Palladium Books - Help Support Indies Now More Than Ever!

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L Foster   (Apr 21, 2006 at 16:17 GMT)

Just as a side note, I want to add my own personal story to this. Maybe it will help sell you on how great this indie company it is, maybe it won't.

I had an opportunity to attend GenCon (the big RPG convention) a few years back and in the midst of a convention that was turning into a Card and Board game show, were the few remaining RPG publishers, each of whom had their small to mid sized booths with their products on display and for sale. While the big companies that we associates the industry with such as TSR were demonstrating their latest lines of miniatures and board games, guys like Palladium Books were talking with fans and signing autographs.

Seeing this, and thinking that it was a cool example of even a percentage of the success I would like to see if/when my games made it big (plus being a big fan that always wanted to write RPG material for them) I went over to say hello. The staff were down to Earth and very eager to talk, especially when the conversations were not about "Why does feature X overpower feature Y when Y is the best in the world", but about publishing, making games and of all things talking NHL Hockey (a whole Detroit Red Wings vs Edmonton Oilers debate).

What made the experiance truely memorable though was when I picked up a few books that they had on sale at the show and the staff there asked if I wanted it autographed. I figured "Hey why not" and decided to get my brother (who introduced me to RPG and Computer Games) an autographed limited edition book for his birthday. When the staff at the booth heard this they put down what they were doing and began to really make it memorable, including the owner of the company who drew a Dragon that encompassed the full inside cover along with a birthday greeting.

Now I have to ask who better than indies would go through this type of effort and do all this?

And that, along with the reasons I wrote in my blog is why I am going to support these guys and buy myself a print. Companies like this are hard to come across and you cannot let them simply fade away.

Aaron Ellis   (Apr 21, 2006 at 16:48 GMT)

Hi Logan,

Great story. Like you, I've had some cool experiences with Kevin S. and company. I'll mention them here if it can help the cause in any way.

In high school I was a big fan of Palladium's licensed and original RPGs (Robotech, TMNT, Heroes Unlimited, etc.). I wrote Mr. Siembieda several times and was surprised that he personally responded to my letters. In one of his responses, he told me that he had been feeling kind of down and his wife (at the time, Maryann - sp?) dropped my letter on his desk and told him that it might cheer him up. Apparently it did since he wrote me a long, and very gracious letter. That correspondence with him, and others, reminded me that there are real people with their own dreams and hurts behind every great product and company. And it reminded me that each of us has the power to encourage those people and lift them up at times. Who knows how many others have played a part over the years.

I will always have a warm spot in my heart for Kevin S. and all of the people at Palladium. In fact, I was saddened when I heard about the Siembieda divorce. I want to see them continue to pursue their dreams and thrive in that pursuit.

I think the comparison with Garage Games is appropriate. Over the past couple of years, I've grown similarly attached to the Garage Games crew. These guys have made personal sacrifices to do what they do and from time to time I even find myself praying for some of them. Maybe that sounds corny, but it's true. Blog and forum posts from Joe M. and others remind me that they need our support as well.

Anyway, thanks Logan for posting this.

Aaron E.


[Edit: added a thought or two, fixed some typos, etc.]
Edited on Apr 21, 2006 16:52 GMT

Gareth Davies   (Apr 21, 2006 at 17:08 GMT)

I'd be suprised if i'd played a Palladium game in a decade, but it would be really harsh for them to go under for such poor reasons.

Fact it was $19 to ship it to the UK kind of makes me feel like I was donating more to USPS more than Palladium though :)

Cheers for the heads up.

Chip Lambert   (Apr 21, 2006 at 17:10 GMT)

I ordered mine... I enjoyed the Robotech RPG and dabbled a little bit with RIFTS.

I seen this the other day on Slashdot and I had to order mine immediately. I'd liked to have ordered more but I may do that later on.

I hope more people here in the community feel the same way and reach out to help other indies.


Come on guys don't let Palladium go down!

Clint S. Brewer   (Apr 21, 2006 at 21:09 GMT)

Hey Logan, I had a lot of fun with Rifts back in the day, that's really sad to hear. And sort of a nightmare of mine, and I'd guess everyone who decides to start anykind of business. I hope they make it through. Looking forward to some new wall decorations now!

Nicolas Quijano   (Apr 22, 2006 at 03:30 GMT)

Just a side note : Palladium did not create the TMNT IP, Kevin Eastman did (and got fucked over by Hollywood, and lots of other people ;)), but you're right that the TMNT RPG was a Palladium product.
I bought it when it came out way back when in the mid to late 80s.
It actually was my first Palladium purchase : went on to by their Fantasy RPG, many supplements for it, Robotech, their Super Hero game (I can't remember the name).
Never got into Rifts 'though, which was their "major" commercial success.
To this day, old friends still remind me that my best campaign writing was done for the Palladium fantasy RPG : dunno, something in the system, the world, the background just got my creative juices flowing a lot more than the 1st Edition AD&D stuff :)
Cheers !!

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