Palladium Books® – Weekly Update – January 29, 2021

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

By Kevin Siembieda

Wow, where to start. I have been bouncing from one project to another to keep them all rolling along. Here are some highlights.

The Palladium Mutants and Ninjas Bundle of Holding started on Monday. It offers the After the Bomb® RPG by Erick Wujcik and ALL AtB sourcebooks plus the Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG and Mystic China™ (by Erick Wujcik), as well as select issues of The Rifter® which contain related material for AtB and N&S. Time to unleash your inner beasts and kung-fu to have some fun. As I write this the threshold level is only $20 for $176.50 worth of PDF titles and you help a charity too. See the complete details below or on their website.

 

Of course, the After the Bomb® RPG, Ninjas & Superspies™ and all their sourcebooks are available as physical books directly from Palladium in our online store.

 

New on DriveThru – Duty’s Edge, a Rifts® novel written by Will Erwin is available on DriveThruRPG.com now and will be available as a physical book in approximately two weeks.

 

New, starting next month more Rifts® miniatures will start becoming available. Our question: Do you prefer metal figures (some feel they are easier to paint and sturdier) or resin (maximum detail and light weight), or you don’t care because you like and paint both?

 

If your store is having trouble ordering Palladium titles from their Distributor tell them they can by direct from Palladium Books. They can get our Retailer Terms by contacting Palladium via the Help Desk or by telephone (734-721-2903).

 

The last few Surprise Packages shipped this week. If you asked for original art/sketches, negatives, proofreader copies, and other unusual items that take me time to figure out, dig up, sign, and package, the shipping of your surprise package may have been delayed, but hopefully you will find it to be extra special. The last half dozen like that have gone out this week. I hope you like ‘em. Enjoy.

 

New selection of Rifts® negatives are coming to my Ebay store. Alex and I will try to offer a new selection of one-of-a-kind negatives from Rifts® Japan, Lone Star, Rifts® Sourcebook 2: The Mechanoids® and MercTown over the next several weeks, but starting as soon as this weekend. See information about negatives and my ebay store toward the end of this Update.

 

Palladium Social Media will soon be ramping up. If you stream your Palladium game, have a Palladium Books oriented YouTube show/channel, or a gaming show/channel that often includes chats and reviews of Palladium products, contact us and let us know you exist so we can link to you and help promote you.

 

More news, updates, and details follow, below. Exciting stuff.

 

Palladium Mutants & Ninjas Bundle of Holding available now

– Act quick to get $176.50 worth of PDF books for just over $20 (the threshold price at the time this is being written)

The Palladium Mutants and Ninjas Bundle of Holding presents the After the Bomb® and Ninjas & Superspies™ game lines from Palladium Books. Designed by the late Erick Wujcik (Amber Diceless Roleplaying, TMNT & Other Strangeness RPG and more), these 1980s mutant and ninja RPGs and supplements remain some of the finest books Palladium has published. This new offer gathers Ninjas and its standout companion Mystic China™, along with the entire After the Bomb® product line, for a bargain price.

The Bundle of Holding provides each ebook complete in PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and customers are entitled to move them freely among all their devices.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center provides services, resources, and technical assistance to child victims, their families, and the professionals who serve them.

The total retail value of the titles in this offer is $176.50 US dollars. Customers who pay just $7.95 get ALL 9 titles in the Starter Collection (retail value $78) as DRM-free PDF ebooks, including the complete Ninjas & Superspies Revised rule book of martial arts and espionage action (retail price $10.50); both the After the Bomb 1E (1986) sourcebook and After the Bomb 2E (2001) rule book (total retail $16.50), which depict a post-holocaust Earth ruled by intelligent animals; the road-warrior rules expansion and location sourcebook Road Hogs (retail $5); and five issues (#3-7) of Palladium's in-house magazine, The Rifter® with Ninjas articles and scenarios.

IMPORTANT: Those who pay more than the threshold (average) price, which, at the time I write this is just over $20, also get the starter set PLUS the entire Bonus Collection with 13 more titles worth an additional $98.50.

 

Kevin Siembieda’s thoughts about this Bundle of Holding. When we announced the Mutants and Ninjas Bundle on Monday, I said it felt like kismet – Fate – because I had talked about the After the Bomb® RPG series and Ninjas & Superspies in the last Weekly Update. About how happy I am people are rediscovering these two Erick Wujcik RPG masterpieces. I think the old, beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles® & Other Strangeness RPG is one of our most asked about and talked about games we have ever published. Well, this Bundle of Holding enables you to create all of that fun.

It (and our physical AtB and N&S titles) enables you to create hundreds of different mutant animals. In fact, the After the Bomb® RPG written by Erick a few years before he died expands on the number of mutant animals, their powers and abilities, as well as introduces the Chimera: a mix of two or more animals into one mutant! Combine them with Ninjas & Superspies™ and Mystic China™ for more than 3 dozen different martial arts and related “powers” and you have some bad ass mutant heroes. Put them in the Heroes Unlimited™ or N&S setting to recreate TMNT or comic book style super-hero adventures (or similar comic book heroes for Skraypers™, Heroes of the Megaverse®, Wormwood™, and even Nightbane®). Or use them as D-Bees in Rifts® and Chaos Earth® or as aliens in Phase World® and the Three Galaxies™, The Mechanoids®, Robotech®, and just about any RPG.

The Mutants & Ninjas Bundle of Holding may be one of the most versatile Bundles ever offered, with all kinds of uses. And you are getting sooooo much at such an astonishing price and a ton of fun reading to keep you busy this winter.

Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG offers 40+ unique martial arts, plus spies, gadgets, and more. Mystic China presents martial and mystical powers, magic, immortals, and demons. Both are wonderful settings – as is Heroes Unlimited™ – for intelligent, humanoid, mutant animal characters that fit nicely into all sorts of heroic settings.

Parents with children at home, take note: Kids of all ages love playing anthropomorphic, animal heroes – lions, tigers, and bunny rabbits, oh my! Especially when they are masters of martial arts and possess animal powers, psionic abilities, and other powers. Expand those powers further when combined with elements from Ninjas & Superspies™ or Heroes Unlimited™ or Heroes of the Megaverse®.

The sooner you order, the bigger the savings, so do not wait. Plus you help a worthy charity at the same time. This kind of deal is hard to ignore. Please spread the word. Thanks.

 

NEW! Duty’s Edge – Rifts^® Novel – available for pre-order

The lone survivor of a New German Republic Special Forces operation struggles to complete the mission on his own. A mission to destroy wicked monsters and cut off a vital line of support to the Gargoyle Empire. A mission that could save many lives. Of course, it is a journey that takes many twists and turns as one determined individual hopes to beat impossible odds. Set in the Middle East.

• A stand alone Rifts® novel complete in itself.
• 5 x 8 inch paperback, same size as the Hammer of the Forge novels.
• Written by Will Erwin.
• 236 pages, $12.99 retail for the physical book. Cat. No. 308 – available now as a PDF on DriveThruRPG.com – the physical novel ships in about 2 weeks.

 

Nearly Sold Out – Land of the Damned^™ 3: The Bleakness^™ Raw Preview

There are only 3 or 4 copies left! If you want this fun Raw Preview, you should order it soon. You have been warned. All Raw Previews are very limited and are not reprinted. We anticipate the finished, reworked LotD-3 Fantasy title to see release sometime this summer.

 

Lazlo Raw Preview continues to sell fast

We probably have enough to last us a while. Then again, it continues to be wildly popular and selling very quickly. This is the Raw Manuscript, NOT the finished book, but it lays the foundation for what is coming. In the case of Lazlo, the material you see in the Raw Preview is likely to be split and expanded upon for two books, one released right after the other. In addition, there are 2-3 companion Lazlo titles in development. The Raw Preview is fun because it gives you a strong glimpse of what is to come and provides material you can game with now while you wait for the finished two books probably a year away from release.

It also provides you the opportunity to share with us your feedback on Lazlo. What you like and what you do not like. What you may have felt is missing. What you would like to see addressed or fleshed out or added, and so on. We welcome your input. Such feedback made Garden of the Gods a superior release and had a positive impact on our plans for Rifts® Antarctica. I should probably mention that the Raw Previews are starting to become collector items. We had numerous Surprise Package requests for past Raw Editions as well as independent inquiries. The thing is, once a Raw Preview is sold out, there aren’t any left. We keep a tiny number in our archives. So once gone, they are gone.

 

Temporarily out of stock

We have been out of Villains Unlimited for a few days and just sold the last copy of Secrets of the Atlanteans in stock last night. Both will be available again next Wednesday.

• Villains Unlimited – back in stock Wednesday, February 3.
• Secrets of the Atlanteans – back in stock Wednesday, February 3.

 

UPDATE: 2022 Palladium Open House

– April 21 (VIP day), 22, 23, 24, 2022 are the dates for the rescheduled 2022 Palladium Open House!

Like I said, I have been busy. These are the new dates confirmed with Comfort Inn. I still need to confirm with Red Roof Inn for the new dates sometime over the next week.

Hey, let’s start planning on making the 2022 Palladium Open House (POH) the best ever. We will have a lot to celebrate. Palladium will celebrate our 40th anniversary milestone even though the company will be 41 years old in 2022. And we will all be survivors of the stinking pandemic! If that’s not something to celebrate with Palladium gamers from across the globe, I don’t know what the heck is!

If you have run games for the POH in the past or want to run Palladium game events at the 2022 POH, PLEASE reach out at your earliest convenience. We want to start building our gaming schedule and post it way early! Game Master’s Note: Run 3 or more events and YOU get the new Game Master T-shirt FREE and a 30% discount on most products (sorry, not limited editions, original art, prints, mugs, T-shirts and other select items, but almost all books). Don’t just join the fun, be part of it by running games or other events. Game Masters you can reach us at palladium-gm {at} palladiumbooks dot com or via the Palladium Help Desk, or call at 734-721-2903.

How fun and unique is the Palladium Open House? I spoke with a gamer yesterday who told me that he has attended many conventions, large and small, and he has never experienced anything like the Palladium Open House. He likened it to a gaming event where everyone – even strangers – treat you like a friend. Friends who you not only want to game with, but who you want to sit down and have a beer with and just hang out. And that included me and the Palladium staff and freelancers. That’s because we are gamers like you who love our hobby and the people in it. We look forward to meeting and talking with you and game the hours away. And remember, the POH is the largest gathering of Palladium artists, writers, game designers, and creative people anywhere on the planet! Usually 40-50 of us all willing to chat and sign books. There ain’t nothin’ like it.

If you cannot make it to the 2022 POH and need (or want) a refund, please contact us via email at palladium-gm {at} palladiumbooks.com, or the Palladium Help Desk, or by phone at 734-721-2903. Refunds can be store credit or a cash refund mailed to you in the form of a check.

 

Podcast plug – Breakfast Puppies

Here is a newish podcast you may enjoy. They are a group of gamers who love Rifts® and Palladium Books and like to talk about them. I am sure they would appreciate any support you can provide.

https://breakfastpuppies.com/podcasts/glitterbois

Here is a link to their Christmas Grab Bag unboxing:

https://breakfastpuppies.com/podcast-feeds/glitterbois-bonus-matthews-2020-xmas-grab-bag-unboxing-video/

 

UPDATE: Rifts^® CS Manhunters

I am finally hot as hell as I work to retool and finish this fun book. I think it is pretty darn great, with 50 useful new psionic abilities, CS Manhunter O.C.C.s that make fun and intriguing player characters or dangerous NPC villains and spies, secrets about Dog Boys and Kill Hounds, all these characters’ roles in the Minion War™, more Coalition secrets like Psi-Ops, more about the Seven Dangers (first introduced in Rifts® Sourcebook 2: The Mechanoids®), some fun gadgets and implants, and more. As good as CS Manhunters was, I had been struggling with aspects of it. I made a breakthrough on that front last week and now everything is coming together beautifully.

 

UPDATE: Rifts^® Titan Robotics

You may have heard Palladium has assigned a different artist to create a new cover for Titan Robotics; it’s true and I should be getting preliminary sketches for it soon. Can’t wait to see them. We will probably use Jazzy John Z’s cover on a future Rifts® title (ideas are already boiling). I am anxious to dive in and finish this book up as soon as I can, which will be right after CS Manhunters and BTS Creature Feature.

 

Fun products not to be overlooked

While you wait for new product, let me remind you about some existing products you should not forget about because you will love them.

 

Rifts^® Glitter Boy Miniature

“I’m over the top with the Glitter Boy mini ... You guys are awesome. Keep up the great work.”

– Palladium Books fan C.C.

 

We are seeing a lot of rekindled interest in Palladium’s existing metal miniatures as well as new ones. More of both are coming your way. Both versions of the Glitter Boy, the SAMAS, Sky Cycle, CS troops, and Simvan Rider and Ostrosaurus are among my personal favorites. My question to you: Metal or resin?

 

Rifts^® Poker Card Decks

What can I say? Both of these poker decks are just gorgeous and fun. Plus useful for players of Rifts® for Savage Worlds.

 

“I’m coming back to Rifts® thanks to the Savage Worlds system.”

– Rifts® fan K.T.

 

After the Bomb^® RPG series

I am especially pleased people seem to be rediscovering the fun and vast potential of the After the Bomb® RPG series created by Erick Wujcik and me. The After the Bomb® RPG was updated and expanded by Erick a few years before he died and remains pure fun. Create any intelligent, anthropomorphic animal you can imagine for any setting.

While its official setting is a post-apocalyptic, one where intelligent mutant animals have inherited the Earth, After the Bomb® can be used to create mutant, humanoid animals as superheroes and villains for Heroes Unlimited (to recapture the feel of the old TMNT RPG or something new), as D-Bees for Rifts®, and as aliens for Phase World® or any setting. Character creation is fun with more options than before, and the sourcebooks offer more animal mutants for your consideration. Mutants Down Under and Mutants in Orbit are two of my personal favorite sourcebooks in the series. Down Under because Erick outdid himself with fun and wow factor, and Orbit (written by me) for a number of reasons and the fact that it is for both Rifts® and After the Bomb®. And both have giant bugs. What can I say, I like bugs.

Add more spice, powers, and martial arts with material found in Ninjas & Superspies (40+ different martial arts and more) and Mystic China (martial and mystical powers, magic and demons).

 

“Favorites: TMNT, After the Bomb®, Ninjas & Superspies, and Heroes Unlimited. My After the Bomb® collection is complete ... I am running a long-term Transdimensional TMNT game and always need more places to visit, psychic powers, and martial arts.”

– After the Bomb fan D.M.

 

“I have all the After the Bomb® stuff and love it.”

– After the Bomb fan J.G.

 

Palladium Horror

Beyond the Supernatural (BTS) is modern horror done so plausibly that it could be the real world. Only it is much more mysterious, dangerous and fun. And soon to be expanded to its full potential. Creature Feature is just one baby step toward what is to follow with Beyond Arcanum and Tomes Grotesque.

Dead Reign® is a great introductory setting and rules for anyone new to role-playing or the Palladium game system. It captures all the classic zombie tropes while putting a spin on them at the same time.

Nightbane® is, if you can believe it, a much darker and sinister setting that combines horror with conspiracy and characters who possess superhuman and magical abilities. Only your heroes must turn into monsters themselves to use them. I often describe it as superhero-horror or the X-Files meets the X-Men. It is easily combined with Heroes Unlimited or Rifts®.

 

Products Coming Soon in 2021

I will get into more details about tentative product release dates and specific titles in upcoming Weekly Updates. As usual, I have a very ambitious and optimistic release schedule in mind, however, I’m going to try to hold off on announcing releases until books are nearing completion and should not be delayed. Below are my reasonable expectations for the first two quarters of 2021. Others may be added.

• Property of the Coalition States Mug is back – available now!
• NEW! Gamer Mug – available now and looks cool. It is sitting on my desk right now as I write this.
• Rifts® CS Manhunters – January or February release. I have been burning with ideas and writing about it all day long.
• BTS Creature Feature – February, you’ll enjoy it.
• Rifts® Miniatures – 2-4 new figures – February.
• Rifts® Titan Robotics – March or April.
• Rifts® Miniatures – 2-4 new figures – March or April.
• Rifts® Antarctica – May – got art being done for it now.
• Rifts® Bestiary Volume Two – Summer.
• Palladium Fantasy: Land of the Damned 3: The Bleakness – Summer.

Note: Just because a book is not listed does not mean it is off the schedule, it means I’m trying not to over-promise. We want to release a whole bunch of other titles you have been wanting for the Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Chaos Earth®, BTS and others. Plus there will be new stuff coming to DriveThruRPG. In fact, new items are already arriving! Take a look at the cool, new, Gamer Mug and the return of the Property of the Coalition States Mug, back due to popular demand. And I do mean demand. Both hold 16 ounces and are suitable for hot or cold beverages. Sounds like time to unleash your inner nerd and get one of these or one of the other 4 mugs. See details below and in the online store.

 

NEW! Gamer 16 Ounce Mug – available now

Whether you drink coffee, hot cocoa, soda-pop, or whatever your beverage of choice may be, this fun mug reminds you of your favorite pastime and that new possibilities exist with every roll of the dice.

The new, large, 16 ounce Gamer mug presents the word “Gamer” in a box with dice cascading down from above. The design appears on both sides of the mug. Created by Wayne Smith and Freddie Williams II (art directed by Kevin Siembieda). The mug has an orange interior to add a nice splash of color.

• A must for every proud gamer!
• Dice and the word “Gamer” highlighted in a box.
• Glossy black exterior with an orange interior.
• Art and words are located on both sides of the mug.
• 16 ounce ceramic mug.
• Dishwasher and microwave safe.
• $10.99 retail – Cat. No. 2596 – available now.

 

BACK IN STOCK! Property of the Coalition States 16 Ounce Mug – available now

Back due to popular demand! The iconic Property of the Coalition States and notorious CS Death’s Head insignia printed white on a glossy black, 16 ounce coffee mug, with a blood red interior for a splash of color. The design appears on both sides of the mug. Created by Wayne Smith and Kevin Long (art directed by Kevin Siembieda).

• The infamous words “Property of the Coalition States” and the notorious Death’s Head logo and lightning bolts (indicating CS special forces) in white.
• Glossy black exterior with a blood red interior color.
• Art and words are located on both sides of the mug.
• 16 ounce ceramic mug.
• Dishwasher and microwave safe.
• $10.99 retail – Cat. No. 2588 – available now.

 

Other Mugs Available Now

Everyone loves these mugs. Isn’t it time you started your collection? I like to use them to as a secret code to reflect my mood to those around me. To my thinking the Gamer mug means I’m feeling playful. Rifts® Property of the Coalition States: I’m a soldier in the trenches and working hard. Dead Reign®: Back off or I will eat you alive. Fantasy Dragon: My imagination is on fire. Rifts Logo: Feeling the infinite possibilities. Rifts® Titan Robotics: I’m feeling mighty. Of course, they represent something else to each of you or just represent one of your favorite games, like a normal person.

• Rifts® Titan Robotics™ Mug – A dynamic Titan robot and the Rifts® logo. Art by Steven Cummings. White on a glossy black, 16 ounce ceramic mug with a blue interior. Dishwasher and microwave safe. $10.99 retail – Cat. No. 2595 – available now.
• Rifts® Logo Coffee Mug – The famous Rifts® logo in white on a glossy black, 16 ounce ceramic mug with a blue interior. Logo by Kevin Long. Dishwasher and microwave safe. $10.99 retail – Cat. No. 2587 – available now.
• Palladium Fantasy RPG® Dragon Mug – The famous red on black 3-headed hydra battling a knight from the iconic original Palladium Fantasy RPG cover. Art by Kevin Siembieda. Red on a glossy black, 16 ounce ceramic mug with an attractive orange interior. Dishwasher and microwave safe. $10.99 retail – Cat. No. 2589 – available now.
• Dead Reign® (Zombie Attack) Mug – A trio of hungry zombies and the Dead Reign® logo in white on a glossy black, 16 ounce ceramic mug with a blood red interior for a splash of color. Art by Steven Cummings. Dishwasher and microwave safe. $10.99 retail – Cat. No. 2594 – available now.

 

 

Rifts^® Ultimate Edition – Cat. No. 800HC – Available now

This big, 376 page role-playing game is everything you need to start playing Rifts®. Just add some dice, some players, and a heaping helping of imagination and you are ready to go.

If you have never played the rich, unpredictable, genre-melding Rifts® setting, you are missing epic adventure that never grows old, because anything is possible. No other RPG blends science fiction, fantasy, horror, and post-apocalyptic adventure with demons and aliens, robots and cyborgs, magic and the supernatural in such a plausible and dynamic way. A setting that lets you play any type and style of game you can imagine. With characters like Dragon Hatchlings, Cyber-Knights, Glitter Boys, Ley Line Walkers, Techno-Wizards, and Juicers that challenge the imagination. And those are just a tiny handful of the O.C.C.s you can play in Rifts®. Not to mention hundreds of different alien, supernatural, magical, and other beings available as player characters. All of it set on an Earth that is both familiar and as alien as a thousand different planets. So check it out, build your character, start a campaign, and watch your characters become legends.

• 30+ player characters to choose from; tech, magic, or psychic.
• Cyborgs, robot and power armor pilots, Scout, Assassin, and more.
• 140+ magic spells, plus Techno-Wizards, Shifters, and more.
• 90 psionic powers and psychic characters.
• Sourcebooks offer hundreds of different alien, supernatural beings, creatures of magic, and other beings, many available as player characters.
• There has never been another RPG quite like Rifts®.
• 376 page hardcover, some color – $41.99 retail – Cat. No. 800HC – available now.

 

UPDATE: Rifts^® CS Manhunters^™ – A Secrets of the Coalition States^™ Sourcebook

Some books come easy. Some books don’t. The writing of Rifts CS Manhunters came to me in furious fits of writing followed by long dry spells or writing that I found unsatisfactory and required rewrites. Then came Surprise Package season which demands a lot of my time and attention, as did other personal and business matters, and plotting and setting up work for upcoming books. All in the distracting cascade of the pandemic and political unrest. But every dark cloud has a silver lining. In this case, not being able to do much writing over the past few months has allowed ideas for CS Manhunters, Rifts® Antarctica and Rifts® Bestiary 2 to percolate and develop in my head. As the demands of the Surprise Packages and holidays subside, I am hungry and ready to write and finish these books. Lots of other books too.

Rifts® CS Manhunters™ is packed with intrigue, multiple applications of the Manhunter characters, and ideas. There are something like 50 new psionic abilities, secrets and insight about the Coalition States, its army and Psi-Battalion, the Prophecy of the Seven Dangers, Dog Boys, Killhounds, and lots of other fun ideas that should give both players and Game Masters plenty to work with. All of it building toward something epic.

Who watches the watchmen? CS Manhunters. A secret division within the Coalition’s Psi-Battalion who not only hunt the most dangerous spies, fugitives, and enemies of the Coalition States, but also protect the Emperor and hunt down traitors within the Coalition States. This elite force of psychics, Kill Hounds, Dog Boys, and CS soldiers follow orders without question and kill without hesitation. Expert hunters of men and cold-blooded killing machines who use psionic abilities as part of their arsenal.

• New Coalition Psychic O.C.C.s.
• New psionic abilities and revisits of some favorites.
• CS Manhunter Divner and Precog.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Interrogator and Psi-Enforcer.
• CS Manhunter Bursters and Zappers.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Healers and CS Slayers.
• CS Manhunter Killhound and Dog Boy O.C.C.s.
• CS Manhunter Mind Melters, the deadliest of them all.
• CS Manhunter squads and special operations.
• Insight on the Coalition’s infamous Psi-Battalion.
• The impact of the demon plagues from the Minion War.
• Non-Player Characters, background info, adventure ideas, and more.
• 96-128 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 894 – In production and nearing completion.

 

UPDATE: Creature Feature^™, a Beyond the Supernatural^™ sourcebook

This is going to be another fun adventure sourcebook. The manuscript will go into editing and rewrites as soon as I finish CS Manhunters and most of the artwork is done. Though I may add a few illustrations and already have artists lined up. Creature Feature™ builds on material that has appeared in various issues of The Rifter® but there is a ton of new material and information useful to both Game Masters and players.

• A gallery of supernatural creatures. Some new. Some familiar, updated and expanded. All terrifying.
• Rules clarifications and errata.
• Game Master source material and advice on rules, psychic abilities, proximity and threat levels, I.S.P. multipliers, and more.
• Advice about running modern horror RPGs and using supernatural creatures in your games.
• Lots of adventure ideas, including an updated and expanded full adventure, “The Squatter.”
• New background and setting information for the BTS setting and a few surprises.
• Written by Steven Dawes, Kevin Siembieda, and others.
• Art by Steven Cummings, Nick Bradshaw and others.
• 160-192 pages – $22.99 or $26.99 depending on final size – Cat. No. 704.

 

UPDATE: Rifts^® Titan Robotics^™

I am as excited for this sourcebook and high-tech toy box as you are, and it will be coming this spring. There are many new types of sleek Titan Robotics power armors, giant robots, vehicles, weapons, and gear. But as fun as these tech toys are, Rifts® Titan Robotics™ is much more. Revealing the secret operation of ARCHIE-3 and his program to monitor and manipulate the outside world. Learn about Archie’s androids that run Titan Robotics and his current schemes and plans for the future. All of which provides fodder for adventure.

We are also giving the book a new cover. More on it in a few weeks. Rifts® Titan Robotics™ is probably a 160 page World Book, but may expand to 192 pages.

• New Giant Robots.
• New Power Armor, equipment and accessories.
• 30+ power armors and robots, plus other equipment.
• New weapons, gear and vehicles.
• Titan Robotics Corporation and structure.
• Archie’s secret kingdom and plans for the future.
• New O.C.C.s and key Non-Player Characters (NPCs).
• Android executives, security and much more.
• Wellington Industries, campaign prompts and more.
• Art by Walton, Cummings, Atkins, and others.
• Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Cover by Mike Majestic.
• 160-192 pages (tentative) – $22.99 retail (or $26.99) – Cat. No. 899.

 

UPDATE: Rifts^® Bestiary^™ Volume Two

The second big, “monster book” reference for Rifts® of what we anticipate to be three volumes in the series, more if we decide to make ghosts, spirits and Entities and/or Creatures of Magic part of the Bestiary series. Much like Volume One, Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume Two collects 70-100 monsters and animals plus 12-24 new beasts found across Rifts North America. The anticipated page count is 224-256 pages.

All volumes of the Rifts® Bestiary™ series are a great resource for players and Game Masters alike. Each description is updated, expanded, and highly detailed to present players with exotic and alien creatures as pets, guardians and riding animals, as well as slobbering monsters to battle and fierce beasts for Game Masters to throw at their players. Designed to offer adventure ideas, offers notes on young, adult, male and female creatures, and all provide plenty of ways to enhance your characters and spice up adventures. Each is accompanied by a map that shows at a glance where the beast can be encountered. Ah, but in the presence of Rifts and magic means any of the creatures may appear anywhere in the world, so be on your toes.

• Monsters and animals of Rifts North America organized into big, easy to use sourcebooks.
• Updated and expanded descriptions and information for each existing monster.
• Updated and uniform stat blocks.
• New exotic creatures – predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects, and more.
• A map for every creature showing where it is found.
• Easily adapted to any Palladium setting – Palladium Fantasy®, Chaos Earth®, Splicers®, Phase World®, the Three Galaxies™, The Mechanoids®, Heroes Unlimited™/Aliens Unlimited™, and others.
• Basic S.D.C. stats included with each creature description.
• Fully illustrated, with art by Charles Walton II, Ramon Perez, Robert Atkins, and many others. Written by Kevin Siembieda.
• 256 pages each volume – $26.99 – Cat. No. 897 (Volume Two).

 

AND MORE – Fantasy, Beyond the Supernatural^™, Rifts^® and others

For the time being, this and other Weekly Updates will focus on the titles that we are working hard to get into your hands now through spring time. I am trying to curb my enthusiasm and not over-promise, like I usually do. I am hopeful to surprise and please you with much more. Including titles like The Disavowed™, Rifts® CS Arsenal™, Chaos Earth® First Responders™, Land of the Damned™ 3, Rifts® Living Nowhere™, Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebooks, more Fantasy sourcebooks and other titles.

For example, I currently have two artists working on Rifts® Antarctica, so when I get to the editing and additions I can hit the ground running. I am doing the same thing with several other titles, but I do not want to disclose which ones because I don’t want to get your hopes up.

 

NEW on DriveThruRPG.com – Rifts^® Duty’s Edge novel and Mutants & Ninjas Bundle of Holding.

Palladium Mutants & Ninjas Bundle of Holding: Act quick and you can get $176.50 worth of PDF books for just over $20 (the current threshold price as I write this). The Palladium Mutants and Ninjas Bundle of Holding presents the After the Bomb® and Ninjas & Superspies™ game lines from Palladium Books. Designed by the late Erick Wucjik (Amber Diceless Roleplaying), these 1980s mutant and ninja RPGs and supplements remain some of the finest books Palladium has published. This new offer gathers Ninjas and its standout companion Mystic China™, along with the entire After the Bomb® product line, for a bargain price.

The Bundle of Holding provides each ebook complete in PDF (Portable Document Format). Like all Bundle of Holding titles, these books have NO DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), and customers are entitled to move them freely among all their devices.

Ten percent of each purchase (after gateway fees) goes to this offer's designated charity, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center provides services, resources, and technical assistance to child victims, their families, and the professionals who serve them.

 

NEW! Duty’s Edge – A Rifts® Novel by Will Erwin. The lone surviving soldier from a New German Republic Special Forces operation struggles to complete the mission on his own. A mission to destroy wicked monsters and cut off a vital line of support to the Gargoyle Empire. It is a journey that takes many twists and turns as one determined individual hopes to beat impossible odds. A stand alone Rifts® novel complete in itself. 236 pages, Cat. No. 308 – now available on DriveThruRPG.com – coming soon as a physical novel from Palladium Books.

COMING: Garden of the Gods for Palladium Fantasy RPG® in February. This fan favorite Fantasy sourcebook will be made available on DriveThru sometime mid-February.

In the meanwhile, please enjoy recent releases such as the two Hammer of the Forge novels: The Cosmo-Knight and The Reckoning (Phase World®, the Three Galaxies, and Cosmo-Knights), the Rifts® trilogy of novels: Sonic Boom, Deception’s Web, and Treacherous Awakenings, as well as the Rifts® Anthology: Tales of the Chi-Town ‘Burbs (11 authors), Machinations of Doom (graphic novel by Ramon K. Perez), and Path of the Storm (a proposed Rifts® movie script) and 300+ other Palladium Books RPG Titles.

Also available: Free Garden of the Gods™ (Fantasy) and Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume One Sneak Previews, and the Palladium Fantasy RPG® Interactive Character Sheet: A Microsoft Excel-based character management system. Packed with features and data collected from every official Palladium Fantasy sourcebook to enable you to create Fantasy characters quickly (25 minutes!) and help you to update and manage them for years to come.

Dead Reign® Paper Miniatures Volume Three: Zombies, Dead Reign® Paper Miniatures Volume Two: Civilians and Dead Reign® Paper Miniatures Volume One: Survivors. There are also paper miniatures for Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy® and Rifts®. A new, up-to-date, PDF Palladium Books Catalog. Nightbane® Dark Designs™ sourcebook with 60 new Common Talents, 38 new Elite Talents, 18 new Morphus Tables, all other Morphus Tables collected and more. Systems Failure™ RPG, a 160 page RPG that deals with alien invasion and a post-apocalypse setting that is fun and dynamic. Civilization is on the verge of collapse when the so-called "bugs" invade and turn humans into zombie-like slaves. Monsters, heroes and fun. A complete RPG and setting. Rifts® World Book 34: Northern Gun™ Two: 256 pages of technology and fun. 30+ power armors, 30+ body armors, 15 combat vehicles, 45 vehicles (hovercycles, etc.), 10 robot haulers, the Robodome and more. Bizantium and the Northern Islands™: the northernmost part of the Known World, the Cold Born, Necromancy ships made from dead sea serpents, 15 creatures, Random Sea Monster Generator, and more. Rifts® Northern Gun™ One. This fan favorite might be thought of as the big book of giant robots – an in-depth look at Northern Gun, 70+ weapons, 27 robots, NG O.C.C.s, key people and places, and much more. Mysteries of Magic™ Book One: The Heart of Magic™ with Wizards, their Apprentices, nearly 60 new magic spells and remember, magic and monsters in the Fantasy RPG are easily adapted to Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, HU2 and other settings. Wolfen Empire™ Fantasy sourcebook, the Great Northern Wilderness and Killer Winters, 12 Wolfen Tribes, Wolfen military and society, 15+ creatures, 5 full adventures, 101 adventure ideas, random encounter tables, notable people, places, plus FREE Sneak Previews of The Rifter® #80, The Rifter® #81, The Rifter® #82, and more on DriveThruRPG.com.

• Rifts® is a genre-bending setting that combines science fiction, fantasy, horror, post-apocalypse survival, magic, and endless possibilities for adventure. Imagine a near perfect world of advanced technology 100 years in the future. Then imagine that world crashing down overnight in an apocalyptic upheaval not seen since the formation of the planet. A Great Cataclysm caused by the explosive return of magic. Now fast forward 300 years into the future where magic, dragons, and mythic gods coexist with cyborgs, giant robots and super-science rediscovered from humanity's Golden Age as humans rise from a lengthy Dark Age. But they must contend with countless alien life forms, monsters, and supernatural horrors from beyond the Rifts.
• Rifts® core titles we would suggest: Rifts® Ultimate Edition, Rifts® Game Master Guide, Rifts® Book of Magic, Rifts® Adventure Guide, D-Bees of North America™, Rifts® World Book 11: Coalition War Campaign and Rifts® Sourcebook One. Note: The Rifts® RPG, 1st Edition and Rifts® Ultimate, 2nd Edition are both available.
• 80+ Rifts® supplements, most of them available as PDFs with more coming. Where to start? Wherever sounds fun.
• Rifts® Dimension Books™: Travel to alien worlds and dimensions via the Rifts for off-world adventure and intrigue.
• Rifts® Chaos Earth® RPG and sourcebook series (all). Live through the Great Cataclysm and the Coming of the Rifts. Rifts® Chaos Earth® RPG, Creatures of Chaos™, Rise of Magic™, and Chaos Earth® Resurrection™ are all available.
• FREE Sneak Previews for Nightbane® Dark Designs™, Rifts® Secrets of the Atlanteans™, Rifts® CS Heroes of Humanity, and many other previews as well as free and low cost items that we make available. All of it adds to the growing list of Rifts and other Palladium RPG game titles available as PDF books, cards and support. A new title should be added every week or two, so keep watching for them.
• The Rifter® #1-84, ALL issues of The Rifter®. Each issue is a wealth of source material and ideas for 3-6 different Palladium game lines. Most are easily adapted to ANY Palladium game setting. Each issue a gem. 8,500 pages of source material and ideas for heroes, villains, monsters, magic, gear, and adventure.
• Splicers® RPG is like Iron Man meets Game of Thrones with elements of Terminator – except this army of Iron Men are clad in living body armor and wield living, organic weapons and devices. Created in 2004 by writer and game designer Carmen Bellaire, Splicers® was nominated for an Inquest Gamer Magazine Fan Awards Game of the Year, and has since developed a rabid fan base. Science fiction and horror where humans are forced to use genetically engineered, living weapons and organic war machines to battle an insane Artificial Intelligence and her robot legions. Unlike anything you have ever played before!
• Splicers®: I Am Legion™ Adventure Sourcebook: 6 new Great Houses, 4 new Host Armors, 6 new War Mounts, 19 new Bio-Weapons, 15 new killer machines, new Bio-Enhancements, Amalgam creation tables, Legion and a series of adventures that build into a small campaign, and more.
• Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 1st Edition Rules and sourcebooks. A unique world of magic, monsters and heroes. Dozens of nonhuman player characters including Wolfen, Bearmen, Ogres, Orcs and more. 100,000 years of history.
• Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition Rules and many sourcebooks. The expanded world of high fantasy, magic, mystery and heroes of every variety. Includes the Mind Mage and psychic abilities, mages and spells, magic circles and symbols, men-at-arms, scoundrels and a wide range of inhuman player characters including Wolfen, Bearmen, Ogres, Orcs and many more. 100,000 years of history.
• Heroes Unlimited™ RPG first edition rule book and sourcebooks.
• Heroes Unlimited™ RPG Second Edition rule book and sourcebooks. Create any type of superhuman you can desire and bring comic book adventures to life.
• Dead Reign® RPG (Zombie Apocalypse). The dead have risen. It is the battle for survival in the zombie apocalypse, but this setting is much more than your typical zombie game. Play ordinary people or special characters better equipped to survive and hunt zombies. Many unusual types of zombies.
• Dead Reign® Sourcebooks: 6 sourcebooks from Civilization Gone™ to Hell Followed™ (the latter features stats for 23 disasters, masked lunatics, 11 new zombies, 7 apocalyptic character classes, and more) are available.
• Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 1st Edition Rules. Supernatural horror in the modern world. Play ordinary people, psychics, paranormal investigators or for something different: Victim Characters!
• Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition: The complete, revised core game, 14 character classes and 42 occupations for "ordinary people," 100+ psychic abilities, 16 monsters, the Lazlo Agency, world setting and rules.
• Nightbane® RPG and sourcebooks. An RPG setting we call superhero horror. Dark conspiracy, a secret, demon invasion starting with world leaders and law enforcement, and it is spreading. The player characters are the Nightbane®, reluctant superhumans who must turn into monsters themselves to unleash their powers and battle the evil that is clear only to them. A dark, sinister and challenging world of horror.
• After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks. Planet of the Apes meets the X-Men! Animal creations, powers and more. Create any type of intelligent mutant animal you can imagine as friend or foe.
• Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG and the Mystic China™ sourcebook. James Bond meets Enter the Dragon. 41 types of martial arts, ninjas, and super-spies with gadgets, gizmos and advanced weapons.
• The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy RPG is a long time, cult favorite with a fatalistic world-view of humans vs aliens with superior technology.
• The Palladium Weapon Series of real world weapons, armor and castles throughout history. Designed for use with ANY game system.
• 200+ Palladium titles in all, plus G.M. kits, paper miniatures and more.
• Heroes Unlimited™ Paper Miniatures – Two sets are now available!
• Palladium Fantasy RPG® Paper Miniatures – Volumes #1-6 are available now. More are coming in the weeks ahead.
• Rifts® Paper Miniatures: Men at Arms – $2.99
• Rifts® Paper Miniatures: Coalition Dead Boys – $2.99
• Rifts® Paper Miniatures: Adventurers – $2.99
• Rifts® Paper Miniatures: Practitioners of Magic (new) – $2.99
• Rifts® Paper Miniatures: Extras (new) – $2.99
• And more to come in the weeks ahead.

 

Palladium Collectibles, Negatives, Artwork, other Collectibles and Toys are always available in Kevin’s Online Toy & Collectibles eBay Store along with other good things

My eBay store is one of the few places where you can find original artwork by Charles "Chuck" Walton, Kevin Long, and others, as well as one-of-a-kind negatives from classic Rifts® and other Palladium RPG books (they look awesome framed!), rare Palladium collector hardcovers, signed books, other Palladium memorabilia, toys from my personal collection and other collectibles. Check every couple of weeks because we often post new stuff or offer a new sale. There is a sale on negatives starting today, in fact.

Other one-of-a-kind original artwork available by me (Kevin Siembieda), Kevin Long, Charles Walton II (money goes to the artist), other artists, as well as collectible negatives, prints, limited edition hardcovers, proofreader copies, out of print items, Star Wars toys, Marvel toys and many other toys and collectibles from my personal collection. Alex and I will keep adding items as our busy schedules allow, but we have a lot of fun collectibles available now and coming soon. Hundreds of items. Take a look every weekend for new additions.

Available now: One-of-a-kind book negatives. Negatives were very popular items at the Palladium Open House and people went crazy over them at Gen Con – including actor Joe Manganiello who scooped up a pile of TMNT negatives, while Palladium's own Mark Oberle, Carmen Bellaire, Brandon Aten and a whole lot of Palladium gamers went for negatives from Rifts® New West, Lone Star and Free Quebec. Fun.

Negatives are unique and attractive, one-of-a-kind (on rare occasions two-of-a-kind if a page was replaced or a second edition was made) works of art that resemble woodcut art and are very dynamic conversation pieces. Before digital printing, pages of a book were laid out by hand on a board, and each page was photographed. The plastic film negatives were then "ganged" on a massive sheet of Mylar 16 pages per big sheet, and the printing plates were made from the negatives – everything white, printing black.

When our printer, McNaughton and Gunn, went completely digital, they asked if Palladium Books wanted the negs, otherwise they would be destroyed. Regrettably, I let a few dozen be destroyed, but the negatives of many books were sent to Palladium. They have sat in our warehouse for years until I started to offer them for sale. I have also started signing the negatives in silver and each comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. Each negative comes on a white board inside a plastic magazine bag and looks fabulous framed! Fits in an 8x10 inch matt opening in a frame (each neg is roughly 8½ x 11 inches).

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

 

Closing Thoughts

You ever have one of those weeks where time and space seems to warp around you? No, I’m not talking about playing Rifts®. I’m talking about the real world. I have been so busy the past few weeks writing and figuring out art to assign for upcoming books, and rescheduling the Open House, and dealing with business matters, that I was living a week behind. Somehow I thought this was last week. I was thrilled that I had a whole other week before January ended. Then it was time to write this Weekly Update and my mind shuddered as I stared in disbelief at the calendar. Realizing, suddenly, this wasn’t last week at all. It was this week! January 28 not January 21! And my whole reality was torn asunder.

Nah, I was just surprised and disappointed I lost an imaginary week. lol. And realized that maybe I have been pushing a little too hard, working 7 days a week. It is just that I want to get so many products into your hands and the ideas are coming like crazy. Even in my sleep! See my Star Lives Murmur from the Megaverse® for an example of that.

Rifts® CS Manhunters is nearly done and I am very pleased with it. I told my buddy and fellow writer Matthew Clements about the changes I had made, and he agreed they were the best way to go and that the CS Manhunters sounded like a great book and fun characters to play or to face as NPC villains. It is. I am so happy with the book I am positively giddy. Does that sound silly? I can’t help it. I love what I do and I get excited by ideas and fun characters and settings.

I believe it is the thrill and joy I get when I write that keeps our books fresh and fun. That child-like glee in unleashing our imaginations to weave new stories, new villains, and inspire new adventures is just in my DNA. When I know I’m hitting on all cylinders and you are going to love what I’m creating, well, it makes my heart sing. It inspires me to push the envelope and write more. I think most writers are like that. I know Erick Wujcik was and so is Matt Clements and Mark Oberle, too. I anxiously await getting the finished edits, putting in a few final touches, getting it typeset, and sending Rifts® CS Manhunters off to the printer!

My next venture into the realm of imagination? BTS Creature Feature and I can hardly wait. But my thoughts are also on Titan Robotics (we love the concept roughs for the new cover!) as well as Rifts® Bestiary 2, and Rifts® Antarctica, as I cannot wait to get them to you as well. And there are so many other ideas and books brewing.

For now, enjoy the Palladium Mutants and Ninjas Bundle of Holding to get PDFs of ALL the After the Bomb® titles plus Ninjas & Superspies RPG and Mystic China. And select issues of The Rifter®, each with related material to help you build any number of fun, intelligent, mutant animal heroes for any realms of adventure. There is something visceral, primal and so enjoyable about playing animal characters. And isn’t getting lost in the fun the whole purpose of role-playing games? Oh, yes it is.

Take a look at the Duty’s Edge Rifts® novel. It is up on DriveThruRPG.com right now. Author Will Erwin takes a unique approach to presenting a compelling, stand-alone story we think you will enjoy.

As always, please stay safe and beware the Phoenix Empire! Um, I mean, keep those imaginations burning bright.

- Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, Friend

 

© 2021 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.; Beyond the Supernatural, Coalition States, Garden of the Gods, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, Psychic Scream, SAMAS, Thundercloud Galaxy, Three Galaxies, Vampire Kingdoms, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.

This press release may be reprinted, reposted, linked and shared for the sole purpose of advertising, promotion and sales solicitation.