Palladium Books® – Mini-Update – August 16, 2021

Palladium Books^® – Mini-Update – August 16, 2021

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

By Kevin Siembieda

My Dear Friends and Customers. We are sending out this mini-Update to keep everyone in the loop. Michigan was hit pretty hard by storms last week. At home we had a few big branches come down, so did two of our neighbors, but we had power and so did the office. However, we did lose cable and the Internet which meant we could not process orders Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Internet and cable returned Friday night. A friend and her family, only a few miles away in Westland, did not see power restored until Sunday night, so we were very fortunate.

There were a lot of orders during this period – Rifts® 30th Anniversary and other hardcovers, as well as other Rifts® titles and a lot of HU2, Nightbane®, Dead Reign® and After the Bomb® lately – and I am happy to report they are all shipping out today. The warehouse team has gotten every one of them finished (as I write this USPS just picked up), but we do not want you wondering and worrying about where your order is. Give them an extra 2-3 days to arrive due to the storms here. The only exceptions are if you ordered one or both of the two new hardcovers, we are holding any order with those on it until we receive the new hardcovers – Nightbane® RPG Hardcover and Rifts® Chaos Earth® RPG Hardcover, both of which contain bonus material and are at the printer. We have been told by our printer to expect them by the end of August.

COMING! Nightbane® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – 304 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 730HC – 60 extra pages of bonus material – available end of August.

COMING! Chaos Earth® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – 192 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 660HC – 30 extra pages of bonus material – available end of August.

Hardcovers available now:

Dead Reign® RPG (Zombie Apocalypse) Hardcover – 224 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 230HC
Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition Hardcover – 336 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 450HC
Heroes Unlimited™ RPG, 2nd Edition Hardcover – 352 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 500HC
Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG Hardcover – 224 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 525HC
After the Bomb® RPG Hardcover – 296 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 503HC
Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition Hardcover – 224 pages – 36.99 – Cat. No. 700HC
Rifts® Ultimate Edition RPG Hardcover – 376 pages – $44.99 – Cat. No. 800HC
Rifts® Game Master Guide Hardcover – 352 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 845HC
Rifts® Book of Magic Hardcover – 352 pages – $39.99 – Cat. No. 848HC
Rifts® Adventure Guide Hardcover – 192 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 849HC
Rifts® “original” RPG, 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover – 288 pages – $49.99 – Cat. No. 800HC30

BACK IN STOCK

Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition “softcover” – Cat. No. 450
Rifts® World Book 2: Atlantis “softcover” – Cat. No. 804
Rifts® World Book 36: Sovietski “softcover” – Cat. No. 891
Nightbane® Shadows of Light Sourcebook “softcover” – Cat. No. 734

UPDATE: Rifts® CS Manhunters – As stated in the last Weekly Update, it should be heading to the printer soon as well. Other than taking some time off to hit a couple of comic book stores (it was Free Comic Book Day) and cutting up two big tree branches, I spent most of the weekend working. Alex was here editing as I peeled off pages and he has been loving every word. “Great. It’s great stuff, Kev,” is a frequent and satisfying refrain. Also as noted, Rifts® CS Manhunters contains the most comprehensive information about the Coalition States, its citizens and society of any book yet published. You learn more about CS citizens, psychics, Emperor Prosek, bits of unknown CS history, Dog Boys, Kill Hounds, the Manhunters and their psychology, as well as insight about Emperor Prosek, the CS military, the Minion War, and the Seven Dangers Prophecy and the impact it had on the CS.

Moreover, the reason you have not seen a definitive, final page count, is because I’m trying to cram in as much as I can without going too crazy, but it may top out at 192 or 224 unless I cut some material and put it in another title. But I don’t think so.

Everybody loves the Rifts® 30th Anniversary Commemorative – which is why it is selling like crazy. And why not? This is the classic original Rifts® RPG advertised in Marvel Comics and played by a million plus gamers. One distributor said, “Kevin, I had forgotten just how cool the cover and art was for the original paperback version of Rifts®. Now in hardcover it looks amazing!!!”

A bunch of fans have gone crazy over the extra 32 pages in the back, one fan writing: “Hey all. My Rifts® 30th Anniversary copy arrived today and I’m EXTREMELY happy ... This 30th Anniversary copy is beyond my expectations. The super-dark black ink, the spruced up cover and logo, the coated paper stock – a real value. Looking forward to introducing my son (who’s 10) to Rifts® this weekend using this book. Thanks again.”

A quick clarification about the Rifts® 30th hardcover – It is the “original” 1990, 256 page Rifts® RPG published as a color hardcover for the first time ever. We gave it the deluxe treatment with quality paper stock, incredible reproduction, impeccable color throughout, and an extra 32 pages of color and material; 288 pages total. The rules remain completely viable for use with ALL Rifts® World Books, Dimension Books, and sourcebooks. This is the earlier and somewhat simpler incarnation of the rules, yet it includes some text and art left out of the later Rifts® Ultimate Edition. The 376 page Rifts® Ultimate Edition is the newer, expanded edition that came later. Both are complete role-playing games that bring Rifts® to life and work with all source material.

Help Your Game Store Find Palladium Products! With game stores opening back up we are happy to report that our distributors are doing a good job at stocking our many titles. If your store is having trouble ordering Palladium titles, however, let them know that Alliance, Studio 2, and Universal Games (Canada) seem to be doing an especially good job keeping product in stock and available.

If your store continues to have trouble or they find getting product from their distributors is too slow, tell them they can buy wholesale from Palladium Books directly. We usually succeed at keeping 99% of all our titles in stock at all times. Stores can get our Retailer Terms by contacting Palladium via the Help Desk on our website or by telephone (734-721-2903). Thank you for your help on this front. Please keep spreading the word so we can all get stronger together.

2021 Rifter^® Annual – Submissions Deadline is September 1, 2021

Apparently we have posted two different deadlines. My apologies for the confusion this has caused. If you missed the August 15 deadline, you still have till September 1, 2021 to submit. We most certainly appreciate those we have already received, but you still have till September 1. Thank you.

Are you a Palladium gamer who has cool ideas and think you are a decent writer? If so, consider writing an article, adventure, monsters, etc., for The Rifter® Annual. It is part sourcebook, part fanzine, part talent show, and a lot of fun written by fans like yourself. The pay is terrible but you get published, receive a couple copies of the book, a few bucks, and your name up in lights ... um, in a printed book. Plus Kevin and Wayne see your work, which sometimes leads to you being invited to write “official” sourcebooks and material.

Artists, this goes for you too. We are always looking for new artists to consider, so do not hesitate to submit some samples or send us a link to your online art page. The Rifter is a good place to try out, especially if you are just getting started doing art on a professional or semi-professional level.

Please send us your submissions by September 1, 2021. We plan for it to be all new and a Christmas time release. With 8-12 week turnaround times from printers, we will need to submit the finished files to a printer by September in order to have it in time for Thanksgiving! So finish up your submissions and send them in for our consideration at your earliest convenience. Plus, whatever we like but cannot squeeze in this 192 page Annual, we will safe for the next Annual.

What we are looking for in written submissions: Adventures, monsters, villains, NPCs, new settings/locations, magic spells, magic items, super abilities, tech weapons, vehicles, gear, and all sorts of source material for ALL of our current settings. That includes settings such as Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited, After the Bomb®, Ninjas & Superspies, Beyond the Supernatural, Nightbane®, Splicers®, Rifts® Chaos Earth®, and, well any of them.

Material can be 2-5 pages, 6-12 pages, 15-30 pages, but please, not more than 30 pages for any one article. Please include the “Unsolicited Manuscript Form” with your submission. You can find it on the Palladium website under Questions & Resources – the Unsolicited Works Form. Send electronic submissions to rifter{at}palladiumbooks.com and if you have questions, call Palladium at 734-721-2903.

In the alternative, you can mail us physical Rifter® submissions and the Unsolicited Manuscript Form (as well as letters and unsolicited sourcebook manuscripts, created entirely on speculation) to:

Palladium Books – The Rifter
39074 Webb Court
Westland, MI 48185

We can only publish a Rifter® Annual if we get enough new material. We would like to start editing and tweaking some of them right away, so do not hesitate to send them in as soon as you are ready. AND it is a great way to get on our radar as writers (and artists).

NEW! Nightbane^® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – Ships August 30

At first, people thought Dark Day – the day the sun did not rise anywhere on the planet – was the end of the world. When the sun rose again, everything looked the same, but it wasn’t. Some people have disappeared. Others seem different, darker, crueler, and the world seems more malevolent and dangerous.

Only the newly awakened Nightbane understand that governments and the authorities around the world are being quietly taken over by the sinister Nightlords and their Doppleganger minions. Demonic creatures from a mirror dimension filled with evil and dark magic. Only the Nightbane, born human but who learn they are something else, something more than human, and other creatures that live in the shadows such as vampires and Guardians, dare stand against the gathering darkness.

A role-playing game of modern horror, conspiracy, and self-discovery. A new genre we call superhero-horror.
You play the Nightbane®. Mostly young, seemingly ordinary people, who since Dark Day can transform into frightening or beautiful monsters blessed (or cursed) with superhuman powers and magic.
Nightbane® creation tables – each a different, horrific, human, or strangely beautiful being who wields powers they must learn to master or fall prey to the Nightlords and their demonic legions. Powers they can only unleash in the monstrous Morphus form.
Nightbane “Talents” are supernatural and magical abilities.
Nearly a dozen other player characters including the Sorcerer, Mystic, Vampire, Wampyre, Guardian and others.
Magic, psionic abilities, and supernatural powers.
Nightlords and their minions: the Hunters, Hounds, Hollow Men, etc.
Wicked Dopplegangers, mirror travel, magic, and more.
The hellish Nightlands™, madmen, and adventure ideas.
Compatible with Beyond the Supernatural™, and adaptable to Rift®, Heroes Unlimited™, Ninjas & Superspies™, and the entire Palladium Megaverse®.
60 pages of “bonus” material gathered from The Rifter®.
304 pages – $39.99 retail – Cat. No. 730HC. Also available as a 240 page softcover RPG ($26.99 retail – Cat. No. 730).

NEW! Chaos Earth^® RPG “Bonus” Edition Hardcover – ships August 30

The Great Cataclysm as it unfolds! The Golden Age of Science and human civilization is shattered with the return of magic and the Coming of the Rifts. Humanity struggles to survive against impossible odds as ley lines appear and Rifts tear open the fabric of space and time to unleash all manner of alien invaders, demonic horrors, and monsters. Natural disasters – storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tidal waves – topple cities and create panic and chaos on a global scale.

You play survivors or the heroes of NEMA (the Northern Eagle Military Alliance) as you battle against the elements, madness, the demonic, the alien, the monstrous, and the magical amidst the devastation. You are equipped with Chromium Guardsmen (Glitter Boys), Silver Eagles (SAMAS), and a host of giant robots, power armor and advanced technology, but is it enough to stand against a rising tide of enemies and invading horrors from other worlds?

You and other survivors are humanity’s last and only hope to survive the apocalypse that will become known as the Great Cataclysm. These are the heroes you play in an ever-changing, nightmare world that can only be described as Chaos Earth.

A complete RPG and the origins of Rifts® Earth.
Overview of the Great Cataclysm as it unfolds.
Introduction to NEMA and its weapons and resources.
11 different character classes, including robot pilots, the Para-Arcane, Demon and Witch Hunters, Chromium Guardsmen & more.
Robots, power armor, vehicles, weapons, and equipment.
Monsters, chaos and adventure. Written by Kevin Siembieda.
30 pages of “bonus” material gathered from The Rifter®.
192 pages – $36.99 retail – Cat. No. 660HC. Also available as a 160 page softcover RPG ($20.95 retail – Cat. No. 660).

Thank you for your understanding and support. Great things are coming. Stay safe, hang tough, and keep those magnificent imaginations burning bright. And we will do the same.

- Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, Gamer, Friend

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.

Palladium Books® – Mini-Update – August 16, 2021