Customer Reviews

Palladium Books Presents: Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Palladium Fantasy RPG is one of the best fantasy-based RPG's ever written. The combat system is more realistic than most yet is still easy to learn and fast in actual play. The many races and character occupations combined with the excellent skill system allows one to be more creative when creating a character. The only drawback this system has is that the books are not organized as well as those by other companies. You may end up spending more time looking through the books to find that piece of information you are looking for. This shortcoming shouldn't be enough to keep you from buying the book though. You won't regret your purchase.

If you started out playing D&D in the '70s and '80s and then got tired of how bloated and nit-picky the rules were getting, the original Palladium Fantasy RPG was like a breath of fresh air. Sure, it wasn't the work of smart-alecky college kids who constantly used obscure latin abbreviations like e.g. and q.v., but that was why it was so nice. No fancy words, no cumbersome encumbrance rules. Just dwarves and elves and dragons. And you only had to buy maybe two books. Sweet.
But this is not the original Palladium Fantasy RPG. It is a version (awkwardly) designed to be compatible with Palladium's far more successful Rifts game. So there are lots of rewritten elements that end up unbalancing the oringinal system. Not that the original system was flawless, but its flaws were just part of what made it attractive--the kinds of things you might mess up if you created a game system.
The new version just feels more slick and less charming. Perhaps this is more noticeable if you played the original version for a decade; there are certainly people who seem to like 2nd edition. As for me, I'll stick with my tattered old black and red 1st edition, thanks.

Palladium is simple, easy and fun to play, which allows for the world, overtly based on Greco-Roman and Dark Age culture (maybe a rough 6th Century AD date would suit its cultural construct) to be very detailed and interesting. You only need one book and one set of RPG dice (4,6,8,10 and 20 sided) to play, although you would be best buying books two, "Old Ones" and three, "Adventures on the High Seas" as well, so as to have several years of ready-made adventures for you. Probably at some point people are going to realize that real RPGs are better for you than video games: since you actually have to read, talk, create and calculate. Palladium started me off as a teen on the road to academic success. A Master's degree in Classical studies is the result. I see the Palladium game as an excellent way to keep the mind sharp and to keep life skills in shape. The only drawback of the game is that you have to actually get people together to play it. RPGs are really interactive stories and as such are a brilliant modern twist on the traditional art and science of storytelling. Strangely, there is a lot of fun to be had in exploring the world of Palladium even on your own, as a prospective Game Master or as a lone adventurer, since the fantasy world, based as it is on ancient civilizations, is fascinating in and of itself. The writers are clearly widely read in the classics and in fantasy novels. It's really brilliant, fun, interesting and mind-improving stuff!

This is the must-have book for any die-hard RPG-er. The combat system is simple, yet probably the most advanced and enjoyable around, far surpassing the AD&D system. Players get experience points for helping people, using their head, saving lives, and avoiding unneccesary violence as opposed to just killing and hording treasure (a-la-Dungeons and Dragons). For once - a game for thinkers! Characters are easy to make, and very fleshed out. If you liked Rifts, but find the game to be too much of a "He-Who-Has-The-Biggest-Gun-Wins" scenario, Palladium RPG is for you!

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE NEW ON THE PALLADIUM WEBSITE FOR A REASONABLE $26.99, IT IS IN PRINT STILL, DO NOT BUY INTO THESE IDIOTS SELLING IT AT OUTRAGEOUS PRICES!

THIS IS THE BEST RPG EVER CREATED! The only drawback is th lack of world info. But they are greatly described inthe world books.The combat is one of the best systems I have ever used. Also, when making a character you are almost limitless in what to create. Tons of races and classes. They give occupations also, thats a plus. If I could I would give the book 10 stars!

The 1st edition especially had some of the best art in almsot any 1 place I've seen, with some sick pencil dawings of dragons and balrogs n stuff. I am not sure if the efforts to RIFT enable this game might have buged it a bit but the game mechanics of simply have 20 side die and the adding bonuses are awesome. I used to hack the rules further and basically give armour class as damage reduction, a rule from some other game I forget. It was like say plate is 10 armour, if your dagger hits plate it wont puncture. I am not sure how one would handle for example someone try to stab at seam of plate mail or to a soft spot where the mail doesn't cover, perhaps a negative hit difficulty "feat" or some thing. I also tended to hak the rules and have fighters stack a weapon skill on top of general fighting skill. Rogues I modeled after the fritz leiber books where they can throw strangle nooses, and have caltrops, set traps, and backstab etc. The magic and psionics as in most games are a bitch to handle so its up to the DM to fix that up. Overall a complete product with cleaner simpler rules that the wizards of the coast stole shamelessly got 3.5 rules d&D. The art and settings in palladium fantasy are awesome. My favorite game ever. MY background was ad&d before it so perhaps it is excellent post ad&D game??? Like many conan novels the summoning and magic circle drawing magic classes are represented with more force than ad&d

I am a long-time D&D player, but one of my friends decided he wanted to run a game of Palladium. Now, if you are a d20 gamer, STAY AWAY. You will be confused, bemused, and befuddled. If you are a Call of Cthulu veteran, however, you will be familiar with the d% based skills. The rules have not been updated for many years, so these are the rules to get if you want to play.

All in all, not a bad system, but not as good as D&D or GURPS. There are lots of additional books to expand your library, but unless you have something against other systems, I recommend this one as more of a novelty than a primary system.

The binding of the book is the weird laminated paperback cover, and peels fairly easily, as well as retaining creases very prominantly. It will not stay nice for long, so don't bother ordering a pristine one, unless you are very OCD about it (I am, and ordered a "Like New" one)

One word comes to mind when thinking of the Palladium RPG series: GREAT! It has everything: psionics, well over six totally different schools of magic, men of arms, clergy, tons of races with individual strengths and weaknesses. One of the best battle and attribute systems I've seen. It is also well supported with well over ten expansion books available. Characters also covert easily to all other Palladium made books, ie. Rifts, Heroes Unlimited, TMNT, and Ninja's and Superspies. All these combine to make one of the best most easily expandable RPGs around.

An excellent alternative choice to use instead of Dungeons and Dragons. This system is so much more detailed and realistic. Characters are more individualized and unique. This is one of the best RPGs out there.