Imagine looking at a map of North America, then crumpling it up, setting parts on fire, flooding others, and letting various supernatural entities redraw the borders. That's Rifts Earth - familiar enough to recognize, alien enough to terrify.
Picture Nazi Germany with power armor and laser rifles, and you're halfway to understanding the Coalition States. They believe in human supremacy above all else - magic is outlawed, D-Bees are vermin to be exterminated, and literacy is discouraged among the masses to maintain control.
For the average human citizen, the CS offers safety, food, and purpose - as long as you don't ask questions. Cities are massive fortresses called Arcologies, where millions live in relative comfort. But step out of line, show magical ability, or befriend a D-Bee, and you'll quickly discover the dark side of this "utopia."
If the Coalition represents technological tyranny, the Federation of Magic embodies magical despotism. Led by the megalomaniac Lord Alistair Dunscon, they see magic as the path to ultimate power - and everyone else as either tools or obstacles.
Once part of the Coalition, Free Quebec broke away to forge its own path. They share the CS's human-first philosophy but value education and maintain their French heritage. They're proof that even titans can be defied.
Mexico is lost to the undead. Vampire Intelligence - ancient, alien minds - rule through their undead minions. They've turned an entire nation into a blood farm, and their reach extends ever northward.
Just months ago, the Coalition destroyed Tolkeen - a magical kingdom that stood against them. The war lasted five years and cost over a million lives. Tolkeen fell not just to Coalition guns, but to its own darkness - in desperation, they summoned demons and used forbidden magic, becoming the monsters the CS claimed they were.
Not all dangers come from organized factions:
Insectoid invaders expanding their hive territory. Think alien ants the size of horses with energy weapons. They're slowly consuming the northern midwest.
The lost continent returned with the Rifts, ruled by the alien Splugorth. They're slavers on a continental scale, raiding for "stock" to sell across dimensions.
Most of Earth is wilderness where anything goes. Dinosaurs in the south, demons from random Rifts, petty warlords carving out kingdoms, and worse things that defy description.
In this world of titans clashing, individual heroes might seem insignificant. But that's exactly why the Tomorrow Legion exists. When the CS and Federation wage war, who saves the villages caught between them? When vampires raid for blood or demons pour from a new Rift, who stands for those who can't stand for themselves?
From Castle Refuge, heroes venture forth to:
Every corner of Rifts Earth holds danger and opportunity:
As a member of the Tomorrow Legion, you're not just another gun for hire. You're part of something bigger - a movement that says the future doesn't belong to tyrants and monsters. Whether you're a Glitter Boy holding the line against a demon horde, a Ley Line Walker closing a dangerous Rift, or a Rogue Scholar preserving crucial knowledge, you're writing the next chapter of Earth's story.
The world is broken, but it's not beyond saving. That's why heroes matter. That's why YOU matter.