By Kevin Siembieda

A lot of things are in motion and looking very promising. We placed the order for the two decks of Rifts® poker cards. The proof samples of both decks came in and look absolutely fantastic. One person who saw them said she was ordering 10 decks as gifts. Pre-orders for the Rifts® Poker Decks are coming in at a nice pace. Wayne has updated the store description to show the box they come in when you order directly from us, as well as images of all the cards. We will have 120 of each deck at Gen Con, available on a first come, first served basis, with more on the way to fulfill all requests. Heck, we already have some people inquiring about future Rifts® poker decks. Awesome. Both decks are very fun products.

Both the new, larger, Robotech® The Masters Saga™ Sourcebook in the 8½ x 11 format and The Rifter® #74 arrived at the Palladium warehouse yesterday (Thursday, July 28). Pre-orders and subscriber copies are shipping out today. Some went out yesterday. The Raw Preview Editions of Rifts® Sovietski™ and Secrets of the Atlanteans™ also arrived today. There has also been a lot of discussion about Robotech® RPG Tactics™ (RRT) and all the things we will be doing for it in the weeks ahead.

As you might expect, much of our focus this week has been on Gen Con Indy. I spent a good amount of time working out the complete layout of our booth. We set up the entire booth up in the warehouse complete with display materials, and selected the product we are taking with us (most of our catalog) – mainly books and RRT products, as well as a thick pile of original artwork by Chuck Walton II. It takes a lot more time figuring out the booth configuration, which products to bring, how to best present them all, the quantities to bring, and other details than you might think.

We especially want to make sure we have a good supply of everything due to the Gen Con Coupon Book offer that Rifts® and Robotech® fans are going to find awesome. If you are attending, you do not want to miss it! Oh, and we are doing it all in 90+ degree heat. I waited a week because of the heatwave, but it was pointless. Hot as Hades back there, even with fans going. It is definitely a team effort. My thanks to Julius and Alex for all their help and hard work. After that, it is boxing it all up and getting everything ready to put on the truck next Tuesday.

In between, I have been making appointments for meetings at Gen Con, finalizing and confirming arrangements, getting a little writing in, and taking care of other business. Oh, and one more July sale.

Rifts^® Mega-Damage Steel Sale – 4 days only – July 28-31, 2016

A selection of Rifts® titles filled with armored vehicles, robots, cyborgs, power armor, weapons and other machines of war. Plus a few select Rifts® metal miniatures. Enjoy.

By Kevin Siembieda

Things are starting to pop at Palladium. The Rifter® #74 ships next Friday. Robotech® The Masters Saga™ in the larger, 8½ x 11 format, also ships next Friday. Wayne and I created two Rifts® poker decks and are awaiting the proof copies from DriveThru; we hope to have one or both at Gen Con Indy. We also typeset, laid out and submitted the Raw Preview Editions of Rifts® Sovietski and Secrets of the Atlanteans, both limited in quantity as we have done in the past, and both will be available at Gen Con for those of you dying to see the material for these two books. Oh, and enjoy the Gamer Zombie sale!

Gamer Zombie Sale – 4 days only – July 22-25, 2016

We cannot be at San Diego Comic Con this week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t all have some fun with another 4 day sale of select Palladium games. And what do gamers do when they get a pile of fun new games? They game till they drop, turning them into Gamer Zombies. Hence, the name of this sale. Enjoy.

Travel through dimensional Rifts, battle zombies, explore alien worlds, and unleash your imaginations! On sale for FOUR days only. Sales ends midnight Tuesday.

• Gamer Zombie T-shirt – XL only – Cat. No. 2533XL – $8.00 (normally $18.95). Black T-shirt with red and white text. Available only while supplies last. More than half off!
• Gamer T-shirt – XL only – Cat. No. 2532XL – $8.00 (normally $18.95). Black T-shirt with red and white text. Available only while supplies last. More than half off!
• Rifts® Ultimate Edition RPG – Hardcover, core rules and setting – Cat. No. 800HC – $27.97 (normally $39.95) – EVERYTHING you need to get started in the Rifts Megaverse®. A complete game. 376 pages. On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® Heroes of Humanity™ – the latest sourcebook – Cat. No. 889 – $14.67 (normally $20.95) – an epic, game changer with 160 pages of information about the Coalition States, its changing war machine, and battling demonic invaders. The fate of the world may hang in the balance. On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® World Book 35: Megaverse® in Flames™ – Cat. No. 876 – $17.47 (normally $24.95) – Earth is under siege by demonic supernatural forces hellbent on global conquest. The epicenter for the invasion is North America. All the background, monsters and villains for this storyline, and 50+ Soulmancy spells, 40+ new weapons, Lord Kreelo, Megaversal Arms Dealer, Hell Lords, the Kingdom of Monsters and more! 192 pages. On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® World Book 10: Juicer Uprising™ – Cat. No. 820 – $10.48 (normally $20.95) – different types of Juicers, their weapons, gear, vehicles, Last Call, and adventure. Half off! On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® Game Master Guide™ – Cat. No. 845 – $18.87 (normally $26.95) – a massive 352 page reference book with quick stats and info on Rifts® robots, power armor, vehicles, weapons, experience tables, maps, an O.C.C.s and R.C.C.s index, and more! On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® Book of Magic™ – Cat. No. 848 – $18.87 (normally $26.95) – 935+ magic spells, plus Nazca Lines, Whale Songs, dozens of Magic Tattoos, Herbs, Bio-Wizard Weapons, Symbiotes, Rune Weapons, Techno-Wizard devices, magic items and more! On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® Adventure Guide™ – Cat. No. 849 – $17.47 (normally $24.95) – 192 page sourcebook, 150+ adventure ideas, Random Rifts table, creation tables for making towns, cities, mercenary companies, and traveling shows, gaming tips and much more. On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® Dimension Book 8: Naruni™ Wave Two – Cat. No. 860 – $11.87 (normally $16.95) – 20 Naruni guns, plus power armor, robots, combat drones, vehicles and more. On sale for four days only.
• Rifts® Chaos Earth® Resurrection™ – the latest sourcebook – Cat. No. 666 – $14.67 (normally $20.95) – Dark magic and mechanized zombies (Rifts® style), the Black Obelisk, adventure catalyst and deadly fun. 160 page adventure sourcebook adaptable to Rifts® and other settings. On sale for four days only.
• Dead Reign® Sourcebook 3: Endless Dead™ – Cat. No. 233 – $8.48 (normally $16.95) – More fuel for zombie based adventures. New types of freakish zombies and weird fusions, new survivor O.C.C.s, vehicle combat rules, random tables for military bases, and more. Half price for four days only.
• Dead Reign® Sourcebook 4: Fear the Reaper™ (heroic) – Cat. No. 234 – $6.48 (normally $12.95) – Everything you could want to know about the heroic Road Reapers – modern knights errant of post-apocalyptic Earth. Half price for four days only.
• Dead Reign® Sourcebook 5: Graveyard Earth™ – Cat. No. 235 – $6.48 (normally $12.95) – More zombie gaming materials. World information, settings, survival tips, random tables and 100+ adventure ideas set around the world. Half price for four days only.