I just read on a friend’s lj that Palladium games, makers of the RIFTS, Robotech, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Role-Playing games, have suffered between $850,000 to 1.3 million in losses due to embezzlement.

This, combined with losses taken producing a RIFTS game for the Nokia N-gage, as well as stalling in the production of the RIFTS movie, and a general lull in the demand for RPGs has created an environment

Kevin Siembieda has posted an open letter to the public asking for financial support to get his company through the year. To generate this support he is selling a numbered art print of Palladium’s cast of characters from their various games.

“- I, Kevin Siembieda, will draw a special, pencil drawing with key characters from our entire game line to be made into a simple, black and white, toned piece of artwork, 11 x 14 inches, printed on a good quality paper.

- Each print will be hand signed by me. I’ll indicate which number that print is (i.e. #1, 2, 100, 1000, 2010, etc.). I don’t know how many there will be in the end; I pray for thousands!

- EVERYONE who purchases the print will see their names appear in the back pages of a major book listed as “Heroes of the Megaverse®!”

- The print will sell for $50.00 plus shipping and materials (envelope, protective cardboard, etc.), probably about $2.00-$5.00 by regular first class mail.

- We need those sales NOW!!! If 4,000 or 5,000 people all order that darn print within a month or two, it should give us the money we need to get back on our feet! Without a shot in the arm of some big cash, and fast, I fear Palladium is gone. That kind of jump start should carry us through the year and should enable us to do the other things we need to do to keep the company going for years to come!”

Buy a print and support a company that has entertained so many, and continues to exercise the creativity and intellect of youth and adults alike.

Here is a link to buy a print.

Here is a link to the lj where I heard about this.