In a game short of clear cut chances, teenage starlet Victor Moses missed Palace's best chance of the game after shooting wide when clear on goal in eight minutes before the break, while Jon Harley was denied a debut goal after his left-footed half-volley from ten yards was disallowed for offside.
Palace boss Neil Warnock handed debuts to Nick Carle and Paddy McCarthy, who joined from Bristol City and Charlton respectively, while Adrian Boothroyd gave defender Harley his first senior start since his summer move from Burnley.
And after a cagey opening Moses came within inches from giving the home side a 20th minute lead after linking up with Sean Scannell down the left before letting fly with an angled drive from ten yards that flew just past Mart Poom's far post.
Former Palace man Jobi McAnuff then forced Julian Speroni into a good one handed save on 28 minutes with a crisp volley from 12 yards.
McCarthy was then denied a debut goal nine minutes before the break when Moses'corner was half cleared leaving the Republic of Ireland international to fire goalwards, but his low shot was saved brilliantly by Poom.
Moses then missed the best chance of the half after firing wide from ten yards after James Scowcroft's flick.
Tamas Priskin forced Speroni into another good save a minute before half-time after cutting inside McCarthy and letting fly with a left-footed strike.
After a dour opening to the second period the game erupted just after the hour after Lee Williamson's poor challenge on Matt Lawrence provoked a 20-man brawl which resulted in the Watford midfielder and Eagles captain Shaun Derry being booked.
And the incident sparked the game into life, with first Williamson hitting the top of Speroni's crossbar with a delicate chip from 15 yards out on 63 minutes, before Harley was denied a debut goal after his close-range strike after Priskin's header back across the face was ruled for offside.
Palace then missed a superb chance to break the deadlock after Carle played in Scowcroft with beautifully weighted pass on 65 minutes only for Jay De Merit to produce brilliant goal-saving challenge to keep parity.
Both sides huffed and puffed looking for the winner, but both sides will be happy with a point.