Castle Caoth is a huge castle that is located in what was West Virginia and it is within 50 miles (80.5 km) from the border of what was Kentucky. The castle itself is centered of a Ley Line Nexus which it controls.

The castle is independent nation but it has strong ties to the R.E.E.F. in Florida. This is reflected in the military patch which is an RDF symbol with a picture of the Castle Caoth in front of it. The actual military base is about 10 miles (16 km) to the west of the castle. About 10 percent of the forces are housed within the castle itself.

Castle Description:

The castle is constructed with incredible geometric precision and accuracy in terms of stone construction. The outer walls of the Castle are built like an eight-pointed star aligned with the eight ley lines going into the Ley Line Nexus and are as well lined up with true north, true south, true east, true west, and forty-five degrees between each one. Each corner has a four story round tower with the northern and southern towers also housing the main gates . Like the external walls, the inside is geometrically lined up with the outside although the inside gates are on the inside towers. There is a tall central tower with eight sides lined up with the outside walls in the center. On the top of the ten story tower there is a smaller round observation tower with a clear dome on top. Around the main tower is an eight sided central building where most of the castles living quarters are. The main tower of the castle is 120 feet (36.6 meters) including the smaller observation tower and the castle is 800 feet (243.8 meters) in width. The castle is on a hill that is 400 feet (121.9 meters) tall.

Castle M.D.C. By Location:

	Main Gates (2, North and South Towers)	600 each
	Outer Towers (8)	4,000 each
	Outer Walls (8)	4,000 each
	Inner Gates (2, East and West Towers)	800 each
	Inner Towers (8)	6,000 each
	Inner Walls (8)	6,000 each
	Central Building:	50,000 each
	Main Tower:	15,000
	Observation Tower:	4,000

Castle Abilities:

The main abilities of the castle are like those on an Atlantean Pyramid but instead of being controlled by a Stone Master, the abilities of the castle are controlled by the wielder of the staff. Most are actually so keyed to her that most of the abilities cannot even be used by a stone master.

Non-Stone Master Abilities:

Illusionary Terrain: When this spell is activated, the castle and surrounding town will disappear and will look like tree covered hills and mountains. The illusion is extremely elaborate and saving throws are at -6 against the illusion. The spell has a duration of six hours. P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castles' reserves): 120
Pool of the Far Gaze: Allows user to view what someone else is doing, look at the events in a specific location, or explore an area. The location or individual must be either have been well described, the user have pictures of it, or have been seen directly by the user of the pool. Areas that are protected by the spell "Sanctum" cannot be scanned using pool. The Pool can be used to see a location or being anywhere on Rifts Earth but cannot be used outside of Earths atmosphere or to look at other dimensions. The ability to use the pool is limited to 10 minutes per level except for the wielder of the Staff of Caoth which the duration is unlimited. P.P.E. Cost: Negligible - effectively none.
Impenetrable Force Field: The castle has a powerful magical force field equal to the spell "Impenetrable Wall of Force" that can be activated to surround the castle. Like the spell, the force field can be dispelled by the spells of Negate Magic and Dispel Magic Barriers. The problem is that the force field does not cover the town or any other surrounding area. The duration is 5 melees per level of the wielder of the staff. P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castles' reserves): 600

Stone Master / Pyramid Like Abilities:

Slow aging process: Sleeping overnight inside the castle removes both stress and fatigue, renewing the body of any creature within its confines. The castle also physically rejuvenated people who stay in the castle to the point it keeps them looking youthful and increase their life spans; Adds on a day for day basis one day for every night spend sleeping in the castle. P.P.E. Cost: Negligible - effectively none.
Healing: Laying or resting inside the castle for 24 hours will completely remove stress and fatigue and increases healing. True Atlanteans, humans, ogres and dragons will heal twice as fast and P.P.E. recovery is 20 point per half hour. Other races will heal at one and a half times faster than usual. P.P.E. and recovery is the same as being at a ley line or nexus. The Possessor of the Staff of Caoth heals three times faster than normal and recovers P.P.E. at the rate of 40 per half hour. P.P.E. Cost: Negligible - effectively none.
Harmonious affect on ley line storms & random rifts: The castle has the same effects on the weather in the local area as a stone master pyramid set on a ley line nexus. This harmonious affect reduces the number of ley line storms by 70% and virtually eliminates the possibilities of a rift randomly appearing (1% chance of an annual occurrence).
When a ley line storm does occur, the wielder of the staff can change its direction and has a 5% chance per level of experience of stopping it within 1D4 minutes.
The wielder of the staff can also close a dimensional rift that has randomly opened within 2D4 melees (30 to 120 seconds), but must expend 500 P.P.E. to do so!
Increases the power of staff wielders magic: Whenever the wielder of the Staff of Caoth is in the castle or on top of the castle, her magic is greatly increased. Quadruples the duration, range, area of influence, amount of stone/weight one can affect, damage, and power of the wielder of the staff of Caoth. Note: Other practitioners of magic do not enjoy the usual increase of power and the additional availability of P.P.E. as they normally would at a ley line or nexus, unless they are actually on or inside the castle.
Storage of Potential Psychic Energy (P.P.E.): Like a magic pyramid, the castle uses magical energy continuously which is used for a variety of magical enchantments. The castle is charged with a reservoir of magical energy but the amount of P.P.E. has a natural ebb and flow so that there is never a consistent amount of energy.
The range of available P.P.E. at any six hour interval is 5D6 x 100 (that's 500 to 3000 points). Magical energy can be used by the wielder of the staff and anyone allowed to by her.
When the energy reserve is depleted, six hours is required for the castle to renew itself with P.P.E. (roll the dice previously indicated). However, none of that new energy is available until the full six hours have passed.
Create and control a ley line storm: The wielder of the staff can discharge ALL the castle's energy reserve to instantly create a ley line storm. The mage can then control and direct the storm's movement (limited to traveling along connecting ley lines) and all of the storm's effects/powers/damage (can turn them on and off, select specific effects, and direct energy blasts at specific targets/individuals or area).
The storm will last one minute for every 100 P.P.E. points spent to create it. The storm's creator can stop it at any one place or make it disappear at any time. If the creator is killed or knocked unconscious, the storm runs wild for the maximum possible duration plus 2D4 minutes.
P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castles' reserves): All!
Control the weather around the castle: The wielder of the staff can use the power of the Ley Lines to influence the local weather. This is done to protect and help the community around the castle by creating rain for crops and water during droughts, preventing damaging storms, and for general protection. Weather controlling abilities are identical to the following spells, except the range, area of affect and duration are increased by four times.
Spells include: Calm storm, summon fog, summon rain, and extinguish fire.
P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castles' reserves): 200 to simultaneously use and all the spells.
Castle Communication: The wielder of the staff or anyone allowed to by her can magically communicate with people at normal stone pyramids. A holographic-like image will appear to a specific individual or to everybody present if a general call/message is sent. The person making the transmission can see and hear the person at the other pyramid if the message sent to a specific person. The lines of communication can remain open for five minutes per every 50 P.P.E. expended. There is no range limit other than being on the same planet. A two-way transmission between dimensions is also possible, but at a cost of 100 P.P.E. per every two minutes.
The character making a transmission to another pyramid can also leave a recorded message. The message plays the moment the intended recipient arrives at the pyramid (messages will be stored for 100 years or until received by the intended person, whichever comes first). P.P.E. cost is 100 points per five minutes or 200 points for two minutes when sending to another dimension.
P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castles' reserves): Varies as described above.
Teleportation via castle: The castle is connected to other Stone pyramids built on Ley lines and on nexus junctions by an invisible grid of magic energy. This means an individual can teleport from castle to a stone master pyramid on the same grid. The only requirements are that the pyramid be in the same dimension, on the same planet, and the person teleporting must know the location of the other pyramid. The process, takes about three seconds regardless of distance. To travel to a different dimension, a rift must be opened, which is also possible with a stone pyramid.
The wielder of the staff instinctively knows how to teleport using the castle and true Atlanteans can do it with her permission. The Teleportation process is so exact that the individual can teleport her, even if standing in a crowd, or take as many as two dozen people, or 50 tons, along with her.
Unlike a standard pyramid, there is a special chamber which Teleportation is done. This is the same chamber where opening rifts is done. It is deep within the castle underground.
P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castles' reserves): 100
Dimensional Teleportation to stone pyramids: The concept is identical to the conventional teleport described in number eleven, except on a dimensional scale. The same type of mystic grid connects the castle to all the nexus pyramids in other-dimensions. If the character knows the location of one of these other dimensional pyramids she can momentarily open a dimensional rift and teleport from one dimensional plane to another. Typically, a character can find any dimension he has visited or knows about and which has a stone pyramid located at a Ley line nexus.
The wielder of the staff can open the rift, instantly link up to all the available pyramids, and mentally sense and scan/ search the dimensions for pyramids connected to a desired dimension without having ever been to the dimension or having any prior knowledge about it. The searching process takes about 60 seconds.
The opening of a dimensional rift to a magical stone pyramid takes 30 seconds (two melee rounds). Once opened, the character simply steps through and the dimensional doorway instantly closes. This is a very safe way to travel the dimensions, because there is no risk of opening the rift to the wrong dimension or letting some undesirable monster into or out of the world you are leaving. Why? Because the pyramids are linked on a cosmic grid of ley line energy. The activation of the dimensional rift instantly activates that link to stone pyramids in other dimensions and makes them available to D-travelers. The wielder of the staff can hold the portal open for 15 seconds per level of experience!
The Teleportation is done is a chamber deep within the castle in the middle under the central tower. It is well guarded by four soldiers and one spell caster at all times.
P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castle's reserves): 500 each time a rift is opened regardless of how long it is held open; seconds or minutes.
Dimensional portal/rift: This is your classic dimensional rift, a two-way door to another dimension that is NOT linked to any pyramids. The portal can be opened to a specific world or random dimension. All the usual dangers and difficulties of creating a rift apply.
The rift will remain open for 60 seconds per level of the wielder of the staff. However, there is a 1-40% chance that the doorway will get stuck, staying open for 3D4 minutes longer than the character desires. There is also a 1-53% chance that a being from another dimension may usurp control of the dimensional portal if the portal connects to the beings home dimension or plane of existence. This is especially true of powerful alien intelligence(s) like the Splugorth, vampires, and so-called demons and gods. Having a rift usurped means that the character who originally opened the portal has completely lost all control over it. The alien intelligence who dominates that world controls the portal and can instantly close it, or keep it open and/or send its minions into the rift and into the world connected by the portal.
Note: All conventional rifts can only connect two worlds at a time. Multi-dimensional rifts connecting three or more worlds simultaneously are not possible. The few attempts to link several worlds by using one rift have been unique experiments and have always resulted in disaster (see Ancient Atlantis).
The Teleportation is done is a chamber deep within the castle.
P.P.E. Cost (drawn from the castle's reserves): 1000 each time a rift is opened regardless of how long it is held open; seconds or minutes.

Military Forces:

Military ranks are based on those of the old United States Army with the except that Warrant Officer ranks are not used for simplicity. The highest rank used is that of Brigadier (As in Brigadier General). The uniform is an olive green jumpsuit with shoulder bars for officers. In the field, officers do not wear special marks to prevent them from becoming targets.

Ground / Air Forces:
Fortified Defenses;

	100	REEF-ATV-2 Missile Launchers: Each is controlled by one of four main frame computers (Three Backups) that allows for targeting of each missile independently at up to 800 targets.
	2	Syncro-Cannons

Veritech Fighter Forces;

	12	VF-1AS (A) Super Veritechs [Low Ranking Soldier Model]
	6	VF-1AS (J) Super Veritechs [Low Ranking Officer Model]
	6	VF-1AS (S) Super Veritechs [High Ranking Officer Model]
	24	VF-1AS (I) Super Veritechs [Two Seat Intercept Model]
	2	VF-1AS (T) Super Veritechs [Two Seat Trainer]
	24	Vindicators
	24	VAF-8+ Contra Grav Alpha Fighters
	2	VAF-8ECM+ CG Hurricane Alpha Fighters
	6	VAF-8SF+ CG Shadow Alpha Fighters
	26	VBF-2C+ Contra Grav Combat Beta Fighters
	6	VBF-2SF+ Contra Grav Shadow Beta Fighters

Fighter/Attack Forces:

	24	M.I. FB-144 Thunderhawk Fighter-Bombers
	30	REEF A-20 Adventurer III with fusion reactors

Air/Ground Forces;

	100	CC-ST-1 Sparrow Light Power Armor
	2	PA-06 Coalition SAMAS Power Armors
	25	PA-09-SW Sidewinder SAMAS Power Armors
	10	PA-09-WW Wild Weasel SAMAS Power Armors
	25	X-10 Triax Predator Power Armors

Air Transport and Bomber Forces:

	2	Horizant Shuttle
	2	Coalition Deaths Head Transport
	10	REEF-VC-33B Glamour Transports

Light Mechanized Ground Forces:

	120	VR-052-II Battler Cyclones
	60	VR-038-LT-II Light Combat Cyclones
	30	VR-041-II Saber Cyclones

Heavy Mechanized Ground Forces:

	120	Veritech Hover Tank Mark II
	20	SDR-25-MK I Missileer Robot Vehicles
	20	REEF-R01 Scorpion Robot Vehicles
	10	REEF-R03 MAC IV
	1	Coalition Abolisher
	1	Coalition Spider Skull Walker
	1	Coalition APC

Non-Mechanized Ground Forces; Personnel: 600

600

Ground Soldiers

Civil Defense Units:

Basically the equivalent of a national guard and is only mobilized in emergency situations.

	1,000	T-C20 Terrain Hopper Power Armor with JA-12 Laser Pulse Rifles
	5,000	Militiaman (Mostly armed with L-20 with bushman body armor)

Standard Issue for Personnel (Does not include Civil Defense Units):

Body Armor: CVR-3 Style armors and light body suits (30 M.D.C.) as a uniform.
Weapons: Wilks 457 Laser Rifle with 4 long E-Clips, Wilks 237 Pistol, Putman Stun Gun, and 45 M1911A1 Automatic with 4 magazines (1 Silver). All Psychics and have T.W. Flaming Swords.
Other Equipment: All combat mages have a set of Mystic Power Armor issued to them so they can operate with combat units.

O.C.C.s (Does not include Mages and Master Psionics):

	3%	Original RDF, Southern Cross, or REF Personnel:These personnel are from the RDF, Southern Cross, or REF and are O.C.C.s from those books.
	22%	Recruited and Trained Personnel: These personnel have been trained by the Castle Caoth Military and have all the skills of Special Forces from the Rifts Mercenaries book
	75%	Personnel from Other Militaries / Mercenary Companies: These people are Headhunters, Wilderness Scouts, and various mercenary O.C.C.s from Rifts Mercenaries and other game books. It even includes some Coalition soldier that have switched allegiances

Magic & Psychic in the Castle Caoth Military (Does not include Major and Minor Psychics):

The Castle Caoth forces have a much larger percentage of mages. This is mostly due to the fact that the castle was initially settled by a mage and it is a safe haven for other mages.

	300	Ley Line Walkers
	120	Technowizards
	60	Shifters
	60	Mystics
	40	Superspies (Magic)
	48	Mind Melters
	16	Wild Dogboys
	8	Non Coalition Psi Stalkers
	8	Bursters

Important Figures:

Marlene Le Fay: Powerful Ley Line Walker with quarter Elven blood. She is current holder of the Staff of Caoth and is bonded to the castle. Although she is technically leader of the castle, she delegates her authority in areas she has little knowledge. This includes the military which she delegates to her husband. She is in an unique three way marriage with Thomas Allen and Joan Allen. She has four children with Thomas Allen.
Thomas Allen: Marlene le Fay's husband and second member of the three way marriage. He acts as leader for the military forces of the castle and is an ex Coalition soldier. He was previously married but the Coalition executed his earlier wife for the charge of practicing magic. He was able to escape the Coalition with his daughter but is under an order of execution from the Coalition.
Joan Smith Allen: The third member of three way marriage. She is second in command of the military forces and is an REF Veritech Pilot whose favorite fighter is the Vindicator. She was previously married to a hover tank pilot who was killed in combat. She has three children with Thomas Allen and one child from her pervious marriage.
Sylvia Lorne: She is Marlene's Mother and is a Druid. She is of half Elven blood
Martin Lorne: He is Marlene's older brother and is an operator.
Elizabeth Lorne De Grasse: She is Marlene's younger sister and is a Mind Melter. Was captured by the Coalition and one time but was able to escape.
Nicole Lorne: She is Marlene's youngest sister and is a power armor/robot vehicle pilot.

Treaties & Policies:

Atlantis: They are quite aware of Atlantis's proximity and while they have no direct dealing with Atlantis, they watch them very carefully and have planned defenses against them. Due to the magic protecting the castle, Atlantis only has some rumors about what is at the castle. They are aware of the military forces in the castle and do not want to engage that because of the needless loss of forces that would result.
Coalition: Being a magical nation, the Castle Caoth is an enemy of the Coalition but there have been few altercations between them mostly due to the fact that the Federation of Magic is between the two potential adversaries.
Dweomor City: There is a peaceful coexistence between them but there is no active treaties and no large scale trade.
Free Quebec: Castle Caoth and Free Quebec have no present dealing with each others. While Free Quebec is strongly anti-magic, Free Quebec is not a major concern because they are not especially expansionist.
Kingdom of Dunscon: Distrust bordering on being enemies. The Federation of Magic attempted to kidnap Marlene le Fey to use as a bargaining chip to control the castle and the forces around the castle.
Lazlo: They have mutual defense treaties as well as being on general good terms trading various materials. It is likely that the leaders of the castle will help against the Xiticix.
New German Republic: No real contact.
Pecos Empire: The leaders of castle Caoth have no contact with any of the groups within the Pecos Empire but do have some information about them. This area is not considered especially important by Marlene Le Fay or the others.
R.E.E.F. Florida: The R.E.E.F. and the castle are allies with the castle giving magical support to the forces of Florida base while Florida gives a large number of available troops.
Tolkeen: Castle Caoth has a mutual defense treaty with Tolkeen and will get involved if Tolkeen is attacked. With the present situation, the Castle Caoth is considering dissolving the treaty. If Tolkeen carries out their threat against Lazlo, they will most likely attempt to stop them.
Vampire Kingdom: In her days adventuring, Marlene le Fay had dealing within the Vampire control territories and developed a strong hatred for vampires. It is likely that if the Coalition is dealt with, the Castle will use their forces against the vampires.

Local Manufacturing:

They build various weapon systems that they sell, these include:
Light M.D.C. Body Suits, Bushman Body Armor, Flying Titan Power Armors, Missileer Robot Vehicles, Mystic Power Armors
They builds this equipment that is only for their and trusted allies:
CVR Body Armor, Cyclones, Hovertanks, MAC III, Super Veretechs, Vindicators, Alphas, Betas, Horizants

Areas around Castle:

Population: 20,000.
Literacy: 75%, The leaders have instituted a policy of education and the literacy rate has been steadily increasing
Products: Dairy Products, Meat, Mineral Ore, Some Precious Metals and Minerals, and Small manufactured goods.

History:

Long Ago and in another realm, there was an incredibly powerful wizard and alchemist that went by the name of Gladror Caoth. He studied many paths of magic, including how to make rune weapons from Asgardian Dwarves and Stone Magic from True Atlanteans. He traveled all over the Mega-verse and saw many wondrous things. He found magical ways of extending his life and was over a millennium old before he decided it was time to settle down.

Eventually, he decided to settle and build a massive magical castle which he links to a powerful rune staff that he was creating at the same time. The castle was constructed in an area he reclaimed from wilderness and he was not under the jurisdiction of any king. The castle incorporated his knowledge in stone magic along with many other types of magic. People settled around the castle because he kept the local area peaceful. The settlers treated him as their ruler which bothered him because he was most interested in his magical studies. He had a good heart so he took up protecting them and the people lived in peace for many years. He took little more than a tiny share of their crops to keep himself supported in return for protecting them.

In his adventurer, he had made enemies of many other mages and several of them wished to get revenge on him. In addition, several rulers saw the lands around the castle and wished to rule what was becoming extremely productive farm land. One of Caoth's most powerful enemy mages decided to get all of them together and attack the castle in mass. He went by the name of the Mastrom the Black Wizard and was considered to be one of the most ruthless mages ever known. He was implacable and over the next ten years gathered his forces together. Ten mages and a large army went to attack the castle. The battle dragged on for years with the land around being laid to waste but in the end the Mage Lord Caoth was defeated. Only the Black Wizard was left standing but he was thwarted in the end. Gladror Caoth broke his staff into seven pieces releasing a massive magical storm. The storm threw the pieces of the staff into the Mega-verse and the castle disappeared as well. A great mage was killed but his enemies went with him.

Maybe at the same time, maybe thousands of years later, events happened on a planet known as Earth to start the process of bringing the castle back to reality. It is hard to delineate time in different realms of existence. Magic energy returns to Earth with a vengeance and rifts spewed items from all over the multiple realms know as the Mega-verse. The seven pieces of the staff were brought to Rifts Earth in this way but they were scattered in the process. It would not be for another few hundred years this would finished though.

A young part Elven Ley Line walker discovered one of the pieces of the staff and was curious of what it was. It had an incredible magical aura but seemed to have no purpose. She went by the name of Marlene le Fay to emphasize that fact that she was partial of the blood of elves. Over the course of several months, she was able to discover that this was only part of a very powerful magical rune staff and she decided that she would look for the other pieces of the staff. She gathered several companions together on the quest including a man who later became her husband. They had many adventures to find all the pieces of the staff. It took over a year for her and her companions as they traveled all over the continent of North America but eventually she was able to get the parts of the entire staff.

Something drew the young mage to a hill in the Eastern part of North America where there was a powerful nexus points. When she got there, she found herself putting the parts of the staff together. A massive amount of ley line energy pulsed over the nexus point much of it focusing straight into her. She collapsed unconscious but none of her companions could get close to her due to the magical energies surrounding her. They were slowly forced further and further back by the energies until they had to leave the top of the hill altogether. They stayed because they were concerned and did not want to abandon her. Marlene's companions started to notice something very unusual, the magical was forming a mist like silhouette of a castle. Over the next 48 hours, the mist thickened slowly and became strong grey stone walls. The castle was reborn.

Marlene found herself inside of a large marble chamber with herself wrapped around the staff. She could feel a link between herself, the castle, and the rune staff. She could control the magical abilities of the castle and felt the castle as her home. At the same time, even though they were distracted by the appearance of the castle, her companions went to look and find her. They found her sitting up just string into space and it took several attempts before they could get her attention.

Marlene and her companions settled into the castle but continued adventuring periodically. In almost a repeat of the past, settlers started building a town around the base of the castle because it was one of the few safe places around and is away from the wars that were brewing in the mid western part of the North American continent. Over the course of a couple of years, the village grew into a small city. Marlene's husband was an ex-soldier and realized that their neighbors would need protection so started creating a military. He had met several people who had been members of the RDF, Southern Cross, and REF before they had been rifted and they formed an important part of the core of the military. He discovered that a group of these people had already formed in Florida and made allies with them. Since then, they have worked together.

[ Altarain TM, Bandito Arms TM, Brodkil TM, Chipwell Armaments TM, Coalition States TM, Cyber-Knight TM, Federation of Magic TM, Free Quebec TM, Golden Age Weaponsmiths TM, Horune TM, Iron Heart Armaments TM, Kankoran TM, Kittani TM, Kydian TM, Larsen’s Brigade TM, M.D.C. TM, Mechanoids TM, Mega-Damage TM, Megaversal Legion TM, Millennium Tree TM, Mutants in Orbit TM, Naruni Enterprises TM, Naut’Yll, New Navy TM, New Sovietskiy TM, NGR TM, Nog Heng TM, Northern Gun TM, Phase World TM, Psyscape TM, Rifter TM, SAMAS TM, S.D.C. TM, Shemarrian TM, Splugorth TM, Stormspire TM, Sunaj TM, Tolkeen TM, Triax TM, Wellington Industries TM, Wilk’s Laser Technologies TM, Xiticix TM, and Zaayr TM are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]

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Physical description of castle was assisted by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com).

Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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