By Kevin Siembieda

As many of you read this, Wayne and I will be on our way to Anime North. That’s the reason this week’s Update is being sent to you Tuesday evening. By Wednesday morning, we should be trekking through Canada on our way to Toronto for a weekend of fun.

UPDATE: Robotech^® RPG Tactics^™ Kickstarter – $1,442,312 total

The Kickstarter is over and it is everything we could have hoped for. As I said in my Tuesday morning Murmur from the Megaverse®: Thank you, thank you, thank you. With your support we did it!

My sincere thanks to EVERYONE who made a pledge and helped to spread the word, and especially to the hardworking gents at Ninja Division. Together we have made Robotech® RPG Tactics™ a reality, and I thank you.

UPDATE: Robotech^® RPG Tactics^™

The Kickstarter is done, now it’s time to get the Robotech® RPG Tactics™ game, sculptures, graphics, packaging and all the rest completely finished over the next few weeks. Then we send it into manufacturing overseas. With any luck, we’ll have Kickstarter materials shipping to you by October or November (no promises) and the retail product hitting store shelves by November or December. We do not have a release schedule yet, but I’ll let you know when we do; probably in a few weeks.

Wayne Smith, Carmen Bellaire and I will be at Anime North this weekend running demos, signing autographs and chatting with the fans, but Ninja Division will continue to work on many aspects of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ while we’re gone.

UPDATE: The Rifter^® #62 – Ships this week

The Rifter® #62 ships later this week. Julius and Alex have already taken care of the prep work and are raring to go. It’s a great issue as you know. Full of official and useful material for Rifts®, plus great material for Palladium Fantasy® and Heroes Unlimited™, and other good stuff.

UPDATE: Palladium at Anime North – May 24-26, 2013

The convention organizers want us in a couple days in advance, so Wayne and I will be packing up and driving out to Anime North on Wednesday morning.

I sure hope to see a lot of gamers at Anime North this weekend. There will be demos of Robotech® RPG Tactics™, panel talks, books to buy, autographs to be had and fun, fun, fun. Be there! Game on!

Palladium Related Anime North Highlights:

Note: It is our understanding that the Palladium “booth” will be located in the Guest Autograph area, not the dealers’ room. Please find us. ;)

• Meet Palladium Founder, Writer and Game Designer Kevin Siembieda.
• Meet Palladium Writer and Game Designer Carmen Bellaire.
• Meet Palladium Editor Wayne Smith.
• Meet Palladium Writer Matthew Clements.
• Meet Palladium Writer Greg Diaczyk.
• Meet Palladium Writer Braden Campbell.
• Artist Kent Burles will also be present though he’ll have his own table in the dealers’ area.
• Panel talks with Kevin Siembieda and others.
• Carmen Bellaire to run Robotech® RPG Tactics™ demos! Carmen is one of the game rules designers behind Robotech® RPG Tactics™ along with David Freeman of Ninja Division, legendary Alessio Cavatore, and others. Carmen will be running demos of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ all three days, May 24, 25 and 26, which means those who participate will be among the very first to get a look at this fun, fast-paced Robotech game from one of the creators!
• I, Kevin Siembieda, am the winner of the prestigious Momiji Award for achievements in promoting anime and Canada. How cool is that? I couldn’t believe it when I got the news. There will be an award ceremony, a short speech and everything. I am very, very honored.
• I, Kevin Siembieda, will be participating in many panel talks and running a game or two. I am happy to sign autographs and chat with fans at the panel talks, after the talks and all weekend long at the Palladium booth located in the Guest Autograph area.
• Palladium dealer tables in the Guest Autograph area. We’ll bring a good selection of Palladium products, new releases, art prints and other goodies. Plus, Wayne Smith, Matthew Clements, Carmen Bellaire, Greg Diaczyk, Braden Campbell and all Palladium creators present are available to chat and sign autographs.
• We are coming to Canada and Anime North to have a rip-snorting, fun weekend. Please visit to say hello and to join the fun.

Anime North is a mixed media event that includes gaming, anime, manga, toys, cosplay, and other fun. For more information go to http://www.animenorth.com

DriveThruRPG.com – FREE Rifter^® #62 Sneak Preview is available now; your place for PDFs of more than 90 Palladium titles

The FREE Sneak Preview of The Rifter® #62 is available now (includes the missing Experience Tables for Rifts® Black Market), as well as Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook and an early one for Rifts® Northern Gun One (with a newer one coming in a few weeks), on DriveThruRPG.com for your enjoyment. There are also previews available for Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms™ (Revised Edition), Rifts® Black Market, Rifts® Lemuria, Dead Reign™ RPG, Endless Dead™ sourcebook and others. The original Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms World Book is also available as a PDF on DriveThruRPG, for those of you who may be interested.

More than 90 other Palladium titles can be found on DriveThruRPG.com as PDFs, including Splicers®, Rifts® RPG (the edition before RUE), The Rifter® #1-52, and first edition rule books and sourcebooks for Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited™, The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy, Beyond the Supernatural™ and lots of other good titles. 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).

UPDATE: Rifts^® Northern Gun^™ One and Two

As soon as I’m back from Anime North, I work until Northern Gun™ One is finished and at the printer. It is my top priority. And after it, the book we dive into immediately, Northern Gun™ Two, then is Megaverse® in Flames.

Closing thoughts

I hope you are as excited about the success of the Kickstarter as we are. This will help us grow the company and release more products. To me, it marks a new era of fun and adventure coming your way from Palladium Books. Keep the faith and your imaginations burning bright.

It is the Memorial Day holiday this weekend here in the United States. Have fun, drive safe and enjoy your loved ones. Also, please take at least a moment to think about what this ‘holiday’ is really all about: remembering the men and women who have fallen in war. And by extension, all the men and women who have served in the military. On this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all of you who have served this country so well. Know that I will stop to think, say a prayer and give thanks for all you have done for us.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer and Game Designer

The Rifter^® #62 – Ships May 23, 2013

The Rifter® #62 is truly a spectacular issue with 48 pages of “official” source material for Rifts® (20 pages of “official” Rifts® Vampires source material, new Necromancy spells, a Northern Gun mech, and the missing Rifts® Black Market experience tables!), detailed castle floor plans and descriptions that can be dropped into any Palladium Fantasy® campaign anywhere you need one, some epic Heroes Unlimited source material we may expand into a complete sourcebook in the future, plus news and information.

Since 2013 is the Palladium Fantasy® RPG’s 30 Year Anniversary, we are trying to include something special for the Fantasy RPG line in every issue. This issue has that detailed castle and many maps/floor plans, and the cover reprints the popular Kevin Long Palladium Fantasy RPG® cover from the 1980s. In fact, EVERY cover of The Rifter® in 2013 will be a fantasy illustration. Last issue was Amy L. Ashbaugh, this issue a classic Kevin Long, next issue’s cover will be by John Zeleznik and the October issue will be by Chuck Walton (we want to keep Charles working away on Northern Gun). Note: Writers & Game Masters, if you have some awesome Fantasy material (large or small) you’ve been thinking about sending in for The Rifter®, this is the time to do so. Thanks!

And The Rifter® is a bargain. Since this publication is a special product, it only costs $11.95 for a 96 page book. That’s less than what we charge for a 64 page sourcebook!

Each and every issue of The Rifter® is an idea factory that helps players and Game Masters to generate new ideas and keep their games fresh. It provides useful, ready to go, source material gamers can just drop into their ongoing games. A doorway to new possibilities and numerous Palladium role-playing worlds. It offers new monsters, villains, characters, O.C.C.s, powers, magic, weapons, adventure and ideas for your games. It presents new villains, monsters and dangers to battle, and new ideas to consider. Every issue has material for Rifts® and at least two or three other Palladium game lines.

The Rifter® Number 62 includes:

• Rifts® – OFFICIAL Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook Bonus Material by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Awesome, fun stuff we cut from the sourcebook due to page count considerations. Heck, we had already increased the Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook from 96 pages to 128, and then to 160. The book finally topped out at 176 pages and we still had source material and ideas that Kevin Siembieda finished up for inclusion in this issue of The Rifter®.
  - More about the secret vampire special forces organization, Deathspike.
  - More Deathspike O.C.C.s including Werewolf Agents.
  - Two notable Deathspike leaders.
  - The vampires’ Top Ten Enemies List.
  - Vampire Harvesters and their “Meat Wagons.”
  - Some additional vampire fighting gear.
  - 11 Hook, Line and Sinker Adventures.
• Rifts® – OFFICIAL Black Market O.C.C. Experience Tables by Kevin Siembieda. Please note that the Experience Tables will also be made available online for free in the next week or so. Please make sure people who purchased Rifts® Black Market know about that.
• Rifts® – OFFICIAL Necromancy and Bone Magic spells by Jeff Duncan. What else is there to say than more magic and darkness for your Necromancers (and the African Witch)?
• Rifts® Northern Gun™ Sneak Preview of the Gunbot Robot-Killer by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Text and art to give you another taste of what’s coming in NG-1. Also see the more expansive, FREE Rifts® Northern Gun™ Advance Preview that has been available on DriveThruRPG.com.
• Palladium Fantasy® source material by Michael Long. A very detailed presentation of a castle with dozens of maps and floor plans, plus a general description.
• Heroes Unlimited – World Association of Super-Humans by Thomas Morrison. A peacekeeping organization with international credentials and works with law enforcement agencies and governments around the world.
• All Settings – An in-depth look at the Climbing skill and its many uses, by Michael Strom.
• News, coming attractions, product descriptions and more.
• 96 pages – Still only $11.95 retail – Cat. No. 162. Ships this week!
• Check out the free Sneak Preview on DriveThruRPG.com!

Rifts^® World Book 33: Northern Gun^™ One

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 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, Nick Bradshaw, and others.
• Wraparound cover by Chuck Walton.
• 160 pages – $20.95 retail – Cat. No. 887 – June release.
• Check out the free Advance Preview on DriveThruRPG.com!

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 – July 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. Summer 2013 release.

Rifts^® Vampires Sourcebook^™ – Available Now

New secrets, new monsters and danger, new places to explore, new magic to wield, dark magic and forces to fear, new trouble and adventure in Mexico and the Yucatan. New conflicts between rival forces are brewing as Doc Reid prepares to take his private war with the vampires to a whole new level. Meanwhile, the vampires live like smug tyrants and gods, dominating an underclass of slaves and people used as cattle to feed upon. Learn more about the vampires, their rivals, allies and the humans who willingly serve them. A must-have guide for those who wish to travel deeper into the Vampire Kingdoms or play as vampires and their human minions.

• Vampire Hunter weapons and equipment.
• Techno-Wizard weapons and special gear.
• Lemurian gifts to better fight vampires.
• The horror of Soulcrafting and Dark Weapons.
• Hero Necromancers and their role in fighting vampires.
• Fort Reid, an entire city devoted to hunting the undead.
• The history and stats for Doc Reid, his top leaders and Reid’s Rangers.
• Deathspike – the vampires’ own high-tech answer to Vampire Hunters.
• The Yucatan Peninsula and its many monsters and mysteries.
• Animated dead, mummies and zombies used to fight vampires.
• New strategies and tactics for fighting vampires, plus Mage Vampire Hunters, D-Bee Vampire Hunters, Bandit Vampire Hunters, and other slayers of the undead.
• Werejaguar Vampire Hunters and other werebeasts.
• Firefighting robots, hover firetrucks and more anti-vampire gear.
• Tampico Military Protectorate expanded with much more detail.
• The human strongholds such as Tampico, Monterrey, Silver City, the Crystal Caves, Acapulco, Ocotlan and 2others.
• The Mayan god Camazotz, Lord of Bats and Darkness.
• Desert Survival rules and more. Yes, more!
• Cover by Michael C. Hayes.
• Art by Amy L. Ashbaugh, Nick Bradshaw, Kent Burles, Mark Dudley, Kevin Long, Allen and Brian Manning, Mike Mumah and Chuck Walton.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda, Matthew Clements, Christopher Kluge and Braden Campbell.
• 176 pages – $20.95 – Cat. No. 884. Available now. Place your order.
• Check out the free Sneak Preview on DriveThruRPG.com!

BACK IN PRINT: Palladium Fantasy^® Book Two: Old Ones

This is a massive adventure book, with maps and descriptions of more than 50 locations in the Timiro Kingdom. As if that were not enough to make this the ultimate adventure book, there is also information about the Old Ones and a few O.C.C.s.

• 50+ cities, towns, and forts described and mapped. Each suitable as a place for adventure.
• 7 fully fleshed out adventures and scores of adventure ideas.
• Includes the fabled “Place of Magic,” an ancient Dwarven Ruin reputed to date back to the Elf-Dwarf War.
• Minotaur R.C.C., Illusionist P.C.C. and Monk/Scholar O.C.C.
• Background and rumors about the Old Ones and adventure galore.
• Travel notes, world information about Timiro and more.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda.
• $24.95 – 224 pages. Cat. No. 453. Available now.

BACK IN PRINT: Rifts^® World Book 22: Free Quebec

This World Book contains a wealth of information about Free Quebec, Glitter Boys and notable people and places.

• Overview of Free Quebec and its military.
• 6 Quebec Military O.C.C.s including variant Glitter Boy Pilots.
• 6 types of Glitter Boys plus the Glitter Boy Sidekick.
• Pale Death SAMAS and other Quebec power armor.
• Free Quebec’s Navy, Cyborgs and technology.
• Notable places, including Old Bones and various combat groups.
• Many adventure ideas and more.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda and Francois DesRochers.
• 192 pages – $24.95 retail – Cat. No. 837. Ships May 1.

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.

Dead Reign^™ RPG – Back in print, and hot, hot, hot

Can you survive the zombie apocalypse?

Yes, you may think so. But there is only one way to find out for sure: Play the Dead Reign™ RPG. The core rule book is all you need to start playing. Rules are easy. Character creation is fast and fun. Combat, quick and deadly. Survival? Harder than you might think. Good luck.

Dead Reign™ RPG is the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Civilization is gone, the dead reign, and the living fight to survive against impossible odds. Battle zombies, mad men and death cultists in a post-apocalyptic world where the last of humanity struggles to survive. Think you know zombies? Think again.

• Easy to learn, easy to play, and fast paced.
• Clean, simple rules and quick character generation, and a depth of information and setting.
• 7 different types of zombies.
• Zombie combat and survival tips.
• 6 Apocalyptic Character Classes & Ordinary People. 40+ occupations to choose from.
• 101 Random Scenarios, Encounters and Settings.
• 100 Random Corpse Searches and other tables.
• Weapons, vehicles, and places of note.
• Death Cults, their Priests, power over zombies and goals.
• Quick Roll Character Creation tables (10 minutes).
• A complete role-playing game.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda, Josh Hilden and Joshua Sanford.
• $22.95 retail – 224 pages – Cat. No. 230. Available now.

Dead Reign^™ Sourcebooks

Civilization Gone™: Dead Reign™ Sourcebook One. There is no army, no government, no help coming. You are on your own and things are only getting worse. Villains include madmen and pychopaths, bandits and raiders. Many random tables for encounters, houses, and survivor camp creation, and more. $12.95 – 64 pages. Cat. No. 231.

Dark Places™: Dead Reign™ Sourcebook Two. Using railroad tracks and subways, sewer tunnels, steam tunnels and other dark places to travel undetected by zombies. Many tables for random encounters, boxcar contents, zombies and more. Survival tips, new zombies like the Bug Boy, Sewer Crawler and Impersonator. $12.95 – 64 pages. Cat. No. 232.

Endless Dead™: Dead Reign™ Sourcebook Three. Zombie hordes grow in number and strangeness. Where is the military? What’s next for the living survivors? Many new types of zombies, new O.C.C.s like the Wheelman and Zombie Hunter, the military and random tables for military bases, police and other places. Plus weaponizing vehicles, vehicle combat, Survivor caravans, and more. $16.95 – 96 pages. Cat. No. 233.

Upcoming Appearances

Anime North – May 24-26, 2013 – Toronto, Canada – www.animenorth.com

Kevin Siembieda is one of the Guests of Honor, but several Palladium creators will also be at Anime North in Toronto, Canada, to meet and game with you. The event takes place Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26, 2013. Wayne Smith and other Palladium creators will also be present to chat and sign autographs. We are bringing a pile of books, prints and other goodies to sell in the dealers’ room. www.animenorth.com

Gen Con^® Indy – August 15-18, 2013 – Indianapolis, Indiana

We can hardly wait for Gen Con this year as we hope to have advance copies of Robotech® RPG Tactics™ there. Not to mention a stock of new releases from throughout the year. We may even need to expand the size of our booth. Hope to see many of you there.

Note: There will be no Palladium Open House in 2013 or 2014.

© 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.