Full disclosure up front: I'm the author of Glitter Boy Codex. As its BackerKit launch on the 20th of October approaches, I've been getting some questions about Glitter Boy Codex over Discord, email, and a few other media. A friend suggested I share my most frequent questions and answers in a single online place.

If you have other questions about it, feel free to ask, and I'll answer as best I can; just keep in mind that I only wrote the manuscript; I can't speak to other parts of the design, production, or marketing campaign. There are also some aspects of the manuscript that aren't for me to reveal or discuss unless/until Palladium releases them.

Q: How many new Glitter Boy models will the book include?

A: None! The only suit given complete stats in the book is the original USA-G10 with some minor edits for clarity and consistency. Instead of offering lots of new Glitter Boy models, we opted to provide options and rules for customizing the original suit with optional equipment, add-on kits, and modifications. I did include a short segment in the manuscript discussing other Glitter Boy variants and where to find them (both in-game and in other Rifts books).

Q: Will the new equipment and modification kits and rules apply to other power armors, or just the original USA-G10?

A: In terms of equipment, some could work fine for other suits of similar size/construction, some only work for Glitter Boys, and some only work for the USA-G10. The modification rules are specific to the original Glitter Boy, though a GM could adapt some of them to other suits.

Q: What about modifications for stealth?

A: There are a wide variety of customization options that can improve a suit's performance in certain roles; pilots and mechanics have to balance the need for those roles with the inherent armor and firepower expected of the Glitter Boy.

Q: How many rounds of ammunition does the USA-G10 hold in its standard magazine?

A: 100. I know some printings have indicated 1,000, but it's 100. We crunched the numbers, drew up the size required for both ammunition loads, and put them side-by-side with the original Kevin Long drawings. It's 100, which was the original number. Historically, 100 rounds is also a typical basic load of ammunition for troops firing single-shot weapons. Just my opinion, but 100 makes ammunition management more meaningful and interesting in games as well.

Q: What about the Glitter Boy Pilot O.C.C.? Are you making any changes?

A: The basic skills and equipment of the O.C.C. aren't changing much beyond a few new O.C.C.-specific abilities included for clarification and context. However, this book will have many more options to add some unique flavor and capability to a pilot character. Take character creation, for example: before, a Glitter Boy pilot could either be a basic pilot or a descended pilot and get some bonuses, players will now have a wide range of optional origin paths, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Q: How does the book play with the Rifts theme of transhumanism and power at a price?

The manuscript explores several aspects of strapping into a faceless war machine to gain temporary strength and power, balanced with the need to dismount and accept more vulnerability. It also addresses how the suit itself has a greater reputation than its individual pilot, and how every pilot fases the dilemma of choosing fame vs anonymity, and the subsequent social consequences.

Q: How will the book bridge with other active Palladium product lines?

While focused on the classic Rifts North America setting, the manuscript's lore overlaps with Chaos Earth and the upcoming First Responder books in ways that fans of both settings should find both useful and enjoyable.

Q: How did Glitter Boys survive the 200-year dark age?

A: A significant part of the book addresses this question, and it's important as part of the setting and as part of how Glitter Boys and their pilots continue to operate to this day. Short answer: a combination of the suit design itself and the groups that kept them going.

Q: Will the book include adventures or a campaign?

A: Yes! We're calling them "adventure episodes" and an "adventure season." There are both standalone episodes and episodes built into a running, overall story arc set during the Minion War. All of these are fully-developed, much like the adventure content in the recent TMNT books, and all are scalable to suit the size/experience of the player characters. A GM familiar with the Rifts setting and rules should be able to run these with essentially no preparation.

Q: Does my character have to be a Glitter Boy Pilot to play them?

A: Not at all! While they all include Glitter Boys in one way or another, player characters don't need to be or become Glitter Boy Pilots to play through and enjoy.

Q: Why name the book "Glitter Boy Codex?"

A: A few reasons. First, Palladium is considering doing a "codex" series of books, with each one focused on a single classic Rifts character type. Glitter Boy Codex is their first such effort. Second, there is an in-game concept of a Glitter Boy Codex that refers to the collective lore and knowledge shared between the quantum computers built into every original Glitter Boy. There's also some poetry in fact that "codex" often refers to an early type of book that's still considered quite valuable, similar to how the original Glitter Boy was the first power armor of Rifts, and it's still a coveted and valuable war machine.

Q: How much of this book has new vs reprinted material?

A: About 98% of the book's content has never been printed in a Rifts book before. About 20% of the content began as a few Rifter #85 articles, and I revised and built on that content.

Q: How long did it take you to write this manuscript?

A: About a year and a half, plus a few months dedicated to revisions and editing for content, quality, and length.

Q: Are you doing any artwork for this like the maps you drew for Duty's Edge (TM)?

A: [edit: I got this question yesterday. Unofficially, yes, I'm drawing a map up, but it's not part of my contracted work for Glitter Boy Codex, and I have no idea if or how Kevin/Sean intend to use it. They're probably gonna hold off on deciding whether to use it until they see the final product.]

Q: Will there be a Savage Rifts conversion for this book?

A: Yes!

If you're interested in supporting this project, getting the book, and picking some fun extras with it, the BackerKit campaign starts on October 20th. Palladium is throwing in some extra goodies for people who follow and reserve this campaign now, before it formally kicks off on the 20th. Link is below:

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/palladium-books-inc/rifts-glitter-boy-codex/pre-launch

The potpourri of things that didn’t find a home in previous chapters; includes Optional Rules or those that did not warrant clogging previous entries (Traps & Obstacles). Here we find rules for things like Aging, Exhaustion/Exertion, Exposure, Horror Factor, Insanity, among others. Collecting from across the PB RPG range, the key was brevity of presentation, and making them sync with Skills and Combat, while still applicable for fantasy, moderns or space adventures. We’re there.

https://www.scholarlyadventures.com/post/the-bazaar-107-core-rules-system-chapter-9

What Ancillary/Optional Rules would you expect? What ones would you like to see?

The black, white, and red editions are GORGEOUS! The rule book is a good read and I like the new format.

All the TMNT stuff is 40% off, and this stuff is very much worth checking out.

I freely admit FOMO got me hard.

I used to have a binder full of Level 1-5 characters that were pre-rolled for if friends or guest stopped by and wanted to play or fill in for people. It also contained all of the characters I have played in every RPG.

Unfortunately my binder was stolen and 35 years of my characters are gone. Seriously characters that I played in Jr. High was in that binder. :(

I was wondering if anyone had some pre-rolled characters just basic types from the core book maybe stuff like a Gladiator or simple characters from other books. Nothing like a witch, Demi-god or Diabolist. I have a one shot coming up and had planned to use my characters that I already created.

I am currently in the middle of writing the one shot and unfortunately won’t have time to do both and may have to cancel if I have to also create characters.

Thank you,

I am looking for the pregens of the iconic Turtles or anything that is available.

Are there any software tools to help with character creation?

Reading Mystic China noticed Dragon Chi being tied to Tap positive Chi referenced several times and I'm wondering what it actually does as I cannot find it anywhere in the book on what it does.
My interest is peaked because of this comment in the chi magic section.

Drawing P.P.E. from Chi. The Chi magic spell, "Convert Chi to P.P.E.," can give a hefty boost in overall P.P.E. This is also handy if the character has either Dragon Chi or Dark Chi, which are the Chi Mastery abilities that let one tap into the flow of Chi permeating an area.

So does anyone know how Dragon Chi (Tap Positive Chi) is supposed to work?

As the title says, I need some assistance planning a campaign. Basically where do you find inspiration, how do you build your campaigns and all of that stuff?

Seeing as there are something like 50 issues of the RIFTER at this point... is there anywhere that has collected a list (and/or summary) of what is in each issue to help decide which ones would be most useful?

What's up Ninjas? I am a longgg time TMNT lover and have decided that I want to run the Palladium Redux, thing is, I only run games on Foundry. I had to make it so it works. So, I need play testers. Both Players and GMs are invited.

Is there anyone that uses Foundry and wants to playtest?

This is the system only, outside of my game, there is no data to share. So it would be best if you have the books.

Join my discord and chat about the dev and stuff. https://discord.gg/ZMdvhAWeB

If interested please fill out the form https://form.jotform.com/gmmattcat/tmnt-playtest

So I wanna see if I understand this correctly. Let's say you can move 50 yards per round, and you have 5 actions per round. So you can move 10 yards and make an attack, and that only counts as 1 action. Then, next turn, you can then move another 10 yards and make another attack, which is still one action. You can continue doing this until all 5 actions are used, and none of them are a "movement action"?

The Minotaur is one of those fantasy tropes that gets leveraged throughout genre entertainment; Palladium Books is no different. Half-man with a bull’s head, something about a labyrinth, and most people stop there. You mean there’s more? Whoo-boy. So you think you know the myth of the Minotaur? You likely don’t know half of it.  Let’s do a bit a dive into the myth and explore how rich it can be for GMs and Adventure Design, with 9 adventure ideas based on the myth alone. Full Article in Blog Link below.

https://www.scholarlyadventures.com/post/the-bazaar-106-bestiary-field-notes-the-minotaur

How much of the Minotaur myth were you aware of? 

Does anyone know of a list of the various adventures that Palladium has put out for their various games over the years? I know, in general, that they lean towards setting/background information and Hook, Line, and Sinker format, but I am particularly interested in more complete modules/adventures.

I was about to start going through my books and Rifters to try and see what's out there, but then I thought "maybe someone else already put all this together."

In the September 10th Weekly Update Kevin teased the following:

“Meanwhile, we’re working on other books and a new RPG license that we think will blow your minds and put a smile on your face. And this is just the stuff I can tell you about or hint at. Big things are coming.”

In a Gamer Googles interview that took place at GenCon this year, Kevin and Sean were asked about an update to Ninjas & Superspies to which Sean says offhandedly “we may have something coming up with lots chase scenes, cybernetics, and kung fu” (or “gun fu”; it’s hard to understand).

Let the speculation begin. What could this new RPG license be?

I am thinking of doing a one shot adventure set in the Palladium Fantasy setting using an adventure originally written for Pathfinder where a party of baby dragons try to rescue the human who raised them from the villain.

Instead of the pathfinder dragons I wish to use those from the Palladium setting. I know the Dragon Hatchling R.C.C. is in Rifts (I own the original core book and Conversion books and have a PDF of the Ultimate Edition) and I know they were made more balanced in the Ultimate Edition. However I want to use the classic Palladium names for the species. So far I think these would be the closest for such a conversion...

What do you think? Would Thunder Lizards or Serpents of the Wind fit the Whip-tailed Better (as the Chiang-kou is not a typical Palladium dragon type)? Any changes to the dragon types? Thank you for any advise.

Wondering what are the best Greater Familiars (using the Summon Greater Familiar Spell). That have a High P.P.E. pool and/or valuable magical Abilities (Nexus Deevils go without saying).

Rather vaguely titled, this 160-page book punches WAY above its page count. It’s a book of lists, but really useful ones: Space Station Creation Rules, 12+ new spacecraft and design notes for creating your own craft, a table of 100 random Cargos, new weapons and equipment. These are all supplements to the meat on the bone, the literal “world building” of 48 systems, fleshed out, each with an HLS. Introducing some great new factions, this is another solid addition to the Phase World library!

https://www.scholarlyadventures.com/post/scholar-s-review-88-dimension-book-6-three-galaxies

Did the new factions shake up your campaign? Did your GM take you on the ‘Alphabet Tour?’

Seeking 6 interested players for an Online Palladium Fantasy 2e Campaign. We will be playing on MICROSOFT TEAMS . this will be an ongoing Actual play , so this is not for the Camera shy. I provide the Fillable Character sheets, you just need Dice. Cam and Mic. Starting Date for Session 0 after we find a starting 3 players. No evil aligned or players from The Land of the Damned . Games will be BI WEEKLY on Saturdays , Starting at 7pm CST . Campaign will be recorded then placed on my Youtube channel. Cant let Critical Role have all the fun

Through time-lapse videos, follow this Indonesian artist’s process as they complete truly magnificent pieces that may inspire characters, adventure ideas. Ideal for character portraits or to stimulate adventure design, most likely for modern Palladium RPGs. Dive down the rabbit-hole of hyper-realism; pencil and chalk drawings so precise and evocative they challenge AI-generated art.

https://www.scholarlyadventures.com/post/bazaar-105-resource-review-veri-apriyatno

While AI may be important an important tool, remember to support your artists!

I ran a TMNT session where we built characters and did a quick little adventure stealing a helicopter. I've known palladium is an old system and has many quirks, I was prepared for that. The trouble I ran into was a way of thinking. One character wanted to sneak around a truck to behind a person. D&D taught me it's stealth vs perception with dexterity and wisdom to fall back on. TMNT and palladium aren't like that and I was a bit stumped, there's no perception skill, the character didn't have stealth, and stats aren't rolled against directly. Another character was acting as a distraction so I let it work, which was fine, but I'm used to leaning on dice rolls for situations without an obvious answer.
For people that have run this game forever, or those that have bounced between systems, how do you address this? How do you fill that gap when there's no skill to fill in the gap for me?

Leaning back into discussions about GM philosophies and how to best/better run a game at your table. Nothing is ever concrete, but Palladium Books RPGs serves up some various rulings that certainly force our GMs to make decisions ‘on the fly,’ and some of those may be based on a dice roll. How much weight do we let that single roll influence the outcome at the table, and why? A precise for discussion.

https://www.scholarlyadventures.com/post/the-bazaar-104-fudging-dice-rolls

How about you and your table? Catholic rollers and stick to the dice regardless the result, or more non-conformist in your approach?

I just discovered that Palladium Books reissued the TMNT books this year and so I now have them on order. I'd love to join an online TMNT campaign if anyone is running one.

In addition to Sourcebook 3 Mindwerks and Dimensionbook 2 Phase World, are the Ugakwa Explorers discussed anywhere else? In Phase World it has one paragraph on page 16 stating that they are up and comers oh the technology market with shields superior to the Naruni. I'm trying to find the cost to by their tech and any new things the Ugakwa have brought to market.

Thank you all in advance.

Any thoughts or opinions on these psionic devices? Because for the longest time I had no idea that there even was a Psionic Gateway device, allowing teleporting to locations on the world and to other dimensions.

Wish that they gave the S.D.C. for the Psionic Devices they didn't in the 1e. But the math for the I.S.P. cost for their creation roughly looks like 10 I.S.P. per 1 S.D.C.