Palladium Books® Weekly Update – March 13, 2014

By Kevin Siembieda

We are getting a lot done on many fronts. This despite snowstorms and sickness. Not only that, we thought we’d liven things up with a big sale. Read and enjoy.

UPDATE: Rifts® Northern Gun Two

As I think many of you already know, Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two was delayed when I was knocked out of commission for the last week or so. I’m only now starting to catch up on business and getting back to work on NG-2. Looking great. The focus of ALL of us is to get new product done, to the printer and into your hands! We are obsessed with that, and it’s about to happen, starting with NG-2. See the somewhat updated and tweaked description elsewhere in this Update.

Rifts® Northern Gun Two Sneak Preview – available now on DriveThruRPG.com

Can’t wait to dive into Rifts® Northern Gun™ Two? Well, here’s an advance look at just some of what you can expect to see in NG-2. We hope it’s a little something to hold you over. Remember, this is only a small sampling of what you can expect. There are 30+ suits of power armor, new body armor, Hovercycle Ride Armor, vehicles, drones and lots of other gear to delight players and Game Masters.

There are 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.

More than 90 other Palladium titles can be found on DriveThruRPG.com as PDFs, including Splicers®, Rifts® RPG (the edition before RUE), The Rifter® #1-52 (and we’ll be adding more issues of The Rifter in the coming weeks), and first edition rule books and sourcebooks for Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited™, The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy, Beyond the Supernatural™ and lots of other good titles. DriveThruRPG.com also offers the Rifts® and Palladium Fantasy® Game Master Kits ($5 each; both written by Carl Gleba and complete with maps, combat matrix, character sheets, spell list, and 20 pre-rolled characters created by Julius Rosenstein).

UPDATE: The Rifter® #66 – ships April 16

All the source material has been selected. All of the artwork assigned. Another excellent issue. See the full description in this Weekly Update and the online store. Cover price has increased to $13.95 and remains a steal for a 96 page sourcebook.

UPDATE: Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames – Ship April

Artwork is coming in and looking awesome. This is the book we all dive into as soon as NG-2 is at the printer. Barring any more delays from illness or storms, this is the NEXT big sourcebook after NG-2. And it is pretty amazing.

UPDATE: Dead Reign: Graveyard Earth Sourcebook

I spoke with Matthew Clements and he’s adding some material to the manuscript. With any luck, the final manuscript and the E.M. Gist cover painting should be finished and turned in by the end of next week. See the full description elsewhere in this Weekly Update and in the online store.

UPDATE: Heroes Unlimited Anniversary Sale

We did it for Palladium Fantasy RPG® so we are doing it for Heroes Unlimited™. ALL HU2 titles – with a few exceptions like the already “priced to sell” hardcover edition – are 30% off starting today, March 13 and running till April 13, 2014. Get ‘em while they’re on sale! Happy Anniversary!

UPDATE: Heroes Unlimited 30th Anniversary Hardcover Edition

Heroes Unlimited™ 30th Anniversary Hardcover continues to sell well and is being enjoyed. Available now at $40 while supplies last. Destined to be a collector’s item. The old hardcover sells for $200-$350 on the secondary market.

Palladium Fantasy RPG® 30th Anniversary Hardcover – Ships April – pre-order now – at the printer

At the printer and scheduled for an April release. Meanwhile, pre-orders for Palladium Fantasy, 2nd Edition HC continue to come in faster than they did for Heroes Unlimited™. I’m glad I decided to print a few more copies (450, the same as its catalog number). I decided it wasn’t fair to leave out Palladium Fantasy®, so we are printing 450 copies of the 30th Anniversary Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition hardcover as an April release. And boy am I glad I did. Enjoy. You can start placing your pre-orders now. See the full description elsewhere in this Weekly Update or in our online store. Note: This is the Palladium Fantasy RPG, Second Edition, all exactly the same as the current printing.

UPDATE: Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines Sourcebook

It’s not forgotten. Still looking at a spring release. And it will be epic.

UPDATE: Robotech® RPG Tactics

We are working on finalizing various aspects on all fronts. Head over to the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Kickstarter Updates page to check out some prototype photos we just posted.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, Game Designer

Heroes Unlimited RPG Anniversary Sale – 30% price reduction

Love comic books and superhuman heroes? Use Heroes Unlimited™ RPG and related sourcebooks to create ANY KIND of superhuman or modern action hero. One of Heroes Unlimited’s most unique features is the ability to create EVERY TYPE of hero you can imagine, from martial artists and super-genius inventors to mutants, aliens, robots and more. Create godlike superhumans or wielders of magic, to heroes who use their minds (psionics or super intellect), to mutant animals and others. It is all possible with the Heroes Unlimited™ game line. Plus sourcebooks like those in the Powers Unlimited™ series provide hundreds of additional super abilities and character options. You are truly limited only by your imagination.

Have you wondered what the Heroes Unlimited™ RPG is like? Now’s the perfect time to give it a try and find out.

Do you already love Heroes Unlimited™ like we do, and have you been thinking about getting more sourcebooks for it? This is the time to expand your collection.

Heroes Unlimited™ Sale! Heroes Unlimited™ turns 30 years old in June, and to celebrate, we have reduced the price of every title (with a few exceptions) in the game line by 30%. Including After the Bomb® sourcebooks, Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG and Mystic China™! So give it a try or expand your collection. It will also give you a leg up for when Palladium Books releases several new and expanded Heroes Unlimited™ titles next year. We have exciting plans for Heroes Unlimited™ and all of our game lines.

Rifts Northern Gun Two

NEW! Rifts® World Book 34: Northern Gun Two – March 2014

In final production! The first half of the book is laid out. Expanded to 192-224 pages and filled with all kinds of adventuring gear: New environmental body armor, power armor, hovercycles, robot drones, robot haulers, combat vehicles, other vehicles, robot gladiators and much more. More information about the weapons, vehicles and practices of Northern Gun, including the new rage of robot gladiatorial combat. Expanded page count. Epic adventure.

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.

NEW! The Rifter® #66 – Ships April 16, 2014

The Rifter® #66 offers a variety of source material, monsters, baddies and information. All wonderful fodder for weaving your own adventures regardless of the setting. Plus great art, 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.

The Rifter® Number 66 includes:

Rifts Megaverse in Flames

NEW! Rifts® World Book 35: Megaverse® in Flames – April, 2014

The Minion War spills across Rifts Earth, where demons and infernals hope to recruit allies and use the Rifts as gateways of destruction. Their influence shakes things up across the planet, especially at locations where demons and Deevils already have a strong presence. Demons, Deevils and supernatural beings run rampant and wreak havoc across the world. As soon as NG-2 is finished, we dive into the fast-tracked production of Megaverse® in Flames™ for an April release.

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

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

NEW! Heroes Unlimited 30th Anniversary Hardcover Edition – only $40 while supplies last – available now

The Heroes Unlimited™ RPG turns 30 years old this year. To celebrate, Palladium is releasing a special, commemorative, Heroes Unlimited™ 30th Anniversary Hardcover, for only $40. Available now. The original HU2 hardcover sold for $50 and has since become a collector’s item that sells for $200-$350 on the secondary market.

To preserve the value of the “original” Heroes Unlimited™ Gold Hardcover Edition, we have made the HU2 30th Anniversary Edition as visibly different (and cool) looking on the outside as possible. The material used for the cover is different (not leatherette), the color is a lighter shade of blue, and although the cover is imprinted in gold foil, it features artwork depicting a superhero and the words “Special 30th Anniversary Edition.” Even the spine is different looking, and the end sheets are red and without art. The red, white and blue combination represents the United States of America, the birthplace of superhero comic books, and the colors of costumed heroes.

All the elements described above should make the Heroes Unlimited™ 30th Anniversary Hardcover impossible to mistake for the original HU2 signed and numbered HC edition. 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. Enjoy and game on!

Palladium Fantasy RPG 30th Anniversary Hardcover

NEW! Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition, 30th Anniversary Hardcover Edition – only $40 while supplies last – April Release – Second Edition Rules.

It doesn’t seem fair to offer a Heroes Unlimited™ Hardcover Edition and not one for Palladium Fantasy®, so Rifter® subscribers were the first to get the news that Palladium is releasing a Palladium Fantasy® Special 30th Anniversary Hardcover in April. The Palladium Fantasy RPG® was released in June of 1983, so technically, the Fantasy Game is still 30 years old until June.

The original Crimson Edition hardcover sold for $50 and has since become a collector’s item that sells for $250-$400 on the secondary market. The special, commemorative, 30th Anniversary Hardcover in April will sell for only $40.

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. The price is $40 (while supplies last), low for a limited edition of its size. We want to give Fantasy fans a crack at purchasing one before the price skyrockets on the secondary collectors’ market.

Second Edition rules. There has been some confusion among fans as to whether this hardcover edition is First or Second Edition rules. It is SECOND Edition rules, exactly the same as the current material in the softcover book.

The Rifter #65

RECENT RELEASE: The Rifter® #65 – Available now

The Rifter® #65 is all about the secrets of power. In some cases, dark secrets: 60 new Necromancy spells and magic for Rifts® and other settings, the power of the Soul Merchant for BTS™, rising to power within the Black Market for Rifts®, a Chaos Earth® short story, and for Heroes Unlimited™, a band of superhumans, robotics and gadgets. 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.

The Rifter® Number 65 includes:

Fear the Reaper

RECENT RELEASE: Dead Reign Sourcebook 4: Fear the Reaper – Available now!

Like knights mounted on motorcycles, the Road Reapers travel the wasteland that Earth has become, searching for survivors, fighting zombies and waging war against the Death Cults that threaten all mankind.

This epic sourcebook explores the nature of heroes and heroism in the Zombie Apocalypse. It contains the secrets of the fabled Road Reapers, their structure, leadership, missions and purpose, as well as gear and combat notes. Plus a horrifying new zombie known as the Terror Zombie, plus Floaters (zombies in water) and which zombies can swim. Survival is one thing. Can you keep your humanity and be a hero?

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 – Game Description – Coming Spring 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 Destroid Pack

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

UEDF Spartan/Phalanx Destroids

UEDF Spartan Pack

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

Zentraedi Regult Battlepods

Zentraedi Regult Battlepod Squadron

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

Zentraedi Artillery Battlepods

Zentraedi Support Battlepods

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

Zentraedi Glaug Command Pack

Zentraedi 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 Size

Available now – 8½ x 11 size

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:

Heroes Unlimited 2nd Edition

BACK IN PRINT! Heroes Unlimited RPG, 2nd Edition

If you love playing smart games with heroic super beings in possession of strange and wondrous powers or technology, then Heroes Unlimited™ is the role-playing game for you. This RPG has unleashed the superheroes inside gamers for three decades and counting.

Heroes Unlimited™ RPG is probably most famous for rules and abilities that enable you to play ALL types of heroes while capturing the feel of comic books, and for being a thinking-gamer’s setting. All of this adds up to super-fun and epic comic book-style adventure.

Just a few notable Heroes Unlimited Sourcebooks:

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

Dragons and Gods

BACK IN PRINT – Dragons & Gods – for Rifts® & Palladium Fantasy® – Available now

We sold out during the Christmas season, but this fun book, suitable for use in Rifts® (complete with M.D.C. stat notes) as well as the Palladium Fantasy RPG®, is so popular that we did a full reprint of it.

This is the 3rd printing of a dynamic sourcebook filled with big ideas and insightful rules for creating gods and their followers as well as presenting an array of deities and dragons. The dragon section provides insight to how Palladium Dragons think and function. Great artwork, too. Co-written with Erick Wujcik. With the Minion War™ soon to erupt on Rifts® Earth via Megaverse® in Flames™, you may find a book about dragons and gods to be a very useful sourcebook.

This expansive sourcebook presents detailed information about the mythical dragons and gods common to the Palladium Fantasy® world, but contains notes for use in Rifts® and is easily adapted to the Rifts® setting. It includes sections about Dragonwright, the Gods of Taut, Elementals, Demon Lords, dragons, and the forces of light and dark. Suitable for use with the Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™, and Beyond the Supernatural™, or any fantasy game.

Rifts Mystic Russia

BACK IN PRINT – Rifts® World Book 18: Mystic Russia – Available now

This book is rich in monsters and magic based on Russian mythology and superstition. Rifts Russia is a land unlike anywhere else. The wilderness abounds with mischievous spirits, shape-changers and demons unique to Russia (including a comprehensive look at Necromancy).

The Rifter #50

BACK IN PRINT – The Rifter® #50 – Special Anniversary Issue – Available now

The Rifter® #50 remains in high demand because it contains all kinds of official source material from many of Palladium’s most popular writers. Back in print because you demand it.

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, me (Kevin Siembieda), Palladium staffers like Wayne Smith and Jeff Burke, and artists including Nick Bradshaw, Mike Leonard and Chuck Walton, among others. And it looks like there will be 70+ 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:

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.