The House in the Mist by Shadow's Symphony from The House in the Mist © 2011.
Used with permission.

“Everybody is a book of blood. Whenever we are opened, we're red.”
-Clive Barker, Books of Blood

The Library

illustration by Kevin LongWelcome to the Library of BTS; its very existence affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of mankind in both its struggle and survival against supernatural evil.

So come inside, light a candle, select a copy of the Beyond the Supernatural RPG from that bookshelf over there (or one of its sourcebooks), find an empty chair (just not that one as the blood splatter hasn't dried yet) and indulge in the many supernatural mysteries that await you.

I built the Library of BTS for two reasons:

1. To introduce the Beyond the Supernatural™ RPG to those who don't know what it is and/or have found this fan site by accident. If this describes you, then hello and welcome to my House!

2. I keep reading on the Palladium Books™ forum that people frequently ask for a listing of BTS related materials and where to find them. So, to help out any and all interested parties, I now maintain a list of BTS sourcebooks and materials in the Library! I try to keep it up to date, and as free of ghosts and ghouls as I possible can so you can read in peace, but I can never truly guarantee anyone's safety (even my own) in this House.

The following list includes Beyond the Supernatural™ core book and its sourcebooks, issues of The Rifter™ containing BTS articles (some of which were written by myself)
or other Palladium Books products containing BTS specific/useful information.

You can scroll your way down, or click on the following links:

The Books / The Rifter / Additional Materials / Future Sourcebooks

The Books

Beyond the Supernatural

BTS book cover Beyond the Supernatural™ 2nd Edition builds on the bones of the classic 1st edition RPG to create a modern world of horror and magic unlike any before it.

The supernatural is real. Psychic abilities and the paranormal are real. Magic is real. Yet science and authority figures dismiss them as hysteria, hoaxes and madness. However, special individuals gifted with special abilities or cursed with firsthand encounters find themselves inexorably linked to the paranormal and forced to deal with the consequences.

Some of our heroes are gung-ho psychics and sorcerers who see themselves as humankind's hidden protectors. Others are drawn into the realm of shadows through quirks of fate, or fueled by feelings of revenge. Still others are reluctant heroes and even victims, but all have been touched, in some way, by forces beyond human comprehension - Beyond the Supernatural.

Hardcover edition BTS book coverHard Cover: Palladium Books has released a hard cover edition of BTS-2! While the front cover has been altered to visually offer a difference between the soft cover and hard cover editions (image on the left is the Hardcover version), the rest of the book is identical to the soft cover version.

I'm ordering one for use as a Game Master tool so I can hold the book up in front of me and hide my game materials inside it as needed during game play.
Well, also because hard covers are cool.

Purchase the soft cover edition

Purchase the hard cover edition

Purchase the PDF version


Creature Feature!

Illustration of Creature Feature cover by E.M. Gist Beyond the Supernatural™ is set in our modern world seen through the lens of mystery and the supernatural. A lens that lets us see clearly the “things” – the creatures and powers – that science and our rational minds tell us are not real. It is a world of shadows and the uncanny where a monster may really be hiding under your bed or stalking the alley. Creatures that lurk in dark corners and prey upon the unsuspecting, the innocent, and the wicked.

Creature Feature™ is a journey into just a few of those dark corners. Places where strange and terrible creatures wait, and bold heroes and psychic investigators face their fears and fight against the gathering darkness.

  • - 15 supernatural creatures described in depth. Some are new. Some were pulled from the pages of The Rifter® but updated and expanded (many completely rewritten). All of them are dynamic, scary, and offer different horror adventure experiences.
  • - Each creature offers adventure hooks and ideas for more.
  • - The art of making and running monsters.
  • - Creature encounter table and tips on making unique creatures.
  • - Player paranormal investigator background table.
  • - Game Master source material and tips for running modern horror.
  • - More world setting and monster hunting lore.
  • - Rules clarifications and errata.
  • - A full adventure and numerous adventure suggestions.
  • - Paranormal encounter ideas, tips, advice, NPCs, and more.
  • - Written by Steven Dawes, Kevin Siembieda, and others.
  • - Art by Steven Cummings, Nick Bradshaw, and others.
  • - 192 pages – Cat. No. 704.

Click here for a sneak preview PDF from DriveThruRPG.com

Click here to purchase Creature Feature

Bonus: Click here for more information and a gallery of artwork from Creature Feature!

The First Edition Rules

BTS book cover This is the 1st edition of the Beyond the Superantural™ RPG, and is very near and dear to my cold, long since dead heart. Note that while this book rules are out dated, there's still a treasure trove of material within worth having, and the cover by Richard Corben is worth the cost alone.

“A roleplaying game of modern horror. Contains character creation, skills, careers, character classes, combat rules, mysterious locations, magic and psychic powers, monsters, weapons and equipment, and four adventures.”

Highlights Include...

  • A New Magic System For a Contemporary World.
  • Ancient Mystic Arts
  • Places of Power
  • Psychic Abilities
  • Supernatural Creatures
  • Everything You Need to Play.
  • a Complete Role-Playing Game of Horror.

While no longer in print, this can still be purchased in PDF format at DriveThruRPG.com

Boxed Nightmares

Boxed Nightmares book cover An adventure sourcebook for Beyond the Supernatural™.

Eighty wonderfully insidious pages worth of supernatural goodness contained in six adventures, three new monsters (Tasmanian Devil, Devouring Horned Lizard-Beast and Doppelganger Entity), plus new villains, new NPC's, rules for creating secret organizations, the arcanist thief, GM tips, and more!

Also included in this file is the 16 page tabloid newspaper that came packaged with the book. I happen to own a copy of this book with the tabloid still shrinkwrapped inside it; its framed and hangs on my office wall.

While no longer in print, you can get this in PDF format at DriveThruRPG.com.

UPDATE: Palladium Books has reprinted a small run of Boxed Nightmares.
Click here to order yours while supplies last.

The Rifter

The Rifter™ is a quarterly magazine with material submitted by game master's, players and fans alike. Through the Rifter, all of Palladium Books RPG lines are supported with new materials regularly, including Beyond the Supernatural™. Coincidentally, several of these articles were written by yours truly, and I will shamelessly point them out as I go (and offer to sell signed copies of the issues I still have a copy of).

List of Rifter's available from Palladium Books

List of Rifter's available from DriveThruRPG.com

Additional Materials

Dead Reign RPG book coverDead Reign® - Zombie Role Playing Game

The original idea of Dead Reign was to be a zombie filled supplement for Beyond the Supernatural™, so its no surprise that there's plenty of useful information in this book. With a large assortment of weapons and stats that port directly over to BTS, useful rules and ideas for combat, lots of zombies, and more.

In fact, most of the Dead Reign sourcebooks have useful info and ideas to use in your BTS games. Side note: I created the Impersonator Zombie in the the Dark Places sourcebook, as well as a BTS adventure that uses the zombies from this book in the Rifter #68
You might say I'm a fan of this game. :)

HR line designed by Je Shields

Madhaven Madhaven: Rifts® World Book 29

This book has several new entities presented within it, along with conversion notes for the 2nd edition BTS rules on page 124.

Includes the Gluttonous Ghost, the Beautiful Ghost,
the Harmful Ghost, the Madness Ghost, the Conglomerate Entity,
the Contagion Entity, and the Rotting Entity.

These wicked entities are worth the cost of this book, especially if you get the PDF version at DriveThruRPG.com

HR line designed by Je Shields

Hades: Rifts Dimension Book 10Hades: Pits of Hell: Rifts® Dimension Book 10

This book offers a variety of Demons for use in BTS, and includes conversion notes like the S.D.C.”, “A.R.” and “Discorporation” of a demon on BTS Earth (see Death of a Demon on page 19).

Note: The low “P.P.E.” levels of BTS Earth incidentally protects it from an outright invasion by Hades forces. However, individual beings and reconnaissance squads can (and do) show up through dimensional gateways and anomalies (whether by accident or by intention). Also available on PDF at DriveThruRPG.com

HR line designed by Je Shields

Dyval, Hell Unleashed: Rifts Dimension Book 11 Dyval, Hell Unleashed: Rifts® Dimension Book 11

This book offers a variety of Deevils for use in BTS, and includes conversion notes like the S.D.C.”, “A.R.” and “Discorporation” of a Deevil on BTS Earth (see Death of a Deevil on page 16).

Note: The low “P.P.E.” levels of BTS Earth incidentally protect it from an outright invasion by Dyval forces. However, individual beings and reconnaissance squads can (and do) show up through various rifts and dimensional anomalies (whether by accident or intention).

Notice: I've outlined and intend to fully flesh out a “Hades/Dyval skirmish on BTS Earth” adventure to submit to the Rifter some day.
Note: Now available on PDF at DriveThruRPG.com

Future Sourcebooks

The first one is titled Beyond Arcanum™ and is dedicated to fleshing out the unique magic system of BTS. While I'm sworn to secrecy on details, per phone and personal conversations I've had with Kevin, the magic of BTS will indeed be very different from other palladium worlds.

Other sourcebooks will a series titled Tomes Grotesque™, dedicated to depicting things that go bump in the night, cults and cultists, living and surviving in the BTS world, and more details about the Lazlo Society™.

I also have sourcebooks in various stages of completion...

Beyond the Paranormal™: This will be dedicated to entities, spirits,
the Astral Plane, designing ghost stories, hauntings and more.

Victims: An expansion based on the concepts found within the “Victims” section in the 1st edition BTS book.

A Game Master's & Player's Guide is also in the works.

Once these are unleashed, who knows what might be coming for you...
from Beyond the Supernatural!

Discorporation- see page 19 of BTS-2 for more info.
Armor Rating- see page 137 of BTS-2 for more info.
Structural Damage Capacity- see page 135 of BTS-2 for more info.
Potential Psychic Energy- see page 27 of BTS-2 for more info.