Palladium Books® Weekly Update – September 17, 2010
By Wayne Smith
It's been another crazy week here at Palladium Books. So much so that I'm writing the intro to the Weekly Update this week.
UPDATE: Henry Siembieda. This week has been up and down for Hank, Kevin's father. What illustrates that best is the fact that just this afternoon Kevin told me how great Hank looked when he saw him this morning, and yet this evening Kevin got a call and he had to rush to the hospital because of some sort of apparent complications. We're all hoping and praying for the best.
UPDATE: Heroes of the Megaverse® has shipped! It was a couple of days late, but these babies came in on Wednesday and they looked awesome. We shipped 'em out and they're on their way to all of you who pre-ordered them, as well as to distributors worldwide. Watch for it to hit store shelves in the next couple of weeks.
UPDATE: The Rifter® #52. Legal matters kept me from working on this nearly as much as I needed to this week, but Kevin, Alex and I will be working through the weekend to try to catch up. (Somebody out there try to play a round of golf for me, will ya?)
UPDATE: Armageddon Unlimited™. Word from the artist is that we will be seeing the cover in the next few days. We're all excited to see what Mark Evans has to wow us with this time.
UPDATE: Rifts® Thundercloud Galaxy™. John Zeleznik is walking us through the painting of the cover for this one on his blog. Take a look every now and then. It's pretty cool, and educational (but in a good way).
Kathy Simmons had a showing of her "ghouls" last weekend, and now would be a great time to check out her online store at queenofghouls.com. She makes life-sized zombies, witches, wizards and all sorts of other figures that would be perfect for any Halloween display, so keep her in mind these next few weeks leading up to that sugariest of holidays.
Coming from Palladium next month:
The Rifter® #52 – October 8, 2010
Armageddon Unlimited™ – October 22, 2010
Followed by . . .
Rifts® Dimension Book 14: Thundercloud Galaxy™
Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms™, Revised and Expanded
Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook™
Dead Reign™ Sourcebook Three
And with a little luck, Robotech® New Generation™ Sourcebook and/or Rifts® Lemuria.
Note: Not necessarily listed in the order of release. Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames and Chaos Earth™: First Responders, among others, will be early 2011 releases.
Thanks for reading, folks.
– Wayne Smith, Editor
Heroes of the Megaverse®
A sourcebook for Rifts®, Phase World®, the Three Galaxies™,
Heroes Unlimited™ RPG and the Palladium Fantasy RPG®
Now available!
The Book of Heroes is an ancient magic tome that empowers those with the potential for greatness. (Your player character?) In times of fear and darkness the Book is said to appear to make sure the forces of evil don’t get the upper hand. The Minion War™ is such a dark time, as the forces of Hell ripple across the Megaverse bringing death and destruction. Are the legends true? Is there a magic book that inspires and empowers new heroes to rise up and make a difference when they are needed most?
Heroes of the Megaverse™ presents the Book of Heroes, its powers and influence. It also lists the names of 2,000 of the greatest champions the Megaverse has ever known and offers rules for turning them into legendary Heroes of the Megaverse. This magic artifact is said to be a hero maker, able to find beings with the spirit of a hero and bestow upon them incredible power to do battle against evil. Only one copy of the book 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 Two Thousand” can rule the universe. The book has been missing for millennia. No one knows its fate or the true power contained within its List of Heroes. No one except YOU – the current keepers of this legendary Rune book.
The legend and magic of the Book of Heroes.
The powers of the book itself.
The ability to empower and turn worthy heroes into superhumans.
101 detailed super abilities (not reprints from other books).
Hero Avatars, Hero Mentors, and their powers.
Quick roll creation tables and ways to turn the 2,000 named in the book into Heroes of the Megaverse® for your campaigns.
Why the book must never fall into the hands of any Lord of Hell.
Nearly a dozen NPC heroes and surprises.
For use with Rifts® and Phase World®/the Three Galaxies™, as well as Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy RPG® and other S.D.C. settings. Includes stats and conversions for M.D. and S.D.C. settings.
Contains the names of nearly 2,000 real life gamers who purchased the special print during Palladium’s Crisis of Treachery (and other heroes).
Cover by Apollo Okamura.
Art by Mike Mumah, Mark Dudley, Nick Bradshaw and others.
Written by Kevin Siembieda.
96 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 877.
The Rifter® #52
Horror Issue – Ships October 8, 2010
The Rifter® #52 is our annual horror issue. It is in the final stages of production right now and it is packed with magic, magic items, and scary stuff.
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.
Issue #52 Presents:
Rifts®: The Crusaders & The Black Crusade™ – Source material for Rifts® based on a pair of interrelated short stories that appear this issue. Source material includes 35 new Magic Tattoos, a dozen new pieces of equipment and weapons, new variant Sunaj O.C.C.s and more.
For the Palladium Fantasy RPG®: Cannibal Magic. Perfect material for our horror issue.
For the Palladium Fantasy RPG®: From Ruins to Runes (easily adaptable to Rifts® and other other settings). Several completely new types of super-rare Rune Weapons from the Elf-Dwarf War.
The latest chapter of Hammer of the Forge™, fiction.
News, coming attractions and much more.
$11.95 retail – 96 pages – Cat. No. 152. Ships October 8.
Armageddon Unlimited™
For Heroes Unlimited™ – Ships October 22, 2010
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™.
A dozen new super abilities.
Enchanted and Demonic Weapons.
Demon Hunter Power Category and abilities.
Demonic Immortal Power Category and abilities.
Crusader of Light Power Category and abilities.
Magically Bestowed Variant Power Categories and abilities.
Hellion monster creation table – NPC villains.
Arcane orders, secret societies, and magic guilds.
The Chaos Generator and the coming of Armageddon.
Notable villains, people and places.
The Armageddon scenario and adventure ideas.
Written by Carl Gleba.
160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 527. Ships October 22 (tentative).
Coming:
Rifts® Dimension Book™ 14: Thundercloud Galaxy™
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 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. November.
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 will be accompanied by the Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook.
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.
Cover by E.M. Gist.
Written by Kevin Siembieda.
192 to 224 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 802-E.
Rifts® Vampires 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.
Vampire 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.
Cover by Michael C. Hayes.
Written by Kevin Siembieda, Braden Campbell and Mark Dudley.
128 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 884.
Coming:
Rifts® World Book: Lemuria™
At last, the underwater realm of Lemuria. The people and history of Lemuria, new magic, sea herbs and healing, sea monsters, and more.
The Lemurians, their race, history and society.
New O.C.C.s including the Serpent Hunter, Shriekers, 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. Final page count and price may be subject to expansion and increase.
Robotech® New Generation™ Sourcebook
We’re hoping to squeak this Robotech® sourcebook out in time for Christmas, otherwise it will be an early 2011 release.
The heroes and mecha of New Generation.
Freedom Fighters and salvaged mecha.
Mecha from all four eras of the Robotech saga, adventures, and more.
Written by Irvin Jackson and Kevin Siembieda.
A “manga” size sourcebook.
192-256 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 554. Final page count and price may be subject to change.
A way to try Palladium products
PDF downloads from DriveThruRPG.com
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® 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.
The Queen of Ghouls: Life-Sized Halloween Props
Scary. Life sized (most are 6 feet or taller). Unique. 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 looks frighteningly “real.” Can survive all types of weather. All come apart and fold down to slightly larger than a king-size pillow for easy storage. Come with easy instructions, a storage bag, and the lawn stake to stand them up in your front yard. Indoor stand sold separately.
Types of “Ghouls” include: Zombies (all kinds!), killer clowns, wizards, witches, devils, grave ghouls, scarecrows, executioners, mad doctors, deadly nurses, vampires, werewolves, and more. Kathy’s also now offering an array of hand-painted Halloween signs, signs with heads and bodies hanging from them, witches’ brewing pots, Halloween centerpieces 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 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 at her Queen of Ghouls™ Ebay store – queenofghouls.com.
© Copyright 2010 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Beyond the Supernatural™, Chaos Earth, Coalition States, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, SAMAS, Thundercloud Galaxy, Three Galaxies, Vampire Kingdoms, 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.