When did you know Palladium was for you?

[Akashic Soldier]

What was the gaming experience (or factor) that helped you "know" Palladium Books was producing the Role Playing game of choice?

[Razzinold]

I guess my factor was my buddy Paul saying "Hey, want to try this game?" (he had some previous experience playing D&D with a different group). I was like sure thing. I made a Plains Borg and I love the variety of the setting so I stuck with it. I was a HUGE Mad Max fan so the whole post-apocalyptic setting is what drew me in, even more then the variety of OCCs.

Because we were all new to RPGs the GM wrote our first back stories for us. I lived in South America and was just a regular guy until I was double crossed by the group of Gauchos and left for dead. Someone found me and the only way they could save my life was to make me into a Plains Borg. When I awoke I swore revenge on them but I didn't pursue them right away, first I took time to acclimate myself to my new life as a Borg and I amassed a small fortune. I paid the cyber-doc for saving my life and gave most of the remaining money to the farmer that found me and brought me to the doctor, I also lived with him for those two years while I trained and earned the money.

By this time the group that betrayed me had traveled to North America and I caught wind of their trail and decided it was time to track them down. I met the other players in the group when I got to North America, all of us were there for our own reasons. The coolest part is nobody knew the other player's story ahead of time because the GM played out each of our back stories in a one on one game.

Still to this day I, and the rest of my group (who were also new to RPGS), remember when my Plains Borg reached down and ripped the spinal column and skull out of the guy laying on the ground in front of me all Predator style. He was one of the guys who left me for dead which is way my character was ok with killing him in such a brutal fashion.

To this day I haven't tried any other RPGS, other than another series in the Palladium World i.e. Nightbane, HU, etc.

[say652]

When I saw super powers in the cb1 and then discovered HU2.

[ffranceschi]

Fall 1990, the cover of the RIFTS RPG by K. Parkinson, The Juicer and the SAMAS by K. Long. All glued together by the awesome writing of K.S.

[Kryptt]

I wouldn't say it's my only system but I first got into PB in the early 90's when I saw the robotech books at my game store. It helped keep macross alive for me. Then the other macross shows and movies and models came out to keep me content. Eventually I moved on to other systems and girls, then last year I heard about the RRT ks and to go with my pledge I bought the second ed books and am awaiting with baited breath on my models.

When I graduated HS I gave away my first ed RT books. Since I have the new edition it's fine. I only wish I had kept the deck plans from dream pod 9.

[Lord_Dalgard]

When I saw the cover of TNMT back in high school. Awesome game.

[Daniel Stoker]

When I saw the covers to Heroes Unlimited and recognized it as that game where my friend made me a psionic alien fish and laughed at the concept but now I could FINALLY figure out the rules and make my own character... and it fit in so well with my Marvel level characters, though sadly at the time there was no APS Sand as I would have killed to have been able to make my 'Son of Flint Marko' character at the time.


Daniel Stoker

[jaymz]

Well my game of choice is not...Rifts/Palladium but I knew Rifts was for me based on reading the original RMB. Combine that with Robotech and Palladium ended up my system of choice for the settings.

Star Wars is till tops by far for me followed by Rifts at a distant 2nd and then Macross/Robotech in 3rd, tied with a few other settings/IP's.

Note - my preferred rules are actually d6 by west end games as done for their Star Wars RPG back in the day.

[auyl]

When a friend who got me into gaming invited me to go to a FLGS with him and he bought the Macross II corebook. Loved the cover and was eager to play it.

[The Dark Elf]

TMNT, HU and then PFRPG. All the different games by a trusted source

[Alrik Vas]

TMNT and Other Strangeness, Robotech...yeah. They lured me in like a drug, but Rifts, Palladium's original content, is what made me slave to the machine.

Though I play some PF still, though D&D more often (which with all my rule changes is much more like PF than D&D, but whatever).

Yet what I'm doing the most of lately? Serious GrimDark in M41 with Fantasy Flight's version of the WH40k setting.

[Razzinold]

@Akashic Soldier - You've heard some of our stories, now it's your turn. What was the gaming experience (or factor) that helped you "know" Palladium Books was producing the Role Playing game of choice?

[flatline]

What was the gaming experience (or factor) that helped you "know" Palladium Books was producing the Role Playing game of choice?

I guess that never happened for me. I started with Palladium games because when the older kids invited me to join their game, that's what they were playing.

That was probably around 1989 or so.

Since then, I've played lots of different systems in lots of different settings with lots of different people and if I've only learned one thing, it's that the "Role Playing game of choice" is whatever game the group that you want to play with is playing. System and setting is almost completely irrelevant. It's the people who matter.

That said, I continue to purchase Palladium books because Palladium is very good at creating compelling settings even if the supplied system isn't to my liking.

--flatline

[Glistam]

Revised Heroes Unlimited pulled me in, and I've been hooked ever since.

[Akashic Soldier]

@Akashic Soldier - You've heard some of our stories, now it's your turn. What was the gaming experience (or factor) that helped you "know" Palladium Books was producing the Role Playing game of choice?

This one isn't the most riveting story, but essentially it was reading Kevin's write up on "What is a Role Playing Game" and then reading the opening setting information in the R:UE. There's really not much more too it. It was the first time I had read a game designer address all the same goals and theme for an RPG game as I wanted and had learned over the years. Then the setting was great. Most people use RPGs to fulfill a number of different things in their life (normally its puffing up their chest and making them feel better that in real life they're nothing all too impressive) but Rifts wasn't about that. It was about a narrative and the experience; with the rules being in place to mediate and guide rather than restrict and control and I absolutely loved that.

[Dunia]

When I read the background story ad world description in RUE. I had some good 3-4 years with the game until I found an even better game.

[Greyaxe]

I moved on from D&D basic to PF it was revolutionary. It had skills to roll against and everything.

[Eashamahel]

When a friends asked if I wanted to play with them. Basically my first RPG experience. I enjoyed it when I was younger especially for the fact that I seemed to just be able to make things/rules up as I went, so we had lots of ridiculous fun, unlike some other games where you had to actually KNOW rules and systems. We played for YEARS and never really understood, for instance, the Rate of Fire for RIFTS (we basically ended up doing it the same way the Ultimate Edition eventually changed the game into using), or how to deal with any of the NUMEROUS walls we ran into with Wormwood, but it never really mattered. Even while I was trying to reverse-engineer NPCs in the books to try and figure out how many attacks someone SHOULD start with in a round, or try and figure out what in the blue hell the Shotgun description was talking about, we had lots of fun.

Rifts was my formative years, and it was great. I'm now a good enough GM and experienced enough that I can run a game for anyone I meet and we'll have fun, I can cover all my groups needs and throw things together and just make them up. I learned how to tell stories, but the downside is that I didn't learn how to use systems. Now that I'm expanding out into other RPGs, I see that problem with myself, and it's a bit of a bother.

'll always be a RIFTS fan though. That special edition RIFTS rulebook is one of my favourite possessions. I'm a RIFTS guy for life.

[Alrik Vas]

I think one of the things that has made me a better GM for Palladium's games is that I've learned other systems. It's helped put their rules in perspective and act accordingly.

[zyanitevp]

TMNT- Was a big fan of the comic, and the game was dark like the comic, not the joke it became.

[palladiumjunkie]

What was the gaming experience (or factor) that helped you "know" Palladium Books was producing the Role Playing game of choice?

I guess that never happened for me. I started with Palladium games because when the older kids invited me to join their game, that's what they were playing.

That was probably around 1989 or so.

Since then, I've played lots of different systems in lots of different settings with lots of different people and if I've only learned one thing, it's that the "Role Playing game of choice" is whatever game the group that you want to play with is playing. System and setting is almost completely irrelevant. It's the people who matter.

That said, I continue to purchase Palladium books because Palladium is very good at creating compelling settings even if the supplied system isn't to my liking.

--flatline

This pretty much sums up exactly what I was going to say. Good post!

-Chris

[Alpha 11]

Robotech is what did it for me. Got all but one of the books ( though I got that last book off of Ebay about a year or so ago), and the Macross II books. Then Palladium dropped the license. I basicly went crazy trying to find new Robotech info and RPG info after that, until I saw Rifts: Japan. I have always had a soft spot for Japan because of my dad being stationed there in the mid 80's, along with the family. In fact, you can say my anime craze, getting into the martial arts, and Palladium can all go back to us living there and me seeing Robotech on the the only English chanel the air base got, which the base it's self broadcast from reruns from the stats, with Robotech being one of the shows. And yes, I have all the 2nd ed. the new Robotech books.

[Wōdwulf Seaxaning]

One of the original PF RPG that had sexual insanity table in it & the fact I could make a Wolfen Warlock. I cast stench of hades upon my companions fur ending in his death for stealing my kill. Was a fan for life.

[Greyaxe]

When I saw the cover of TNMT back in high school. Awesome game.

My Second experience with Palladium was TMNT when i was 14. I am 40 Now. Soooo....

[Greyaxe]

One of the original PF RPG that had sexual insanity table in it & the fact I could make a Wolfen Warlock. I cast stench of hades upon my companions fur ending in his death for stealing my kill. Was a fan for life.

In fact Greyaxe came out of my 3rd character creation experience with Palladium Fantasy.

[Razzinold]

Guys, I’d really like to make this a future topic for my Radio Free Palladium podcast. Would anyone in this thread be willing to give their permission for me to use their post on their show? I’d like to pick some of the best (feel free to edit yours to make it a better soundbite).

Don't know if anyone other than me would find my story appealing (I like it because I lived it), but feel free to use it if you want.

[Jerell]

After running my first game of Robotech in the early 90s. I don't remember much other than lot's of battle pods got wasted and one of my friends characters in a (Radar X) Defender Swiss-cheesed a whole lot of Zentraedi infantry. We stuck with Robotech for a long while 9and Macross 2), then I got into PFRPG with my friends do to discovering a Compendium of Weapons and Armor in my dad's library. By the late 90s I had tried all of Palladium's line out at that time due to friends buying different titles.

[Alpha 11]

Guys, I’d really like to make this a future topic for my Radio Free Palladium podcast. Would anyone in this thread be willing to give their permission for me to use their post on their show? I’d like to pick some of the best (feel free to edit yours to make it a better soundbite).

Don't mind. If you need something rewritten or something just ask. Just ask first, that is all I ask.

[Eashamahel]

Yeah, no worries, if you need more info or something let me know and I can expand on anything.