Palladium Books® – Weekly Update – March 24, 2022
One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure
By Kevin Siembieda
We are working like crazy on product releases; The Rifter® #85 is at the printer; we are about to send two Raw Editions to the printer along with a few reprint titles; I’m wrapping up on CS Manhunters™; and there are 2 BIG Sales taking place right now. They both run until next Thursday, so time is running out. There are a number of other things in production and going on, too, but I need to get back to work so I’m trying to keep this Update short. See my Closing Thoughts for details on some of those.
UPDATE: 2 Sales! We are offering a large selection of physical RPG titles in our online store – palladiumbooks.com – with a focus on novels, horror, super-heroes, and mutant animals. There is a similar sale on DriveThruRPG.com for PDF books, so keep your imaginations burning and game on.
UPDATE: The Rifter® #85 is at the printer who just confirmed we “should” get it around April 15, so it will ship just before the Palladium Open House. It is a big, fun, 224 page issue that truly spans the Palladium Megaverse® – Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane®, Beyond the Supernatural™, and more are represented, plus news and coming attractions. See the full description elsewhere in this Update or in the Palladium online store.
UPDATE: Chaos Earth® Hardcover is finally back in stock. This is a bonus hardcover with additional material added to the core rule book. See the full description elsewhere in this Update or in our online store.
UPDATE: Rifts® CS Manhunters™ should be entering the layout phase. It will be sent to the printer soon. At this point, we anticipate it will ship in April the week after the Palladium Open House. This 224 page sourcebook will wow and please and is destined to become an instant must-have resource. See the new description for CS Manhunters elsewhere in this Update.
UPDATE: BTS Creature Feature™ is next on my plate and I am shooting to have it debut at the Palladium Open House, but that seems less likely with each passing day. That may be a tall order but that’s my goal. If not available at the POH it should be a May release. If all goes well that’s three new books by May.
UPDATE: Rifts® Titan Robotics™ is Sean’s current project. I will be assisting and contributing as necessary. The cover and most of the artwork is done. This is another great book written by Matthew Clements dealing with Titan Robotics and the machine god Archie Three. Archie is secretly the owner and mastermind behind Titan Robotics. Additional text and concepts by me and Sean. Rifts® Bestiary Vol. 2 is his next project after that.
UPDATE: Palladium Open House (POH). More and more is getting set up and the place is looking fantastic for the POH.
– We require those attending the POH to wear masks. As noted in the past, some of us are getting older and are more vulnerable, while a couple of our staff members care for loved ones who have severely compromised immune systems. We dislike wearing masks ourselves, but we must err on the side of caution. We hope you understand.
– POH Game Masters we need your game descriptions as soon as possible. You can contact us by telephone (734-721-2903) or better yet, send your game descriptions and info to us by email at palladium-gm{at}palladiumbooks.com.
– POH Weekend and single day tickets remain available. So if you decide to come on over at the last minute you can. You can also just show up and buy admissions at the door! But ordering prior to the event enables us to prepare and adjust the schedule to accommodate everyone. VIP tickets are sold out, again, but if you get on the Cancellations Waiting List, we will contact you should someone cancel. VIP Thursday is an afternoon and evening of fun, games, and catered dinner (served around 6:00 PM). The Palladium Open House is a fun way to meet the Palladium staff, an array of friendly freelance writers and artists, get a zillion autographs, meet fellow gamers from across the land, and have a fun-filled weekend you will never forget. We look forward to gaming and chatting with you, and if not at the POH maybe at Gen Con (we’ll be there this summer).
SALE of physical Palladium RPG books – Ends next Thursday, March 31
National Reading Month is here. We love to encourage people to read and unleash their imaginations so we are offering two sales of select Palladium titles. The one below offers physical RPG titles from physical RPG titles from palladiumbooks.com and there is a similar sale on DriveThruRPG.com for PDF books. Enjoy and keep those imaginations burning bright.
- All Novels
- All Dead Reign® (excluding hardcover)
- All Nightbane® (excluding hardcover)
- All Heroes Unlimited titles (excluding hardcover)
- All Chaos Earth® titles (excluding hardcover)
- All After the Bomb® titles (excluding hardcover)
- Ninjas & Superspies RPG (excluding hardcover)
- Mystic China
- The Rifter® #14,78-84
- Rifts® Path of the Storm
- Rifts® Machinations of Doom
- Future Visions
- Rifts® & the Megaverse® Softcover
ONLY from palladiumbooks.com now thru March 31, 2022
SALE of PDF titles – DriveThruRPG.com PDF – ALL Rifters®, Nightbane®, novels, and more
- All Novels
- All Dead Reign® titles
- All Nightbane® (Superhero horror)
- All Heroes Unlimited titles
- All Chaos Earth® titles
- All After the Bomb® titles
- All Ninjas & Superspies RPG
- All Rifter® issues #1-84
- Rifts® Path of the Storm
- Rifts® Machinations of Doom
On DriveThruRPG.com now thru March 31, 2022
Back in Stock! Chaos Earth® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover
The Great Cataclysm as it unfolds! The Golden Age of Science and human civilization is shattered with the return of magic and the Coming of the Rifts. Humanity struggles to survive against impossible odds as ley lines appear and Rifts tear open the fabric of space and time to unleash all manner of alien invaders, demonic horrors, and monsters. Natural disasters – storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tidal waves – topple cities and create panic and chaos on a global scale.
You play survivors or the heroes of NEMA (the Northern Eagle Military Alliance) as you battle against the elements, madness, the demonic, the alien, the monstrous, and the magical amidst the devastation. You are equipped with Chromium Guardsmen (Glitter Boys), Silver Eagles (SAMAS), and a host of giant robots, power armor and advanced technology, but is it enough to stand against a rising tide of enemies and invading horrors from other worlds?
You and other survivors are humanity’s last and only hope to survive the apocalypse that will become known as the Great Cataclysm. These are the heroes you play in an ever-changing, nightmare world that can only be described as Chaos Earth.
- A complete RPG and the origins of Rifts® Earth.
- Overview of the Great Cataclysm as it unfolds.
- Introduction to NEMA and its weapons and resources.
- 11 different character classes, including robot pilots, the Para-Arcane, Demon and Witch Hunters, Chromium Guardsmen & more.
- Robots, power armor, vehicles, weapons, and equipment.
- Monsters, chaos and adventure. Written by Kevin Siembieda.
- 30 pages of “bonus” material gathered from The Rifter®.
- 192 pages – $36.99 retail – Cat. No. 660HC. Also available as a 160 page softcover RPG ($20.95 retail – Cat. No. 660).
UPDATED List of RPG Hardcovers Available Now
- Back in Stock! Chaos Earth® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – 192 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 660HC – 30 extra pages of bonus material – available now!
- NEW! “Original” Palladium Fantasy RPG® Commemorative “Bonus” Foil Hardcover (1st Edition rules) – It is the original 1st Edition Rules RPG including Tombs of Gersidi and the first Fantasy sourcebook: The Arms of Nargash-Tor. The cover is a classy crimson foil image, imprinted on black faux leatherette to replicate the original red and black RPG fans love. 320 pages – $55 retail – Cat. No. 449HC – available now.
- NEW! Splicers® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – The Splicers® RPG plus 50 pages of extra material gathered from The Rifter®. 280 pages – $44.99 – Cat. No. 200HC – available now.
- “Original” Rifts® RPG 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover – available now! This collector’s item sports the original Parkinson cover, additional 32 page color section, history of Rifts®, unpublished concept art, gallery of all Rifts® covers through 2020, and more. Can be used with ALL Rifts® supplements – 288 pages – $49.99 – Cat. No. 800HC30 – Available now.
- Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG “Bonus” Hardcover – available now – BACK in stock – 224 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 525HC – includes bonus material – available now.
- After the Bomb® RPG “Bonus” Hardcover – available now– BACK in stock – 296 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 503HC – includes bonus material – available now.
- Rifts® Book of Magic Hardcover – available now – BACK in stock – 352 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 848HC – available now.
- Nightbane® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – available now – 304 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 730HC – 60 extra pages of bonus material – available now.
- Dead Reign® RPG (Zombie Apocalypse) Hardcover – available now – BACK in stock – 224 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 230HC – available now.
- Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition Hardcover – 224 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 700HC.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition Hardcover – 336 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 450HC – Our second best selling new hardcover after the Rifts® 30th Anniversary edition.
- Heroes Unlimited™ RPG, 2nd Edition Hardcover – 352 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 500HC.
- Rifts® Ultimate Edition RPG Hardcover – 376 pages – $44.99 – Cat. No. 800HC – epic.
- Rifts® Ultimate Edition “Softcover” is a new format. RUE has only ever been available as a hardcover, and it still is, but it is now also available as a softcover – 376 pages – $34.99 – Cat. No. 800SE.
- Rifts® Game Master Guide Hardcover – 352 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 845HC.
- Rifts® Adventure Guide Hardcover – 192 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 849HC.
Retailers can buy direct from Palladium
Help Your Game Store Find Palladium RPG Products! With game stores opening back up we are happy to report that our distributors are doing a good job at stocking our many titles. If your store is having trouble ordering Palladium titles from distributors or they find getting product from their distributors is too slow, tell them they can buy wholesale directly from Palladium Books. We usually succeed at keeping most of our 200+ titles in stock at all times. You might also point them to Alliance, Studio 2, and Universal Distribution (Canada), who are all doing an especially good job keeping Palladium titles in stock and available. A few store owners reached out to us just this past week, thanks to your efforts, so keep up the good work!
Brick and mortar stores can request the Retailer Terms by contacting Palladium via the Help Desk on our website or by telephone (734-721-2903). Thank you for your help on this front. Please keep spreading the word. Thank you.
NEW! The Rifter® #85 Annual – at the Printer – ships April
The Rifter®, your favorite player and G.M. portal to the Palladium Books® Megaverse®, is back as a super-sized annual. And this one is packed with epic adventures, O.C.C.s, toys, magic, settings, and source material. A little something for almost everyone. The Rifter® is all about new ideas, pushing the envelope, trying new things and alternative methods, rules and approaches to create epic adventure! There is no one way to look at things. Open your mind to the infinite possibilities. Remember, adventures and source material for one game setting can also be adapted to other world settings with some easy and obvious modifications. Most of all, have fun.
Rifter® #85 Highlights:
- Rifts®: Soul in Flames – A town, Skelebots, dinosaurs, and adventure.
- Rifts®: Glitter Boy™ Revisited – New variant Glitter Boys, weapons, ammo, upgrades, and material to leave players and Game Masters drooling. Easily adaptable to Chaos Earth® and Phase World® settings.
- Rifts®: The State of Rapid City – Setting and adventure ideas.
- Phase World® – Naruni civil war and 8 adventure hooks.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG® – 40 new magic items suitable for Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, Phase World®, Heroes Unlimited™, and any setting with magic.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG® Relics of the Elven Empire – Notable surviving Elven cities and source material.
- Palladium Fantasy RPG®: The Colony of Gonarn – A sweeping new location and adventure.
- Heroes Unlimited™ – 3 new Hardware O.C.C.s, Archaic Genius, Gadgeteer, Static Genius and adventure.
- Heroes Unlimited™ tribute by comic book artist Freddie E. Williams II.
- Dead Reign® – Adventure and danger. Don’t trust anyone.
- Dead Reign® – 25 Vehicle Encounter Tables including condition, loot, and adventure hooks. Adaptable to Chaos Earth®, After the Bomb®, BTS™, Systems Failure™, Rifts®, and any post-apocalyptic setting.
- Beyond the Supernatural™: Beyond Midnight – A combination of story, creature feature, and plot hooks that includes adventure seeds that span nine different Palladium RPG settings!
- Nightbane®: The Redeemer – A compelling new O.C.C.
- Short stories, news, coming attractions, product descriptions.
- 224 pages – $26.99 retail – Cat. No. 185 – at the printer – expected to ship early April.
- SEEKING submissions for The Rifter® #86 – Fall 2022. We get many submissions for Rifts®, and are sitting on some for The Rifter® #86, so you will have a greater chance of getting accepted and published in the next Rifter if you send material for Nightbane®, Dead Reign®, Chaos Earth®, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, After the Bomb®, Palladium Fantasy® and other Palladium settings. Any size submission from 4-25 manuscript pages is acceptable. We prefer game material, but short stories (the shorter the better) are also considered.
UPDATE: Rifts® CS Manhunters – Secrets of the Coalition States
The Rifts® CS Manhunters Sourcebook has turned into an essential psionics sourcebook in a similar vein to the Rifts® Bionics Sourcebook, only in this case the focus is on psychics, psionic abilities, and the new villains you will love to hate: The CS Manhunters. This information-packed sourcebook includes the CS Manhunters, who are a super-secret league of assassins and enforcers that answer only to Emperor Prosek; the secret “thought police” of Psi-Ops; re-visitation and clarifications about select psionic abilities; Dog Boys and Kill Hounds; 50+ new psionic powers that are fun and intuitive; and insight about life in the Coalition States, CS psychics, Psi-Stalkers, the Minion War, CS citizens, and Emperor Prosek as well as some gadgets, implants, and surprises. This book has it all. An instant classic all Rifts® fans will want to own.
- 50+ new psionic abilities and revisits of some favorites. Powers available to most psychic O.C.C.s.
- 9 CS Manhunter O.C.C.s, their orientation and areas of specialty. Each with unique, exclusive psionic powers and abilities.
- CS Manhunter background, operations, special ops, and more.
- Dog Boy O.C.C. revisited.
- CS Kill Hound O.C.C. revisited.
- Some of Emperor Prosek’s secrets revealed.
- Insight about the Coalition States and its citizens.
- Deciphering the Seven Dangers Prophecy (101 P.A. and appearing in Rifts® Sourcebook 2: Mechanoid Invasion).
- Secrets of Psi-Ops Division and insight about Coalition psychics.
- The impact of the demon plagues unleashed by the Minion War.
- A comic strip with art by Nick Bradshaw and written by Kevin Siembieda, presenting new insight about CS operations and Psi-Hounds.
- Player Characters, new psionics, NPCs, CS history and never-before-revealed information, adventure ideas galore, and more for both players and Game Masters alike.
- 224 pages – $26.99 retail – Cat. No. 894 – In final production for a spring release.
UPDATE: Creature Feature™, a Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebook
This is going to be another fun adventure sourcebook. The manuscript will go into editing and rewrites as soon as I finish CS Manhunters and most of the artwork is done. Though I may add a few illustrations and already have artists lined up. Creature Feature™ builds on material that has appeared in various issues of The Rifter® but there is a ton of new material and information useful to both Game Masters and players.
- A gallery of supernatural creatures. Some new. Some familiar, updated and expanded. All terrifying.
- Rules clarifications and errata.
- Game Master source material and advice on rules, psychic abilities, proximity and threat levels, I.S.P. multipliers, and more.
- Advice about running modern horror RPGs and using supernatural creatures in your games.
- Lots of adventure ideas, including an updated and expanded full adventure, “The Squatter.”
- New background and setting information for the BTS setting and a few surprises.
- Written by Steven Dawes, Kevin Siembieda, and others.
- Art by Steven Cummings, Nick Bradshaw and others.
- 192 pages – $26.99 – Cat. No. 704 – spring release.
UPDATE: Rifts® Titan Robotics™
Here it is, the reveal of the new cover. I hope you like it. I love that it presents the iconic Titan Robotics Combat Robot with a new big gun that hints at what else awaits you inside the book. I also enjoy the combat scene, smoke, and haze of war. Like Northern Gun and the Manistique Imperium, Titan Robotics sells freely to adventurers, mercenaries, and anyone who has the cash. Hence, the owners of these big ‘bots clashing with Coalition Forces.
This is why I call Rifts® Titan Robotics™ a high-tech toy box filled with many new types of Titan Robotics power armors, giant robots, vehicles, weapons, and gear. Some are big bruisers while others are small and sleek. As fun as these new tech toys are, Rifts® Titan Robotics™ delves into the company’s many secrets, including ARCHIE-3’s plans and program to monitor and manipulate the outside world. Learn about Archie’s androids that run Titan Robotics and his current schemes and plans for the future. All of which provides fodder for adventure.
- New Giant Robots.
- New Power Armor, equipment and accessories.
- 30+ power armors and robots, plus other equipment.
- New weapons, gear and vehicles.
- Titan Robotics Corporation and structure.
- Archie’s secret kingdom and plans for the future.
- New O.C.C.s and key Non-Player Characters (NPCs).
- Android executives, security and much more.
- Wellington Industries, campaign prompts and more.
- Art by Walton, Cummings, Atkins, and others.
- Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Cover by Mike Majestic.
- 160-192 pages – $22.99 or $26.99 depending on final size – Cat. No. 899. Release date not yet determined.
UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume Two
The second big, “monster book” reference for Rifts® of what we anticipate to be three volumes in the series, more if we decide to make ghosts, spirits and Entities and/or Creatures of Magic part of the Bestiary series. Much like Volume One, Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume Two collects 70-100 monsters and animals plus 12-24 new beasts found across Rifts North America. The anticipated page count is 224-256 pages.
All volumes of the Rifts® Bestiary™ series are a great resource for players and Game Masters alike. Each description is updated, expanded, and highly detailed to present players with exotic and alien creatures as pets, guardians and riding animals, as well as slobbering monsters to battle and fierce beasts for Game Masters to throw at their players. Designed to offer adventure ideas, plus notes on young, adult, male and female creatures, and all provide plenty of ways to enhance your characters and spice up adventures. Each is accompanied by a map that shows at a glance where the beast can be encountered. Ah, but the presence of Rifts and magic means any of the creatures may appear anywhere in the world, so be on your toes.
- Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized into big, easy to use sourcebooks.
- Updated and expanded descriptions and information for each existing monster.
- Updated and uniform stat blocks.
- New exotic creatures – predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects, and more.
- A map for every creature showing where it is found.
- Easily adapted to any Palladium setting – Palladium Fantasy®, Chaos Earth®, Splicers®, Phase World®, the Three Galaxies™, The Mechanoids®, Heroes Unlimited™/Aliens Unlimited™, and others.
- Basic S.D.C. stats included with each creature description.
- Fully illustrated, with art by Charles Walton II, Ramon Perez, Robert Atkins, and many others. Written by Kevin Siembieda.
- 256 pages each volume – $28.99 – Cat. No. 897 (Volume Two). Release date not yet determined.
NEW! “Original” Palladium Fantasy RPG® “Bonus” Edition Commemorative Hardcover, 1st Edition Rules – Available now
This deluxe, foil stamped edition presents the original, First Edition rules, expanded with the inclusion of the Arms of Nargash-Tor adventure sourcebook. The Original Fantasy Edition includes Erick Wujcik’s popular Tombs of Gersidi adventure left out of the 2nd Edition rule book, and all the original illustrations. The cover is a recreation of the original, famous red and black cover of the original RPG. We sold more than 120,000 copies of the first edition rule book back in the day, so we know a lot of people have fond memories of it. Hence, the request for Palladium to offer it again in some form. We hope you enjoy the deluxe First Edition Fantasy hardcover. It sure brought back memories for many of us.
- The complete, original RPG – the game that started Palladium Books.
- First Edition rules are easily adaptable to current Fantasy titles.
- Includes The Tombs of Gersidi adventure and setting (ancient vampires and dark magic) written by Erick Wujcik. Maps by Erick Wujcik. Easily adapted to current rules.
- Depictions of Eastern, Western, Northern, and Old Kingdom coins.
- Fan favorite artwork by Kevin Siembieda and Michael Kucharski.
- The Arms of Nargash-Tor adventure sourcebook included as “bonus” material back in print form for the first time in 35 years.
- Deluxe hardcover edition. Probably limited to fewer than 1,000 copies.
- Recreation of the original cover with red foil stamping into a black faux leatherette hardcover. It should look beautiful.
- 320 pages total with “bonus” material – $55 retail – Cat. No. 449HC – available now while supplies last.
NEW! Splicers® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – Available now
The Splicers® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover includes 50 pages of Splicers® material from The Rifter® #30, #32, and #51 offering War Mounts, The Wasteland, and Living Weapons like the Swarm Lord, Hive insects, etc., written by Chris Kluge.
Splicers® is a unique science fiction RPG unlike anything else on the market. It might be thought of as The Terminator meets Guyver. Human beings (on a far future Earth or is it a distant space colony?) are forced to hide and turn to bio-engineered, living weapons, armor and war steeds in their ongoing struggles against “The Machine.” A Super-Artificial Intelligence originally designed to help and protect human beings, but now hunts and destroys or enslaves them for their own welfare. It is a battle for survival that varies for each House of Splicers and the different regions controlled by the different personalities of the insane AI.
- The complete Splicers RPG written and created by Carmen Bellaire.
- 50 bonus pages of source material written by Chris Kluge.
- 280 pages – $44.99 retail – Cat. No. 200HC – available now while supplies last.
“Original” Rifts® RPG – 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover – available now
Yep, the RPG many of you know and love and first cut your teeth on when you discovered RPGs. The “original” Rifts® RPG is available for a limited time as a deluxe hardcover. Still only $49.99 despite rising paper and printing costs, especially for a book of its caliber. It is absolutely gorgeous and guaranteed to bring back fond memories. 48 pages of color, high quality paper, beautiful print quality throughout, and 32 pages of additional content.
- The cover is the iconic, fan favorite, Keith Parkinson painting depicting a Splugorth Slaver and Blind Warrior Women riding a Splugorth Slave Barge.
- 32 page color section presenting never before seen or talked about art and information.
- The making of Rifts®.
- Behind the scenes stories involving Kevin Siembieda, Erick Wujcik, Keith Parkinson, Kevin Long, others, and their contributions to Rifts®.
- Never before seen concept art and sketches.
- A gallery of every Rifts® cover through 2021. More than 160 of them. The perfect reference for collectors.
- The Rifts® RPG first edition rules work perfectly with ALL current Rifts® World Books, Sourcebooks, and Dimension Books, making it a functioning core rule book, not just an awesome collector’s item.
- 288 pages – $49.99 retail – Cat. No. 800HC30 – available now.
Still Hot! Rifts® Automated Character Sheet for EXCEL
The next step in character data collection! This EXCEL template provides automation to your Rifts® character creation process. Done in Microsoft Excel, this character template will allow you to build your character with substantial ease and speed. Ideal for the new gamer who doesn’t know all of the Palladium Books® rules just yet, it’s also a highly effective tool for Game Masters and advanced players alike who make multiple characters, NPCs or just like to min/max or theory craft characters between games.
- Dice Roller: A simple dice roller is on the main page of the character sheet to help with character creation or in-game dice rolling needs.
- Automated Attributes and Stat Block: All the bonuses and features from attributes are presented in a large stat block allowing you to easily see your bonus to save vs Psionics, Mind Control, etc. You can pick your strength type (Normal, Augmented, Robotic or Supernatural) to determine your carrying and lifting capacity and even your M.D. punch damage if your strength is high enough and of the right type.
- Automated Combat Stats: The main page holds a section where you can pull up data for your various combat stats, from hand to hand abilities such as Strike, Parry, Dodge and Disarm, to W.P. bonuses including those of the W.P. Sharpshooting variety. This section draws upon all of your character’s selection of skills and abilities and even offers customization from odd O.C.C. or racial abilities.
- Automated Psionics: All psionics from Rifts® Ultimate Edition, Rifts® World Book 12: Psyscape™ and Rifts® World Book 32: Lemuria can be selected from a dropdown menu that then populates tables with the information on psionics for your character. Each psionic ability’s data including damage, M.D.C. and range also automatically increases based on the character’s level of experience.
- Automated Spells: All Common Invocations, Necromancy, Ocean Magic and Biomancy spells (yes, all the Lemurian Biomancer spells too!) can be selected from a dropdown menu that then populates tables with the information on spells for your character. Each spell’s data including damage, M.D.C. and range also automatically increases based on the character’s level of experience.
- Automated Skills: All skills from the Rifts® Ultimate Edition, Rifts® World Book 25: China 2 – Heroes of the Celestial Court™ and Rifts® World Book 32: Lemuria can be selected and then automatically add bonuses from prerequisites and related skills. Physical skills that provide bonuses also add those bonuses directly to attributes and combat stats. Bonuses that require dice rolls are denoted and can then be manually rolled and added to the character sheet. Custom percent bonuses such as O.C.C. bonuses can also be added to individual skills.
- Automated Cybernetics & Bionics: All cybernetics and bionics from Rifts® Ultimate Edition along with some favorites from other books can be selected from dropdown menus which then tabulate bonuses and add them to your combat stats. Prices also sum up so an enterprising Headhunter can keep track of his hardware and upgrades. Simple cybernetic body part diagrams even allow players to allocate the locations of their various cybernetic and bionic components.
- Freeform O.C.C. and Racial Power Section: A section for non-standard powers, special O.C.C. or racial abilities allows the player to add custom skills and powers that can be linked to those features to draw upon the character’s level of experience, I.Q. bonus or other stats so powers grow as the character advances.
- Character Building Section: On the main page of the document is a section to help you build your character, from customizing attributes, to adding non-standard bonuses from O.C.C. or racial abilities, to an optional point buy system for attributes.
- Helpful Hints and Suggestions: Red triangular tabs appear throughout the document. Hovering over the red tab with the mouse cursor will reveal useful data from sourcebooks, hints, suggestions and other information, such as what a particular stat means, how it’s used in the game and what things can add bonuses or affect it. There is also a page with overview instructions on how to use the sheet, and a number of instructional videos will be posted via Palladium TV on the ins and outs of the character sheet. The first can be found here: http://youtu.be/a89XzAV37sE
- Portrait: A special sheet is set up so you can add an image to the document for a custom portrait for your character. That image is then displayed on the main page and is protected from accidental movement or deletion from the main page.
- Password Protected: Several pages of the document are password protected so players won’t accidently delete formulas and ruin the character sheet’s automated features. The password is provided so players can customize the sheet to their liking then protect the sheet again so they don’t undo all their hard work.
- Note: The file is best used in Microsoft EXCEL 2016 or above. Some data may be lost if not using Microsoft EXCEL, such as when using similar products like Open Office.
- Available from PalladiumBooks.com AND DriveThruRPG.com – make them characters!
Palladium Fantasy® Interactive Character Sheet
Also still hot – the Palladium Fantasy Interactive Character Sheet which is equally helpful in managing Palladium Fantasy RPG characters. Created by Travis Guerrero.
2022 Palladium Open House – April 22-24, 2022 (April 21 for VIP ticket holders) – Celebrate 40 Years of RPG fun from Palladium Books®
Weekend tickets and individual days remain available, so please join the fun. You will not be disappointed. See complete details in the lengthier store description.
Highlights Include:
* Celebrate Palladium’s landmark 40 Year Anniversary with us.
* Price of admission pays for all events!
* 100+ Gaming Events:
* Meet 30+ Notable Palladium personalities, artists, writers, staff.
- Kevin Siembieda – (Founder, writer, & G.M.) – confirmed
- Sean Owen Roberson – (Creative Director, writer, G.M., staff) – confirmed
- Julius Rosenstein (editor, G.M., Defiler & staff) – confirmed
- Wayne Smith (editor-in-chief & staff) – confirmed
- Alex Marciniszyn (editor, Defiler, & staff) – confirmed
- Kathy Simmons (Goddess & staff) – confirmed
- Crystal Willard (Lord of the Warehouse & staff) – confirmed
- Ramon Perez (artist) – confirmed
- Amy L. Ashbaugh (artist) – confirmed
- Nick Bradshaw (artist) – confirmed
- Mike Majestic (artist) – confirmed
- Brian Manning (artist) – wants to, thinking about it
- Allen Manning (artist) – wants to, thinking about it
- Mike Mumah (artist) – confirmed
- Benjamin Rodriguez (artist) – confirmed
- Phil Stone (artist) – confirmed
- Brandon Aten (writer, musician & G.M.) – tentative
- Matthew Balent (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- Matthew Clements (writer, screenwriter) – confirmed
- Steven Dawes (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- Greg Diaczyk (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- Glen Evans (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- Dan Frederick (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- John Klinkel (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- Madman Mike Leonard (artist, G.M. & helper) – confirmed
- Mark Oberle (writer & G.M.) – confirmed
- James Brown (Game Master Supreme) – confirmed
- Joe Bergmans (friend & helper) – confirmed
- Chris Guertin (friend & helper) – confirmed
- Doug Lamberson (friend & helper) – tentative
- Ryan McDaniel (G.M. & consultant) – confirmed
- Mike Silva (friend, G.M. & helper) – confirmed
* Unprecedented Availability to Personalities: Most Palladium creators are available to chat, sign books, sell art and prints, for most of the day, every day, not just an hour here or an hour there.
* Get your books signed by dozens of Palladium creators.
* The Live Auction Saturday Night is going to be epic! Kevin has dug out a lot of rare, out of print, first printing signed books, hardcovers, original artwork, proofreader photocopies of books like early TMNT®, Robotech®, Palladium Fantasy®, Rifts®, and other items we think folks will go crazy over.
* 100+ Palladium gaming events.
* Play in games run by Kevin Siembieda & other Palladium creators.
* Enjoy panel talks and many question & answer chats.
* Bring your favorite game books to get signed.
* Meet Kevin Siembieda and the Palladium staff.
* Meet Sean Roberson, Palladium’s Creative Director, G.M., and chief writer behind Rifts® Savage Worlds®.
* Meet Ramon K. Perez, Marvel Comics artist – Spider-Man and many other comics, and artist in many Palladium World Books.
* Meet 30+ other Palladium creators and personalities like Matthew Clements, Glen Evans, Amy Ashbaugh, Mike Mumah, Nick Bradshaw, Matthew Balent, and many others – the largest gathering of Palladium creators in the world! Most available every day, the entire day, for the entire POH.
* Meet fellow gamers from across the USA and around the world – Canada, England, Germany, Spain, Uruguay, Brazil, etc.
* Special Event (Saturday): Live Auction – offering rare collectibles and original art from Palladium’s and Kevin Siembieda’s archives.
* Get new releases, back stock items, and Palladium collectibles.
* Get original artwork and limited edition prints.
* Get rare collector items, first printings, and signed books.
* Be the first to get some of the newest releases debuting at the POH.
* Get new and old T-shirts and specialty items before anyone at home.
* Commission select artists to draw your favorite character.
* “Live” Auction with rare collectibles and unique items.
* “Live” panel talks and interviews.
* “Open gaming” area at the warehouse. Sorry, no game room at hotels.
* Get the latest news and other insider info.
* Intimate setting, unlike big conventions.
* Family reunion and party atmosphere.
* Join the fun and make memories to last a lifetime.
* Hours: 9:00 A.M. to 12:30 A.M. (possibly longer).
* Location: The Palladium Books warehouse – 39074 Webb Court, Westland, Michigan (MI) 48185 – 15-20 minutes from the airport.
* Palladium has limited space, so order your admissions now in case we sell out!
* You MUST make hotel reservations by March 31, 2022 to guarantee getting a room and at the special Group Rate, but rooms are sold on a first-come, first served basis and are starting to sell quick now.
* Mask Wearing Required: Everyone participating in the Palladium Open House — including all attendees, exhibitors, Game Masters, event organizers, and event staff — will be required to wear a mask in all indoor spaces AT ALL TIMES, unless actively eating or drinking in “designated areas” or “outdoors.”
Price of Admission
Price of admission covers all events. Being accepted into a game event is on a first-come, first served basis. Dates: April 21 (VIP Thursday a separate cost), April 22, 23, 24.
SOLD OUT! $117 for “VIP Day” – Thursday, April 21, 2022 – but get on the VIP Cancellations Waiting List. A few folks have gotten VIP tickets due to cancellations already. VIP catered dinner limited to around 100 VIP gamers. A more intimate chance to talk with Palladium staff, artists and writers, and first crack at rare collectibles, prints and original art.
$60 for 3 Day Weekend Pass (April 22, 23, 24 – Friday, Saturday & Sunday). $60 at the door, but ONLY if space is available. 9:00 AM till closing.
$30 for Friday, single day, April 22, 9:00 AM till closing. $30 at the door, but only if space is available.
$30 for Saturday, single day, April 23, 9:00 AM till closing (about midnight). $30 at the door, but ONLY if space is available. The Live Auction is held on Saturday.
$10 for Sunday, single day, April 24, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. $10 at the door, and there is usually space available on Sunday.
See complete details in the lengthier store description.
Palladium accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and most credit cards. All Credit Card orders must include: Credit Card Number – Name on the card – Address of the Credit Cardholder – Expiration Date – Telephone Number of the cardholder and CVV code on the back of the card and the name of EACH person you are getting tickets for.
Order Online in the Palladium store or by Telephone: Call 734-721-2903 – have your credit card information ready and the name of each person in your group.
POH Hotel Reservations – Must be made by March 31, 2022 – rooms going fast now
2022 POH Dates – April 21 (VIP Thursday), 22, 23, and 24 (Sunday). NOTE: Both hotels have agreed to allow people to get the Palladium Group Rate Discount if you arrive a day or two before the POH or stay a day or two after the POH dates. This is especially helpful for our volunteers and friends who like to show up to help a couple days before the Open House and stay till the Monday or Tuesday after the event. Tell the hotel you are “coming to the Palladium Open House” to get the special rates below. Note: The hotel does not charge your credit card till just before you arrive. Please spread the word, bring a friend, and have the time of your life.
Comfort Inn Plymouth-West Livonia – $99 per night – MUST reserve room by March 31, 2022
MUST reserve by March 31, 2022 to get the “Group Rate,” but we suggest reserving your room as soon as possible! We will see if we can extend that date, but do not count on it.
40455 Ann Arbor Road
Plymouth, MI 48170
Phone: 734-455-8100 and ask for the Palladium Books Group Block
Red Roof Inn #016 (Plymouth) – $50-55 per night – MUST reserve room by March 31, 2022
39700 Ann Arbor Road
Plymouth, MI 48170
734-459-3300 and ask for the Palladium Books Group Block
See complete details in the lengthier store description.
POH Game Masters NEEDED
– Open House Game Masters can earn a free T-Shirt and 30% Discount
G.M. Rewards! Run three or more games – that is only one game a day – and get a FREE special G.M. T-shirt unveiled for the first time at the POH and a 30% Game Master Supreme discount on most of Palladium’s RPG books, T-shirts, and many other items. (Sorry, EXCLUDES original art, auction items, limited editions, art prints, and convention exclusive products.)
See the complete description of exactly what we need in the POH store description.
Contact us by telephone (734-721-2903) or by email at palladium-gm{at}palladiumbooks.com. Please contact us as SOON as possible. We want to post a schedule well in advance.
Please tell others about the Palladium Open House – April 21-24
Many Palladium fans don’t know anything about the Palladium Open House, so please tell them about this awesome event so they can join the fun and share the experience. The more the merrier. There is nothing like a Palladium Open House.
DriveThruRPG.com – PDF SALE! 100+ PDF titles on sale for ONE more week
- All Novels
- All Dead Reign® titles
- All Nightbane® (Superhero horror)
- All Heroes Unlimited titles
- All Chaos Earth® titles
- All After the Bomb® titles
- All Ninjas & Superspies RPG
- All Rifter® issues #1-84
- Rifts® Path of the Storm
- Rifts® Machinations of Doom
A similar sale of physical books is available from palladiumbooks.com now thru March 31, 2022.
Discover the Palladium Megaverse® at PDF prices – 300+ titles
– Rifts® titles. Rifts® is the ultimate setting in which you can combine any number of genres and play any style of gaming you may desire: science fiction, fantasy, supernatural horror, heroic adventure, dimensional travel, modern knights, cyborgs, giant robots, dinosaur taming, sleuthing, magic, monsters, heroes and legends. Or combine them all. There has never been a game quite like Rifts®.
– Rifts® Chaos Earth® titles. Live through the Great Cataclysm and the Coming of the Rifts. Rifts® Chaos Earth® RPG, Creatures of Chaos™, Rise of Magic™, and Chaos Earth® Resurrection™ are all available.
– The Rifter® #1-84. Each issue is a wealth of source material and ideas for Rifts® and 3-5 other Palladium game settings. Most are easily adapted to ANY Palladium game setting. Each issue is a gem. 8,500 pages of source material and ideas for heroes, villains, monsters, magic, gear, and adventure. Many issues are sold out and only available in digital form.
– Palladium Fantasy RPG® titles. This is a rich, original setting in which you can play humans or any number of nonhuman species of people in a world of magic, heroes and wonder. A world with 100,000 years of history. Some of it quite dark. All of it epic.
– Dead Reign® RPG and sourcebooks. The Zombie Apocalypse unleashed. Play ordinary people or post-apocalyptic O.C.C.s or Masked Lunatic heroes. A great introductory RPG that is surprisingly uplifting, fun, fast, and easy to learn.
– Heroes Unlimited™ RPG Second Edition titles. Create any type of superhuman you can imagine to build your own super-hero universe or those of your favorite comic books. Heroes Unlimited™ RPG first edition rule book and sourcebooks too.
– After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks. Create and play anthropomorphic, intelligent, mutant animals in a comic book world of crime-fighting mutants and super-heroes, or in a crumbling post-apocalyptic Earth where humans teeter on the edge of extinction and mutant animals are becoming the noble survivors to inherit our world.
– Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG and the Mystic China™ sourcebook by Erick Wujcik. Think James Bond meets Enter the Dragon. 41 types of martial arts, ninjas, and super-spies with gadgets, gizmos and advanced weapons.
– Nightbane® RPG and sourcebooks. You are the monsters … and the heroes. Embark on a quest of self-discovery and empowerment while locked in a secret war against the Nightlords and their demonic and human minions. Monsters only you, the Nightbane, can see, but only when you transform into your inhuman Morphus. A supernatural and monstrous alter-ego that can see the invading monsters and possesses the power to destroy them. That’s why the Night Princes have been assigned to hunt down and either turn or destroy every last one of the Nightbane. Trust no one. Even your parents, teachers, or friends might be wicked Dopplegangers in league with the Nightlords.
– Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG and sourcebooks. Your first step into the realm of modern horror. The RPG provides 14 character classes and 42 occupations for “ordinary people,” 100+ psychic abilities, 16 monsters, the Lazlo Agency, world setting and rules.
– The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy RPG is a long time, cult favorite with a fatalistic worldview of humans vs aliens with superior technology.
– Splicers® RPG is like Iron Man meets Game of Thrones with elements of Terminator – except this army of Iron Men are clad in living body armor and wield living, organic weapons and devices. Created in 2004 by writer and game designer Carmen Bellaire, Splicers® was nominated for an Inquest Gamer Magazine Fan Awards Game of the Year, and has since developed a rabid fan base. Science fiction and horror where humans are forced to use genetically engineered, living weapons and organic war machines to battle an insane Artificial Intelligence and her robot legions. Unlike anything you have ever played before!
– Systems Failure RPG. A one-shot post-apocalyptic setting where humans fight and hide from enslaving alien invaders known as “The Bugs.”
– The Palladium Ancient Weapons Series of real world weapons, armor and castles throughout history. Designed for use with ANY game system.
– RECON® Deluxe & Revised – by Erick Wujcik and others. Vietnam era RPG and more.
– Erick Wujcik’s “Lost first RPG” Sector 57. It is Erick Wujcik’s very first RPG (1980, self-published) – a tournament game, actually. I played it way back when with Erick and it was fun. I think you will enjoy it, and it is a fun piece of history. ALL proceeds go directly to the Wujcik estate and probably toward the education of Erick’s beloved grandchild, Tristan. As most of you know, Erick would go on to write the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness RPG, Ninjas & Superspies RPG, Amber Diceless, and contribute to a number of other RPGs and sourcebooks.
– 300+ Palladium titles in all, plus G.M. kits, paper miniatures and more. Palladium Books has settings for every genre: Fantasy RPG, science fiction (Rifts®, Splicers®, and The Mechanoids®), super-heroes (Heroes Unlimited and After the Bomb), superhero horror (Nightbane®), modern horror (Dead Reign® and Beyond the Supernatural), plus The Rifter® sourcebook series (by fans like you), novels, paper minis, and more. And more to come in the weeks ahead.
Palladium Collectibles, one-of-a-kind Negatives, original artwork, other collectibles and toys are always available in Kevin’s Online Toy & Collectibles eBay Store along with other good things
My eBay store is one of the few places where you can find original artwork by me (Kevin Siembieda), Kevin Long, Charles Walton, and others, as well as one-of-a-kind negatives from classic Rifts® and other Palladium RPG books (they look awesome framed!), rare Palladium collector hardcovers, signed books, one-of-a-kind proofreader copies, other Palladium memorabilia, as well as toys and other collectibles from my personal collection. Yeah, I used to be a crazy toy and art collector. Alex and I will try to post new items on a regular basis, so check in every few weeks to see what’s new.
Other one-of-a-kind original artwork available by me (Kevin Siembieda), Kevin Long, Charles Walton II and other artists, as well as collectible negatives, prints, limited edition hardcovers, proofreader copies, out of print items, Star Wars toys, Marvel toys and many other toys and collectibles from my personal collection. Alex and I will keep adding items as our busy schedules allow, but we have a lot of fun collectibles available now and coming soon. Hundreds of items. Take a look every weekend for new additions.
Available now: One-of-a-kind book negatives. Negatives are always very popular items at the Palladium Open House and Gen Con. Truly unique, attractive, and fun.
Negatives are unique and attractive, one-of-a-kind (on rare occasions two-of-a-kind if a page or section of pages were replaced or a second edition was made) works of art that resemble woodcut art and are very dynamic conversation pieces. Before digital printing, pages of a book were laid out by hand on a board, and each page was photographed. The plastic film negatives were then “ganged” on a massive sheet of Mylar 16 pages per big sheet, and the printing plates were made from the negatives – everything white, printing black.
When our printer, McNaughton and Gunn was going to discard them, Palladium acquired many (not all) of the old negatives. I am only keeping a few books for myself and make majority of the rest available to you. I sign each negative in silver and each comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The negative comes on a white board inside a plastic magazine bag and looks fabulous framed! Fits in an 8×10 inch matt opening in a frame (each neg is roughly 8½ x 11 inches). But don’t miss the other collectibles as well.
http://stores.ebay.com/kevinstoys-artandcollectibles
Closing Thoughts – Our mad, mad, world
Whew, are you feeling worn out and a bit overwhelmed? Me too. Wayne too. Um, I think most of us are. I try to keep these Updates positive and cheerful. As a rule, this is a fairly easy task, because I tend to be a “The glass is half full” kind of person. But some weeks that’s much more difficult than others. We have all been working like crazy, and we have a lot of new product coming in April, May, and June: The Rifter® #85 (a truly fabulous 224 page issue), Rifts® CS Manhunters (barring any unforeseen delays), four new 32 mm resin miniatures (awesome!), two Fantasy Raw Preview editions (they’re fun and collectible), BTS Creature Feature (May release?), and other titles to follow. But we had hoped to have even more, like Creature Feature™ and Titan Robotics™ sooner.
This past weekend and the first part of this week was difficult for me. I was feeling blue and low energy. The writing was coming slow and frustrating, until I finally had an exciting breakthrough. Behind the scenes, book printing remains an unpredictable nightmare that changes daily. Four weeks ago we had four printers who said they could guarantee a 2-3 week turnaround, but when I had books to send a few weeks later, three were struggling with paper allocations and overwhelmed schedules. Instead of 2-3 weeks, they were now looking at 8-10 week turnaround times and couldn’t guarantee them.
The reason: printers cannot get the hardcover material to make them, so publishers of hardcover books are making “softcovers” instead, which has swamped softcover printers and pushed 3 week print schedules to 8-10 week schedules. We had gotten The Rifter® #85 in under the wire a while ago with a firm delivery date, so we thought we were safe. Yesterday, the printer called to tell me the usual paper we have our books printed on DID NOT ARRIVE. They have none and cannot get any! Worse, they did not expect to get the paper until May 20th! My heart sank. Thankfully, the printer is able to substitute a different paper that should work fine and we will get The Rifter® #85 a week later than we had expected, but still before the POH. What a relief, assuming new problems don’t crop up.
We are working on getting other products printed now, including Rifts® CS Manhunters and we “should” have an advance, short run of Manhunters in time for the POH and to ship pre-orders in the week immediately after, but no promises. It is total madness in the printing industry and we are weathering the chaos to the best of our ability. And doing better than most on that front. Things are so rough that we cheered when our hardcover printer got us partial orders for Rifts® Chaos Earth® and three other hardcover titles. That should hold us for a couple months, and they’ll get us the balance when they can. We are also fighting to hold prices, but a price increase across the board seems inevitable.
The new challenges and changing landscape of our entire world is maddening at times, and can really bum you out, especially when you’ve been working so hard and feel like you are doing everything you can. I’m right there with you. There are times when I feel like screaming or crying.
When I’m blue or on edge, I try to find a way to shake it off. I stop what I’m doing, take a deep breath, and do something to step away from my frustration, anger, or sadness. For me, that often means talking to a friend – one of the good people here at Palladium or a friend on the phone or via Zoom. I was having a terrible day on Monday until I reconnected with my friend Scott Johnson. Other times I take a walk outside. That’s nice after being cooped up inside in front of the computer, especially when it is a sunny day. At home that may involve walking around the park filled with wildlife, or feeding the gazillion squirrels and birds we have, or watching their antics. I found stepping out into the beauty and wonder of nature has a calming and rejuvenating effect on me. Or I play a game for a while or talk high-concepts with Sean or Alex, or someone. Other times I might read for a little while. I’ve recently gotten back into a handful of comic book titles that I enjoy which seems to help me catch my breath and reboot my attitude. I also talk to myself sometimes and give myself little pep talks: “You’ve got this, Kev!” That kind of thing. Hmmm, then again, maybe that’s the first sign I’m going crazy?
Anyway, the point is, don’t wallow in your misery and don’t go down Frustration Alley. Pull yourself out of it by taking a short break and doing something different. Something nice or calming. Something that is positive and resets your mind to a more positive mindset. When I’m in a better place, I focus on doing what will make a real difference in my life, my business, or for my friends and family. Things I have control over. Heck, this is one reason we are doing the Palladium Open House this year instead of having postponed it again. I think we all need to have some low risk fun. Really fun. And never lose sight of the fact that there is always someone worse off than you, so count your blessings and be appreciative.
Please continue to hang tough and find ways to escape our constantly changing and frustrating world. Pull out your favorite game, book, movie, sketch pad, or whatever helps to bring you a moment of peace, escape and joy. Find your happy place and visit it often. I hope our two RPG sales help on that front as well as our upcoming releases. And for those of you who can make it, lose yourself to a weekend of fun and games at the Palladium Open House. Stay frosty and game on.
– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, Friend
© 2022 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Powers Unlimited®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars®, Chaos Earth®, Dead Reign®, and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc.; Beyond the Supernatural, Coalition States, Garden of the Gods, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, Psychic Scream, SAMAS, Thundercloud Galaxy, Three Galaxies, Vampire Kingdoms, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
This press release may be reprinted, reposted, linked and shared for the sole purpose of advertising, promotion and sales solicitation.
