Possibly related to the whole trademark fiasco, but Palladium is doing a "Christmas in July" promotion selling their "Christmas grab bags" (http://www.palladiumbooks.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1001&Product_Code=XMAS).
Has anyone ever ordered one of these? Do they actually read the wishlist you're asked to submit, or do they just roll a d100 three times and send you a pack of unrelated stuff?
I'm seriously considering ordering one, but I'd like to know people's experiences.
I ordered a couple of them last December, and got pretty much what I asked for. It'll depend on what you request, and how supplies of the specific titles are doing, but when I ordered, they asked for a long wish list and obviously paid attention to it.
This is the first time I've seen them do this Christmas in July thing, but I've picked up the Christmas grab bag multiple times over the years. They do usually try to take your list into account with that. If you can give them a list of about 6 to 8 things that you want, you'll be likely to get stuff that you asked for. They do usually throw an issue of the Rifter into the mix as well. At least, that's been my experience with it.
They've done "X-mas in July" a couple of years now; it's a good way to get rid of backstock.
That said, remember Palladium keeps most everything in it's catalogue in print, so so long as 1) It's not their newest books (last 6 months), and 2) doesn't come up as "Out of Stock" on their website, there's a good chance you'll get what you ask for.
There also pretty good about making it a good discount buy too.
I've gotten $70-80 of product for $40 (plus shipping) in previous years, IIRC.
I've always heard very positive responses to the grab-bags; I've never heard anyone who was really disappointed by them. Never got one myself, though, so that's second-hand.
RPGPundit
They are tremendous. The more specific you are, the happier you'll be. I've never felt shorted on one of these. I got a in-package Glitter Boy mini one year well after they were discontinued. I've got some obscure art, and at least one piece that was in the original World Book 1: Vampire Kingdoms. It's still one of the best values in gaming.
I just got mine in the mail.
Here's what I got:
The Rifter #50 - the Special anniversary issue. Now I know why KS & Co. take offense to houserules and home conversions: all the good stuff is right here in this Magazine. A lot of really cool stuff in this thing, all written mostly by fans. I really liked the 'challenger appears' section, which adds more fighting game like mechanics to Ninjas and Superspies (but could easily be booted in to any Palladium game). I may be checking out more of these Rifter things...my FLGS has quite a few on the shelves.
Nightbane - The Corebook. I'm really interested in this as I've read it's more or less CJ Carellas masterpiece. I'm curious if it'll outdo his work with EDEN (which I really liked). Cool cover.
After the Bomb - The 2001 corebook. I believe I recieved this book after mentioning (in the special order info) that I loved TMNT & Ninjas and Superspies/Mystic China. So they sent me this book (which I was apprehensive about purchasing since I owned the original TMNT stuff). I'm actually super stoked as I've only had it one night and I've nearly read it cover to cover. I'm pretty jazzed with the new Purebreed and Chimaera character types and all the additional info making the setting more dynamic and capable of multiple genres. I could easily run a horror game out of it now.
Total value = 62.95, almost topped out on the $55-$65 range promised.
As a side note, I think it's worth mentioning that everything received was crisp, brand-new copies with bright white pages. Every single one of them signed by KS and other staff and artists from Palladium Books. This isn't just the old stuff lying around the warehouse.
This was my first Palladium Grab Bag, and I'm incredibly satisfied. I will definitely be ordering another one before the deal is over.
Anybody else get one?
I'll necro this thread but I purchased two grab bags this year. I might get two more on Christmas Eve if I like what I get from these.
When I played Palladium Games, I bought the XMas Grab Bag a few times. Always a great deal and pretty much always got what I wanted, plus interesting extras.
I was always happy with PB's grab bags.
With shipping, its a moderate discount off retail, but you can get books signed by the authors, which is a fun thing for fans. Definitely make great gift books.
You can ask for unusual stuff too - odds & ends, rough drafts, etc.
According to the USPS my two Christmas grab bags should be here today. I'm excited. I've never actually purchased any of these from Palladium. Growing up playing Rifts we only used really the core rulebook. But, I'm getting back into Rifts and I actually am going to try some of their other games.
Quote from: Ulairi;932897According to the USPS my two Christmas grab bags should be here today. I'm excited. I've never actually purchased any of these from Palladium. Growing up playing Rifts we only used really the core rulebook. But, I'm getting back into Rifts and I actually am going to try some of their other games.
Only used the core book for Rifts???
Crazy! Sacrilege! What if someone wants to use a battleaxe? You have to use World Book 5 because it has WP Battle Axe in it!
Quote from: everloss;932995Only used the core book for Rifts???
Crazy! Sacrilege! What if someone wants to use a battleaxe? You have to use World Book 5 because it has WP Battle Axe in it!
I know. To make up for my sins I much purchase more products.
I got my two Christmas grab bags yesterday. Spent a little over $100 for them (I think it was around $107 including shipping) and easily received $200 worth of product. I'm going to purchase two more.
I got a copy of the Rift 75 and it's pretty much devoted to teaching people how to run and play Rifts. This is a document that Palladium Books should have for free on their website. I'd love to be able to print this up and bring it to demos.
So what all did you get?
Quote from: everloss;933462So what all did you get?
Rifts Mystic China 1 and 2, Atlantis, NGR, The GM's guide, Adventure Guide, 4 prints, the Rifter 73 and 75, Collation War Campaign.
Roughly $200 of listed product for $100. Not a bad deal.
Quote from: Ulairi;933468Rifts Mystic China 1 and 2, Atlantis, NGR, The GM's guide, Adventure Guide, 4 prints, the Rifter 73 and 75, Collation War Campaign.
Roughly $200 of listed product for $100. Not a bad deal.
Holy shit. And some of those are some of the best RIFTS books EVER.
Quote from: RPGPundit;934119Holy shit. And some of those are some of the best RIFTS books EVER.
Yup. I ordered 3 more today. I got three more Christmas Grab Bags mainly because I really want to try the Robotech RPG Tactics game and getting it for $40 isn't a bad deal at all. I also am trying to fill out my Rifts collection and hoping they throw in the Beyond the Supernatural rulebook as well.
I'll say this I forgot to add the Robotech mini game to my order so I called the sales order hotline and Kevin picked up the phone and was super nice and friendly. I know he's a weird dude when it comes to protecting his IP and things but when it comes to gaming, gamers, and interacting, he's really great and humble.
Quote from: Ulairi;936445Yup. I ordered 3 more today. I got three more Christmas Grab Bags mainly because I really want to try the Robotech RPG Tactics game and getting it for $40 isn't a bad deal at all. I also am trying to fill out my Rifts collection and hoping they throw in the Beyond the Supernatural rulebook as well.
I'll say this I forgot to add the Robotech mini game to my order so I called the sales order hotline and Kevin picked up the phone and was super nice and friendly. I know he's a weird dude when it comes to protecting his IP and things but when it comes to gaming, gamers, and interacting, he's really great and humble.
I've never actually heard anyone say he wasn't a nice guy in person (at least, not anyone who didn't have to work for him).
Quote from: RPGPundit;937062I've never actually heard anyone say he wasn't a nice guy in person (at least, not anyone who didn't have to work for him).
The worst I've heard is that he's very bombastic, and passionate. If he likes you, he LOVES you. If he doesn't, he HATES you. But I've never met the man.
I got my Grab Bags today. Fast delivery. They included the Robotech tactics miniature game.
Quote from: Ulairi;937376I got my Grab Bags today. Fast delivery. They included the Robotech tactics miniature game.
Awesome! Wish I had the money to get one or two, maybe next year!
I've never heard anyone say that a Grab-Bag was totally disappointing. Has anyone here ever had a bad experience with this? Because really even if it's a way for Palladium to move older stock, it seems to be a consistently fantastic bargain.
Hardly a disappointment, but I had a Grab-Bag sent to me that was meant for someone else. The happy ending is they sent me out another one straight after. So I got two, which I can't complain about.
Quote from: Malleustein;938244Hardly a disappointment, but I had a Grab-Bag sent to me that was meant for someone else. The happy ending is they sent me out another one straight after. So I got two, which I can't complain about.
Holy crap! That's awesome customer service.
Quote from: RPGPundit;939739Holy crap! That's awesome customer service.
Definitely was. I don't know whether the intended recipient of the first parcel got his sent out again too, but given how quick they were to correct the mistake for me, I'd hazard the guess they did the same for him.
No complaint content-wise either. I did a list as suggested, made a point of asking for some books that were hard to get hold of here in the UK (new Robotech rpg sourcebooks) and got all the ones I really wanted plus a handful bookmarks and some art prints that are still on my wall.
Whatever issues people have with Kev or the Megaversal System, Palladium have always been damn good with grab bags and other orders over the years.