Crisis of Treachery 2006 Update - Next Step

The next step to save Palladium 

“Is Palladium saved yet?” 

It’s the nagging question we are asked 100 times a week. Common business formula is that a three year plan for recovery is a fast turn around. Five years would be reasonable. 

I think we can do it in one year or a year and half. 

When I first told freelancers and insiders about the Crisis of Treachery, most surprised me saying, “Kev, we have faith in you. You’ll keep Palladium going. We’re with you all the way.” A small number of pragmatists hung their heads low with sadness and asked, “So when are you going to give up and let go?” 

“Never!” was my knee jerk reaction. 

But Palladium’s situation was dire and extreme. It would take a miracle to survive to the end of the year, let alone get back on our feet. 

That miracle was you, Palladium’s legion of fans from around the world. You came to our aid in thronging multitudes. Thousands of you bought books, T-shirts, prints and specialty items. You insisted on our taking cash donations too. We only agreed to donations because we thought it would allow fans with low budgets but a burning desire to help too, contribute to the cause with two or five dollars. However, we’ve gotten our share of 20s, 50s and 100s. Just last week, an incredibly generous soul sent us one thousand. It is the third $1000 donation we’ve gotten. Wow. 

Just as importantly, Palladium was deluged with on-line testimonials, letters and telephone calls from people pledging their support, offering encouragement, and speaking about the joy and inspiration Palladium’s role-playing games have brought them over the years. This outpouring of lovebolstered our battered spirits and inspired us to press on against seemingly impossible odds. You will never know how much your kind words have meant to all of us. Speaking for myself, I can tell you that they carried me when I felt exhausted, broken, and wondering if I was crazy and should just give up. Thanks to you and your inspiring words and acts of kindness, the answer to that thought was a resounding, “no.” Never give up. Never surrender. We do this. And we are. 

Thank you one and all. Your heartfelt efforts are working! 

Palladium is doing much better than we were at the beginning of 2006, but the fight is not over and there remain a few major hurdles we need to overcome to insure the company’s survival and future. Hurdles I think we can overcome with your help. 

We are recovering much, much faster than formula or common sense would dictate. That’s FANTASTIC news! We are exceeding our three year plan for recovery at lightning speed! If we can keep it up and beat our new challenges, Palladium might be on its feet and on solid footing by Summer 2007. That’s one year! Much better than our original projection of Summer 2009. And it is due, in large part, to you. 

All is not perfect, however, as Palladium faces a host of new challenges. So it is that we fine ourselves at one of those “moments of truth” that could make or break Palladium’s recovery. 

 

New challenges to overcome as quickly as possible 

1. Palladium has made huge strides at getting our products into the book trade, a move that could, within 6 months to a year, double our income. 

But we lack the money to reprint 20 key and core titles, including Rifts® Ultimate Edition (down to our last 700 copies). If we are unable to get books into the hands of our book trade partners, all that hard work has been for nothing. Worse, if we can’t provide product on the level the book trade needs, they might drop us. 

Even under the best of circumstances, payment in the book trade is 120 days net. That’s FOUR MONTHS before we get paid for our first month’s sales. Four months we need to print, reprint, and ship before the proceeds (which could be considerable) come back to us. It’s not unfair, that’s how the industry has always worked. In better times, that would be no problem. Today, it seems like very long time indeed. 

2. Christmas time usually sees our sales skyrocket. Back stock titles, old faves, new RPG release, specialty items (like prints, glasses, T-shirts, limited edition books and prints) and the annual X-Mas Grab Bag are great gifts for role-playing gamer friends and family. Sales are up in stores too, where Palladium has an increasing presence via the book trade. 

However, without the ability to reprint key out of print book titles, or print new releases, we don’t have the darn product to sell during the biggest sales period of the year. Its so frustrating! 

3. Palladium has assembled the greatest team of creators ever! Writers, artists, friends and volunteers all working their hearts out and producing some of the most impressive role-playing games and sourcebooks that’ we’ve seen in years. Furthermore, despite the pressures of it all, I, Kevin Siembieda, am brimming with new ideas, not just for RPG products, but new avenues of revenue and how to make Palladium stronger than ever. Ideas that have blown away the insiders who have heard them. 

Only we don’t have the darn money to print all these fabulous new books are try some of these new ventures. 

4. Behind the scenes, we have been working tirelessly on a great number of opportunities and ideas these past few months. Opportunities like the return ofRobotech®, rumblings from Hollywood, new mediums, new avenues of distribution, and new audiences for our products, as well as new types of product. 

Regrettably, some of the biggest, most promising opportunities are long term commitments that will take 2-4 YEARS to bear fruit. The exploration of these new avenues are ALL worth pursuing, even if they steal away precious time now as we build for the future. Sorry, we don’t want to reveal the specifics on these behind the scenes efforts because three quarters of them will never come to pass, we don’t want our competitors to know our plans, and the level of heartbreak and disappointment can be murder. Still, these are areas that must be pursued because any one of these initiatives could be critical to Palladium’s quick recovery and play a dramatic role in our long term success. 

5. The bottom line is we need another infusion of cash. The next 3-5 months could be “make it or break it time” for Palladium and we need your help. 

How to help Palladium get over the top 

We are so close. We’ve won so many battles and have worked so feverishly to put our plan into place. Don’t let us run out of steam right when we’re in position to make our big move! 

- Please continue to spread the word about Palladium’s plight. There are still those who haven’t heard. Every day we encounter dedicated fans, old friends, and troops returning from overseas who have yet to learn about Palladium’s troubles. 

- Please continue to keep buying those game books you’ve been meaning to pick up and items like prints, the anniversary laser-etched glasses, and collectibles. 

- Please encourage people to share their experiences and affection for Palladium in an effort to get new people to try our games. 

- Come down to see us at conventions like UberCon, YoumaCon and the 2007 Palladium Open House. 

- Keep your fingers crossed and the prayers going, because they seem to be working! And we’ll keep you clued in as success is realized. 

If Palladium can sell another 1000 A Megaverse United prints (already at an impressive 1845) and more of everything else . . . 

If Palladium could see a big sales push the last three months of 2006, it may be enough to send Palladium over the top, or at least give us a running start into 2007. 

If we can manage to reprint key back stock titles and new titles . . . 

If the new Robotech® RPG series is as big as we think it could be, or one of our other new releases or old lines heat up . . . 

If we have a good showing at the 2007 Palladium Open House . . . 

These are all things within our grasp. All things we can accomplish with your help. And they may be all we need to get Palladium solid again and running indefinitely. Such is the vast potential of Palladium Books. 

You, our fans, have already done so much, I hate to even ask for more help. I know Palladium’s critics will lambast me and have a field day with this appeal, but I don’t care. Together we have built something strong and wonderful that has lasted 25 years. Together we have rebounded from treachery and work to rebuild Palladium’s shattered foundation so we can continue for decades to come. 

Yeah, it’s only games and books, but games and books that have touched millions of lives. Games and books that have stretched across generations and built a network of friends from around the world. Games and books that spark the imagination and dare us all to dream. 

Palladium is at a crossroad 

Will it be our last? I don’t know, but I do know this is a pivotal moment. If we succeed now, it may put us over the top and allow Palladium to build momentum into the future. Failure at this junction could cripple us and bring our slow recovery to a crawl. 

This is a battle we can win. I believe that more than ever, thanks to you. 

If you can help, please do. But please do NOT bankrupt yourself or buy books you don’t need or want. However, if there’s a book you’ve been meaning to get, a print you like, a T-shirt to wear . . . well, every little bit helps. No purchase or donation is too small. It all adds up, and faster than you might think. I never imagined we’d have gotten so far in such a short time (six months), but you guys and gals have been amazing. Now, we need you to help some more, but only if you can afford to do so. You’ve helped us stand on wobbly feet, now we need you to help us walk. And if you can do that, we’ll try to get us running as fast as we can, as soon as we can. 

Thank you for all you’ve done already. Thank you for your continuing support. I promise, none of you will ever be forgotten. 


– Kevin Siembieda, President, October 11, 2006