So, I'm a long time fan of both SR and Rifts (by Palladium) unfortunately because the actual rule set for Rifts isn't that great I've had a hard time keeping games going (It's been impossible). Since Shadowrun already blends sci-fi and fantasy and does so in the best way I've ever seen with a rule system that isn't automatically universally despised I'm considering trying to do Rifts on the SR4 system.

I'm wondering if anyone else has tried anything like this before, how it went, and if they have the stats for any of the Rifts Power Armor or Giant Robots available?

Ah yes I think a few of my group member's tried to do this years ago and it didn't work out so well for them. We also tried to convert it over to the Hero system as well but that whole mega damage system is kinda a pain in the ass to deal with. I like Rifts myself but really really hate the rules and stopped running games years ago.

Yeah, the first thing I've realized is that 'Mega Damage' won't be part of the game. That said, any suit of power armor will probably have both enough body and armor that anything lighter than an assault weapon won't be able to get through its armor.

it could be done, but would be a lot of work. the core setting assumptions remove essence as a concern for non-mages, everyone has military armor suits, and powerful energy weapons are common. really, you need that military armor when you consider those pistol lasers vs half your impact armor, or vehicle-mounted railguns, plasma and missiles, are the most common weapons used. plus the giant monsters from beyond.

RIFTS is really SR after the horrors come back- big nasty things from beyond. if you approach the setting from that standpoint, it makes more sense. you dont need mega-damage, but you do need to re-write the entire equipment section and vehicle combat rules, and add a section for bionics (which are superior to cybernetics, think delta-grade military implants). the cataclysm is set for 2098 in the rifts timeline, but really the tech there is beyond what the SR world could develop in the next 30 years. glitter boys, full conversion borgs, mind over matter implants, juicers, nuclear-powered giant robots. well, the really far-out stuff is the nuclear power cells, the M.O.M. implant, and the way bionics ignore essence loss (but still cause magic loss).

really, once you translate the setting, theres also the question of scale of gameplay. the range is so wide, that it depends a lot on what sorts of characters people make. the archtypes are not balanced, and its often unclear what the adventurers are supposed to be doing. action, investigation, or survival horror?

Yeah, I've been working on this for a few weeks now. I've converted over most of the 'big name' robots, power armor, and vehicles.

One thing that I'm doing is kind of viewing Rifts through a Shadowrun lense. What I mean by this is that I'm probably going to be arming CS and FQ troops with Assault weapons rather than lasers. One of the tricks is the scaling. I want the Power armor to be strong enough that in most cases a pistol or even assault weapon isn't going to do much of anything to it. That does mean that military grade ordinance will have to be made available to PCs. So, HMGs, autocannons, lasers, and even rail guns will have to be something of the norm.

The biggest issue I'm running into is Magic. Magic in SR is much more subdued than in Rifts. Rifts have many more classic fantasy/ Dnd kind of spells. You'll can find flying carpets, magic swords, Magical Citadels and stuff like that.

Watch out, KS will get you. I've read that he really, really HATES it when people convert Rifts to other game systems.

If KS doesn't like it, he can build a better game. As it stands, as much as I like Rifts, I don't think it's going to be around too much longer. When every project they're working on has to be kickstartered and they still can't deliver them on time they're living on credit from their fan base.