It is unfortunate that the sour relationship between Bill Coffin and Palladium Books killed Systems Failure.

I hold it up as a good introduction to the Megaversal system if Robotech or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness don't appeal to you.  It is a solid tale of rebellion against overwhelming opposition, with interesting but not wildly different O.C.C.s and an overall low-to-medium power level.  It is a good way to learn the rules in a controlled environment and the Referee can easily add material from other games as the campaign goes on.

"Giant alien bugs have invaded the Earth and enslaved humanity.  You are fighters in the resistance." is a simple pitch with which to gauge the interest of potential players.  Character creation is easier in this game than any other Megaversal game except The Mechanoids.

There is a lot to like about Systems Failure.

Yeah, I talked to Bill Coffin after having discovered his stuff late in the game. By this point he's been long gone. What a genuinely nice guy and great writing talent. Probably one of the better creative writers in the hobby, on par with guys like Hite for me, but generally more traditional in his approach to RPGs.

Quote from: Nerzenjäger;1050126Yeah, I talked to Bill Coffin after having discovered his stuff late in the game. By this point he's been long gone. What a genuinely nice guy and great writing talent. Probably one of the better creative writers in the hobby, on par with guys like Hite for me, but generally more traditional in his approach to RPGs.

I have never met the man.  By all accounts he is a good guy.

I like all of his work for Palladium Books.  I do not own Septimus, and opinion seems mixed on that.

To my tastes, Bill's material is superior to Ken's.  Though I accept my opinion is doubtless skewed by a thorough dislike of Trail of Cthulhu.

Bill's Palladium Fantasy books are possibly the best in the line and among the best in fantasy games overall.

I don't know. The fact that it was just one book may have been what really made Systems Failure such a masterpiece.

Agreed. Nightbane is the same way. I don't find the supplements valuable enough to include. Fun to read, but the core game book is perfect as is because of the room for personal invention in the setting.

I might as well chime in.  To someone curious about Palladium, if I had to recommend something to them, I'd recommend something from the years before Palladium became established/complacent.  I'd put that date at 1993 with the boundary game being Macross II.  Pick something before that.

Within that range of the company's launch to 1993, I'd recommend focusing on the "Revised" era of 1985 and onward.  What main lines does this actually mean?

Palladium Role-Playing Game 1e Revised
Heroes Unlimited 1e Revised
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Revised
Ninjas & Superspies Revised
Robotech 1e
Beyond the Supernatural 1e Revised
Rifts 1e

I feel these (mostly) late 80s products represent the strongest time when there was indeed a "vision" that included gaming behind the products.  I think the system is at that sweet spot where it hasn't become overburdened but is complex and distinct enough to be interesting.  Plus, since numerous freelancers haven't yet come in with no understanding of the rules, the mechanics are about the clearest and most "Megaversal" they ever got.  On a more basic note, there is much more of an attention to craft here.  Yes, the copypasta is plain as day, but there is a pride of work which is absent from the post 93 products and disappeared entirely after 2000.  There's an enthusiasm bubbling from the rawness and conversational tone of these 80s products.

You'll notice that I'd left two 80s games off: Recon and Mechanoids.  I left off Recon because it's not really a Palladium type of experience.  I think Recon is probably better experienced in it's original RPG Inc incarnation, not the various Palladium versions.  The other game I left off is Mechanoids.

I've never seen the original Mechanoids books or even the 1985 redo.  However, I have seen the Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy which was done in the 90s.  I think Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy is an exception to the 1993 cutoff rule.  Even the reprint version has that raw, unfiltered GM notes nature.

One of the biggest suggestions I would make is not to get into all of these games.  Also, don't get heavily into supplements.  Just get into one or two core games.  After about 3 supplements most of them start going off the rails.

I think Robotech is the strongest line.  The introduction of extraneous stuff like "Basic" mecha combat starts mucking things up from Invid Invasion onward, but Macross works passably, and Invid Invasion and Robotech II: The Sentinels also manage to do things with some some semblance of simulation.

Rifts is the ultimate expression of the classic era of Palladium.  It's quite literally where everything comes together for the company.  Even though the structure is creaking horribly, it still kinda/sorta works.  It's almost impossible not to recommend the original Rifts corebook and one or two of the pre-1993 supplements as Palladium at it's absolute zenith.

Quote from: Gabriel2;1050587You'll notice that I'd left two 80s games off: Recon and Mechanoids.  I left off Recon because it's not really a Palladium type of experience.  I think Recon is probably better experienced in it's original RPG Inc incarnation, not the various Palladium versions.  The other game I left off is Mechanoids.

I've never seen the original Mechanoids books or even the 1985 redo.  However, I have seen the Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy which was done in the 90s.  I think Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy is an exception to the 1993 cutoff rule.  Even the reprint version has that raw, unfiltered GM notes nature.

The original Mechanoid invasion was kind of neat, a low budget game as was fairly common at the time. It was 3 cheap book printed on news print, not unlike comic books of the period. A simple class / level system similar to what Palladium would settle into with its later games. I don't know how much if any changes were made in the later re-issues. The original is classic Palladium, full of cool ideas and wonky semi-playable rules. Of course in the 1980s that was pretty typical of the industry in general, Palladium was not unique in producing games that required a fair amount of polishing and lots of interpretation. GM notes is a good description of many small games during that period.



On Recon there are better rules for modern warfare available today, but for someone who likes the system Palladium's Recon is useful even if you have the originals. It includes expanded rules that as I understand were at least in part created by the original author but didn't make it to print before RPG Inc went under. If they hadn't replaced the realistic setting with a very cheesy fictional world it would be a pretty good game.

I do agree that Recon is not a good representation of Palladium. It is an oddity, and I don't have any idea how it wound up in the Palladium stable.

Quote from: Gabriel2;1050587I've never seen the original Mechanoids books or even the 1985 redo.  However, I have seen the Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy which was done in the 90s.  I think Mechanoid Invasion Trilogy is an exception to the 1993 cutoff rule.  Even the reprint version has that raw, unfiltered GM notes nature.

I have the 1985 redo and its awesome because its got extra Wujick content. The Mechanoid Trilogy is a great purchase because its not revised, just collected and reprinted.

It's easily among my favorite RPG books.

Quote from: Gabriel2;1050587It's almost impossible not to recommend the original Rifts corebook and one or two of the pre-1993 supplements as Palladium at it's absolute zenith.

Agreed. Rifts is such a weirdo RPG. The rules are mess, the setting is bizarro, everything about the game is clunky...BUT at the table in actual play, Rifts rocks so freaking hard.

The ROI of Palladium for me has been immense. I've gotten such incredible fun out of their games...as long as I steamroll over their rules issues.

I think most of the good stuff came post 1993. But I think with the Megaversal you just need that clicking moment and suddenly most of the games work really well.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1050538I don't know. The fact that it was just one book may have been what really made Systems Failure such a masterpiece.

Systems Failure is a great one-book game.  As is Splicers (though it did finally get a second book compiling an epic campaign published in The Rifter).

Even though I love the ever-expanding madness of RIFTS/Phaseword, I prefer Palladium Books' smaller game lines.  You get so much mileage out of games like Heroes Unlimited, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness, Dead Reign and Nightspawn/bane.  The supplements are there if you need MORE, but never feel like they are incomplete without them.

They have a Rifts Essentials and a Rifts World Books set of bundles over on Bundle of Holding.

TMNT had a ton of supplements, though, and most of them good.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1051264TMNT had a ton of supplements, though, and most of them good.

True.

Excepting Truckin' Turtles and Turtles Go Hollywood, which seemed to be an attempt to tie the game with the cartoon's style, the supplements and source books were awesome.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Guide to the Universe and Transdimensional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the high points.  The latter a tool for endless adventures through time and alternate realities.

It also let me play as a kung-fu fighting Ankylosaurus!  How could I not love it?

Transdimensional was amazing