Rifts Coalition Wars 6: Final Siege by Alien Rope Burn

"In fact, reports say that Coalition veterans wept as they made their way among the bloodied and dying Quebec troops."

• Without being noticed, Holmes' forces manage to scout, survey, and map most of the region between themselves and Tolkeen.
  
• Without being noticed, Holmes positions a number of elite squads to the North of Tolkeen and has them stand ready.
  
• Without being noticed, Holmes manages to have over three hundred soldiers infiltrate the city disguised as mercenaries and refugees.

"Time to pull out those two Atlantis sourcebooks."

POV: Home Office

Alien Rope Burn can be seen, slumped in a chair, a thousand-yard stare on his face as he slowly turns to face the viewer.

Alien Rope Burn: Thank Thoth.

"But this is no earthy seductress, but a tiger ready to strike and tear fools to ribbons."

• Tolkeen's Eastern Army is led by Warlord Thadeus Grimm, the designer of the fortifications used in Mizereen and the Barrens. He's opposed by General Drogue, who goes on an all-out attack and fails so badlyhe's relieved of command by General Holmes and escorted to oversee logistics. But he defies this, taking part of the siege and going MIA with a unit. In case you're wondering if this is left as a mystery: it won't be. The PCs don't get to kill Drogue. Fuck's sake, Palladium.
  
  • Warlord Thadeus Grimm is one of the few Tolkeen generals of note, an escaped Bio-Borg mercenary from Atlantis. He's supposed to be the greatest military mind they have, and will essentially see Tolkeen's defeat as soon as the defense system goes down. He'll propose an exodus and be rebuffed by Tolkeen's leadership, and after that will hold the Eastern Defensive Wall until it breaks and then leave Tolkeen, never to return. He has an electricity-creating symbiote (an Electrone, to be precise) that powers Techno-Wizard devices attached to his body.
    
• Tolkeen's Northern Army is led by Warlord Umbra, whi will generally be known for his failure in being overrun by general Holmes.
  
  • Warlord Umbra is a Noli Bushman Psi-Slayer from the Magic Zone who, after being overrun by Holmes, will swear to fight to his death... but, in truth, will likely flee in order to try to assassinate the Coalition generals responsible at a later date.
    
• Tolkeen's Western Army is the smallest, and led by Warlord Firesol. It'll try to support the other armies at its own expense, and will break easily once the Coalition can finally turn its attention to it.
  
  • Warlord Firesol, predicably, is a human Fire Warlock. Ironically, he's a cool and careful kind of guy, and essentially is Grimm's ex-student. He's a generally good guy who was opposed to the use of demons and the like, but was loyal to a fault. When the lines break, he'll evacuate what citizens he can with his remaining troops and make a mostly clean escape while the Coalition is still heavily engaged. He might join the resistance against the Coalition later, or alternately help the Cyber-Knights against the demons of Calgary.
    
• Tolkeen's Southern Army is one of the best-reinforced and will be the last to fall. Once the North and East armies fall, though, the South will be overwhelmed.
  
  • Warlord Stygian is a Mystic Knight with a big skull mask that hides her gender, and is deeply ruthless. Though she will fight nearly to the end, apparently she's resourceful and will likely survive to seek out mercenary work away from Tolkeen. "Moreover, she uses her every skill and resource, including her feminine wiles." Her Affinity is 7, her Beauty is 9, and she has no Seduction skill, so good luck with that, Stygian. (Which would be kind of refreshing if the text didn't insist on emphasizing her use of manipulative sexytimes behind a completely obscuring set of armor and mask.)
    
• The Tolkeen Air Corps Command and the Engineering Corps are boxes being checked and are exactly what you'd expect. No leaders are associated with them, so just envision really impressive generals with question marks for faces.
  
• Warlord Scard is the head general and he and his eeevilness will be detailed later.

"This flying turkey carver is more powerful and mysterious than a Golem, and goes beyond the known limits of Techno-Wizardry."

• Portable Bunker (400 M.D.C.): Literally that, a mega-damage bunker with some lasers attached and a handle on top so a dragon or gargoyle can lug it around.
  
• TW Volcan Wing & Saucer (290 / 600 M.D.C.): A Techno-Wizard combat jet with a "saucer" attached that's another portable bunker. The jet is more than a little fragile and fires bolts of firey energy or bolts of energetic fire. The bunker has a decently damaging set of magical flamethrowers and mini-missiles, and has magic defenses against lasers and explosions.
  
• TW Sling Scout (250 M.D.C.): A Star Wars-esque B-Wing, but more for scouting than bombing. It has lasers, mini-missiles, a wide array of sensors, and is hilariously fragile for a 40 ton vehicle. Also has the aforementioned 100-mile range radar that missed 8,000 airborne Coalition craft. Great scouting, guys.
  
• TW Demon Barge (640 M.D.C.): A big hover viking barge with a tank turret that looks to be fit for some snake or scorpion-themed baddie. "I, Scorpyon, will destroy the Coalition!" Does passable laser or lightning blasts and has modest forcefields to protect the occupants.

• Wing-Blade Iron Juggernaut (1480 M.D.C.): This is a flying Juggernaut with the whole gimmick of hooking onto targets with its hooks and then going to town with its big wing-blades. (I just took a sentence to boil down what takes the text a literal full page to detail.) Also, it gets ice spells. It actually does decent damage with its melee, which is a rarity, but there are no rules for grappling. Supposedly when destroyed it detonates into a magical explosion that is also undetailed. Guess GMs will just have to... wing it.
  
• Millipede Iron Juggernaut (1880 M.D.C.): Technically, it only has 36 legs. It's just a walking talk, but has three torsos with arms that can act independently to fire spells or punch. The punches are supposed to be the most frightening aspect as it goes around rock 'em sock 'eming around, but its flamethrower, plasma cannons, mini-missiles, and earth spells are all more fearsome.

• Dynamo Armor (300 P.P.E.): An "untested, bug-ridden" Techno-Wizard power armor prototype with only 13 copies made, this is really designed to give spellcasters more P.P.E. in addition to proection, but also comes with some basic combat spells that can be used as well. It also radiates an "aura of power" that makes you more impressive, even though it looks like an astronaut suit. So you're the most charming astronaut. However, for some reason it gets a ridiculous number of drawbacks - blasts are delayed, the heat inside gives penalties, it unleashes energy around it that does collateral damage, gives the wearer megalomania, and... weakens the user after usage, permanently after 8 hours. It just feels like one big barrel of gotchas to keep it NPC-only, but there could have been more elegant solutions than insanity and permanent damage... I know, Rifts, elegant? Hahahaha...

"Always seem dark, sinister and dangerous."

"This melancholy vagabond has given up adventuring, and chooses to wander through life as a disheveled and grubby hobo."

• Warlord Corin Scard (11th Level Gunfighter) has been referenced as the primary baddie over and over, and it's only now that we get... anything on him, really. His family was murdered by the Coalition, and he became a notorious bandit and gunslinger. When he fended off a Coalition raid, the King had a personal encounter with him and decided to appoint him to the circle as a skilled Coalition-fighter. He turned out to be the most ruthless figure in the Tolkeen leadership, and only became more extreme as the war went on because... reasons, vengeance, something? Well, it's what it says on his character sheet, as he has a litany of madnesses like "Obsession: Revenge against the Coalition", "Obsession: Punish all traitors", "Mania", "Sadomasochism, hypre-aggression, and mass murder", and "Paranoia". Of course, we're reassured he'll survive the war, seek revenge on any terrible peacemongers associated with Tolkeen, and then go on a relentlessly evil-allied campaign of vengeance against the Coalition. Whew! I was almost worried we'd have a three-dimensional character here, but thankfully he instantly spirals into R-rated Skeletor territory.
  
• Mied Elektis (12th Level Earth/Fire Warlock): The chief representative of the local Warlock Local Union 401, she's a 491 year old elf who was said to be an adventurer in her centuries of youth. After the war, she's likely to seek political asylum in Lazlo, where she helps refugee effords, helps forewarn them of Scard likely seeking revenge, and help a resistance effort to thwart the Coalition in Minnesota. She's said to be distastefully "manipulative" and has an Anarchist alignment but with no real examples of such- she seems pretty straightforwardly well-meaning if you look at her post-war actions.
  
• Malik Savant (8th Level Techno-Wizard): A "boy genius" at 21 years of age, Mailk is the youngest member of the Circle. He's a optimist who believes that there's a Techno-Wizard solution for everything, and has been responsible for many of Tolkeen's innovations. He was always opposed to the war, though, feeling that victory was too improbable to consider. Though he fell in line in the hope he might make a difference, he remained opposed to the kingdoms' alliances with monsters and demons. In the fall of Tolkeen, he helps refugees escape (including somehow finding 3,000 unused Turbo-Wing boards to whip people away on, which feels like a hella stretch to have lying around). He's best buds with Baarrtk Krror, and though Rifts never would, I'd be willing to presume something more is going on there. I'll ship 'em.
  
• Baarrtk Krror (16th Level Great Horned Dragon): One of the original Dragon Kings of Freehold, Baarrtk Krror (which is somehow pronounced "bear-rock crow") coped badly with life on Earth. Most of his time was spent as a drunk (what could actually get him drunk that's readily available?), lording over humans, and generally making a murderous ass of himself. Getting into a fight with the top dragon of Atlantis, he was beaten and then tortured to the point he permanently lost an eye (something something bio-wizardry probably). He didn't fit in at Freehold, and settled down at Tolkeen as a professional grump. Despite having no hesitation in war, he was against it due to the risk to Tolkeen. His friendship in Malik has begun a redemption arc in him, and he protects the Techno-Wizard from murderjerks like Scard. If Malik survives, he'll probably become a better dragon thanks to his influence. If Malik dies, though, he'll just go on a murder spree through the Coalition until he's brought down.

• Anya Svetska (8th Level Mystic Kuznya): A mystic smith from Russia, she was banished from Russiaby the other smiths for unknown reasons. She traveled over the arctic to America, and settled in Tolkeen, become valued for her skills and tactical wisdom. Despite her ability to make magic items, she has only done so for choice warriors and not in general. Once Holmes destroys Tolkeen's defenses, she tries to assist with emergency services and saving civilians and eventually gets involved with assisting the Cyber-Knights in the evacuation. Warlord Scard is really pissed at her but he pretty much seems upset with anybody with an alignment above Miscreant. So it goes.
  
• Glorissa Trenshire (8th Level Conjurer): Having worked independently as an anti-Coalition guerrilla, she was recruited by Creed to lead anti-Coalition commando units. Her group is known as the "Invisible Workshop", and prevented an early attempt by the Coalition to nuke Freehold (by sabotaging the nukes so they blew up their own base). She eventually tries to escape with her operatives. She's a hardliner that despises "doves" like Lazlo or the loyalist Cyber-Knights, and her attention will remain on undermining and battling the Coalition States.
  
• Denwyn Ironheart (10th Level Ley Line Walker): A wizard who somehow transferred his soul into an iron golem, Denwyn became well-known as one of Tolkeen's premier warrior-mages. Brought into the Circle by the King, he brought his experience fighting the Coalition as well as a group of groupie warriors. He's seen as a big hero, but the truth is being trapped in a golem body has driven him insane, and he barely acknowledges others too much. His litany of Palladium-brand crazy includes "Obsession: Solitude", "Obsession: Secrecy", "Obsession: Destroy the Coalition", and "Delusion: Can not be destroyed". This raises two questions: one, how does he cope with being part of the circle and two, how is he still alive?. You'd think he'd have Leroy Jenkins'd himself into oblivion by now. In any case, if he does survive, he'll just be looking to start things up against the Coalition again however he can.
  
• Rostigor Dur Grola (9th Level Battle Magus): A Gromek (dragon-ish-guys from back in Rifts Conversion Book), he was always obsessed with becoming a more badass ronin dick-swinger. Falling into a rift and landing on Earth, he left a trail of fallen challengers on his way to Tolkeen, seeking great warriors there, Creed was already waiting and offered him the chance to fight the greatest army on the planet: the Coalition Army. After "testing" a Coalition unit and barely surviving, he agreed and joined up. He's one of the main leaders of the Tolkeen air forces, and is likely to die against the Coalition while the Flight of the Valkyries plays. (How is he a Battle Magus? He's never even seen Dweomer, where they're taught...)

• Salkind, the Metal Mage (8th Level Shifter): A shifter from Tolkeen, Salkind sought more power in other dimensions. However, he ran into the "Drolians", ancient Techno-Wizards that made him into a special wizardly cyborg that can cyber-cast spells. Destroying an entire force of Coalition force with genius tactics after his return, he was called in by Creed who did his now-usual "Oh, you're good at murdering skull guys? Have a government seat!" It turns out, though, he's a conduit for the Drolians who provide power and advice to him. Also, they're eeevil and have made him totally eeevil. They help him survive the war because they like watching streams of him killin' peoples. After the war he'll probably get guided by them to find a new conflict to get immersed him for those sweet extradimensional Twitch subscribes. I just made that sound cooler than it actually is; he's just an eeevil guy guided by other eeevil guys.
  
• Cervega Klister (9th Level Mystic): With a half-mask that hides the left side of his face, Cervega is a mysterious mystic of mystical mysteries. It turns out he's a sinister creature from another dimension, and the magic mask hides his nature and alignment, and makes him super-charming. He wormed his way into the Tolkeen hierarchy and genuinely helps against the Coalition, but mostly just wanted a taste of power before the city falls. As Tolkeen falls, he takes the time to get revenge against anybody who crossed him, and likely try to steal some important artifact before fleeing. The masked part of his face is hideous, which- it's odd that he's not a Syvan from Rifts Conversion Book, given being duplicitous and half-ugly is their whole thing. In any case, he has one note to play and he sure as hell plays it to death.
  
• Kueda the Grey (10th Level Grey Seer): The old experienced generic mentor guy, he's foreseen the upcoming war for years, but wanted to and change things. He's pretty bummed out by his failure to change the future, but copes pretty well. He helps other benevolent members of the Circle of Twelve, and likely just sticks around to help towards the end, figuring the Coalition might let him go. Apparently, they see Grey Seers harmless for the most part and he might just overwhelm them with generic nobility. You know, the kind of nobility that seemingly stood by as Creed took a moral dump all over Tolkeen. Either way, he'll go around being objectively wise at people afterwards.
  
• Maxim Current (9th Level Water Warlock): A daredevil aquaman, he became a leader in Northern Minnesota by terrifying people with his perm and grumpy looks. And Creed was like "c'mon down!". He's very judgmental and rewards those who serve him well and squashes those who fail him. A hardliner, he was a cold hard guy who served dutifully in the Sorcerer's Revenge. Though he'll acquit himself well in the final battles, he'll eventually just try to punch through the Coalition lines with his men to make his escape. He doesn't have much personality, but he'll put what little character he has to fighting the Coalition another day. Very much a "eh, we ran out of ideas" last guy on the list. Also, boy, that name. Maxim Current, huh?

"Note: Shora rather enjoys wearing the skimpy outfits the Warrior Women are known for, something that has made her, unknowingly, a bit of a pinup queen among other Tolkeenite soldiers and mercenaries."

• Gyger (7th Level Rulian Translator): A scholar that became obsessed with winning his freedom, he started a revolt to escape, and many of his followers died before getting here. C'est la vie. He writes down his adventures in novel form and they're starting to take off. Mind, I guess his readership is all about to die or flee but details.
  
• Shora Kobe (6th Level Altara Warrior Woman): The resident badass of the group, she speaks tersely and likes dressing in skimpy outfits because sexism is over. Also, the text has her doing stuff like killing an entire double-strength platoon of Coalition soldiers because I guess that's something NPCs get to do even when the rules don't remotely support them doing it.
  
• Mr. Slithers (6th Level Headhunter): A grumpy Octoman with a false name due to his level of paranoia regarding Atlantis. He's the cagey one of the group and has a good sense for avoiding traps. Though he's a jerk, everybody likes him because octopi are rad or something? Seriously, his Mental Affinity is 4 and he's "one of the more popular soldiers of Tolkeen". Having an Affinity any lower would require some combination of pipe tobacco, fascism, and elfgame snobbery.
  
• Vedder Nexus (6th Level Bounty Hunter): The Heavy Weapons Guy of the group, Vedder loves killing Splugorth Minions, and apparently he blew up 350 Coalition soldiers at once in a another rule-defying feat. He has partial amnesia and has forgotten anything before arriving on Earth over a decade ago. We're told that if his memory is restored, he'll become a nicer guy and add "2d6+1" to his Mental Affinity. What's the point of making it random? Who knows! It probably will kick his Affinity up to where he gets bonuses, but maybe not?

• Miramar (8th Level Rogue Scientist): A D'Norr devilman who came up with the main theory and Wants To Believe. Not too much more than that.
  
• Gordo (7th Level Vagabond): A psychic Larmac addicted to Psi-Cola, Gordo pretty much sits around being drunk in his spare time, but is apparently reliable in a fight. He has weirdly arbitrary stats like "Cook (85%; 98% concerning any dish that has eggs in it)", or "Attacks Per Melee: 5 (6, but only when highly motivated, like when his life is hanging by a thread)." Unfortunately, his game-breaking proficiency with egg preparation is not available to PCs. I mean, think of how many dishes have eggs! Omelets! Carbonara! Macarons! How can PCs not get shown up by his beautiful wedding cakes?!
  
• Sgt. Felix Ashcroft (6th Level Special Forces): A former Coalition commando, Felix was shocked and disillusioned by the Coalition death camps and then later became lost in the Minnesota wilds. While captured by the Consortium and tied up, he freed himself when they were attacked and assisted them in battle. He ended up joining them, and has become most wanted by the Coalition for execution; a fairly popular club to belong to in these books.
  
• Gunnar Kilgore (5th Level Operator): An Asgardian dwarf (Norse Mega-Damage dwarves), Gunnar was sent by Odin to learn about Earth's technology. He doesn't believe the Hackers' Consortium can achieve their goal ("the Coalition is just too smart for that"), but enjoys the chance to tinker and learn about Coalition tech. He believes that Odin has determines his fate, and so is often fearless in battle, having fought in 70 battles without serious injury in a system where a 5 or better on a d20 hits by default. C'mon, Palladium, the guy's a 5th level Operator with Mega-Damage glutes, not a Maxi-Slayer*.

"This very claim is why Soribold slew the adventurers — for he has tangled with the Defilers before and knew firsthand that these two jokers were making an illegitimate claim.

• Tannhauser (20th Level Great Horned Dragon): The most involved of the Dragon Kings in the war (outside of Baarrtk Krror), Tannhauser's mostly just enraged by the fact the Coalition has reached their walls. He's the closest thing to any sort of general that Freehold has, and is able to rally some of the younger dragons. He might die fighting to the end, but if he survives he'll likely resent any cowards that fled, and find some way to take revenge on the Coalition. Mostly, he's a generic ur-dragon that cares more than most.
  
• Rexus (17th Level Fire Dragon): An ambitious risk-taker, Rexus apparently downed a dozen Death's Head Transports in a single day, continuing this book's tradition of NPCs completing feats they're entirely unsuited for. Let's see, a transport has 1000 M.D.C., and he does... 19 damage on average. I suppose he could have pulled some elaborate spell shenanigans, but... in any case, after that he took a nap and hasn't woken up sides. He'll fight as long as he can and may die for it, but he'll try and bail if he thinks his life is truly in peril. He mostly just likes to fight, but not to death.
  
• The Sleeper (16th Level Serpent of the Wind): Known to sleep for centuries, The Sleeper has napped for centuries, but the siege will wake up. She's both described as waking up in an amazing rage and just "not happy", and it's sections like this that make me wonder if whoever wrote the "Siege Notes" was sometimes different from the main description. Apparently she'll fight for a bit and flee, but she might return for revenge... against individuals she thinks wronged her. She doesn't really judge people based on labels, though.
  
• Kaltaval the Weary (26th Level Thunder Lizard): Though formerly adventurous, Kaltaval is jaded in the extreme at this point due to his age. He'd only really be interested in the war if it becomes a world-threatening conflict, and will probably just laze around until threatened directly and then bust out like a bat out of hell. Yes, three of the Dragon Kings just nap until the Siege hits. Freehold feels less like the City of Dragons and more like the Scaly Sunset Home for Elder Living.

• Vargeld (10th Level Ice Dragon): An arrogant dragon, Vargeld thinks humans are lowly and super gross. He'd just genocide humanity if it wasn't so gauche. He doesn't care much about the war, and will just use the siege an an opportunity to go around settling ancient grudges against other dragons.
  
• Xevek (10th Level Zaayr Crystal Dragon): Supposedly an outcast even amongst other Crystal Dragons, Xevek is a mystery but is generally benevolent and will try to save humanoid citizens where he can before fleeing to a mysterious place where he can mystery it up again. He might go fight some Splugorth slavers for mysterious reasons mysteriously.
  
• Shigen, Lady of the Wind (12th Level Kumo-Mi Dragon): A Japanese dragon who arrived to pay an ancient debt to some unknown dragon, she stayed for awhile and fought the Coalition until she considered it paid. After that, she set up her own little court and hung out, presuming they'd never actually siege Freehold. She may stay and help, or go back to Japan! It's your turn to give her a personality, GMs!
  
• Hurligeth the Brawler (8th Level Wooly Dragon): One of the few Wooly Dragons to survive to old age, he likes to fight, and goes up against the Coalition time and time again not out of any benevolence, but because he likes to fight? He'll probably die because he likes to fight, but others may try and rescue him. If he survives, he'll probably join some anti-Coalition resistance because he likes to fight.

• Pradgigor (6th Level Hydra Hatchling): The "Scourge of the Coalition", he likes to fight. Generally, he's left to fight alone because he gives no shits about friendly fire. Still, he hates the Coalition because insert reason of your choice here and loves to fight. Wait, deja vu...
  
• Goezumi (6th Level Shikome Kido-Mi Dragon Hatchling): "Another Freehold superstar hailing from Japan...", this dragon likes to cosplay as a ronin badass and go around seeking the perfect duel. Once, he found a Coalition Juicer that might be his equal, but the Juicer flopped over from drug burnout before they could fight. He plans to die with honor like a proper Japanese stereotype, no doubt while shouting "Banzai Coalition-kuns!" In case you were wondering, he loves to fight.
  
• Havolog the Miserable (6th Level Night Stalker Dragon Hatchling): A deceitful thug, Havolog has gone around trying to steal credit for others' accomplishments during the war. While Freehold locals aren't convinced, the Coalition is convinced he's way more dangerous than he is and there's a special unit of "Coalition dragon hunters" after him. During the chaos, he'll try and rob others, and the chances of him dying either at the hands of the Coalition or his peers seems pretty high.
  
• Nacader (7th Level Basilisk Hatchling): Weaker than other dragons, Nacaeder has generally stayed out of the war, seeing Tolkeen as doomed. He's been researching escape routes, and plans to scam people out of money by selling them a way out - and then taking another route himself while they act as bait. Afterwards, he'll probably continue on as a grifter. Also, he has a special scrying crystal ball because there's a ball in the art.

• Prid Sigil (8th Level Techno-Wizard): Arriving in Freehold mainly to research the Techno-Wizard arms used by Tolkeen and try to help with arms development, Prid found his devices rejected in favor of the Iron Juggernauts already in production. He doesn't take it personally, just concluding it was too late, and will probably fly off to find new takers for his designs elsewhere.
  
• Thulan Kugan (8th Level Cr'o Demon Mage): An evil demon wizard who tried to conquer Eastern Europe but was stopped by the Sunder Force.
  
  

  quote:

  Whirlwind Ivan: Stop! The Sunder Force has come to put a stop to your plans!
  
  Thulan Kugan: You're too late, my ritual has already begun, Thunder Force!
  
  Whirlwind Ivan: No, actually, it turns out we're Sunder Force, like... Sunder-
  
  Thulan Kugan: Are you pronouncing your "Th"s correctly? It sounds like you said Sunder. How ridiculous, Thunder Force, you can't even say your own name!
  
  Spring Jones: No, it's S-U-N-D-E-R-
  
  Thulan Kugan: You can't even spell it! How gloriously imbecilic you are!

  
  He fled to America to settle down near Tolkeen to revel in the chaos and just wants the murdering to go on forever, so he'll probably escape and lead a revolt against the Coalition to see it all happen again. He's evil because he was born that way, ho-hum.
  
• Burkha the Magnificent (9th Level Mystic): A Rahu-Man (four-armed giant) who's convinced the fall of Tolkeen will cause a domino effect leading the Coalition overrunning most of North America. This turns out to just be a delusion on his part, because of insert reason of your choice here. He'll probably live and... join... the resistance. Get in line, Burkha.
  
• Soribold Vask, Lord of Letters (10th Level Ley Line Walker / 8th Level Diabolist: A lizard mage from the Palladium Fantasy world, he's generically power-hungry guy who seems like he's likely from Kevin Siembieda's original campaign, given it mentions him battling the Defilers and murdering fakers for being fake Defilers, and he's loaded down with magical goodies (including a Soul-Drinking sword, enjoy him insta-killing PCs at his whim). Ultimately, he's in it just to find an opportunity to steal "four or more" of Tolkeen's artifacts, and probably try and set up a small kingdom for himself elsewhere.

"Oh, and to steal a line from an old television show, 'there are a million stories in the naked city.'"

"Its destruction and the death of all in the compound is an incident the General regrets, but war is Hell, and they were the enemy; the majority not even human."

• 6. University of Trans-Dimensional Studies: This was used to study transportation and Temporal Magic, using a series of mystic pyramids for research. Those pyramids are blown up by the Coalition, turning the whole area into a interdimensional morass that monsters crawl out of.
  
• 6. Gate Way Resources: A transdimensional business that's really a front for the interdimensional weapon traders known as the Naruni. This seems set up so the PCs could get hired to helping with magic item creation, but then have to deal with a escorting a bunch of Eighties Guys to safety while they try and underpay the group the whole time. "Note: Is is not a commentary on big business..." is an actual quote from the section. All of the other evil corporations and merchants in the setting sure feel like one, though.
  
• 28. Gate Way Resources: A co-op for summoning or enslaving supernatural beings for the war effort. The spellcasters involved with this will just bail dimensionally when the Coalition hits. See that gap in numbers between 6 and 28? That's how hard it is to me to find interesting stuff. This barely qualifies.
  
• 29. A Dragon's Estate: Formerly home to a dragon that went off seeking treasure, this has been taken over by a pair of Chatterlings to become a barely-valuable dungeon for PCs to raid. Yay, you just looted 133 bottles of wine! An editor might ask "why do they need to know how much wine there is?", to which Siembieda would never answer, "SO THEY CAN GET SOUSED WHILE THE BOMBS DROP, SON!"
  
• 33. Pyramid Place: Another magical research spot with a wrecked mystic pyramid and magic going crazy. However, this one apparently has some of the design secrets behind the Iron Juggernauts and Splugorth items they were trying to reverse-engineer, so there's a reason PCs might venture in to save stuff... that's better than bottles of wine on the wall.
  
• 36. Westside Orphanage: This orphanage apparently cares for 2000+ kids, which seems less like a orphanage and more like a refugee camp. We then get the emotional resonance of numbers: "1d6 children" are found by a their families here a week, but 1d4 arrive every day. 53% are D-Bees! 47% are human! 0% are anything else! Teenagers 16 and older are refused- 65% percent of those join the Tolkeen army, and 80% of those die in the first month! Teen soldiers, yay! In any case, we have a plot hook of evacuating kids from the Orphanage. Someone's thinking of the children.

• 1. Camp North Point: A military base designed to create a nexus point controlled through a pyramid and protect it. This is the center of Tolkeen's military, but if you guess that Holmes' forces blow up this mystic pyramid too and things go crazy and demons pop out, you've spotted the predictable pattern here. They hold the Coalition off for awhile before falling, and the Coalition will seize the site (we get a laundry list of the forces that manage it) and try and learn to take control of the Triangle Defense System, but Emperor Prosek frowns hard on that notion. It leaves open the possibility that if the Coalition High Command and the Vanguard (from Rifts Coalition Wars 3: Sorcerers' Revenge could somehow cooperate and take hold of the defense system, but that seems like an exceedingly tall order.
  
• 3. North Point Dimensions: Another dimensional research outfit that gets its mystic pyramid skullsploded. They get teleported into limbo for "2d6 weeks" and pop back in the middle of Coalition-occupied Tolkeen. What happens to them? Read the novel! (There is no novel.)
  
• 7. Power Plant: Most of the power in Tolkeen came from here. It blowed up! Dimensional Flooey! Have you gotten the point hammered into your skull, readers?!
  
• 11. Tolkeen School of Demonology: A location for research on the darkest of magics, particularly the summoning sort. The Coalition Army will apparently delight in bombing this site and tracking down all of its members for "extermination".
  
• 13. Hospital: Literally the only details we get on this is that "suffers the greatest level of death and destruction throughout the siege". We're told Holmes regrets this. Given this is followed by the Tolkeen School of Medicine getting "accidentally" destroyed and a Nursing Home where "All are killed.", I'm sure he's completely broken up over it. Not to mention the Coalition's propensity to slaughter civilians, refugees, and children throughout that section (And he's the "heroic" Coalition general, I'll remind.)
  
• 17. College of Magic: One of the biggest magic colleges in North America that mainly teaches Ley Line Magic, Temporal Magic, "Intuitive Arts" (Mysticism), Elementalism, Stone Magic, and "Esoteric Arts". Esoteric Arts apparently only teaches knowledge of some of the rarer magic traditions scattered throughout rifts supplements, but we have the weird edge case where if you're a Mystic who studies Esoteric Arts, you might be able to add a unusual spell from Spoiling Magic, Shamanic Magic, or the like. (Techno-Wizardry is largely covered by other schools.) The campus becomes a large refugee camp and is blowed up. "The loss of this truly great institution is overshadowed only by the tremendous loss of life."
  
• 19. Exotic Stables: Breeds and takes care of various exotic animals. Also teaches how to ride various sentient animals with their cooperation, like Psi-Ponies... which... is riding a Psi-Pony really that much different than a pony, other than not necessarily being the boss? Apparently they also teach how to ride Gargoyles, which... where would you ride them, given they're humanoid and winged on the back? Do you just cling to their asses or straddle their necks or what? In any case "The owners will let the animals loose as soon as the CS breaks through the city's defensive line, and then they head for the hills. Too bad they never make it." Cue slo-mo of skull guys gunning down unicorns to "Bittersweet Symphony", is this emotionally affecting yet?
  
• 20. Residental District: Catering largely to students and teacher, many of which are slaughtered. "... all of the institutions of learning are burnt or otherwise razed to the ground. In fact, the CS will spend weeks enjoying book burnings and executions." But maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle.
  
• 21. College of Learning: One of the "greatest scholastic universities on the continent". Naturally, it's filled with refugees who are then slaughtered, then Holmes builds his base camp there. (Presumably, they lug the 60,000+ corpses out first, and yes, we have the numbers to arrive at that figure.)
  
• 22. Institute for Megaversal Studies: Another institution of brilliance dealing with other dimensions. "IMS was turned into a refugee camp accommodating an estimated 35,000 homeless
  waifs." Homeless waifs. Shed a tear, because most of them are patted on the head and allowed by the Coalition to flee... I kid, they're getting slaughtered.
  
• 23. Silver Lake Society for Elementalism: A scenic place to study the elements, and is bombed and believed finished, then a bunch of elementals rise up to attack and... to be continued? No resolution on that.

"Designer's Note: I had originally planned to present this area in excruciating and delightful detail."

• 1. The Grand Mall & Retail District: We get a laundry list of the sorts of businesses you can find here. Fur traders? We've got fur traders. Trading furs. At least until everything gets blowed up. Siembieda mentions this was going to be a longer section, but he ran out of space (I can't imagine where he might find anything to cut, too... ). Of course, it gets blowed up. "Coalition soldiers seemed to take great time and delight in toppling statues and monuments, desecrating churches and destroying works of art and history."
  
• 4. The Tolkeen Center: An indoor arena / stadium that becomes a refugee stronghold. "Ten thousand are killed... the thousands who surrender are executed." Yep, these are the Coalition generals that are supposed to be better than Drogue. "Oh, civilians? Giving themselves up voluntarily?" cues up "Bodies" by Drowning Pool
  
• 11. Tech-Center Tower: "... becomes a military bunker during the Final Siege and is part of the defense of the King's Tower and the heart of the city. It is razed to the ground."
  
• 12. Gold Sky Towers: "... becomes a military bunker during the Final Siege and is part of the defense of the King's Tower and the heart of the city. It is razed to the ground."
  
• 13. King's Tower: The heart of the Tolkeen government, this is one of the most well-protected buildings, made out of self-repairing magic material. This is where the King and the Circle of Twelve rule from. Still, the Coalition manages to blow off the top floors before it can self-repair and they essentially lay siege to it as it becomes the last redoubt of the Tolkeen forces. The Tolkeen defense is led by "The Expendables" (no relation to the movie, given how much earlier this was), a handful of soldiers who end up having their hearts wired to explosives and make a death run at the Coalition lines. (This does not matter.)

• 7. Lady Wood Orphanage: Man, I'm reminded of somebody I used to know that could never stop talking about her "lady boners". It's not relevant here, mind, it just brings back memories. Anyway, this is pretty much a cut-paste of the last orphanage description, only bigger: there are 5,000+ orphans here, with 2d6 being claimed a week and 1d6 being brought to them every day! Those are numbers that will never matter, but there you have it. Did you know the biggest orphanage in the real world has only around 1,000 orphans from the Syrian War? It's true. This is five times bigger than any orphanage we've ever made for a community far smaller than many modern locales. But, you know, that's just nitpicking. What isn't nitpicking is how it'll grow to 7,000 orphans and they they'll just be praying the Coalition doesn't pop them like bubble wrap. Yeah, I'm sure that'll work out.
  
• 8. War-Relief Sanctuary House: This is a front for a kidnapping and slavery operation that takes homeless, sick, and injured here and will "disappear" some of them to sell to... well, people who have evil alignments on their sheets, I suppose. Also they've made contact with the Splugorth and sell to them, which... you'd think people would notice giant slave barges in the middle of a huge city siege, but maybe they're ninja giant slave barges. (This is Rifts, after all.)
  
• 12. House of Tiny Miracles: Miracle cleaners, that is. The owner had a special cleaning solution that apparently was super-good, but apparently since he didn't want Coalition to get his special cleaning solution, he set the business on fire and committed suicide. The fire burned down the rest of the block. Mind, given it was a "popular" item, the chances are the Coalition may have found a bottle anyway. And, sure, that's all a downer, but how about that King Kong bit? That was funny, right? Right?
  
• 13. The Dragon's Bio-Dome: A special Bio-Dome to comfort dragons, and for some reason gets well over a page of details. I love how Siembieda opines how he doesn't have enough space, and then suddenly weren't getting details on the types of snakes and magic lemurs you find in Dragon House. I mean, it would make for a good set piece during the war, particularly given it's larger inside than outside, but it's just kind of odd that this, of all things, is singled out and given more attention than even the King's Tower.
  
• 14. Lar-Desert Bio-Dome: A desert biome designed for Larmac, which I'm sure is warranted. "Hey, we have a bunch of lazy D-Bees with no ambition. Let's build them a chillout house!" Makes sense.
  
• 15. Gargolo Bio-Dome: This is a hilly / mountainous Bio-Dome with a large network of tunnels underneath. Hey, I thought there wasn't any underground shelters? I mean, this isn't technically a shelter, but any port in an atomic storm...
  
• 17. Botanical Gardens (Bio-Dome): "It is one of the few things that the CS tries to preserve."

• 18. Museum District: 18 different museums listed and "park with park benches, pigeons and a manicured lawn". All of which are looted or wrecked. "Grab that pigeon! For humanity!"
  
• 19. Expedition Expediters Unlimited: A second Naruni front business that eventually offers help with escape routes, but if the PCs use them they're automatically associated with the Naruni somehow and get killed by the Coalition or just people what hate the Naruni.
  
• 20. Storage Facilities: No text. No doubt Siembieda numbered the map, then realized he was low on space, so- yeah.
  
• 21. The Linesman's Club: As in Ley Line Walkers, get it? It somehow gets "undetected" by Coalition intelligence and the bargoers manage to evacuate 3000 people at the last minute. It would make a lot more sense if it was just Coalition soldiers ignoring the bar so they could have a drink, but nope. They're just dumb.

"Those troops hesitant to mow down unarmed women and children (90% of the Dog Boys are included in this group), even D-Bee women and children, will try to give them a chance to flee while the soldiers zero in on obvious resistance fighters, armed adults, monsters, dragons, spell casters and the more monstrous and alien looking D-Bees."

"When the 'Hard Rain' bombardment commences, it uses non-nuclear warheads (although the term "nuked" is still used to describe the destruction)."

"I hope you don't mind."

"As always, keep those imaginations burning, and we'll keep trying to provide the fuel that feeds them. - Kevin Siembieda, 2001"