We survived the BIG Groundhog Day snowstorm. Actually, the media anticipation of the storm was scarier than the storm itself. The weather predictors warned of 12-15 inches, but we squeaked by with only 8-10 in most places. The wind was fierce at times, gusting up to 45 mph, but again, the region survived it with minimal problems. I told the crew to stay home, but Alex and I came in anyway, though I only put in a short 8 hour day.
In my Murmur from the Megaverse entitled Getting Dumped On, posted on Wednesday, I talked about juggling so much at once and feeling a bit worn down and stressed out.
On one hand, it is all very exciting. On the other, it is all very demanding. There are days, like Wednesday, where it starts to feel a little crazy. There are only five of us and we can only do so much. Keeping so many balls in the air takes time and effort, and things are getting done slower than we’d like to see. Add in disappointing online sales of late and other business concerns, and some days feel quite daunting. Lately, I think we’ve all felt a bit frustrated too. It’s not the workload or the juggling that gets to us as much as it’s we want to see it all happen overnight. Unfortunately, it takes time and energy. Ah, but that’s our problem. For you, our friends and fans, the payoff should be thrilling: The many new book releases, the new Palladium website, Palladium Books attending Gen Con Indy, and the reveal of the many projects boiling behind the scenes should make this a truly fun and exciting year.
Despite the pressure to get all these projects done as quickly as we can, ideas continue to flow and excitement rages. We are stoked about the many books and projects in the works and I’m working hard to make them all a reality. Over the past two weeks I’ve had a number of meetings with freelance writer Matthew Clements to discuss several different projects, I met with artist Ben Rodriguez, I had a long talk with artist Nick Bradshaw about an awesome new idea he has for a new role-playing setting (and he’s already created a mountain of art for it), I spoke with Thom Bartold about the Palladium website, I had a nice talk with artist and writer Mike Leonard, exchanged emails with Brandon Aten, Mark Dudley, Taylor White and others, and I’ve been helping my BFF Alex Marciniszyn with a pressing personal matter, among many other things. Like I said, it is a lot of juggling and coordination, but pure excitement at every turn.
UPDATE: Armageddon Unlimited™. The book is awesome, at the printers, has been approved by me for printing, and is scheduled to arrive at the Palladium warehouse on February 10, 2011. That’s next week, so get those pre-orders in and they will ship the day the book arrives. You get it before it hits store shelves. Of course, if you have a favorite game shop, please support them by making your purchase at the store.
UPDATE: Thundercloud Galaxy™ is in production. I’ve been editing, rearranging and rewriting the manuscript since Monday. I’m off to a good start and enjoying the book very much. Cover and interior art are done, and we are shooting to have the book ready to ship to you by the end of February.
UPDATE: Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms™ and the Vampires Sourcebook™ are being worked on right now too.
UPDATE: The Rifter® #53. PR copies went out on Monday. Sorry for the delay. Another great issue. Nice work, folks.
UPDATE: Rifter® Super-Subscription Offer – ENDS February 28, 2011, so if you’re planning to renew your subscription or start your first, time is running out. This is a great deal – free shipping to the USA, free gift, delivered to your door, etc. – but we only offer it once a year. Offer ends February 28, 2011. And to you fledgling writers and artists, don’t forget Palladium is always looking for new contributors to The Rifter®. Don’t be scared, give us a try.
Click here for all the details and order info.
UPDATE: Coming Soon. The following books are slated for Spring release. That means I need to review the manuscripts and assign artwork for Robotech® the New Generation™ sourcebook, Rifts® Lemuria, Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook, Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames, and a few other titles. All of which are, in my opinion, awesome new books I think you will love.
And there’s more. A number of book manuscripts are piling up on my desk and waiting for my review, including a sourcebook about Psi-Stalkers, a manuscript for Rifts® Chaos Earth, one for Rifts® and one for Robotech®. Meanwhile, I have people working on ideas for three other books.
I want the new Palladium website up by the end of February, even if it is a work in progress. I can’t make any promises, because I’m not the guy doing the coding and grunt work, but that’s what we’re shooting for. The preliminary work on the new website is outstanding. I had an excellent three hour conversation with Thom Bartold, who will be one of the main guys behind the new look, form and function of the website, along with our secret fan helper who is the true architect behind it all. We love what he’s done so far and he’s only getting started.
The Palladium Creators’ Conference is coming up fast – April 7-10. I can’t believe it is only two months away! I have so much to prepare before it gets here – like emailing and posting the update for my freelancers!
Freelancers, please book your hotel rooms as soon as possible (same Hotel as the one used for the Palladium Open House).
If there are subjects you would like me (and others) to address/talk about, please let me know in advance. I intend to host seminars and open discussions about writing, storytelling, game design, common problems, and so on, but I also want to discuss subjects specific to your concerns and needs. Let me know.
Those who have committed to coming to the Conference include the Palladium staff (of course), Brandon Aten, Amy Ashbaugh, Thomas Bartold, Carmen Bellaire, Braden Campbell, Matthew Clements, Greg Diaczyk, Mark Dudley, Carl Gleba, Jeffry Scott Hansen, Irvin Jackson, Mike Leonard, Allen Manning, Brian Manning, Mike Mumah, Mark Oberle, Josh Sinsapaugh, Charles Walton, Taylor White, and others. We’re anticipating 25-35 creators participating in the event. Some have even asked if they can arrive a day early (yes). Sorry, this unique gathering is not open to the public.
Palladium to attend Gen Con Indy – August 4-9, 2011. We’ll be there. What about you? Come on down and visit the Palladium Books booth, chat, get autographs, game and have fun. So far we know Brandon Aten, Matthew Clements, Mike Mumah, Wayne Smith and I (Kevin Siembieda) will all be at the booth. Other notable Palladium characters are likely to be added.
Kathy Simmons, Queen of Ghouls is working on a couple of new creations she hopes to offer for sale soon. She has been busy putting new creations in her online store (queenofghouls.com). Halloween is only 8 months away.
Online sales. Sales over the last couple weeks have been so-so, but sales in January through April are usually slow industry-wide. The release of new books should boost sales starting next week with Armageddon Unlimited™ and quickly followed by Thundercloud Galaxy™. Still, those slow sales are nerve-racking.
Tragedy strikes again. It may seem like Palladium cannot catch a break, but things could have been much, much worse. The home where Alex Marciniszyn lived with his elderly mother, sister, brother-in-law, and young nieces caught fire. The 87 year old Mrs. Marciniszyn was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and has been released with a clean bill of health. The rest of the family all escaped without physical injury, and Alex was at work so he missed the entire ordeal. The only casualty was one of the house pets, a 7 year old dog named Roxy. The house has been deemed uninhabitable and furniture and most possessions have been lost. Worst of all, somehow, the person responsible for maintaining the house insurance failed to keep the policy in place, so the family home (paid in full) is a complete loss. Right now, the family is scattered among friends and other family members who have taken them in. The youngest girl (15 years old) is taking it the hardest, but everyone is hanging in there the best they can.
Of course, such a loss is devastating and heartbreaking. I’ve been helping Alex on many different levels – he’s been my best friend since Eighth Grade, so I’m there for him as much as possible. Houses in and around Detroit are inexpensive and I’m in the process of helping Alex find an affordable home to rent or mortgage for himself and the five other members of his family. Helping Alex and his family is, of course, stealing some of my time away from working on books and projects at Palladium, but I trust you understand that friends and people must come first.
Despite the shocking and stressful circumstances, Alex is doing reasonably okay, and he and his family are trying to be pragmatic and as positive about the whole thing as possible. Starting over will be difficult and expensive, but our prayers and love are with Alex and his family. Hopefully, this will be the only tragedy the Palladium family will have to deal with this year. No lives were lost except for the dog, so we all count our blessings.
– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher
- The Rifter® #53 – New – Available now!
- Rifts® World Book 20: Canada – Back in print – Available now
- Rifts® Dark Conversions – Back in print – Available now
- Palladium Fantasy RPG® – Back in print – Available now
- Rifts® Game Master Guide – Back in print – Available now
- Rifts® World Book 5: Triax & The NGR – Back in print – Available now
- Rifts® Bionics Sourcebook – Back in print – Available now
- Rifts® China One – Back in print – Available now
- Rifts® Megaverse® Builder – Back in print – Available now
- Armageddon Unlimited™ – New – ships February 10
- Rifts® Dimension Book™ 14: Thundercloud Galaxy™ – New – February 25
- Rifts® WB One: Vampire Kingdoms™, Expanded & Updated (March)
- Robotech® New Generation™ Sourcebook (March; tentative)
- Rifts® Book of Magic – Rescheduled from February. Probably a March release.
- Robotech® UEEF Marines and other Robotech® sourcebooks.
- Rifts® sourcebooks
- Rifts® Chaos Earth™ sourcebooks
- Palladium Fantasy®: Mysteries of Magic™ Two & Three
- Palladium Fantasy® other sourcebooks
- Warpath™ Urban Jungle RPG
- And other good stuff. Lots of other good stuff!
The printer has confirmed the book will ship February 10, 2011.
Armageddon Unlimited™ is the ultimate good vs evil setting and adventure. The fate of the world hangs in the balance and only you can stop its destruction as demons and Deevils fight for control of the Earth and bringing about the end of life as we know it.
Armageddon Unlimited™ is more than an epic world-saving adventure, it is also a sourcebook jam-packed with new powers, magic, weapons and Power Categories that can be incorporated into any Heroes Unlimited™ campaign. This book can be used as a standalone adventure sourcebook for Heroes Unlimited™ or as a pivotal plot in an expansive Minion War™ campaign.
Highlights include:
For the first time ever, the Thundercloud Galaxy™ is presented in a Dimension Book of its own. It provides an overview of the galaxy, the mad rush to claim and colonize planets, and descriptions of notable worlds, alien people, monsters and politics.
Looking for adventure? Looking to help colonize a planet or to defend an exploited people? Then you need this sourcebook. Expand your knowledge of the Three Galaxies with new history, alien worlds, weapons, spacecraft, and adventure in an exotic faraway galaxy. A perfect companion to Rifts® Dimensional Outbreak™ and a foil to plot your own Minion War™ battles or to send protectors and heroes created with Rifts® Heroes of the Megaverse®. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
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.
The Rifter® #53 includes:
The Rifter® is a quarterly sourcebook series for the entire Palladium Megaverse®. It is written by fans and up and coming writers, for fans. Some, like #4, #8, #19, #20-26, #28-35, #38, #40, and others have even become coveted collector’s items that command big bucks! (For a while, people were reportedly paying as much as $70 online for #21.)
Super-Subscription Offer: The cover price of The Rifter® is $11.95 – a steal for 96 pages of RPG source material and adventures – but a subscription gets you The Rifter® delivered to your doorstep and you can select a free gift worth $13-$23 (available only during this special offer, for the cost of shipping and handling).
That’s only $39.80 for customers in the United States. That breaks down to $9.95 each, a savings of $8.00, and Palladium pays the shipping! Plus you get to select a A FREE gift worth $12.95-$24.95 – and you pay only the cost of shipping and handling ($5.00 in the USA – that’s $44.80 total for US customers). Note: Due to the cost of international shipping, this special rate is limited to subscribers in the USA only. We hope you understand.
Indicate what issue number you’d like your new subscription to start at: #52 (last issue), #53 (the current issue), #54 (next issue, April 2011), or when your current subscription ends.
For all the details and to place an order, click here.
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 few years ago. Best of all, it will be accompanied by the 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.
This Robotech® sourcebook will be an early 2011 release.
At last, the underwater realm of Lemuria. The people and history of Lemuria, new magic, sea herbs and healing, sea monsters, and more.
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.
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.
A comprehensive overview of Canada, including notable places, cities, towns, people, O.C.C.s, monsters and conflicts. Much of Canada has reverted to wilderness, but there are pockets of civilization and technology, though not all of them human.
The focus of Dark Conversions™ is on creatures of darkness and other monsters such as Alien Intelligences, Elementals, were-beasts, vampires, weird supernatural beings, the Nightbane and others. If you are looking for practitioners of dark magic, villains, monsters and vile horrors to pit against your heroes, this is the sourcebook for you. Many creatures also have notes on how they fit into the Rifts Earth setting and where they may be encountered.
A complete role-playing game set in a unique realm of high fantasy and epic adventure that has thrilled fans for 27 years. All the fantasy elements you’d expect are there, but spun in ways that you may not expect. Magic has replaced science. The elder races of Dwarves, Elves and Titans have given way to the rise of humanity and the Wolfen Empire. While the monster races – Goblins, Orcs, Ogres and Trolls – lay claim to the Old Kingdom, from which they launch their pillaging raids. And that’s just the beginning.
The ultimate Rifts® reference and sourcebook, it contains all the weapons, equipment, body armor, power armor, robots, vehicles, skills and psionics from Rifts® World Books 1-23, Sourcebooks 1-4, and Siege on Tolkeen 1-6, collected into one big reference. Plus, maps, lists and indexes of O.C.C.s, R.C.C.s, experience tables and more.
A compendium of bionic and cybernetic systems in the Rifts North America setting, with information about partial and full conversion cyborgs, Headhunters, City Rats, the Cyber-Doc and more. A must-have resource for fans of cyborgs.
The New German Republic (NGR) is surrounded and besieged by the hostile Gargoyle Empire – an empire of giant monsters. Only the superior robotics and weapons technology of Triax keeps the monsters at bay, but for how long? This epic World Book presents the Triax robots, power armor, cyborgs, and world setting that is Rifts Germany and the surrounding region. More than 100,000 copies sold!
Note: For dozens of new weapons, armor, robots, drones, power armor suits, cyborgs, vehicles and updated information about the NGR, Triax and the war, see Rifts® World Book 31: Triax™ 2 – 192 pages – $24.95 – Cat. No. 881.
There is no place on Rifts Earth more exotic, magical and dangerous than China, especially since the Hell of the Yama Kings has bled into the mortal plane.
Note: For 18 new O.C.C.s, heroes of the Celestial Court, Geofront, secret technology, mystical powers, Demon Wrestling, Demon Quelling, Chi Weapons, martial arts and more, see Rifts® World Book 25: Rifts® China 2 – 160 pages – $20.95 – Cat. No. 858.
Your guide to creating your own corner of the infinite Megaverse®. The big picture of how the Megaverse® works, plus rules and suggestions for creating your own dimension.
White printing on a big, glossy black, 15.5 ounce coffee mug. Looks cool and is a fan favorite.
White printing on a big, glossy black, 15.5 ounce coffee mug. Looks great.
This is a great resource for getting out of print Palladium titles and other select books. We’ve 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.
We will be adding issues 41-44 of The Rifter® to the list of available titles from DriveThruRPG.com in January, 2011. Other books will be added in the months to follow.
Start planning for Halloween early as Palladium’s very own Kathy Simmons will start to offer her 2011 selection of life-sized Halloween props (most are 6 feet or taller) that are to die for.
Each is an all-weather, life-sized Halloween prop that can handle rain and snow, and is a one-of-a-kind work of art (no two are exactly the same). Each looks frighteningly “real.” All come apart and fold down to slightly larger than a king-size pillow for easy storage. Comes with easy instructions, a plastic storage bag, and the lawn stake to stand it 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, witch’s 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 $99-$179. You can see some of her work at her Queen of Ghouls™ Ebay store – queenofghouls.com.
© Copyright 2011 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®, 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.