Palladium Announces New TMNT Kickstarter

Palladium Books has announced the return of the official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roleplaying game. Out of print for decades, the 1985 game is coming back as a pair of full-colour hardcovers featuring new artwork. It will be hitting Kickstarter on October 31st and will also include miniatures, dice, and more. You can sign up to the pre-launch page here.

Westland, MI – October 13, 2023 – Palladium Books and Paramount Consumer Products have joined forces to reissue the ever-popular role-playing game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness.

The beloved, out-of-print Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles role-playing game and its sourcebooks are sought-after collector items that have enthralled generations since its release in 1985 as one of the first licensed TMNT products. They are returning to print as two deluxe hardcover collections of the RPG and sourcebooks. Each is being completely remastered by industry veteran Sean Owen Roberson and presented in full color, and Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will also provide a new painted cover.

Bonus material includes an array of new artwork, never before seen behind-the-scenes info and art, plus remembrances and tributes by renowned comic book and RPG creators including Eastman, Peter Laird, Freddie E. Williams II, Steven Cummings, Sophie Campbell, David Petersen and many more.

“This is incredibly exciting! I am 1000% onboard to help bring this historic and original TMNT Role Playing Game series back in a truly deluxe collector’s edition that will thrill original fans and open the door for new ones,” said Eastman. “I've made all my archives available for expanded behind-the-scenes content as well as a few top secret surprises you need to be part of. Stay tuned!”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Kickstarter

The Kickstarter campaign, launching October 31, 2023, will offer a host of mind-blowing Kickstarter exclusives: TMNT miniatures based on the role-playing game, dice sets, variant book covers, art prints by legacy TMNT creatives, a card deck, and more, including special stretch goals to entice role-playing fans and TMNT fans alike. All products ship in 2024. To be among the first to hear about the entire exciting slate of releases, creators, exclusives and stretch goals to be unlocked with your support, be sure to go to the Kickstarter page and subscribe for updates.

 

[darjr]

Considering the utter dumpster fire that Palladium's last Kickstarter (Robotech Tactics) was, I'll just wait until this hits regular distribution to pick this up (if it does).

it looks like they had another one since? Looks OK, but the Robotech one still looks like a disaster.

 

[jdrakeh]

it looks like they had another one since? Looks OK, but the Robotech one still looks like a disaster.

There are still backers on the Robotech Tactics Kickstarter who haven't received refunds or pledges, apparently, so giving them more money for another Kickstarter seems pretty risky (hence my decision to wait until/if it hits regular distribution).

 

[Kannik]

There are still backers on the Robotech Tactics Kickstarter who haven't received refunds or pledges, apparently, so giving them more money for another Kickstarter seems pretty risky (hence my decision to wait until/if it hits regular distribution).

No one will get anything else now as a) they bailed on it after producing poor product and failing to deliver on everything b) gave everyone a very short window to use their $ to order other Palladium books and c) they lost the license so they couldn't even if they want to.

But beyond that, and worth noting, was the massive (needed two kickstarter updates for it) "we're such the victim here" throw everyone else under the bus post that Kevin (the company owner) posted. There was no reflection on their part, no ownership. Putting out a book reprint? Sure, I think they could do that (although, caveat emptor, even their 'regular' books are often very delayed/late). But something with all these extra doo-dads I would be extra wary of.

 

[aramis erak]

I’ve had my copy since the 80s, and still to this day have not been able to play it

I have. It's fully compatible with Heroes Unlimited from the same timeframe.

And since I have the originals, I suspect the value of those just cut to about half what it was 3 months ago...

The palladium engine is playable. When I was teaching grades 5 and 6, most of the gamers in my classes were playing one palladium game or another. It's not a bad system for new GMs... but it's quirky - still in the dual core mechanics mode.

As for a Savage Worlds version - would be nice, but almost certainly not going to happen since Palladium Books resecured the license. Savage Rifts was a case of Siembieda desperately needing the money, and Pinnacle loving KS's worldbuilding.

The palladium setting I want to see in Savage Worlds isn't TMNT&OS, but The Mechanoids... and not the Rifts flavor thereof. But even that's unlikely.

 

[Longspeak]

If you're looking for an ethically sourced alternative, Mutants in the Now would be what you're looking for!

Sold.

 

[thullgrim]

Big Apple Sewer Samurai does look really good. I’ve been wanting to try it for a while.

I like Big Apple Sewer Samurai. I just wish we had better martial arts rules for Savage Worlds.

 

[MGibster]

But beyond that, and worth noting, was the massive (needed two kickstarter updates for it) "we're such the victim here" throw everyone else under the bus post that Kevin (the company owner) posted. There was no reflection on their part, no ownership. Putting out a book reprint? Sure, I think they could do that (although, caveat emptor, even their 'regular' books are often very delayed/late). But something with all these extra doo-dads I would be extra wary of.

I'm still waiting for that Mechanoids book.

 

[Von Ether]

I do have to give props Palladium always has imagination and was still producing new spins on their game system in $25 softbound when everyone else went to $40 hard bounds.

Remember Systems Failure?

The Y2K bug turned out to be Y2K bugs that were invading Earth, fed off energy and turn humans into zombies. Written by Bill Coffin and of course the cover sold the concept. Never played it but I admired the moxie and almost bought it just to run with a generic system.

 

[jdrakeh]

Sure, I think they could do that (although, caveat emptor, even their 'regular' books are often very delayed/late). But something with all these extra doo-dads I would be extra wary of.

Yep. Mechanoids Space is 30 years late and they're still taking pre-orders for it, which I feel is incredibly unethical.
[Edit: They're no longer accepting money for pre-orders, though, apparently.]

 

[Jer]

Yep. Mechanoids Space is 30 years late and they're still taking pre-orders for it, which I feel is incredibly unethical.

Yeesh. At least it looks like their pre-order page has shifted to "be notified when the pre-order comes" and is a $0.00 preorder for the preorder.

But it isn't even on their Project Status page. At least the BtS 2e Arcanum sourcebook is listed as "in development" and it's "only" been 11 years since it was announced.