Featured Guests & Profiles

[Wayne Smith]

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Featured Guests & Profiles
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Erick Wujcik – Writer & Game Designer.

According to Kevin Siembieda, Erick Wujcik is a true game design genius. Erick was the man behind Palladium RPGs and sourcebooks like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® RPG, numerous TMNT sourcebooks, After the Bomb® RPG, Ninjas & Superspies, Mystic China, Rifts® China 1 & 2, Revised RECON® and his own published game, Amber Diceless, among others. Erick is happy to sign autographs and discuss anything from game design theory and Game Mastering, to film, books, art, videogames, history, science, and, well, anything. He will also be running some game events.

Erick hasn’t even been in the country the last 2-3 years! He was living in China working on videogames for UbiSoft and before that, teaching at one of the Universities! Erick is back in the States after landing a new videogame design gig at a company in sunny California. He says he’s 90% certain he can get away from work to come on down to the Palladium Open House. That means you can game with a true RPG living legend. Take advantage of this rare opportunity and game with a master.

Kevin Siembieda – Owner and Founder of Palladium Books®

Kevin is the founder, owner and Publisher of Palladium Books® Inc. He is also the primary creative force at Palladium and the creator of Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Chaos Earth™, The Mechanoids®, and Robotech® RPG as well as written or co-written hundreds of sourcebooks. Kevin is also an artist who dabbled in comic books before Palladium took off.

Kevin will be running 4-6 games at the Open House as well as hosting a few panel discussions, tours of the Palladium offices, judging the costume competition, and otherwise making himself available to answer questions, chat with fans and sign autographs. He may be selling some of his own original artwork as well as Japanimation, animation art, and other artwork and toys from his personal collection.

John Zeleznik – Cover Artist

John Zeleznik is known to most Palladium fans as one of our most prolific, popular and dynamic cover artists. He’s done covers for such Rifts® books as Juicer Uprising, Psyscape, Coalition War Campaign, Coalition Navy, Lone Star, New West, Splynn, Rifts® Book of Magic, Rifts® Underseas, Hades, Dyval, and many others. But did you know John has also done covers for FASA’s Shadowrun and various Steve Jackson Games and White Wolf covers? Our favorite fun fact is that John designed the logo for the San Jose Sharks pro-Hockey team! (Yeah, the shark biting the hockey stick in half is Mr. Zeleznik’s. Now that you know, you’ll recognize his style every time you see it, but until someone tells you, you don’t notice.)

John Zeleznik has not attended a convention in the Midwest or East in 10 years! Heck, he’s practically worth the price of admission all by himself. Even more rare, John will be bringing a large number of original paintings for display and sale. It is rare that John offers so many paintings for sale. He’ll also have a range of limited edition prints to sell. With luck, John will bring a mock-up for the art book Palladium wants to publish. John will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday to sign autographs, sell art, chat and have fun. Big John is making the trip from California even though the poor guy is afraid to fly. How is that for loyalty and dedication to Palladium fans?! Take advantage of this rare appearance of a nice guy and great artist.

Ramon Perez – Artist

Ramon Perez is one of Palladium’s fan favorite artists of all time. Ramon has been busy with many of his own, personal projects, so he has not done much work for Palladium in recent years even though he remains friends with Kevin and the Palladium crew. That also means he hasn’t been to a gaming convention in a number of years either.

Ramon Perez is fun, funny, very approachable, and will be available to sign autographs, chat, clown around and sell original artwork, prints and his comic book, Butternut Squash. Oh, yeah, there will be a special new book debuting at the Open House involving Ramon Perez. We’ll tell you more about it in a few weeks, but you can read all about it in Kevin Siembieda’s interview on gamingreport.com being posted February 14 or 15, 2007. Ramon is a native of Toronto, Canada.

Mark Evans – Cover Artist

Mark Evans is the fabulous artist behind the covers of Madhaven™, MercTown™, and Splicers®, among others. Mark is another great guy as well as an outstanding artist. He’ll be bringing original art and prints to sell at the Open House and is happy to sign books and talk with fans. Mark is trekking in from New York.

Scott Johnson – Artist

Scott needs no introduction. He is the artistic master best known for his Glitter Boy in flames cover to Chaos Earth (and The Rifter® #18) and the Rifts® Ultimate Edition cover, as well as Weapons, Armor & Castles, Weapons and Castles, Weapons and Assassins, Weapons and Armor of the Orient and others, as well as some black and white art. Scott is currently under exclusive contract with Marvel Comics, where he does paintings for posters, toy packaging, calendars and other Marvel merchandise. Scott was at the Open House last year to the delight of many, and he’ll be back again with art and prints in hand of both Palladium and Marvel Superhero themes. He is driving in from Chicago, Illinois.

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Other Writer & Game Designer Guests
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Brandon Aten (writer & Game Master). He writes, he sings, he G.M.s, he loves film and videogames, and he thinks he’s good at fooze ball and ping pong. Brandon made a splash with his first book, Rifts® Madhaven, with co-author, Taylor White, and the two are busy working on Triax 2, and have plans for more Rifts® titles. Brandon is friendly and easy to talk with about anything from breaking in at Palladium, writing, and music to philosophy and theology. Though born in Kentucky, he’ll be making the trek from New Jersey where he’s going to college.

Carmen Bellaire (writer & Game Master) is part crazy man, part Game Master, part writer and parts unknown. He is the writer behind Splicers® and Powers Unlimited 1, 2, and 3, and has contributed to numerous other Palladium titles including Rifts® Ultimate Edition, Naruni Wave Two and Rifts® Merc Ops. Carmen has spent the last year writing a fantasy novel for children. Could Carmen be the next J.K. Rowling? Kevin Siembieda wouldn’t be surprised, it’s that good. Meanwhile, Carmen is working on a secret project for Palladium Books that he can reveal at the Open House. Carmen will run Killfest 2007 as well as several other games, and hang around to chat and tell stories. Carmen lives in Windsor, Canada.

Carl Gleba (writer & Game Master) hit the scene smoking a few years back with Dimension Book 6: Three Galaxies followed by Megaverse® Builder. Carl’s latest epic endeavor is the Minion War Crossover Series, of which Dimension Books Hades and Dyval should be out by the Open House. Dimensional Outbreak (Phase World®) and Armaggedon Unlimited (HU2) will follow this Summer. On top of being a dynamic writer, Carl is an excellent Game Master and he’s running a few games and contributing to panel talks at the Open House. Like most of our guests, Carl is friendly, approachable and generous with his time. He’ll be glad to chat about gaming, future projects for Palladium, and sign books. Carl is coming down from New York.

Jeffry Scott Hansen (writer) has a deep love for books and a knack for writing them. Jeff has written two novels, and is working on a third, plus a children’s novel. Palladium is adapting one of his novels into a new role-playing game series of modern combat and urban secrets, called Warpath: Urban Jungle™, coming out this Summer. Although Jeff is not staff, he’s a pal who lives here in Taylor, Michigan, so he drops by the offices and helps out enough that he’s practically staff. Jeff is a big Star Wars fan (like Kevin S., Carl Gleba, Ramon Perez and a few other Palladium Madmen) and works full time as a Taylor police officer.

Jason Marker (writer & Game Master) is one of Palladium’s hot new talents that you’ve yet to see much from, but you will. Jason has contributed a few things to The Rifter® and is an excellent writer currently working on a BTS-2 Sourcebook as well being a professional photographer, gamer, G.M. and Megaversal Ambassador.

John Philpott (writer & Game Master) has been contributing to The Rifter® for years, but is about to leap into writing sourcebooks with three books tentatively on the schedule. Rifts® Deep South, Rifts® Dark Woods and Rifts® Voodoo, co-written with Josh Sinsapaugh. He’s coming in from Virginia to run a few games, participate on panel talks and be available to chat and sign autographs.

Jason Richards (writer & Game Master) struck gold with his first book, Rifts® Arzno, and is hoping to do so again with a sourcebook for Rifts® Chaos Earth scheduled for release later this year. Jason is an outspoken Palladium supporter online, an excellent Game Master and one of Palladium’s many talented young writers. He’s coming in from Texas to run games, participate on panels, sign autographs and chat with fans.

Josh Sinsapaugh (writer & Game Master) has been contributing to The Rifter® for years, but is about to leap into writing sourcebooks, with three books tentatively on the schedule: Rifts® Deep South, Rifts® Dark Woods and Rifts® Voodoo, co-written with John Philpott. He’s coming in from New York to run a few games, participate on panel talks and be available to chat and sign autographs.

Taylor White (writer) is a student film-maker by day, writer and gamer by night. Taylor made a splash with his first book, Rifts® Madhaven, with co-author, Brandon Aten, and the two are busy working on Triax 2, with more plans for future Rifts® titles. Taylor is friendly and easy to talk with and is coming in from Kentucky.

Erick Wujcik (writer, G.M. & game designer) has an extensive write-up earlier. He has written the Ninja Turtles® RPG, Ninjas & Superspies, After the Bomb® and Rifts® China 1 & 2 among many other things. He and Kevin Siembieda have been close friends since 1979 when they met through a role-playing group and soon after helped found the Detroit Gaming Center. He’ll be flying in from California to run games, talk and sign autographs. This is a rare appearance these days, take advantage of it. Read more about Erick under “Featured Guests,” above.

Todd Yoho (writer & Game Master) has written Rifts® Dinosaur Swamp and Adventures in Dinosaur Swamp as well as several bits of adventure/source material in The Rifter®. He is working on pair of Rifts® books he can reveal at the Open House, as well as contributing to the Beyond Arcanum BTS-2 sourcebook being written by Siembieda. He’s coming in from North Carolina to run games, chat and sign autographs.


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Artists
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Kent Burles (artist). Kent’s sprawling city-scapes, sweeping wilderness scenes, character portraits and other illustrations have graced Palladium products since the early 1990s. He also teaches art, does Native American drawings and prints, loves baseball, coaches Canadian Little League, and is an artistic wiz kid. He’s coming in from Burlington, Canada.

Nick Bradshaw (artist) first saw print in a couple issues of The Rifter® and then Rifts® Madhaven, but we think he’s really going to impress with his artwork in Dimension Book 11: Dyval (which should be out by the Open House). Nick will be coming to the Open House from Minnesota, with a pile of original art under his arms.

Randi Cartier (writer & mini-painter) has contributed material to Adventures on the High Seas, The Rifter®, and is currently working on two new Palladium Fantasy sourcebooks. She is coming over from Windsor, Canada, to run a miniatures game and participate in a panel talk or two on mapmaking and G.M. props and tools.

Roger Cartier (map-maker, G.M. and leather artist) has been playing and running Palladium games for decades. He and his wife, Randi, have contributed maps and ideas to various books, and play-tested Rifts® and Palladium Fantasy material with Kevin Siembieda. Roger also builds miniatures and is a masterful leather worker. He is coming over from Windsor, Canada, to run a game or two and participate in a panel talk on mapmaking and G.M. props and tools.

Mark Dudley (artist) is one of Kevin’s favorite people on the planet, a heck of a good artist and a great idea man. He’s a local, Michigan artist and a blast to talk with on subjects ranging from gaming and comic books to movies and anime. He was one of the founders of Drunken Style Studio, and in addition to doing artwork for Palladium Books, he is involved with comic books and dabbling in television animation. Mark is bringing original artwork and may be willing to do some character sketches at the Open House.

Mark Evans (artist) is the gent who did the covers to Splicers®, Madhaven, MercTown and the two Chaos Earth sourcebooks, and he’ll be doing much more in the future. Read more about Mark under “Featured Guests,” above.

Comfort Deborah Love (artist) is a local, Michigan, artist whose work has appeared in D-Bees of North America, Arzno, Powers Unlimited Three, various issues of The Rifter® and other titles.

Scott Johnson (artist) did the cover to Rifts® Ultimate Edition and Rifts® Chaos Earth as well as other covers and interior artwork for numerous Palladium titles. He’s coming in from Chicago to sell original art, prints, and sign autographs and talk with fans. Read more about Scott under “Featured Guests,” above.

The Manning Brothers (artists). Brian and Allen Manning are a couple of great guys. Soft spoken, pleasant and fun. They’ve done a ton of art for many issues of The Rifter® as well as Madhaven, Rifts® China and a handful of other Palladium Publications. They are bringing original art for sale and may be willing to do some character sketches at reasonable prices.

Mike Mumah (artist) is a local artist whose work has appeared in D-Bees of North America, Arzno, Powers Unlimited Three, Hades, Dyval, various issues of The Rifter® and other titles. He’s dabbled in comic books (used to work at the comic store I shop at) and was one of the Drunken Style Studio artists.

Apollo Okamura (artist) is another popular Palladium artist and fan favorite. He has done artwork in Rifts® and other RPG sourcebooks too numerous to list. He’s also contributed to just about every issue of The Rifter® and did the two funny Erin Tarn pieces in the Special Swimsuit Issue of The Rifter®. Apollo is a Transformers fanatic and dabbles in animation and manga. He’ll be bringing prints and original art, and he’s usually happy to draw character sketches at reasonable prices.

Ramon Perez (artist) is a fan fave coming to hang, sign autographs, sell original artwork and have fun. Read more about Ramon under “Featured Guests,” above.

Ben Rodriguez (artist) is a new face at Palladium who you’ll be seeing a lot more of in the future. He’s a local Michigan artist who’s done a few pieces for D-Bees of North America already. He’ll be at the Open House with his comic books, T-shirts and other goodies.

Jeff “NMI” Ruiz (Forum Admin & Game Master) is a friend of Palladium Books and the volunteer Online Administrator of the Palladium Megaverse® Online Forums. Jeff plays everything Palladium, with a special place in his heart for Rifts® and Heroes Unlimited. Jeff plans to run a couple of Heroes Unlimited games previewing the Atorian Empire sourcebook, written by Wayne Breaux Jr., coming this Summer or Fall.

Adam Withers is a local artist whose work has appeared in D-Bees of North America, Arzno, Powers Unlimited Three, various issues of The Rifter® and other titles.

John Zeleznik (artist) is the gent who has illustrated dozens and dozens of Rifts® and other Palladium book covers. He’s coming in from California with original paintings, artwork and prints for viewing and sale. Read more about John under “Featured Guests,” above.

Other guests may be added. While most listed above are “confirmed,” a few may drop out, and others may be added.


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Palladium Staff & Helpers
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James Brown (Game Master Supreme) is a longtime Palladium fan who has become a friend, Megaversal Ambassador and one of a multitude of people who came to Palladium’s aid during the Crisis. He is one of the best Game Masters we know and you NEED to try to get into one of his games at the Palladium Open House!

Zachary Houghton (Game Master Supreme) is an excellent G.M. and founder of the Megaversal Ambassadors. Zach is another one of Palladium’s new friends and helpers who was a longtime Palladium fan, and has become a friend and one of a multitude of people who came to Palladium’s aid during the Crisis. The Megaversal Ambassadors were his idea, and when we needed someone to head the movement, Zach stood up to the task. He is an excellent Game Master and you if you can, you should try to play in one of his fine games at the Open House.

Levi Johnstone (Game Master Supreme) is a longtime fan and pal who is an outstanding Game Master and a Megaversal Ambassador. Levi will be running several games at the Open House and participating in a panel discussion or two on G.M. tips and creating adventures.

Lonnie Langston (Game Master Supreme) is another, new friend that was brought to Palladium’s attention during the Crisis. He is a fine G.M., Megaversal Ambassador, and all around good guy. Lonnie is also dabbling with writing, so you might see his name on a Rifts® Black Market sourcebook in 2008. He is running several games at the Open House. Check ‘em out.

Julius Rosenstein (Game Master Supreme). Jules had to be listed twice, once as Palladium Staff and here as Game Master. Julius is the guy who introduced Kevin Siembieda to role-playing games, played a key role in Kevin’s Defiler campaign (and wrote the Defiler poem on page three of the Fantasy RPG), and is one heck of a Game Master. He is running 4-5 games at the Open House, and if you’re smart, you’ll find time to play in one. Also get his autograph, because there might not be a Palladium if it were not for Julius.

Bill Bailey (Palladium Staff) is Palladium’s part-time warehouse guy, as well as being an artist and World of Warcraft junkie (although Eve now takes up his time too). He’ll be at the Open House lending a hand, signing books, and chatting with fans. Bill is Kathy Simmons’s brother.

Thom Bartold (Palladium Staff) was Palladium’s second investor in the company, he wrote Island at the Edge of the World, and has been a force behind the scenes at Palladium for decades. Thom was also a Defiler in Kevin Siembieda’s original and legendary Palladium Fantasy campaign. He will be available to chat, sign autographs and help out at the event.

Tony Falzon (Palladium Staff) is Palladium’s “old sales guy,” back as Palladium’s new sales guy. When Tony heard about Palladium’s troubles, he called to volunteer his time (30-40 hours a week) without pay to handle distribution, sales, marketing and anything else that needs to be done around the office. Tony was also a Defiler in Kevin Siembieda’s original Palladium Fantasy campaign, and is a film buff. He will be at the Open House doing this and that, and glad to chat and sign autographs.

Margaret Hailey (Honorary Palladium Staff) is our cheerful and sweet “volunteer intern” who comes in once or twice a week to answer phones, organize submissions, prep manuscripts, and help in any way she can. She’ll be the one dressed up in costume sporting a cheerful smile.

Alex Marciniszyn (Palladium Staff) has been with Palladium since day one. He was a Defiler in Kevin Siembieda’s original and legendary Palladium Fantasy campaign, and has edited virtually everything that has been published by Palladium Books for the last 26 years. He is one of the Moderators on the Palladium Message Borads, and he is also something of an artist and history buff. In fact, Alex is quite expert in the area of German World War II aircraft and is considering writing a book on the subject. He will be around all weekend to chat and sign autographs.

Julius Rosenstein (Palladium Staff). There might not have been a Palladium Books if it wasn’t for Julius. You see, he introduced Kevin Siembieda to role-playing games, and showed Kevin how much fun they could be. A few years later, Kevin started up Palladium Books. A few years after that, Julius joined the staff, where he has contributed characters, stories and ideas in various books, including The Rifter® #9 ½, Villains Unlimited, and Palladium Fantasy®. Julius is a great Game Master, a contributing writer, and proofreader as well as handling shipping and receiving at Palladium. Julius also played a Defiler in Kevin Siembieda’s original Palladium Fantasy campaign. He will be running several games, each of them worth playing in if you get the chance. Highly recommended.

Henry Siembieda (Palladium Staff) is the creator of Kevin Siembieda! Hank has also worked at Palladium Books for 20 years as the warehouse guy, and as the name suggests, he is Kevin’s Dad. At a spry 76 years old, he’s still going strong, though thinking about retirement.

Kevin Siembieda (Palladium Boss). Yep, this is the guy who started it all, writes half the books and runs the company. He’ll be around running games, conducting panel talks, giving tours of the Palladium offices, chatting, signing autographs and causing trouble. Read more about Kevin under “Featured Guests,” above.

Kathy Simmons (Palladium Staff) is devoted to customer service and relations. She singlehandedly took over online and mail order processing during the Crisis of Treachery, answered something like 700 questions, fixed innumerable order problems and reorganized the entire process from a nightmare into a smooth operating machine. She is also one of the kindest, sweetest people on the planet, a talented artist and seamstress in her own right, and Queen of Ghouls. (Ghouls as in making life-sized monsters and ghoulish figures for her and Kevin’s Halloween display at their home.)

Wayne Smith (Palladium Staff) is a Jack-of-all-trades at Palladium Books. He has edited scores of books, written a little here and there, offers Kevin and others a wealth of ideas, does typesetting and layout, and has been Editor-in-Chief of The Rifter® for 10 years! The October Rifter® will be the Special Ten Year Anniversary Issue and we are looking for suggestions. Wayne will be available at the Open House to chat, sign autographs, and accept submissions to The Rifter® as well as other unsolicited manuscripts. That’s right, if you want to submit a manuscript for Palladium’s consideration, you can do so at the Open House. Give it to Wayne.

Joseph Bergmans (Honorary staff member/helper) and loooongtime friend of Kevin Siembieda. He was one of the lunatics to lend Palladium money when nobody in their right mind should have, and he is a talented model maker, Robotech fanatic, videogame player, and Palladium gamer. He’ll be helping out at the Open House, running a cash register, as well as playing in games and walking around in costume as . . . well, just wait and see.

Chris Guertin (Honorary staff member/helper) is a longtime Palladium fan who has become a friend and one of a multitude of people who came to Palladium’s aid during the crisis. Chris is an anime junkie and a Robotech® and Rifts® fan. He has donated rare books for auction at the Open House and will be doing grunt work helping out as well as running the anime area.

Shawn Hall (Honorary staff member/helper) is another longtime Palladium fan who became a friend and confidant years ago. He is an excellent Game Master and all around good guy. The Palladium Fantasy RPG® is Shawn’s fave and he’s run many an epic adventure in that world. Last year, during the peak of the Crisis, Shawn flew in a few days early to help us set up for the 2006 Open House. He wet mopped the entire 17,000 foot warehouse, single handed, and helped in many other areas. He and his booming laugh will be around to help again and maybe run some games.

Lisa Hall (Honorary staff member/helper) is Shawn’s lovely wife. She’s a Fantasy gamer, mother, and longtime friend dynamo. How Shawn got her to marry him is anyone’s guess.

Dennis Hughes (Honorary staff member/helper/Megaversal Ambassador). Online he’s better known as the Subjugator and he’s another friendship that grew out of the Crisis. Dennis is one of Palladium’s biggest fans, with an impressive collection of EVERY Palladium book and product, as well as a growing collection of original artwork. He’s helped Palladium out in many ways, volunteering to help at conventions, process catalogs for shipping, and other efforts. He and Kevin Siembieda have become good pals, and Dennis is even conspiring with Lonnie Langston to write a Rifts® Black Market sourcebook. He’ll be gaming and helping out at the Palladium Open House.

Doug Lamberson (Honorary staff member/helper) is a Robotech® fanatic and an even bigger Transformers fiend. He’s been playing and collecting Rifts® and other Palladium games since we hooked him on the Robotech® RPG way back when. Doug met Kevin Siembieda at a Marcon and the two became good buddies. Doug helped at the last Open House and at conventions, and has a NEMA character named after him in the Rifts® Chaos Earth series. He’ll be the tall guy with the beard helping out and being a fan boy.

Note: Our apologies to anybody who got accidentally left out or whose name is misspelled.

© 2007 Palladium Books Inc.

[NMI]

I am an artist???
Perhaps Staff or Helper.

Oh well, time to get those stick figures ready for D-Bees of North America!

[MADMANMIKE]

I am an artist???
Perhaps Staff or Helper.

Oh well, time to get those stick figures ready for D-Bees of North America!

..I think it's safe to say your GMing last year was a work of art. Twice I was at tables nearby and your players seemed entranced. I got some footage of you during the first game of the day Saturday, but the audio was so terrible I think it hit the cutting room floor when I tossed together my hodgepodge DVD.

-Mike <8]

[NMI]

I am an artist???
Perhaps Staff or Helper.

Oh well, time to get those stick figures ready for D-Bees of North America!

..I think it's safe to say your GMing last year was a work of art. Twice I was at tables nearby and your players seemed entranced. I got some footage of you during the first game of the day Saturday, but the audio was so terrible I think it hit the cutting room floor when I tossed together my hodgepodge DVD.

-Mike <8]

Why thank you. I am humbled. I hope my GMing this year is just as good if not better.