Shiftsville Description

Dimensional Affects

Introduction

Inside the 0.5 mile radius spherical pocket dimension that contains the town of Shiftsville the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, egology, Psionics, and Magic are pretty much as they are on the rest Rifts Earth. There are however a few differences especially in regard to dimensional and temporal magic, dimensional and temporal psionics, dimensional and temporal super-powers, travelling in and out of Shiftsville, and anything related to range finding or targeting across the dimensional boundary.

Physics across the boundary

"The only thing you can trust in regard to Shiftsville is your eyes" according to the locals. Whilst it's not quite the truth, it is in regard combat; whether its firing at objects in the town from outside or firing at objects outside from inside. Anything which relies on a range to target or grid reference simply misses - whether by 5 metres or 5 miles it doesn't matter as the error is never consistant.
The Irregulars, Milita, and Police Force of Shiftsville know this and rely on it to confuse attackers. All the gun towers have advanced optical tracking systems for tracking targets outside the city and standard short range systems for tracking targets over the city itself. Radar Tracking and Laser (or other form) of range finding are completely useless. Radio transmissions experience between 0 and 30 seconds delay but direct beam laser communications are unaffected.

Entering and Leaving the City

Physically crossing the town boundary is no problem, whether you're walking, flying, or swimming - although in the latter case you don't end up where you'd expect. The direction you're travelling however can have a bearing on the crossing.
Leaving Shiftsville is never a problem ,although doing so at dawn/dusk on a solstice, midday/midnight on a equinox, the moment of an eclipse or planetary alignment won't return you to Earth - where you end up is down to the GM.
Entering Shiftsville on the other hand can be tricky when the town is located in certain positions - 1,7,5,&6. In locations 1 and 7 the town becomes completely hidden inside a leyline (even though leylines are 0.5 mile wide) whist in locations 5 and 6 half the town becomes hidden [this only affects the perception of the city from outside the city, there is no affect inside the city itself].
When hidden, or when approaching the town from a hidden portion, the only method of locating the town is to travel down the center of the leyline (+/- 3.5m/15ft) and psychically 'feel' for the boundary [psychics/mages have an 85% chance to locate the town this way - its never a problem for spatial mages. Anyone else has a 3% chance of finding the right entry point]. Once located it's a simple matter to cross in the chosen manner (walking, driving, flying).
The only anomally in all this is entering or leaving via the river. Leaving is again a simple matter of crossing the boundary although you always end up on the main river (see Shiftsville - Local Area Map). If leaving at the western end you 'arrive' at RA, whilst leaving at the eastern end deposits you at RB. Entering via the river is always like entering via a leyline when the town is hidden. You approach the appropriate point in the river and then 'feel' for the entry point; many a river passenger has fainted as a boat captain has slowed down, determined the entry point, and gunned the boat directly at the bank!

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