Palladium Books® Press Release – April 19, 2006

An appeal for help to keep Palladium going

My Dear Friends . . .

Palladium suffered a crippling blow last year involving employee theft and embezzlement. We thought we could weather the storm, but the damage was deeper and more severe than we ever imagined.

Estimated damage and losses are at least one million dollars. It has been a struggle to stay afloat.

Add to the picture a slumping RPG market and some other disappointments, and Palladium Books is in serious trouble. I have borrowed money up to my ears, and sold many of my personal collectibles, but it is not enough.

For this reason, Palladium Books is making a public appeal to our fans for help.

For a more lengthy explanation of our situation and what YOU, our fans, can do to help, please click here.

I know this turn of events will come as a shock to most of you. I can hardly believe it myself. Palladium Books has been around for 25 years. It has a reputation for being solid as a rock, and it is only because of treachery from within that we are struggling.

It is my genuine hope that this appeal to Palladium’s sizable and loyal fan base, combined with other efforts, will be enough to get us back on our feet and through this painful period. If not, I will know that I have done everything in my power to keep Palladium going for as long as I could.

Speculation and rumors of Palladium’s demise are certain to fill the grapevine, but don’t give up on us yet.

The reason we are appealing to you, our fans, is to stay in business! I have no intention of going down without a fight! And with your help, this should be something Palladium can survive.

So please, go the web page above, see what you can do to help, and spread the word. We need all the help we can get. If I didn’t think this could work, I wouldn’t ask. But it can, I know it can, if enough fans give us a hand! This is a situation where each and every one of you can truly make a difference.

I want to thank all of you for decades of love and support. Sink or swim, it has been a wonderful experience that I will cherish always. But let’s not let this be the end. With a little luck, help from our friends and hard work, Palladium will be enjoying 25 more years of making fun games.

– Kevin Siembieda, Owner & President

Palladium’s Revised 2006 Product Schedule

Recent Releases
Rifts® WB 27: Adventures in Dinosaur Swamp™
Rifts® WB 2: Atlantis – back in print
The Rifter® #33
The Best of The Rifter®
Rifts® WB 28: Arzno™ – Vampire Incursion™
The John Zeleznik Collector’s Rifts® Coloring Book™
The Rifter® #34

May 2006
Palladium Open House – May 6 & 7, 2006 – tickets are still available!
Rifts® WB 29: Madhaven™ – new by Brandon Aten & Taylor White – 128 pages – $14.95 retail – May 16.
Powers Unlimited™ 3 – new by Carmen Bellaire – 96 pages – $13.95 retail – May 25.

June 2006
Tome Grotesque™ for Beyond the Supernatural™ – new by Kevin Siembieda – 160 pages – $18.95 retail – June 16.
An additional title or reprint may be added to this month’s release.

July 2006
Rifts® Dimension Book 10: Hades – Pits of Hell™ – new by Carl Gleba – a stand-alone sourcebook and Part One in the Minion War Crossover series! 160 pages – $18.95 retail – July 13.
The Rifter® #35 – Swimsuit Special! New, our first Swimsuit Spectacular – 20-30 pin-up pages by great artists – 96 pages – $9.95 retail – July 20.
An additional title or reprint may be added to this month’s releases.

August 2006
Rifts® Sourcebook One Updated & Expanded – Updated to the current time-line plus an additional 48 pages of new material.
An additional title or reprint may be added to this month’s release.

September 2006
Rifts® Dimension Book 11: Dyval – Hell Unleashed™ – The Minion War series Part Two (of 5) – by Carl Gleba – 160 pages – $18.95 retail.
Beyond Arcanum™ for Beyond the Supernatural™ – new by Kevin Siembieda and Todd Yoho – 192 pages – $22.95 retail.

October 2006
Rifts® & Other Worlds – The Art of John Zeleznik – full color, 128 pages – $27.95 retail.
The Rifter® #36 – horror special – $9.95 retail.
The Atorian Sourcebook™ for Heroes Unlimited™ – new by Wayne Breaux Jr. – 192 pages – $22.95 retail.

November 2006
Rifts® Dimension Book 12: Three Galaxies Dimensional Outbreak™ – The Minion War series Part Three (of 5) – 160 pages – $18.95 retail.
Warpath: Urban Jungle™ RPG (new – 192 pages – $23.95; tentative release date, page count & price)
A new Palladium Fantasy RPG® sourcebook yet to be named.

December 2006
Armageddon Unlimited™, a Heroes Unlimited™ Sourcebook – The Minion War series Part Four (of 5) – 160 pages – $18.95 retail.
An additional title and/or reprint may be added to this month’s release.

Palladium Books Open House – May 6 & 7, 2006

What the heck, we’ve extended the ticket sales and will be allowing people to pay at the door.

Come on down to what will be a raucous two days of gaming and fun. Over 40 Palladium creators/guests, Kevin Siembieda’s 25 year toy collection for sale, Palladium back stock and out of print titles, proof copies of books, artwork by the truck load, panel discussions, 40+ gaming events, and more. And it all happens at the Palladium office building in the back of the warehouse.

As it turns out, this could be your last chance to visit the Palladium office/warehouse and meet with an unprecedented number of Palladium creators! For more details and information go to . . .

Details & latest news.
Hotel information.
Tickets: Weekend, Saturday, Sunday.
Game & Event Schedule.

New Product Descriptions

Rifts® World Book 29:
Madhaven™ – Ships May 16, 2006

“Madhaven” – the ghost and monster filled ruins of Manhattan. Home to strange mutants and secrets from the past. Secrets that keep adventurers coming to brave the dangers and madness for the promise of wealth and power.

  • Weird Mutants that boggle the mind.
  • Ghosts and Entities that haunt the ruins and torment the living.
  • Strange monsters not found elsewhere.
  • The Secret Order of the White Rose Mystic Knights.
  • Underground tunnel networks and their inhabitants.
  • World information and adventure ideas.
  • Random encounter tables and more.
  • Spectacular cover by Mark Evans.
  • Written by Brandon Aten, Taylor White, & Kevin Siembieda.
  • 128 pages – Cat. No. 869.
  • $14.95 retail – Ships May 16, 2006.
  • Art has been assigned and the manuscript is being edited.

    Powers Unlimited™ Three – May 25, 2006

    In the world of Heroes Unlimited™ there is no such thing as too many super abilities. This sourcebook will be hot!

  • 130 new super abilities.
  • 83 Major Super Abilities and 43 Minor Super Abilities.
  • Many sub-powers and unique abilities.
  • Random Power Tables.
  • Cover painting by E.M. Gist.
  • Written by Carmen Bellaire.
  • 96 pages – Cat. No. 523 – $13.95 retail.
  • Ships May 25, 2006.

    Tome Grotesque™
    For Beyond the Supernatural™ – June 16, 2006

    A look into the black souls and wicked minds of demonic beings and monstrous supernatural creatures that stalk our modern world.

    Tome Grotesque™ is a core sourcebook for the Beyond the Supernatural™ Role-Playing Game. It plumbs the depths of the true nature of supernatural evil and presents scores of monsters complete with their unique powers, motivations, goals and corruption of humanity. A frightening look into the psychology, nature and power of monsters that lurk in the shadows of our modern cities.

  • Supernatural Predators, Pranksters, Ghostly Entities, Demonic Servants, Ancient Evil and more.
  • Demonic magic and psionic abilities.
  • The powers and abilities of supernatural beings.
  • How these creatures think, and why they do what they do.
  • Spectacular artwork by Russell, Dubisch and others.
  • Cover painting by Mark Evans.
  • Written by Kevin Siembieda.
  • 160 pages – Cat. No. 702 – $18.95 retail – ships June 16.

    Rifts® Dimension Book 10:
    Hades – Pits of Hell™ – Ships July 13, 2006

    The demons and monsters of Hades have been part of Palladium role-playing games for 25 years. Now, for the first time ever, we go to the fiery pits of Hell to explore the demons’ home dimension, the evil denizens who populate it, and their plans for conquest and war across the Megaverse.

    A stand-alone sourcebook designed for use in Rifts®, Rifts® Chaos Earth™, Phase World®, and Heroes Unlimited™, but is easily adapted to the Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Beyond the Supernatural™ and all other Palladium games.

    Rifts® Hades also sets the stage for an epic, five book crossover adventure theme called the Minion War.

  • The mystical and cursed realms of Hades mapped and described.
  • The legion of demons and monsters that inhabit Hades.
  • New horrors such as the Hades Netherbeast, Black Vultures, Ant Lions, and Pit Vipers, along with old favorites.
  • Journey through places like the Fire Bog, the Island of the Dead and Forest of Stone, and learn the secrets of infernal life.
  • Faerie Weapons, Blood Rifles and other magical and terrible weapons of war.
  • The Minion War: a plan by the demons of Hades to invade and conquer their arch-rivals, the demons of Dyval. But the demonic battles will spill into the worlds of man and wreak havoc across the Megaverse!
  • A stand-alone Dimension Book that is also the first step in an epic, five book adventure.
  • Artwork by Russell, Bradshaw, Dubisch and others.
  • Cover painting by John Zeleznik.
  • Written by Carl Gleba.
  • 160 pages – Cat. No. 872 – $18.95 retail. Ships July 13.

    The Rifter® #35 – Summer Swimsuit Special – Ships July 20

    Palladium’s first Swimsuit Issue of The Rifter® has attracted more artistic talent than you can shake a stick at. It’s all part of our 25 Year Anniversary Celebration and plans to bring renewed excitement and fun to the world of role-playing games.

    Issue #35 is our special Summer Swimsuit Issue.

  • 20+ full page, pin-up style illustrations of scantily-clad female characters from Palladium RPGs or world settings tastefully illustrated by a score of Palladium artists.
  • Pin-up artists include: Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, John Zeleznik, Ramon Perez, Wayne Breaux Jr., Mike Wilson, Freddie Williams, Chris Arneson, Apollo Okamura, Mark Dudley, Nick Bradshaw, Brian Manning, Kevin Siembieda and many, many others. Plus five or six surprises for this special “swimsuit” issue.
  • Adventures and source material for various Palladium games.
  • Stories and fiction.
  • News and coming attractions.
  • Great artwork and fun.
  • Cover painting by Kevin Siembieda.
  • Written by various contributors.
  • 96 pages – Cat. No. 135 – $9.95 retail – ships July 20.

    Rifts® Sourcebook One – Expanded and Updated
    – Ships August 7, 2006

    The original Rifts® Sourcebook One sold more than 100,000 copies. Now, 16 years later, the original author, Kevin Siembieda, expands and updates this out of print classic, adding 48 pages and rewriting the entire volume to make it the ideal companion to Rifts® Ultimate Edition.

  • Includes never before revealed information on A.R.C.H.I.E. Three and for the first time ever – The Republicans and their link to A.R.C.H.I.E. Three.
  • Weapons, power armor & equipment (new and old).
  • Triax weapons & power armor (new and old).
  • A.R.C.H.I.E. Three, Hagan Lonovich and robotic minions.
  • The Republicans and their secret war against A.R.C.H.I.E. 3.
  • World information, adventures, and new adventure ideas.
  • Random encounter tables and more.
  • Cover by Kevin Long.
  • Written by Kevin Siembieda.
  • 160 pages – Cat. No. 869 – $18.95 retail.
  • Ships August 7, 2006.

    Beyond Arcanum™ – For Beyond the Supernatural™ – September, 2006

    This third core book for Beyond the Supernatural™, 2nd Edition, brings the series into full focus. The entire book is devoted to magic and presents the realm of magic as logical and believable in our modern world.

  • The mystic arts, spells and magic in our modern world.
  • Magic-wielding character classes.
  • Magic weapons, charms, and rituals.
  • Curses and cursed weapons and artifacts.
  • Cover by Mark Evans.
  • Written by Kevin Siembieda and Todd Yoho.
  • 192 pages – Cat. No. 703.
  • $22.95 retail – Ships around September.

    Copyright 2006 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
    This Press Release may be used and portions reprinted with Palladium's permission for the purpose of news and promotion. Rifts®, Megaverse® and Palladium Books® are registered trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. and Kevin Siembieda. Heroes Unlimited, Powers Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, Tome Grotesque, Beyond Arcanum, Splicers, MercTown, Merc Ops, Dinosaur Swamp, Chaos Earth, NEMA and all other titles and names are trademarks of Palladium Books.