#palladium rpg

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Adventures in the Northern Wilderness Cover Art by Keith Parkinson

[chasedbybuildings]

[legionofmyth]

The Rifter #11: Hidden Answers That Could Boost Your Gameplay

Could the Q&A in The Rifter #11 be the key to unlocking new adventures in your Palladium RPGs? 🔑 Find out how these insights can impact your games today! Don't stay in the dark when answers are at your fingertips. Watch now! #TheRifter #PalladiumBooks #RPG

The Rifter #11 Rifts Ultimate Edition Unlock invaluable insights with our analysis of The Rifter #11’s Q&A section and discover how it impacts your Palladium Books games today! Join us as we reveal answers to burning questions that could enhance your gameplay and storytelling. In this enlightening video, we delve into the Q&A section of The Rifter #11, uncovering clarifications and expert advice…

[prokopetz]

Wassup, figure you'd get a kick out of what i found (and bought) at a pawn shop a few years ago:

Any tips for running it?

Yeah – run as fast as possible.

[oldschoolfrp]

I think we can fit one more gun on there (Kevin Long illustration from ad for Robotech the Role-Playing Game and supplements by Palladium Books, in Dragon magazine 135, July 1988)

[vintagerpg]

Man, Palladium RPGs exhaust me. In a good way, but still, exhausting. This is the first edition of Beyond the Supernatural (1987). Players take various sorts of psychics who then investigate supernatural mysteries that can fall anywhere on the horror spectrum, from farcical to gruesome.

As with most Palladium games, there are at least two truckloads of rules too many. The main innovation here is Potential Psychic Energy (PPE) which is how Psychic Character Classes (PCCs — it wouldn’t be Palladium without lots of abbreviations) do their thing. It’s basically a point system for any sort of mental powers or magic and replaces the D&D-derived spells-per-day style systems that were in TMNT, Palladium Fantasy and other games up to this point. PPE and the underlying psychic/magic systems would become an important component of Rifts. A fun section of source material tackles Ley lines and sites of power that will also be important for that later game (and is, along with the bestiary, which includes a lot of unusual monsters from non-European traditions, is the most fun section of the book). I tend to think Palladium games are too complicated for me, and I definitely think this one is too much for horror (and too combat oriented). YMMV of course.

So much amazing artwork, though. A cover by Richard Corben? Hell yea! Kevin Long was still pumping out illustrations for Palladium at this point, but this is one of the rare times I think he’s out-shined — Steve Bissette contributes a ton of work to this book, and it is all grimy and shadowy and full of toothy danger. It’s hard to compete with a master.

[chronivore]

Peter Laird. Palladium, 1986.

[jessica-problems]

Soothsayer Harbinger Providence, with Phalanx Host Armor & Tormentor Bodyguard (top)

Senior Sweeper Shauna's Final Moments (second row left)

Dreadguard (and Senator) Nicole Teigs of Great House Artemis & her Host Armor, Medusa (second row right)

Dreadguard Fallon O'Connor & her Host Armor, Brutus (third row left)

Dreadguard Miko & her Host Armor, Dragon (third row right)

Splicers Dreadnaught OCC Upgrade (bottom)

by Chuck Walton for the Splicers TTRPG

[sci-fi-fantasy-art-collection]

Clyde Caldwell painting for Palladium

“Island at the Edge of the World”

That warrior has some Sam Neill vibes!

[wwads1800]

percy :(

[originalgrognard]

The Palladium game systems were a popular alternative to the games of TSR, when I was growing up.

Have you ever played these?

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Rifts Adventure Guide Cover Art by John Zeleznik

[theultrablog]

Pulp Storytime #72: The Palladium Peril! By Paul "Wiggy" Wade-Williams.

In 1938, Austria was invaded. In 1940, London was not. Was a statue to blame?

We open in Verona. Journalist Trudy Truman has an inkling of the story… a Greek artifact that was said to be lost to time. To help her get it, she teamed up with an all-new adventurer, Dr. Hemet Hazoul. He’s a genius with a doctorate in engineering and history… and has all the humility of a Hollywood publicist at award time. He had been "encouraged" by the rest of the staff of his Turkish university to go on permanent sabbatical, and submit his research via correspondence. Rounding out the posse was Tacito Uriel Velasco, lawyer, boxer, and wielder of a Mexican panther spirit, and stuntwoman Lala Santinella. She and her adopted daughter Devika (millionaire, mystic, etc.) were visiting her homeland to work out a few glitches in their relationship. They brought a lawyer because of a little business that was… What’s the word? Elective? "Compulsory," corrected Tacito. Trudy was contacted by a member of British Intelligence. He was being followed, so the best place to talk would be during a local performance of Macbeth. Someone must’ve said the play’s name outloud too much, though. All the agent could divulge was "Minerva, at the pantheon" before being shot. The killer timed it during the witches’ lightning, and despite the lawyer's best effort, the killer got away. Hemet explained, with no degree of humility, the Pantheon was a famous structure in Rome. Lala went under protest, in disguise. She wasn’t popular in Mussolini’s Italy after publicly leaving a Germany/Italy film collaboration. Unfortunately, that very same movie was shooting at the Pantheon! Lala’s old pal and rival, Elena Altieri, was starring in the movie Santinella turned down. The stuntwoman tried to hide in her car, while Trudy used her gift for blathering to distract Director Leni Riefenstahl. The statue itself weighed hundreds of pounds, but with Hemet’s advice, the lawyer moved it aside and looked underneath. There was a gem and a scroll, which claimed a secret would be revealed at the sun’s zenith in the Flavian Auditorium. Wait, what did they call the building nowadays? The Colosseum! The stadium was 30 minutes away and it was 11:40. The group was blessed to have an Italian leadfoot! The group got to the Colosseum with seconds to spare, barely noticing the new platforms and fresh sand. At noon, Hemet directed the sunlight onto a brick on the emperor’s box, burning up a Nazi flag…And springing the trap! Herr Strauss, a Nazi commander with delusions of grandeur, told our heroes the score. They could live with the knowledge they acquired… if they could beat him and his unit in gladiatorial combat. He presented a range of ancient weaponry… And the battle was on! Trudy had always been blessed with a strong nose. Instead of immediately joining the fight, she observed her surroundings… and could smell a very unfamiliar scent. LIONS. The “fair” Nazi challenge was a deathtrap! The professor was used to brawls and ancient weaponry. He held off the brown shirts… but the lions had the opposite effect on him and Tacito that Trudy might’ve expected. Hemet had the world’s greatest ego. The lawyer had the instinct of a panther, and there was no way he’d surrender to another large cat. Lala, brimming with common sense, snuck off to open an escape hatch. Tacito and Hemet kept the lion away from Trudy. After choking the beast unconscious, Tacito flung blood onto his opponents… Making them all the more appealing for the other Pantero leos. Egos assuaged, Trudy led a retreat.

After fleeing, the group laid low at a much less historic venue… Their local library. The Palladium, the object of their search, prevented cities from falling, so there was no way it was still in Rome. But some dusty tomes suggested it’d been moved to Constantinople! It was an awkward homecoming for Professor Hazoul. His rival, Cleric Marduk, had charged him with violating the school's decorum code… By fighting animals in a world wonder. But Hemet had an ace up his sleeve. It was his new friend, one of Earth’s greatest lawyers. Tacito emphasized that the lion fighting had been done in self-defense, and in pursuit of an archaeological treasure. This set Hemet up for some self-serving lies… and the honor committee was completely, 100% on board. The cleric shook his fist as the other panel members suggested that HH could teach ancient weaponry as an elective next semester. Trudy got to the telegraph office to send in her story. Nazis digging up the Colosseum was front-page stuff. She had another contact in town, Stavros “The Bull” Papadopoulos, a merchant mastermind with an interest in antiquities. He agreed to meet her and her cohort at the Turkish baths. Suggested wardrobe: a towel. Papadopoulos, (when not interrupted by Hazoul), explained that the Palladium they saw was in a monastery 70 miles out of town. And completely coincidentally, he had a delivery truck headed in that direction. A spare ride at a reasonable price. Trudy’s astounding senses paid off again… As she heard footsteps down the hallway. Assassins! The fez-wearing killers had the group at a disadvantage, but no sword can defeat the human mind. Especially when that mind belongs to a dirty-fighting professor. He soaked one end of his towel in water, and set the other on fire. The hashish-eaters caused problems, slashing Trudy’s arm badly, but the crew was clever. Tossed braziers set their foe’s robes on fire. Tacito held a goon’s head under the bath. Lala soaped the floor and smashed people in the face with water buckets. Soon, there was gap in the flow of hired killers. The group rushed to the changing rooms, and from there to Papadopoulos’s cousins’s truck. Kristos let Lala drive, but the cabin was cramped. A few people would have to ride in the back. Devika, feeling useless, gave Trudy one of the many crates. Trudy, playing along, opened it up, asking what it was. Devika read the label.

"Nitrog…nitro gly…" "Nitroglycerin."

Yep, Kristos was hauling enough explosive fluid to send the truck into orbit. Not a problem, until a Nazi half-track came around the bend. The party had very little in terms of ranged combat skill. They did have a maniac behind the wheel, so when the Ahnenerbe machine gun opened up, Lala hit the gas like she was driving a Ferrari. And although they needed to cover miles and miles of ground, and couldn’t dodge bullets forever... the group had a mechanical genius on board. His idea was rebellious. It was dangerous. And it was perfect. They had a truck bed full of explosives? Why not just detach the truck bed? Instead of throwing crates one at a time, they unleashed a huge trail of explosive ordinance. Far behind, a commandant demanded his troops check what was in these mysterious crates… And then proceeded, very slowly, to remove them. By the time the nitro was safely disposed of, the players had gotten away. The monastery was a bust. But it could’ve been much deadlier if the group didn’t travel with a design historian. Trudy detected a trap, and Hemet was able to keep the hidden wall blades recessed. Tacito and Hemet examined the corpses of less careful Crusader tomb robbers… skeletons with coins from 14th-century Vienna. Could Austria be the place?! It turns out it was. And after an ambush in Europe’s second-largest graveyard, the group found a gigantic statue of the Pallas Athena! While the antiquarians examined the device, Devika and Lala had some one one-on-one time. Devi was concerned that Lala had gone off the deep end after the failed wedding and Devi’s time in a coma. Lala admitted that things had gotten drastic, but moms were allowed to get a little crazy. Just the way things go. The group hurried. Austria wasn’t a Nazi state yet, but brown-shirts had free reign there. The statue opened a nearby fountain, which led to a cavern containing the Palladium, and a weird electrical grid pattern. Lala was about to unplug it… When Professor HH had a better idea. The group rewired the trap. The fascists might have outnumbered our heroes, but hatred can do very little against electricity. Herr Strauss’s dueling saber was nothing more than a lightning rod. Lala, Tacito and Hemet mopped up the rest. The only thing left to do: figure out where to move the statue! Trudy was loyal to the British crown. Tacito argued that they should honor the sacrifice of the agent who told them about the thing in the first place. Hemet was fine with any option as long as he got to write the archaeological report. The Palladium was stored securely in the tower of London.

Towel Fight by JORDAN PEACOCK!

[legionofmyth]

The Rifter #11: How Alternate Combat Rules Can Elevate Your Game

Are you making the most of your combat encounters in Rifts? ⚔️ Unveil the alternate combat rules from The Rifter #11 that could change your game forever! Don't let outdated tactics hold you back. Click to level up your battles! #TheRifter #RiftsRPG #TabletopGaming

The Rifter #11 Rifts Ultimate Edition Experience combat like never before with our in-depth exploration of The Rifter #11’s alternate combat rules for Rifts! Watch now to discover how these innovative rules can redefine your battles and elevate your gaming sessions. Dive into the action as we break down the alternate combat mechanics introduced in The Rifter #11, designed to add depth and…

[prokopetz]

Reading your posts mentioning Palladium, and currently listening to an episode of a podcast about Heroes Unlimited. I have to ask, why *are* Palladium games like that? Is there some goal in mind? Some quirk of the era that they couldn't shake off? Is it one really weird guy catering only to himself in the design room?

(With reference to this post here.)

It's 100% on account of the fact that Kevin Siembieda genuinely believes he's an excellent technical writer, and he's really, really not. Like, I'd be the last guy to impugn his creativity, but from a technical writing standpoint his work is consistently very bad, and has not discernibly improved since 1981.

[oldschoolfrp]

Time Travel Ninja Turtle Style -- Ad for Transdimensional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a 1989 sourcebook for the TMNT RPG by Palladium Books, with James Lawson art (in Dragon magazine 145, May 1989)