo Magic system, and Undead Slayer IF (or MARS package). In this approach the True Atlantean Race functions like a race which can select an IF. This of course fits the notion that True Atlanteans can have other roles aside from Undead Slayer, including the classic Nomad or everyone’s favourite True Atlantean Ley Line Walker. The sum of parts approach also opens Tattoo Magic up to other applications and makes the Undead Slayer a single issue to deal with.

The race may be hard to emulate because it is so much more powerful than a human and finding enough racial negatives to balance it is going to be tough. Fortunately, we have an agreed upon race template to work with.

Tattoo Magic is by far the most complex aspect. You have to be crazy to figure out how to Savage that material. Fortunately, we are crazy enough to try and, if necessary, fail.

Having dealt with the True Atlantean and Tattoo Magic system we can deal appropriately the with Undead Slayer. Is it an Atlantean MARS package, racial edge, or full blown iconic framework? Doing the work should reveal the answer - and open up other Tattoo Magic heroes such as the T-Man and Maxi-Man (with some more modern naming conventions thrown in).

Let’s go crazy.

The Madness

True Atlantean Race

Tattoo Magic

Undead Slayer IF
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