Palladium games calls for fan help

[Lao]

I just recieved this email from the GM of a PBEM Rifts game that I play in, who is also a Freelance writer palladium. Even if you cant help out directly, Please spread the word. Palladium is a great company and it would suck for them to go under.

FYI:

Please Help Save Palladium from Going Under

An open letter from Kevin Siembieda, President & Owner.

A Crisis of Treachery

At a time when Palladium Books' future has never looked more
promising, we have been dealt a crippling blow.

For legal reasons, I cannot go into details about exactly what
happened. Suffice it to say that betrayal of trust, theft, and
embezzlement has inflicted what we estimate to be $850,000 to 1.3
million dollars in damages to Palladium.

It is a blow from which Palladium cannot recover. At least, not
without YOUR help.

Out of options . . .

I have borrowed tens of thousands in loans and sunk every dime I've
had into Palladium Books. I'm selling everything I own to keep
Palladium going. That's the real reason I'm selling my 25 year old
toy collection, art and other items at the Palladium Open House.

But it's not enough.

For the last year I had kept Palladium going with the hope that
something would break in our favor. After all, we had all kinds of
exciting things going on behind the scenes, and the huge loss
seemed, for a while, like something we could overcome. Then a string
of misfortune.

A series of unfortunate events

- The truly wonderful Rifts® videogame – Rifts® Promise of Power –
was stillborn. The N-Gage platform never took off in North America.
That meant the N-Gage and Rifts® Promise of Power would NOT be
available on the mass market in the USA and Canada. Finding it
anywhere in North America required an act of God.

- There would be no Nokia royalty-based revenue stream.

- Nor would there be a Nokia videogame sequel and the money that
might come from it.

Note: Nokia treated me nothing short of GREAT. They lost truckloads
of money on this venture. We're both the victims of marketing
fallout. Please don't blame these wonderful people for Palladium's
woes – circumstance just didn't make them part of our solution.

- Minimal gains into the book trade (Barnes & Noble, Borders,
Hastings, etc.). PSI's (Publisher Services Inc.) efforts to get
Palladium RPG products into the book trade have been slow to say the
least. Although we are confident PSI will be a good partner and get
us into many national bookstore chains, it is taking much longer
than anticipated.

- The Rifts movie? Stalled. Until Jerry Bruckheimer has a script he
loves, the movie can't get the green light. That makes perfect
sense, but it doesn't help Palladium's bottom line right now.

- There were discussions with a company interested in doing a Rifts®
MMOG but it didn't pan out.

- Other potential deals have moved forward at a snail's pace or have
fallen to the wayside.

- Going public with this appeal may very well cost us getting the
Robotech® license renewal.

- It doesn't help that the role-playing game industry is in a slump
and going through a transitional phase.

- Palladium has a team of amazing writers and artists brimming with
ideas and enthusiasm. We have dozens and dozens of ideas and
opportunities that will knock your socks off, but not the money to
implement them.

- Palladium's writers and artists have been troopers, waiting months
to get paid, but their generosity is not enough.

- Treachery and skullduggery from within threatens to put us out of
business.

Please help save Palladium Books®

I struggled and struggled with whether or not I should turn to YOU
for help. Palladium and I have always had a close relationship with
our fan base. Everything we do, we do with you in mind. We buck the
trends, keep prices low, produce The Rifter®, and try to bring
happiness with our annual X-Mas Grab Bag offer. We love gaming and
gamers.

The irony is, we should be doing fine except for the treachery that
has crippled us.

It was actually trusted fan-friends and freelancers who gave me the
idea to turn to you, the people who are most important to our
survival on so many levels.

Time and time again, each person I spoke to would be stunned by the
news that Palladium was facing the possibility of closing its doors
soon.

Time and time again, the person would say something heartfelt
like, "I can't believe it. I can't imagine a world without Palladium
in it. Kevin, if I had the money I'd give it to you in a heartbeat."

I heard this so many times, almost word for word, that it gave me an
idea. What if I went public and told all our fans about our trouble?
Would they help?

It seemed like a viable solution, but was it right to ask our fans
for . . . a helping hand?

My friend, Teresa Mead, helped me decide that this was the best
solution when she said to me, "Kevin, I know your fans, and I think
they'd be angry if you didn't turn to them. They care about
Palladium. If they find out they had a chance to save it, but
Palladium's gone because you didn't ask them, it will make them
furious. They'll feel cheated and betrayed."

I thought about that a lot, and I think she's right. So here's goes.


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How you can help

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Purchase the limited edition print "A Megaverse® United"

- I, Kevin Siembieda, will draw a special, pencil drawing with key
characters from our entire game line to be made into a simple, black
and white, toned piece of artwork, 11 x 14 inches, printed on a good
quality paper.

- Each print will be hand signed by me. I'll indicate which number
that print is (i.e. #1, 2, 100, 1000, 2010, etc.). I don't know how
many there will be in the end; I pray for thousands!

- EVERYONE who purchases the print will see their names appear in
the back pages of a major book listed as "Heroes of the Megaverse®!"

- The print will sell for $50.00 plus shipping and materials
(envelope, protective cardboard, etc.), probably about $2.00-$5.00
by regular first class mail.

- We need those sales NOW!!! If 4,000 or 5,000 people all order that
darn print within a month or two, it should give us the money we
need to get back on our feet! Without a shot in the arm of some big
cash, and fast, I fear Palladium is gone. That kind of jump start
should carry us through the year and should enable us to do the
other things we need to do to keep the company going for years to
come!

YOU can make a real difference

This is one of those rare moments in life when YOU, as an
individual, can make a real difference. You can be a real hero by
purchasing one of those prints and encouraging every Palladium gamer
you know to do the same. Spread the word online, at conventions, at
game stores, everywhere. Encourage every Palladium fan who has ever
enjoyed our games, purchased a Grab Bag, or visited us at a
convention to run home and place an order.

I would never ask this great kindness of you if I didn't think it
would really work to save Palladium and keep us going for years.

This is easier than it may sound.

Four or five thousand may seem like a big number, but that's not
even close to the number of gamers who purchased the Rifts® Ultimate
Edition within the first few weeks of its release!

Palladium has a mailing list of 14,000 fans who buy from us
throughout the year.

We sold 2000+ Christmas Grab Bags last year alone.

We get 25,000-50,000 hits on the website every month, with some
months exceeding 100,000!!!

Millions of gamers around the world have played our games over the
years — Rifts®, Ninja Turtles®, Robotech®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®,
Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane® and others. MILLIONS!

With YOUR help Palladium CAN survive, but we need a rapid infusion
of cash. That means we need YOU to spread the word about Palladium's
situation and encourage others to buy a print too. And as soon as
possible.

YOUR help is real

Any amount we can sell will make a difference. 2000 prints sold is a
big help and "should" enable us to limp through the rest of the year
working toward getting into the book trade and launching new
products that can make a difference. 4000 prints sold "should" free
us of the most crushing debt, and help get us standing on our feet.
5000 prints or more should help enable us to release a range of
amazing role-playing games, sourcebooks and related products. With
the cash we need, Palladium can do all of the following.

Release the stockpile of exciting new sourcebooks and products
created by Palladium's unbelievable crew of talented freelance
writers and artists.

Palladium can release new RPGs and publish more products for ALL its
game lines, hopefully boosting overall sales and making Palladium
strong again.

Palladium can reprint key titles.

Palladium can expand vital advertising.

Palladium can keep doing the X-Mas Grab Bag that makes Christmas
that much brighter for so many people.

With your help, a little luck and hard work, this will be the boost
we need to keep Palladium going for years and years to come.

Without giving away too many secrets, we've been looking into a
number of exciting licenses and new product areas you guys and gals
have been asking for over the years, including novels, comic books
and toys. Things that would already have been in production except
for the crisis of treachery.

YOU will be a bigger, intrinsic part of the Palladium Megaverse than
ever before. You'll be true champions who did something noble, kind
and significant.

YOU have my word that fans will always come first and I will repay
you by keeping Palladium's quality high, our prices reasonable, and
giving back whenever I can.

What else can you do?

- Come to the Palladium Open House and celebrate the past, present
and future, buy back-stock items, toys, art and rare collectibles.

- Keep supporting Palladium by purchasing our games at stores and
online from Palladium Books.

- Spread the word about Palladium's role-playing games to other
gamers. The greatest sales tool there is, especially in this age of
the internet, is "word of mouth." Encourage others to play Palladium
games, run games and demos at your favorite game store or local game
convention.

- Take advantage of online offers and sales, like the 25th
Anniversary items.

- Tell stores that you want our books and wish they'd carry them
(but only if it's true).

- Share your thoughts and ideas with us.

- Forgive me for having to bother you with our troubles. I hope this
appeal doesn't offend anybody. I've run out of options.

- Please do not try to assess blame or blast the person or persons
who may be responsible. It can only lead to more trouble for
Palladium. Besides, we need you to focus on the positive with us.
Palladium CAN be saved with some help from its friends.

If Palladium Books should come to an end, I have no regrets. I'll
know I did everything possible to keep going and do right by
everyone. I have nothing but wonderful memories I will cherish
forever. Palladium Books has allowed me to touch the lives of
millions of people, meet thousands of fans, and become friends with
scores of wonderful people.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher – Spring 2006

[Lao]

Here is a link to the letter posted on Palladium Game's Forums. It gives a link to purchase the print.

http://forums.palladium-megaverse.com/v ... hp?t=57048

[dier_cire]

I still have my Ninja Turtles RPG stuff. The porcupine was pretty cool if I recall. And the artwork fit with the original comics well.

[Lambic]

I've play alot of their different games. I own quite a few Rifts books. This is really sad. I hope this works out for them.

Taki and I met Kevin at Gencon either 2004 or 2003. He was a really nice guy, very interested in talking with fans and hearing what they had to say. I don't know how soon I would be able to but I would be proud to own one of those prints.

[Onimaster]

Word...

[Eilonwy]

Bleh...I hope this turns out too. I still have my TMNT books as well though I haven't been able to play the system in awhile. Have to see if I can scrounge the cash.

[JOAT25]

Well, though I may be dirt poor, I'm going to scrape up the 50 bucks and buy one of the prints.

[Torakhan]

You know, I can't help but wonder how many books they'd sell if they released a D20 version of the game... maybe even a "conversion" book, or a "limited edition D20 book"? I mean... they could use the same old artwork, use the free D20 lisence.

Unfortunately, last I heard, they were aggressively against the idea of ever doing a D20 version (just ask Matt about the Email he got from them a few years ago when he asked them about it).

But if they're really in dire straits, this may be an option? Personally I don't really have any emotional connection to Palladium or RIFTS, so... *shrugs*. Whatever. But if they put out a decent D20 book, I might pick it up.