Palladium Books® Weekly Update – May 8, 2014

By Kevin Siembieda

It is time to make some noise and create some buzz. Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two is at the printer and ships in less than a week and a half (May 19th). The Rifter® #66 is pretty much done (Wayne has the last 20 pages to finish) and we’ll be sending it to the printer tomorrow (Friday). I have begun the final edit and rewrites for Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames™, every day Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Wave One gets closer to manufacturing, and I've plotted the release of the next few books. We are getting pumped up about the many upcoming new releases, and to help get you get excited too, we’re going to do something we've never done before. A series of one week, half-off sales that Wayne has dubbed the Palladium Spring Cleaning Sale. Read on and enjoy.

Palladium Spring Cleaning Sale

We are going to need to rearrange the Palladium warehouse to make space for Robotech® RPG Tactics™ coming in a couple of months. And by space we mean an estimated 3-4 semi-trailers worth of space, plus a staging area. And with several new books being released, we want to create excitement about the entire Palladium Megaverse®. We thought we could kill two birds with one stone to create buzz and clear space in the warehouse with a series of six Spring Cleaning Sales! Each sale of select items is limited to just ONE week, so make sure you check each Weekly Update right away to see what’s on sale that week.

Here is how it works:

Spring Cleaning Sale #1 of 6

Rifts® World Books 1-28 — Sale Ends May 15, 2014 (and a new one begins the evening of May 15).

For one week only, you can get the following titles for half price:

UPDATE: Penguicon

I think Penguicon was more fun than any of us anticipated. Sales were decent, my panel talks were all filled to capacity, and people loved the previews of Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two and Robotech® RPG Tactics™. Penguicon is a unique event as it started out as a Linux/computer oriented convention that has grown to include science fiction, gaming and other elements. It’s a pretty nice event, and I was honored to be a featured guest. (I was a Guest of Honor 10 or 12 years ago, so it has been a while since I last attended the convention.) Jeff Burke, Chuck Walton and I were at Penguicon all three days. Alex helped out Saturday afternoon and evening. All four of my panel talks went well and people seemed to enjoy themselves.

EVERYONE loved the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ prototype game pieces and painted game pieces on display. Jeff ran a few demos and seemed to be enjoying himself doing so. The next day he mentioned to me that he forgot how much fun people have playing the game. We all forgot to take photographs, because we were too busy talking with fans. I think it was a very nice change of pace for all of us, and especially fun to see so much enthusiasm and appreciation for the Robotech® game pieces. “Amazing,” was the most common refrain, along with many comments about the detail and quality. My personal favorite comment was, “Perfect. They are absolutely perfect.” I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call them perfect, but they are damn gorgeous. The Ninja Division sculptors did an outstanding job capturing the mecha from the show, and the Ninjas are making sure the manufacturer holds the detail and makes these Robotech® game pieces the detailed and accurate pieces we’ve promised. I was surprised by the number of Kickstarter backers who stopped by to see and praise the pieces on display and flip through the rule book. All walked away smiling and happy. It was very gratifying, and I was pleased to be able to thank them in person for their support.

UPDATE: Rifts® Northern Gun Two – Ships May 19

Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two ships May 19. We might even get it as soon as next week Friday, May 16! The day we get them in, we start shipping them out. This is just one reason we love our printer, McNaughton & Gunn, right here in Saline, Michigan. That means Kathy will start charging your cards this weekend. Order yours today. (The two Megaverse Insider hardcovers ship around June 9-12.)

Rifts® fans were wowed by the photocopy of Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two at Penguicon. They were impressed by the sheer mass of ideas, vehicles and gear, and loved the artwork throughout. I can hardly wait until this book ships to you and our distributors.

A new Rifts® Northern Gun Two FREE Sneak Preview – available on DriveThruRPG.com

Wayne has managed to get the Second Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two FREE Sneak Preview put on DriveThruRPG.com so you can see more of what awaits you in this big, 256 page World Book. It contains new and different excerpts than the first advance Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two Sneak Preview. Both are available for free on DriveThruRPG.com. There are also FREE previews on DriveThruRPG.com for Rifts® Northern Gun™ One, Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook, Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms (Revised Edition), Rifts® Black Market, Rifts® Lemuria, The Rifter® #65, Dragons and Gods™, Dead Reign™ RPG, Endless Dead™ sourcebook and others, too. Plus we plan to add other sneak previews. Btw, the original Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms World Book is also available as a PDF on DriveThruRPG, for those of you who may be interested. More are coming.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #66 – Ships May 22

The Rifter® #66 is pretty much done. Everything but the last 15-20 pages are laid out. It will ship a few days after Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two, around May 22. It is another dynamic issue with all kinds of useful source material like a Rifts® Black Market Town, some Techno-Wizard contraband, Splicers® creatures, a Heroes Unlimited adventure and other good stuff. See the new description elsewhere in this Update.

New increased price for The Rifter®. After many years, we found it was time to increase the cover price of The Rifter®. We think $13.95 is still excellent for a 96 page sourcebook and hope you do as well. Of course, subscribers are locked into the old price until their subscription ends. We will continue to make each issue fun and helpful to players and G.M.s alike.

UPDATE: Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames

I have dived into Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames™ with both feet and it is another excellent addition to the Rifts® Megaverse®. Author Carl Gleba has done it again, presenting a nice blend of background, adventure fodder, new settings, demons and magic. June release.

UPDATE: Dead Reign: Graveyard Earth

Can hardly wait to dive into Matthew Clements latest zombie manuscript. Art is being done. It will be coming in June.

UPDATE: The “Collected” Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy – available now

The response to The “Collected” Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy has been strong. We’re glad to give you another book that you've been wanting.

UPDATE: Robotech® RPG Tactics

Things continue to move forward on Wave One going into manufacturing as we nail down final details and await final sprues and samples for our inspection and approval. We’ve just received photos from China of the long awaited Valkyrie game pieces and should get prototypes by the end of next week. When we do, we’ll take photos and post them.

As noted above, I am happy to report that people who saw the game pieces at Penguicon were delighted with them. I was especially pleased by the positive response by the couple of dozen Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Kickstarter Backers, all of whom were very happy with what they saw. It was fun and rewarding to see people so happy with everything, though the Defender, Phalanx, Monster, Zentraedi Recovery Pod, Fighter Pod and Female Power Armor appeared to be the crowd-pleasers among the Penguicon crowd. Even one of the other vendors who knew nothing about Robotech® thought the game pieces looked great and said he was going to buy a Monster when they became available in the stores. Funny.

UPDATE: Palladium Fantasy® RPG is in high demand

The new hardcover limited edition of Palladium Fantasy RPG® is flying out of our warehouse, confirming there is considerable demand for new Fantasy material. That’s excellent, because I have all kinds of plans for the Palladium Fantasy game line. Stuff that made Chuck Walton and some fans at Penguicon grin like the Cheshire Cat when I shared a few details. I am burning with ideas for the game line and plan to make 2015 a big year for the Palladium Fantasy setting. I’ll even try to get a sourcebook or two out by this year’s end.

UPDATE: 2015 Palladium Open House – May 14-17, 2015

Nothing new to report on this front yet. I will post more details about the 2015 POH in the weeks to come. I’m already looking forward to seeing many of you next year!

We are in overdrive to release new products

As I said last week, all of us at Palladium are anxious to see new products released. To that end, we are in overdrive to bang out the next 4-6 books before summer’s end and, of course, Robotech® RPG Tactics™. The energy is electric at the Palladium offices and among Palladium freelancers. I’ve got Chuck Walton working on his next project, and I swear the art of all our artists just keeps getting better and better. I’ll be assigning artwork for several upcoming projects in the weeks ahead. Enjoy the Spring Cleaning Sales, the first of which starts today, and keep those imaginations burning bright.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer & Game Designer

Rifts Northern Gun Two

NEW! Rifts® World Book 34: Northern Gun Two – Ships May 19

DONE and coming your way in another couple of weeks. Technophiles rejoice! Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two is the biggest book of vehicles and equipment Palladium has ever produced. You get power armor galore, plus hovercycles, body armor, robot drones, amphibious vehicles, combat vehicles, ground vehicles, and other gear, plus gladiators of the Robodome and hints about things to come and NG’s relationship with the Coalition States. EXPANDED from 160 pages to 256 pages. Epic adventure. Order yours today. Ships around May 22.

Rifts Northern Gun One

HOT! Rifts® World Book 33: Northern Gun One – Available Now!

If you are getting NG-2 you’ll want NG-1, even though both titles stand alone. Rifts® Northern Gun™ One is the most tech-filled World Book Palladium has ever produced, and gamers are loving every page of new weapons, robots, power armor, vehicles and NG background.

The Rifter #66

NEW! The Rifter® #66 – Ships May 22, 2014

The Rifter® #66 is about people and exotic places. There are the space pirates of Phase World® and the Three Galaxies™; notable Rifts® Black Marketeers, some contraband goods and a Black Market trade town in Rifts® Black Market Part Two; the Splicers Ranger O.C.C. and a host of genetically manipulated creatures in The Splicers® Bestiary; the villainous Snake Men gang in a Heroes Unlimited™ adventure; and travel from Lazlo to Atlantis in the Rifts® short story. Plus news, coming attractions, and more.

Every issue of The Rifter® is an idea factory for players and Game Masters to generate new ideas, and find new avenues of adventure. It provides useful, ready to go, source material you can just drop into your ongoing games. A doorway to new possibilities and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. And the many new characters, O.C.C.s, powers, magic, weapons, villains, monsters, adventures and ideas for one setting can be easily adapted to any Palladium setting. Every issue has material for Rifts® and at least 2-3 other Palladium game lines. And don’t forget, most of the material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

The Rifter® Number 66 includes:

Rifts Megaverse in Flames

NEW! Rifts® World Book 35: Megaverse® in Flames – Ships June

The Minion War spills across Rifts Earth, where demons and infernals hope to recruit allies and use the Rifts as gateways of destruction across the Megaverse. Their influence shakes things up all over the planet, especially at locations where demons and Deevils already have a strong presence. Demonic supernatural beings run rampant and wreak havoc across the world. Megaverse® in Flames™ is in final production and on schedule to ship in June.

Dead Reign Graveyard Earth

NEW! Dead Reign Sourcebook 5: Graveyard Earth – Ships June

When the dead rise and communications and power grids collapse, nothing matters except your own survival. But what about the rest of the world? What’s happening in other places? Has any government survived? Is anyplace safe? Dead Reign™ Graveyard Earth™ tries to answer those questions and others. And in doing so, provides gamers and G.M.s with more fuel for adventure.

Heroes Unlimited 30th Anniversary Hardcover

Heroes Unlimited 30th Anniversary Hardcover Edition – only $40 while supplies last

Half of the Heroes Unlimited™ RPG Hardcovers are already sold. ONLY 200 copies remain. This HU2 30th Anniversary Edition is visibly different (and cool) than the original hardcover and cannot be confused with the earlier printing. We have kept the price an unprecedented, low $40 for a hardcover Gold Edition of this size. We want to give Heroes Unlimited™ fans a crack at purchasing one before the price skyrockets on the secondary collectors’ market. The original HU2 hardcover sold for $50 and has since become a collector’s item that sells for $200-$350 on the secondary market. Enjoy and game on!

Just a few notable Heroes Unlimited Sourcebooks:

Instantly expand your playing experience with these and other HU2 sourcebooks.

Palladium Fantasy RPG 30th Anniversary Hardcover

NEW! Palladium Fantasy RPG® 30th Anniversary Hardcover Edition – only $40 while supplies last

The Palladium Fantasy® Special 30th Anniversary Hardcover is selling even faster than the Heroes Unlimited hardcover. We sold 200 copies in half the time! Only 250 copies remain! This Palladium Fantasy® 30th Anniversary Edition is visibly different than the original hardcover and cannot be confused with the earlier printing. We have kept the price an unprecedented, low $40 for a hardcover Gold Edition of this size. We want to give Palladium Fantasy® fans a crack at purchasing one before the price skyrockets on the secondary collectors’ market. The original Crimson Edition sold for $50 and has since become a collector’s item that sells for $250-$400 on the secondary market.

To preserve the value of the “original” Palladium Fantasy RPG® Crimson Edition Hardcover, we have made the 30th Anniversary Edition as visibly different looking on the outside as possible. The material used for the cover is a brown leatherette imprinted with “Elemental Green” foil, different art on the cover, and the words “Special 30th Anniversary Edition.” Even the spine is different looking and the end sheets are without artwork. All the elements described above should make the Palladium Fantasy RPG® 30th Anniversary Hardcover impossible to mistake for the original signed and numbered HC edition.

Second Edition rules. Please note that this hardcover edition is the SECOND Edition rules, exactly the same as the current material in the softcover book. Enjoy and unleash those imaginations.

Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy

The “Collected” Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy – available now

This is the original three Mechanoid Invasion® books published in 1981 and 1982 and first collected in one volume in 1998. The collection is back due to popular demand from YOU. It contains all the material that appeared in the original three Mechanoid Invasion® books plus some background history. This is the game and sourcebooks that launched Palladium Books.

The story of the Mechanoid Invasion® is a tragic one that spans the galaxy and generations of people. The Mechanoid Invasion® starts on a distant planet being colonized by humans, until the Mechanoids arrive. The seemingly alien mechanized monsters intend to strip the planet of all its resources and literally carve it up into pieces and haul it away. The loss of human lives means nothing to them. Indeed, the Mechanoids seem to delight in capturing, torturing and slaughtering what humans they can find. Can nothing stop the destruction?

The Journey follows the story of human colonists from the doomed planet surviving by living between the walls and tunnels like rats on a ship.

Homeworld carries our story to the Mechnoids’ homeworld in search of answers, but only more mystery, carnage and alien menaces await.

All of the above are contained in this one, 208 page volume. Back in print because YOU demanded it. But this volume is also unique as it gives you a glimpse of Palladium Books from its very beginning. Enjoy.

Robotech UEEF Marines Sourcebook One

NEW! Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines Sourcebook One

– Formerly titled ‘UEEF Marines’

Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines is a sourcebook that we know will wow and please Robotech® fans.

Robotech RPG Tactics

Robotech® RPG Tactics – Coming Summer 2014

This is the game Robotech® fans have wanted for decades.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast-paced, tabletop combat game that captures the action and adventure of the Robotech® anime. Two or more players can engage in small squad skirmishes or scale up to massive battles. Relive the clashes of the First Robotech War, engage in stand-alone tactical games, or use the dynamic game pieces to enhance your Robotech® RPG experience. Or simply collect your favorite mecha from an expanding range of top-notch game pieces.

Mecha vs Mecha. Take command of the fighting forces of the United Earth Defense Force (UEDF) valiantly defending Earth from alien annihilation. Or lead the massive clone armies of the Zentraedi Armada to recover an alien artifact of immense power and enslave humankind.

Robotech RPG Tactics

Robotech® RPG Tactics Box Set – Cat. No. 55100

The First Six Robotech® RPG Tactics Expansion Packs

The first six expansion packs will be available to retail at the same time as the main box game. Here are the “official” SKUs and retail prices.

UEDF Valkyrie Wing

UEDF Valkyrie Wing

Build your fleet of Earth defenders with the Valkyrie Veritech Fighter; six figures total.

UEDF Tomahawk/Defender Destroids

UEDF Tomahawk/Defender Destroids

Expand your Destroid squad with these formidable walking tanks; four figures total.

UEDF Spartan/Phalanx Destroids

UEDF Spartan/Phalanx Destroids

Add some long range power and up-close punch to your army with these valuable Destroids; four figures total.

Zentraedi Regult Battlepods

Zentraedi Regult Battlepods

Expand your Zentraedi forces with their main infantry battle mecha; six figures total.

Zentraedi Artillery Battlepods

Zentraedi Artillery Battlepods

Give your Zentraedi legion greater firepower with these artillery and support Battlepods; four figures total.

Zentraedi Glaug Command Pack

Zentraedi Glaug Command Pack

This diverse pack provides your Zentraedi forces with greater tactical capabilities; three figures total.

Robotech Macross Saga Sourcebook

Robotech® Macross® Saga Sourcebook – New 8½ x 11 size – Available now

All the famous mecha and action of Robotech® starts here with the Macross® Saga when an alien armada enters Earth orbit. They have come to reclaim a lost spacecraft that crash-landed on Earth 10 years earlier. A space fortress that Earth’s protectors have rebuilt into their own flagship against alien invasion. The resulting conflict gives birth to heroes and becomes the stuff of legend, but the Earth will never be the same. Robotech® The Macross® Saga Sourcebook is now available as an 8½ x 11 inch sourcebook.

Note: This is the setting for Robotech® RPG Tactics™, so if you’re looking for more information about the mecha, Earth’s defenders, the Zentraedi invaders, and Macross Saga setting, this is the book for you. Epic adventure awaits.

A Robotech® Role-Playing Game Sourcebook:

Gen Con Indy – August 14-17, 2014

Gen Con Indy is going to be the premier convention event for Palladium Books this year. A large booth, special display, a ton of product including Robotech® RPG Tactics™, and all our role-playing games and sourcebooks, art prints, original art, and all kinds of good stuff. There will also be many Palladium creators available at the booth throughout the convention to chat and sign autographs, including writers Brandon Aten, Matthew Clements, Carl Gleba, Carmen Bellaire, Mark Oberle (tentative), me (Kevin Siembieda), Palladium staffers like Wayne Smith and Jeff Burke, and artists including Nick Bradshaw, Mike Leonard, Chuck Walton, and others. And it looks like there will be 50+ Palladium Books RPG events in the official Gen Con program. My heartfelt thanks to the Megaversal Ambassadors spearheading this project, as well as the Game Masters volunteering to run so many events for our many game lines. Awesome.

Palladium Books Gen Con Highlights:

2015 Palladium Open House – May 14-17, 2015

The 2015 Palladium Open House is officially on! This is an event unlike any you have ever experienced. It is more like a family reunion than a gaming convention, with incredible access to Palladium creators (artists, writers, editors, etc.). We hope to see many of you next May in 2015! More information will be posted soon, but start planning for it now and reserve your hotel rooms as soon as possible.

$109.00 (plus tax) per room at the Comfort Inn, aka “Plymouth Clock Tower Hotel.” This is the hotel everyone knows and wants. You can start placing hotel reservations for the 2015 Palladium Open House right now, but make sure you tell them the Group Code “Palladium Books.” This is a must to get the superior group rate.

That’s $109 (plus tax) for a room with two queen beds or one king with a sofa that has a pull-out sleeper. ALL rooms have a micro-fridge, FREE high-speed wired/wireless Internet and there is a FREE hot breakfast from 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. near the lobby. The hotel also offers a heated indoor swimming pool, a fitness center (24 hours), and a coin operated laundry. And the large conference room is ours to use, around the clock for open gaming.

Comfort Inn

40455 Ann Arbor Road
Plymouth, MI 48170
Phone: 734-455-8100

Group Code: Palladium Books – you MUST request the Group Code “Palladium Books” at the time of booking to ensure the correct rate will be quoted and billed to you.

Dates of the 2015 Palladium Open House (POH): May 15-17 (May 14 is VIP Thursday), 2015.

If you know you are coming to the 2015 Palladium Open House, we recommend you reserve your room as soon as possible to get this superior rate. Call 734-455-8100 to make your reservation. The hotel does NOT charge your credit card until a few days before the event (next year!) and you can cancel up until May 10, 2015. So there is no reason to wait. Get your room(s) reserved right away. More information about the 2015 Palladium Open House is coming soon. Game on!

DriveThruRPG

PDF downloads from DriveThruRPG.com

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:

© Copyright 2014 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®, Chaos Earth®, and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. RPG Tactics™, Beyond the Supernatural, Coalition States, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, 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.

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.