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Palladium Books® Press Release – July 9, 2004

© 2004 Palladium Books Inc.

Coming July and August 2004

Palladium Books is working hard to get its schedule back on track and release the many hotly anticipated, new role-playing games and sourcebooks our fans are clamoring for. As far as we know, Palladium Books is the only role-playing company releasing two new games in 2004, and we think you will find that both were well worth the wait.

The Rifter® #27 is done, at the printers and should ship on time, July 23.
Phase World® is back in print and should also ship on July 23.
Rifts® China Two is in final production and should ship to distributors around July 30.
Splicers™, Palladium’s new science fiction game is also in the final stages of production and should ship to distributors around August 13.
Phase World® Three Galaxies™ will be back in print as of August 6.

With a little luck, Beyond the Supernatural 2™ should ship at the end of August. If not, it will ship in September.

Rifts Dimension Book 9: United Worlds of Warlock™ for the Phase World® setting will ship in September.

Reprints Galore! Rifts® Dimension Book 2: Phase World® – Three Galaxies™ for Phase World® – Palladium Fantasy RPG® – Rifts® Federation of Magic – all back in print by mid-August, with more to follow.

Rifts® Dinosaur Swamp™ is selling so well that distributor reorders started coming in only one week after the book shipped. Rifts® China 2 should do two or three times better, and the new Splicers™ RPG may honestly be Palladium’s next big hit (and is compatible with Rifts®).

Summer & Fall Schedule from Palladium Books

Available Now
Rifts® World Book 26: Dinosaur Swamp™ – $17.95 retail – 160 pages.

July, 2004
July 23 – The Rifter® #27 – $9.95 retail – 96 pages. At the printers. This date is definite.
July 23 – Phase World® is back in print after two years. A long time fan favorite that should sell like new. Cat. No. 816 – $22.95 retail – 208 pages. This date is definite.
July 30 – Rifts® China Two: Heroes of the Celestial Court – $17.95 – 160 pages. In the final stages of production right now.

August, 2004
August 6 – For Phase World® – Rifts® Dimension Book 6: Three Galaxies™ – one of the most popular sourcebooks in the Phase World® series is back in print after being out of stock for 8 months. A fan favorite. Cat. No. 851 – $17.95 – 160 pages. This date is definite.
August 13 – Splicers™ Role-Playing Game – 192 or 224 pages with a cost of $22.95 or $24.95 depending on the final page count. There is a lot of buzz around this game. In the final stages of production.
August 13 – Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game® back in print after a short two month absence – Cat. No. 450. – $26.95 – 352 pages. This is definite.
End of August or Early September – Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition – $22.95 – 192 pages.

September, 2004
If Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition does not ship in August it will be a September release, so vows Kevin Siembieda – $22.95 – 192 pages.
September 15 – Rifts® Dimension Book 9: United Worlds of Warlock™ (new for Phase World®) – $17.95 – 160 pages.
And probably one or two more favorite sourcebooks back in print.

October, 2004
The Rifter® #28 – Halloween Special – $9.95 – 128 pages.
Rifts® Mercenaries Two: Merctown™ – $17.95 – 160 pages. Tentative.

Also Scheduled for 2004 Release:
Beyond the Supernatural™: Tome Grotesque – 96 or 144 pages; $13.95 or $15.95 depending on the final page count.
Beyond the Supernatural™: Arcanum Sourcebook – $17.95 – 160 pages.
Rifts® Merc Ops™ (formerly Rifts® Mercenaries 3: Weapons & Gear) – $17.95 – 160 pages.
Rifts® Chaos Earth™: NEMA™ Mission Book One (tentative) – $10.95 – 64 pages.

Rifts® World Book 26: Dinosaur Swamp™

Dinosaur Swamp™ shipped to distributors June 22, and should have begun hitting stores by June 28. We have plenty in stock, so don’t believe it when a store tells you they aren’t available. Then again, they are selling like hot cakes, with several of Palladium’s distributors placing reorders just one and two short weeks after it shipped. Yep, everyone loves dinosaurs.

  • Dinosaur Swamp™ is more than dinosaurs. It presents a nice overview of the entire region (Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas) as well as several specific locations with enough information for Game Masters to whip up a quick game scenario. Char, the only big city in the swamplands (if you can call a lawless, wild, wilderness community in the middle of one of the most dangerous and weird places on Rifts Earth, a “city”) is described in detail and offers plenty of adventure opportunities itself.
  • New O.C.C.s include the Swamp Stomper, Legacy Scout, and Dinosaur Hunter, among others.
  • Barbarians also have their own unique O.C.C.s, including the Eco-Wizard which appears to be a strange and primitive predecessor to Techno-Wizardry, or a case of parallel development. Only Eco-Wizard magic doesn’t use machine parts, it combines and enchants dinosaur bones, claws and skin to create magical weapons, tools and armor. Complete with two dozen magic items.
  • Otherworldly man-eating plants, Trysia Faeries, disease, dimensional anomalies, Rat Men, Splugorth Slavers, Tunnel Goblins and dinosaurs are just some of the dangers and challenges in this wild land. Oh, and did you know some dinosaurs possess magic abilities?
  • Dinosaur Swamp is packed with fun source-material, new characters, new magic, the opportunity for exploration and many avenues of adventure.
    The response to Dinosaur Swamp™ has been so positive we already have the author, Todd Yoho, hard at work expanding on ideas and material that was left out to make a Dinosaur Swamp sourcebook.
  • Written by Todd Yoho, some additional text by Kevin Siembieda.
  • John Zeleznik cover. Interior art by Perez, Okamura, Burles and Drunken Style Studio.
  • $17.95 retail – 160 pages. In stores now!

    The Rifter® #27 – Ships July

    The Rifter® is a combination magazine, sourcebook, fan forum, Game Master and Players’ Guide, talent show, news source and fun for fans of all of Palladium's role-playing games.

    Each issue includes questions & answers, news and coming attractions, source material for Rifts® and several of the following, Palladium Fantasy®, Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane® or Beyond the Supernatural™, Phase World®, After the Bomb® and others. Contributing writers include Siembieda, Wujcik, Breaux, Nowak, and others.

  • Chaos Earth™ Britain.
  • Rifts® Mercenary Campaigns.
  • The Palladium Orient
  • Heroes Unlimited™ fiction and more.
  • $9.95 retail is the unbeatable cover price for each issue – 96 pages this issue.
    Cat. No. 127 (The Rifter® #27)
    Retail Price:     $9.95
    Page Count: 96 pages.
    Color Cover by: Igino Giordano.
    Interior Art: Williams, Manning, Apollo and others.
    Written by: Siembieda, Cannon, and many other contributors.
    Date of Release: July 23, 2004 – should be in stores by July 29th.

    World Book 25:
    Rifts® China 2: Heroes of the Celestial Court – Ships July

    At last, Erick Wujcik is done with the writing and the book is going into final production.

    Rifts® China Two presents the heroes and renegades who oppose the Yama Kings, fight for humanity and hide among the sacred mountains and meadows of China. Dragons like you’ve never seen them before, martial arts masters, strange new types of magic, and more. This one has it all!

  • The involvement of the Celestial Court.
  • Heroes, avatars of the gods, and superhumans.
  • New martial artists and heroic O.C.C.s.
  • Martial arts and mystic powers, magic weapons and more!
  • Secret Monasteries where the Demon Quellers and other champions are trained.
  • The soldiers and technology of the Geo-Front.
  • More background and settings for Rifts China.
    Cat. No. 858
    Retail Price:     $17.95
    Page Count: 160 pages.
    Cover by: John Zeleznik.
    Interior Art: Burles, Dubisch, Okamura and Drunken Style Studio.
    Written by: Erick Wujcik.
    Date of Release: July 30, 2004 – Should be in stores by August 6th.

    Splicers™ RPG – In stores August
    Could it be the next Rifts®?

    That’s what at least 30 fans proclaimed after playing Splicers™ with the creator at Origins. These gamers told me Splicers™ was a twisted and fun combination of The Mechanoids® and Rifts® in a new, gritty, cutting-edge setting. They insisted it would be our next big hit and vowed to buy a copy as soon as it hit the shelves. I must confess I haven’t seen excitement for a new game like this since Rifts®, and I concur – Splicers™ is something special.

    Splicers™ is jam-packed with wonderful and bizarre concepts, characters and villains. The heroes are simultaneously brave and horrific, often sacrificing a piece of their own humanity to save the human race. The setting is both familiar and bizarre. The overlaying theme: an epic battle between man and machine that is full of twists, turns, irony and surprises.

    If you don’t take a look at this game when it comes out, you’ll be missing out on a twisted journey into a whole new world of adventure that will knock your socks off. We wouldn’t be surprised if the first printing sold out in a matter of weeks. Really.

    Splicers™ is a new, hard-edged and gritty science fiction role-playing game set on a high-tech world where diabolical robots and machines rule, and human beings are vermin to be hunted and exterminated. The human struggle is complicated by a nanobot plague that instantly turns metal objects touched by human flesh into killing machines. Consequently, humans have been forced to turn to organic technology to battle the world-dominating machines as they fight to reclaim their planet.

  • Human character classes that are strange, tragic and heroic all rolled into one. They include the Archangel, Biotic, Dreadguard, Outrider, Packmaster, Roughneck, Saint, Scarecrow, Skinjob and Tinman.
  • The humans’ genetically “grown” power armor and weaponry that changes and improves with age and experience.
  • The insane machine mind that rules from on high and commands legions of deadly robots – Sewer Crawlers, Cable Snakes, Necroborgs, Necrobots, Ratbombs, Assault Walkers, Battle Tracks, and others.
  • The nanobot plague and its ramifications.
  • Secret cities, strange environments, weird weapons and unique equipment.
  • History, world background and epic adventures that are gritty and action packed.
  • A new, stand-alone role-playing game heavy on science fiction.
  • Mega-Damage system – compatible with Rifts®, Chaos Earth™, and Phase World®.
  • Written by Carmen Bellaire with additional text and rules by Kevin Siembieda.
  • Cover by Mark Evans. Interior art by Drunken Style Studio.
  • $22.95 – 192 pages (price might increase if final page count grows). Cat. No. 200.
  • Date of release: August 13, 2004. In final production.

    Phase World® is back!

    Rifts® Dimension Book 2 – July

    After being out of print for two years, this long-time fan favorite is back! This one has everything and the kitchen sink. A must for anyone playing in the Phase World® setting.

  • 19 O.C.C.s, including the Cosmo-Knight, Galactic Tracer, Spacer, CAF soldiers, Space Wulfen, Imperial Security Agent and many more.
  • 15 R.C.C.s, including the Prometheans, True Naruni, Naruni Repo-Bot, Kreegor, Noro, Dominators and others.
  • Rules for creating alien races.
  • Phase Technology, weapons and Phase Fields.
  • Psionic Crystal Technology.
  • Weapons, robots, power armor, tanks and spaceships.
  • Phase World and the trans-dimensional city know as Center.
  • Overview of the Three Galaxies, the Consortium of Civilized Worlds, Transgalactic Empire, United Worlds of Warlock, and other places.
  • Phase World campaign ideas and character sheets.
  • Written by C.J. Carella.
  • Cover by Kevin Long. Art by Long, Martin and others.
  • $22.95 – 208 pages. Cat. No. 816. Available end of July.

    Three Galaxies™ is back!

    Rifts® Dimension Book Six – August

    The fans have been begging us to reprint Carl Gleba’s space epic since the first print run sold out in less than a year. Well here it is, a guide to the Three Galaxies. Dozens of solar systems and individual planets, notable alien races, people and monsters, as well as space anomalies, spaceships and more.

    Discover the Hunter System, where giant semi-intelligent serpents and other monsters are stalked for sport. Explore worlds hidden inside nebulas, and defy the murderous Necrols. Their living weapons and organic starships.

  • An overview of the Three Galaxies and some of the prominent people and places in them.
  • 16 O.C.C.s/R.C.Cs. And a half dozen monsters.
  • More on the Intruders, Kreeghor, Splugorth and others.
  • The deadly Demon Stars and Necrol living spaceships.
  • The legendary Demon Planet – world killing behemoth the size of a planet itself.
  • Space Station creation rules and new spacecraft.
  • Adventure hooks and ideas throughout the Three Galaxies.
  • Written by Carl Gleba.
  • Cover by John Zeleznik. Art by Okamura, Burles and Drunken Style Studio.
  • $17.95 – 160 pages. Cat. No. 851. Available early August.

    Phase World® Dimension Book 9:
    United Worlds of Warlock™ (new) – Ships September

    One more corner of the Three Galaxies is explored, presenting key worlds, people, places, hubs, gods and cults of the UWW, as well as a variety of new spacecraft, weapons, equipment and magic.

  • Key planets, moons, people and cultures in the United Worlds of Warlock.
  • New O.C.C.s, including the Astral Elves, Shadow Psychics, Knights of the Covenant, Void Rangers, and others.
  • New weapons, equipment, rune weapons and magic items.
  • Church of the Anvil, dark covens and cults.
  • Lightning/Electrical Magic.
  • Shadow and Sound Magic.
  • Adventure ideas galore.
    Cat. No. 861
    Retail Price:     $17.95
    Page Count: 160 pages.
    Cover by: John Zeleznik.
    Interior Art: Apollo Okamura, Drunken Style Studio and others.
    Written by: Daniel Bishop with additional material by Kevin Siembieda.
    Date of Release: September 15, 2004 (tentative).

    Beyond the Supernatural 2™ – Ships August or September

    Beyond the Supernatural Two™ builds on the bones of the classic BTS game to create a modern world of horror and magic unlike any before it.

    The supernatural is real. Psychic abilities and the paranormal are real. Magic is real. Yet science and authority figures dismiss them as hysteria, hoaxes and madness. However, special individuals gifted with special abilities or cursed with firsthand encounters find themselves inexorably linked to the paranormal and forced to deal with the consequences.

    Some of our heroes are gung-ho psychics and sorcerers who see themselves as humankind’s hidden protectors. Others are drawn into the realm of shadows through quirks of fate, or fueled by feelings of revenge. Still others are reluctant heroes and even victims, but all have been touched, in some way, by forces beyond human comprehension – Beyond the Supernatural.

    BTS-2 is really coming together and will surprise some people with its depth of character, background and new direction.

  • A contemporary horror setting that makes sense and challenges the players.
  • New P.C.C.s include the Firewalker, Night Hunter, Psychic Medium, Diviner, Autistic Psychic Savant, ordinary people and others, all with new and unique abilities.
  • Many of the characters, psychic abilities and magical powers are unlike any Palladium Books has presented before. Characters and powers that will challenge players and bring a new level of strategy and role-playing to the surface.
  • Even familiar characters like the Psychic Sensitive, Healer, Nega-Psychic and others are more evolved and unique.
  • Character background and the world setting is bold, clear and sinister.
  • I.S.P. and P.P.E. interact with the characters and the supernatural in new ways.
  • The secrets of the supernatural, ESP, and magic are revealed.
  • Victor Lazlo and his lasting legacy: The Lazlo Agency is described.
  • The world background serves as a guide to adventure.
  • Interior Art by Ramon Perez, Michael Dubisch, Freddie Williams, Apollo Okamura and others. Cover by John Zeleznik.
  • $22.95 – 192 pages (price may increase if page count is expanded). Cat. No. 700
  • August or September 2004 release.

    BTS Sourcebooks will include . . .

    Beyond the Supernatural™: Tome Grotesque – 96 or 144 pages; $13.95 or $15.95 depending on the final page count.
    Beyond the Supernatural™: Arcanum Sourcebook – $17.95 – 160 pages.
    Among others. Some of these will see a 2004 release, others 2005.

    Nokia & Palladium Together at Gen Con® Indy – August 19-22

    Palladium and Nokia will be joining forces at Gen Con Indy to hype and promote the Rifts® RPG for the N-Gage and Palladium role-playing game lines in general. A plasma screen TV will show the E3 computer animated trailer and a brief interview with some of the key creative people behind the N-Gage video game. Speaking of “key people,” Nokia Producer Shane Neville, Creative Director Trent Ward, and PR manager Wini Wong, will all be at the booth. Color Nokia flyers, giveaways, interview area and a giant, seven or eight foot tall standee of a Glitter Boy will round out the display.

    Palladium Books will be bringing Kevin Siembieda, Erick Wujcik, Steve Sheiring, Wayne Smith, and Ramon Perez, along with other Palladium creators and staff, to chat with fans, sign books, and have fun. Of course, Palladium’s entire line of role-playing games and recent releases will be on display and offered for sale.

    We hope to see you there.

    Copyright 2004 Palladium Books.
    This Press Release may be used and portions reprinted with Palladium's permission for the purpose of news and promotion. Megaverse®, Palladium Books®, Rifts®, The Rifter®, Phase World®, Coalition Wars®, RECON®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Nightbane®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, and After the Bomb® are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda. Chaos Earth, Merctown, Dinosaur Swamp, NEMA, Mechanoid® Space, BTS-2, Beyond the Supernatural, United Worlds of Warlock, Land of the Damned, Heroes Unlimited, HU2, Aliens Unlimited, Powers Unlimited, and other titles and names are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.