One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure
By Kevin Siembieda
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
I hope you are healthy, happy, and able to spend some relaxing time this Thanksgiving Day weekend surrounded by family and friends. Or maybe you’ll curl up on the couch and watch your favorite sporting events and/or holiday season movies. Of course, a bunch of us will be doing shopping online and at stores to get Black Friday and Cyber-Monday deals. Please don’t forget about Palladium Books and our four sales starting today (see details below) and running the whole weekend and into Cyber-Tuesday!
We have so much for which to be thankful. Sure, these are uncertain times, but if you are rich in friends, family, and good health, you are doing great. I’m honored and proud to have a great business partner in Sean who has become a dear friend and co-creator, plus I have an army of amazing friends, old and new. That includes you, our fans and extended family. We are thankful for your support, friendship, and kind words on many fronts. This is evident by our successful TMNT and Other Strangeness Kickstarter and the outpouring of support and positivity from so many of you. Thank you all so very much. If you love the Ninja Turtles or the original TMNT and Other Strangeness RPG, you must check out the Kickstarter before it ends on Tuesday, November 28.
I like to keep the Thanksgiving Day (and Christmas) Updates shorter than usual, but that was impossible with all our sales this weekend and the TMNT and Other Strangeness Kickstarter going on. We so want fans of the original TMNT RPG to find and enjoy these beautiful books and rockin’ Kickstarter Exclusives, as well as a whole new generation of comic book fans and gamers. This is a passion project created by TMNT fans for TMNT fans! The books and Kickstarter exclusives are for gamers and comic book fans alike. And we have the full support of, and new cover art by, Eastman and Laird! So please take a look at (and pledge even a buck on) the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness Kickstarter. So much bonus material, art and color.
Thank you for being the greatest fans any creator could ever hope for. You make our days brighter, fuller, and filled with love. We try to do the same for you, so enjoy the sales listed below, try not to overeat, and have fun reading new Surprise Package Comments From Fans Like You at the end of this email.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at Palladium Books.
4 Big Thanksgiving thru Cyber-Tuesday Sales to be thankful for – and they all start now! Enjoy.
SALE #1 – Palladium’s Black Friday & Cyber-Monday SALE – now thru Wednesday, November 29
The majority of the following game lines are on sale at big savings, while supplies last. Sorry, other than RUE and BTS, most hardcovers are not part of the sale but most everything else is! Get bigger savings but less certainty with the Surprise Package offer (see #4 below).
- Rifts® Notepad & Pencil Set – one notepad and 5 different pencils -Cat. No. 2603 (set)
- Palladium Pens (3 different, all cool)
- Rifts® Ultimate Edition Softcover – Cat. No. 800SE
- Rifts® Ultimate Edition Hardcover – Cat. No. 800HC
- Rifts® 30th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover (with behind the scenes)
- All in-stock Rifts® titles, except foil hardcovers.
- All Phase World® titles, except Skraypers (almost sold out).
- All Rifts® Chaos Earth® titles, except the hardcover.
- The Rifter® #83, #84 and #85.
- All Palladium Fantasy RPG® titles, except the two hardcovers.
- All Nightbane® titles, except the hardcover.
- All Heroes Unlimited™ titles, except the hardcover.
- Ninjas & Superspies RPG and Mystic China sourcebook, except the hardcover.
- All After the Bomb® titles, except hardcover. Create mutant animal super-heroes using the After the Bomb® RPG and sourcebooks for the standalone post-apocalyptic setting or combine it with Ninjas & Superspies (TMNT style or with the redux TMNT & Other Strangeness RPG – see the current Kickstarter which ends November 28), or add them to your Heroes Unlimited™ campaign and use them to create animalistic Nightbane® or D-Bees in Rifts®, or Frankenstein lab creations for Beyond the Supernatural, or as aliens from other worlds and dimensions for Phase World® or any appropriate setting. Unleash your imagination.
- Beyond the Supernatural 1st Edition Rules Hardcover and Boxed Nightmares sourcebook (1st edition rules).
- Beyond the Supernatural RPG, 2nd Edition, softcover AND hardcover, and Creature Feature sourcebook.
- Sale runs now thru Wednesday, November 29. Please spread the word.
SALE #2 (sort of) – the historic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness KICKSTARTER – ENDS Tuesday, November 28
Please do not miss out on these two magnificent, full-color hardcover editions, beautifully remastered and including tribute art and bonus material.
The Kickstarter Exclusives are amazing and limited! Variant covers, miniatures, 5 FanRoll dice sets, dice tray, dice tower, and so much more are available ONLY via the Kickstarter and will NOT be sold in stores or online.
Be strategic: Pledge enough just to get in on the Kickstarter now! Later, during the Backerkit pledge management phase, you can decide whether you want to increase your pledge and/or get add-ons AFTER the holiday madness has passed. That way you get in on the Kickstarter now but can figure out exactly what you want when things quiet down. And if you want to be kind, you can add items for friends who foolishly missed this historic Kickstarter. You can get in with as little as a $1 pledge or a basic pledge level of $50 and upgrade and/or add-on during the Backerkit pledge manager period after the Kickstarter ends. Spread the word!
What makes this Kickstarter historic?
A deluxe redux of the original, beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness RPG and sourcebooks by the company and people who published it in the first place.
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird wholeheartedly support this passion project.
Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird are working together to create new variant, collector covers!
30+ pages of new tribute art by comic book and gaming legends created special for these books.
First time you can get a TMNT & Other Strangeness poker deck with the TMNT and RPG characters as the face cards. Yet to be revealed in the Kickstarter.
Detailed TMNT & Other Strangeness miniatures.
Collectible dice sets that come with a full color dice bag, by FanRoll.
We are on track to become the biggest TMNT based Kickstarter ever!
Be part of history and get yourself what are all going to become instant collector items you will cherish for a lifetime.
All lovingly created by TMNT fans for TMNT fans. Thank you for your participation and please spread the word.
SALE #3 – Christmas Surprise Package offer now through December 24
The best deal in gaming – $100+ worth of goodies (often more) for $60 (plus shipping). Books are signed if you want them to be. It is just 4 weeks till Christmas and Kwanzaa, and 2 weeks till Hanukkah (starts December 7)! Less time when you account for the time to process and ship orders, so this weekend and next are the perfect time to place your holiday orders. The Surprise Package Offer ends December 24, 2023.
A great gift for any holiday, birthdays, anniversaries, or a nice treat for yourself (you deserve it), or a way to try new settings, and fill your collection. After these past four crazy years, you deserve to do something nice for yourself and your gaming pals. The Surprise Package Offer gets you physical game books at PDF prices, and we will sign them if you would like us to. See what other fans are saying in the comment section, below. Enjoy and happy holidays.
What is a Christmas Surprise Package? A smile and a hug that comes in a box filled with signed game books from available Palladium staff and freelancers. And God knows this year continues to be so crazy, we need something fun like the Christmas Surprise Package to bring a little joy and laughter into our lives. With so many people suffering from the fallout of the pandemic and related doldrums, frustration, and in some cases, money issues, they need to escape to realms of role-playing adventures. Not to mention the huge savings and autographs available via a Palladium Christmas Surprise Package.
A Surprise Package is your way to get physical books (and autographs if you want them) for PDF prices! $100+ worth of Palladium products for only $60 (plus shipping)! That can nab you four or more items when these days one core rule book can cost you that alone.
These Surprise Packages are our way of saying thank you for your support and showing you our love and appreciation. It’s a surprise because you never know exactly what you’re going to get or who will sign your books, because we pick from your Wish List and may surprise you with stuff you are not expecting. Extra items may include other RPGs, sourcebooks, issues of the Rifter®, novels, miniatures, prints, art books, greeting cards, T-shirts, negatives, and other items. Some books may be slightly damaged (scuffs, scratches, dings, a crunched corner, etc.) so we can send you more.
You get a ton of stuff on the cheap, you can get a bunch of autographs (if you want ‘em), and you look like you spent a fortune. This is also a great way to try that game setting you’ve wondered about – Splicers®, Dead Reign®, Chaos Earth®, Palladium Fantasy®, Nightbane®, Systems Failure, Mechanoid Invasion®, Rifts®, After the Bomb®, etc. – or to get something for your favorite Game Master. Or perhaps, to get your player group to consider a new game or setting.
Your “Wish List” is vital – the Palladium Surprise Packages are designed to simulate the joy and surprise of the Christmas Season of Giving. To do this, you submit a list of 12-15 Palladium products (or more) FOR EACH Surprise Package you order. This list of 12-15 items for EACH Grab Bag is critical, because you will not know which items we will select to send you. That makes it just like a Christmas gift because it really is a surprise. Surrogate Santa, Kevin, personally hand-picks every item for every Grab Bag, and may toss in something extra like a limited edition print, or a negative, or similar collector’s item, or an issue of The Rifter®, or something else he thinks you’ll enjoy.
Send us your brief comments. There is a special form and format to fill out for Christmas Surprise Packages. It includes a place where you can offer your brief comments, suggestions, greetings and salutations.
First-timers are always nervous until they see the great value in their first Surprise Package. A typical Grab Bag has $100+ worth of product, sometimes more! Yes, sometimes more, for only $60 plus shipping. Many people order 2-3. Some order 4-6, and some maniacs order even more! It makes sense, because it is a great way to fill holes in your own collection, treat yourself, get autographs, try new games and settings, rebuild your collection, replace worn out books, and get your gaming pals gifts you know they will love. PLEASE spread the word about this great offer.
To those of you outside the USA, the X-Mas Surprise Package is a way to get books and circumvent the damn high cost of shipping from the United States, since you are getting $100+ (often more) worth of product and only paying $60 plus shipping. Shipping via Priority Mail International (required for packages weighing 4 or more pounds) to most locations in Europe, Canada, Australia, and many other countries is around $65-$80 US dollars. HOWEVER, because the cost of the product is so low, that’s the equivalent of paying retail for the products and only $30-$40 for shipping. A very good deal. Plus you get autographs if you want them! X-Mas Surprise Packages are the way to go for those of you outside the USA. Please take advantage of it to get all those products you’ve wished you could get except the shipping was too prohibitive. We feel your pain. Game on!
Please spread the word. The Christmas Surprise Package is only publicized by word of mouth, on Palladium's website, and social media, so please tell everyone you know. Buy one for every gamer you know. They make astonishing gifts for every occasion.
Christmas SHIPPING Update:
5 weeks till Christmas, but less time in order to ship and receive it in time for Christmas – ONLY about 15 days left to order and get delivery by Christmas via Media Mail.
Those of you buying books and Christmas Surprise Packages as holiday gifts NEED to place your orders no later than the dates below to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas (by December 24) without incurring additional costs for expedited shipping. These recommendations come from the shipping companies themselves.
- United States Postal Service: Media Mail – December 8 and even then there is no guarantee. That said, you should receive packages shipped via Media Mail as late as December 14. Last year mail delivery was very good, but the US Mail seems a bit less reliable this year and we cannot guarantee delivery in time for Christmas when you use Media Mail. YOU assume ALL risk when you ship via Media Mail.
- United States Postal Service (in USA): Priority Mail – December 15.
- UPS Ground (anywhere in the contiguous USA) – December 15. Last year, UPS was astonishing in its speed and accuracy of shipping. Most UPS Ground packages arrive anywhere in the contiguous USA within 5 business days, often a day or two sooner.
- UPS 3-Day Select – December 19.
- UPS 2nd Day Air – December 20.
- UPS Next Day Air (to arrive December 23) – December 21, remember, we need time to process and pack your order!
- To our friends in Canada and overseas – December 6 with no guarantee that the package will arrive by Christmas. We suggest ordering no later than December 6, but SOONER is better. At this point in time, we cannot guarantee delivery in time for Christmas. Your package should arrive in time, but if there are delays at Customs, work strikes, bad weather, etc., it might miss. Order sooner rather than later. Note: Right now, we are finding overseas orders are taking 18-34 days to arrive, sometimes longer! Cost Saver: A Surprise Package mitigates overseas shipping costs – take advantage of this while you can. It is, in effect, the equivalent of getting the books you want at retail, plus autographs, and paying the equivalent of only $10-$30 for overseas shipping! MANY overseas customers take advantage of the Surprise Packages for this reason! And it is likely the ONLY way for you to get autographs. Give it a try, we don’t think you will be disappointed.
- Any orders placed after these dates may arrive in time for Christmas but we cannot guarantee it AND you should assume they will NOT arrive in time for Christmas. Please spread the word and place those orders as soon as you can. Ho, ho, ho and happy holidays.
- 2023 Shipping Note: As always, at Palladium, we will be working overtime and do everything we can to process orders as fast as possible to get them to you for the holidays. However, after the package leaves the Palladium warehouse, delivery is out of our hands. As we get closer to Christmas, UPS Ground and Priority Mail will be your most reliable and timely methods of shipping. Thank you for your understanding.
SALE #4 – Kevin’s Toys, Art and Collectibles SALE – now through December 11, 2023
Negatives at half price, plus toys (Star Wars, Marvel and DC superheroes, etc.), Palladium collectibles, and a variety of proofreader copies, hardcover Printer Proofs, and more, all on sale now through December 11. And we are adding new collectibles, negatives, and items through the weekend. Check it out at: http://stores.ebay.com/kevinstoys-artandcollectibles
More Things We Are Thankful For
TMNT and Other Strangeness Kickstarter Interviews with Kevin Siembieda and Sean Owen Roberson
These are just some of them for your consideration and enjoyment. There have also been articles in Forbes Magazine (online) and elsewhere.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-and-other-strangeness-tmnts-original-1985-rpg-remastered-in-new-kickstarter-campaign/ar-AA1j6Fx7
https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/tmnt-tabletop-rpg-kickstarter-blows-past-funding-goal/ar-AA1jeqit
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-tabletop-rpg-launches-kickstarter-gets-funded-within-hours/
https://www.wargamer.com/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-and-other-strangeness/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-rpg
https://breakfastpuppies.com/podcasts/glitterbois/episode0144/
https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/55361/kevin-eastman-onboard-new-edition-tmnt-other-strangeness-rpg
https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/55493/fanroll-palladium-books-reveal-tmnt-dice-sets
Watch for the Sunday, November 26th, live interview with Kevin and Sean on Legion of Myth. It starts at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
New Surprise Package Comments From Fans Like You
Your comments are another reason Sean and I are profoundly thankful. Happy Thanksgiving Weekend and thank you for your kind words.
– Kevin Siembieda, Thankful for you all
P.D.B. in Tucson, Arizona, writes: Thank you for offering the Christmas Grab Bag again!
[Our pleasure, P.D.B., we love giving gamers something to smile about during the holiday season. – Kevin]
M.H. in Crystal Lake, Illinois, writes: Thank you so much for the recent Surprise Packages. I’m still smiling. My girls, seeing all the great games, want to try Fantasy role-playing, so it’s time for some PFRPG! My oldest is into mythology and magic, my youngest is into wolf-people and pirates. I’m looking forward to starting them on their adventures!
[Wow, that’s wonderful M.H., have a blast role-playing with the girls. I’m happy Palladium Fantasy provides all those elements. Enjoy and keep all those beautiful imaginations burning bright. – Kevin]
D.J. in Layton, Utah, writes: This is my second 2023 Christmas Surprise Package. The last bundle completed my After the Bomb® collection. I can’t wait for TMNT!
[Hi, D.J., we can’t wait for TMNT and Other Strangeness either! The excitement of the Kickstarter has been wild. As I write this, we are closing in on one million dollars in pledges and we are about to reveal more stretch goals and the Kevin Eastman concept rendering for his variant cover. Incredible. – Kevin]
J.V. in London, Ontario, Canada, writes: While I like Rifts®, my heart will always be with Palladium Fantasy. Thank you so much for again doing the Surprise Package offer.
[We are happy to do the Surprise Packages for our 25th year. Love ‘em, and Palladium Fantasy will always have a special place in my heart too, J.V. After all, it is the game that started everything, and why I named the company after my Palladium of Desires campaign, during which I developed the world and the game system. – Kevin]
W.M.C. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, writes (in part): Happy holidays! This is my third or fourth year in a row ordering at least one Christmas Surprise Package. I love them, even though shipping fees to Canada suck ... I pledged to the TMNT & Other Strangeness Kickstarter and can’t wail for those sweet, sweet books to make their way into my excited hands. I’ve been watching all your interviews online, and especially love the ones you and Sean have done on the Legion of Myth YouTube channel. They have some of the best, if not the best coverage, of Palladium Books’ games I have seen on the Internet... I love and appreciate all you guys do for the fans, and can’t wait to see what you have in store for us all in the future. Thank you.
[W.M.C., You are going to love all the TMNT & Other Strangeness products. We are doing everything in our power to make them, as you said, “sweet.” Sean and I appreciate our fans because a) we are one of you, and b) you guys and gals are the greatest. As for the future, TMNT is just the beginning, my friends, just the beginning. – Kevin]
A.K. in Yonkers, New York, writes: I am a player and fan of the Palladium Fantasy RPG since 1985. I have been buying and collecting all of the books for over 35 years. I love that the game is going strong, even if I don’t get to play all that often. The Christmas Surprise Package box is an awesome gift to myself. Thank you.
[Wow, that’s cool, A.K. I love that you have enjoyed our games for so many years. Enjoy this year’s Surprise Package and keep on gaming. We appreciate your decades of support. – Kevin]
B.P. in Brownstown Township, Michigan, writes: Favorites: I have them all and most of the books. The list is a handful of the titles I’ve not yet gotten. I’m looking forward to the TMNT re-release. I’ve already backed it and told a few friends.
[You have an impressive collection of Palladium’s games, B.P. Thanks for your support. You will be glad you backed the TMNT Kickstarter, the books and Exclusives are gorgeous and amazing. Thanks for telling friends about it. Please continue to do so as we wind down to the end of it. – Kevin]
J.D. in Greendale, Wisconsin, writes: I have been playing Rifts® with the same group of friends since about 1993! I can’t tell you how much you guys have inspired my art and my creativity. We don’t get to play nearly as often as we used to as we all now have families, jobs, etc., but we still manage to make it work. I’m going to be using this purchase to update our gaming library since we still use all the books we purchased way back when. Thanks so much for making such an awesome game.
[Holy Moley, J.D., playing Rifts with the same friends for 30 years is a rare feat and wonderful. We are humbled and thrilled you all love the game so much. Keep those imaginations burning and game on! – Kevin]
M.S. in Aurora, Colorado, writes (in part): So far I’ve only played Heroes Unlimited, so that’s my favorite. I got into Palladium from Savage Rifts®. While I really like Savage Worlds, I so far, absolutely adore the Megaversal System. It’s like a sweet blend of old D&D, Chaosium’s BRP, Mythras, and WFRP. I’ve only run a short Heroes Unlimited game, so far, but I really am loving the system ... The art is fantastic. Full of 80s and 90s art that I so dearly miss. Kevin, you’re one hell of an artist ... Just a great, old-school, crunchy system ... thanks again, you rock!
[Glad you are enjoying HU2 so much, M.S. I think you’ll enjoy the other settings just as much. For more superhero fun, check out Ninjas & Superspies, After the Bomb, and, before it ends, you must take a look at the TMNT & Other Strangeness RPG Kickstarter. This RPG and sourcebooks sounds right up of your alley. – Kevin]
M.N. in Mapleton, Utah, writes (in part): Thank you for running the Surprise Package every year! I hope to be able to meet the crew again at a future Palladium Open House. Also, huge congrats on the TMNT & Other Strangeness Kickstarter! The announcement literally brought a tear to my eye knowing it was coming back and how huge this is for Palladium.
[Thank you, M.N., it is huge for us and for all TMNT fans. The RPG introduced a lot of people to the TMNT comics, and the game captured the hearts of comic book readers as well as gamers. So we are thrilled not only to bring it back, but to bring the RPG and sourcebooks back in deluxe color and filled with new, special art and bonus material. See you at an upcoming Open House, not that we have any on the schedule, we’re so busy. Happy holidays to you and yours! – Kevin]
© 2023 Palladium Books Inc. All Rights Reserved. Palladium Books®, Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Dead Reign®, Chaos Earth®, The Mechanoids®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, Megaverse®, Palladium Books®, Powers Unlimited®, Splicers®, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, After the Bomb®, and all related titles, names and slogans are trademarks of Palladium Books.
TMNT © 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related titles, logos, and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
This Update may be reprinted, reposted, linked and shared for the sole purpose of advertising, promotion and sales solicitation.
