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Palladium Update June 20, 2003

Origin’s Surprises: Palladium Collectors’ Corner

    We’re preparing for Origins 2003, in Columbus, Ohio, June 26-29.
    One of the fun things we plan on doing is setting up a "collectors’ corner" where we’ll be offering one-of-kind items and odds and ends. Many will be items that have been out of print for years, like:     Note: We’ll also have a super special promotional, one of a kind, T-Shirt limited to something like 200 copies and available only at Origins (only leftovers may be offered online or in the 2003 X-Mas Grab Bag).
    ALL will be available on a first come, first served basis, so drag yourselves over to the Palladium booth first thing Thursdays and Friday morning (we might hold back a few things to have something new and special every day).
    Of course, Palladium will also have all of its new books (including Rifts® Chaos EarthTM and Powers UnlimitedTM One) as well as a ton of back stock so you can fill in your collections and get books signed. In fact, Carmen Bellaire, the author of Powers UnlimitedTM will be present for autographs along with Ramon Perez, Wayne Smith and me.
    See you there.

    - Kevin Siembieda, 2003

Palladium Books’ products as collectibles?

    A question we have gotten from a number of fans is whether Rifts® and other Palladium products will have increased value as collectibles after the Rifts® movie comes out.
    Honestly, it’s hard to say, but it seems very possible. Early publications and first printings, which often had initial press runs of only 10,000 or 20,000 copies, could be deemed as "collectibles." In fact, non-Rifts products regularly had initial printings of as few as 4000-6000 copies (like the original Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy, Heroes UnlimitedTM and Palladium Fantasy RPG®). Furthermore, even my own archives were plundered a few years ago and many signed first printings were stolen, making early copies in good to mint condition a rarity.
    I’ve been told that the signed and numbered hardcover edition of Rifts® Gold (limited to 500 copies) is already selling for $200-$300 online. Whether that’s the first sign of a "collectibles" market starting to appear for Palladium products, I couldn’t say. Certainly, the limited hardcover editions of Rifts® Gold, Palladium Fantasy® Crimson and Heroes UnlimitedTM Gold have strong potential collectible value. The Rifts® Gold and Palladium Crimson have been sold out and hot commodities for years now.
    My advice to would-be collectors is if you can get the items for original retail cost or a higher but good price (nothing outrageous), go ahead and speculate. Just be careful and remember you could get burned. Traditionally, role-playing games have rarely been regarded as collectibles. Then again, comic books used to sell for a dime and people threw them away after reading them. Today many of those same comics sell for hundreds, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Who knows what may be in store for role-playing games?
    Note: Palladium still has a hundred or so copies of the Heroes Unlimited Gold Edition  available for the original $40 price tag (we have no intention of milking the collectibles market). Furthermore, you can get a Heroes Unlimited Gold for half price ($20) as one of your choices as for a free gift with a subscription to The Rifter® - this is a very limited time offer and on a first come, first served basis - see the subscription offer elsewhere in this issue. Oh, we’re also thinking about doing a limited hardcover edition of Beyond the Supernatural with only 300 or 400 signed and numbered copies.

Rifts® Chaos EarthTM

    Should be hitting the store shelves by June 26- but may be in short supply

    Rifts® Chaos EarthTMRPG shipped to distributors June 18 and is available in stores everywhere - while supplies last.
    This is one of those products that should appeal to newcomers, long-time Rifts® players and even gamers who have not played in a number of years, because Chaos EarthTM represents a vital part of Rifts Earth history - its very origins.
    We suspect Chaos EarthTM may sell out quickly. Distributors and store owners buying conservatively in this uncertain economy, did not order the kind of quantities we, at Palladium, know this prequel to Rifts® will elicit. Though Palladium printed extra copies in anticipation of huge interest from gamers, we suspect the initial press run will sell out quickly. (The original Rifts® RPG sold out in three weeks, and with the announcement of the Rifts® movie deal, we suspect Chaos EarthTM could fly off the shelves like lightning.)
    If you want a first printing or want the new RPG as soon as you can get your hands on one, you should definitely tell your favorite store to order and hold you a copy.
    Fear not, Palladium can reprint quickly and have the book back in print in 3-5 weeks, but remember, store owners can’t know you want a copy unless you tell them. So make your needs and desires known! Palladium does not hold back copies for online sales, so once the first printing is sold out, it’s sold out.

Instant Sourcebooks for Chaos EarthTM

    Both Revised Rifts® Conversion Book One and Rifts® Conversion Book 3: Dark ConversionsTM make wonderful sourcebooks for Rifts® Chaos Earth, especially Dark ConversionsTM. So does the Rifts® Book of Magic.
    Remember, Chaos EarthTM is completely compatible with Rifts®, and vice versa.

Powers UnlimitedTM One 
A sourcebook  for the Heroes UnlimitedTMRPG

    Powers UnlimitedTM One is on the printing press even as I write this, and should ship to distributors Tuesday or Wednesday, June 24 or 25th, and should be hitting the store shelves by the weekend or the first week of July.
    This puppy is filled with page after page of new super abilities, nearly 200 in all, plus sub-powers and new psionics.

Powers UnlimitedTM Two
A sourcebook for Heroes UnlimitedTM

    Powers UnlimitedTM Two presents new categories of heroes and their unique abilities, gimmicks and vulnerabilities.

Where’s the Three GalaxiesTM stuff promised for online

    This is my fault (Kevin Siembieda). We’ve been so swamped I’ve yet to get around to putting it all together and getting it online, but I will soon. EXTRA information that got cut from the book includes 40-50 pages of new space magic spells, planet creation rules and an index of planets by intergalactic organization (i.e., TGE, CCW, etc.).