Occupational Character Class - Adventurers

2. Scholars and Adventurers. These are the wilderness scout, the rogue scientist, the rogue scholar, the Cyber-doctor, the Operator (a mechanic second to none), City-Rat street punk and computer hacker, and even a vagabond who has minimal gear and skills.

"I'm a healer, I fix people. I don't judge them or decide who should live and die based on their genetic makeup. That's for God...or maybe Emperor Prosek and his goon squads. If that makes me a criminal, so be it."

Saying that a Body Fixer is just a doctor does a disservice to these brave men and women of this noble profession, and only tells part of their story. Body Fixer” is the slang term for a medical doctor (M.D.) in North America who performs medicine on anybody — human and nonhuman. That latter distinction makes the Body Fixers criminals, rogues and dissidents in the eyes of the Coalition States. Anybody caught harboring aiding and abetting a criminal of the State” — a distinction given to all D-Bees for not having been born human — is punishable by death! And that includes providing them with medical aid. Better to let a D-Bee die in the gutter than give “it” comfort or aid.

Body Fixers are doctors who cannot turn their backs on the sick and injured based on their race. A choice that has branded them as "traitors to humanity" by the CS.

The CS may think they own this place, and adults may run the show, but we're the Kings and Queens of the streets. We know everything."

City Rats pride themselves on their knowledge of the streets and the movers and shakers who work them and the predators that prowl them. That means City Rats know where to find contraband, cybernetics, drugs, pawnshops, fences. Body-Chop-Shops, Black Market hangouts and hoods, the best food, the cheapest women, all night hot spots, and other places, resources and commodities on the streets. If you know where to look, you can find most anything you could need or want, and City Rats know all the ins and outs of their city.

"The body is an art form in and of itself. Each sinew, each hair, has been designed through countless millenia of perfection. My job is to make the perfect better."
Vincent Morebucks, Coalition Cyber-Doc

Thanks to bionics being illegal to the public in many places, bionic augmentation has gone underground and is often available only through underworld sources like the Black Market and independent entrepreneurs. This means there are seldom any industry standards for quality, and the buyer gets whatever service and quality are available. Consequently, many are the horror stories of bionic Body-Chop-Shops that are more like butcher shops, and which earn the profession of Cyber-Doc a bad reputation.

In the broadest sense of the word, a Cyber-Doc is any doctor, surgeon, or scientist who specializes in cybernetics and/or bionics. However, the term "Cyber-Doc" has come to refer to the notorious underworld figure found in the Down Side, 'Burbs, and underworld of most cities. A character who is often seen as a self-serving illegal doctor who works outside the law for his own profit.

Cyber-docs can essentially be a part of any organization, obviously excluding any city-states that declare cybernetics and bionics illegal, so long as they follow the unique laws of that organization. Very many, however, have gone underground and do their jobs illegally. Cyber-docs who perform illegal cybernetic operations pose themselves at great risk for their tasks, but are alloted more freedom in what cybernetic and bionic enhancements they can use. Sadly, they also are not burdened with quality control or even keeping the same building as their shop - many even move their business daily - these businesses are usually Body-Chop-Shops and are not fully able to accommodate all cybernetics.

Moreover, the nature of cybernetics and bionics range so widely that a cyber-doc from one area will not necessarily be able to tend to all his clients in another area as laws on cybernetics, the cultural concepts of cybernetic and bionic enhancement therein, and most commonly the cybernetic/bionic enhancements themselves are quite different from country to country (and some places even city to city)

epending on where the Cyber-Doc is completely and directly affects the efficiency of his work as legality often affects quality, commonality, price, and even the Cyber-Doc's personal safety.

Quote "What can I say, I like taking things apart to see how they tick. Nothin' like fixing or building something with your own hands."

The Operator is a super-mechanic and repairman. A mechanical and electrical whiz-kid who can fix just about anything that has gears and wires. As such, they are always a welcome sight in any community and are treated with respect and admiration. An Operator rarely has to pay for his own meals or a bed to lie on. Of course, the proprietor or town council may have some little repair job that they’d like him to do for a reasonable fee. There are no set fees for a particular job, so the fee and currency changes from place to place. Repairing an irrigation system at a wealthy town may mean 30,000 in credits, at a poor town payment may be a hot meal, a broken-down horse, and some basic supplies.

Abilities
ury-Rig Repairs: The Operator can slap together solid temporary repairs in half the time that lasts twice as long. See the Jury-Rig Skill.

Find Parts and Components

Recognize Machine Quality

Repair and Soup-Up Machines & Vehicles

Organization
City Operator The City Operator is a mechanic who has grown up on the streets. These operators are City Rats with a mechanical aptitude.

Special Equipment: A full workshop/home

'Wilderness Operator The "wandering" or "nomad" operator enjoy the great outdoors. Their knowledge comes from practicle experience rather than book studies. These mechanics can get eccentric from spending so much time in the wilderness.

Special Skills: Assess Mechanical Quality

The Armorer This is the cross between an operator and a soldier. Their speciality is weapons but they can hold their own in a workshop.

Special Skills: Weapons and Armor Engineer

Special Equipment: collection of Gadgets

The rogue scholar may not be quite what you expect. Like the scientist, he or she is frequently a rugged, physically fit explorer and keeper of knowledge. Also like the scientist, the rogue scholar is on the Coalition States' top most wanted list of criminal activists. They are considered to be more dangerous than the men of science, because the scholarseeks out knowledge and truth and teaches it to others. Science is confusing and intimidating to most people, but the scholar teaches on a much more rudimentary level and is therefore much more dangerous. By simply instilling uneducated people with curiosity, teaching them little things like how to read, write, and arithmetic, can sow the seeds of destruction. This completely undermines the Coalition's carefully executed plan to keep its citizens illiterate, uneducated, and complacent. A curious mind will always ask questions and ultimately challenge the authority before it when those questions are not satisfactorily answered. Something the "powers that be" dislike.

"The world is too amazing to ignore it out of fear."

The rogue scientist is not the stereotypical bookworm or lab rat of the 21st Century, but a tough, self-reliant explorer of a harsh and unfortunate world. They are usually well versed in survival skills and proficient in a wide range of science, technical, mechanical, and electrical skills. In many cases, they look more like your average Headhunter than a scientist.One of the new Earth's great frontiersmen is the rogue scientist. These men and women suffer from an insatiable lust for knowledge that drives them into the wastelands and wilderness, digging through ruins to unearth pre-Rifts artifacts and technology and trying to explain magic, the Rifts time, dimensional travel, and rediscovering humankind's past. They explore the ruins of toppled cities and study the habits and physiology of creatures from the Rifts.

Far from the Coalition States, they are highly regarded as men of science and learning. They are a welcome and, sometimes, desperately needed addition to most adventurer groups, mercenary companies, and wilderness towns. Yet these rugged explorers of our future Earth are frequently feared by superstitious wilderness folk and by the average people of the CS. Coalition propaganda has painted these Rogues as mad scientists who care about science and knowledge above the safety of people. Reckless fools who toy with alien technology and flirt with disaster. All propaganda from the Coalition States fuels the flames of fear and superstition.

[i]"Unskilled? Are you kidding? I'm a student of the world. I know a little bit about everything. Well...at least the things that interest me most."

Not everybody who gets involved in adventure is a specialist in combat or other area of training. Some are just ordinary people who get swept up in the flow of events or decide that it is time they make a change in their life. Others are characters who possess some natural power, but do not have great training or education other than in the use of their powers. Vagabonds are the ultimate Bohemians, they actually like the freedom of not being tied down and drifting along from one adventure to the next. They put their trust in fate and make the best of every situation. Vagabonds are laid-back, easygoing and friendly. They like to travel, like meeting new people, like trying new things (even if it's baling hay or chopping wood), and like not having to worry about supporting a family or answering to anybody but themselves.


Vagabonds are a unique class out of the Scholars & Adventurers, they get a bonus minor super ability in the original Rifts Conversion Book.

Some folks is afeared of the woods, but to me, they's home sweet home. It's the city that makes me feel a might uncomfortable."

A lot of city-folk look down on Wilderness Scouts as uneducated rabble, but in the savage wilderness, they are the lords and ladies of the forest. A Scout knows his way around the forest like the back of his hand. They consider themselves to be one of the woodland predators and are stealthy, cunning, resourceful, and self-reliant.

A Wilderness Scout can be a native raised in the wilderness or a city slicker who has come to learn the ways of the wild. Regardless of their origin, the character is a walking encyclopedia about hunting, trapping, wildlife, and the land, but most are complete illiterates, unable to read or write a word. On the other hand, many are captivating storytellers who love to weave tales about the things they have seen and done. Most are also expert in Demon, Monster, and Faerie Lore.

Generally the Wilderness Scout is a rough and tumble fellow who enjoys tests of skill, strength, and cunning, and enjoys life to its fullest. Years living outdoors means the individual is powerfully built, conditioned to harsh climates and environments, and as tough as nails. Although sorely lacking in social graces, he is no stranger to technology and uses high tech M.D.C. body armor and Mega-Damage energy weapons, and pilots a hovercraft with the same skill as his horse.