Palladium Books® Weekly Update – April 8, 2011

By Kevin Siembieda

Rifts® Thundercloud Galaxy™ is at the printer! It took sleepless days and long hours of work, with Matthew Clements and Greg Diaczyk helping to edit, and they and Carl Gleba chipping in a few ideas, in order to get the book done before the Creators Conference, but we did it. The book is done. At the printer. And we all think you'll love it. See the new description for details elsewhere in this Weekly Update.

The Rifter® #54 ships next Tuesday. This is another great issue with a wealth of fun information. A Heroes Unlimited™ adventure, Palladium Fantasy RPG® monsters and races, the Rifts® city of New Chillicothe, a Nightbane® story and the final chapter of The Hammer of the Forge, plus news and other good stuff.

Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms and Robotech® New Generation Sourcebook are next for release. Immediately after the Creators Conference this week, I will be diving into these two titles for release. Count on it.

Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames has also been put into pre-production mode. The cover has been assigned and the ideas for it are rocking.

A nice birthday. Even though I worked through my birthday, it was nice. I received a lot of emails, private messages and telephone calls from friends and family. I also received a few wonderful presents in the mail from my brother and a couple of friends, as well as an awesome book from Alex. The most unexpected gift was an original painting from one of the top artists in the field. It and the kind letter that came with the gift knocked my socks off. Wow. You can read about these things in greater detail in my last two or three Murmurs from the Megaverse®.

Reminder – Back in Print and Ready to Ship: For some reason, people were slow to buy the newly released backstock titles and Rifts® Baseball Caps, but people suddenly started to buy them, and other titles, this past week. The following items are ready to ship. 
Rifts® Dimension Book™ 6: Three Galaxies™
Rifts® Black Vault™
Rifts® Mercenaries™
Aliens Unlimited™ – A Heroes Unlimited™ sourcebook
Rifts® Baseball Caps

Online sales. Sales were nothing to write home about, but they the picked up from the previous week of abysmal sales. We should see a good increase with The Rifter® #54 and Rifts® Thundercloud Galaxy™, both shipping this month. And they will be followed in short order by more new releases all Spring and Summer.

Palladium to attend Gen Con Indy – August 4-7. Please come on over and stop by our booth to chat and get autographs, as well as pick up new and backstock titles, specialty items and more. We're not sure who will be joining us at the Palladium booth, but so far, Palladium creators you'll be able to meet include: 
- Kevin Siembieda 
- Wayne Smith 
- Michael Mumah (artist) 
- Brandon Aten (writer) 
- Matthew Clements (writer; tentative) 
- And others to be announced.

Palladium Website. The website is moving forward, but we've all been busy with other things the past few weeks. We will kick it into high gear after the Creators Conference.

Palladium Creators Conference started yesterday. We have something like 25-30 freelance writers, artists, and staff who have come in to pool our creative minds and talents to take Palladium to the next level. I'll reveal all in next week's update.

Sorry, I need to keep this Weekly Update short so I can start the Conference. I will have plenty to talk about next Update. Meanwhile, get those pre-orders in for The Rifter® and Thundercloud Galaxy™, keep those imaginations burning bright and game on.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher

Rifter 54

NEW! The Rifter® #54 
– Ships April 12, 2011

This is another landmark issue of The Rifter® filled with epic source material, exotic places, strange critters, adventure settings, good stories and ideas.

The Rifter® is your doorway to unlimited imagination and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. It offers new heroes, powers, weapons, magic and adventure for your games. It presents new villains, monsters and dangers to battle, and new ideas to consider.

The Rifter® #54 includes:

Rifts Dimension Book 14: Thundercloud Galaxy

NEW! Rifts® Dimension Book 14: Thundercloud Galaxy
– Ships April 25, 2011 – at the printer

The book is done, at the printer and awesome. Great ideas, great art, unique new alien races available as player characters, weird creatures and monsters, secrets of the Gene-Tech, weapons of the Dominators, ancient ruins, colony creation rules, adventure galore and much, much more.

The Scramble is the mad dash to claim and colonize the thousands of worlds of the Thundercloud Galaxy. Colonists flock to the Thundercloud filled with dreams. Space Pirates and an array of cutthroats also flock to the galaxy, guns in hand, ready to rob and fleece the colonists. Lawmen and heroes are in great demand, and the opportunities for clever adventurers are said to be without limit. As the civilizations of the Anvil and Corkscrew Galaxies scramble to colonize the Thundercloud, they are beginning to realize the galaxy holds more riches, beauty, horrors and secrets than anyone has ever imagined, making it a place of discovery, adventure and treachery like no other.

Thundercloud Galaxy™ is a perfect companion to the rest of the Phase World®/Three Galaxies™ based Dimension Books as well as the Minion War™ series. Players can be pirates, raiders, brigands or hired guns, or they may be explorers, adventurers, Spacers, or any number of heroes trying to protect the colonists or the indigenous peoples of countless worlds and colonies. The possibilities are truly limited only by your imagination.

Rifts World Book 1: Vampire Kingdoms Expanded and Updated

NEW! Rifts® World Book One: 
Vampire KingdomsExpanded & Updated

Kevin Siembieda is reorganizing, tweaking, expanding and updating one of the most popular Rifts® World Books ever published: Vampire Kingdoms™. This will include some new artwork and an expanded page count. The book will be updated and expanded in much the same way as Kevin did with Rifts® Sourcebook One a few years ago. Best of all, it will be accompanied by theRifts® Vampires Sourcebook™.

Rifts Vampires Sourcebook

NEW! Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook
All new source material

Trouble is stirring in the Vampire Kingdoms as ambitious vampire lords, ladies and misanthropes seek to expand their power to dominate more mortal life forms.

Written by Kevin Siembieda and a handpicked selection of other writers, this sourcebook explores the vampires of Mexico and their kingdoms in ways you never imagined. Tons of new data, adventure ideas and revelations.

NEW! Robotech® New Generation Sourcebook

This Robotech® sourcebook will be an early 2011 release.

Final page count and price may be subject to change. Spring 2011 release.

NEW! Rifts® World Book: Lemuria

At last, the underwater realm of Lemuria. The people and history of Lemuria, new magic, sea herbs and healing, sea monsters, and more.

  • The Lemurians, their race, history and society.
  • New O.C.C.s including the Serpent Hunter, Shriekers, Oceanic Guardsman, Aquatic Biomancer and others.
  • The Stone Guardians of Easter Island and other mysteries.
  • Biomancer Gardens and Aquatic Biomancy.
  • Bio-Armor, Bio-Weapons and Bio-Construct Symbiotes.
  • New psionic abilities.
  • Sea Serpents, monsters, adventure ideas, and more.
  • Written by Greg Diaczyk.
  • 160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 885.
  • Final page count and price may be subject to expansion and increase. Spring 2011.

    NEW! Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames

    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. More details to follow, but for now, 'nuff said.

    • Soulmancer and Blood Magic.
    • The Seven Deadly Plagues.
    • The Demon Plagues across the globe.
    • Battleground: Earth – as demons and infernals amass their legions.
    • Rifts Calgary – also known as Hell's Pit; the kingdom described.
    • Ciudad de Diablo, Harpies' Island and other notable Hell holes on Earth.
    • Lord Doom, Pain and other demonic leaders.
    • Horune treachery, Dimension Stormers and other villains.
    • Global chaos and the places most dramatically affected by the Demon Plagues.
    • Notable demonic generals, mercenaries, people and places.
    • Many adventure ideas.
    • Written by Carl Gleba.
    • 192 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 876. July 2011.

    NEW! Rifts® Chaos Earth Sourcebook: First Responders

    Data about the chaos and madness of the early days of the Great Cataclysm, and the brave men and women who tried to stem the tide of destruction and save lives, the First Responders.

    • Apocalypse Plagues: Strange diseases, symbiotes and mutations that transform, torment, harm and kill Earth's survivors.
    • First Responder O.C.C.s, skills and special equipment.
    • Civilian O.C.C.s, skills and orientation.
    • Notable rescue vehicles, robot drones, and technology.
    • New weapons, vehicles, mecha and more.
    • Character modification and enhancement rules.
    • Creatures from the Rifts and adventure ideas galore.
    • Written by Jason Richards & Kevin Siembieda.
    • 96 to 128 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 665. Coming in 2011.

    Heroes Unlimited Armageddon Unlimited

    Armageddon Unlimited

    for Heroes Unlimited and the Minion War – Available now

    Armageddon Unlimited™ is the ultimate good vs evil setting and adventure. The fate of the world hangs in the balance and only you can stop its destruction as demons and Deevils fight for control of the Earth and bringing about the end of life as we know it.

    Armageddon Unlimited™ is more than an epic world-saving adventure, it is also a sourcebook jam-packed with new powers, magic, weapons and Power Categories that can be incorporated into any Heroes Unlimited™ campaign. This book can be used as a standalone adventure sourcebook for Heroes Unlimited™ or as a pivotal plot in an expansive Minion War™ campaign. Get a free sneak preview

    of the book from DriveThruRPG.com.

    HU Aliens Unlimited

    Aliens Unlimited – Back in Print
    A sourcebook for Heroes Unlimited

    Aliens Unlimited™ brings alien beings to your Earth-based Heroes Unlimited™ setting and enables you to take your Earth heroes to alien worlds. This sourcebook has everything you need to launch an alien based campaign or galactic adventures, or introduce alien invaders, villains, heroes and campaign ideas.

    Aliens Unlimited™ makes the perfect resource and companion to the Thundercloud Galaxy™ or any of the Rifts® Dimension Books and Minion War™ series. Looking for some new space aliens, villains and monsters to add to your Thundercloud Galaxy™ or Minion War™ campaign? Need some unique Splugorth slaves? Demon henchmen? Take a look at Aliens Unlimited™(and the Aliens Unlimited™ Galaxy Guide™ companion sourcebook); easy to adapt.

    Rifts Dimension Book 6: Phase World The Three Galaxies

    Rifts® Dimension Book 6: Three Galaxies – Back in Print

    A guide to the Three Galaxies, this book takes a look at dozens of solar systems, notable planets, select alien races, people, civilizations and monsters, as well as space anomalies, spaceships and more. This is another sourcebook that is ideal for campaigns involving the Minion War™, the Thundercloud Galaxy™, Phase World® and adventures in the Three Galaxies.

    Rifts Adventure Sourcebook Three The Black Vault

    Rifts® Adventure Sourcebook: The Black Vault – Back in Print

    For generations it has been rumored the Coalition States maintains a Top Secret facility where it locks away and stores all the magic weapons and items it confiscates from adventurers and mages. The CS, of course, denies these rumors, but they are true. And the truth is revealed for the first time in this epic sourcebook packed with secrets and magic items. Do your characters dare to rob the Black Vault?

    Rifts Mercenaries

    Rifts® Mercenaries – Back in Print

    This fan-favorite sourcebook presents everything you need to create and run a mercenary company on Rifts Earth. It includes creation rules, new Occupational Character Classes such as the Professional Smuggler, Thief, Safecracker, Spy, Bounty Hunter, Master Assassin, and others, plus a treasure trove of mercenary weapons, vehicles, gear and arms dealers.

    Rifts Baseball Cap

    "Rifts® Logo" Baseball Cap – Back in Print

    Back by popular demand. A black Rifts® Logo on a khaki baseball cap with black trim. Looks great and fans love it! Makes a great gift.

    Don't forget about the "Rifts® Logo" Dice Bag

    Gold print on a rich black, faux velvet material. Looks gorgeous, a sturdy and well made drawstring bag. A big 7x9 inches, can hold a lot of dice.

    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. 
    Splicers® RPG
    Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, First Edition Rules. 
    Boxed Nightmares™ for BTS, First Edition Rules. 
    Nightbane® Book Four: Shadows of Light™.
    The Mechanoids® RPG and The Mechanoid Invasion® RPG Trilogy.
    Palladium Fantasy RPG®, First Edition Rules and select 1st Edition sourcebooks. 
    After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks
    The Rifter® issues 1-48.
    The Best of The Rifter®
    Deluxe Revised RECON® RPG and Advanced RECON® Sourcebook.
    - And more – go to DriveThruRPG.com and check 'em out.

    2011 Releases

    Available Now & Back in Print

    Armageddon Unlimited™ – New – Available now! 
    The Rifter® #53 – New – Available now! 
    Rifts® World Book 20: Canada – Back in print – Available now 
    Rifts® Dark Conversions – Back in print – Available now 
    Palladium Fantasy RPG® – Back in print – Available now 
    Rifts® Game Master Guide – Back in print – Available now 
    Rifts® World Book 5: Triax & The NGR – Back in print – Available now 
    Rifts® Bionics Sourcebook – Back in print – Available now 
    Rifts® China One – Back in print – Available now 
    Rifts® Megaverse® Builder – Back in print – Available now

    March 2011 Releases

    – Rifts® Baseball Cap – BACK IN STOCK 
    – Rifts® Dimension Book™ 6: Three Galaxies™ – BACK IN PRINT 
    Rifts® Black Vault™ – BACK IN PRINT 
    – Rifts® Mercenaries™ – BACK IN PRINT 
    Aliens Unlimited™ – A Heroes Unlimited™ sourcebook – BACK IN PRINT

    April 2011 Releases

    The Rifter® #54 – New – Available now. 
    Rifts® Dimension Book™ 14: Thundercloud Galaxy™ – New – April 25. 
    Rifts® World Book 8: Rifts® Japan™ – BACK IN PRINT – Ships April 25 
    Rifts® World Book 13: Lone Star™ – BACK IN PRINT – Ships April 25

    May 2011 Releases

    Robotech® New Generation™ Sourcebook (tentative) 
    Rifts® WB One: Vampire Kingdoms™, Expanded & Updated
    Rifts® Book of Magic (back in print)

    June 2011 Releases

    Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook™ – New 
    Rifts® World Book™: Lemuria – New

    July 2011 Releases

    The Rifter® #55 – New 
    Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames (Minion War™ crossover) – New

    New Releases Coming Soon (tentative)

    Rifts® Chaos Earth™: First Responders Sourcebook (as soon as we can slot it in) 
    Dead Reign™ Sourcebook Three

    In the Pipeline

    Robotech® UEEF Marines and other Robotech® sourcebooks.
    Rifts® sourcebooks
    Rifts® Chaos Earth™ sourcebooks
    Palladium Fantasy®: Mysteries of Magic™ Two & Three
    Palladium Fantasy® other sourcebooks
    Warpath™ Urban Jungle RPG
    - And other good stuff. Lots of other good stuff!

    Recently Back in Print

    Palladium Fantasy RPG Rifts World Book 20: Canada Rifts Dark Conversions Rifts Game Master Guide Rifts Bionics Sourcebook Rifts World Book 5: Triax and The NGR Rifts World Book 24: China One Rifts Dimension Book 7: Megaverse Builder

    The Queen of Ghouls: Life-Sized Halloween Props

    Check out the new creations by Palladium's very own Kathy Simmons. See her new zombie, Jack Skellington and Sally, with more new creations on the drawing board. Each Halloween prop is truly life-sized (most are 6 feet or taller – Jack is almost 8 feet) and seem almost alive.

    Each is an all-weather, life-sized Halloween prop that can handle rain and snow, and is a one-of-a-kind work of art (no two are exactly the same). Each looks frighteningly "real." All come apart and fold down to slightly larger than a king-size pillow for easy storage. Comes with easy instructions, a plastic storage bag, and the lawn stake to stand it up in your front yard. Indoor stand sold separately.

    Types of "Ghouls" include: Zombies (all kinds!), killer clowns, wizards, witches, devils, grave ghouls, scarecrows, executioners, mad doctors, deadly nurses, vampires, werewolves, and more. Kathy's also now offering an array of hand-painted Halloween signs, signs with heads and bodies hanging from them, witch's brewing pots, Halloween centerpieces and more. Best of all, her high quality creations are much more affordable and imaginative than most competitors or mass produced items in a store, making them affordable Halloween fun.

    If you think the photos online look good, you should see them in person. A typical "ghoul," as she calls her creations, costs $129-$259. You can see some of her work at her Queen of Ghouls™ Ebay store – queenofghouls.com.