INTRODUCTION
General. One of the more cerebral classes within the game, they certainly don’t present as the clear go-to class for an adventurer. It is definitely an OCC I believe has a bit of a case of mistaken identity, more to do with how it is presented in the context of the other OCCs. They are acclaimed heroes and do-gooders to the more rural and less xenophobic, while the authorities of the CS would place them just under the Rogue Scholars and Rogue Scientists as subversive threats. Amongst the other Adventurers, they don’t necessarily stand out. One could be excused for thinking them little more than a Rogue Scientist with a medical bent on their skills and training. As an OCC primarily concerned with healing, they can make for a bit of an unusual party member; not much of a heavy hitter in the firefight (if at all), but indispensable in the post-battle, recovery phase, or in role-playing settings. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be on the good side of a medical doctor nowadays? Coming across one in a post-apocalyptic setting could be like winning the lottery ticket. And hey, they let you *play* the OCC/lottery ticket.
Type of Characters. As one of the Adventurer classes, one can imagine there is a slew of OCC and Other Skills, many of which have significant bonuses. Well, in this case you would be correct! They are a bit of a skill jockey, but with a very specific flavour or specialization. This is not the character that will be dealing significant angst to a robot pilot or a Dragon Hatchling, but they certainly can be a boon in the typically unique skill set they deliver to the party. Based on location and who they GM is presenting as NPC, the Body Fixer can also leverage their reputation, which could be a significant benefit to the group, but could also come to be a deterrent. They are one of the OCCs that has perhaps the least amount of OCC abilities. In fact, the RMB, there simply were none: description, OCC Skills, OCC Related and Secondary Skills, Standard Equipment and Money. That was it. Finally, there is a fairly head scratching minimum Attribute Requirement of an IQ of 10, which seems…. low….
Key Characteristics of the Body Fixer. I have to say this is an unusual case. In the RMB, they had nothing, zero, zilch, zip. In the RUE, they formalized a couple of points into single point, then added a Disease Diagnosis Specialist, which is a specific OCC Ability. This is followed simply by a bog-standard level of OCC Bonuses. Nothing else to see here, which I find…. odd.
Relevant Books with Updates. Yeah, pretty much the same as the previous section. Not much to see here.
GAME CONTEXT
How I Would Play This OCC. The Body Fixer certainly has a few elements going for it that most other OCCs don’t have access to. As a skill jockey, I’d leverage this and look to making something that can be useful in non-combat scenarios, while still choosing the right WP skills to make him at least a contributor in any combat action. As an adventuring doctor, we’d need to gear up on applicable skills, but I like the idea of playing a city-based campaign with a Streetwise and connected doctor that goes the heroic route. With their Familiarity with D-Bees and the Lore skill, that places this OCC in a position to help the remainder of the party with the specific knowledge they could leverage.
The Body Fixer in Context
All Human. Where you are playing a squishy skill jockey amongst a number of other squishy characters relying on body armour and their wits to survive, the Body Fixer certainly keeps within an arm’s reach of the remainder. You can’t expect them to be the damage dealers extraordinaire that even a CS Grunt would possibly be capable of dealing, but their contribution won’t add to nothing. Considering this may be the single best source to medical care in the group, I daresay you want this guy kept in the back of any combat scenario, supporting any way they can. When it comes time to role-play, depending on the campaign and the style your GM uses, this OCC may end up being the darling character of the group. They can definitely leverage their OCC’s reputation among other ‘human’ and non-MDC beings – just be careful of those guys with skulls on their helmets and armour.
With the Big Boss(es). Well things are going downhill pretty quickly for this OCC; at least in comparison to the remainder of the group. But hey, at least they can come trained to point and shoot an energy rifle, right? Remember, they’re niche specialists, and Rogue Scientists or Scholars can bring a greater cross-section of skills to bear. Depending on how the campaign is established (I sense a trend), the Body Fixer can step up and certainly be very useful, if not at least helpful.
With the Demi-Gods. Well, now we’ve stepped off the proverbial cliff, in my humble opinion. Ironically, the profession often accused of having a "god complex" now adventuring next to actual gidlings. Does the lowly Body Fixer mix well within a group of supernatural and heavy MDC creatures? Again, maybe, and most likely because the GM has designed the adventure to compensate. At this point the character’s abilities and training are of no use repairing the likely major robots/power armour or vehicles other PCs are sporting, even less useful to regenerating MDC creatures or those that can cast spells to do the same in a fraction of the time. And let’s call a spade a spade – what NPC is going to want to interact with a ‘lowly’ doctor when a real honest-to-god…. god, is standing before you? Maybe some NPC’s kid broke their arm in the background…. maybe.
Rifts Main Book (RMB, or Grey Book) to Rifts Ultimate Edition (RUE). Unlike most other classes, the Body Fixer saw very little in the way of upgrades. The Disease Diagnosis Specialist ability is a quasi-buff with very limited scope, and they get a few minor tweaks to some saving rolls. The OCC Skills list is more of an update with a few additional skills. The OCC Related Skills categories are updated (duh….). Not much else to see here.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE BODY FIXER
As an adventurer that relies on their education and skills to make them relevant, I can’t say the Body Fixer really delivers anything extraordinary. It’s a shame this class didn’t really benefit from much of an upgrade in RUE, as it still delivers only a shade of what I imagined they hoped it would be. Compared to the other Adventurers, particularly the Rogue Scientist, the Body Fixer seems to leverage more of its presumed reputation than the actual skill set. As I look through these reviews and the ones of the horizon, it dawns on me that this is one of the least appealing classes, in terms of what it was initially designed to do. Its skill list is relatively niche, but not something other classes couldn’t accomplish. In a game where under most heuristics, a person could assume this OCC most equates to a healer/cleric, you would be way off the mark (I mean wayyyyyyy off). This OCC seems to be like the CS Grunt of the Adventurers – it does some things, but a bunch of others can do the same better. You might be able to get some good roleplaying out of it, or some relevance, but it looks a lot like it would only occur with concerted efforts from the GM to make it so, which is really unfortunate. If there was ever to be a rejuvenation of the Rifts rules and classes, I would peg this one as a serious contender for a major upgrade. Otherwise, I can’t help but wonder how this wouldn’t be better served as an MOS for the Rogue Scientist instead of a full-fledged OCC.
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