We have MDC in this world today. Once you are talking 120mm APFSDSDU rounds fired from M-1 tanks, you are in the realm of 2025 MDC weapons, and the effects blow turrets straight off enemy tanks, sending them hundreds of feet into the air. We see these things every day in videos from the war.
Getting rid of MDC is running back into the safety of the game designer's arms, begging for them to balance the game for you, and protect your character from one-shot kills for "fairness."
We are talking highly speculative science fiction here in a world gone mad. Parts of this world are already here, especially when you are talking about modern weaponry that can vaporize an entire ship or building in one hit. We see this almost every day on the news, and yet, we still pray for peace.
You can't remove the MDC in Rifts without also causing another problem. You will break the fundamental conflict in the game. MDC is not just a game mechanic; it is a part of the core conflict in the setting. Remove MDC, and you are removing the best part of the game.
Take the Coalition, the mostly bad guy, but also possibly good guy, favorite punching bags of the setting. In my campaign, the coalition's cities are strictly SDC settings, and even the police are rolling around in SDC armor, carrying SDC guns, with an "inside the megolpolis" vibe that's more like the pre-ruin world and how it used to be.
MDC quick reaction forces are always on the ready and can be called in at any time; all the Coalition Police need to do is make a call, and the flying suits and skelebots start rushing in. The Coalition is one of the largest users of MDC arms and armor, but there is a deeper philosophical issue at play here.
If the goal of the Coalition is to retake Earth and make things "like they were," then the citizenry should be able to live in a world "like it all was." The police use regular SDC guns and armor because, well, they could be stolen, but the reality they wish to create is one of normalcy, not of the MDC overlords coming in, acting like gods, and demanding fealty and servitude.
This is especially true when superheroes, fantasy monsters, and aliens can walk into this world and be instantly converted to MDC overlords, get drunk with power, and fall to madness. The MDC of the rifts is like booze, and you could imagine a group of "good guy" superheroes coming into the world of Rifts, getting drunk with power, and all of them turning into MDC demons.
Just because they were good guys in their world does not mean they will remain so in Rifts.
The alignment system and the ability to make alignment changes are core to the experience of playing any Palladium game. This is how the "good knight" falls to evil and dons the black plate mail.
Imagine the X-Men beginning to go mad with power, growing demonic horns, wings, and hooves, their skin slowly turning red, and the wickedness they begin to embrace as the raw power of MDC, magic, and super psionics corrupts their souls, and actual demons show up to smile and offer them more. Some of them realize what is happening and try to turn the tide and warn others, but it is already too late. They are sacrificed so the demons can further corrupt the rest.
Remove MDC, and you are taking the forbidden fruit away.
This is a story that can only be told in Rifts. It is an old-school game; if I want to instantly drop a character modification on a character, like a pair of demon wings, I can. In 5E? Forget it, you are centrally planned all the way to level 20, and that would break the game. People would want it to take a feat slot and limit the wings' flight. Don't laugh, I have seen this in so many race supplements for 5E, it is not funny. Flight breaks 5E in most cases. In Rifts, I can go there and do that without worrying about what game designers will think of me.
The story of the corrupted superheroes is a great tale to tell.
This is the core conflict in Rifts.
Power corrupts.
The MDC conversion puts a massive strain on the human soul, and it is still alien and abnormal to the world. MDC technology lacks a soul; it is merely a tool. But a Coalition that recognizes that "MDC everywhere" is a danger to what it needs to keep existing, families, a semblance of everyday life, children being born and growing up in safe environments, and soldiers fighting for their precious SDC enclave where they can feel normal, that is what "saving humanity" is all about.
How can an ex-soldier raise a family if they have to worry about punks with MDC laser pistols shooting up neighborhoods, or MDC police forces fighting back, and those stray shots flying through the walls of dozens of houses? If the world they fight for is supposed to be normal, then the interiors of these cities will be kept as normal as possible. It highlights the "fake nature" of reality, since everyone knows better. Still, this group depends on millions of people going about a typical day in schools, factories, service jobs, healthcare, and other professions.
Again, if an MDC user of magic teleports in, the MDC quick reaction forces are on a hair trigger, but the life this group needs to create is one of normalcy. And yes, being in the Coalition Police and only having SDC armor and weapons is a terrible job when an MDC something shows up, but that is life. It isn't always a perfect job in this world, and you need to duck and call for reinforcements since your partner was just vaporized.
Remove MDC, and there is little reason to play Rifts other than as "just another science fiction IP," which it is not.
The MDC versus SDC mechanic is a core conflict in the game, highlighting the struggle between outsiders finding a home here and those who want to preserve the way things were. And that, my friends, is a very topical and current conflict to explore.
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