Palladium’s uncertain future

[Kevin]

By now you’ve probably seen my appeal to you, our fans, to help save Palladium Books from going out of business.

Are things really that bad?

I’m afraid they are.

It was difficult to go public with such an admission and ask for help.

On one hand, I feel like I don’t have the right to ask of such a great kindness. You don’t owe me or Palladium anything.

On the other hand, there is a closeness and connection between our fans and Palladium that has always been intimate and powerful. I suspect its because the Palladium crew and I are just big, dumb fan boys ourselves. The fact that we all truly love what we do helps to make that connection too, I think. Consequently, it was pointed out to me that Palladium fans would want to help if they could. I pray that is true, because we really need your help if you can give it.

Of course, I have numerous plans of attack in play to get Palladium completely back on its feet. Your help is a key part of phase one. Meanwhile an army of friends, writers, artists and other good folk continue to offer ideas and suggestions that I may not have yet considered. (Thank you everyone.) It has been the kind words and support of these people that has kept me going these past weeks.

The bad thing about this is that it’s hard for me to think about anything else. My mind is going all the time. I have to divide my attention in a multitude of different directions making it hard to focus. I mean I’ve been talking to police, attorneys, bookkeepers, accountants, creditors, investors, staff, freelancers, friends and consultants, while juggling bills, dealing with the business and trying to be creative.

I spent most of the last two weeks calling people. I wanted those working with Palladium to know what’s coming down and where they stand before we went public. That’s also why the drawing for the print isn’t done yet (sorry, I’ll try to make it as cool as possible, as soon as possible) and why Rifts® Madhaven is going to be late and Tome Grotesque has been delayed.

I apologize if this posting is a bit all over the place. I’m on an emotional roller coaster and my thoughts are all over the place. That’s why I haven’t posted much on Murmurs from the Megaverse lately either. I mean what was I going to say. Sure I’m excited about the Open House and products in the pipeline, but there was so much else going on and I was so low for so many weeks . . .

Thing is, I don’t want to focus on my feelings and fears. I don’t want to focus on the possible demise of Palladium Books. I want to focus on recovery and the positive.

No this is not denial. Trust me, I’ve been dealing with the grim reality of all this for months now. I have had to look at every option, every problem, and every possible solution realistically.

One of my big, difficult questions, was to ask myself: “Is there really a future for Palladium and role-playing games, or am I kidding myself.” I had to analyze that question from every angle and ask myself many hard questions. I brought in others and solicited their opinion to make sure I wasn’t missing something or fooling myself.

The answer we came up with was, YES, Palladium and RPGs do have a future, provided we can survive our current crisis.

We really do have a ton of great ideas, and not just for role-playing games. Our intellectual properties have value. Online sales continue to soar. There is the promise of getting into the book tradestores, videogames, and the Rifts Movie, Robotech and more. We’ve enjoyed a lot of flirtation from the videogame and film industries, as well as others. I have plans for different types and approaches to RPGs, as well as ideas for toys, comics and other things. I have a team of freelance writers and artists who are nothing short of phenomenal, and they have a million great ideas for new product, new directions and fun. Our problem this past year or so has been the lack of resources to execute any of these ideas! If any third party deal comes through (movie, videogame, booktrade, etc.) we are golden!

It is all the more strange and ironic that this is our 25 Year Anniversary. Talk about lousy timing. That’s okay. It reminds us of past triumphs, where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going next.

I intend to celebrate our past and work toward a brighter future. The Palladium Open House should be wonderful. Not only does it allow us to connect with super-fans, but I’ll be able to lose myself among friends — fan friends, freelancers and other people I work with and care about. They’ll remind me of why I do this, why I need to keep Palladium going, and help inspire me to press on. Yep, the Open House will be magical, at least for me.

Hey, let’s just make this all happen, eh? Let’s keep Palladium kicking. This isn’t a pipe dream or craziness. We CAN do this together! I know we can! And thank you everyone who has already posted and pledged their support in just the past couple of hours. It is appreciated more than you may ever know.

Thanks for listening to my thoughts, fears, dreams and murmurs. Thanks for caring all these years.

Kevin Siembieda
President, publisher, writer, artist and keeper of dreams