The Palladium Megaverse Gigathread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > The Palladium Megaverse Gigathread

Asimo: Sep 23, 2007

Alien Rope Burn posted:

The whole IP paranoia is weird. This is a company that was built initially on the Weapons, Armor, and Castles series of books, which were basically reproductions of existing historical material converted to Dungeons & Dragons. Granted, yes, they're supposedly for "any system" but it's not really written for anything but D&D and its close relatives; they were basically the d20 supplements of their day. The Palladium RPG doesn't fall far from the D&D tree, either.

Maybe he was terrified of getting Arduin'd and it just never went away.

Actually, this one's pretty easy to explain if I recall. Back when Palladium made that Nightbane RPG (in the mid-90's, at the height of the oWoD prime... not really a horrible game by Palladium standards and a pretty good "superheroes with fangs" deal as such go, but that's getting off topic) they got sued by Image Comics over the "Spawn" trademark. I forget if the details ever came out, but Palladium had to recall the books and reprinted them with the "Nightbane" title instead, and considering that I'm pretty sure the company has never been highly profitable it was probably a painful blow even if they didn't pay any settlements. More importantly, Siembieda apparently got some bad lawyer advice (or... knowing him, more likely misinterpreted good advice) that anyone would steal your trademark if you didn't violently enforce it, thus why Image sued them, so naturally he went crazy in protecting his IP at all costs.

Admittedly I'm not sure how much of this is anecdote or not, but speaking from hazy memories of the early internet era it pretty strongly coincided with Palladium going after MUDs, fan conversions and supplements, and other things that used RIFTS rules/IP.

# ¿ May 12, 2013 09:58

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 11:43

Asimo: Sep 23, 2007

Eh, it's fine really, and interesting to read. It's not like Rifts is exactly a thriving game these days, and it's as good a place to dump related thoughts as any. Just because folks aren't chiming in just means they have nothing to immediately add, not that the thread's not being read. :v:

# ¿ Jun 17, 2013 08:32

Asimo: Sep 23, 2007

JohnnyCanuck posted:

Just circling the drain now, aren't they?

It's a company that hasn't really done any innovation since the 90's, uses a system that's barely been changed from the 80's (and wasn't super good even then), has historically poor management and survived mostly through complete luck (getting the TMNT license when it was still just an indie comic for example), and which has history of making life difficult for freelancers. To be perfectly honest, I'm amazed they've held on this long. :geno:

Alien Rope Burn posted:

Hoping not, but every time Palladium gets a money injection, you tend to see the reprints roll out, because Kevin's seemingly focused on always trying to keep good chunks of their 30-year game line in print.

Isn't having a stock of unsold decade-old inventory one of their big issues as it is?

# ¿ Jan 18, 2014 00:05

Asimo: Sep 23, 2007

While I'm very slightly sad on some level to see Palladium go (and let's be honest, at this rate it's rapidly running out of luck and money), only Siembieda could manage to mess up a pre-order tabletop game kickstarter, one of the safest and most predictable uses for the platform. And writing that many words about it. :suspense:

# ¿ Jun 7, 2015 11:40

Asimo: Sep 23, 2007

With Kevin it's literally impossible to tell if it's sincere or not since he's spent 30 years spinning absolute bullshit press release style screeds about his own company in everything he's ever written. I guess it's inevitable that it bleeds over into other stuff he writes too.

Honestly the only reason I'll give him the benefit of the doubt is because I can't imagine anyone outside the industry actively seeking the endorsement of Kevin Siembieda.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2015 14:09

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 11:43

Asimo: Sep 23, 2007

MalcolmSheppard posted:

At a used bookstore I found a copy of the Mechanoids Trilogy. It was 8 bucks, so I bought it. On the train home? Found out it was signed. Neat!

This reminds me of something Kevin does, or at least did back in the day back when I was a teenager and actually gave a gently caress about Rifts. The internet wasn't really around and the local bookstores didn't carry RPG stuff much, so I wound up ordering three or four books at a time once or twice a year, and it'd always come with a glowing thank you note, one or more of the books would be signed, and sometimes there'd be a t-shirt or baseball cap or whatever merchandise they had lying around thrown in for free.

It's kind of interesting and sad to compare that to how he's apparently treated his business associates and freelancers and such. But it also makes it clearer as to how he built up such a... fanatical fanbase during the late 80s and 90s too.

# ¿ Dec 16, 2015 00:51

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