Palladium Books® – Press Release – February 12, 2010
By Kevin Siembieda
Dad is cancer free. On a personal note, the best news of the week has been that my Dad, Henry Siembieda, age 79, is free of cancer. He has spent the last year fighting bladder cancer, and it looks like the fight has paid off. We knew the doctors had caught it early, but he had an aggressive type of cancer, so there was some concern. The surgeries and chemo-therapy worked, and my Dad is doing well.
Online sales ended on a down note this week. Sales were up and down this week, with some really good days and some not so good. We thought we’d still end with a reasonably good week, but Friday morning (Thursday night) sale were terrible. The week’s sales were down 25% from the same week last year. Grrr.
2010 Palladium Open House pre-registrations keep plodding along, one or two a day. I’m serious about making the 2010 Open House a joyous celebration and blow out party, so I hope a lot of fans show up.
If you’re coming to the Open House, please reserve your hotel rooms right away. Your credit card will NOT be charged until the day you are supposed to arrive, and you can cancel without penalty 48 hours in advance. TO MAKE A RESERVATION at the $69.95 price, you MUST tell the hotel you want a room in the Block Reserved for Palladium Books. 734-455-8100 tel. Comfort Inn Plymouth Clock Tower, Plymouth, Michigan. Everyone who came last year LOVED this hotel.
UPDATE: Dimensional Outbreak™. Writing is done. Art done. Editing 90% done. Typesetting and layout started. Computer problems prevented us from laying out and sending the book to the printer today. We’ll finish it over the weekend (poor Wayne), and it will go in on Monday. It’s an excellent book with a lot of fun and useful source material and epic adventure ideas.
Rifts® Triax™ Two, Heroes of the Megaverse®, Robotech® UEEF Marines™, the two Rifts® Vampire books, The Rifter® #50 – are all at some level of development and coming soon.
I’ll be the guest on Gateway to the Megaverse®, live podcast, Monday, February 15, 6:00 PM. As usual I’ll answer questions and talk about the goings on at Palladium Books. Call in or email your questions to the show/Matthew Daye. Remember, the podcasts are recorded and available to download and listen to any time.
We are staying on track and are very excited about upcoming books. Stay positive, keep those imaginations burning bright, and keep the faith.
– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher & Writer
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The Rifter® Super-Subscription Offer
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Is your subscription recently lapsed? Have you been thinking about getting a subscription to The Rifter®, but haven’t gotten around to it or made that final choice? Is your subscription ending later this year?
Then it’s time to subscribe or re-subscribe, right now. Why now? Because Palladium has the best subscription offer ever.
Savings off the retail price ($8.95 an issue).
Free shipping in the USA.
Delivered right to your door.
A Megaverse® of Adventure and Fun.
Make sure you get the special issue #50.
And a FREE gift worth $13-$40.
Offer ends in March.
Each issue of The Rifter® presents unofficial and/or official adventures, characters, powers, weapons, equipment and fiction for Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Chaos Earth™, Splicers®, Nightbane®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Dead Reign™, and/or any variety of other Palladium games and world settings. It’s also a place to get the latest news, product release info, and see new games, like Warpath: Urban Jungle™, showcased. The Rifter® is more than a magazine or sourcebook, it is a forum for new talent.
In short, if you’re into one or more of Palladium’s role-playing games and like to explore new realms of possibility, then The Rifter® is for you. Check it out and order yours today. And tell a friend! Tell lots and lots of friends!!
2010 Palladium Open House
Make your reservations today – Only 11 weeks away
11 weeks! The Open House is only 11 weeks away! Join the celebration. We plan to make the 2010 Palladium Open House the biggest, best, most riotously fun gathering ever – as if it’s our last ever.
Join us from morning to midnight in losing yourself in fun and games. Play games till you drop, meet and chat with Palladium staff, writers, and artists. The crew and I are there ALL day long. Enjoy panel talks, ask questions, and enjoy the Saturday Costume Contest; better yet, come in costume and participate in the contest. Meet fellow gamers from around the world and have a blast.
Come for one day or the whole weekend, but do it. Do it because you, and all of us, need to forget our troubles and remember what life is all about: friends, laughter and gaming.
POH Friday is gaming and panel talks all day long, from 9:00 AM to midnight (with more gaming going on at the hotel).
POH Saturday is more gaming and panel talks, plus the live auction and the Costume Contest (it was awesome last year). 9:00 AM to midnight.
POH Sunday is more gaming, but it is a short day; 9:00 to 5:00 PM or so.
Placing Your Order
VIP Night: Sold out.
3 Day Weekend: $40 per person (Friday thru Sunday).
Friday Only: $16 per person.
Saturday Only: $16 per person.
Sunday Only: $12 per person.
Online: Click the links above.
By Telephone: Call (734) 721-2903 – have your credit card information ready.
Remember, the Palladium Open House is not an annual event. We host it when we can. There are no current plans to host one next year (just as there wasn’t one in 2008), and we are limited to about 300 or so people. If we max out, we may have to turn people away, so pre-register as soon as possible to secure your place at the party.
Rifts® 20th Birthday celebration.
100+ gaming events!
Open gaming area.
Panel talks. Many this year, all weekend.
Meet 40+ Palladium creators – the largest gathering of Palladium creators in the world!
Chat and get autographs from all the Palladium creators.
Open access to the writers, artists and creators all three days.
Costume Contest (Saturday evening) – Come as a Palladium character and maybe you will win.
Live auction (Saturday evening) with rare out of print books, books from the Erick Wujcik collection, original artwork, proofreader copies of manuscripts, collectibles and more.
And much, much, more.
ALL EVENTS are covered by the cost of admission.
2010 Palladium Open House – April 29, 30, May 1 & 2, 2010.
For more information and to pre-register, click here.
POH Game Masters and games needed. Please let us know if you are running, how many games you are running, etc. – the sooner the better, so we can put together and post online a schedule of events by the end of February. Thanks.
Palladium Creators who will be at the 2010 POH: The Palladium Staff: Kevin Siembieda, Wayne Smith, Kathy Simmons, Julius Rosenstein, Alex Marciniszyn. Plus, Amy Ashbaugh, Brandon Aten, Carmen Bellaire, Nick Bradshaw, Kent Burles, Braden Campbell (tentative), Randi Cartier, Roger Cartier, Stephen Dawes, Matthew Daye, Greg Diazyck, Mark Dudley, Carl Gleba, Jeffry Scott Hansen, Mike Leonard, Allen Manning, Brian Manning, Mike Mumah, Apollo Okamura, Mark Oberle, Charles Walton, and other artists, writers and creators.
It helps Palladium plan and organize when we know how many gamers are coming to the 2010 Palladium Open House (POH), so please pre-register as soon as possible. We want to make sure to schedule enough games for EVERYONE. Thank you.
Kevin Siembieda – Guest on Gateway to the Megaverse®
“Live” podcast, Monday, February 12, 6:00 PM.
Publisher and game designer Kevin Siembieda will be the target of Matthew Daye’s and your questions this Monday, February 12th. He’ll talk about whatever you’d like to talk about, after all, this is a a live podcast and Kevin will answer fans’ questions that are called in or emailed to the show. Remember, the podcasts are recorded and available to download at your convenience and listen to any time.
Click here to listen, or to download past shows.
Rifts® Dimension Book™ 12: Dimensional Outbreak™
– Ships March 4
This book is full of new weapons, new spacecraft, new demons and aliens, new magic, and a wealth of information about Phase World, the Prometheans, the Three Galaxies, the Minion War, deception and betrayal. There are enough adventure ideas, turmoil and information to run a campaign in the Three Galaxies for years! The eruption of the Minion War in the Three Galaxies is more mind boggling than anyone has imagined. Virtually every civilization gets caught up in the demons’ scheme and the Deevils’ revenge in one way or another. Can’t say more without giving away too many plot elements, but wow. You will be surprised.
Dimensional Outbreak™ is an exciting and surprise filled book in the Minion War™ series as war spills into Phase World®, the city of Center and the Three Galaxies™. The epic scale of the Minion War just got bigger and even the Worlds of Warlock, the Splugorth and Naruni are reeling from it.
Parts of Phase World’s Center are described and mapped. Four levels and highlights are described, including Center Defenses, Gateland, SpaceTown, Central Station, the Spaceports, Free Trade Zone, Wonder World, Center Security, The Manors, notable merchants and places of business, and much more. It is a nice overview.
Demon Knights, Plasma Demons, demonic legions and more.
“Living” demonic spaceships, magic weapons and new horrors.
Demon Magic (new).
Deevil spaceships, bases and defenses.
New minion races serving Deevils and demons.
Historical time-line of Center leading up to the Minion War.
Center defenses and key locations described.
Maps of Center Levels 1-4, and key people.
Chaos and war across the Three Galaxies, a campaign of conquest, adventure ideas and more.
A stand-alone Dimension Book that is also the third step in an epic, six book crossover series that races across the Palladium Megaverse®, including Heroes of the Megaverse® (any setting), Heroes Unlimited™ (Armageddon Unlimited™), and Rifts® (Megaverse® in Flames).
Artwork by Bradshaw, Burles, Dudley, Majestic, Maradin & Mumah.
John Zeleznik cover painting.
Written by Carl Gleba.
192-224 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 875. Ships March 4, 2010.
Rifts®/Phase World® Sourcebook:
Heroes of the Megaverse® – ships March 24
The Book of Heroes is said to be one of the greatest magic artifacts in the Megaverse. Only one copy is known to exist, and everyone wants to get their hands on it – Demons, Deevils, the Splugorth, the Dominators, the Kreeghor, the United Worlds of Warlock and everyone in between. For it is said that he who wields the “Power of the 2000” can rule the universe.
Once protected by the Cosmo-Knights, the book has gone missing. No one knows its fate or the true power contained within its List of Heroes. No one except YOU – the new keepers of this legendary Rune book.
The Book of Heroes described.
The incredible magic powers the Book contains.
Notable heroes and the powers bestowed when their names are invoked.
The dangers of the Book of Heroes, and why it must never fall into the hands of any Lord of Hell.
The protectors of the Book of Heroes, and the adventure setting around keeping it safe. Has the book chosen you to defend it?
Minion War tie-in adventure sourcebook or stand-alone sourcebook for Rifts® or Phase World®/The Three Galaxies.
Contains the 2000 names of real life gamers who purchased the special print during Palladium’s Crisis of Treachery (and other heroes).
Cover by Apollo Okamura.
Written by Kevin Siembieda.
96 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 877. Ships end of March.
Rifts® World Book 31: Triax™ Two
This book is exactly what you’d imagine it would be, and more. In short:
More Triax weapons and vehicles.
More Triax robots and power armor.
More data about the New German Republic.
Update on the Gargoyle Empire.
More ideas for battle and adventure.
Written by Taylor White and Brandon Aten.
192 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 881. Ships in March or April.
The Rifter® #50
Special Anniversary Issue – April 5
To celebrate The Rifter® turning 12 years old this year and reaching issue number fifty, we present an issue filled with official source material and adventures from a list of guest freelance writers that you all know and love. Plus an expanded page count.
More pages.
Official source material.
Contributors include Brandon K. Aten, Braden Campbell, Greg Diaczyk, Carl Gleba, Irvin Jackson, Jason Richards, Kevin Siembieda, Josh Sinsapaugh, Taylor White and others.
The latest chapter of Hammer of the Forge™, fiction.
News, coming attractions and more.
$14.95 retail (no extra cost to subscribers) – 128 pages (maybe more!) – Cat. No. 150. Ships April.
Robotech®
Expeditionary Force Marines™
An in-depth look at the Expeditionary Force Marines, their history, strategies and tactics, M.O.S. skill packages, operations and missions.
UEEF Marine Corps O.C.C. and M.O.S. skills.
New weapons.
New Mecha.
New Marine ground vehicles.
New Marine aircraft.
New Marine specific spacecraft.
History, training, and organization of the UEEF Marines.
Written by Jason Marker. Additional text by Kevin Siembieda.
Cat. No. 553, manga size & format – final page count not yet determined, but we are thinking 128-192 pages, $14.95 retail. Ships in April.
Vampire Kingdoms™ – The Original – Available now
Why wait? A special printing of the original Rifts® World Book One: Vampire Kingdoms™ is available exclusively from Palladium Books.
Rifts Vampires described in detail, including their origins, strengths, weaknesses and powers.
The Vampire Kingdoms of Mexico.
The City of El Paso described.
Ciudad Juarez, a vampire haven, mapped and described.
Reid’s Rangers, Vampire Hunters (and madmen).
Techno-Wizard vampire slaying devices and other weapons.
Freak Shows, Circuses, and Traveling Shows.
The mystery of the Yucatan Peninsula and were-beasts.
Monsters, D-Bees, and adventure ideas galore.
Art by Tim Truman, Kevin Long, Siembieda and others.
Written by Kevin Siembieda.
176 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 802. Available now.
Rifts® World Book One:
Vampire Kingdoms™, Expanded & Updated
Kevin Siembieda is reorganizing, tweaking, expanding and updating one of the most popular Rifts® World Books ever published: Vampire Kingdoms™. This will include some new artwork and an expanded page count. The book will be updated and expanded in much the same way as Kevin did with Rifts® Sourcebook One a couple years ago. Best of all, it’s just the prelude to a Rifts® Vampire Sourcebook that will follow a month or two later.
Vampires: Their strengths, weaknesses and powers.
The Vampire Kingdoms expanded.
Vampire strategies and plans for conquest.
Vampire hunters and Techno-Wizard slayer devices (new and old).
Key locations including Juarez and El Paso.
The mystery of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Traveling Shows, Freak Shows and Circuses.
Monsters, D-Bees, and adventure ideas galore.
Updated and revised to 110 P.A.
Written by Kevin Siembieda.
192 to 224 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 802-E. Ships in April.
Rifts® Dimension Book™: Thundercloud Galaxy™
Palladium intends to support all of its game lines and that includes the setting of the Three Galaxies. The Thundercloud Galaxy™ is just the second of several books crafted by the talented Braden Campbell to expand your gaming Megaverse in the Three Galaxies. History, aliens, weapons, spacecraft, and adventure in a galaxy far, far away.
The galaxy described; history and time-line.
16 new alien R.C.C.s, plus notes on the Exiles and Dominators.
6 new O.C.C.s.
Monster and Animal Creation Tables.
Guidelines for Magic Weapon Making.
Notable weapons and technology.
Notable organizations and secret societies.
The Trensik Mercenaries.
The Vortex Region.
The Splugorth Kingdom of Desslyth and many other notable worlds.
New worlds of adventure.
Written by Braden Campbell.
160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 883. Ships in April, 2010.
Rifts® Vampire Sourcebook™
Trouble is stirring in the Vampire Kingdoms as ambitious vampire lords, ladies and misanthropes seek to expand their power to dominate more mortal life forms.
Written by Kevin Siembieda and a handpicked selection of other writers, this sourcebook explores the vampires of Mexico and their kingdoms in ways you never imagined. Tons of new data, adventure ideas and revelations.
Vampire protectors and guardians.
Vampires rogues, mercenaries and warlords.
Vampire operations away from the Kingdoms.
Vampire incursions along the southern borderlands.
New vampire hunters and human strongholds.
Vampire hunter exterminators.
Frightful revelations, secrets, and adventure ideas.
And much, much more.
Written by Siembieda, Aten, Campbell, Dudley, White and others.
128 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 884. Ships in May, 2010. Note: The page count might be expanded to 160. If so, the price will increase to $20.95.
Rifts® World Book: Lemuria™
At last, the underwater realm of Lemuria. The people and history of Lemuria, new magic, sea herbs and healing, monsters, the New Navy, and much, much more.
The Lemurians, their race, history and society.
New O.C.C.s including the Serpent Hunter, Shrieker, Oceanic Guardsman, Aquatic Biomancer and others.
The Stone Guardians of Easter Island and other mysteries.
Biomancer Gardens and Aquatic Biomancy.
Bio-Armor, Bio-Weapons and Bio-Construct Symbiotes.
New Psionic abilities.
Sea Serpents, monsters, adventure ideas, and more.
Written by Greg Diaczyk.
160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 885. Ships in April or May, 2010. Final page count and price may be subject to expansion and increase.
Armageddon Unlimited™ – for Heroes Unlimited™
Demons and Deevils are trying to turn Earth into one of their playgrounds. It’s worse than you think. The plan is to bring about Armageddon to unleash a powerful force that could change the tide of the Minion War™. Only Earth’s greatest superheroes (that’s your characters) stand in their way. Can be played as a Minion War™ crossover bringing in heroes from across the Megaverse, or as a stand-alone adventure setting for Heroes Unlimited™.
New super abilities and enchanted weapons.
The Demon Hunter power category.
Hellion monster creation table – NPC villain.
Crusader of Light power category and abilities.
Demon Weapons of Chaos.
Arcane orders and secret societies.
The Chaos Generator and the coming of Armageddon.
Notable people and places.
The Armageddon scenario and adventure ideas.
Written by Carl Gleba.
160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 527. Ships in May.
Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames™
The Minion War spills across Rifts Earth, where demons and infernals hope to recruit allies and use the Rifts as gateways of destruction. Their influence shakes things up across the planet, especially at locations where demons and Deevils already have a strong presence. More details to follow, but for now, ‘nuff said.
Soulmancer and Blood Magic.
The Seven Deadly Plagues.
The Demon Plagues across the globe.
Battleground: Earth – as demons and infernals amass their legions.
Rifts Calgary – also known as Hell’s Pit; the kingdom described.
Ciudad de Diablo, Harpies’ Island and other notable Hell holes on Earth.
Lord Doom, Pain and other demonic leaders.
Horune treachery, Dimension Stormers and other villains.
Global chaos and the places most dramatically affected by the Demon Plagues.
Notable demonic Generals, mercenaries, people and places.
Many adventure ideas. Long reaching consequences.
Written by Carl Gleba.
192 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 876. Ships June.
Robotech® New Generation™ Sourcebook
The Robotech® core sourcebook you’ve been waiting for . . . only it’s going to be more than you imagine.
Rules for using mecha, power armor and technology from all four eras of Robotech.
Kit-bashed mecha and rules for jury-rigging and combining parts from different generations of mecha.
Freedom Fighter O.C.C.s and resistance organizations.
Rogues and misfits from the three Robotech Wars.
New weapons, vehicles, mecha and more.
Villains, traitors, bandits, Invid henchmen, adventure and adventure ideas galore.
Written by Kevin Siembieda and Irvin Jackson.
224+ pages – manga size – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 554. Ships June or July.
Rifts® Chaos Earth™ Sourcebook: First Responders™
Data about the chaos and madness of the early days of the Great Apocalypse, and the brave men and women who tried to stem the tide of destruction and save lives, the First Responders.
Apocalypse Plagues: Strange diseases, symbiotes and mutations that transform, torment, harm and kill Earth’s survivors.
First Responder O.C.C.s, skills and special equipment.
Civilian O.C.C.s, skills and orientation.
Notable rescue vehicles, robot drones, and technology.
New weapons, vehicles, mecha and more.
Character modification and enhancement rules.
Creatures from the Rifts and adventure ideas galore.
Written by Jason Richards & Kevin Siembieda.
96 to 128 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 665. Not yet scheduled.
Also coming in 2010
The following are in the pipeline, but are not yet scheduled. Most are likely to be released after those previously described, but a couple might get slotted into release sooner.
Robotech® New Generation™ Freedom Fighters Sourcebook (and others)
More Rifts® Chaos Earth™ sourcebooks
More Rifts® sourcebooks
More Phase World®/Three Galaxies™ sourcebooks
Nightbane® Sourcebook Six
Mysteries of Magic™ Two & Three
Dead Reign™ Sourcebook Three
The Rifter® Number 51 & 52
Warpath™ Urban Jungle™
and more . . .
Recent Releases & Special Printings
Aliens Unlimited™, Revised
208 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 515.
Palladium Fantasy RPG® Book 2: Old Ones™
50 cities, towns and forts described. All 33 cities and towns are mapped. Each offers an avenue for adventure.
7 adventures plus adventure ideas.
224 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 453.
Dead Reign™ Sourcebook Two: Dark Places™
Many, many ideas for new adventure.
64 pages – $12.95 retail – Cat. No. 232.
Mysteries of Magic™ Book One: The Heart of Magic™
50 new Wizard and Warlock spells and much more.
96 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 472.
Out of print titles
available as PDFs at DriveThruRPG.com
Palladium has made several out of print titles and the first 40 issues of The Rifter® available as PDF digital downloads from DriveThruRPG.com. We are regularly asked if out of print titles such as Nightbane® Book Four: Shadows of Light™, the original Mechanoids® RPGs, Boxed Nightmares™, BTS First Edition, etc. are available, and they are, at DriveThruRPG.com. Check ‘em out.
The Queen of Ghouls™
Kathy Simmons continues to add to her listings of life-sized Halloween props at the Queen of Ghouls™ Ebay store. She is now offering Halloween signs, and we understand a Leprechaun, more witches and other “ghouls” will be added every week or two.
Kathy makes and sells one of a kind, life-sized Halloween props. You know, vampires, werewolves, witches, wizards, zombies and monsters for display on your front lawn. If you think the photos online look good, you should see them in person. A typical “ghoul,” as she calls her creations, costs $89-$150. You can see some of her work (available off-season at lower prices) at her Queen of Ghouls™ Ebay store – queenofghouls.com.
© Copyright 2010 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Beyond the Supernatural™, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, The Three Galaxies, Warpath, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
This press release may be reprinted, reposted, linked and shared for the sole purpose of advertising, promotion and sales solicitation.