British Marines O.C.C. (Rifts Earth):

"It is a damn myth, propagated no doubt by those johnny-come-lately Yanks, that British soldiers will stop in the middle of battle just to sit down for tea-time and snackers....We're more modern and far smarter than that...Though I admit that every hour that our enemy makes us that much later for our god-given peace and quiet to enjoy a good meal, also makes us that much more eager to take that time out of the damn bastards' hides!"

----Major Natalie Cochrane-Lesley, Royal British Marine Corps

"Look, they sent us a new bunch of apes!"
"Yep, I understand they have a breeding program!"

----Anonymous Royal Navy officers, upon seeing the first Royal Marine Regiment equipped with the new Gypsy Moth Power Armors, arriving at Gibralter, 2070 A.D

The Royal Marines have had a long and distinguished history. In 1664 1200 soldiers were recruited for service in the fleet, at which time they were known as the "Duke of York and Albany`s Maritime Regiment of Foot". Since the Duke of York was The High Lord Admiral, the Regiment became known as the Admiral`s Regiment. The Regiment and it`s successors were the only long service troops in the 17th and 18th century navy.

As such they were therefore required not only to be soldiers but also seamen, and they were part of the complement of all warships. During the war with France and Spain, in 1704, in the battle for the Rock of Gibraltar, 1,900 British and 400 Dutch marines prevented Spanish reinforcements from reaching the fortress. Later, after the city had been taken, those same marines withstood nine months of siege. Ever since the only battle honor displayed by the marines is "Gibraltar", and from those days on the Royal Marines have maintained a close relationship with the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps.

All the way throughout the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century the marines were a important part of all naval battles, and when the first World War came around the marines were still a part of the complement of every warship. On many of the major warships, marines were tasked with manning one of the major turrets as well as manning some of the minor weapons.

During World War 2 the Corps was some 80,000 men strong, and over 16,000 marines took part in Operation "Overlord", the allied landing on the coast of Normandy.

Throughout the rest of the Twentieth century the marines were found in such diverse places as Malaysia, Borneo, Korea, Suez, Aden, and Cyprus. In 1982 they took a major part in the retaking of the Falkland Isles. Less than a decade later they saw very much action indeed, participating not only in the Gulf War, but also in many UN sponsored missions.

But the Twenty First century proved to be scarcely less intense. Still employed in many of the bush fire wars of the first decades, the Marines repeated history when, in the middle of the Two Year War for South Africa, they took the heavily defended city of Capetown together with the help of the Royal Netherlands Marines and withstood repeated attempts by the Chinese and Chinese backed locals to retake the city.

A few years later the Corps again took part in a war for the Falklands, but this time the Marines also mounted several commando raids into Argentine itself, sometimes as support for the SAS, other times under their own command. Having proven itself countless times, the Royal Marines continued to be well funded for the rest of the century. When in 2074 it seemed as if there was a third Falklands war brewing, some marines were known to have remarked "Ah, back to our old stomping grounds. You`d think that the Argentinians would have learned by know". And so some 2000 marines set off towards the Falklands as part of the Task Force escorting the Ark Royal.

While all fighter pilots are officers, virtually all other fields are open to all Marines. Both men and women could become marines. Many vessels assigned to the Ark Royal battle group carried marines onboard and the battle group had an Africa class amphibious vessel assigned to it.

Attribute Requirements: M.E., P.S., and P.E. of 10 or higher (I.Q. of 12 or higher required for officers)
O.C.C. Bonuses: +1 to Initiative, +1 to roll with impact, and +1 to pull puch

O.C.C. Skills:

O.C.C. Related Skills: Select Seven other skills, but at least two must be from Espionage and two must be from Rogue skills. Plus select two additional skills at level three, one at level six, one at level nine, and one at level twelve. All new skills start at level one proficiency.

Secondary Skills: The character also gets to select five secondary skills from the previous list. These are additional areas of knowledge that do not get the advantages of the bonus listed in parenthesis (). All secondary skills start at the base skill level. Also, the skills are limited (any, only, none) as previously indicated on the list.

Standard Equipment: R-6 Heavy Body Armor, LP-12 Laser Pistol and LR-55 Pulse Laser Rifle with two short and four long E-Clips. Also issued four grenades and one in five carries either the LMG-60 Squad Automatic Pulse Laser Rifle (instead of LR-55 Rifle) with an additional eight long E-Clips or a RPM-2 Mini-Missile Launcher. Other equipment includes two dress uniforms and six working uniforms, survival pack (equal to NG-S2 basic survival pack), and 7 days of rations. Other equipment is issued as necessary.

Money: 3D6x100 Credits and gets a monthly salary of 1000 credits a month (Officers get double.) All food, equipment, clothing, room, and board is supplied by the Navy.

Cybernetics: Universal Headjack & Ear Implant (Special Augmentation, Amplified Hearing, Sound Filtration System, and Optic Nerve Implant), Oxygen Storage Cell, Lung Toxic Filter, and Molecular Analyzer.
Some troops will elect to get black market cybernetics such as Razor Nails and Fingers Bombs but they are discouraged by the British Military.

Experience Levels: Use New Navy Marine (from Rifts: Underseas)

[ 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. ]

[ Beyond the Supernatural®, Heroes Unlimited®, Nightbane®, Ninjas & Superspies®, Palladium Fantasy®, and Rifts® are registered trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]

Introductory Quotes by Talis D. Merrill (taalismn@pop.tiac.net).

Background information by Mischa (E-Mail Mischa ).

O.C.C. Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Return