Palladium Books® Weekly Update – August 8, 2013

By Kevin Siembieda

To say Palladium Books has been a hotbed of activity these past few weeks is an understatement. And this past week has been the craziest of them all. We had a nice visit with a family from London, Canada.

Artists have been popping in and out. And we have been burning the midnight oil working on game product. Here are the highlights . . .

Strong Sales to start the month

Several large Distributor restock orders came in this week, so we’ve been shipping like crazy. Always great to see.

Rifts® and Robotech® sales took a jump up and are flying high. To our surprise (because there haven’t been any recent releases), sales of Palladium Fantasy titles have also spiked. The Rifter® #63 is selling like hot cakes, and so is the new format and size edition of Robotech® The Macross® Saga Sourcebook. Meanwhile, Dead Reign™ (people love the zombie apocalypse) and most everything else remains steady.

UPDATE: Robotech^® The Macross^® Saga Sourcebook – New 8½ x 11 size – Available now

Robotech® The Macross® Saga Sourcebook arrived last Friday – a week early! It’s funny, but the new 8½x11 inch size makes it feel like a new book. It looks great and has been selling at a more rapid pace than we had anticipated. Sweet. Reminder, the manga-size book has been discontinued and Robotech® The Macross® Saga Sourcebook is now an 8½ x 11 inch sourcebook as is usual. 128 pages – $16.95 retail – Cat. No. 551 – Available now, so get your orders in. Robotech® the Masters Saga™ should get the same redo this Fall.

UPDATE: Rifts^® Northern Gun^™ One

As you already know, I have increased the size of Rifts® Northern Gun™ One. That’s a good thing in the sense that it is even more jam-packed with cool source material for you. Not so good for us, trying to plow through it all, make it all awesome and get it to the printer before we leave for Gen Con. Still shooting to do just that, but at this point, it is difficult to tell whether we can pull that off or not.

The first 130 pages of Rifts® Northern Gun™ One are typeset and laid out. Julius is proofreading those pages now. His comment from what he has seen: “This is a great book. There is so much more than I expected. I think fans are really going to love it. And the ones who helped us crowdfund it will be especially happy.” I sure hope so. I tried to pull out all the stops on this bad boy. I continue to edit, write and rewrite the last third of the book. Not sure if the guys can get it all edited, typeset and laid out even if I should manage to get all the final editing and rewriting done. After pushing so hard these last three weeks, I have promised them all the weekend off, before Gen Con. They deserve it. We’ll see. Not sure whether the book will end up being 192 or 224 pages. Either way, the final price will be $24.95 retail. Dang, so close to being finished.

The Gen Con Frenzy

We pack up the truck on Tuesday and head out first thing Wednesday morning. Very excited

Special Robotech® RPG Tactics™ T-shirts have been created for our Demo-Teams – including our active Megaversal Ambassadors who are planning to run events and demos of the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ and OTHER great Palladium games this past year and over the years to come. (We also have a couple other surprises for our MAs.) We wanted our Gen Con demo team and the rest of the crew to look swanky in our new T-shirts. Sorry, we don’t have the rights to make and sell Robotech® apparel, so there will not be any Robotech® RPG T-shirts available to the public. Hope you understand. Maybe in the future, but no promises.

Painting Robotech® RPG Tactics™ game pieces. Jeff Burke and Carmen Bellaire have each been painting a few dozen prototype figures for our demo games. This may sound strange, but it is so exciting to see armies of these figures and to realize, “Wow, these are ours. We are making this a reality for Robotech fans like ourselves. How cool is that?” They paint up beautifully and look amazing.

Gen Con display. We need to put the finishing touches on our Gen Con display. Kathy, Wayne and I are working on that front. Wish we had a bigger a booth.

Gen Con meetings. I have several meetings and interviews lined up for Gen Con before I even get there. That’s pretty cool.

We’ll have something special available for Rifts® fans and those of you waiting for Northern Gun™ at Gen Con. It’s a surprise, so you’ll have to wait and see.

Gen Con® Indy – Palladium Booth #1025 – August 14-18, 2013. If you are attending, make sure you swing by Booth #1025 to get the latest releases and books you’ve missed, purchase original art and art prints, experience Robotech® RPG Tactics™ demonstrations, chat and get autographs. Oh, and you’ll be able to see many of the final sculpts for Robotech® RPG Tactics™ on display for the first time anywhere.

Gen Con will be a star-studded event for Palladium fans with the following Palladium creators present at Booth #1025:

• Kevin Siembieda – Publisher, writer and lead game designer at Palladium Books.
• Carmen Bellaire – Writer (Splicers®, Powers Unlimited™ series, etc.) and co-game designer of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ to run demos, talk about the game and sign autographs.
• David Freeman – Lead game designer of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ to run demos, talk about the game and sign autographs.
• Various other Ninja Division personalities and creators.
• Wayne Smith – Palladium editor and Editor-in-Chief of The Rifter®.
• Matthew Clements – Writer (Rifts® Black Market, Northern Gun 1 & 2, The Rifter®, etc.).
• Charles Walton – Artist (Rifts® Lemuria, NG 1 & 2, and many others).
• Brandon Aten – Writer (Rifts® Triax 2, Madhaven, Sovietski, and The Rifter®).
• Mark Oberle – Writer (Nightbane® Survival Guide, The Rifter®, etc.).
• Mike Leonard – Writer and artist.
• Jeff Burke – Robotech® consultant, artist and writer.
• Thomas Roache – Play-tester, Robotech demonstrator and writer.

UPDATE: Books Back in Print and Available Now:

• Rifts® Game Master Guide
• Splynn Dimensional Market™
• Rifts® Black Vault™
• Mutant Underground™
• Century Station™

UPDATE: Northern Gun^™ Two

I start work on this puppy as soon as I’m done with NG-1 and back from Gen Con.

UPDATE: Rifts^® Megaverse^® in Flames^™

Coming this Fall. ‘Nuff said, for now.

UPDATE: Robotech^® UEEF Marines^™ Sourcebook One

Also coming this Fall. And it is going to be another fantastic sourcebook. More about it in future Updates.

UPDATE: Robotech^® RPG Tactics^™

Most of the sculpts have been sent to the manufacturer and molds are being made. We’ll have samples of many of the game pieces on display at Gen Con.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT – Robotech^® RPG Tactics^™ Pledge Manager – Closing Date August 31, 2013

Time is running out to add to your Kickstarter pledge levels and order additional add-on purchases in the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ Pledge Manager. It is in this step that backers are able to select all the Add-Ons they wanted as well as purchase additional Add-Ons! That’s right, you can purchase as many additional Add-Ons as your heart desires, in any quantity. You can also increase your pledge level. Closing Date: August 31, 2013.

UPDATE: Northern Gun^™ One Preview will be posted around August 23, after Gen Con. The Rifter^® #63 Sneak Preview is available now on DriveThruRPG.com

The FREE Sneak Preview of The Rifter® #63 – including the spread revealing more than 90 images of sculpts for Robotech® RPG Tactics™ – is up and available for your enjoyment. WARNING: Reading this sneak preview is likely to get your heart pounding and imagination whirling.

There are Sneak Previews available for a growing number of popular Palladium titles including Rifts® Northern Gun One, Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook, Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms (Revised Edition), Rifts® Black Market, Rifts® Lemuria, Thundercloud Galaxy™, Dead Reign™ RPG, Endless Dead™ sourcebook and others. A NEW sneak preview of Rifts® Northern Gun™ One should also available in a few weeks.

DriveThruRPG.com is your place to get PDFs of older Palladium Books product, special G.M. Kits and sneak previews of past and upcoming book titles. Many back issues of The Rifter® are available on DriveThruRPG.com (issues #1-52), as are more than 90 out of print titles such as Rifts®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy® first edition rule books and sourcebooks, including the original Rifts® RPG, Rifts® Vampires Kingdoms, The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy, and lots of other good things. ALL available as PDF downloads at reasonable prices. And there is MORE to come. (We have not forgotten about the PDF only editions of The Rifter® #0.1 and The Rifter® #0.2 – our hands have been full and both are big, juicy digital editions of new, fan created material for the Palladium Megaverse® of games.)

DriveThruRPG.com also offers the Rifts® and Palladium Fantasy® Game Master Kits ($5 each; both written by Carl Gleba and complete with maps, combat matrix, character sheets, spell list, and 20 pre-rolled characters created by Julius Rosenstein).

Gotta run. There is so much more going on, but we’ll talk about that after Gen Con. Be excited. Things are really starting to happen for Palladium gamers. Have a wonderful weekend.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer and Game Designer

Robotech^® Macross^® Saga Sourcebook – Available Now – New size – 8½ x 11 size

All the famous mecha and action of Robotech® starts here with the Macross Saga when an alien armada enters Earth orbit. They have come to reclaim a lost spacecraft that crash-landed on Earth 10 years earlier. A space fortress that Earth’s protectors have rebuilt into their own flagship against alien invasion. The resulting conflict gives birth to heroes and becomes the stuff of legend, but the Earth will never be the same. Robotech® The Macross® Saga Sourcebook now available as an 8½ x 11 inch sourcebook.

Note: This is the setting for Robotech® RPG Tactics™, so if you’re looking for more information about the mecha, Earth’s defenders, the Zentraedi invaders, and the Macross Saga setting, this is the book for you. Epic adventure awaits.

A Robotech® Role-Playing Game Sourcebook:

• Transformable Veritech Fighters known as Valkyries take to the sky to defend the Earth.
• Destroids, giant walking tanks, are among Earth’s front-line defenders.
• The SDF-1 and Earth air, ground and space combat vehicles.
• Zentraedi mecha, powered armor suits, and select spacecraft.
• The Zentraedi warriors, their war machines and culture.
• Notable characters from the TV series statted out.
• Quick Character Creation Tables enable you to make Macross characters in 15 minutes or less.
• New skills and M.O.S. skill bundles.
• The Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG “rule book” is needed to play (Cat. No. 550 or 550HC).
• 128 pages – $16.95 – Cat. No. 551 – standard 8½ x 11 size – Available now.

The Rifter^® #63 – Available Now

It's a great issue. Don't miss out!

The Rifter® Number 63 includes:

• Palladium Fantasy RPG® – OFFICIAL source material for the Timiro Kingdom by Glen Evans. An in-depth history of the kingdom with adventure ideas scattered throughout, plus character stats and a Rune Sword.
• Palladium Fantasy RPG® source material – Mythic Beasts by Timothy Dorman. Nine monsters of legend and the warrior-mage who draws upon their powers.
• Beyond the Supernatural™ – Random Adventure Generator by Chai Gallahun. A welcomed addition for any Game Master running a BTS campaign for whipping up off the cuff adventures or as the groundwork for creating your own, elaborate adventures.
• Rifts® – Psi-Battalion source material – Secrets and insight behind the Coalition Army’s Psi-Battalion. Part One of Three by Matt Olfson.
• Robotech® RPG Tactics™ – a Visual Guide of the sculptures with 90+ images.
• News, coming attractions, product descriptions and more.
• 96 pages – $11.95 retail – Cat. No. 163 – Available now.
• Check out the free Sneak Preview on DriveThruRPG.com!

Rifts^® World Book 33: Northern Gun^™ One – in final production

Bigger. Better. And close to completion! Jam-packed with a ton of background information about Northern Gun and Upper Michigan, combat robots, cargo haulers, drones, weapons, characters and adventure hooks galore. More than 30 new robots including drones.

Northern Gun™ is the largest independent manufacturer of high-tech weapons, robots and vehicles in North America. Outside of the Coalition States, one could argue, no other kingdom is as powerful or influential, at least when it comes to technology and weapons. The manufacture and sale of Northern Gun weapons and vehicles has given virtually every kingdom, town, colony of settlers and adventurer group a chance to survive and prosper. Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, NG has been the premier outfitter of mercenaries, adventurers and upstart kingdoms for generations. Now, for the first time ever, learn Northern Gun’s history, goals and plans for the future. Of course, that means new weapons, robots, power armor, vehicles and gear.

• In-depth look at Northern Gun and its business operations.
• Ishpeming, the face and people of Northern Gun.
• Northern Gun weapons and combat gear; new and old.
• Northern Gun robot drones; new and old.
• Northern Gun giant combat robots; new and old.
• Northern Gun freighters and hover trains.
• Northern Gun O.C.C.s and enforcers (the LPO).
• The NG Mercenary army and police.
• The NG Bounty Board, the largest collection of bounties and mercenary contracts anywhere on Rifts® Earth.
• Key locations, people and sales outlets in and around Northern Gun.
• Northern Gun’s relationship with the Coalition States, Triax Industries, the Black Market and others.
• Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda.
• Interior Artwork by Chuck Walton, Mark Dudley, Amy Ashbaugh, and others.
• Wraparound cover by Chuck Walton.
• 192 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 887 – August release.
• Check out the FREE Advance Preview on DriveThruRPG.com! A new sneak preview will be coming in a couple weeks.

Rifts^® World Book 34: Northern Gun^™ Two

More information about the weapons, vehicles and practices of Northern Gun, including the new rage of robot gladiatorial combat.

• Northern Gun body armor; new and old.
• Bionic and cybernetic services.
• Northern Gun power armors; new and old.
• Northern Gun hovercycles & land vehicles; new and old.
• Northern Gun aircraft; new and old.
• Northern Gun boats, ships and submarines; new and old.
• Northern Gun Robot Gladiatorial Arena; new!
• Robot Gladiator O.C.C. and robot gladiators.
• Pirates and more.
• Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda.
• Interior Artwork by Chuck Walton, Nick Bradshaw, and others.
• Wraparound cover by John Zeleznik.
• 160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 888 – August release.

Rifts^® World Book 35: Megaverse^® in Flames^™

The Minion War spills across Rifts Earth, where demons and infernals hope to recruit allies and use the Rifts as gateways of destruction. Their influence shakes things up across the planet, especially at locations where demons and Deevils already have a strong presence. Demons, Deevils and supernatural beings run rampant and wreak havoc across the world.

• Demon plagues and mystic blights.
• Soulmancy and Blood Magic revealed.
• Magical and demonic weapons and war machines.
• Demonic armies, strongholds and places of evil.
• Hell Pits and Rune Forges.
• Many Demon Lords, their minions and plans.
• Calgary, the Kingdom of Monsters; in detail.
• Ciudad de Diablo, Harpies’ Island and other notable Hell holes on Earth.
• Lord Doom, Pain and other demonic leaders.
• Horune treachery, Dimension Stormers and other villains.
• Notable demonic generals, mercenaries, people and places.
• Battleground: Earth – as demons and infernals amass their legions.
• Global chaos and the places most dramatically affected by the Demon Plagues.
• Epic battles and adventure ideas galore.
• Written by Carl Gleba. Part of the Minion War “Crossover” series.
• 192 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 876. September 2013 release.

BACK IN PRINT: Rifts^® Ultimate Edition

Imagine a world setting that is Earth 300 years after an apocalypse that results in the return of magic. Now imagine a world where magic and super-science collide. Where cyborgs and men clad in power armor and giant robots clash with demons, dragons and sorcerers.

Now imagine lines of blue, magic energy rippling across the land. Where two or more of those lines cross, there is a tear in the fabric of space and time. A Rift to infinite worlds and realities that have unleashed an endless cavalcade of aliens, mutants and monsters into our world. Some are adventurers like you, other are invaders, some are slaves or prisoners, and still others are demonic nightmares and gods from ancient myths. All now make Earth their home or hunting ground. Welcome to Rifts®.

Rifts® combines the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror and post-apocalypse (among others) in a plausible setting where adventure is limited only by your imagination and the possibilities are truly infinite.

• 33 O.C.C.s – Bursters, Crazies, Cyber-Knights, Dog Boys, Glitter Boys, Juicers, Ley Line Walkers, Mind Melters, Psi-Stalkers, dragons, mutants & more.
• The Coalition States – heroes or villains?
• Coalition O.C.C.s, gear and States described.
• Psionic powers and characters.
• Magic spells and Techno-Wizardry.
• Techno-Wizard device construction rules.
• World information and background to set the stage for adventure.
• All the info you need to play is contained in this core rule book.
• Color end sheets painted by John Zeleznik. Cover by Scott Johnson.
• 24 pages of color, 75+ color images; great art throughout.
• Created and written by Kevin Siembieda.
• 90+ sourcebooks to expand your Rifts® adventures.
• 376 pages – Cat. No. 800HC – $39.95 – Hardcover.

Robotech^® The Shadow Chronicles^® Role-Playing Game

All the data and details you need to role-play Robotech® are found in the Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG – core rule book. Available in two affordable formats, an 8½ x 11 inch hardcover edition ($30.95) and a pocket-sized “manga” edition (16.95).

• Play Veritech Pilots & Cyclone Riders.
• Play Battloid Aces and other heroes.
• Battle the Haydonites & Invid.
• Play your favorite mecha.
• Fast playing & quick combat.
• Quick Roll creation lets you create characters in under 15 minutes.
• A complete role-playing game.
• $16.95 retail – 336 page Manga Edition – Cat. No. 550 – Manga size, fits in a pocket.
• Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG “Deluxe” Hardcover – space combat rules & select spacecraft, a few additional weapons, vehicles & artwork – $30.95 retail – 8½ x 11 Hardcover – 224 pages – Cat. No. 550HC.
• A signed and numbered, Gold Collector’s limited edition with a signed tip-in color print (nine autographs) is also available for $70.00 retail – 8½ x 11 – 224 pages – Cat. No. 5500HC.

Robotech^® RPG Tactics^™ – Coming Fall 2013

Robotech® fans, this is the game you’ve wanted for decades, with beautifully sculpted, in scale, game pieces and the fast action of Robotech®.

Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast-paced, tabletop combat game that captures the action and adventure of the Robotech® anime. Two or more players can engage in small squad skirmishes or scale up to massive battles. Relive the clashes of the First Robotech War, engage in stand-alone tactical games or use the dynamic game pieces to enhance your Robotech® RPG experience. Or simply collect your favorite mecha from an expanding range of top-notch game pieces.

Mecha vs Mecha. Take command of the fighting forces of the United Earth Defense Force (UEDF) valiantly defending Earth from alien annihilation. Or lead the massive clone armies of the Zentraedi Armada to recover an alien artifact of immense power and enslave humankind.

Robotech^® RPG Tactics^™ Box Set

• Brought to you by Palladium Books®, created with Ninja Division (the creative minds behind Soda Pop Miniatures and Cipher Studios).
• Rules by Alessio Cavatore, David Freeman and Carmen Bellaire.
• Full color, 128 page, softcover rule book; wraparound cover and lots of new, color artwork.
• 24 Battle Dice, 12 UEDF and 12 Zentraedi.
• 40 color game cards (unit cards, etc.).
• 4x VF-1A Valkyries (in Fighter, Guardian, and Battloid modes).
• 1x VF-1J "Officer" in all three modes.
• 4x Destroids: 2 Tomahawks and 2 Defenders.
• 12x Regult Zentraedi Battlepods.
• 1x Glaug Officer's Battlepod.
• 1x Quel-Regult Recon Battlepod.
• 1x Quel-Gulnau Recovery Pod.
• 1/285th scale, high quality, multi-pose plastic game pieces (40mm to 70mm tall). World-class sculpts from sculptors around the world.
• Game rules use D6.
• Turn-based system of play.
• Scalable from small squad skirmishes to mass battles. Can accommodate two to several players.
• Combat is fast and designed to emulate the anime action.
• Measuring tape required to determine targets and distance.
• Small parts and some assembly required. Game pieces come unpainted.
• Release Date: Barring any unexpected delays, the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ box game and initial expansion sets ship Autumn 2013 (November?).
• $90 retail price (tentative). The price of the final box set is not yet determined, but we want to hold it around $90.
• Cat. No. 55100 (Main Boxed Game).

The First Six Robotech^® Expansion Packs

The initial expansion packs will also ship in the Fall. All prices listed are likely, but still tentative. We want most packs to fall in the $25-$35 price range.

• UEDF Valkyrie Wing (2x each, Fighter, Guardian, Battloid) – Cat. No. 55201 – $30.00 retail (tentative).
• UEDF Destroid Pack (2x Tomahawks, 2x Defenders) – Cat. No. 55202 – $30.00 (tentative).
• UEDF Spartan Pack (2x Spartans, 2x Phalanxes), Cat. No. 55203 – $30.00 (tentative).
• Zentraedi Regult Battlepod Squadron (6x Regults) – Cat. No. 55401 – $30.00 (tentative).
• Zentraedi Support Battlepods (4x Artillery Battlepods) – Cat. No. 55402 – $30.00 (tentative).
• Zentraedi Command Pack (1x Glaug, 1x Quel-Regult, 1x Quel-Gulnau) – Cat. No. 55403 – $35.00 (tentative).
• Additional expansion packs at intervals throughout 2014. More will follow. Exactly how many, and how fast, will depend on manufacturing considerations, sales and customer demand.
• Palladium plans to release the mecha and settings for ALL eras of Robotech®. Many other details are still in development.
• Tournament play support is planned. Ninja Division will help Palladium to develop and launch the program sometime in 2014.

PDF downloads from DriveThruRPG.com

This is a great resource for getting out of print Palladium titles and other select books. We’ve made 90 titles available as PDF digital downloads from DriveThruRPG.com. This is a great way to try Palladium products and get access to out of print RPG source material. Some notable titles include:

• The Rifter® #49-52 recently added – available now.
• Splicers® RPG.
• Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, First Edition Rules.
• Boxed Nightmares™ for BTS, First Edition Rules.
• Nightbane® Book Four: Shadows of Light™.
• The Mechanoids® RPG and The Mechanoid Invasion® RPG Trilogy.
• Palladium Fantasy RPG®, First Edition Rules and select 1st Edition sourcebooks.
• After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks.
• The Rifter® issues 1-52.
• The Best of The Rifter®.
• Deluxe Revised RECON® RPG and Advanced RECON® Sourcebook.
• And more – go to DriveThruRPG.com and check ‘em out.

© Copyright 2013 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.

Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Phase World®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Beyond the Supernatural™, Chaos Earth, Coalition States, Dead Reign, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Minion War, Mysteries of Magic, 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.

Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.

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