Customer Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant!
Comment: 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!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: New and Not-So-Improved
Comment: 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.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Palladium RPG
Comment: I give this book 4 stars, and only for one reason, organization. Things are a little out of place, but when you know where they are you should be able to grab them immediately. The AD&D books are just the same, you have to search through endless pages of text for your questions, so there's not even an argument! Why this is the best game system there is. It's open to everything! The whole game is designed for you to edit it slightly to how you like it. The author even encourages players to alter the rules to make fun playing games. Creating your character is fun, not long! You choose the skills you want. Do you want to be a chubby merchant that can sing and dance? Do it! Want to be an assassion who plays the flute? Go for it. With this system it gives you your classes skills, and then lets you choose more. Because they know everyone is different, and that itself makes the game more fun. The races are everything you'd expect from a Fantasy. I can't believe people who say it's a Rifts Junior, because I have played the two and frankly there is a LARGE difference. Everyone in the world except that minority think so, and it's cause they aren't open minded! You have elves, dwarves, even changelings for heavens sake! A variety of weapons. Swords, maces, daggers, down to gnomish weapons and giant weapons. Magical and Rune weapons even! Shields and their strength. The best part, half the classes don't force you to choose a particular armor! You choose what kind would fit your type of character. The combat is flowing. People take turns going first, everyone gets the chance to parry and dodge. This works well with the levelling system, because it's no longer who can just deal the most damage, but who can hit with that damage! Get this book, and enjoy it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Review by Doc
Comment: Ok, you've heard the term RPG thrown around quite a bit, and this guy from school/work has told you to get the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons series, and have your friends come over and play. Well, let me tell you this. I have played AD&D for the last 10 years, and played Palladium for 3. Palladium is better, especially for new people. It only takes one book to play (AD&D takes 3, more for world info., even Third Edition), and about 15 minutes to make a character (vs. the hour and a half for AD&D, even if I knew all of what I wanted to do.) New people will find the rules easier than D&D, and love it too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING
Comment: Rifts Jr. is so right. I was very let down by this. When I heard they had revised the ever classic original with the PPE instead of the clunky original Magic System I was quite happy. Then I made some characters in the game to test it. GOD! What a MESS. The organization, in my opinion, was horrible. Hardly any charts for easy flow. They had text write ups for the skill bonusing in Weapon Profs... I was mortified by how hard it was to find info in it. (I spent 10 minutes looking up somewhere where I could find Saving Throws for magic...only to discover it was spread out over a zillion different sections. Every Section had one little piece of info about the saving throws. There was not one place where I could get all the info about saving throws. THere was no chart. I have no problem with redundant info, but I have a problem with it being scattered all over the place like that. WE NEED CONSOLIDATION!) Then, after 6 character creations, my friends and I battled it out to see how well the new system worked in actual play. The characters were horridly unbalanced. My Warrior Monk took everyone out due to the Spirit Strike which makes people drop their weapon. This is not the Palladium Books of Old. I will never again purchase a Palladium Product. If I ever PLAY Palladium again I will dig out my Dusty 'Crimson' Copy. This new one goes to prove the old adage. New is not necessarily better.
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