Palladium?
- Thread starter Infernal Teddy
- Start date
jasper said:
I would doubt he is overstocked and dumping, since you can ask for any product you like - including brand new product and previously out of print product they just put back in print. He initially was going to make it a 1 time thing, but the fans loved it, so he made it a regular thing. Palladium doesn't lose much money at all - since this is about the price he probably sells the books to distributors for, instead they are sold directly to customers.
No, Kevin doesn't sleep much, and definately has no life outsite of Palladium. Heck, he has a bed upstairs at the office. I imagine the 100-120 hour weeks are during conventions, etc, and a bit less when nothing out of the ordinary is going on.
Dolom
First Post
Felon said:
All of that is 100% true. Kevin busts his ass on a daily basis, putting in an average of 12-14 hour days 6-7 days a week.
jasper said:
They've been doing the grab bags for several years now. I've lost count how many times I've gotten one. They are a fantastic deal, where you're guaranteed a minimum of $70 worth of product for $30. It's not just random material. Each grab bag is customized to the customer's wish list, and there's usually a surprise or two thrown in, including original art. Everything in the grab bag is signed by Kevin, Wayne, Alex, Kev's dad, and whoever is helping out in the warehouse that day.
Felon said:
They are, and have been, taking steps toward desktop publishing. From what I heard at the Open House they are currently doing about half of the process electronically and are planning to be fully electonic in the next year or so.
It's hard, if not impossible, to refute years of ill-will spread over the internet that's taken as gospel by a receptive audience. There are two sides to every story, and I'm not out to question the integrity of people that have posted things like that. What I can say is that statements like the above are not what the current Palladium freelancers experience.
kigmatzomat
Legend
The statements in question weren't the experiences of the Palladium writers who said it until it happened. To paraphrase "everything goes well for a while and then suddenly when you think you're finished everything blows up."
How many Palladium books do you have that say "this book was rewritten by KS because it did not meet my standards"? I first noticed it in the Rifts:Manhunter RPG. I found it highly surprising since a) the author was a past Palladium author and b) the game had already been published under a non-Palladium system. R:MH is the single best written Palladium book I own and KS piddled on it in the credits page. (Loaned my copy out or I'd quote his words)
Truth be told, it was a turn-off to me b/c it meant his editing process was too weak; either he didn't ask for or read chapters as they were completed or his goals are too fuzzy for a writer to meet. This says nothing about KS the person but that KS the editor/publisher leaves a lot to be desired.
How many Palladium books do you have that say "this book was rewritten by KS because it did not meet my standards"? I first noticed it in the Rifts:Manhunter RPG. I found it highly surprising since a) the author was a past Palladium author and b) the game had already been published under a non-Palladium system. R:MH is the single best written Palladium book I own and KS piddled on it in the credits page. (Loaned my copy out or I'd quote his words)
Truth be told, it was a turn-off to me b/c it meant his editing process was too weak; either he didn't ask for or read chapters as they were completed or his goals are too fuzzy for a writer to meet. This says nothing about KS the person but that KS the editor/publisher leaves a lot to be desired.
sword-dancer
Explorer
Maybe this is the answer to the problem,tomuch strain,to much work in the treadmill, creative and working burn out, and so when there are some feedbackis necessary, he isn`t able to give it.Dolom said:
PatrickLawinger
First Post
er, wow
Folks,
I am not a Palladium/Rifts fan, nor am I really a fan of KS. At the same time, I am a bit appalled at some of the comments being made here on a board that was, once upon a time, considered a friendly place.
While I don't know KS, I know a number of people that have worked with him and consider him to be a fair, stand-up guy. I have heard other opinions about him too. I also happen to know a bit about what happned to Palladium and I have helped friends through the horror of finding a trusted friend and partner had betrayed them.
With respect to the court case, KS had a choice, ask the prosecutor to press for harsher charges, go to court and possibly take years to get anything back, or accept the plea arrangement thus getting at least some money immediately with which to pay enough bills to avoid declaring bankruptcy. Love him or hate him, the theft/embezzlement is real and KS has lost a vast amount of money.
Embezzlement is a true killer of small businesses throughout the world. I have two close personal friends that have gone through this in their businesses. One had a relatively large business by some standards. His partner drained the bank accounts one Friday afternoon and left the country with approximately 1 million dollars. In a business aimed at factory type production with constant cash flow both in and out of the accounts suddenly having no money is a total killer. The theft was discovered the following Wednesday when checks began bouncing. He had 18 full-time employees, several with families, which he had to layoff. His case is very extreme, most embezzlement is carried out more slowly and cautiously to avoid detection.
I have seen first hand what embezzlement can do to a business and the people involved. When the theft involves products instead of exact dollars and cents, it is very, very difficult to recover much at all. You can guarantee a lawyer would try to argue that all that was lost was some ink and paper (in Palladium’s case). An embezzlement case can last for years in the court system leading most prosecutors to try to plea them out with some sort of restitution, however small.
Again, I am not a Rifts fan, I don’t think I even own any Palladium products anymore. I am not a friend of, or particularly a fan of, Kevin, though I certainly am not any sort of detractor or enemy. I feel for these people, I know what they are going through.
Like a number of companies, Palladium has a number of rabid fans, and rabid detractors. Whatever you may be, this thread has looked like several others lately where ENWorld seems to be losing its "friendliness." Maybe it is just a coincidence based on some of the threads I've looked at over the past few months, but it certainly doesn't seem as friendly here as it used to be.
Love him, hate him, support Palladium, or don't, but don't kick them when they are down, and they are down, believe me.
Patrick
Folks,
I am not a Palladium/Rifts fan, nor am I really a fan of KS. At the same time, I am a bit appalled at some of the comments being made here on a board that was, once upon a time, considered a friendly place.
While I don't know KS, I know a number of people that have worked with him and consider him to be a fair, stand-up guy. I have heard other opinions about him too. I also happen to know a bit about what happned to Palladium and I have helped friends through the horror of finding a trusted friend and partner had betrayed them.
With respect to the court case, KS had a choice, ask the prosecutor to press for harsher charges, go to court and possibly take years to get anything back, or accept the plea arrangement thus getting at least some money immediately with which to pay enough bills to avoid declaring bankruptcy. Love him or hate him, the theft/embezzlement is real and KS has lost a vast amount of money.
Embezzlement is a true killer of small businesses throughout the world. I have two close personal friends that have gone through this in their businesses. One had a relatively large business by some standards. His partner drained the bank accounts one Friday afternoon and left the country with approximately 1 million dollars. In a business aimed at factory type production with constant cash flow both in and out of the accounts suddenly having no money is a total killer. The theft was discovered the following Wednesday when checks began bouncing. He had 18 full-time employees, several with families, which he had to layoff. His case is very extreme, most embezzlement is carried out more slowly and cautiously to avoid detection.
I have seen first hand what embezzlement can do to a business and the people involved. When the theft involves products instead of exact dollars and cents, it is very, very difficult to recover much at all. You can guarantee a lawyer would try to argue that all that was lost was some ink and paper (in Palladium’s case). An embezzlement case can last for years in the court system leading most prosecutors to try to plea them out with some sort of restitution, however small.
Again, I am not a Rifts fan, I don’t think I even own any Palladium products anymore. I am not a friend of, or particularly a fan of, Kevin, though I certainly am not any sort of detractor or enemy. I feel for these people, I know what they are going through.
Like a number of companies, Palladium has a number of rabid fans, and rabid detractors. Whatever you may be, this thread has looked like several others lately where ENWorld seems to be losing its "friendliness." Maybe it is just a coincidence based on some of the threads I've looked at over the past few months, but it certainly doesn't seem as friendly here as it used to be.
Love him, hate him, support Palladium, or don't, but don't kick them when they are down, and they are down, believe me.
Patrick
Darkwolf445
First Post
Never really cared one way or the other for KS.
I pays my money, I gets my products.
There aren't too many systems I cannot mine for ideas, and Rifts/Palladium/BTS/Etc. are pretty good sources for ideas. As well, GURPS, Rolemaster, Cthulhu, old school D&D, and a host of systems are great for ideas. I really have no bias towards product-if it is good.
If I understand correctly, Palladium hardcore fans and D&D hardcore fans are pretty much at odds (how many posts on that thread, like 1000, from several years ago?). This site is pretty much D&D. Go ask how Palladium fans feel about D&D/WoTC on their boards and than talk to D&D fans about hostility.
Palladium is a business that took a hit. TSR did as well. GDW (IIRC), the folks that made Traveller and Twilight 2000 are also gone. Many companies are gone. They went out with a quiet death. All save Palladium, a company that cried for help from people who already pay Palladium's bills by buying their products. Cool, the fans pulled them out in exchange for a limited edition KS print. Their choice. Now they are "Heroes of the Megaverse," or some such drivel.
Cool, carry on, eat, drink, and be merry.
And maybe start putting things out on schedule. Like a professional.
I pays my money, I gets my products.
There aren't too many systems I cannot mine for ideas, and Rifts/Palladium/BTS/Etc. are pretty good sources for ideas. As well, GURPS, Rolemaster, Cthulhu, old school D&D, and a host of systems are great for ideas. I really have no bias towards product-if it is good.
If I understand correctly, Palladium hardcore fans and D&D hardcore fans are pretty much at odds (how many posts on that thread, like 1000, from several years ago?). This site is pretty much D&D. Go ask how Palladium fans feel about D&D/WoTC on their boards and than talk to D&D fans about hostility.
Palladium is a business that took a hit. TSR did as well. GDW (IIRC), the folks that made Traveller and Twilight 2000 are also gone. Many companies are gone. They went out with a quiet death. All save Palladium, a company that cried for help from people who already pay Palladium's bills by buying their products. Cool, the fans pulled them out in exchange for a limited edition KS print. Their choice. Now they are "Heroes of the Megaverse," or some such drivel.
Cool, carry on, eat, drink, and be merry.
And maybe start putting things out on schedule. Like a professional.
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