Download Latest Character Sheet
Rifts® Character Sheet [1.1 (latest)]
Megaverse Online Project Background
Several years ago I developed a fillable PDF character sheet for my favorite RPG in high school: Rifts®. When I put the character sheet together in Microsoft Publisher, my goal was to create a single sheet that you could have all of your adventuring gear, skills, background, etc. and flip over for when it came time for combat using your abilities, attacks, weapons, etc.
I created a print-only version and then later added some javascript to a fillable PDF to do some basic bonus calculations. After using it for a campaign with a local Meetup, I added two supplementary sheets and fixed some calculations and adjusted some others to handle the new UE rules. By then, I’d lost the original .pub file and was stuck with the layout I had.
My lofty goals to go back and recreate it fizzled out along with my ever-busier life as my kids got older until they eventually started playing Rifts® as well. So, I started putting a new version together, this time using Scribus but with a whole new design. While this is still a work in progress, the popularity of Rifts® seems to have waned (even moreso than it was in my day) and eventually I discovered games more people were willing to play far more often. I’m still interested in completing this but unless there is more interest, it’s probably just going to stay exactly as it is.
Where We Go From Here
For now, my plan is to recreate the character sheet as it was but this time, in an editable format that will [hopefully] persist for a good, long time. While Scribus is great at desktop publishing, I’m not sure it’s so great at creating PDF-fillable forms. If anyone has a better idea for a format, I’m open to suggestions.
Once published, of course people will be free to fork the project for themselves, including any artwork. Since this project includes copyrighted material, all notices and marks will have to remain. Among many other things, here’s what I see needs to be done:
- Convert print layout to Scribus or other open format
- Extract javascript functions and publish on Github
- Update license to reflect copyrighted material and comply with Palladium Books policy and United States copyright law
Contact Information
Matrix: @traek:matrix.org, Mastadon: @traek, Messenger: @traekmalan