Palladium Books® – Weekly Update – May 20, 2021
One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure
By Kevin Siembieda
Hi everyone, I hope you are starting to enjoy the warmth and color of mid-spring. It is getting a little too warm for my taste this week (temps in the 90 degree Fahrenheit range), but it is better than cold. I think we are all tired of cold weather.
I had to take the past week off from writing to put a number of short-term and long-term plans in place as we build for an exciting future. That included some plans for the 2022 Palladium Open House (next April), lining up another interview or two, social media stuff, contracts, various art and writing assignments, product development, and other things. Some of it big. More about the big plans in another 10-14 months. Read on to learn about some of what is going on right now.
BACK IN STOCK! A whole bunch of titles that we had run out of over the past few weeks arrived from the printer yesterday. They include:
- Old Ones, a Palladium Fantasy® Sourcebook – epic, 50 locations, adventures and more – 224 pages – $26.99 – Cat. No. 453.
- Armageddon Unlimited™ (Minion War™ Crossover adventure sourcebook) – time to save the world – 160 pages – $22.99 – Cat. No. 527.
- Rifts® Book of Magic – nearly 1,000 magic spells – (softcover $28.99 – Cat. No. 848 and hardcover $39.99 – Cat. No. 848HC are both available).
- Rifts® Sourcebook One – 160 pages – $22.99 – Cat. No. 801.
- Rifts® England – 160 pages – $22.99 – Cat. No. 807.
- Rifts® Black Vault™ – 48 pages – $9.99 – Cat. No. 855.
- Rifts® Fleets of the Three Galaxies™ – 128 pages – $18.99 – Cat. No. 880.
- A note about Rifts® Ultimate Edition RPG – 376 pages – $41.99 – Cat. No. 800HC is running very low and we may temporarily run out of stock for a couple of weeks. Fear not, it is already at the printer, but the cover price is going up to $44.99 retail due to the rising cost of paper and printing. You might want to snag one for a few bucks less while you still can.
UPDATE: The Rifts® 30th Commemorative Hardcovers – set to ship next week, May 26. That is what my printer’s rep promised me Wednesday morning. They have not been the most reliable on their ship dates but they have had the books for 5 or 6 weeks now so they should be close, darn it. We are as anxious to see these two beautiful Rifts® Commemorative hardcovers as you are. There is the Parkinson Color Cover Rifts® 30th Hardcover (Cat. No. 800HC30, $49.99) and the Rifts® 30th “Gold” Limited Edition (Cat. No. 8000HC30, $75, signed and numbered; 200 copies available on a first come, first served basis while supplies last). Both are described below and in the Palladium online store, and guaranteed to bring fond memories roaring back and will hold a special place on your bookshelf. They may also be used to make new adventures as the original Rifts® RPG works fine with all existing World Books, sourcebooks, and Dimension Books.
UPDATE: Rifts® CS Manhunters. As I said above, I was not able to work on any books this past week, however I am back at it. Not only that, all the things we are building up to have inspired my writing. So much good is happening behind the scenes.
COMING! More June fun. A few small, fun surprises are in the works too for June (or July) releases. More on them in a week or two. The result of more good suggestions from our fans. Keep ‘em coming.
NEWS! Accepting submissions for the first Rifter® Annual! As you know, The Rifter® is on indefinite hiatus and sorely missed by some of you. Well, a fan suggested we release an extra large Rifter® Annual full of new fan works, so we are. We expect it to be 160-192 pages depending on how many of you send us your submissions. As always, we are looking for adventures and source material for any of the following game settings: Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, Phase World®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, Beyond the Supernatural, Nightbane®, Dead Reign®, Splicers®, and other Palladium settings. We need ALL submissions by September 13, 2021 – SOONER is better! Unleash those imaginations and get published. Entirely digital submissions are fine these days (MS Word, RTF or WordPerfect format, not PDF), just include a signed copy/PDF of our Unsolicited Manuscript Form. Send your Rifter Submissions to riftersub {at} palladiumbooks.com.
Pssst. Another opportunity for writers and artists. Though Palladium Books is not officially opening its doors to receiving sourcebook submissions, we are starting to look at quality, unsolicited manuscripts from those of you willing to work entirely on speculation with no promise or expectation to publish. That said, if we like what we see, we will reach out to you. Entirely digital submissions are fine these days (MS Word, RTF or WordPerfect format, not PDF), just include a signed copy/PDF of our Unsolicited Manuscript Form. Submissions can be sent to riftersub {at} palladiumbooks.com.
UPDATE: Fantasy Grounds. We have a number of people who have expressed an interest in this and are starting to work on source material for Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy®, and I believe Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural™ and Splicers®. You probably will not see FG product available for another 6-10 months, but it is happening. Currently there is material for Rifts® Savage Worlds, but official Palladium adventures and source material will be coming. If you have any interest in contributing to Palladium Books games for Fantasy Grounds, you can reach out to Palladium via the Help Desk and we will pass your names and contact info on to the right people or you may reach out to SmiteWorks directly.
UPDATE: Rifts® for Savage Worlds sourcebooks. I am not sure how much I can say, but I can tell you that there are a few new Rifts® sourcebooks for Savage Worlds nearing completion and others in development. I have been approving a lot of artwork, concept outlines and other good stuff for them. And it is good stuff.
The Kevin Siembieda (me!) Interview on Roleplayer With A Thousand Faces is being enjoyed by a lot of you. I suspect because we covered some new ground on a number of subjects including my early days, Rifts®, The Mechanoids®, TMNT®, and Robotech®. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a peek. There are several other excellent interviews available as well. The latest one I enjoyed is with Bill Slavicsek (Star Wars, Torg, D&D, etc. writer, game designer). You can catch all of these interviews here:
Kevin Siembieda Interview: https://youtu.be/OKP-Lz33ljk
Other Interviews and Videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/ManufacturedMythLegerdemain/videos
COMING! Three June Hardcovers
Three more, fan fave, core RPG rule books are being released as sturdy hardcover editions for your gaming enjoyment. Two of them expanded with pages of “bonus” material.
- After the Bomb® RPG Hardcover – with 72 pages of “bonus” material – create any type of intelligent, mutant animal from a turtle or raccoon to an elephant or lion. Play them as modern day heroes in the Heroes Unlimited or Ninjas & Superspies settings, or as mutants or monsters in Nightbane® (is a Mutant Animal the character’s Morphus?), archaic races or monsters in Palladium Fantasy®, or as aliens, mutants, or D-Bees in Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, Phase World® and the Three Galaxies, The Mechanoids®, Splicers®, or in the post-apocalyptic world of AtB. PLUS 72 pages of “bonus” material (the original After the Bomb® sourcebook and Yucatan Adventures). 296 pages – $39.99 retail – Cat. No. 503HC.
- Dead Reign® RPG Hardcover – The Zombie Apocalypse unleashed! An epic challenge to survive in a world where the dead reign supreme and humanity teeters on the brink of extinction. Different types of zombies, cool human O.C.C.s as well as ordinary people. Are you a survivor or a victim? Find out. 224 pages same as the softcover edition – $36.99 retail – Cat. No. 230HC.
- Ninjas & Superspies™ RPG Hardcover – with 48 pages of “bonus” material – 40+ styles of martial arts, mystic abilities, spies and gadgets, spy organization creation rules, PLUS 48 pages of bonus material gathered from The Rifter®. 224 pages – $36.99 – Cat. No. 525HC. Note: All these titles are also available as softcover books (though without the bonus material).
NEW! Rifts® RPG – 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover – Arriving Next Week
Rifts® is the familiar.
Rifts® is the alien and unknown.
Rifts® is the embodiment of wonder, danger, and endless possibilities.
Rifts® is a post-apocalyptic Earth stranger than a hundred alien worlds, where humanity battles against aliens and the supernatural.
Reality blurs. Magic and technology often clash or meld together. Around the next corner a dragon, cyborg, monster, giant robot, vampire, or god only knows what may await you.
Rifts® merges science fiction with fantasy, horror, heroic adventure, and other genres in a thrilling and plausible setting that will set your imagination on fire.
Travel the Rifts to any location on Earth, or leap across the dimensional divide to visit alien worlds and dimensions in a matter of seconds. And just as you can travel to other worlds, aliens and the monstrous travel to Earth and stalk the innocent.
Rifts® is a fusion of ideas, settings, genres, and characters unlike any game on the market. An endless Megaverse® of adventure™ in which if you can imagine it, you can play it.
Are you up to the challenge?
The Rifts® Commemorative 30th Anniversary Hardcover is the original first edition Rifts® rule book that started a phenomenon. It is a complete RPG suitable for use with ALL existing Rifts® World Books, Sourcebooks, and Dimension Books. It is an early and somewhat simpler edition given the deluxe treatment. Expanded with bonus art, an additional 32 color pages, color end sheets, history about the making of Rifts®, notes, concept drawings, color concepts, photographs, and a gallery of every Rifts® cover published between 1990 and the end of 2021. The cover features the famous Keith Parkinson painting of the Splugorth Slave Barge.
This expanded commemorative has been brought back into print due to the popular requests by you, our fans. All intended to bring back fond memories of grand adventures and fun times, and to create new adventures and lasting memories.
The Original Rifts® RPG 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover:
- Back in print for the first time in 16 years.
- Color cover of the famous Splugorth Slave Barge by Keith Parkinson.
- A color gallery of 160+ Rifts® covers.
- An extra 32 pages of color.
- Color end sheets.
- More comprehensive contents pages.
- Concept art and pencil illustrations often with notes by the artist.
- History of Rifts®, personal notes, commentary, and nostalgic material.
- Countless memories, and loads of fun.
- A simpler, earlier version of the core rules.
- A complete role-playing game suitable for use with ALL existing Rifts® World Books, Sourcebooks, and Dimension Books.
- Available in stores and from Palladium Books.
- This is NOT the signed or numbered limited edition, but we are happy to sign copies at conventions and the Palladium Open House. The print run is likely to be limited to a few thousand copies.
- 288 pages – $49.99 retail – Cat. No. 800HC30 – At the printer and ships as soon as it arrives and day now! Also see Rifts® Ultimate Edition RPG for the current edition of Rifts®.
NEW! Rifts® RPG 30th Anniversary “Gold” Limited Edition Commemorative Hardcover – 1st Edition Rules – At the printer and ships in May
A complete RPG suitable for use with ALL existing Rifts® World Books, Sourcebooks, and Dimension Books. It is just an early and somewhat simpler edition given the deluxe treatment. Expanded with bonus art, additional 38 color pages, color end sheets, history about the making of Rifts®, notes, concept drawings, color concepts, photographs, and a gallery of every Rifts® cover published between 1990 and the end of 2021. The cover features the famous Splugorth Slave Barge in gold foil; art by Kevin Long.
Due to popular demand, we are offering this ultra-limited edition Rifts® “Gold” 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover, limited to only 200 signed and numbered copies (plus some printer proofs). Available on a first-come, first served basis, while supplies last. This is the most limited of any previous collector’s edition of the Rifts® RPG – 5,000 copies of Silver, 500 copies of Gold, but only 200 copies for this 30th Anniversary edition – and those earlier editions sell for big bucks today. Availability starts with #1 of 200, so be among the first to order.
Rifts® RPG 30th Anniversary “Gold” Limited Edition:
- 200 signed and numbered by Kevin Siembieda and available staff.
- Gold foil cover on a faux leatherette.
- Cover art by Kevin Long depicts the famous Splugorth Slave Barge.
- Limited to 200 signed and numbered copies, plus a few dozen printer proofs.
- An extra 38 pages of color.
- A color gallery of 160+ Rifts® covers.
- Two different, color end sheets in the front and back.
- Concept art and pencil illustrations often with notes by the artist.
- History of Rifts®, personal notes, commentary, and nostalgic material. Countless memories and loads of fun.
- A simpler, earlier version of the core rules.
- A complete role-playing game suitable for use with ALL existing Rifts® World Books, Sourcebooks, and Dimension Books.
- Otherwise the same as the hardcover with the color cover.
- Available on a first-come, first served basis, while supplies last. Only from Palladium Books.
- 294 pages – $75.00 retail – Cat. No. 8000HC30 – At the printer and ships in May 2021.
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.
NEW! Rifts® Game Master Guide™ Hardcover – Available now
The Rifts® Game Master Guide™ hardcover is a massive, 352 page reference book with short stats and descriptions for every Rifts® robot, power armor, body armor, vehicle, weapon, gadget, skill, experience table, and map that appears in Rifts® World Books 1-23 and Sourcebooks 1-4, plus a bionics index, an O.C.C.s and R.C.C.s index, rules clarifications, combat examples, advice on how to run a game and more.
- 500+ weapons.
- 290 pieces of equipment.
- 180+ vehicles.
- 100+ suits of body armor.
- 80+ suits of power armor.
- 300+ skills, character and D-Bee index, dozens of maps, and more.
- 352 pages – $39.99 retail – Cat. No. 845HC – available now. Also available in softcover.
NEW! Rifts® Book of Magic™ Hardcover – Available now
Nearly 1,000 magic spells and 400 magic weapons and devices from across Rifts Earth, plus magic tattoos, herbs, stones, and more. 352 pages of pure magic.
- 900+ magic spells, Elemental Magic, Ley Line Magic, Temporal Magic, Necromancy, Nature Magic, Cloud Magic, Ocean Magic, Biomancy and more.
- Plus Tattoo Magic, Stone Magic, Whalesongs, Conjuring, Nazca Lines.
- 290+ Techno-Wizard weapons and items, including TW Bionics, Automatons, and Iron Juggernauts.
- 80+ other magic items, Rune Weapons, Holy Weapons, Fetishes.
- Bio-Wizard Weapons, the Bio-Borg, Symbiotes, and herbs.
- Magic stones, talismans, magic items of Japan, and more.
- Millennium Tree wands, staves and armor.
- 352 pages – $39.99 retail – Cat. No. 848HC – available now. Also available in softcover.
NEW! Rifts® Adventure Guide™ Hardcover – Available now
Inside information to create and run RPG adventures: How to get started, building on ideas, character archetypes, tables for creating Rifts towns and cities, mercenary companies, traveling shows, and player created organizations, plus random Rift tables, information about the Chi-Town ‘Burbs, 32 ‘Burb adventure ideas, another 101 adventure hooks, and still more adventure ideas, and additional player and Game Master tips by Kevin Siembieda, Erick Wujcik, and Bill Coffin.
- 150+ adventure ideas.
- Game Master and player tips from Kevin Siembieda.
- Adventure creation tips from Kevin Siembieda.
- Why and how to use alignments by Kevin Siembieda.
- Tricks of running a large group, G.M. tools, and more.
- Additional Player and G.M. tips from Wujcik and Coffin.
- Overview and info about the CS Chi-Town ‘Burbs.
- 32 adventure ideas in the ‘Burbs.
- Random Dimensional Rifts & other tables.
- Tables for creating towns, merc companies, and traveling shows.
- 192 pages – $36.99 retail – Cat. No. 849HC – available now. Also available in softcover.
HARDCOVER Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition – Available now
Supernatural horror in the modern world that feels plausible and real. Your characters are the few who know the supernatural is real because they have experienced it face to face. Some are psychics, some are experts in the paranormal or the arcane, and others are ordinary people like you and me. Ordinary people who are never the same after their own close encounter. All of these unlikely heroes stand against supernatural evil in a world of disbelievers who brand them as practitioners of fringe science or lunatics. Only they know the truth: supernatural evil is real and dangerous. And someone has to take a stand to protect the innocent from supernatural evil in whatever hidden form it may take. Are you ready to join the battle?
- The hardcover is exactly the same as the softcover edition.
- Color cover, same art, variant logo, hardcover.
- A plausible modern horror setting that makes sense and will challenge your role-playing skills.
- 14 Psychic Character Classes.
- 42 occupations for “ordinary” people.
- 100+ psychic abilities, including Fire Walker abilities.
- Creatures of darkness, the Lazlo Agency, and more.
- New sourcebooks are coming soon.
- 256 pages – $36.99 retail – Cat. No. 700HC – available now.
HARDCOVER Palladium Fantasy RPG®, 2nd Edition – available now
A fantasy setting like no other, rich in history and inviting adventure. Not only are you able to play iconic fantasy heroes like the Wizard, Knight, Paladin, Ranger, Thief, Assassin, and others, but also characters such as the Mind Mage, Druid, Diabolist, Summoner and many others. Moreover, play an array of nonhuman characters from Elves and Dwarves to Wolfen, Changelings, Kobolds, Orcs, Ogres, and many others.
- The hardcover is exactly the same as the softcover edition.
- Color cover, same art, variant logo, hardcover.
- 25+ Occupational Character Classes (O.C.C.s).
- 14+ inhuman player races (more in sourcebooks).
- 300+ magic spells.
- 60 magical Wards. 50 magic circles.
- Dozens of magic items potions and more.
- 70+ psychic powers, the Mind Mage, and more.
- Weapons, gear, demons and adventure ideas.
- New sourcebooks like Land of the Damned 3, Lopan, and others are coming.
- 336 pages – $39.99 retail – Cat. No. 450HC – available now.
HARDCOVER Heroes Unlimited™ RPG, 2nd Edition – available now
The Heroes Unlimited™ RPG has been a hit RPG for 30+ years because it enables you to create any type of comic book hero you can imagine. Make characters pulled right from any comic book you grew up with and love, or design your own league of extraordinary heroes.
If you seek comic book heroic adventure, Heroes Unlimited™ does the job on an epic scale. Plus a dozen sourcebooks provide you with more super abilities, hero categories, bad guys and adventures.
- The hardcover is exactly the same as the softcover edition.
- Color cover, same art, variant logo on the hardcover.
- Create any type of hero you can imagine.
- 101 super abilities plus a multitude of sub-powers within them, bonuses and special combat capabilities.
- 100+ magic spells plus enchanted weapons and objects.
- 72 psychic powers.
- Enchanted weapons that instill super abilities.
- Mega-Heroes and immortals.
- Alien super beings.
- Bionics and cyborgs.
- Psionics and Psychics.
- Robots and power armor.
- Masters of magic, wizards and spell casters.
- Mutants and Super Soldiers possessing super abilities.
- Inventors, super-geniuses and super-vehicles.
- Special Training: Martial arts, Sleuths, weapons, more.
- Cover by comic book legend Jim Steranko.
- Art by Ramon K. Perez, Paulo Parente, Mike Gustovich, and others.
- Written by Kevin Siembieda.
- 352 pages for a complete RPG – $39.99 retail – Cat. No. 500HC – available now.
UPDATE: Rifts® CS Manhunters
Why is this book taking forever? Because this book took on a life of its own and I have been tweaking and improving it over and over again. It presents dark secrets of the Coalition States involving CS psychics, the super secret Psi-Ops Division (the thought police of Emperor Prosek), the deadly super-patriots that are the CS Manhunters, 50 NEW psionic abilities with real punch, insight into the Dog Boys and Kill Hounds, and meanings revealed about the Seven Dangers Prophecy first introduced in Rifts® Sourcebook 2: The Mechanoids®, well some of them anyway. Plus gadgets and implants, and surprises. All of it building toward something epic.
- New Coalition Psychic O.C.C.s.
- 50+ 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.
- Secrets of Psi-Ops Division and insight about Coalition psychics.
- Deciphering the Seven Dangers Prophecy.
- The impact of the demon plagues unleashed by the Minion War.
- Player Characters, NPCS, background info, adventure ideas, and more.
- 96-128 pages – $18.99 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™
Here it is, the reveal of the new cover. I hope you like it. I love that it presents the iconic Titan Robotics Combat Robot with a new big gun that hints at what else awaits you inside the book. I also enjoy the combat scene, smoke, and haze of war. Like Northern Gun and the Manistique Imperium, Titan Robotics sells freely to adventurers, mercenaries, and anyone who has the cash. Hence, the owners of these big ‘bots clashing with Coalition Forces.
This is why I call Rifts® Titan Robotics™ a high-tech toy box filled with many new types of Titan Robotics power armors, giant robots, vehicles, weapons, and gear. Some are big bruisers while others are small and sleek. As fun as these new tech toys are, Rifts® Titan Robotics™ delves into the company’s many secrets, including ARCHIE-3’s plans and 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.
- 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. Cover by Mike Majestic.
- Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda.
- 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).
DriveThruRPG.com – Your digital source for 300+ Palladium RPG titles, novels, paper miniatures and endless adventure
More than 300 RPG products including: Garden of the Gods™ (Fantasy) sourcebook – a toy box of gods, magical blessings, ancient artifacts, and hundreds of opportunities, quests, and adventure ideas for players and Game Masters alike. Here, all gods are equal and many a forgotten god seeks to be rediscovered and worshiped by offering blessings, vision quests, and magical artifacts to potential heroes to champion their name.
- 212 Blessings. 101 magic artifacts.
- 45 forgotten gods. Each god offers adventure hooks.
- 100+ random quests and encounters. Godly insight & visitations.
- Restore forgotten gods to power. Become a Champion of the Gods.
- 50+ Curses and dark magic. Five Old Ones weapons of destruction.
- The Garden of the Gods and its protectors.
- Ghosts, Faeries, mysteries, and ancient secrets.
- Easily adapted to Rifts®, Phase World® and any game system.
- 224 pages of wonder and adventure by Kevin Siembieda and Matthew Clements – Cat. No. 475. PDF available on DriveThruRPG.com – the physical book is available from PalladiumBooks.com.
Rifts® Novels: Duty’s Edge – The lone surviving soldier from a New German Republic Special Forces operation struggles to complete the mission on his own. A stand-alone Rifts® novel complete in itself. 236 pages, Cat. No. 308. 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
I recently heard from a retailer and distributor that many game companies are experiencing long delays in getting new product. This applies to foreign and domestic manufacturing. Companies printing in China are suffering especially long delays, but also here in the USA. Not just because of shortages of paper and other materials, but because manufacturers are buried under 2020 and new orders.
That’s where Palladium has been lucky. Yes, even though titles like the two Rifts® 30th Commemoratives have been delayed, the delay is measured in weeks, not months. Moreover, we have been able to keep most of our titles in print at all times, with only short periods of being out of stock for a few weeks. Of course, part of that has been planning and scrambling to find alternative quality printers with shorter turn-around times, which has been no small feat, but we did it. Creative thinking, smart planning, and hard work have enabled us to keep 99% of our titles in stock at all times where other companies have not. That effort has stolen my time and caused some delays of our new releases, but we are working through that too.
The pandemic has impacted a lot of people, companies, the availability of materials, and rising costs. All in all, we feel like Palladium is weathering the storm pretty well, and you should start seeing new product releases very soon. That starts with Rifts® CS Manhunters, BTS Creature Feature, Titan Robotics and Rifts® Bestiary Volume 2. Plus a few fun little things we think you will get a kick out of and make you smile.
Thank you for hanging in there with us through thick and thin. I think things are about to get more exciting for us all. And not just because it seems like the world is starting to recover and return to some level of normalcy, but because we have some great product coming your way. Please stay safe, hang tough, get vaccinated, and game on.
- Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer, Friend
NEW! Miniature Releases – Available now
You have been asking about new miniatures and we are providing. All miniatures come in a plastic bag. The newest three are:
Rifts® Glitter Boy™ & Pilot (original) Miniature Pack – 1st time available in resin – 28 mm resin – $19.99 retail – Cat. No. MI8001. Five Pieces: 1. Complete G.B. body and a small base, 2. right arm and Boom Gun, 3. backpack/thrusters, 4. ammo drum and belt, and 5. pilot. The ever-popular, classic Glitter Boy and Pilot (1993 RAFM) – now in resin for the first time (prior releases were pewter figures). Available now.
NEW! Rifts® CS Firebreather Dead Boy™ Miniature – true scale 32 mm resin – $9.99 retail – Cat. No. MI8047. Five pieces: 1. the body, 2. right arm and gun, 3. left arm, 4. antenna, 5. custom base. Detailed and dynamic figure. Available now.
NEW! Rifts® Juicer™ Miniature – true scale 32 mm resin – $9.99 retail – Cat. No. MI8048. Three pieces: 1. the complete body, 2. crossed swords on the back that fit so snugly that you may not even need to glue it, 3. custom base. Detailed and dynamic figure. Available now.
And don’t forget about the Deluxe Rifts® Glitter Boy Resin Miniature – released in fall 2020 – 32 mm resin – $34.99 retail – Cat. No. MI8046 – a gorgeous, detailed and dynamic figure. Available now.
Rifts® Novels – Available now
All Rifts® novels are available from the Palladium Books online store as physical books as well as PDFs from DriveThruRPG.com. All are a fun read and highly recommended. Enjoy.
- All novels are 5 x 8 inches in size unless otherwise indicated.
- Page count and price varies.
- Available as physical books from palladiumbooks.com and as PDFs on DriveThruRPG.com
- Rifts® Duty’s Edge is the story of a lone survivor of a New German Republic Special Forces operation who 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. 236 pages – $12.99 retail – Cat. No. 308 – the newest, stand alone novel.
- Rifts® Sonic Boom™. Follow the exploits of a CS platoon sworn to protect humankind from all threats, be they aliens, dragons, masters of magic or fellow humans out for themselves.
- Rifts® Deception’s Web™, the second novel in this trilogy, reveals a conspiracy within the Coalition military that could spell disaster for our protagonists. Note: Smaller size, 4 x 6 inches.
- Rifts® Treacherous Awakenings™ is the pulse-pounding conclusion of the third novel in this epic trilogy by Adam Chilson.
- Rifts Anthology: Tales of the Chi-Town ‘Burbs™. Rifts® short stories by 11 authors including Kevin Siembieda, Carl Gleba, Mark Oberle, Braden Campbell, Taylor White, Jason Richards, and others. Note: Slightly larger size, 6 x 9 inches.
- Rifts® Machinations of Doom™ Graphic Novel & Sourcebook. The comic is by acclaimed Eisner Award winning artist Ramon K. Perez, source material by Siembieda and Perez. Note: 8½ x 11 inches.
- Rifts® Path of the Storm was a Rifts® movie script written on spec. Note: 8½ x 11 inches.
- Rifts® Hammer of the Forge™, Volume One: The Cosmo-Knight. The adventures of Caleb Vulcan, newly minted Knight of the Cosmic Forge.
- Rifts® Hammer of the Forge™, Volume Two: The Reckoning. The epic conclusion of the Hammer of the Forge story.
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 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.
© 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.
