Turtles No More - Palladium’s TMNT RPG licence is ending

Just as copies have finally been hitting retail stores over the last few months, Palladium Books is ending its run with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness. Palladium says Paramount and themselves could not reach licensing terms they found acceptable for new books and accessories, so have chosen not to renew the agreement.

Effective immediately, Palladium’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness Mutagen Green Dice, Game Screen, and RPG books are all marked down 40%.

NEWS! We had some cool ideas for brand new TMNT & Other Strangeness RPG books and accessories, but we were unable to reach mutually acceptable licensing terms and Palladium Books has chosen not to renew the Ninja Turtles license. 

This was a mutual decision by Sean and I. We have cherished the opportunity to bring one of the most beloved role-playing games and sourcebooks of all time back in dramatic fashion collected into two deluxe, full-color, updated, Redux Editions. The books feature the classic Palladium RPG rules system – revised and clarified for modern sensibilities – remastered with a fresh easy-to-use layout. Each book is jam-packed with all-new material including bonus artwork, upgraded adventures, 20 new mutant animals, new animal abilities, Feral combat style, Karai, the Fugatoid, Ferreterick, expanded vehicle creation and combat rules, 33 pages of tribute art, behind the scenes information, history, and remembrances by notable comic book and gaming artists, creators, and friends. 

We are immensely proud of these beautiful game books and RPG accessories. There are no regrets, only joy. Palladium’s TMNT & Other Strangeness Kickstarter was a huge success, we thrilled fans, and we were reunited with Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Freddie E. Williams II, Mike Majestic, and our old friends at Mirage Studio. We had a grand experience working with Paramount and thank them for the beautiful opportunity they gave us with Turtles.

Along the way, we made new friends with amazing human beings such as Sophie Campbell, Luis Delgado, Jeremy Colwell, Ciro Nieli, Fiona and Kevin Russel, amongst many others. Sean and I had the time of our lives celebrating Eastman and Laird, the Turtles, and the late, great Erick Wujcik. We brought back fond memories to millions of role-players and put a smile on the face of everyone who backed the historic Kickstarter or made a purchase this year. 

A special call out and our heartfelt gratitude to all the wonderful gamers and Turtles fans who backed the TMNT & Other Strangeness Kickstarter. Your generous support and trust in us helped make it all possible. We applaud you and thank you so very much.

Now, it’s time for Palladium to focus on other opportunities close to our hearts. That starts with the Glitter Boy Codex Backerkit crowdfunder launching October 20th. You can get all the news and updates by joining the Pre-Launch Page.

It will be followed by the release of long awaited RPG titles, bold innovations, and an array of surprises that will blow your mind and make you smile all the more. As Erick Wujcik would say, “It’s all good.”

A comeback backed by more than 8,000 fans

The end has comes hot on the heels of a major revival of the line. Palladium’s 2023 Kickstarter raised $1,277,496 from 8,383 backers, against a $250,000 goal. The campaign funded two deluxe, full-colour collections: one centred on the core game and another on Transdimensional Adventures.

The Redux books remastered the original Palladium rules and added new material, artwork and expanded content. The books included updated adventures, 20 new mutant animals, new animal abilities, expanded vehicle rules and tribute art, alongside material featuring characters such as Karai and the Fugitoid.

The game that let you play more than a turtle

The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness was published by Palladium in 1985, with rules by the legendary Erick Wujcik and artwork by TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It was among the earliest licensed TMNT products and became a big hit for the company.

The game took the comic’s mutant-animal premise and made it a character-creation toolkit. Players could build their own animal mutants, choosing from a range of species and abilities, then send them into adventures in the contemporary world. The original paperback was black and white; the recent Redux editions revisited that material in colour, with revised and clarified rules and a new layout.

Palladium says its priorities are now focusing on its own properties, including Rifts, Palladium Fantasy and Beyond the Supernatural. Rifts: Glitter Boy Codex just launched this week on crowdfunding platform Backerkit, and a forthcoming Mechanoids collection is also part of the company’s 45th-anniversary plans.

While Palladium have their direct sale going on to dispose of the exiosting stock, customers can also get hold of copies of the game through game stores, albeit at non-sale prices.

Images courtesy of Palladium Books Inc.