Palladium Books® Weekly Update – May 19, 2016

By Wayne Smith

Hey, everyone. Wayne Smith here again, though Kevin is recovering nicely. In fact, he makes a guest appearance elsewhere in this Update. Otherwise, we’re doing final prep for Anime North and continuing to work on a number of projects and upcoming releases.

Savage Rifts Kickstarter

Rifts® Savage Worlds Kickstarter coming to a close – Already surpassed $400k! – Only hours left to get in on the action

As I write this, Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s Rifts® for Savage Worlds Kickstarter is 5,000% funded and still going strong! It offers books in print and PDF, a Game Master screen, maps, dice, bennies, a messenger bag, and a T-shirt, among other items. Reward levels range from the $15 Digital Player to the $240 Everything GM.

Savage Worlds players can take advantage of the current Rifts® Savage Sale to learn more about Rifts Earth right now, and can also grab some PDF Rifts® books from DriveThruRPG.com. Blend Palladium’s Rifts® source material with Savage Worlds®, and vice versa for Palladium’s Rifts® gamers. You may want these full color, well written Rifts® Savage Worlds titles just to read and own, but there are plenty of cool ideas, random tables and adventures you can easily incorporate in your current Rifts® games.

Many stretch goals have already been unlocked, including adventures, pre-generated archetype characters, D-Bee races to play, additional gear and weaponry, and an expanded Player’s Guide!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/545820095/rifts-for-savage-worlds

Savage Rifts® Sneak Peeks!

Download the free Murder Wraith preview now:

http://www.peginc.com/store/savage-rifts-creature-feature-murder-wraith-preview/

Download the free Glitter Boy preview:

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/182194/Savage-Rifts-Glitter-Boy-Preview

And get a glimpse "under the hood" of Savage Rifts® with this free Design Diary on Mega-Damage, Vampires, and Juicer Burn:

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/182196/Savage-Rifts-Making-Of

A fun Savage Rifts® Podcast with Sean Patrick Fannon, lead writer:

http://thewilddie.podbean.com/e/episode-55-savage-rifts-with-sean-patrick-fannon/

The Rifts® Savage Sale ends at midnight on Sunday, May 22

To celebrate the success of the kickstarter, and because you folks liked it so much (and because Kevin still isn’t around to stop me), we’ve decided to bring back the Rifts® Savage Sale for one more week or so – till midnight on Sunday, May 22. Get some great books at a significant discount before time runs out.

Whether you are looking to fill in holes in your collection or thinking about trying Rifts®, this offering gives you the core books to dive right in. Many are titles you are likely to want for campaigns involving Rifts® Heroes of Humanity and the Minion War™, like Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames™, The Vanguard™ sourcebook, Rifts® Book of Magic, Coalition War Campaign™, Rifts® Sourcebook One, and Siege on Tolkeen™ 6: Final Siege™, among others. Rifts® Coalition States: Heroes of Humanity™ is going to change the way you look at Rifts® campaigns.

Discovering Rifts® for the first time? Any of these titles will help you get started fast. Enjoy and game on!

Kevin Siembieda – partial cyborg?!

This is the first thing I have written since I was struck by a jeep on Mother’s Day, May 8, 2016. The driver was backing out of his driveway and didn’t see me. Knocked me to the concrete sidewalk and broke my humerus (the bone between the elbow and the shoulder) right in half. My right arm, of course. I never imagined getting hit by a car walking on the sidewalk where pedestrians belong. Sheesh. It was pretty scary and surreal to have my arm just dangling, unresponsive, like the arm of a puppet. And the pain ... it was something else. Getting X-rays was torture.

Long story short, I have a couple of eight inch long braces and screws holding the bone of my right arm together. Artist Nick Bradshaw teased me that I was now man and machine. Cue the Terminator music. A couple other people asked what it was about writers and getting struck by vehicles while walking; referencing Stephen King getting hit on the side of the road some years ago. Thankfully, my injuries are nowhere as severe as Mr. King’s.

I'm home, on the mend and more mobile every day, but still feeling pretty rough around the edges. I hope to get back to work very soon. I  have books to finish writing and I’m more motivated than ever.

It would appear someone “up there” is watching out for me. Doctors, nurses and everyone have commented that as severe as the break is, my injuries could have been much, much worse: head or spinal injury, multiple broke bones and injuries, even crushed limbs or death(!) had the car kept going. Scary stuff, for sure.

The fear that haunted me was the possibility of losing the use of my right (dominant) hand. I think losing the use of your hands to write and draw is a fear of every artist and writer. The radial nerve wraps around the bone of the upper arm, so there was a genuine possibility that in repairing the bone, I could suffer temporary or permanent damage to the nerve, impairing movement in my right hand. I was a nervous wreck until after surgery as I waited for all sensation and movement to return to the fingers of my hand. What a relief when they did. Whew.

They say your life passes before your eyes in a life and death situation. In my case, it was the many unfinished books, projects and obligations I am currently working on – and freakin’ Anime North! At the time of the accident, Anime North was only two and a half weeks away! All I could think about was all the people I would be letting down if I could not attend. And how was I going to sign books for fans or run games, and do a lot of other things?! I had agreed to Anime North a year ago and had been hyping it for months. I had to be there! And I need to bang out the many books I’m working on! It was all so very frustrating. I wanted to cry, scream and kick something all at the same time. Instead, I tried to stay calm, positive and hope for the best.

Anime North, here I come! Even if I have to dodge and wrestle with cars to get there. The good news is I am bolted back together and my doctor is allowing me to attend Anime North with the promise that I do not overdo it, I wear my sling and I’m very careful. What about you? I hope a bunch of our Canadian fans will be there to enjoy Chuck Walton’s and my panel talks, chat with me and meet several other Palladium creators, get autographs, enjoy games and demos, and have a great time. In addition to myself, Chuck Walton, and Wayne Smith, Gregg Diaczyk (writer), Braden Campbell (writer), Brett Caron (writer), Apollo Okamura (artist), and other Palladium stalwarts will be present to run games and demos, and chat all weekend long. My injury is such that I can even sign autographs! Woo hoo! I will have to wait and see if I have the energy to run gaming events, but I’m still planning to do so. Look for the Palladium Books booth in the gaming area.

My sincere thanks and appreciation for the many well wishes for a quick recovery. I’m working on it. A special thanks to Ted C. and Ned L. for the thoughtful get-well cards. It was a pleasant and welcomed surprise.

And how about that Rifts® Savage Worlds Kickstarter? Amazing. I am so glad for the folks at Pinnacle and happy to see the Rifts® Megaverse® continuing to expand. With any luck, you will be seeing many more exciting Rifts® and other releases coming from both Palladium Books and other licensees.

– Kevin Siembieda, May 2016

UPDATE: Robotech® RPG Tactics

We are looking into some new possibilities and gearing up for more about Robotech® RPG Tactics™, starting with material that will be made available on DriveThruRPG.com. Meanwhile, we are supporting all kinds of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ events at StrategiCon.

StrategiCon GAMEX, Memorial Day weekend, is going to be big fun for fans of Robotech® and Robotech® RPG Tactics™, with build and paint workshops, demos all weekend, and special events. Palladium is happy to support this big RRT event. See the convention description, below, for more details or go to the StrategiCon website:

http://www.strategicon.net/

Rifts® Ultimate Edition Rule Book and many World Book PDFs available on DriveThruRPG.com

Rifts® Ultimate Edition is now available! It joins more than 40 other Rifts® titles at DriveThruRPG.com! Also coming soon, Rifts® G.M. Guide and Rifts® Book of Magic and probably a sneak preview of Rifts® Coalition States: Heroes of Humanity™. With more Rifts® and other Palladium game lines coming to PDF in the weeks and months ahead.

Recent PDF titles include Rifts® World Book 27: Adventures in Dinosaur Swamp™, Rifts® World Book 26: Dinosaur Swamp, World Book 25: Rifts® China Two, World Book 24: Rifts® China One, Rifts® World Book 23: Xiticix Invasion, Rifts® World Book 22: Free Quebec, Rifts® World Book 21: Splynn Dimensional Market, Rifts® World Book 20: Canada, Rifts® World Book 19: Australia, Rifts® World Book 18: Mystic Russia, Rifts® World Book 17: Warlords of Russia and Rifts® World Book 16: Federation of Magic from the last few weeks, and a slew of other titles that have gone up over the last couple of months. There are also previews of The Rifter® #73, Northern Gun 1 & 2, Lemuria, Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms, Bizantium and many other Palladium titles. Things remain in place to see 2-3 new PDFs of Rifts® World Books and other titles added every week.

In addition to the titles listed above, The Minion War™ series of books, the Rifts® Coalition Wars®/Tolkeen series, Chaos Earth® Resurrection, all of the Dead Reign® (Zombie Apocalypse) titles, Splicers® RPG and most issues of The Rifter® are available NOW! So are first edition rules of the Heroes Unlimited™ RPG and sourcebooks, Palladium Fantasy RPG® and sourcebooks, The Mechanoids®, and much more, available on DriveThruRPG.com.

Available right now:

Palladium Collectibles Available in Kevin’s Online Toy & Collectibles Store

A wide range of art and collectibles have been selling over the last few weeks. Nice. I hope you enjoy your items, be they out of print books, signed titles, rare hardcovers, original artwork, toys or other goodies. Original art are one-of-a-kind items, so when they are gone (like the TMNT sketches and Rifts® illustrations), they are gone. Many other offerings are signed, limited editions or are items that have been sold out for some time.

I’ll continue to pull things out of my personal collection and Palladium archives. A bunch of toys have been added to my online store with more to come.

More collectibles, artwork and toys are added almost every week. Palladium collectibles, hardcovers, out-of-print titles, original artwork, and toys and items from my personal collection are on my ebay store. We add items on a regular basis and offer sales, so check it out from time to time. Includes one-of-a-kind original artwork, prints, Rifts® and Robotech® artwork by Kevin Long, me and others. There is also a range of limited editions, rare book titles and limited edition hardcovers, toys and more available with frequent new items added. Items include original art, out-of-print titles, redlined proofreader photocopies signed by me and the staff, signed manuscripts with editors’ corrections, some original art, hardcover books (including Rifts® Lemuria, Northern Gun™ One, Northern Gun™ Two, Megaverse® in Flames™, Beyond the Supernatural™ Gold, Rifts® Machinations of Doom™ Gold and Rifts® Ultimate Gold), hundreds of toys and action figures, all from my personal archives and collection. Take a look every weekend or two for new items added.

http://stores.ebay.com/kevinstoys-artandcollectibles

Convention Dates of Note

UPDATE: Anime North – Toronto, Canada – May 27-29, 2016

37,000+ fans of anime, cosplay, and gaming descend upon Toronto this Memorial Day Weekend, and the Palladium crew will be among them.

Please join us in the gaming hall to enjoy Robotech® RPG Tactics™ games and demos, a few role-playing game events (sign up at the Palladium booth), and chat with various Palladium creators. We are bringing a good selection of Rifts®, Robotech®, Robotech® RPG Tactics™ and many, many other game titles as well as displaying a wide range of artwork. Meet me (Kevin Siembieda), Greg Diaczyk (writer), Wayne Smith (editor), Charles Walton II (artist), Braden Campbell (writer), Apollo Okamura (artist) and maybe a few other Palladium creators. Also look for panel talks with me, Charles Walton and others. Check the online schedule. Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

http://www.animenorth.com

Strategicon: GAMEX – Memorial Day Weekend – May 27-30 – Los Angeles

All kinds of Robotech® events are taking place all weekend long. Join the fun!

Strategicon: GAMEX – Memorial Day Weekend – Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Events

Hilton Los Angeles Airport
5711 W Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90045

For more info about StrategiCon GAMEX: http://www.strategicon.net/

Gen Con Indy – Indianapolis, Indiana – August 4-7, 2016

Gen Con is big, fun and awesome. If you are attending, please stop by the Palladium Books booth. We will be there with new and old RPG titles, Robotech® RPG Tactics™, and original art and collectibles for sale. Palladium creators are happy to chat with fans, sign your books, and have a blast.

Palladium Creators at the 2016 Gen Con:

And maybe a couple others to be added.

http://www.gencon.com

GrandCon – Grand Rapids, Michigan – September 16, 17 & 18, 2016

Looking for a nice medium-sized convention of around 2,000 gamers? Then consider GrandCon in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s only about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Westland, and even closer for folks living in Livonia, Plymouth, Novi, and cities farther west. Ideal for any Michiganders and gamers living in Illinois, Indiana and maybe even Wisconsin and eastern Iowa.

I (Kevin Siembieda) am a guest along with Sean Patrick Fannon, co-author of Savage Rifts® for the Savage Worlds game system, and many other guests. Sean and I will be doing panels about Savage Rifts® and role-playing game design, world building and running gaming events (I’ll probably run Lord DeSilca), and Palladium Books will have a few tables in the dealers’ room manned by Wayne Smith and Charles Walton II (with artwork for sale). All of us will be present to chat with gamers and sign books. I am thrilled to have a rapidly growing game convention like GrandCon in western Michigan, and they have even bigger plans for 2017. Michiganders, help support this convention. We need and deserve a large gaming convention in our state.

http://www.grand-con.com

Thank You

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes for Kevin. And a huge thank you to all the backers who have made Pinnacle’s Savage Rifts® Kickstarter such a tremendous success. We had faith it could do that well, and you all really did us proud.

– Wayne Smith, Editor

Coalition States Heroes of Humanity

NEW! Rifts® Secrets of the Coalition States – Heroes of Humanity – May

In final production! Rifts® Heroes of Humanity™ is the next chapter in the epic war for the soul of humanity.

A call to arms! The Minion War has spilled onto Rifts Earth. At the epicenter of the invasion is North America. If either of the two rival demonic forces succeeds in conquering the continent, the rest of the world shall follow and Earth will become an annex of Hell. The demon hordes believe no one can stop them. The Coalition States has something to say about that.

For the first time in history, the Coalition States, Northern Gun, the Manistique Imperium, Lazlo, New Lazlo, Free Quebec, the Cyber-Knights, Lemurians, True Atlanteans, D-Bees, mages, mercs and many, many others stand together against a common enemy. Meanwhile, the Splugorth of Atlantis, Archie Three, the Republicans and the Vanguard engage in their own shadow war against the invading demon hordes, and each other.

Heroes of Humanity Arsenal

NEW! Secrets of the Coalition States: Heroes of Humanity Arsenal Sourcebook – Spring

The name, CS Heroes of Humanity™ Arsenal says it all. New Coalition armor, power armor, robots, combat vehicles, and related material.

NEW! Rifts® Haunted Tech – Summer

The Republicans decide to make their move while Archie Three is waging his own shadow war against the demonic invaders. The result unleashes a menace Archie has kept contained and locked away for 300 years. And he is not happy about it.

Rifts The Disavowed

Rifts® Secrets of the Coalition States: The Disavowed™ – Summer

“Desperate times require desperate measures. War has nothing to do with morality or justice. It’s all about winning or dying. We cannot bind our hands with high ideals, even our own, or worry about the laws of renegade nations or the rights of alien people. We must fight fire with fire. And you are the match.” – Colonel Lyboc addressing a Disavowed team

The Disavowed are so Top Secret that their existence is known only to a handful of the Coalition States’ most elite, top echelon, with Joseph Prosek II the mastermind behind the Disavowed operation, and Colonel Lyboc its shadowy face. Find out who these men and women are. How the Disavowed get away with using magic, traveling to other parts of Rifts Earth and even to other dimensions in pursuit of enemies and strategic information that cannot be had through conventional means. Learn about the secret parameters in which these hard-boiled warriors, secretly hand-picked by Joseph Prosek II, operate, why almost every mission is considered a suicide mission, and why they must forever be the Disavowed.

NEW! The Rifter® #74 – Ships Spring

Half to two-thirds of The Rifter® #74 is “official” source material for Rifts®, Splicers® and more, plus news and coming attractions.

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. And don’t forget, most of the material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

The Rifter® #74 – Spring, 2016:

The Rifter #73

NEW! The Rifter® #73 – Available now!

For the first time ever, the entire issue of The Rifter® #73 is “official” source material for Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Splicers® and Dead Reign®, plus news, coming attractions and more. It is a great way to kickoff Palladium’s 35 Year Anniversary.

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. And don’t forget, most of the material can be easily adapted for use in ANY Palladium game setting.

Rifter® #73 Highlights:

NEW! Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans – Summer

True Atlanteans are descendants from Earth’s past. The survivors of the sinking of Atlantis (really a dimensional mishap) and travelers of the Megaverse, wielders of Tattoo Magic and other lost mystic arts. Most people regard them as heroes, but are they? The Sunaj Assassins are mythic villains feared by all, yet they too are True Atlanteans who serve dark forces.

For the first time, much of the story behind True Atlanteans and their secrets are revealed.

The Rifter #73

BACK IN PRINT: Island at the Edge of the World

A Palladium Fantasy RPG® Sourcebook – available now

Island at the Edge of the World™ is back in print as a short run, special printing. This is the original Palladium RPG® sourcebook VI that utilizes First Edition rules. That said, it is very easy to adapt for use with Second Edition rules.

Island at the Edge of the World™ reveals some of the little known history of the Palladium World, the Time of a Thousand Magicks, the Changeling Inquisition, and dark secrets that could threaten the world. Learn about forgotten Crystal Magic (as powerful as Rune Weapons), the Church of Scar, the legendary Circle of Absolute Elemental Power and frightening prophecies about the end of the world.

Garden of the Gods – a Palladium Fantasy RPG® Sourcebook – Summer

This has been a secret project of Kevin Siembieda’s that he has been plotting and writing in what little spare time he has. The Garden of the Gods is said to be a holy place watched over and even frequented by the avatars of the gods. According to legend, the god may visit heroes and followers in dreams or in person by an avatar of the god, to be given guidance, inspiration, heroic quests, and gifts of knowledge and magic. More details about this title will follow.

Hell Followed – A Dead Reign® Zombie Apocalypse Sourcebook

At 160 pages, Hell Followed™ is the largest Dead Reign® sourcebook yet. Spring or Summer release. Can you survive the Zombie Apocalypse? Find out by playing Dead Reign®. The results may surprise you.

Rifts® Chaos Earth® Sourcebook: First Responders – Summer

The Great Cataclysm has devastated civilization, but humanity fights for survival. The struggles of civilian law enforcement, fire and rescue, and everyday men and women are some of the most epic tales to be told in a world gone to hell. They fight monsters, aliens, the paranormal, the elements, and each other, all with the hope of reclaiming their lives from the Chaos.

Robotech RPG Tactics

Robotech® RPG Tactics Wave Two is coming ...

– but you can get started with the core box set and Wave One expansions right now

If you love Robotech®, you want to take a look at this game. Beautifully detailed game pieces of your favorite Robotech® mecha, and fast playing rules that capture the Robotech® experience in a new, exciting way. And this is just the beginning. We have so much more planned for the years ahead.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ "Starter Box" (Main Box Game) – Cat. No. 55100 – $99.95 retail price. 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. Get yours now, so you can build your armies and have them ready when Wave Two is released.

The First Six Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Expansion Packs are available to retail along with the main box game. Here are the SKUs and retail prices:

DriveThruRPG

Palladium PDF Books – download from DriveThruRPG.com

This is a great resource for getting out of print Palladium titles and other select books. We’ve made more than 100 PDF products available for digital download from DriveThruRPG.com, as well as Fantasy Paper Miniatures, Game Master resources and other good things with more to come. This is a great way to try Palladium products and get access to out of print RPG source material. Some notable titles include:

Schedule of Upcoming Releases

Also coming:

Upcoming Palladium Books® Convention Events

Palladium Books does not have to be an exhibitor at a convention or be counted among the guests to support that convention. We are happy to support events running Palladium games with prizes for best players, other swag, and donations to charity auctions. If you are a Game Master running Palladium gaming events, or a convention hosting them, PLEASE contact Palladium Books via the Help Desk or the Megaversal Ambassadors, or call the Palladium offices to get our support. Just give us plenty of advance notice so we can confirm the conventions and the Palladium gaming events, determine the swag and ship it out. Plus we are glad to promote conventions and gaming events right here in the Weekly Updates. Below are just some of the conventions hosting Palladium game events this year.

Kevin Siembieda and Charles Walton II are guests at the 2016 Anime North. A few other Canadian Palladium creators may also be in attendance at the Palladium booth in the gaming hall. Anime North is one of the largest and longest running anime conventions in North America, with 26,000+ in attendance in 2016. The range of special guests, voice talent and cosplay is amazing. If you are attending Anime North, please drop by the booth to say hello or sit in on any of Kevin’s panel talks about game design, licensing and Hollywood, writing, world building and others. We love this event and highly recommend it. Tickets sell out fast, so order yours and book a hotel room immediately.

© Copyright 2016 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.

Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Powers Unlimited®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars®, Chaos Earth®, Dead Reign®, and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. RPG Tactics™, Beyond the Supernatural, Coalition States, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, SAMAS, Savage Rifts®, 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.