A lot has been going on these past several weeks.
By now, many of you may have heard Palladium Books® has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against a company named Trion Worlds over their MMORPG recently renamed Rift: Planes of Telara.
For me the issues are simple and self-evident.
See for yourself – riftgame.com
My apologies, but for a variety of reasons and legal concerns I cannot discuss anything about the lawsuit. I can tell you that for the last six weeks we’ve been consumed by it.
That’s why there have been few Murmurs from the Megaverse®, little news in our weekly updates, and no new product.
Despite what some people would like to believe, lawsuits are never fun or taken lightly, at least not by me.
Over the last several weeks I’ve been quiet on the subject, but even though the suit is still going on, and may continue for some time, I feel I need to tell you, Palladium’s fans, friends and supporters, what I’m feeling.
Adversity can either break you or make you a stronger, better person. I’d like to think the events of the past eight or nine years have made me a better and wiser person. Stronger too. The Crisis of Treachery is such a hallmark event. The day I went public about the embezzlement and how Palladium needed its fans to help keep the company alive, something changed for ALL OF US. We transcended the corporation/customer relationship. Fans rushed to help Palladium survive the Crisis and poured their hearts out to express their love for the company, our products, me and the other Palladium creators and staff. It was beautiful and miraculous. It helped us survive. It created an unspoken covenant that made the already strong Palladium community a family. A family based on trust, openness, communication and fun.
I’m not going to stop talking to my family. I can’t do business like that. The Crisis of Treachery (and other things both private and public) changed me forever. And I think that change is for the better.
Maybe some people think that’s a sign of weakness, naivete, misplaced sentimentality or even stupidity. I think they’re wrong. It doesn’t really matter, because this is the way I’ve chosen to conduct my business. I can’t operate on a dog eat dog basis. I can’t live in fear that my sincere, heartfelt words will be used against me. Maybe that’s foolish, but you are my friends and my extended family. You have been for a long time now.
Palladium is plugging away with this lawsuit. It’s no secret Palladium has suffered its share of challenges and adversity these past several years. Those difficulties may work against Palladium in waging a full defense of the Rifts® trademark because it appears the opposition can outspend us. This has nothing to do with the merits of the lawsuit, and everything to do with size and money.
Palladium is fighting the good fight. We’re doing all we can. And we aren’t giving up. Not by a longshot. However, if we are unable to match the spending of the opposition, the outcome may not bode well for Palladium or Rifts®. I fear the infringement and confusion could have a negative impact on the many opportunities that seem to finally be coming our way for Rifts®. How ironic.
None of us knows how any of this will all shake out in the end. Despite the fact that Palladium has suffered more than its fair share of adversity, we’ve faced every challenge, and have walked away with hard fought triumph after triumph. This is one more challenge we must face.
These days, it seems, we all face adversity. Most everyone is struggling to keep their homes, their jobs, and their families fed, or businesses going. These are difficult and uncertain times for most people, and I wish each and every one of you the best. Hang tight. You too need to fight the good fight. Hold your loved ones close and show them how much you love them. Find comfort and joy in those you care about and who love you back. Keep those imaginations burning bright and please turn to Palladium’s games to find some moments of laughter and fun.
I want you to know that whatever is going to happen with the Rifts® trademark lawsuit, is going to happen. We’ll give it our all and make the best of the end result – whatever it may be. Knowing you are there wishing us well helps give us the strength to keep pressing forward.
Dad. As most of you know, my father, Henry Siembieda, had bladder cancer. The doctors caught it early. It looked like the cancer was gone, but they are no longer certain of that. I took Dad to the hospital for his latest examination Thursday. Just like last time, there were stones/crystals in his bladder and some “suspicious tissue,” as his doctor put it. The stones and skin sample have been removed and sent for testing. The doctor suspects, like last time, the result will be “inconclusive.” These crystals, however, aren’t normal, and their reappearance after such a short period (I think it’s been only three months) is reason for concern. We’ll keep an eye on it and pray for the best. His next examination is in three months.
This has helped to remind me what’s really important. Friends and family (including you), and being true to yourself. That’s why I’m writing all this. I want to communicate with you, my extended friends and family. I just hope I haven’t bored you to death with all of this.
At the beginning of this year, I said 2010 was likely to be the “make or break” year for Palladium. I’m happy to report that, except for the Rifts® trademark infringement concerns, 2010 is looking like the year Palladium turns around!
Sales were up for most of the first half of the year! That’s great news compared to the last couple of years. Sales have recently softened due to the fact that we have not released any new products (sorry), but we’re getting back on track on that front. Rifts® Triax 2 was a hit with the fans, and we have one great new RPG title after another planned. With new product releases our sales can only climb for the rest of the year.
Other good news. As you already know, the Rifts® movie option was renewed by JB Films and the Walt Disney Company in April. Fingers remain crossed on that one. On top of that, Palladium’s creators are pumped up about new books and our agent is excited about marketing all of Palladium’s IPs.
There has been all kinds of interest in Rifts® this year. Palladium was contacted by two major videogame companies just this past April. We don’t know where this interest might go yet, but it’s exciting. Hopefully the trademark issues won’t scare prospective licensing partners away. Then there’s the Rifts®/Colt the Outlander comic strip crossover in Heavy Metal® Magazine which starts next issue. We’ve seen the finished, Part One of this two part story, and we love it.
There’s more.
Rifts® on the iPad and iPhone? I was going to wait until all the details were ironed out, but we’re expecting the Rifts®/Colt the Outlander comic strips will be made available as digital downloads for the iPad and iPhone by the end of the year. And so might Ramon Perez’s Rifts® Machinations of Doom comic strip.
One of the secret projects we’ve been looking into has to do with creating Rifts® comic books. Too early to say yet.
Another one of the secret projects I’ve been hinting at over the last few months has to do with Palladium making Facebook games. Yeah, us making Facebook games, in house. Wild, huh? Why not? We’re in talks with a game publisher right now. Again, it’s too soon to talk about details, or to know if it will actually happen, but we’re getting pumped up about it. This could also see Palladium expand as well as add a new revenue stream and expand the awareness of our many brands.
And if the Rifts® movie should get green-lighted or some other big deal happens . . . watch out world.
There are some other things percolating in the background, but it’s too soon to mention them.
I’m sharing this with you, because I want you to know. Because it’s exciting and promising. Because we can’t let our problems overshadow the good. We all need to stay focused on the positive. And I need to be focused on getting new releases finished and to the printer. ;)
Changes and Updates. ALL of the above has gotten Palladium to take a closer look at our website (our face to the public) and how we do business. As a result, you’ll be seeing more changes, updates and improvements to the Palladium website. We’ve let parts of the website languish and even stagnate for far too long, so we’ll be starting with updates of information and build from there.
The categorization of this very posting is an example of how we are looking at everything with new eyes and reevaluating them. We’ve been calling these weekly, Friday presentations “Press Releases.” Only they really aren’t true press releases. They are really weekly updates of things going on at Palladium Books, along with product updates and descriptions, and release schedules. So that’s what we’ll be calling them from now on: Weekly Updates. It’s not a big change, but it’s a good one.
Matthew Clements. Writer Matthew Clements is Palladium’s new, unpaid intern. He’s full of energy, ideas and talent, and a welcomed addition to the Palladium crew.
Palladium has faced more than its fair share of challenges these past several years, and we’ve always managed to triumph somehow. Hanging in there. We ain’t giving up. Not when so many things are finally starting to go our way. Please keep the faith and hang in there with us.
As Erick Wujcik would say, “Its all good.” As Kathy Simmons would say, “It is what it is.” Me, I say, “I’m one lucky guy living the dream. Keep those imaginations burning bright and game on!”
– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher & Creator of Rifts®
Our schedule is blown to Hell, but I’m working on getting us back on track pronto. At this point we don’t know what the exact release dates will be, but this is the rough order books should be coming down the pipeline. Know that I am motived and laser focused. – KS
- 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 Celebration T-Shirt – Now available.
- Rifts® 20 Year Celebration Color Print – 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 “Checklist” T-Shirt – Now available.
- The Rifter® #51 – July.
- Rifts®/Phase World®: Heroes of the Megaverse® – July (tentative).
- Armageddon Unlimited™
- Rifts® World Book One: Vampire Kingdoms™, Expanded/Updated
- Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook™
- Rifts® Dimension Book™: Thundercloud Galaxy™
- Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames
- Rifts® World Book: Lemuria
- Robotech® New Generation™ Sourcebook
- Rifts® Chaos Earth™ – First Responders Sourcebook
- Plus more Robotech® sourcebooks, more Mysteries of Magic™ sourcebooks, more Nightbane® sourcebooks, more Dead Reign™ sourcebooks, Warpath™ and other good stuff. Note: Order of release, as listed, may be altered.
If you are a fan of Triax and the New German Republic, you need this book. If not, and you like robots, weapons and technology, this book is still for you. It’s packed with a ton of stuff that can be used in ANY Rifts® campaign.
The Rifter® is your doorway to unlimited imagination and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. It offers new heroes, powers, weapons, magic and adventure for your games. It presents new villains, monsters and dangers to battle, and new ideas to consider.
July release is the plan.
Heroes of the Megaverse® presents numerous NPC heroes, new details about the Cosmo-Knights and all kinds of fun with a magic artifact known as the Book of Heroes. This magic artifact is said to bestow incredible power upon those who use it. It can also guide and empower current day heroes and unleash forces that could have a profound impact on the Minion War. Only one copy is known to exist, and everyone wants to get their hands on it – good guys and bad (demons, Deevils, the Splugorth, the Dominators, the Kreeghor, etc.). According to legend, he who controls the Book of Heroes and wields the “Power of the 2000,” can rule the universe. Once protected by the Cosmo-Knights, the book has gone missing for millennia. 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.
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™.
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 will be accompanied by the Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook that will also come out this summer.
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.
The Thundercloud Galaxy™ is the perfect companion to Rifts® Dimensional Outbreak™ to expand one’s gaming Megaverse in the Three Galaxies. History, aliens, weapons, spacecraft, and adventure in a galaxy far, far away.
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.
At last, the underwater realm of Lemuria. The people and history of Lemuria, new magic, sea herbs and healing, sea monsters, and more.
Data about the chaos and madness of the early days of the Great Cataclysm, and the brave men and women who tried to stem the tide of destruction and save lives, the First Responders.
Palladium has made 90 titles available as PDF digital downloads from DriveThruRPG.com. This is a great way to try Palladium products and get access to out of print RPG source material. Some notable titles include.
- Splicers® RPG
- Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, First Edition Rules.
- Boxed Nightmares™ for BTS, First Edition Rules.
- Nightbane® Book Four: Shadows of Light™.
- The Mechanoids® RPG and The Mechanoid Invasion® RPG Trilogy.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG®, First Edition Rules and select 1st edition sourcebooks.
- After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks.
- The Rifter®The Rifter® issues 1-40.
- The Best of The Rifter®
- Deluxe Revised RECON® RPG and Advanced RECON® Sourcebook.
- And more – go to DriveThruRPG.com and check ‘em out.
These shirts are awesome. 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; back in stock.
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.
Another great shirt. 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.
The perfect gift for your favorite Game Master. 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.
Celebrate 20 years of Rifts® with this dynamic, action-packed T-Shirt. 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 30 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.
Another way to celebrate 20 years of Rifts®. Full color art by Mike Mumah, signed by Kevin Siembieda and Mike Mumah. Suitable for framing.
Type: Full color printed on a sturdy card stock.
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.
The sale of Halloween ghouls are really starting to pop.
Palladium’s very own Kathy Simmons makes and sells all-weather, life-sized Halloween props. Each is a one-of-a-kind work of art. Each “real” and amazing in that spooky kind of way.
“Ghouls” include scarecrows, killer clowns, wizards, witches, devils, grave ghouls, executioners, mad doctors, vampires, werebeasts, monsters, staggering zombies, crawling zombies, and all kinds of zombies. Kathy’s also now offering an array of hand-painted Halloween signs, signs with heads and bodies hanging from them, witch’s brewing pots and more. Best of all, her high quality creations are much more affordable and imaginative than most competitors or mass produced items in a store, making them fordable 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 at her Queen of Ghouls™ Ebay store – queenofghouls.com.
Our next auction should start June 20, 2010. All items sold in “as is” condition. Most are typically very good to mint condition.
© 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.