Sample file Credits Artwork by: Charles Walton II Cover Pencils: Charles Walton II Cover Digital Painting: Eduardo Domínguez S. Cover Design: Wayne Smith Design & Layout: Wayne Smith Kevin Siembieda Writing: Kevin Siembieda Charles Walton II Editing: Wayne Smith Alex Marcinisyzn Matthew Clements Conceived by: Kevin Siembieda Based on and inspired by Splicers® and the many game worlds of Palladium Books, created by Kevin Siembieda. Splicers® RPG written and created by Carmen Bellaire. The cover is a digitally painted version of one of Charles Walton’s illustrations from Rifts® World Book 32: Lemuria. Pencils by Chuck Walton digital painted by Eduardo Domínguez, with input from Chuck. It depicts a Lemurian riding a Panther-Shark across one of the oceans of Rifts Earth, with Lemurian floating cities in the background. Sample file First Printing – August, 2014 No part of this publication may be scanned, OCRed, reproduced or distributed in any way for electronic publication on the web/ internet or any other medium. Copyright 2014 Palladium Books Inc. & Kevin Siembieda All rights reserved, worldwide, under the Universal Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole, in any form or by any means, without permission from the publisher, except for brief quotes for use in reviews. All incidents, situations, institutions, governments and people are fictional and any similarity, without satiric intent, of characters or persons living or dead, is strictly coincidental. Splicers®, Rifts®, The Rifter®, Megaverse®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Phase World®, Chaos Earth®, Co- alition Wars®, After the Bomb®, RECON®, Nightbane®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game® and Palladium Books® are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Palladium Books Inc. and Kevin Siembieda. Other titles, names, initials, characters, character likenesses, and slogans are trademarks owned and licensed by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. Palladium Online: www.palladiumbooks.com – also visit us at facebook.com/PalladiumBooks Future Visions™: The Artistry of Charles Walton II – Volume One, is published by Palladium Books Inc., 39074 Webb Court, Westland, MI 48185-7606. Printed in the USA by McNaughton & Gunn. 2 A Word from the Illustrator Sample file I would first like to thank Kevin Siembieda for giving me this is one member of “the Crew” and it is nice to see that Palladium humbling and honorable opportunity. A chance to look behind Books has harvested such talent and experience, a testament to the scenes, to share in some of the inspiration, works in progress Palladium’s long-term inspiration, camaraderie, friendships and and concepts that I have enjoyed developing, co-developing and entertaining experiences. I would like to thank good friend and experiencing with Palladium Books, its innovative staff and in- fellow creator and artist, Mark Dudley, for being a true friend and credible roster of writers, artists, fans and visionaries. supporter of our art ventures. For those who don’t know, it was I would also like to give a Special Thanks to a close supporter; Drunken Style Studios’ Mark Dudley who made the first introduc- my biggest CRITIC and loving fiancéeSonja , for putting up with tion between my artwork and Palladium Books. artwork scattered everywhere and having the patience to deal with I have told Kevin many times that even though I have been an artist trying to stay afloat and everything that comes with that. drawing since I was a toddler, and am mainly a self-taught art- A special thank you to my daughter Janella for being that smile ist, that my illustrating in a professional manner (especially for and inspiration that helps me keep my eyes on the prize, through role-playing games) would likely not have happened nor been all adversity. Thank you to my only brother, Chris, for being a as focused, had it not been for my gaming experiences. Gaming long time friend and player in my stressful RPG campaigns. To experiences in which Palladium Books has had a major hand, and those crazy friends & gamers I have dubbed “the Crew,” who in which it still helps me to develop and persevere. Thank you have gamed with me since High School and beyond in the cos- Palladium for touching so many lives! mic campaign dubbed “the Game,” a campaign still open and on To the gamers and supporters of RPG entertainment and of the “pause” (you all are still in dimensional cryo-stasis within the art, I would like to say THANK YOU to each and every one of Aurora Frozen-Space quantum, lol). Thank you for being such you for your invaluable support, kind words, encouragement and epic, patient, creative players and allowing me to express such for making this experience enjoyable. visual inspirations and horrors on paper and test them on you – Charles Walton II, July, 2014 guys and gals. Fellow freelancer writer & artist, Irvin Jackson 3 Welcome to Future Visions™ The creative process The idea of doing a Charles Walton II art book was originally at Palladium Books mine. Palladium has a long history of working with a vast array of wonderful and truly talented artists. Though they are all skilled By Kevin Siembieda and talented, there always seem to be a few who truly capture the Designing and creating games, especially role-playing games, imagination and attention of our audience and become fan favor- is all about world building. It is not just Hero X saves Fair Maid- ites. Kevin Long, Ramon Perez, Mike Mumah, Amy L. Ashbaugh, en Y. There is a lot more to role-playing in Palladium’s games. Mike Wilson, Vince Martin, Keith Parkinson, John Zeleznik, For me, role-playing games are all about characters and story, E.M. Gist and the color work of Scott Johnson immediately come set in a dynamic and evolving world. To make the gaming ex- to mind. Charles “Chuck” Walton is the latest artist to enrap- perience everything it can possibly be, I need to know how the ture the imaginations of gamers, and I can see why. His work is world works, who lives in it, how they relate, et cetera, et cetera. powerful and elegant at the same time. Whether it is a depiction By creating a vibrant, living and changing world, you create the of a beautiful woman, robot, alien or monster, it is fun, evocative illusion of a real place that the player characters understand and and dynamic. It draws you in and often makes you say “wow.” feel they are a part of; something bigger than themselves. A place Chuck has been truly “wowing” people, starting with his art- where they and their actions can make a profound difference. If work in Rifts® Lemuria™ and the two Rift® Northern Gun™ the world feels real and plausible, it makes for a much more im- titles. mersive experience. It accentuates the emotions and sense of ur- In 2010, Palladium Books held what I called a Creators’ gency. That’s why you will notice most of Palladium’s RPGs and Conference, an open forum in which I invited freelance writers sourcebooks give you – the players and the Game Master – the and artists to gather and discuss where we saw Palladium going, tools you need to explore that strange new world and live your why we do things the way we do, and what I wanted to see from own stories and adventures. We don’t often present fully fleshed them as fellow creators. No question was off the table. The con- out, “canned” adventures, but rather we give you the monsters, ference turned into a 3-4 day brainstorming session. During it, I villains, dangers and plots necessary to weave your own adven- challenged everyone – myself included – to push the envelope tures. You, via your character, are a part of a bigger story, but and take their craft to the next level. And we have been doing your characters may do things that reshape, save or doom an en- just that. The ideas, writing and artwork coming out now include tire village, city or continent – or the entire planet. It’s epic fun. some of the best work Palladium has ever produced. Everyone is And if that world is built correctly, the possibilities for adventure pushing themselves hard and elevating their work, a pretty awe- and fun are endless. some thing to see. There is truly nothing like a good RPG. In role-playing games, We have a number of book titles in the pipeline. I have ideas you help shape the story. You create and play the hero(s). If we that breathe new and well-deserved life into the Palladium Fan- give you the right tools, the right inspiration, and a dynamic, liv- tasy RPG® and Beyond the Supernatural™ game lines, as ing world to play in, the adventures are potentially without end. well as support for Heroes Unlimited™, Rifts®, Robotech®, You laugh and cheer with every triumph, and fret every time the Dead Reign™, and Chuck’s personal favorite, SplicersSample®. tide file turns from your favor. You are challenged to make smart, Over the past several years, Charles Walton and writers Chris- fast decisions, and recover from your mistakes. The fate of one topher Kluge and Brandon Aten have been working on several or more (fictional) lives may hang in the balance. Heck, the fate new sourcebooks for Splicers®. I have to honestly say that if it of the entire world may rest in your character’s hands, and if you were not for these gentlemen, especially Chuck Walton, Splic- aren’t careful, all could be doomed. It’s great stuff. The stuff of ers® might have slipped into a state of limbo and been forgotten.