Author: Brandon Aten, Matthew Orr and Kevin Siembieda
Release Date: March 2018
GENERAL
I got this title a while back, but only just got to reviewing it now. This World Book is a straight bolt-on to both World Books 17: Warlords of Russia, and World Book 18: Mystic Russia. It develops the meta-plot in terms of the dynamic of the Gargoyle Kingdom’s war against the NGR, the influence of the Angels from Mindwerks and their Brodkil minions, as well as the developments and strain it is placing on the entente between the two human states. We get a great deep dive into the history, society, and worldview of the Sovietski, their militaristic society, and the weapons of war they rely upon to keep safe.
SECTIONS
History of the Sovietski. A quick overview of Russia in the Golden Age of Man. Further exploitation of recently discovered natural resources fed into a capital investment scheme, reinforced with a centralization of political power to the Duma (instead of the President), saw a rare era of stability, national consensus and sustained growth and technological advancement. The showcase of their efforts was overshadowed by industry leaders (from Germany, Japan and United States); being the butt of international jokes cast a pall over the Russian mindset. This caused a stymied and divisive political landscape that triggered an economic slide and a return to poverty and bread lines for the populace. This evoked a revolution in 2067, with a new Communist Party coming to power with two figures at the fore: Sasha Sergovna Dukov (political activist) and Mikhail Ibrahimovich Polovstev (ranking soldier). These two steered the post-revolutionary Soviet-state, veins of power spreading forth from Moscow to restore order and national prestige.
Empire of Cybernetics. One of the keys to the new government’s success was leveraging cybernetics. After taking control of the research and development sites, massive project to rehabilitate and convert warriors and injured/lame supported an effort to perfect and push the boundaries of the technology. A steep learning curve was overcome, and a new national identity was tied to cybernetics. As war broke out with China, field tests of cybernetics reinforced the resiliency of the Russian people. When the Dark Days arrived, the Medvedev Prospect Army Strategic Garrison’s struggles, detailed in WB 17: The Warlords of Russia, lays the groundwork for the Sovietski – a peer power to the Warlords that constantly harass their borders.
Notable Major Events:
Brodkil Invasion (105 P.A.). The Sovietski established ties to the NGR and Polish communities. Mindwerks, looking to destabilize the NGR, launched an invasion with 100,000 Brodkil. Intent on destroying the Sovietski, they inadvertently drew in the forces of Warlords. Facing assured annihilation, the Brodkil withdrew; injured monsters leveraged their latent invisibility to launch suicide attacks to cover the retreat. The result was an alliance between some of the Warlords and the Sovietski.
Return of the Brodkil (108 P.A.). Brodkil return en force, supported by 20,000 Simvan. With monstrous forces forced into service along the way, they attacked the Warlords/Sovietski and have laid siege to Kaliningrad, which leads to the current dynamic for the western half of the territory controlled by the Warlords.
Sovietski Government. Accounting for 75% of the economy, you could imagine a monolithic influence. This is fairly common across most human states across Rifts Earth. This section goes over economic, regulatory governance, religion, freedom and media, the Communist Party and its secret police and “cultural enforcement” all support the Supreme Soviet Authority. We get the main characters for the Politburo.
Foreign Relations. As always, Rifts World Books do a great job providing an overview of how various states and city-states view each other. From all the Warlords, to the NGR, Polish players, including notes for the monstrous states in and around the Sovietski sphere, and other human powers.
Notable Sovietski Cities
New Moscow. A staggering 1.8 million people, with points of interest and military assets defined.
New Leningrad. With around 175,000 people live in the ‘Festival City,” with points of interest and military assets defined.
Kaliningrad. Hosts near4ly 35% of the industrial might and research capabilities, including Golden Age technology. Includes the Division for Paranormal Research and a number of other sites of interest.
Kurlensk. Originally a strategic location for the Soviet nuclear program, the city of 167,000 has much mystery and intrigue associated with it.
Volga Fortress. A military fort and hydroelectric dam, home base for Sovietski operations against Warlord Burgasov. Recent economic and military expansions have turned the city of 108,000 into a bit of a boom town.
Underground Bunkers. The underground, armored facilities that allowed the Sovietski to escape the majority of the chaos from the Apocalypse. With almost two dozen of these structures, this section includes some creation tables to develop the size, primary function, accommodations and power, weapons , condition of the infrastructure, and other factors.
Life in the Sovietski. Government and military are central, but not omnipresent. Their view of magic (e.g. Mystic Kuzyna, Gypsy Wizards, others), psionics (accepted, especially as military assets), outsiders and D-Bees (human-like tolerable, non-human not accepted) is defined. The Russian religious enclaves are given a fair overview, including some bizarrely self-destructive views on radioactive exposure and divine power, the Synthetic Movement and their devotion to all things cybernetic/bionic, and a series of other sects and beliefs that have taken root. The Dead Zone Effect Tables, areas produced by the fallout of the nuclear holocaust), holidays and festivals, veteran orginzations, and a neat little Small Talk Table.
D-Bees Accepted by the Sovietski. As advertised on the tin.
Gridgitz. Can easily pass for human that take to farming and mining, with a hatred for magic.
Shu-Shuum. A dwarfish race, they appear like diminutive humans with leathery, wrinkly skin.
Wolverine People. A humanoid with wolverine-like features. They excel at stalking, and scouting, many hired by the Sovietski for a bargain price.
Yaganar. A strange D-Bee often considered an ice elemental, they present with long, gangly limbs and white skin tinted to reflect their element (white/blue: ice/water; grey: air; yellow/brown: earth; red/bronze: fire). As they advance in level, so do their natural abilities.
The Sovietski Army. Also known as the “Red Army,” they are comprised of four combat services, each providing a piece to the joint operations for the Sovietski. With a strong focus on cyborg soldiers, the section provides an in-depth overview of the combat services/GRU/KGB, weapons technology, training, military ranks, and some new/revised skills. There are several new O.C.C.s as well:
Cold Born (physchic). Basically, take a Burster and change flame to ice powers; you get the gist.
Cyborg Soldier. Essentially the Combat Cyborg, with either a light or heavy chassis, with a couple of MOS specialties.
Police Officer. Revised from the WB 19: Australia, with expanded material.
Infantry Soldier. Another revised and expanded class, resembling the Headhunter, with options to getting partial to full conversion cyborgs, and a series of MOS options that look a lot like the Mercenary Soldier O.C.C. from RUE.
Tanker. An interesting class that has four MOS options (Commander, Driver, Gunner, or Operator/Mechanic).
Vedmak Cyber-Doc. A Cyber-Doc that takes their own profession to the max by getting a full conversion into a light machine chassis.
Spetsnaz Special Forces. The Sovietski Military Specialist, with a slew of MOS options, some of which allow for creating a magic user, master psychic, or a partial/full conversion cyborg.
Citizens (non-combat O.C.C.). Your run-of-the-mill civilian with a number of MOS entries.
Commissar (non-combat O.C.C.). A series of MOS options for leadership positions within the Sovietski.
Sovietski Cyborgs. Firepower meets manpower. The Russian/Sovietski mindset on cyborgs is anything “bigger means more firepower, more firepower is better.” Each model comes with a baseline of cybernetics and bionics, and weapons.
Light Machine. A series of models of ‘light’ conversion models.
Heavy Machines. Your basic humanoid infantry combat and heavy assault models.
Firebird Heavy. A heavy cyborg with flight capabilities and flamethrower weapons. A little on the nose.
Whirlwind Heavy. So you want a cyborg that transforms into a kind of motorcycle to zip away? We got you.
Rusalka Superheavy. Named after a water demon, this model deals with amphibious assaults and water-borne operations.
Thunderfist Superheavy. A big bruiser with four arms, that oddly doesn’t allow extra armour to be worn, but is directly integrated into the chassis. Not terribly practicable, but hey, you start with 580 M.D.C.
Tsar Superheavy. Known as “Big Ivan,” you know this one will be a thing. Another where armour is not plated on top, it stands at a whopping 740 M.D.C.
Enhanced Animal Cyborgs. If bionic humans were good, bionic animals are great. Not exactly sure how one comes up with a proposal, let alone tackle the ethical boundaries of it, but hey, Rifts.
Birds of Prey. Falcons, hawks and eagles.
Canine Cyborgs. The CS have their Dog Boys, the Sovietski have cyber-mastiffs.
Ursine Cyborgs. Did you think after bird and then dog the Ruskies wouldn’t try a bear? Well, you’d be right. But they only let them get partial conversions.
Cybernetics and Bionics. After a short review on salvaging bionics and an unauthorized vendors table, we get into the voluminous entries for new cybernetics and bionics.
Sovietski Combat Vehicles. Largely reprinted from the information found in WB 18: Mystic Russia. We have tanks, aircraft, submarines and naval vessels, body armour and weaponry for the Sovietski.
CONCLUSION
Initial Assessment (7/10). The Sovietski book is something that has always kind of floated there as an option from the time Warlords of Russia, and more specifically Mystic Russia came out. There was always a bizarre dichotomy to the latter; where we expect a book on regional forms of magic, maybe some spells, D-Bees and monsters for sure, it ends with a series of tech entries for a completely disassociated entity. I mention as much back in Scholar’s Review #23 for World Book 18: Mystic Russia, reinforced now that it was wholesale reprinted herein. Sure, it makes sense to combine it all under one cover, but for the GM looking to develop this region, they definitively need all the two earlier World Books in addition to this one, and nobody particularly enjoys seeing/paying for reprints.
Critiques on editing and publication decisions aside, this is a grand addition for any GM looking to develop an adventure in this region. The plot advances, with ties to the NGR and their conflict, the chaos factor that is Mindwerks and the Brodkil, and the wholesale political upheavals that the Warlord personalities can incur. Throw in a heavy cybernetic modification vibe, a region that is by definition a series of small but powerful city-states claiming massive tracts of untamed wilderness, and the ability to pick and choose from a multitude of monsters and demons, the GM has a plethora of adventure ideas. The Sovietski is the one relatively stable player in that mix, making a great base of operations. The artwork is pretty soldi throughout, but none more so than the full page Vedmak illustration (by Atkins?) and the vehicle section (Atkins? And Chuck Walton). This World Book does a fantastic job developing the worldview of the Sovietski, and draws on some clear similarities with the way Russia/U.S.S.R. was treated in the post-WWII era and their economic/technological positions during the same era. It makes for a clear expectation and entry point for the GM to leverage in terms of game immersion, which is always a bonus.
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