The Palladium Open House was a huge success. Attendance was down, but sales were strong and nearly the same as last year when we had 50 more people. Julius Rosenstein’s games were a big hit again this year (he’s an awesome G.M.). Carmen Bellaire’s Robotech® game was rip-roaring. Scott Gibbons surprised and pleased gamers with his own Rifts® board game. The folks who played in my three games seemed to enjoy them very much, and I heard good things about James Brown, Carl Gleba, Gary Miller, Ryan McDaniel, Mike Leonard and ALL of our Game Masters and the events they ran.
Despite the time and work to set up and run the Open House, the Palladium staff and I had a blast too. Kathy Simmons was a human dynamo who was everywhere working to keep the event running smoothly. It is because of Kathy that the Open House ran so smoothly. Sadly, she was the one person who got to enjoy it the least. Thanks Kathy, you are appreciated more than you may know.
I want to thank all of our volunteers – from Game Masters to those of you who helped us clean up in the morning, tear down Sunday, and clean up on Monday. Especially Amy and Joseph Black Bear, Joseph Bergmans, Colleen and Jon Bruning, Andreas Decker, Scott Gibbons, Chris Guertin, Doug Lamberson, Mike Leonard, Becky Rudell, and Matthew Treme. My thanks to all of you who joined the fun and helped make the 2010 Open House a triumph.
I certainly had a good time talking with people and I think I signed a record number of books. One person brought in 200 books for me to sign and another brought in 3-4 crates which he estimated to be around 100 books, plus I signed a lot of other people’s books. I don’t mind signing books, even hundreds of them. Hey, if someone thinks enough of me and my work to lug boxes of books all the way to the Open House, I’m happy to sign them. Besides, I’m used to signing books, I like to make people happy, and it’s all part of the Open House experience.
2010 Open House Report with photos, info about the costume competition, art contest, panel talks, and much more details about the event.
2010 Open House Photo Gallery, with a bunch of photos, and more to come.
Next Open House, April 2012 (tentative). We felt bad that so many people could not make it, and that many of those who did were on a tight budget. As a result, we thought it would be best if we skipped a year to give the economy a chance to rebound and folks who want to attend a longer time to save their money. Meanwhile, game on!
UPDATE: Triax™ 2 sold like crazy and many people commented that it looked as if EVERYBODY at the Open House was carrying a copy. It’s true.
Rifts® Triax™ 2 is a bonafide hit. Not only did we sell a great many at the Open House, but online sales that same weekend were hopping and orders continue to come in as word spreads. In addition, one of Palladium’s distributors placed a small reorder today. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and people are loving Triax™ 2. The ideas, the vast wealth of diverse information, the weapons and robots, everything.
UPDATE: Online sales during Open House weekend were strong. I don’t know if folks who couldn’t attend were ordering to show their support even though they couldn’t make it to the Open House, or were just excited, or what, but sales were up 50% for that weekend! The rest of the week has remained strong!
UPDATE: Rifts® Hoodies were another big hit at the Open House. We sold out of the “zipper” style in sizes 2XL and 3XL, and we were down to our last couple of Medium and Large sizes. More being printed: Keep those orders coming. More of the zipper hoodies are being printed even as you read this, and will be available to ship next week. They will go out to you as soon as our restock arrives. Meanwhile, we have plenty of X-Large (sorry, no Small, and 3XL is as large as we can get).
The Rifts® Vampire and Rifts® 20 Year Anniversary T-Shirts (and anniversary print) were also popular items at the Open House. They are available for the first time online today. See the descriptions that follow.
UPDATE: Dad. Had breakfast with my father, Henry, this morning. He seemed to be in better spirits and was happy that the Open House was such a success. He was also happy hear that Triax 2 is so popular. We had a nice time together, but I had to keep the visit a bit short as I had to finish this Press Release (Wayne has tomorrow off) and I have a couple of conference calls this afternoon.
UPDATE: Wayne Smith. May 1st was Wayne’s birthday. I had intended to throw him a surprise birthday party at the Open House, but it was too crazy to do so. We’ll be celebrating his birthday next week. Wayne is 35 this year.
UPDATE: Kathy Simmons. Kathy sold one Halloween sign at the Open House and a couple of people said they’d get back to her after the Open House to buy some of her ghoulish creations. Gamers got a kick out of seeing a trio of zombies around the Open House sign sending people to the back of the building to enter. I saw a lot of people taking photos with them all weekend long. Her work is fantastic, so please spread the word to people you know who might purchase Halloween lawn props – queenofghouls.com.
UPDATE: Rifts® Movie News. Still waiting for that movie script.
UPDATE: What’s Next? I’m taking this weekend off and sleeping till noon each day. Then I’ll be jumping back into Rifts® Heroes of the Megaverse® and the Vampire Kingdoms™ books, as well as coordinating work on other upcoming books, including new Robotech® titles.
Check out the Rifts® Hoodies and T-shirts, order your copy of Triax™ 2, and keep those imaginations burning bright. Thank you for being the best fans on the planet.
– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher
A white imprint of the Rifts® Logo on a black zipper hoodie. The famous Rifts® Logo appears front and back; a small logo over the left breast and a large logo printed on the back.
Type: 50/50 cotton polyester blend; full zipper.
Sizes: Medium to 3XL.
Color: White logo on a black zipper hoodie.
Cost: $32.95 for Medium, Large and XL. $34.95 for 2XL. $36.95 for 3XL; plus shipping (approximately $6 to most places in the USA).
Cat. No. 2546. Available now.
A white imprint of a large Rifts® Logo on the front of a pullover hoodie. Nothing on the back.
Type: 50/50 cotton polyester blend; pullover.
Sizes: Medium to 2XL. (Sorry, 3XL is currently sold out.)
Color: White logo on a black pullover hoodie.
Cost: $28.95 for Medium, Large and XL. $30.95 for 2XL, and $32.95 for 3XL; plus shipping (approximately $6 to most places in the USA).
Cat. No. 2547. Available now.
White image on a black T-shirt featuring a snarling vampire and the slogan: Death is for the weak™. This was popular at the Open House.
Type: 50/50 cotton polyester blend.
Sizes: Small to 5XL.
Color: White art and text on a black T-shirt.
Art by: Mike Mumah.
Cost: $18.95 for Small, Medium, Large and XL. $20.95 for 2XL, $22.95 for 3XL, $24.95 for 4XL and $26.95 for 5XL. Plus shipping (approximately $5 to most places in the USA).
Cat. No. 2548. Available now.
White image on a black T-shirt featuring a powerful cyborg. Above the cyborg art are the words Palladium Books Game Master, and below the art it reads: Power Incarnate. This was a big hit at the Open House.
Type: 50/50 cotton polyester blend.
Sizes: Small to 5XL.
Color: White art and text on a black T-shirt.
Art by: Freddie Williams II.
Cost: $18.95 for Small, Medium, Large and XL. $20.95 for 2XL, $22.95 for 3XL, $24.95 for 4XL and $26.95 for 5XL. Plus shipping (approximately $5 to most places in the USA).
Cat. No. 2549. Available now.
White image on a black T-shirt featuring a gathering of Rifts® heroes, from a Glitter Boy and a Juicer to a Rogue Scholar and a dragon.
Type: 50/50 cotton polyester blend.
Sizes: Small to 5XL.
Color: White art and text on a black T-shirt.
Art by: Mike Mumah.
Cost: $18.95 for Small, Medium, Large and XL. $20.95 for 2XL, $22.95 for 3XL, $24.95 for 4XL and $26.95 for 5XL. Plus shipping (approximately $5 to most places in the USA).
Cat. No. 2550. Available now.
Even if you were not actually at the POH, this is a fun T-shirt to wear. Get ‘em while supplies last. This “special commemorative” shirt will NOT be reprinted. Around 40 shirts are currently available.
White text and image on a black T-shirt featuring a checklist of things that might have happened to you at the Open House (like being chased by zombies or your character killed by Carmen Bellaire). Fun and funny.
Type: 50/50 cotton polyester blend.
Sizes: Small to 2XL (and only a few 2XL are available).
Color: White art and text on a black T-shirt.
Concept by: Julius Rosenstein.
Cost: $18.95 for Small, Medium, Large and XL. $20.95 for 2XL. Plus shipping (approximately $5 to most places in the USA).
Cat. No. 2551. Available now while supplies last. Collector’s item.
This is a gorgeous color version of the T-shirt, with color and art by Mike Mumah, signed by Kevin Siembieda and Mike.
Type: Sturdy card stock suitable for hanging on the wall.
Limited: 350 copies. Not numbered.
Signed by: Kevin Siembieda (Rifts® creator) and Mike Mumah (artist).
Size: Approximately 19 x 9 1/4 inches.
Full color.
Art by: Mike Mumah.
Cost: $10.00, plus shipping.
Cat. No. PR808. Available now.
Rifts® Triax™ Two is a hit with rave reviews pouring in. If you are a fan of Triax and the New German Republic, you need this book. But it has a ton of stuff that can be used in ANY Rifts® campaign.
Triax™ Two is the long awaited and hotly anticipated sequel to the hugely popular Rifts® World Book 5: Triax™ & The NGR (more than 100,000 copies sold). Fans want this book badly, and it is going to be a hot selling item. A ton of new weapons, vehicles, power armor, giant robots and much more make this a toy box you will not be able to resist.
- The Rifter® #49 – Now available
- The Rifter® #50 (special anniversary issue) – Now available
- Rifts® Dimension Book™ 12: Dimensional Outbreak™ – Now available
- Rifts® Hoodie (2 styles, zipper and pullover) – Now available
- Rifts® World Book 31: Triax™ Two – Now available
- Rifts® 20 Year Anniversary T-Shirt – Now available
- Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms – “Death is for the Weak” T-Shirt – Now available
- Palladium Books® – Game Master T-Shirt – Now available
- Palladium Open House “Checkbox” T-Shirt – Now available in limited quantities.
- Rifts®/Phase World® Sourcebook: Heroes of the Megaverse® – May or June
- Rifts® Dimension Book™: Thundercloud Galaxy™ – May or June
- Armageddon Unlimited™ – June or July
- Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook™ – Summer
- Rifts® World Book One: Vampire Kingdoms™, Expanded & Updated – June
- Rifts® World Book: Lemuria – Summer
- Robotech® UEEF Marines Sourcebook – Summer
- Robotech® New Generation Sourcebook – Summer
- Rifts® Chaos Earth™ – First Responders Sourcebook – Summer
- Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames – August
- Plus more Robotech® sourcebooks, more Mysteries of Magic™ sourcebooks (hoping to slot one in before June), more Nightbane® sourcebooks, more Dead Reign™ sourcebooks, Warpath™ and other good stuff.
Palladium has made several out of print titles and The Rifter® issues 1-40 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.
All-weather, life-sized Halloween props by Palladium’s very own Kathy Simmons. “Ghouls” include killer clowns, wizards, witches, devils, grave ghouls, executioners, mad doctors, vampires, werebeasts, monsters and soon, new stylings for zombies that look even more life-like. Kathy’s also now offering an array of handmade Halloween signs, witch’s brewing pots and more. Best of all, her high quality creations are much more affordable and imaginative than most competitors. Affordable Halloween fun.
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.
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.
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.