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Founded by Kevin Siembieda and Erick Wujcik, Palladium Books is a role-playing game publisher known most popularly for their best-selling, genre-crossing Rifts gaming series (1990-present). Although not created to be a universal system, they were one of the first companies to have success creating table top role-playing games in multiple genres. (This is why the Palladium Books house system is sometimes called "Megaversal" -- "Not universal, but more than just one world.")
Palladium Books is the actual name of the company, even if it is sometimes referred to as Palladium Games.
Their first game was The Mechanoid Invasion in 1981, followed by the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game in 1983 and Heroes Unlimited in 1984. Other popular titles included the role playing game adaptations of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1985) and the Japanese animated series Robotech.
Palladium was also one of the major distributors of Robotech merchandise for years, and also licensed a collectible card game and video game based on Rifts.
Due to lawsuits by DC Comics and LucasArts, Palladium has been aggressive in preventing wide distribution of fan-made conversions of their games to other systems (such as the D20 System), and is leery of derivative works.
Palladium Books is based in Taylor, Michigan.
System Overview
The Palladium house system involves roll-under percentile skill checks, roll-high d20 combat skill checks and saving throws, and variable-dice (using differing amounts of d4s, d6s, d8s, and d10s) for damage.
Character creation is done by taking one of a few types of classes: Occupational Character Classes (O.C.C.s, which is further divided into Men At Arms, Scholars and Adventurers, and Men of Magic), Psychic Character Classes (P.C.C.s), and/or Racial Character Classes (R.C.C.s). Attributes are random rolled, while skills are usually limited selections from a list of skills appropriate to the genre.
Each system has its own variations to make the system suit its genre. After The Bomb, Splicers, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG use 'BIO-E' (for 'Bio Energy') to purchase mutations; Palladium Fantasy has non-class races, that are used instead of human with a normal O.C.C.; Heroes Unlimited and Ninjas and Superspies use 'skill packages' in addition to normal skill selection.
Alignment
Defintions of good versus evil and lawful versus chaotic are common to Dungeons & Dragons and other games; while Palladium uses alignments, they are described in more detailed terms with alignments such as Principled, Scrupulous, Unscrupulous, Anarchist, Aberrant, Miscreant, and Diabolic, organized into three categories: Good, Selfish, and Evil. This may stem partly from Palladium Books owner Kevin Siembieda's own personal distaste of "Neutral" characters.
Other Palladium Games
External links
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