Kevin Siembieda | |
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 Kevin Siembieda at Gen Con 2014 | |
| Born | Kevin Henry Siembieda April 2, 1956 |
| Education | College for Creative Studies |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1979–2008 |
| Notable work | Heroes Unlimited The Mechanoid Invasion Palladium Fantasy RPG Rifts |
| Spouse | Maryann Donald (1985–2004) |
Kevin Siembieda (born April 2, 1956) is an American artist, writer, designer and publisher of role-playing games.
Siembieda is a third-generation Polish American. [1] He attended the College for Creative Studies in Detroit from 1974 to 1977. [2] : 155 He wanted to be a comic book artist, but found the industry difficult to break into and published a small-press comic (A+ Plus, 1977-1978) with his company, Megaton Publications. [2] : 155 In 1979 Siembieda discovered the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rulebook and joined a role-playing group, the Wayne Street Weregamers, which met at Wayne State University in Detroit (where he befriended Erick Wujcik, who ran the group). [2] : 155 Siembieda ran a game for the group, the Palladium of Desires, a combination of AD&D and his house rules. [2] : 155 By 1980 the Wayne Weregamers became the Detroit Gaming Centre, with Siembieda its assistant director and Wujcik its director. [2] : 155 Siembieda tried to interest gaming companies in his RPG with little interest; only Judges Guild made him an offer, but he accepted a job offer from them instead. [2] : 155–156 He was an artist for Judges Guild for four months before working as a freelance artist for other publishers and trying to sell his RPG to them. [2] : 156
Siembieda is the co-founder and president of Palladium Books. [3] He founded the company in April 1981 to publish his fantasy role-playing game, but had insufficient funds to publish any books; the mother of Bill Loebs loaned Siembieda $1,500 to publish his first RPG book, The Mechanoid Invasion (1981). [2] : 156 By 1983 the company was successful enough for Siembieda to rent warehouse space and release his fantasy RPG, the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game [2] : 157 with a loan of $10,000 from his friend Thom Bartold who had also loaned him funds to print the other two books in the Mechanoid Trilogy, Journey and Homeworld in 1982. These were not just loans, but investments, and Siembieda established a system of paying royalties not just to the writers and artists, but also to those who lent him the capital needed to print the books: his investors. The following year, he extended his Palladium system to the superhero genre with Heroes Unlimited . [2] : 156 A freelancer contacted Siembieda about producing a licensed role-playing game based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book. Siembieda obtained the rights, but was dissatisfied with the freelancer's product. Erick Wujcik redesigned the game in five weeks, and it was published in 1985 as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness . [2] : 158 Siembieda next obtained the license to publish a game based on the Robotech anime series, designing the Robotech role-playing game published in 1986. [2] : 158–159
Siembieda wrote the RPG Rifts (1990) as a trade paperback in a two-column format which he laid out by hand. [2] : 160 He supported Wujcik in founding his own company, Phage Press. [2] : 160 In 1992, Siembieda sued Wizards of the Coast over its first RPG book, The Primal Order ; GAMA president Mike Pondsmith helped the parties reach a compromise in March 1993. [2] : 161 Siembieda also disagreed with White Wolf magazine and GDW over their magazines' coverage of Palladium games. [2] : 161 He demanded that websites devoted to Rifts and Palladium be taken down, claiming that they violated his intellectual property, but softened his stance in 2004. [2] : 161 Siembieda fired Bill Coffin due to editorial differences and discontent with the Rifts Coalition Wars, which Siembieda and Coffin co-authored. [2] : 162 On April 19, 2006 he announced that Palladium Books was on the verge of bankruptcy, which he blamed on a former employee who was convicted of embezzlement. [2] : 162 Siembieda filed a lawsuit on May 7, 2010 against Trion Worlds for its MMORPG Rift: Planes of Telara , and a settlement was reached in October 2010. [2] : 163 Role-playing games Siembieda has created include Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game (1983), Heroes Unlimited (1984), Robotech (1986), and Rifts (1990). [4]
He is also an artist, and has occasionally illustrated Palladium Books products. Siembieda contributed art and cartography to several early Judges Guild products for the Dungeons & Dragons , RuneQuest and Traveller lines. [5]
Siembieda's Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter [6] is one of the largest failures in tabletop Kickstarter history. [7] The project failed to deliver on its goals and raised over $1.4M. Despite not making its goal and unable to deliver Wave 2, Palladium did not refund money given to the project. [8]
Deities & Demigods, alternatively known as Legends & Lore, is a reference book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game (D&D). The book provides descriptions and game statistics of gods and legendary creatures from various sources in mythology and fiction, and allows dungeon masters to incorporate aspects of religions and mythos into their D&D campaigns.
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games (RPGs) best known for its Rifts series (1990–present). Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan, by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is now based in Westland, Michigan. The company enjoys the support of a small but dedicated fanbase who praise its various game series for their innovative settings and ease of adaptability to various personal preferences, play styles, and power levels.
Erick A. Wujcik was an American designer of both pen-and-paper and computer role-playing games, and co-founder of Palladium Books.
Judges Guild is a game publisher that has been active since 1976. The company created and sold many role-playing game supplements, periodicals and related materials. During the late 1970s and early 1980s the company was one of the leading publishers of Dungeons & Dragons related materials. Its flagship product, City State of the Invincible Overlord, was the first published RPG supplement to feature a fully developed city environment. The supplement was followed closely by numerous ancillary cities, maps, and other materials published by Judges Guild.
Ninjas & Superspies is a modern-day espionage role-playing game published in 1988 by Palladium Books.
The Robotech Role-Playing Game, based on the Robotech and Robotech II: The Sentinels series, was originally published by Palladium Books from 1986 to 1995. A second series based on Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles was released between 2008 and 2018.
Kevin Long is a graphic artist best known for his airbrush paintings and black-and-white illustrations in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. He was a principal artist at Palladium Books from 1986 until 1995 and served as one of the original contributors to the Rifts role-playing game (RPG) series.
Jennell Jaquays is an American game designer, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). Her notable works include the Dungeons & Dragons modules Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia for Judges Guild; the development and design of conversions on games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong for Coleco's home arcade video game system; and more recent design work, including the Age of Empires series, Quake 2, and Quake III Arena. One of her best known works as a fantasy artist is the cover illustration for TSR's Dragon Mountain adventure.
Dark Tower is an adventure module published by Judges Guild in 1980 for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Robert Eugene Bledsaw was the founder of the role-playing game publisher Judges Guild.
The Treasure Vaults of Lindoran is an adventure for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1980.
The Book of Treasure Maps II is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1980.
Spies of Lightelf is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1980.
The Unknown Gods is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1980.
Village Book 2 is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1979.
Wilderlands of the Magic Realm is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games published by Judges Guild in 1980.
Pegasus was a gaming magazine published from 1981 to 1983 by Judges Guild.
The First Fantasy Campaign is a supplement for fantasy role-playing games written by Dave Arneson and published by Judges Guild in 1977.
Robotech II: The Sentinels is a 1987 role-playing game supplement for Robotech published by Palladium Books.
The art by Kevin Siembieda is excellent and adds to the text in several places
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