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The future is not bright… The future
is not Orange.
The future is dark… the future
is SLA.
SLA Industries describes itself as “A
Roleplaying Game of Futuristic Urban Horror”,
but this just chips the surface and is definitely
not all it achieves… it goes much deeper.
So what’s
it all about?
SLA Industries is a huge galaxy-spanning
corporation, run by one man: Mr Slayer. He
built SLA Industries on the greed, blood and
ashes of everyone who got in his way. His
rise to power started when he began supplying
the warring factions of the galaxy with technology,
weapons and even bio-engineered soldiers.
But there was more than a simple capitalist
dream behind it all, every item sold was rigged
to shutdown or rebel at a certain date. This
left all resistance to Slayer crippled and
ready for his new, bigger, better, more-orderly
- “World of Progress”.
The World of Progress has its headquarters
on the planet Mort, which is where the characters
will be based in the game. Mort is a ravaged
industrial planet, which isn’t a million
miles away from the Judge Dredd Megacity’s
as far as looks go. The planet is covered
in factories, mines and housing for the SLA
Industries employees. The architecture is
stacked in levels that wind down into choking
tunnels and vents, and as always, the poor
are at the bottom of the ladder. If there's
one quote from the book that sums up the setting
perfectly, it this… “On Mort the
rain never stops”.
In the game the players are SLA Industries
investigators of some form or another. They
are basically troubleshooters who are there
to try and keep the balance. They can be despatched
for any number of reasons, a serial killer
may be on the loose, a riot may be in progress,
a terrorist could be threatening a SLA factory;
the list is as endless as the pollution in
Mort.
Sounds serious.
So can I only be an investigator then?
Well, technically yes. But you’re area
of investigation expertise could be anything
from a forensics doctor to a trained hit man.
In fact the group is encouraged to take a
mixture of characters with various skills,
so that you can cover a range of missions.
Which leads me on to THE BEST thing I think
a roleplay game has ever come up with, paperwork.
In SLA Industries paperwork makes the world
go round. You need warrants to arrest, search
and kill anything. You can sign sponsorship
contracts to help bring in some extra cash
(more on this below) and you get all your
missions on little Blue Print News (BPN) forms.
This works really well and gives the game
a great feeling of the impersonal bureaucracy
and how the pen truly can be mightier than
the sword. It also helps build the idea of
the ‘system’ and how it pays to
be on the right side of SLA Industries.
The media is another factor of SLA Industries
that has been dealt with really well. Imagine
a world where the only thing to do when you’ve
finished your long hard shift at a factory
is to switch on the TV and take it all in,
or maybe you don’t even have a job,
maybe SLA takes care of you and you just stay
in all day tuned to their TV stations. This
is the realm of the celebrity, although the
stars of the future are a little different
from Carol Vorderman and Richard and Judy.
The prime-time violence of the SLA contract
killers has gripped the population. People
tune in day and night to watch SLA Industries
Operatives bringing justice and control to
the mean streets of Mort.
This is worked into the game for the players
as well. When you accept a mission you will
be told if it has any media coverage and the
more well known your character gets the more
money you can get from potential sponsors,
who want to see their name on your body armour
next time you’re in front of the camera.
A good way of building up your reputation
is to call in news teams when your about to
hit some action, so imagine your about to
tangle with some gang members who have taken
control of a warehouse, what do you call for
first… back up or media coverage.
This all sounds
excellent; didn’t I hear someone say
the rules were really hard though?
Yes, it was a well-known fact for quite a
long time that SLA Industries had a set of
rules that were harder than Mike Tyson wearing
a concrete suit. They have included a page
in the rulebook now though called SLA Industries
Quick Start Introduction, which gives you
a quick overview of the game and a very brief
rules summary. I think that it would have
been better to include a brief summary of
the combat and character creation rules as
well, but we can’t have everything can
we.
Character creation…
can I be one of the bio-engineered chaps you
mentioned earlier?
You sure can. There are seven character types
to choose from in the main rulebook. First
up we have the age-old classic, humans. Humans
are still alive and kicking and have embraced
the World of Progress more than any other
race. Most Shiver units (sort of SLA troops/police
units, which the players can use for backup,
crime scene work and cleanup) are made up
of humans. They also make up the workforce
and fill many positions in SLA Industries
business areas.
Next we have Frothers. These are lethal drug
crazed humans who use powerful chemicals to
drive themselves to the edge. One of the most
famous combat drugs they take is “Ultra
Violence”, which is basically used to
physically and mentally twist the Frother
into a killing machine. Third in line is the
Stormer. This is the name given to the genetically
designed soldiers created by Karma (a division
of SLA). They are no longer required to fight
wars, so SLA has found a use for them on the
streets of Mort, where their huge, well-muscled,
ferocious look helps keep the peace.
Ebons are close to humans in the looks department,
but somehow more beautiful than any human
has ever been. During the early days of SLA
Industries a large ‘gap’ was found
on Mort and this gap was emitting a blinding
white light and a great deal of flux (raw
psychic energy). The Ebons are able to manipulate
flux and use it to perform various ‘powers’,
which are things like protection, healing
and telekinesis.
They can also use several destructive powers
as well, such as blast. But the Ebons tend
to leave the use of these powers to the Brain
Waters, who are sort of the evil sect of the
Ebon race. They aren’t truly evil though;
slightly sadistic is probably a better description
of them. Basically where the Ebons are polite
friendly and courteous the Brain Wasters are
rude bitter and just don’t really care.
Shaktars are large scaly aliens with toothy-jaws,
keen yellow eyes and fleshy dreadlocks who
sign up to a similar school of thought as
the Klingons. Their society is based on honour
and respect for elder Shaktars. SLA Industries
recognised the good combination of instinct,
intelligence and strength and a Shaktar makes
a worthy addition to any Op squad.
Finally we have the Wraith Raiders. They
are originally from a cold snowy-ice planet
and when they reach the warmer climate of
Mort their looks alter slightly. They often
have navy or deep purple hair with a mottled
leopard like effect on parts of their skin.
They are natural hunters on their own world
and these skills translate perfectly to the
skills needed to track down serial killers
and criminals for SLA.
They all sound
interesting, and the system sounds like it
could be ok with practice, anything left to
say?
Not really. SLA Industries has a very good
setting and adventures are so easy to come
up with it’s scary. The business-like
aspect of adventures also makes a refreshing
change to the usual “you stumble across
a map” style of game intro. I think
that if you can develop the corporation controlled,
media driven population and then stress the
futility that an individual feels when they
finally snap you will be in for the ride of
your life. Your players will have fun building
up their material wealth while trying to maintain
their grasp on sanity.
This game let’s you see the future.
It let’s you join the galaxy wide corporation
that is SLA Industries and what could be better
than that. After all Mr Slayer cares about
all of his employees. Just don’t rock
the boat...
Reviewed By Jon Simpson |
