Welcome to the Post-Apocalypse

AGE
SAV

WO S
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VEN
RLD
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T U R E EDI
THE GOLDEN AGE
OF MANKIND
The Golden Age was an era of
untold progress and learning for
all. Safe from the ugly violence
and war that plagued humans of
previous ages, Earth became a
paradise as everyone worldwide
had access to goods and services
only dreamed of in science fiction a
century before—and unimaginable
to their ancestors.
 A GOLDEN AGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Breakthroughs in genetic engineering, cybernetic limbs, and advanced sciences created a utopia
of abundance and longevity. But some greedy leaders used these wonders to augment their youth,
twisting them into weapons. Medical cybernetics devolved into bionic upgrades, stripping men of
their humanity. Super drugs and implants turned civilians into super soldiers. Industrial exoskeletons
became power armor—walking tanks. War loomed.
 THE GREAT
CATACLYSM
In late December 2098, a
devastatingly murderous nuclear
exchange between two South
American countries coincided
with a planetary alignment in the
heavens. The simultaneous energies
released at the moment of atomic
death acted as a massive ritual
sacrifice, shattering the unseen
barriers holding magical energies
at bay for millennia.

Titanic rifts in space and time tore

open. The biggest brought the
continent of Atlantis crashing back
to Earth. Tidal waves, earthquakes,
and volcanic eruptions ensued. An
apocalyptic chain of events was set
in motion, with later deaths causing
more arcane chaos and destruction,
until most humans were dead, and
their world sundered.
 THE COMING OF THE RIFTS
The return of the rifts heralded a new era for Earth, and for her unfortunate human progeny. Connected
to parallel dimensions, alternate planes of existence, divergent timelines, and innumerable bizarre
realities, Earth is now the gateway to the Megaverse®. Creatures long extinct or thought to be
mythical fight for survival alongside alien and supernatural beings. The Great Cataclysm reshaped the
landscape of the planet, and the rifts continue to warp and change entire regions. This is Rifts® Earth.
THE DARK AGES
The rifts have continued to bring
otherworldly intelligences to our
planet. Some are hapless aliens,
others are cruel creatures attracted
to mayhem and mystical power.

Since humanity's light went out in

the world, terrifying demons have
tormented mortals—using them as
playthings, food, and worse.

Without ready access to the lost

wonders of technology or the ability
to manipulate the arcane energies
about them, most humans were
powerless do anything but cower
in shadows and hidden places. An
infernal age of true darkness and
oppression had begun.
 THE FIRST CENTURY OF DARKNESS
Survivors of the Great Cataclysm banded together where they could, clinging to the last vestiges of
human technology. Most famous among the tales of those forsaken times are the legends of the Glitter
Boys, wandering warriors clad in nearly indestructible suits of laser reflective power armor and armed
with the most potent rail cannon ever devised. Like the knights of old, they protected the weak and
stood for justice. The Dark Ages would've never ended without the intervention of such selfless heroes.
MUTANTS AND D-BEES
The same primordial energies which
flow across the Earth to create the
rifts are changing her inhabitants.
Though many were mutated by
the biological and radiological
weapons of the Great Cataclysm,
even the untainted often exhibit
paranormal abilities. Some human
mutants have stabilized into
sub-species like the Psi-Stalkers—
humans evolved to hunt and feed
on the supernatural.

Earth is also being changed by the

arrival of dimensional beings—or
D-Bees—from elves and orcs to
the truly weird. The definition of
"person" is forever changed.
 LEY LINES AND
WIZARDS
Ley lines are visible blue rivers of
arcane energy which crisscross the
planet. They meet at nexus points,
places of potent power known to
oracles and shamans of old. It is at
these sites where rifts in time and
space will spontaneously rip open.

Sentient beings can learn to

harness these primal energies as
magic. The schools of sorcery are
numerous. Mystics are mighty
seers, Shifters summon creatures
from beyond, Techno-Wizards
meld magic with technology, and
Ley Line Walkers master the tides of
arcane power itself.
 THE SECOND CENTURY OF DARKNESS
As humans and their new allies evolved to control the new reality, civilization once again gained
stubborn footholds throughout Rifts® Earth. In North America societies with all manner of different
approaches to this brave new world began to vie with one another. Miraculously, the technologies
of the Golden Age were rebooted alongside new mystic orders, populations of D-Bees, and clans of
mutants. Though continually assaulted by horrors from beyond, progress would not be stopped.
POST-APOCALYPTIC
EMPIRES
In the Americas, various societies
jockey for control as they push
back post-apocalyptic badlands.

After roughly two centuries of

darkness, the fortress city-state of
Chi-Town declared the beginning
of a new era of hope, a human
era. Thus year one of the Post-
Apocalyptic calendar began.

Now the current year is 109

P.A. The mighty Coalition States
claim the territories of the fallen
American Empire, the Universal
Credit replaces the dollar, and
state mandated speech supplants
tolerance and free thought. Literacy
and truth are dangerous. Scholars
are outlaws.
 THE CRUSADE FOR HUMANITY
From his throne room in Chi-Town, the Emperor of the Coalition has called for a crusade against all
things alien and supernatural. Wearing their iconic death's head body armor, the "Dead Boys" of the
Coalition States fight an unending xenophobic war on a scale unseen in America for half a millennia.
CS war machines are technological terrors to rival their enemies summoned from beyond the rifts.
They've leveled entire city-states of magic users and D-Bee sympathizers. Their expansion continues.
 WASTELAND FRONTIERS
Though mankind is carving its own domain out of the wild lands, even the most civilized regions of
North America are plagued by monsters—including other humans. Vampires, werewolves, faeries,
spirits, dragons, cryptids, and much worse are the reality for travelers and those seeking to reclaim
the wasteland. Cannibals and raiders terrorize weaker communities. Many people are willing to trade
freedom for safety, and welcome the intervention of even petty tyrants able to protect them.
THE COMING DANGER
Already under constant siege by
the horrific and the alien, Earth is
also beset by ancient evils from the
darkest corners of the Megaverse®.

The four horsemen of the

apocalypse, a devouring swarm
of demons, a terrible eater of
souls, and many more dooms have
been foreseen in similar visions
by psychics and sages across the
planet.

Menaced on multiple fronts by

sinister beings as old as the cosmos
itself, humanity faces oblivion.
A CALL TO ARMS
With the rebuilders of civilization
just waking up to the true threats of
supernatural evil and the tyranny
of men, the most learned have
published a call for heroes.

The oldest fraternity of champions,

the Glitter Boy brotherhood, and
the much more centrally organized
Cyber-Knight order have begun
to bring justice and liberty to the
American wasteland.

Brave adventurers stand with the

Cyber-Knights and Glitter Boy
pilots. Some are powerful warriors
modified by technology, psionics,
or magic, while others are simple
scouts, scholars, or rogues driven
to make Rifts® Earth a better place
for all its inhabitants.
THE TOMORROW
LEGION
Uniting under a common banner,
many flock to a group known as
the Tomorrow Legion. Founded in
partnership with the Cyber-Knights,
the Legion's headquarters are
the budding city-state of Castle
Refuge—a community that accepts
anyone willing to resist evil and
tyranny in all its forms.

The Tomorrow Legion sends its

heroes on expeditions into the
wasteland to defend the weak—
then invites them to join an alliance
of trade and mutual protection.
Already, the Legionnaires are
creating a bold new legacy of
prosperity in the savage world of
Rifts® Earth. Will you join them?

Savage Worlds is © 2019 and TM Pinnacle Entertainment Group. All Rights Reserved. © 2019 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved, worldwide. Rifts® and Megaverse® are Registered
Trademarks of Palladium Books, Inc. All character names and likenesses are copyright and trademarks owned by Palladium Books, Inc. and used under license.