Ley Lines, Nexus Points And Places of Power

General Comments

The inclusion of ley lines in Palladium's games adds a lot of flavor to the settings, and I've always been intrigued by the concept. Unfortunately, in my opinion, there are a lot of inconsistencies and omissions in the rules. My attempt to consolidate the rules and provide some extra detail is included below. Generally, I have added some clearer details about how many ley lines and nexus points are in a given area, and included the concept of transitional places of power (from Beyond the Supernatural). I've also divided the rifts that form naturally at nexus points into two categories, large and small, so that a minor rift is a more common occcurence than a full-blown rift. And, why do that if you don't know what will come through them anyway, so I put together some random encounter charts for beasties coming out of a rift.

The biggest modification to the rules that I've made is trying to reconcile the differences in ley line effects across the Palladium game books. Yes, I know that each world has a different level of power - I am not trying to make them all the same. However, in Rifts® and Nightbane(TM) characters on nexus points gain 30x or 15x their level per 6 hours, while in Palladium's Fantasy RPG(TM) and Heroes Unlimited(TM) characters get 20 PER ROUND! Over the 6 hour period, that's 28,800 PPE for a first level mage! Yes, a high level mage can draw on more power for a single spell in Rifts Earth, but overall the power available from the "weaker" ley lines in the Fantasy and HU settings seems much more potent. So, in effect, I have taken the per-round bonuses to PPE from the weaker magic settings and included them in the more potent magic settings.

Ley Lines

These rivers of power permeate the Earth, often running well below, but occasionally rising to, the surface. In any given 10,000 square mile area (100 x 100 miles), there will be a random number of ley line segments running along the surface. When a ley line surfaces, it will generally run for an average of several dozen miles before disappearing again into the earth. Assume that each ley line has a 10% chance of being much longer (1d6x5 times longer) and a 10% chance of being much shorter (only 1d6x5%).

On rare worlds, like Rifts Earth, ley lines are visible at ranges of 1/4 mile to 5 miles or more, depending on their strength and whether it is day or night. In the rest of the multiverse, some varieties of mages and supernatural beings can see the energy of ley lines at ranges of a mile or more. However, all mages, mystics and psionic sensitives can sense when they are within 100 yards of a ley line because of a vague feeling of energy flowing around them (requires a moderate difficulty perception roll).

Nexus Points

Where two or more ley lines meet and cross, a power point called a nexus forms. The energy flows in a nexus are much stronger than in individual ley lines, and affect a larger area. The number of nexus points per 100x100 mile area is listed as a percentage of the number of ley lines. For example, if there are 10 ley line segments and a rating of 20% for nexus points, there would be 2 places where ley lines cross in that region. Depending on the whim of the GM, the nexus could be where 2 ley lines meet, meaning 8 ley lines in that region never intersect (on the surface of the world), or the nexus point could be formed by more than 2 ley lines meeting at the same place.

On Rifts Earth, nexus points can be seen at a distance of 5 miles or more. On other worlds, some varieties of mages and supernatural beings can see the energy of nexus points at ranges of five miles or more. However, all mages, mystics and psionic sensitives can sense when they are within a mile of a nexus because of a vague feeling of raw energy flowing around them (requires a moderate difficulty perception roll). When within 100 yards, the feeling of energy flowing around becomes obvious (no perception roll needed), and the sensitive can begin to feel a mild natural euphoria.

Rifts Nightbane Palladium RPG Heroes Unlimited
Frequency of Ley Lines 2d6 / 10,000 sq miles 2d6 / 10,000 sq miles 2d4 / 10,000 sq miles 2d4 / 10,000 sq miles
Avg. Length on Surface 3d6 x10 miles 2d6 x10 miles 1d6 x10 miles 6d6 miles
Frequency of Nexus Points 2d4 x5% 2d4 x5% 1d6 x5% 1d6 x5%
Effects within 2 miles of a ley line +50% range and duration +50% range and duration +20% range and duration +20% range and duration
Effects when on a ley line or when within 1 mile of a nexus x2 range, duration and damage

+10 PPE each round

+10 PPE per lvl per 12 hrs

recover 10 PPE per half hour

x2 range, duration and damage

+10 PPE each round

+5 PPE per lvl per 12 hrs

recover 10 PPE per half hour

+50% range, duration, damage

+10 PPE each round

recover 10 PPE per half hour

+50% range, duration, damage

+10 PPE each round

recover 10 PPE per half hour

Effects when on a nexus x3 range, duration and damage

+2 vs magic and horror factor

+1 spell strength

+20 PPE each round

+30 PPE / lvl every 6 hrs

recover 20 PPE per half hour

x3 range, duration and damage

+2 vs magic and horror factor

+1 spell strength

+20 PPE each round

+15 PPE / lvl every 6 hrs

recover 20 PPE per half hour

x2 range, duration, damage

+2 vs magic and horror factor

+1 spell strength

+20 PPE each round

recover 20 PPE per half hour

x2 range, duration, damage

+2 vs magic and horror factor

+1 spell strength

+20 PPE each round

recover 20 PPE per half hour

Increased Energy at Midday and Midnight x2 per-round bonus for 1 min on both ley lines and nexus

+20 PPE / lvl

5% chance of a small Rift

x2 per-round bonus for 1 min on both ley lines and nexus

+10 PPE / lvl

x2 per-round bonus for 1 min on both ley lines and nexus x2 per-round bonus for 1 min on both ley lines and nexus
Increased Energy at Vernal Equinox x2 per-round bonus during day

x4 per-round bonus for 1 min at dawn, noon, sunset

+100 PPE / lvl during the day

50% / 30% of small/full Rift per hour

x2 per-round bonus during day

x4 per-round bonus for 1 min at dawn, noon, sunset

+50 PPE / lvl during the day

15% chance of small Rift / hour

x2 per-round bonus during day

x4 per-round bonus for 1 min at dawn, noon, sunset

15% chance of small Rift at dawn, noon, sunset

x2 per-round bonus for 1 min at dawn, noon, sunset

10% chance of small Rift at dawn, noon, sunset

Increased Energy at Autumnal Equinox x2 per-round bonus during night

x4 per-round bonus for 1 min at sunset, midnight, dawn

+100 PPE / lvl during the night

50% / 30% of small/full Rift/hr

x2 per-round bonus during night

x4 per-round bonus for 1 min at sunset, midnight, dawn

+50 PPE / lvl during the night

15% chance of small Rift / hour

x2 per-round bonus during night

x4 per-round bonus for 1 min at sunset, midnight, dawn

15% chance of small Rift at sunset, midnight, dawn

x2 per-round bonus for 1 min at sunset, midnight, dawn

10% chance of small Rift at sunset, midnight, dawn

Increased Energy at Summer and Winter Solstice x2 per-round bonus for 24 hrs

x4 per-round bonus for 5 min at dawn, noon, sunset, midnight

+100 PPE / lvl during 24 hrs

80% / 40% of small/full Rift/hr

+300 PPE / lvl at dawn

100% / 70% of small / full Rift at dawn

+200 PPE / lvl at sunset

95% / 55% of small / full Rift at sunset

x2 per-round bonus for 24 hrs

x4 per-round bonus for 5 min at dawn, noon, sunset, midnight

+50 PPE / lvl during 24 hrs

20% chance of small Rift / hour

+150 PPE / lvl at dawn

60% / 35% of small / full Rift at dawn

+100 PPE / lvl at sunset

50% / 25% of small / full Rift at sunset

x2 per-round bonus for 24 hrs

x4 per-round bonus for 5 min at dawn, noon, sunset, midnight

15% chance of small Rift at noon, sunset

+300 PPE (shared) at dawn

50% chance of small Rift at dawn

+150 PPE (shared) at sunset

25% chance of small Rift at sunset

x2 per-round bonus for 5 min at dawn, noon, sunset, midnight

10% chance of small Rift at noon, sunset

+150 PPE (shared) at dawn

33% chance of small Rift at dawn

+75 PPE (shared) at sunset

15% chance of small Rift at sunset

Increased Energy during Lunar Eclipses x2 per-round bonus for 90 min

+400 PPE / lvl for 90 min

100% / 77% of small / full Rift

x2 per-round bonus for 90 min

+200 PPE / lvl for 90 min

70% / 35% of small/full Rift

x2 per-round bonus for 90 min

+400 PPE (shared) at peak, lasts for 1 min

50% / 25% of small / full Rift

x2 per-round bonus for 90 min

+200 PPE (shared) at peak, lasts for 1 min

35% chance of small Rift

Increased Energy during Solar Eclipses and Celestial Events x10 range, duration, damage

+6 vs magic and horror factor

x3 per-round bonus for 2d4 min

+1,000 PPE / lvl for 2d4 min

recover 50 PPE per minute

100% / 88% of small / full Rift

x5 range, duration, damage

+6 vs magic and horror factor

x3 per-round bonus for 2d4 min

+500 PPE / lvl for 2d4 min

recover 30 PPE per minute

90% / 40% of small / full Rift

x3 range, duration, damage

+6 vs magic and horror factor

x3 per-round bonus for 2d4 min

+800 PPE (shared) for 1 min

recover 30 PPE per minute

80% / 30% of small / full Rift

x3 range, duration, damage

+6 vs magic and horror factor

x3 per-round bonus for 2d4 min

+600 PPE (shared) for 1 min

recover 20 PPE per minute

50% chance of small Rift

Transitional Places of Power

Periodically, mystic energy will rip through the fabric of reality, creating a transitional place of power. These locations vary in size, but are generally about (1d4 x 1d4 x 1d4 x 1d4) feet in radius. There are likely to be 1d3-1 places of power per 10,000 square miles (100 x 100 miles), though some areas are more concentrated, with perhaps 2d4 per 10,000 square miles. Most will be relatively weak, and/or present only periodically, others may be consistently powerful.

01-50 Equal to a ley line but without any surges

01-50 Lasts 4d6 x50 years then goes away forever
51-90 Lasts 3d6 x250 years then goes away forever
91-00 Lasts 2d4 x1000 years then goes away forever

51-66 Equal to a ley line with standard surges

01-50 Lasts 4d6 x20 years then goes away forever
51-90 Lasts 3d6 x100 years then goes away forever
91-00 Lasts 2d4 x500 years then goes away forever

67-90 Equal to a nexus point but without any surges

01-50 Lasts 4d6 x10 years then goes away forever
51-90 Lasts 3d6 x50 years then goes away forever
91-00 Lasts 2d4 x250 years then goes away forever

91-95 Equal to a nexus point with standard surges

01-50 Lasts 4d6 years then goes away forever
51-90 Lasts 3d6 x5 years then goes away forever
91-00 Lasts 2d4 x25 years then goes away forever

96-100 Cyclic Places of Power: roll 1d100 four times, once for each of the following sub-tables.

Roll

Interval of Occurence

Roll

Period

Roll

Eruptions in the Period

Roll

Strength of each Eruption

01-20 7 years 01-20 1 day 01-20 2 01-20 Equal to an equinox
21-40 9 years 21-40 2 days 21-40 3 21-40 Equal to a solstice
41-60 13 years 41-60 3 days 41-60 4 41-60 Equal to a lunar eclipse
61-75 21 years 61-75 7 days 61-75 5 61-75 Equal to a partial solar eclipse
76-85 28 years 76-85 9 days 76-85 7 76-85 Equal to a full solar eclipse
86-95 2d4 x10 years 86-95 13 days 86-95 9 86-95 A random Rift opens*
96-00 3d6 x10 years 96-00 28 days 96-00 13 96-00 A specific Rift opens*

* When a random Rift opens, treat it as per a nexus event. A specific Rift indicates the portal always goes to the same destination, and generally some creature (often evil, of course!) will come through and visit Earth until the final eruption, when it will attempt to return to its world. The creature will know the cycle and be prepared to come through in each occurence.

Small Rifts

A small rift will remain open for 2d4 rounds times the roll of a d100. To see what, if anything, comes through, roll percentile on the following tables:

01-75 Nothing comes through

76-90 A minor entity comes through (40% stay near site and leave before it closes, 60% wander around Earth)

01-30 1d6 Entity: Poltergeists astral, minor ppe vamp, prankster 91-95 1 UFOnaut energy, curious visitor
31-55 1 Entity: Haunting astral, minor ppe vamp, ghost 96-98 1 Entity: Syphon astral, moderate ppe vamp, evil
56-75 1 Banshee astral, detects death, ppe vamp 99 4d4 Hell Hounds astral, become physical, hungry
75-90 1d6 Entity: Astral astral, alien 100 1 Minor Elemental astral, becomes physical, alien

91-95 A major entity comes through (20% stay near site and leave as it closes, 80% wander around Earth)

01-05 1 Malignous astral, becomes physical, makes giant insect 51-65 1 Spectre energy, demonic explorers
06-20 1 Entity: Tectonic astral, becomes physical, ppe vamp, evil 66-80 1 Major Elemental astral, becomes physical, alien
21-35 1 Possessing Entity astral, ppe vamp, possessing, evil 81-90 1 Vampire Intelligence astral, a fragment seeking to make a new master vamp
36-50 1 Necrophim astral, demonic explorers 91-00 1 Alien Intelligence astral, a fragment seeking to make a new witch

96-100 One, or several, beings who were randomly using dimensional teleport arrive. Roll on the full rifts table for creatures (the final sub-table) instead.

Full Rifts

A full rift is a rare occurence for most worlds, but not unheard of. And on some, like Rifts Earth, they are not nearly as rare as most residents would like. :) They most often occur during eclipses and similar events. The full rift will normally only remain open for 4d4 minutes, but there is a 10% of it remaining open for 1d10 hours. If it remains open for more than 1 hour, roll again on the following table once per hour.

01-50 Nothing comes through

51-80 An entity comes through (30% stay near site and leave before it closes, 70% wander around Earth)

01-15 1d6 Entity: Poltergeists astral, minor ppe vamp, prankster 61-65 1 Malignous astral, becomes giant insect
16-24 1 Entity: Haunting astral, minor ppe vamp, ghost 66-70 1 Entity: Tectonic astral, beomes physical, ppe vamp
25-30 1 Banshee astral, detects death, ppe vamp 71-75 1 Possessing Entity astral, ppe vamp, possessing, evil
31-40 1d6 Entity: Astral astral, alien 76-80 1 Necrophim astral, demonic explorers
41-45 1 UFOnaut energy, curious visitor 81-85 1 Spectre energy, demonic explorers
46-50 1 Entity: Syphon astral, moderate ppe vamp, evil 86-90 1 Major Elemental astral, becomes physical, alien
51-55 4d4 Hell Hounds astral, become physical, hungry 91-95 1 Vampire Intelligence astral, fragment seeking to make a new master vamp
56-60 1 Minor Elemental astral, become physical, alien 96-00 1 Alien Intelligence astral, fragment seeking to make a new witch

81-00 A creature comes through (10% stay near site and leave before it closes, 90% wander the Earth)

1 2d4 x100 D-Bees non-supernatural accidental refugees 78-79 2d4 Brodkil or Gromek phsyical, demonic invaders
2-5 2d4x10 D-Bees non-supernatural accidental refugees 80-81 1 Sowki or Lizard Mage physical, demonic schemer
6-15 2d10 D-Bees non-supernatural accidental refugees 82-84 1 Demon or Deevil (major) physical, demonic raider or schemer
16-35 1d3 D-Bees non-supernatural accidental refugees 85 salesman or shipment physical, dimensional merchant like Naruni or others
36-45 1 or 2d4 adventurers dimensional explorers, mages, Atlanteans, etc. 86-90 1 intelligent predator roll to create it on the tables in Rifts
46-47 1 Dimensional Ghoul physical, non-aggressive, ghoul 91 1 Ki-Lin or Spirit of Light physical, good explorer, protector of mortals
48-60 1d4 animalistic predators roll to create them on the tables in Rifts 92 1 Spider Demon or Goqua physical, demonic schemer
61 2d4x20 animalistic predators roll to create them on the tables in Rifts 93-94 1d6 servants of the Splugorth physical, demonic slavers and raiders
62-64 1 Dybbuk or Dar'ota physical, evil predators 95-97 1 major servant of evil a master vampire, witch or other servant/scout of an intelligence
65-69 2d6 Gargoyles physical, evil predators 98 1 Dragon physical, explorer or raider
70-72 Temporal Raiders physical, evil magical raiders 99 1 demigod / godling physical, purpose varies
73-77 1d4 Demons or Deevils (minor) physical, demonic raiders and schemers 100 1 major being god, splugorth, alien intelligence, demon or deevil lord

Palladium Books, Rifts and Megaverse are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. PPE, ISP, Heroes Unlimited, and Nightbane are trademarks (TM) owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.

This page is copyright © 1998 by Jim Stoner
Last Modified July 11, 1998