One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

By Kevin Siembieda

In the Face of Death™ is different, fun, powerful, and at the printer. It was sent to the printer on Monday and I’m told my June 10th estimate is probably pretty close to when we will get the book.

In the Face of Death™ is truly epic and sweeping in scope. Like Garden of the Gods™, I was super-inspired. The ideas just kept coming and coming, and not the way you might think. I had all sorts of inspiration about the setting, game play, characters, and approaches to playing in the Zombie Apocalypse in ways that I don’t think have ever been done like this before. It was exhilarating for me as a game designer and writer, because I am excited to see how this material will inspire you and your games, and help spawn all sorts of ideas and new campaigns you might have never before considered.

Moreover, many of the ideas for adventures, characters, villains, etc., presented within the In the Face of Death™ sourcebook can be applied to many other settings, especially Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane®, Rifts® Chaos Earth®, and to a lesser degree Beyond the Supernatural™. Meanwhile, the material about kids as players and player characters, Masked Lunatic Heroes, the template of animal-like Human Predators, and more can be applied to ANY setting from Rifts® to Palladium Fantasy®. I hope In the Face of Death™ makes you look at the zombie apocalypse setting through a new lens that presents an endless wealth of ideas and adventure. See the new description elsewhere in this update.

FREE Sneak Preview of In the Face of Death™ (Zombie Apocalypse setting) on DriveThruRPG.com – so take a look. Please note this sourcebook is all about the people/player characters, courage, and adventure more than zombies. Making it universal and epic in scope.

Dead Reign® SALES! Dead Reign® sourcebooks are on sale in the Palladium online store, and the RPG, sourcebooks and Beyond the Supernatural titles are on sale on DriveThruRPG. See details below.

Update on Creature Feature™, a Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebook. The manuscript has been turned in for rewrite, additions, and final editing. New artwork is also being produced. I think this monster and adventure book is much more than what people are expecting or imagining. More details to follow. I’m excited and hope you are too. See the new description elsewhere in this update. Just one of many BTS titles in development.

Coming Back for a limited time: As promised, the Rifts® Bestiary Volume Two Megaverse® Insider shall be officially reactivated NEXT Week. This will be a limited offer lasting only 2-3 weeks. HOWEVER, it is activated in Palladium’s online store right now for those of you who might want to get a jump on placing your advance order for special Rifts® Bestiary Volume Two products, like the PDF months before it is offered to the public and hardcover collectors’ editions. All orders are charged to your credit card now, but product ships later this summer, probably August. Enjoy.

Update on writing in general: Despite the concerns and tough times resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic (or perhaps because of it), I seem to have newfound focus and clarity of vision for the company, our games, sourcebooks, and the future. Ideas are flowing like water and revelations have been a daily occurrence. That clarity and innovation is continuing with CS Manhunters™ and other titles. I am on fire when it comes to ideas and writing for all our books.

Gen Con® Cancelled. For the first time in the history of the event, Gen Con has been cancelled. I know that is a huge disappointment for everyone, not only gamers, but for the valiant Gen Con staff and its army of volunteers.

I, personally, think it is for the best. For anyone who has been to Gen Con, how on earth can you enforce social distancing in the game rooms, exhibitor’s hall, or anywhere during this epic event? There are thronging multitudes and lines everywhere: in the aisles, at panel talks, gaming events, the auction, food trucks, restaurants, and all the rest, packed with happy gamers from across the globe. I don’t know about you folks, but at least a couple of the Palladium crew come down with “con crud” after every Gen Con.

It is my understanding that Gen Con is looking into hosting a virtual event of some kind online, and of course, is already planning on ways to make the 2021 Gen Con bigger and better than ever.

Palladium Books plans to make available to you special Gen Con releases, offers, and fun during the Gen Con 2020 dates of July 30-August 2 to help make up for this disappointment. Whether this will be through Gen Con as part of their virtual event or independently (or a little of both) is yet to be determined. I will keep you posted.

Dead Reign^® SALE

With In the Face of Death™ at the printer and shipping in a few weeks, we thought it would be fun to put the Dead Reign® Sourcebooks on sale so you can start your zombie campaign now, before this latest sourcebook that expands the setting is released. Also see the FREE Sneak Preview of In the Face of Death™ on DriveThruRPG as well as the PDF sale happening there.

• Civilization Gone™ – More zombies, madmen and danger.
• Dark Places™ – More zombies, traveling the sewers and steam tunnels, adventure ideas and danger.
• Endless Dead™ – 10 zombies, 5 O.C.C.s, vehicle combat, info about the military, random tables, and more.
• Fear the Reaper™ – Code and details about the iconic heroes.
• Graveyard Earth™ – World overview, tables and more.
• Hell Followed™ – 23 disasters, 11 zombies, 7 O.C.C.s, Masked Lunatics, and more. All easily adapted to other settings.
• Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition is supernatural horror in the modern world. A plausible modern horror setting that makes sense and will have you wondering if this stuff could be for real. Play ordinary people, psychics or paranormal investigators. 14 Psychic Character Classes. 42 occupations for “ordinary” people. 100+ psychic abilities, Creatures of darkness, the Lazlo Agency, and more. Figured with Creature Feature™ in the pipeline we would also offer BTS for sale. Enjoy.
• One week only. Now through May 27, 2020. Not likely to be extended.

UPDATE: In the Face of Death^™ – at the printer – Ships June 10 (maybe sooner)

A Dead Reign® Sourcebook that re-imagines the Zombie Apocalypse while remaining true to classic tropes

In the Face of Death™ is part survival guide, part cityscape, and part heroic adventure the likes of which you have never quite seen before in a zombie RPG. Adventure is built upon human ingenuity, courage, hope, and insanity. Characters include children and teenagers, and heroes driven by madness. Human predators and other villains stalk the ruins of human civilization. Ruins inhabited by the omnipresent hungry dead.

This is a book that pushes the genre and challenges the imagination. It brings to focus a setting of heroic adventure that combines elements of horror, zombies, survival, and madness in a post-apocalyptic world with classic dungeon exploring and epic adventure. In the Face of Death™ helps make Dead Reign® into A Quiet Place meets Mad Max in the world of Dawn of the Dead.

“Pure fun, action, and excitement. A sourcebook packed with new ideas unlike any I have ever seen. This is what role-playing games and imagination are all about.” – Alex Marciniszyn, Editor

• Rethinking the Zombie Apocalypse.
• It is time to fight back and do more than survive.
• Life on the rooftops and in the heart of the city.
• Resources, defenses, traps, urban homesteads, and more.
• City survival tactics, traps, resources, and Rat Runs.
• Parkour, Zombie Survival Training, and other skills.
• New O.C.C.s like the Rat Runner and Urban Explorer.
• Kids and teenagers as player characters and kid O.C.C.s.
• Heroic Masked Lunatics – a new type of hero as player characters.
• Predators and villains like Gutter Rats, Flesh Peddlers, Skinners, and more.
• Dungeon crawl-style exploration through the ruins of human civilization.
• 100+ adventure hooks and dozens of additional ideas.
• Death Cults, their orientation and practices.
• Adaptable to other settings like Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane®, and more.
• Cover by E.M. Gist. Interior art by Bradshaw, Cummings, Mumah, and Ashbaugh.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda and Mark Oberle.
• 160 pages – $22.99 retail – Cat. No. 237 – at the printer – ships June 10, 2020.

COMING! Creature Feature^™, a Beyond the Supernatural^™ sourcebook

The manuscript is in. Artwork is being created. And the world of Beyond the Supernatural™ is about to be expanded. This sourcebook 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 – June or July release (tentative).

COMING! Rifts^® CS Manhunters^™ – A Secrets of the Coalition States^™ Sourcebook

Coalition Manhunters™ reveals more Coalition States secrets along with new CS characters, more insight about the CS, new psionics, Psi-Battalion, and dangerous villains. All of it building toward something epic. Who watches the watchmen? CS Manhunters.

CS Manhunters are a secret division within the Coalition’s Psi-Battalion. The CS Manhunters hunt not only the most dangerous spies and fugitives, but also their own. This elite force of psychics, Kill Hounds, and soldiers are trained killing machines who follow orders without question and kill without hesitation.

• CS Manhunter squads and special operatives.
• Manhunter Killhound and Dog Boy O.C.C.s.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Interrogator and Psi-Enforcer.
• CS Manhunter Bursters and Zappers.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Healers and CS Slayers.
• CS Manhunter Mind Melters, deadliest of them all.
• Non-Player Characters, adventure ideas, and more.
• 96-128 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 894 – In Production – Shooting for a June release.

COMING! Rifts^® Titan Robotics^™

Rifts® Titan Robotics™ is a high-tech toy box presenting new types of armor, sleek power armor, giant robots, vehicles, and weapons sold by Titan Robotics that will make gamers salivate. Ah, but Titan Robotics is much more than just another weapons manufacturer, it is the secret operation of ARCHIE-3 and all part of his plan to monitor and manipulate the outside world. Learn about Archie’s androids that run Titan Robotics, his current schemes and plans for the future. Probably a 160 page World Book around $22.99 retail, but may expand into 192 pages.

• 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 Zeleznik, Walton, Cummings, Atkins, and others.
• Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Cover by Zeleznik.
• 160-192 pages (tentative) – $22.99 retail (or $26.99) – Cat. No. 899. July or August.

COMING: Rifts^® Bestiary^™ Volume Two – Summer 2020

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) – Summer release.

BACK IN STOCK – 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. There has never been another RPG quite like Rifts®.

BACK IN STOCK – Rifts^® Poker Decks – Available now

Both decks are gorgeous, different, and fun. Between folks stuck at home and the recent release of the four new Rifts® for Savage Worlds® sourcebooks, the Rifts® card decks blew off the shelf. We sent them in for reprint as soon as we could and they arrived yesterday. Both decks are full of powerful, fan favorite artwork and are fun to use or tuck away in your collection. Available now.

- Rifts® Poker Deck #1 Color – Cat. No. 2575

- Rifts® Poker Deck #2 Black & White Line Art – Cat. No. 2576

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® W.B. 17: Warlords of Russia^™ – Cat. No. 832 – now shipping

A toy box of whacked out Russian cyborgs, bionics, and weapons, plus the Warlords of Russia, their armies and politics, a glimpse at the Sovietski war machine, 17 new O.C.C.s like the Cossack Reaver, Hero-Knight and Ecto-Hunter, plus 10+ notable cyborgs, world info and more. And make sure you check out companion World Books: Mystic Russia™, Rifts® Sovietski™, Mindwerks™, Triax and the NGR™, and Triax™ Two for adventures across Eastern Europe.

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® Adventure Sourcebook: The Black Vault^™ – Cat. No. 855 – now shipping

Discover rumors about the Coalition States’ legendary Black Vault™. It is said to be a Top Secret depository for rare and powerful magic items and mystic artifacts the CS does not want loose in the world. 101 magic items and secrets await.

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® Aftermath^™ – Cat. No. 846 – now shipping

The siege on the Kingdom of Tolkeen was just a hint of Coalition Wars® to come. An epic overview of the world after the Siege on Tolkeen™ and before Megaverse® in Flames™. The far reaching impact of the fall of Tolkeen, the rise of the Federation of Magic, and what is going on around the world, including the CS, Lazlo, Archie Three, the brotherhood of Cyber-Knights, and others.

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® Vampire Kingdoms^™ – Cat. No. 802-E

Vampires with real bite. Different types of vampires and their hierarchy, minions, and undead abilities. Vampire society within the kingdoms of Mexico, the cities of Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, town creation rules, Hero Vampires, Deluded Vampires, Vampire Hunters, and everything you ever wanted to know about vampires and a whole lot more. Epic adventure and the undead await. Vampires as they should be. Also see the epic companion, Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook (Doc Reid’s crusade and much more).

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® Book of Magic^™ – Cat. No. 848

900+ magic spells, plus Techno-Wizard devices, Magic Tattoos, Nazca Lines, Whalesongs, Cloud Magic, Ocean Magic, Ley Line Magic, Elemental Magic, Tattoo Magic, Symbiotes, Bio-Wizard Weapons, Rune Weapons, Techno-Wizard devices, herbs, fetishes, talismans, staves, wands, and much more! 352 pages of pure magic.

UPDATE: Rifts^® Chaos Earth^® Psychic Scream^™

This is another book that is going to surprise and wow. New and insane psionics, some taken to the level of super-abilities due to the massive amount of P.P.E. energy surging across the planet and boosting survivors with ambient and alien energy. Some become heroes and defenders of fellow survivors. Some become power-mongers and killers. And still others become just one more monster or madman threatening to destroy humanity. I’m assigning some additional artwork for it this week.

UPDATE: Forgotten People – A Fantasy RPG Sourcebook

I spoke with one of the contributing writers last week and his ideas for Bug Bears sounded fabulous. Because some of this material has appeared in past issues of The Rifter® you may think you know what to expect. You don’t. There is a lot of new and exciting material in this bad boy. Things you never knew and may have been afraid to ask.

MORE Material for Fantasy

Several different freelance writers have submitted additional and unexpected Fantasy material for sourcebooks. Though I have not had a chance to review any of them – too much on my plate at the moment as I stay focused on finishing books already in the pipeline – I am very excited by this turn of events. Palladium Fantasy is on the move! Heck, several game lines are.

UPDATE: Other titles – like CS Arsenal^™ and Beyond the Supernatural^™ sourcebooks

Please remember, just because I do not mention or list a specific title in an Update, does not mean it has been removed from the production schedule. All it means is that we are focused and talking about more immediate, upcoming releases, or projects we are excited about that week, or there’s no substantive news to report. We are anxious to put as many books you’ve been waiting for into your hands as possible over the next 18 months, as well as new projects being worked on by freelance writers. That includes Rifts® Antarctica, The Disavowed™, Rifts® CS Arsenal™, Chaos Earth® First Responders™, Land of the Damned™ 3, Rifts® Living Nowhere™, Beyond the Supernatural™ sourcebooks, more Fantasy sourcebooks and other titles. So if a book you are waiting for is not mentioned in an Update, it means there is nothing new to report, but it should still be in the pipeline and news for it will be coming in the weeks or months ahead. Right now, we are focused on releases for the next six months, which by our count is 6-7 titles. And many of them are in various stages of final production or development. We are shooting for one or two new physical book releases every month as well as a couple new PDF products on DriveThruRPG.

DriveThruRPG.com – SALE Dead Reign^® the Zombie Apocalypse AND Free In The Face of Death^™ Sourcebook Sneak Preview

Free Sneak Preview of our latest, epic, Dead Reign® sourcebook: In The Face of Death™. It is at the printer and ships in a couple of weeks. Which inspired us to put ALL Dead Reign® titles and the Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG (modern horror) on sale till the end of May.

• Dead Reign® RPG – The core rule book. Easy to learn. A lot of fun. Fast action. Play ordinary people or more advanced post-Zombie Apocalypse O.C.C.s. Fight to survive against a unique array of zombies. Everything you would want from a zombie game and much more. Each sourcebook building and expanding upon a familiar yet unique and ever expanding setting.
• Civilization Gone™ – More zombies, madmen and danger.
• Dark Places™ – More zombies, traveling the sewers and steam tunnels, adventure ideas and danger.
• Endless Dead™ – 10 zombies, 5 O.C.C.s, vehicle combat, info about the military, random tables, and more.
• Fear the Reaper™ – Code and details about the iconic heroes.
• Graveyard Earth™ – World overview, tables and more.
• Hell Followed™ – 23 disasters, 11 zombies, 7 O.C.C.s, Masked Lunatics, and more. All easily adapted to other settings.
• Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 2nd Edition is supernatural horror in the modern world. A plausible modern horror setting that makes sense and will have you wondering if this stuff could be for real. Play ordinary people, psychics or paranormal investigators. 14 Psychic Character Classes. 42 occupations for “ordinary” people. 100+ psychic abilities, creatures of darkness, the Lazlo Agency, and more.
• Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG, 1st Edition Rules, includes more creatures and playing Victim Characters.
• Boxed Nightmares™ adventure sourcebook, BTS 1st Edition rules.

Also New on DriveThru: Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume One sets a new standard for “monster manuals,” with in-depth descriptions of the creature and its life cycle, a map for each, adventure hooks, notes on young animals (different than the adult and not just lower stats), creatures that can be tamed and used as guard animals, pets, riding animals, and S.D.C. stats for non-Mega-Damage game settings. The latter making this big 256 page sourcebook suitable for almost any world setting where such beasts are possible.

In the works for DriveThru in the weeks ahead: In no particular order, the 3rd Rifts® novel: Treacherous Awakenings™ – the book everyone has been waiting for because it has been out of print for years. It wraps up all the loose ends and is an exciting and satisfying read. We also have a new Rifts® novel in the pipeline from Will Erwin, Duty’s Edge™. And we have not forgotten about collecting The Hammer of the Forge™ (cosmic adventure across Phase World® and the Three Galaxies).

Recent on DriveThru – 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; the second novel in this trilogy, Deception’s Web™, reveals a conspiracy within the Coalition military that could spell disaster for our protagonists. All of it building up to the pulse-pounding events of the 3rd novel: Rifts® Treacherous Awakenings (coming soon). The Rifter® #84 offers adventure source material for Rifts® (Golems in the Myst), Heroes Unlimited™ (the City of Cascade by Wujcik and Reed), Palladium Fantasy RPG® (an Elven Kingdom), Beyond the Supernatural™ (an epic adventure, a short story, and a monster), Nightbane® (Spellbound O.C.C.), why The Rifter® is on hiatus, and more.

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: Memorial Day and You

If the Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us of anything, it is that life is uncertain and precious. Black lives and all lives matter. This coming Monday is Memorial Day. A time set aside to stop and reflect on the men and women who have given their lives in war in the name of our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. It does not matter what your politics may be, these good souls have given their lives to the call of duty and fought for the high ideals of our democracy and the United States, and for you and me.

With the coronavirus pandemic – a war of a different sort – fresh in our lives, let us pause and give thanks (and a prayer for those so inclined) to all the people in service – military, police and first responders among them, both past and present, who have sacrificed their lives for us in more than one way. Not just for those who have paid the ultimate price with their own lives, but also for those on the front-line right now, who put their lives at risk to protect and help us.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and from all of us at Palladium Books. Most of the men and women who have died and who keep fighting the good fight on our behalf are labeled heroes in the media. The sad truth is, you are mostly nameless, faceless warriors, healers, and workers who battle on our behalf without us ever knowing you. Whether you do so on foreign soil or here at home against terror, crime, or a microscopic enemy, I want you to know that you are not forgotten. We salute you and give you our heartfelt thanks and appreciation.

I know, it’s not enough, but it is all most of us can offer you. I know enough people in service and the medical field to also know that you do not do what you do, or sacrifice all that you do, for praise, recognition, or reward. Still, I want you to know we are thinking of you. Praying for you. And are grateful more than words can adequately express for all you do. With respect and appreciation.

– Kevin Siembieda, Game Designer, Writer, & Gamer

Rifts^® Bestiary^™ Vol. Two – Coming Summer 2020

More monsters and exotic animals of Rifts® North America as part of an ongoing series of Rifts® Bestiary sourcebooks. The first two or three Rifts® Bestiary™ books will focus on monsters and animals of North America. They collect creatures from all current World Books and Sourcebooks, plus some new creatures by Kevin Siembieda, Charles Walton, and others. Presented in alphabetical order, with maps showing their range and location at a glance.

Note: The Rifts® Bestiary™ series is more than a few big books of monsters, they are deliberately designed to provide players with a useful, living resource (pet, guard animal, riding animal, food source, etc.) as well as present many and varied opportunities for adventure and fun. Some creatures are helpful, some are inadvertently a threat or danger, while others are slobbering predators or wicked beasts that kill and eat you, or capture you, or sabotage you, or worse.

• Monsters and animals of Rifts North America in a second easy to use sourcebook.
• Predators, exotic riding animals, beasts of burden, alien horrors, giant insects and more.
• Notable Splugorth hunting animals.
• Some new creatures, but most are existing creatures.
• Updated information where applicable.
• Updated and uniform stat blocks.
• A map for every creature showing where it is found.
• Fully illustrated.
• Art by Chuck Walton, Siembieda, Cummings, Bradshaw, Atkins, Ashbaugh, and many others.
• 192-224 pages – $26.99 retail – Cat. No. 897. In production. Anticipating Rifts® Bestiary™ Volume Two to be a summer 2020 release.

In the Face of Death^™ – at the printer – Ships June 10 (maybe sooner)

A Dead Reign® Sourcebook that re-imagines the Zombie Apocalypse while remaining true to classic tropes

In the Face of Death™ is part survival guide, part cityscape, and part heroic adventure the likes of which you have never quite seen before in a zombie RPG. Adventure is built upon human ingenuity, courage, hope, and insanity. Characters include children and teenagers, and heroes driven by madness. Human predators and other villains stalk the ruins of human civilization. Ruins inhabited by the omnipresent hungry dead.

This is a book that pushes the genre and challenges the imagination. It brings to focus a setting of heroic adventure that combines elements of horror, zombies, survival, and madness in a post-apocalyptic world with classic dungeon exploring and epic adventure. In the Face of Death™ helps make Dead Reign® into A Quiet Place meets Mad Max in the world of Dawn of the Dead.

“Pure fun, action, and excitement. A sourcebook packed with new ideas unlike any I have ever seen. This is what role-playing games and imagination are all about.” – Alex Marciniszyn, Editor

• Rethinking the Zombie Apocalypse.
• It is time to fight back and do more than survive.
• Life on the rooftops and in the heart of the city.
• Resources, defenses, traps, urban homesteads, and more.
• City survival tactics, traps, resources, and Rat Runs.
• Parkour, Zombie Survival Training, and other skills.
• New O.C.C.s like the Rat Runner and Urban Explorer.
• Kids and teenagers as player characters and kid O.C.C.s.
• Heroic Masked Lunatics – a new type of hero as player characters.
• Predators and villains like Gutter Rats, Flesh Peddlers, Skinners, and more.
• Dungeon crawl-style exploration through the ruins of human civilization.
• 100+ adventure hooks and dozens of additional ideas.
• Death Cults, their orientation and practices.
• Adaptable to other settings like Rifts®, Chaos Earth®, Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane®, and more.
• Cover by E.M. Gist. Interior art by Bradshaw, Cummings, Mumah, and Ashbaugh.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda and Mark Oberle.
• 160 pages – $22.99 retail – Cat. No. 237 – at the printer – ships June 10, 2020.

COMING! Rifts^® Coalition Manhunters^™ – A Secrets of the Coalition States^™ Sourcebook

A secret division within the Coalition’s Psi-Battalion, the CS Manhunters hunt not only the most dangerous spies and fugitives, but also their own. Coalition soldiers, brass, government leaders, and anyone who becomes designated as having gone rogue, AWOL, or turned traitor (including the Disavowed), become targets of CS Manhunters to be tracked down and brought to justice. This elite force of psychics, Kill Hounds, and manhunters are trained killing machines who follow orders without question and kill without hesitation.

More often than not, the assignment is straight-up find and terminate. If your name has been given to a Manhunter squad, your fate is sealed, and no one is untouchable. The CS Manhunters operate in secret, find their target, terminate, and vanish as if they were never there at all. They don’t seek credit or limelight. They serve their country from the blood-soaked shadows.

• CS Manhunter squads and special operatives.
• Manhunter Killhound and Dog Boy O.C.C.s.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Healer.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Interrogator (Mind Melter).
• CS Manhunter Psi-Enforcer (Mind Melter).
• CS Manhunter Bursters and Zappers.
• CS Manhunter Slayer (a variation of the Psi-Slayer or Psi-Warrior).
• CS Manhunter Mind Melter, the most insidious and deadliest of them all.
• Weapons, gear, and tactics.
• Some notable Non-Player Characters, adventure ideas, and more.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda. Art by Nick Bradshaw.
• 96 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 894.

NEW! Garden of the Gods^™, Palladium Fantasy^® Sourcebook – Shipping now!

The Garden of the Gods™ sourcebook is a toy box of gods, magical blessings, ancient artifacts, and hundreds of opportunities and adventure ideas for players and Game Masters alike.

The Garden of the Gods is a place of miracles and wisdom where people of all occupations and races, nobility and the poor, come to find inspiration, blessings and adventure. Many insist the gods themselves are present and may visit heroes and followers in dreams, visions, or in person as an avatar. The gods also look for champions and assign heroic quests and gifts of knowledge and magic. 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.

There is also an dangerous evil on the island of Lopan. An open wound in the earth known as the Black Pit, as well as dark gods within the Garden itself.

• 212 Blessings.
• 101 Magic Artifacts.
• 45 Forgotten gods.
• 50+ Curses and dark magic.
• 100+ Random quests and encounters, and each god offers adventure hooks.
• Restore forgotten gods to power. Become a Champion of the Gods.
• 5 Weapons of destruction created by the Old Ones.
• Godly insight, visitations, knowledge and purpose.
• The Garden of the Gods and its protectors.
• Ghosts, Faeries, mysteries, and ancient secrets.
• Rumors of a secret way to the Land of the Damned.
• The Black Pit, a place of legend and dark secrets. Is it a counterbalance to the good of the Garden or something more sinister?
• Easily adapted to Rifts®, Phase World® and any game system. One game system – a Megaverse® of adventure!™
• Written by Kevin Siembieda and Matthew Clements.
• 224 pages – $26.99 retail – Cat. No. 475.

Land of the Damned^™ Three: The Bleakness^™ Raw Preview – available now

Available now! The “Raw Preview Edition” of LotD-3: The Bleakness™, for Palladium Fantasy RPG®, is an advance copy of the unedited, unillustrated, working manuscript for this new Fantasy World Book. You get to see the unfinished book months before the final title is released. A rare look at the raw manuscript before final edit, rewrites and publication. Limited to a total of 200 copies.

This epic sourcebook presents the forbidden Land of the Damned in all its brutal glory. Includes information about the ancient and forgotten eldritch races, the Minotaur legions, dark magic, the Citadel, countless adventure hooks and ideas, and much, much more. The long awaited final book in the Land of the Damned series, with connections to the Garden of the Gods™ and the upcoming Lopan Fantasy World Book.

• Limited collector’s edition – only 200 collector copies.
• Sold on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last.
• A rare glimpse at the virgin manuscript and a work in progress.
• Written by Matthew Clements, based on ideas by Kevin Siembieda.
• 96 pages – Limited Edition – $20.99 – Cat. No. 470-RAW – available now. Note: The finished book with artwork and more is anticipated to ship in a few months, but you can see what it’s all about right now and even start playing with this special Preview Edition!

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® Dimension Book^™ 15: Secrets of the Atlanteans^™

Learn about Atlantean civilization, the many clans, the mysterious Sunaj, where they are found across the Megaverse, why they hide and why they hate the undead so much. Also discover the power of Shadow Magic, how various types of Stone Pyramids work, and much more.

• 60+ new Magic Tattoos.
• 60+ new Shadow Magic spells.
• 50+ new Crystal Magic spells and the Crystal Mage O.C.C.
• Never before revealed Stone Pyramids described and mapped.
• Stone Master and Undead Slayer, revisited.
• Sunaj Shadow Mage and Shadow Assassin O.C.C.s.
• The dark history, shame, and secrets of True Atlanteans.
• Learn more about the famous Atlantean Tattooed Warriors, Undead Slayers, Stone Masters and other Atlantean heroes.
• The Shadow Dimension and new Shadow Beasts.
• Dark secrets of the sinister Sunaj secret society.
• Who are the Sunaj and why do they hunt True Atlanteans?
• Epic trans-dimensional adventure ideas and source material by Carl Gleba.
• 192 pages – $26.99 retail – Cat. No. 890 – Available now.

Palladium Fantasy RPG^® Interactive Character Sheet

The Palladium Fantasy RPG® Interactive Character Sheet is a Microsoft Excel-based character management system. Packed with features and data collected from every official Palladium Fantasy sourcebook, this sheet saves you time and hassle with each character you create. Available now, directly from Palladium Books AND DriveThruRPG.com – this is a digital, online product only.

Features & Benefits:

• The Main Character Sheet Page collects the important data from across multiple tabs and puts it in one place for quick and easy reference.
• Separate sheets examine character construction (worktable), Skills, Magic, Psionics, and Combat in greater detail.
• Built-in leveling system that calculates skill advancement for you! Experience Tables for over 80 O.C.C.s already programmed.
• Recognizes the percentages for nearly 150 skills, plus combat bonuses for over 20 Weapon Proficiencies and 7 Hand to Hand styles.
• Calculates the speed and distance a character can run and jump based on character Attributes.
• Also calculates how much a character can lift, carry, and throw for humanoids, Giants, and Supernatural Beings.
• Add in your own Hand to Hand style, custom Skills, unique Weapon Proficiencies, and Experience Tables.
• Estimated time to build a character reduced by 20% or more.
• Instructions on how to use the sheet included, as well as a video walkthrough below.
• Important Note: This character sheet is built to be used with Microsoft Excel 2010+ and it comes in .XLSX format. Opening this file in other spreadsheet programs is NOT guaranteed to work as intended.
• Watch the Overview video here: https://vimeo.com/322271758

Psychic Scream^™ – Rifts^® Chaos Earth^® Sourcebook

A storm has rolled in. A psychic storm. With the Coming of the Rifts, survivors are bombarded by terrifying visions and overwhelmed with powers and abilities they never asked for, and often cannot control.

Where do you hide from the madness boiling inside of you?

What would you do when you know evil lurks hidden among your fellow survivors?

Why do the voices of alien creatures speak to you?

How do you cope when the power you unleashed to destroy a monster and save the innocent, destroys everyone but you?

Have you become a hero or another monster born in chaos?

Are these powers your family’s salvation or their damnation?

Find out in Psychic Scream!

In the wake of the Coming of the Rifts, people begin to see ghosts and demons, they unleash lightning from their fingertips, command fire and water, hurl boulders and girders with their minds, and manifest a wide range of mental powers. Psionic abilities fueled by the explosive return of magic and the unchecked flow of dimensional energy that is off the charts.

Psychic abilities more powerful than anything known after the Two Hundred Years Dark Age. Wondrous and lifesaving. But also seething and out of control. The psychics’ own minds bombarded by feelings of dread, visions of horror, and the thoughts and emotions of everyone around them. For many, it is too much, sending them careening into madness. For others, it creates heroes forged from chaos.

• Untamed psychic abilities. More powerful than anything known later on Rifts Earth.
• New psychic powers and character classes.
• New psionic monsters and invaders.
• Insanity, side-effects and horror.
• Adventure ideas and more. All people, powers and monsters that become myths and legends told about the events during the Two Hundred Years Dark Age.
• Written by Taylor White and Kevin Siembieda.
• 96-128 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 667.

COMING: Rifts^® Titan Robotics^™

Rifts® Titan Robotics™ is high-tech toy box presenting new types of armor, sleek power armor, giant robots, vehicles, and weapons sold by Titan Robotics. Ah, but Titan Robotics is much more than just another weapons manufacturer, it is the secret operation of ARCHIE-3 and all part of his plan to monitor and manipulate the outside world. Learn about Archie’s androids that run Titan Robotics, his current schemes and plans for the future. Probably a 160 page World Book around $22.99 retail, but may expand into 192 pages.

• 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 Zeleznik, Walton, Cummings, Atkins, and others.
• Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Cover by Zeleznik.
• 160-192 pages (tentative) – $22.99 retail (or $26.99) – Cat. No. 899.

COMING: The Island of Lopan Sourcebook, a fantasy sourcebook

The island kingdom described and mapped, rare and ancient magic, trade with the Old Kingdom, Centaurs, Western intrigue, and more.

• History and overview.
• Key cities and locations.
• Lopan O.C.C.s and people of note.
• And Old Kingdom City that is a trade partner.
• The mysterious and nearly forgotten Mosaic Magic.
• New monsters and magic, weapons and gear.
• Written by Glen Evans.
• 192 pages – $26.99 – Cat. No. 476.

COMING: Rifts^® Antarctica

Rifts® Antarctica is a truly compelling and exotic land beyond what anyone expects. A frozen continent transformed by the power of magic and alien wildlife. Long isolated from the rest of the world, Rifts, D-Shifting events and the threat of war have now brought the distant South Pole within reach. And unearthed something ancient and so dangerous that even the Splugorth fear it and dare not go there.

• New alien monsters and D-Bees.
• Strange new weapons and vehicles. Some left over from the Golden Age of Humanity, others completely alien.
• The Splugorth’s secret outpost. More than it would seem.
• A Splugorth zoo and place of secret Bio-Wizard experiments.
• Snow and Ice Golems created specifically for the cold environment.
• Danger from the elements, Ice Witches, Icecraft, and other horrors.
• Vostok City, a city of magic carved from the ice itself.
• Cold-weather skills, technology and survival techniques.
• Ancient danger and dark secrets.
• Written by Matthew Clements, Carmen Bellaire, and Kevin Siembieda.
• 160 pages (tentative) – $22.99 retail – Cat. No. 898.

COMING! Rifts^® The Disavowed^™ – Secrets of the Coalition States^™

The Disavowed are so Top Secret that their existence is known only to a handful of the Coalition States’ most elite, top echelon, with Joseph Prosek II the mastermind behind the Disavowed operation, and Colonel Lyboc its shadowy face. Find out who these men and women are. How the Disavowed get away with using magic, traveling to other parts of Rifts Earth and even to other dimensions in pursuit of enemies and strategic information that cannot be had through conventional means. Learn about the secret parameters in which these hard-boiled warriors, secretly hand-picked by Joseph Prosek II, operate, why almost every mission is considered a suicide mission, and why they must forever be the Disavowed.

• CS operatives so secret that even the top military and political leaders right up to Emperor Prosek know nothing about them. And if they did know, would they condone their activity or condemn it?
• Are the Disavowed heroes or renegades? Assassins or soldiers? Madmen or super-patriots? Or a little of them all?
• Unsung heroes who keep the CS safe, or thugs and pawns of a shadow agency within the Coalition government?
• What role does the Vanguard play in this group?
• How do they reward their D-Bee “teammates” when the mission is over?
• What happens to the Disavowed when they have seen or learned too much? Adventure ideas galore and so much more.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda and Matthew Clements.
• 96 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 892.

COMING! Heroes of Humanity^™ Arsenal – Rifts^® Secrets of the Coalition States^™ Sourcebook

Rifts® Heroes of Humanity gave you updated Coalition Army O.C.C.s, ways to upgrade men-at-arms, new O.C.C.s, battle plans and strategies and tactics. CS Heroes of Humanity™ Arsenal provides an array of new Coalition hardware: weapons, armor, additional SAMAS, other power armor, robots, combat vehicles, gear and info.

• New CS weapons and gear.
• New CS SAMAS and power armor.
• New CS robots and combat vehicles.
• More secrets and information about the Coalition States.
• Wild adventure opportunities, fun and more.
• Part of the Minion War™ “Crossover” series.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda, Clements, Gleba and others.
• 96-128 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 893.

Rifts^® Bestiary^™, Volume One – Shipping Now!

Could the monsters known as Caterpillar Things be the larval form of the Mothman Monster? Is the Corrival Battler as aggressive and dangerous as adventurers claim? Are Darkhounds really magically mutated Dog Boys? Is that why they see Coalition soldiers as friends and allies? Ee-Bee Gee-Bees are kinda cute, how dangerous can they be? Is it true the animals and people slain by the Death Springer rise as zombies?! What on Rifts Earth is a Field Reaper?

This book reveals it all.

Designed with both Players and Game Masters in mind, with creatures that can be used as pets, companions, riding animals, attack animals, and even unlikely allies, as well as slobbering monsters and catalysts for adventure. Adult, juvenile, and young stages of life give every creature three different levels of power and danger. Presented as a complete ecosystem, with maps and details to bring each animal to life. All provide plenty of spice to add to your characters and adventures.

• Monsters and animals of Rifts North America.
• 80+ creatures described in detail, updated and expanded.
• New predators, exotic riding animals, alien horrors, giant insects, and more.
• A map for every creature showing where it is found at a glance.
• Easily adapted to any Palladium setting. Powerful art.
• Includes basic S.D.C. stats for each creature description.
• Written by Kevin Siembieda, Charles Walton and others.
• 256 pages – $26.99 retail – Cat. No. 896 – Shipping Now!

Rifts^® Bestiary^™ Vol. One – “Gold Edition” Hardcover – Signed and Numbered – Now Shipping!

A deluxe, limited, Gold Edition hardcover, signed and numbered by Palladium staff and maybe a few freelancers. It is the same content of unique creatures that can be used as familiars, pets, riding animals, guard animals, and slobbering monsters as the softcover edition in a durable hardcover. Very limited run of only 300 copies, numbered and signed by Kevin Siembieda, Palladium staff members and possibly available contributing artists and writers. Note: Historically, Palladium Books’ Gold Editions have doubled, tripled or increased in value many times over. Valued as cherished collectibles. Sold on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last. Please note the slight increase in price to $55.

• Gold foil on a black faux leather hardcover.
• Sewn and glued for long-lasting durability.
• Only 300 signed and numbered copies.
• Available only from Palladium Books.
• Sold on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.
• Signed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium staff.
• Monsters and animals of Rifts North America.
• 80+ creatures described in detail.
• Same contents as the softcover edition.
• New predators, exotic riding animals, alien horrors, giant insects and more.
• Easily adapted to any Palladium setting; basic S.D.C. stats included for each creature description.
• 256 pages – $55.00 retail – Cat. No. 896HC (Volume One). Shipping Now!

UPDATE: The Rifter^® #84 – available and shipping now

The Rifter® #84 focuses on adventure in dark corners of various world settings. Places where danger threatens, monsters and evildoers lurk in the shadows, and people are in need of heroes. Adventure source material for The Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural™, Nightbane®, and Rifts®. And remember, adventures and source material for one game setting can also be adapted to other world settings with some easy and obvious modifications. Most of all, have fun.

Rifter® #84 Highlights:

• The City of Cascade™ by Erick Wujcik and Matt Reed, A modern city in desperate need of heroes.
• The Kingdom of Raf-Chalon™ for Palladium Fantasy RPG® by Glen Evans. An Elven Kingdom in the Eastern Territory™.
• Golems in the Myst™ for Rifts® by Greg Diaczyk. Techno-Wizard experiments go wrong and Golems run amok.
• Spellbound O.C.C. for Nightbane® RPG by Ian Herbert.
• An Adventure for Beyond the Supernatural™ by Kyle Osterberg.
• The Dimma, a short story and a scary new monster for Beyond the Supernatural™ by Steven Dawes.
• 2021 Palladium Open House and other news.
• Coming attractions, product descriptions and more.
• 96 pages – $14.99 retail – Cat. No. 184 – Shipping now!

Six fan-fave titles back in stock and ready to ship

BACK IN STOCK: Adventures on the High Seas^™ (Fantasy) – Cat. No. 455 – Now Shipping

A big, fun book that sets sail around the known world and visits a dozen island ports including the Isle of the Cyclops, Y-Oda, Zy, the Four Sisters, Forbidden Island, the Floenry Islands, and others, each offering adventure opportunities, plus 12 O.C.C.s, character sheets, ships, Demon Black Ships, and more.

BACK IN STOCK: Civilization Gone^™, a Dead Reign^® Sourcebook – Cat. No. 231 – Now Shipping

Epic source material, a few variant zombies, 12 madmen and psychopaths including the Zombie Lover and Zombie Master, plus Bandits, Raiders, street gangs, house random encounter tables, and more. So much packed into this sourcebook.

BACK IN STOCK: Monsters and Animals^™ (Fantasy) – Cat. No. 454 – Now Shipping

120+ monsters, 200+ animals. Suitable for almost any setting from Fantasy and Heroes Unlimited™ to Rifts® and Phase World®.

BACK IN STOCK: Armageddon Unlimited^™ (Heroes Unlimited^™) – Cat. No. 527 – Now Shipping

Can you stop the mad genius Doctor Vilde from bringing the Minion War and the end of the world to the Earth of HU2? New powers, new magic weapons, the Heroic Hellion, NPC villains, adventure, and more.

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® World Book 3: Rifts^® England – Cat. No. 807 – Now Shipping

Strange creatures and monsters, Chiang-Ku dragon, magic wands and staves, Temporal Wizard and Raider, Temporal Magic, herbs, Nexus Knights, King Arthur and more.

BACK IN STOCK: Rifts^® Merc Ops^™ – Cat. No. 865 – Now Shipping

The name kinda says it all, merc jobs and job brokers, bounties, the 10 Most Wanted, plus weapons and gear and lots of adventure ideas.

Copyright 2020 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.

Palladium Books^® – A Quick Mini-Update – May 19, 2020

One game system – every genre – countless worlds – endless adventure

By Kevin Siembieda

Mainly I wanted to let you know that In the Face of Death™ is done. It is marvelous, and it is at the printer! I have not gotten a delivery date yet, but I’m guessing around June 10th.

Someone recently asked me if there was another zombie RPG on the market, and I could not say. I know that there had been a few one-shot zombie role-playing games over the years, and a number of zombie miniature games and video games, but a fully fleshed out Zombie Apocalypse RPG that pushes the envelope and challenges players like Dead Reign® and its sourcebooks, especially ones like Hell Followed™ and In the Face of Death™, I don’t think so.

I hope gamers enjoy In the Face of Death™ as much as I did writing it. Someone who recently saw the book loved it, but was especially impressed by the section about Resources. Saying that it felt real and was a viable survival guide for the real world. I’m not sure if I agree with that, and I do not pretend this is a “survival guide” for anyone but your fictional RPG characters, but it is a fun read and a very rich game resource.

 

In the Face of Death^™ – at the printer – A Dead Reign® Sourcebook that re-imagines the Zombie Apocalypse

It is time to fight back and do more than survive. In the Face of Death™ takes an approach to the Zombie Apocalypse unlike any other. This sourcebook is all about unique characters, adventures and heroism that goes beyond just surviving against impossible odds.

In the Face of Death is part survival guide, part cityscape-setting the likes of which you have never before considered or explored, and part adventure book built upon human ingenuity, courage, hope, and madness. Bold new adventures and heroes for the Zombie Apocalypse that will blow your mind.

“Pure fun, action, and excitement. A sourcebook packed with new ideas unlike any I have ever seen. This is what role-playing games and imagination are all about.” – Alex Marciniszyn, Editor

• Rethinking the Zombie Apocalypse.
• Living on the rooftops in the heart of the city.
• City survival tactics, traps, resources, and Rat Runs.
• Parkour, Zombie Survival Training, and other skills.
• New O.C.C.s like the Rat Runner and Urban Explorer.
• Kids and teenagers as player characters and kid O.C.C.s.
• Heroic Masked Lunatics – a new type of hero as player characters.
• Predators and villains like Gutter Rats, Flesh Peddlers, Skinners, and more.
• Death Cults, their orientation and practices.
• 100+ adventure hooks and dozens of additional ideas.
• Dungeon crawl-style exploration through the ruins of human civilization.
• Adaptable to other settings like Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane®, and more.
• 160 pages – $22.99 retail – Cat. No. 237 – at the printer – ships June 10 (estimated).

 

COMING! Rifts^® CS Manhunters^™
A Secrets of the Coalition States^™ Sourcebook

I’m dabbling with a number of new book projects, but my main focus of writing is Coalition Manhunters™. More Coalition States secrets are revealed along with new CS characters, more CS insight, new psionics, Psi-Battalion, and dangerous villains. And all of it is building toward something epic. Who watches the watchmen? CS Manhunters. I think that Coalition Manhunters™ is going to be a fun surprise for people and is the next book to be completed.

CS Manhunters are a secret division within the Coalition’s Psi-Battalion. The CS Manhunters hunt not only the most dangerous spies and fugitives, but also their own. This elite force of psychics, Kill Hounds, and soldiers are trained killing machines who follow orders without question and kill without hesitation.

• CS Manhunter squads and special operatives.
• Manhunter Killhound and Dog Boy O.C.C.s.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Interrogator and Psi-Enforcer.
• CS Manhunter Bursters and Zappers.
• CS Manhunter Psi-Healers and CS Slayers.
• CS Manhunter Mind Melters, deadliest of them all.
• Non-Player Characters, adventure ideas, and more.
• 96-128 pages – $17.99 retail – Cat. No. 894 – In Production – Shooting for a June release.

 

COMING! Rifts^® Titan Robotics^™

Rifts® Titan Robotics™ is a high-tech toy box presenting new types of armor, sleek power armor, giant robots, vehicles, and weapons sold by Titan Robotics that will make gamers salivate. Ah, but Titan Robotics is much more than just another weapons manufacturer, it is the secret operation of ARCHIE-3 and all part of his plan to monitor and manipulate the outside world. Learn about Archie’s androids that run Titan Robotics, his current schemes and plans for the future. Probably a 160 page World Book around $22.99 retail, but may expand into 192 pages.

• 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 Zeleznik, Walton, Cummings, Atkins, and others.
• Written by Matthew Clements and Kevin Siembieda. Cover by Zeleznik.
• 160-192 pages (tentative) – $22.99 retail (or $26.99) – Cat. No. 899. July or August.

 

COMING: Rifts® Bestiary^™ Volume Two – Summer 2020

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) – Summer release.

 

That’s all for now. Stay safe and game on!

 

Copyright 2020 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.