TEXT: tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE
  (tHe  rEStleSs  sEA)
  C O N T E N T S
  Introduction – Issue 14, isn’t it all brilliant!?
  Born 
  Again 
  – 
  Strange 
  and 
  dangerous
  scenario…. Players beware.
  The Sh’mr – New race for the WoP….
  diabolic…. as NPC’s or PC’s.
  Deathsuits – What we think we know and what
  we know we know….
  Justice For All – Can there be a ‘justice’
  system in SLA?
  Never Mind The Pig – Sliggs and Tralls, the
  slimy and the insane.
  Finding A Job – A Blue and a White, from
  Uptown to Lower Downtown.
  Equipment 
  – 
  Shiver 
  FRV, 
  Holo-
  Communicator, Environment Suit.
  Soft Companies – Blue Moon and Scribe,
  moonshine and forgery.
  Meet N Greet – Bo Peep, 714 Chagrin
  Contract Killer, Karma’s baby.
  Black Sabbath eh?
  OK. One more time for the cynics. tHE bIG
  pICTURE is a non profit making fanzine, where the
  cover price goes to pay for copying and distribution.
  We pay nothing for contributions, we all do it 'cos
  we're extremely groovy and hoopy frood SLA nuts
  (idiots basically….).
  Nightfall Games Ltd. do not endorse the stuff we
  put in tHE bIG pICTURE, and it must be stressed
  that we are a completely 'unofficial' fanzine.
  All copyrights of stuff used remain with respective
  authors. We'd like to think that this means
  something, and that the stuff here-in will not be
  produced without our knowledge or permission.
  Nobody minds, just ask is all. (And DON’T photo
  copy TBP – buy your own!)
  If you want to contribute; write something. We'll
  consider most stuff (not poetry or fiction).
  Stuff expressed here is seldom the kind of thing that
  could get anyone in to trouble, but if it is: then it
  wasn't us; it was the crew of small green dudes that
  live at the bottom of my pond. We know nothing.
  We were all away at the time and can take no
  responsibility for anything naughty. The good and
  great groovy stuff which gets much deserved praise,
  money and chocolate things is undeniably ours; and
  we thank you for noticing (send more chocolate,
  we’re going in to a trance).
  Want to buy something from us? Of course you do!
  Personal cheques (in sterling only) or P.O.'s made
  payable to M. Bantleman please. Thanks awfully.
  tHE bIG pICTURE could really do with some
  funky pictures. Any ideas? Know any artist types?
  We'd be sickeningly grateful for any artwork we can
  use....
  e-mail: max@bantleman.demon.co.uk  /
  pi@stsm.demon.co.uk
  Unless specifically credited to an author, all
  material in tHE bIG pICTURE is written by
  Max Bantleman.!
  The Big Picture is published by:
  Chocolate Frog Enterprises
  7 Jubilee Close
  Byfield
  Northants
  NN11  6UZ    UK.
  B a c k   C o v e r
  SLA  Industries  reinvents  itself  every  day.
  Lifestyles  are  sold  to  go  with  the  image.
  Loyalty  is  bought  and  sold,
  Survival  is  it’s  own  reward.
  Do  not  question  the  truth  of  this.
  What  you  think you  know?
  SLA  already  knows,
  What  you  need  to  know?
  SLA  already  knows.
  2 0 0 1 – P D F   C o n v e r s i o n
  The fourteenth issue of tHE bIG pICTURE
  was the first to be produced in electronic
  format only (pdf). It marks the death of TBP as
  I know and love it, and the birth of TBP in a
  form I’m highly suspicious of.
  Max Bantleman, 2001.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  S L I G G S   &
  G R I B B L Y S
  Issue 14.
  G-roov-e.
  It plods along, driven by the fact that we love
  SLA.
  Ah well.
  The race is afoot, things are afoot, a foot’s a
  foot, and feet are always going to be there, feet
  like at the bottom of your legs right?
  (I apologise in advance to the feetly challenged
  right now, sorry.)
  Nightfall have gone in to partnership with
  Hogshead, who will be producing SLA from
  August 2000, publishing the main rule book
  and reprinting Karma and Mort. After this will
  be the release of ‘Key of Celery-Head’ and
  some other stuff that’s been around for years
  and can now be dug up and published (Key is
  great, shame about the artwork.)
  It’s hard to get too excited about it at the
  moment, it’s very much a case of wait and see.
  But it has to be great news for SLA, as well as
  the Nightfall crew that will allow them to
  continue to develop the SLA WoP. So
  generally well done Night fall and Hogshead, I
  think all SLA fans have heaved a collective
  sigh of relief….
  Roll on 2001.
  Now on to thornier subjects, but keeping a
  positive theme !
  Nightfall have a deal with Hogshead. Hogshead
  will be reprinting stuff and then producing new
  stuff, written by the Nightfall team. Their
  proposed production schedule covers the next
  two years (to the end of 2001), with stuff like
  an ‘official’ Soft Co. Directory pencilled in for
  then. With the schedule in mind, and with the
  fact that Nightfall will be writing ‘official’
  stuff, where does this leave the likes of TBP
  and Chocolate Frog with their ‘unofficial’
  stuff? And what the hell does ‘unofficial’ mean
  anyway?
  Well….
  I’ve basically had to re-write the whole of the
  editorial based on how Nightfall and Hogshead
  view ‘unofficial’ stuff. As far as they’re
  concerned, TBP is fine as it is, but the rest of
  the stuff is a complete no-no.
  From the Chocolate Frog Enterprises side of
  things a brief word of explanation, maybe even
  justification, may be in order.
  The intention is not to ‘beat’ Nightfall or
  Hogshead to the punch, we are not simply
  doing things to ‘spoil’ the market for either of
  the two official SLA sources. It’s more a matter
  of trying to compliment what they are doing
  and intend to do, with material that is
  worthwhile but may not be included in their
  agenda of things to do. There are of course also
  a hundred ways to view each aspect of the WoP
  and a bit of variety and choice for SLAers can
  only be a good thing. So, the ‘unofficial’ Soft
  Company Directory (for example) may well
  touch upon things and offer new material
  unavailable in the ‘official’ Soft Co. SB, but it
  will still compliment and back up the Nightfall
  WoP.
  Everyone from the SLADev list and Chocolate
  Frog would vigorously encourage all SLA fans
  to buy both official and unofficial material, and
  always to support both Nightfall and Hogshead
  in all of their SLA endeavors; but we’d hardly
  need to as SLAers are loyal and keen to get the
  official material for any number of reasons
  anyway, regardless of what unofficial stuff they
  already have.
  Nightfall and Hogshead don’t share our
  enthusiasm for doing things ‘unofficially’.
  Hogshead have a licensing agreement, and
  quite rightly want us to go to them for a license
  to produce stuff, which they would quite rightly
  charge us for. As we don’t do it for the money,
  we can not afford to do this: as they (quite
  rightly) do do it for the money, they can not
  afford to not let us pay for licenses.
  So there you have it.
  Our best intentions and actions are being seen
  in the context of a licensing agreement with
  Hogshead, who need a clear run at the SLA
  market, without things being muddied or
  clouded with the ‘unofficial’ even ‘bootleg’
  nature of the Chocolate Frog Enterprise
  Products.
  They do have a point. And they do have the law
  on their sides. We’re just going to have to wait
  and see. If in a year or two, things haven’t
  worked out for SLA, then we may be looked at
  differently, largely because we’re just stupid
  enough to still be playing it by then….
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  You can write to TBP at:
  max@bantleman.demon.co.uk
  Thanks to the GenCon 2000 SLA crew; The
  inimitable Glenn, Paul Eddington, Mr. P,
  Whitt, shouts to Peter, Gerald and the ‘Richard
  Sands must die’ posse (there’s always next
  year, it’s just a matter of time….!).
  FallCon and DragonMeet beckon, get your
  SLA boots on….
  (FallCon was totally excellent, in the best west
  coast drawl kind of way. Fabulously well done
  to Dennis Douglas and all who helped him.)
  DragonMeet was good, but low key, it’s in a
  weird place to get to (driving anyway) so we’ll
  have to wait and see how it grows, but it’s
  heavily sponsored by Hogshead, so good luck
  to it we say!)
  Rumours abound about the Shaktar Sourcebook
  from Nightfall, which has some funky
  artwork…. Ooh gimme, can’t wait !
  Anyone got anything for issue 15?
  Bring it on.
  (tHe  rEStleSs  sEA)
  B O R N   A G A I N
  SLA knows everyone has to believe in
  something.
  Fortunately for them, it also knows that for
  most of the citizens of the WoP, at the core of
  their belief sits the need for survival, the fear of
  death and the lust for money driven by the all
  consuming greed that is the fabric of the SLA
  Industries WoP.
  SLA Industries owns and controls Progress.
  The World of Progress is of their making, it
  belongs to them; it’s ideals, goals and beliefs
  are all driven by them.
  Religions and cults come and go, worshipping
  as Gods anything from Serial Killers to Slayer
  himself, from Credits to chaos; each lasts a
  month, a year, a decade or a century.
  And so what if it lasts longer?
  There is no religion or cult with the staying
  power of SLA Industries.
  For this reason, SLA tends to tolerate much in
  the way of worship and belief. As long as it
  doesn’t interfere with Mr Slayer’s Big Picture,
  most religions and cults are left to the mercy of
  ‘market forces’, being used and discarded at the
  whim of those they claim to serve. Slayer
  knows only too well the fickle nature of
  worship, the fragile veil that is faith. He knows
  how easily it is discarded as a worthless useless
  thing, powerless in the face of the brutal,
  incessant march of Progress and the greed that
  drives it.
  What promises these religions and cults make,
  how they attract and keep their congregation,
  what tricks they use to bribe, batter, confuse
  and betray their followers in to subjugation;
  these are the things that ultimately bring them
  to the attention of SLA.
  But what if all they promise they deliver? What
  if they offer healing and actually do it, really
  heal people, stop their suffering and make their
  lives better? What if they do not ask for money,
  are not driven by greed, avarice, the lust for
  power? What if they are not corrupt to the core,
  what if they are not just another extension of
  the malignant evil bred in the festering depths
  of every corner of the WoP? What if they
  simply seek to help the downtrodden citizens of
  the WoP, to bring some hope and light to their
  dark, bleak, miserable lives?
  Then they would have to be stopped.
  Why?
  Because they would be removing one of the
  greatest weapons in the SLA arsenal.
  Fear.
  And that can not be allowed.
  If you intend to play this scenario; read no
  further.
  The information given is for the GM only, and
  as such is laid out for ease of access and use.
  Squad Needed: 5-7, all SCL 8+. Equipped as
  they like, but some ‘deep cover’ work will be
  needed, so Power Armour and Reapers may not
  be appropriate. The inclusion of an Ebon in the
  Squad will also make things a little easier, but
  ultimately wont affect the outcome too much.
  (so don’t worry about it…. !)
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  I n   T h e   B e g i n n i n g
  Two hundred years ago, the Necanthrope union
  ‘Domino’ were sent to the developing War
  World of Cross to seek out and capture a
  renegade Feral Ebon that had taken sides with
  the Thresher. Domino arrived and began the job
  of tracking their prey.
  What they were not told, and what they could
  not hope to understand, was the nature of their
  quarry. The ‘target’ was a Feral called ‘Ghost’,
  named for his ability to seemingly rise from the
  dead; he had been reported as killed by two
  previous Necanthrope hunter Unions. Ghost
  was old, ancient even by Necanthrope measure,
  and as a Feral had heard the Call of the White
  with a fear unknown to other Ebb users. But the
  Walk in to the White did not obliterate Ghost,
  instead it revealed a deep secret behind the
  Ebon race’s development. Ghost emerged from
  the White, after many trials and tests, each of
  which would have obliterated him had he
  failed. 
  But 
  what 
  emerged 
  was 
  not 
  a
  Necanthrope. Ghost saw none of Slayers ‘truth’
  as other Ebons who enter the White do, he was
  not forced to make the eternally damning
  choice, as other Ebons are, he was not
  inescapably bound to SLA, as all Necanthropes
  are.
  Ghost emerged as the ‘natural’ evolutionary
  being the White was meant to make of Ebons.
  Ghost was a Kilneck.
  Domino were soon met by Ghost and easily
  defeated in the explosive confrontation that
  followed. But to their utter surprise, the Union
  did not find itself destroyed, as they knew they
  so easily could have been. Instead they found
  themselves wondering about the nature of their
  ‘prey’. They found themselves questioning
  things they took for granted, truths and beliefs
  at the core of their Necanthrope ‘soul’. Ghost
  had sown the seeds of destruction within
  Domino, their curiosity would be their
  downfall, and (as Ghost knew) they would take
  many in SLA down with them.
  After the confrontation on Cross, Ghost left to
  seek out his brethren in the Black Stump.
  Domino returned to Mort, confused and
  uncertain as to their future within SLA. The
  core of their existence had been questioned and
  they wanted answers.
  Stygmartyr gave them to them.
  Domino were thrown back in to the tempest of
  the White, there to be stripped of their sentient
  minds by the Preceptor. Teeth salvaged what he
  could, five of Domino were utterly destroyed,
  three of the eight Necanthropes were reborn,
  returning with their memories of Ghost
  cleansed, the questions he raised in them locked
  within a labyrinthine maze of riddles buried
  deep within their minds. Domino was reinstated
  within SLA, as Cloak Operatives, stripped of
  their right to form a Union.
  That was 200 years ago, and since then the
  remaining members of Domino have formed a
  bond much deeper than most Unions, theirs is
  the bond of alienation, of being fundamentally
  different, of sharing a dark and dangerous
  secret. They only have each other in the whole
  of the WoP to turn to for any kind of
  understanding, emotion or compassion.
  And now one of them needs help.
  W h a t ’ s   G o i n g   O n
  Angel, Core and Rust are all that is left of the
  Necanthrope Union ‘Domino’.
  This is a privately sponsored BPN, sponsored
  by one of the two Necanthrope partners to
  Angel: Core.
  Angel has been ‘killed’ by Feral Ebons in the
  Sector where he was undertaking a Platinum,
  his body dismembered and destroyed. Before
  he died, Angel managed to Thought Plant (20)
  a Feral Ebon Vassal he was cultivating. This
  Vassal now has Angel buried in their mind. The
  Feral nature of the Vassal has meant that the
  Thought Plant has not worked properly,
  denying Angel any control over the body he
  now inhabits. The Vassal, Shadow, does not
  know she has Angel in her mind, and acts out
  of a deeply felt sense of social justice. She is
  the bridge between the Relic and those it heals,
  it is her latent Ebb use that discharges the
  healing ability from the Relic, which is actually
  the right arm and shoulder of Angel, minus
  most of the flesh, but with remnants of the Gore
  Cannon intact.
  Core knows Angel is effectively ‘Soul Caged’
  inside Shadow and wants to find out whether or
  not the fact that the Vassal is a Feral will
  interfere with the ‘rebirth’ of Angel, which
  Core can achieve if he can get Shadow to the
  Black Cathedral and get her to willingly enter
  the White, where the Feral Vassal’s mind will
  be stripped away piece by piece, allowing the
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  ‘release’ of Angle who can then ‘reincarnate’
  as Necanthrope in the Vassals body.
  Rust is currently working a Grey in the Stone
  Rim Colonies, tracing a supply route for the
  smuggling of Ebb Crystals. She is out of touch
  with her two ‘partners’ but will return to Mort
  as soon as she breaks cover.
  For the time being, it’s down to Core to help
  Angel.
  G e t t i n g   T h e   B P N
  The Operatives will have to be offered the BPN
  either directly by Core, or by a mutual associate
  of Core and the Squad who is trusted
  completely by both (rarity indeed), maybe a
  Financier, maybe a Major Friend. Either way,
  the Squad will feel that taking the BPN will put
  Core in their debt, and being owed a favour by
  an SCL 4 Necanthrope is never a bad thing….
  BPN: SCL 8 (minimum requirement), BPN
  Number 00237/74448-CD/C-581.
  Contact: Necanthrope Core, Cloak Division
  Field Office, Sector 301 – Ref: CD/C-581.
  Training Package Required: I&I, preferable
  Ebon in Squad – Some ‘deep cover’ work may
  be required.
  Colour Code: Grey (Cloak Sponsored).
  Summary: Squad required to investigate
  Downtown ‘Religion’, retrieve SLA Property
  from Cult.
  Coverage: Station Analysis (to be handled by
  I.A.).
  Consolidated Bonus Scheme: 500c. Plus
  completion bonus of 1,000c.
  Payment: Per Operative.
  SCL Increase / Decrease: 1
  It should be obvious from the BPN Card that
  the BPN is a big deal. A whole SCL increase
  on offer, as well as a ‘bonus’ from Cloak
  Division….
  The BPN will be offered as it stands above,
  with absolutely no other information.
  The Op’s, if they accept, will have to sign the
  usual waivers, NDA’s and Disclaimers, after
  this they will be ‘fully briefed’ by the
  Necanthrope Core at his offices in Cloak’s
  Sector 301 building.
  B e h i n d   T h e   B P N
  If the Op’s do any digging about the BPN,
  either before or after they accept it (you may
  want to give them 24 hours to think about
  taking it), you can give them as much, or as
  little of the following information as you see
  fit, according to their Skill use and ingenuity.
  W o r d   O n   T h e   S t r e e t
  Core, the Necanthrope behind the BPN’s
  briefing has a Bad Rep. with just about
  everyone, but especially with Shivers and Third
  Eye. There is no way most of the street contacts
  would consider working for him, or working
  against him, he seems to be jinxed, with those
  he comes in to contact with seldom living more
  than a year after.
  Word is the other Operatives in both Cloak and
  IA are just itching for him to slip up so they can
  hang him out to dry.
  Core is known to have two partners; Angel and
  Rust, both Necanthropes. The three of them are
  the remnants of a Union, whatever happened to
  them has made them pretty tight, they never go
  near other Nec.’s and they avoid social contact
  with other Ebons, none has a Vassal.
  The BPN is sponsored by Cloak, so not much is
  known about it, except that if Core is involved
  you can be sure it’s not ‘mainstream’ stuff.
  A suitable Street contact would be able to get
  their hands on the Third Eye report from two
  hundred years ago, for a price of 3,000u.
  T h e   S L A   D a t a   B a s e
  The BPN is being sponsored by Cloak. All
  information is subject to being given out in
  person by the representative of the Department,
  in this case, Core.
  All files regarding Core, Angel, Rust or their
  previous Union ‘Domino’, are classified SCL 5.
  Access to them ‘red flags’ the use to Cloak and
  IA.
  T h i r d   E y e   A r c h i v e s
  The Necanthrope Union Domino, and their
  brief career are barely touched upon in any
  Third Eye reporting. Their demise on Cross got
  a brief two minutes on an obscure ‘reportage’
  show of two hundred years ago, access to these
  archives is restricted to SCL 7, but can easily
  be ‘hacked’. If a bribe (100c) is placed in the
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  right hands, the file will be downloaded by a
  friendly face at Third Eye.
  All material is Copyright 703 SD. Tunnel
  Vision. Tunnel Vision is a wholly owned
  subsidiary of Third Eye, who retain all rights to
  the piece.
  (Visual footage of a female reporter catching an
  interview on the run with a Necanthrope,
  identifiable as Rust, while Rust and two other
  Nec.’s disembark from an off world shuttle.)
  “Judy Steel, reporting for Tunnel Vision, live
  from Mort Spaceport on the return of the
  Necanthrope Union ‘Domino’….”
  JS: “Were you successful on your mission? I
  understand you were assigned to Cross?”
  R: “You understand nothing. Get out of my
  way.”
  JS: “So, things not go according to plan? What
  happened?”
  R: “We are under de-brief with Cloak. Do you
  want to ask them?”
  JS: “So, no news of your target…. Ghost
  wasn’t it?”
  (Rust stops in her tracks, turns her head to
  slowly face Judy Steel….)
  R: “What you think you know, you don’t.
  Understand?”
  JS: “Sure, whatever you say…. and Ghost?
  Dead? Another enemy of SLA consigned to the
  grave?"
  R: “Ghost was already dead…. he just didn’t
  know it….”
  JS: “So you got him?”
  R: “You really are starting to annoy me….”
  (Rust begins to walk away, hurrying her pace
  as Judy Steel follows. Core comes in to shot as
  Judy tries to keep pace, waving the camera man
  to keep rolling….)
  JS: “Core, you can confirm the success of the
  mission? People want to know, maybe have a
  right to know….”
  C: “I can confirm the success of the mission.
  Ghost will never return to Mort.”
  JS: “Where are the rest of your Union…. word
  is that Cloak took five of you straight to a
  FoldShip de-brief…. unusual?
  (Core stops, turns and smiles at Judy Steel.)
  C: “I am going to count to three, and if I can
  still see you after this I am going to kill you. Do
  you understand?”
  JS: (laughs nervously, looks in to camera.)
  “Hey, give a girl a break I’m just doing my job,
  we are live y’know?.”
  C: “Two….”
  (Judy Steel can be seen from the back, from the
  waist down as her and her cameraman run for
  their lives, hastily spoken, out of breath
  commentary….)
  JS: “The crazy fucker, wouldn’t kill a repor….”
  (Sound of hideous scream, then camera hits
  floor, more screaming, pool of blood appears to
  seep in front of camera, followed by large
  explosion of internal organs spattering camera
  lens and surrounding floor…. then hisses to
  white noise and darkness….)
  F r i e n d s   /   C o n t a c t s
  Core is a disliked Operative, inside SLA and
  within Cloak itself. Word is he and his two
  friends, Angel and Rust have a dark secret in
  their past, that would be enough to get most
  other SLA employees taken apart by the ‘mind
  menders’ at IA.
  The Grey being offered is well backed, with
  sponsorship being posted from the highest
  levels within Cloak, this would suggest a
  successful outcome could do no end of good for
  the responsible Squad.
  Rumour has it that the trio of Necanthropes is
  separated by a large distance for the first time
  in a hundred years, with Rust being on a BPN
  off world, possibly in the Stone Rim Colonies
  and Angel on a Platinum deep in Downtown.
  Everyone agrees Core is not a man to be
  crossed.
  M e e t i n g   C o r e  –  T h e   B P N
  I n t e r v i e w
  Core’s office is in the basement of the Cloak
  Sector building in 301, effectively he has the
  basement to himself, as the other nine rooms
  are all large storage areas. Core can be reached
  through 
  the 
  main 
  reception, 
  where 
  a
  DarkFinder is stationed at all times; no one gets
  in without an appointment. The office itself is
  very cluttered and filled will all kinds of
  records; audio, written, video, laser dick, data
  slugs and holo-cubes, seemingly scattered in a
  random order throughout the large room.
  Core sits facing the only door in to the room,
  which has ‘Discharge Protection’ Glyphs
  placed all around it. Anyone entering with a
  Flux Store of 10+ will have their Flux drained
  down to 10, unless they declare themselves to
  Core and he momentarily switches off the
  Glyphs.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  For a visual representation of Core, see main
  RB, page 217.
  Core is slim, sleek, with no apparent mouth,
  lizard like eyes, and a DeathSuit that looks like
  it’s made of bundled wire stitched together with
  human internal organs. Core’s GoreCannon
  looks almost mechanical in structure, a cross
  between beast and machine.
  Core cares little for the opinions of others, his
  Rank 17 Communication Ability is switched
  permanently to ‘intimidate’. He talks, others
  listen. He doesn’t say much and hates those that
  waste his time with needless ‘chatter’.
  The ‘briefing’ will consist of Core giving the
  following information and asking a minimal
  amount of questions.
  There has been a growth in a Downtown cult
  known as ‘Delerium’. The cult has recently (60
  years ago) taken on the status of a ‘Religion’,
  with their own place of worship and their own
  ‘Relic’. The followers of Delerium are no
  longer drawn from the lower dregs of
  Downtown, the addition of the Relic to the
  Cult’s place of worship has started to attract
  ‘normal’ citizens in growing numbers.
  It is believed this Relic is in fact a SLA Artifact
  (SCL 5+ for full details).
  The Squad are to go under cover in Sector 684,
  attend some of the services and gauge the level
  of support within the local community (and
  abroad) for the cult. When they judge the time
  is right, the Squad are to kidnap the Spiritual
  Leader of the cult, a Feral Ebon known as
  Shadow, and return with her and the Relic to
  Cloak.
  There is a time limit of 40 days set against the
  BPN, after which, if they have not returned, the
  Squad will be declared to have failed and the
  SCL decrease implemented.
  If they are particularly resourceful, they may
  get the additional information from Core:
  The local Gang, the Disciples, are known to act
  as protectors for Delerium, though there
  doesn’t seem to be any money changing hands.
  There is no worthwhile Shiver or Monarch
  presence in 684, and currently only three other
  BPN’s active in the whole Sector (‘normal’
  Downtown Sectors average between 600-700
  active at any given time.)
  There is another Operative Squad looking in to
  the cult, working a White for Head Office. If
  they are encountered and are considered to be
  endangering the success of the Grey, they are to
  be warned off; if this fails, they are to be
  terminated, a suitable warrant will be issued by
  Cloak after the event.
  Once Core is satisfied that the Op’s are signed
  up, he will hurry the proceedings, assuring
  them of his full support, “during and after the
  BPN”.
  4 0   D a y s   A n d   4 0   N i g h t s
  From here on in, the BPN will take a course
  dependent upon the direct actions of the
  Operatives. Rather than try to anticipate every
  eventuality, we have given the details of the
  environment the Op’s will be entering, along
  with the major ‘players’ and events, to allow
  the GM to moderate the BPN as the game
  demands.
  T h e   C i t i z e n s   O f   4 8 6
  The citizens of 486 are the usual mix of
  hapless, helpless, unlucky, downtrodden, cast
  out and unwanted peoples of Mort, who
  naturally seem to gravitate towards the fringes
  of Suburbia; not mean or wary enough to make
  it in the sub-surface levels of true Lower
  Downtown, but too inadequate to muscle in to
  the reaches of Upper Downtown. They are a
  kind of grey, amorphous, featureless mass of
  population, that seems to strive merely to exist
  from day to day. All are happy to pay whatever
  they can afford to anyone who offers them
  protection and entertainment, and in the dark
  recesses of 486, this means the Gangs and the
  Soft Companies. All citizens native to the
  Sector avoid Shivers and Monarchs when they
  can, showing no respect to either. Slops are
  seldom seen, and are given a wide berth when
  they are. Undercover Slops have an easy time
  of it in 486 as the general lethargy of the
  citizens means they don’t ask too many
  questions or dig too deeply, theirs is a
  fractured, isolated community, with little or no
  shared sense of ‘belonging’, everyone just
  wants to be left alone. Dwellings and shops,
  such as they are, are always broken down and
  semi-temporary, even if they have been used
  for years. The whole of 486 has a ‘shanty town’
  feel about it, as if it could be up and moved
  wholesale given a days notice. The walkways,
  passages, tunnels, roads and alleys all seem to
  shift around the moving bazaar that is the
  physical make up of the Sector. There are many
  cults and ‘street religions’, being a focus for
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  minimal social gathering, some small amount
  of protection and a way to pool meagre
  resource to pay off protection or buy goods
  from wholesale dealers. The morality of the
  citizens of 486 is not cut-throat, but neither is it
  community driven; a citizen of 486 will happily
  walk past you as you bleed to death in the
  gutter, but they would not try to rob you until
  you were dead.
  Mort Civilians (pp 137) change Sport to ‘Hide’,
  change Play Instrument to ‘Sneak’.
  T h e   D i s c i p l e s
  There are nine major gangs in Sector 486, and
  the Disciples are the largest. They have the best
  equipment, the best street hide outs, the best
  contacts within other gangs (as well as within
  the Shivers and some in SLA and DarkNight).
  The other gangs of 486 are: Morbid Angels,
  Tunnel Worms, CrossFire, ShockWave, The
  First, Street Bitch, BloodWalkers and The
  Tomb Boys.
  The Disciples have approximately six hundred
  members, each of whom wears the traditional
  gang ‘colours’ of a blood red left sleeve on
  their jacket or long coat.
  The Disciples run the usual range of rackets in
  486, ranging from drugs to prostitution, from
  gambling to setting up street fights, from
  protection to paid hits. They roam the streets in
  ‘packs’ of 4-10, armed with concealed small
  arms, MAC knives and clubs. They can
  generally smell out an opposing gang member
  with ease, and are quick to seek out Sleeper
  Shivers and passing Monarchs for assault and
  robbery. They do not fear SLA or the Slops that
  occasionally visit the Sector undercover.
  The Disciples provide protection for Delerium,
  and regularly attend the services in force. The
  gang brings it’s injured members to services for
  healing, and offers their own dubious services
  in return.
  Gang Leader: Jahmol Tyr (use DN Espionage
  Agent pp138). Gang Fixer: Lucy Syre (use
  Prop. pp 139). Street Disciple (use Civilian
  Convert pp139).
  S h i v e r s   A n d   M o n a r c h s
  Shivers and Monarchs do not like going in to
  486, and subsequently ‘fake’ a lot of their
  duties in the Sector. There is no permanent
  Shiver base in 486 and the Monarch base is
  very heavily fortified and seldom left by those
  under siege within it. There is always one
  Sleeper unit on duty in 486, but they usually lay
  low in one of the more desolate abandoned
  industrial areas, not bothering to patrol or
  encounter the gangs or citizens of the Sector.
  Any Slops trying to get in contact with either
  Shivers or Monarch for assistance will
  encounter numerous ‘technical difficulties’ that
  will prevent any aid arriving in time. All of the
  Sectors gangs pay regular bribes to the Sleeper
  units for continued ‘support’. Monarch Law
  Enforcement are seen as a joke and, are the
  subject of physical assault whenever the
  opportunity presents itself.
  Shiver Sargent (Sleeper): Alf Tooley (Dispersal
  Shiver pp 134), Shiver Veteran Sleeper: James
  ‘Hooch’ Rakin (SCAf Pilot pp 135). Standard
  Shivers (pp 134).
  G o d s m a c k  –  T h e   S q u a d   O n
  A   M i s s i o n
  Godsmack are a four man Squad on assignment
  to a White sponsored by Head Office. The
  squad consists of: Barclay Ryme, Human SCL
  8 Kick Murder. Reece Morgan, Human SCL 8
  I&I. Sallindra Praa, Human SCL 8 Scout.
  Nancy Bold, Human SCL 8 Strike Squad. They
  are deep under cover, wearing only ‘street’ gear
  and Striker Custom Armour, carrying weapons
  such as Blitzer, 603’s MAC Knives and
  GunHead SMG’s. They are masquerading as
  ex-War World soldiers from the Ministry of
  War standing forces, mercenary guns for hire
  on the street. It is Godsmack that will launch
  the final attack that will trigger the Twist in the
  Tail. For the assault, they will visit their ‘drop
  point’ to gather heavier weapons and maybe
  some armour; how they finally end up being
  equipped will be left to the individual GM to
  tailor to suit their game needs.
  Godsmack have a Good Rep. with Third Eye
  and Shivers in 684, they are a fairly high profile
  squad, usually working Greens and corporate
  sponsored Yellows. There is a slight chance
  that any of the Op’s with a high Streetwise (7+)
  may recognise one of the members of
  Godsmack as the two squads encounter each
  other in the Sector. Godsmack will not make
  any moves until the Op’s are on the way out of
  the Sector with Shadow and the Relic.
  Godsmack: Use either Human or Frother NPC
  stats. (pp 142 / 143).
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  D e l e r i u m
  Delerium has grown from humble beginnings
  as a Feral cover cult, backed by Purge, in to a
  genuine Cult with it’s own belief systems,
  faiths and values. Their services are well
  attended by upwards of two hundred, each there
  to reaffirm their beliefs in the ways of self help
  and personal development offered by the High
  Priest, Shadow. The healing rituals are a very
  important 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  ceremonies, 
  it
  demonstrates the power of the faith shared by
  the congregation, and encourages their feelings
  of well being through an unseen ‘guardian’
  force. At each service four ‘healings’ are
  undertaken, with up to seven in exceptional
  circumstances. Shadow always chooses those to
  be healed, and shows no favouritism, ignoring
  money, social standing, political background or
  ‘official’ connections.
  Each of the ceremonies is a loud, colourful
  affair with a lot of dancing, chanting and
  singing, largely based around the celebratory
  songs of the street, including anything that’s
  current and catchy from the ‘top ten’. The idea
  is to get the congregation involved, to make
  them feel empowered and able to heal
  themselves. Shadow is a passionate speaker,
  with a real oratory talent, being able to lift
  peoples spirits and make them see a clear
  message in the garbled assemblage of the
  service.
  Shadow is a Feral with the following core skill
  categories: 
  Detect, 
  Healing, 
  Illumination,
  Reality Folding, Telekinesis. She has two
  companions, each of whom is utterly loyal and
  protective of their High Priest; Pit, Human
  Prop, (use Props, pp 139, Blade 2-H 8) and
  Slye, Frother outcast, (use Frother, pp 142).
  T h e   R e l i c
  The Relic that has become the focal point for
  the ceremonies, and for Shadows firm belief
  that she is somehow ‘chosen’ by a benevolent
  force, is a part of Angels broken, destroyed
  body. It sits, charred and stripped of it’s outer
  flesh, within a black wooden box, glowing
  faintly with a pale green light when the Feral
  High Priest draws Flux through it.
  The Gore Cannon was sentient when Angel
  ‘died’, it was not fully destroyed and was left in
  a ‘feedback loop’ gathering Flux in it’s death
  throws. The Flux leeches through Shadow, as it
  tries to find it’s ‘rightful’ master and user,
  Angel. The Relic can draw in 100 flux per 25
  hour period, and can discharge up to 60 flux in
  one go.
  Shadow has found the perfect fuel for her Feral
  abilities.
  The Flux from the Relic has the unmistakable
  ‘taste’ of a Necanthrope. Shadow takes the
  Relic with her everywhere she goes, and has
  recently taken to living in the Cult’s ‘church’
  full time, never leaving the confines of
  Delerium’s most sacred place.
  O p e r a t i v e s   I n   T h e   W i l d e r n e s s
  The Op’s will find it easy to infiltrate 486,
  unless they are particularly stupid, in which
  case they will probably meet a sticky end at the
  hands of either the Disciples or Godsmack.
  Getting in to the services will be relatively
  easy, and they will be largely ignored, as each
  of the worshippers becomes engrossed in their
  own thoughts and meditations, among the noise
  of the chanting, singing and music, the Op’s
  can be lost in the crowd.
  All in all a far too easy time will be had by the
  Op’s.
  There investigations and schemes should all go
  according to their well laid plans, up to and
  including the kidnapping of the Relic and
  Shadow. The Op’s will have to fight it out with
  Pit and Slye, though others in the congregation
  will fight to protect Shadow, they will not go so
  far as to throw their lives away.
  Shadow will not leave the Relic and can not
  Reality Fold with it, her only real defence may
  be through her creative use of Telekinesis, she
  will be loathed to kill, but will quite happily
  Throttle (Manipulation 2) and may Fly (2) to
  evade capture.
  Ultimately the (remaining?) Op’s will end up
  with Shadow and the Relic in their custody,
  making their way out of Sector 486.
  This is when they will be confronted by
  Godsmack, who will ambush them with an aim
  to killing them all; Shadow, Op’s and all.
  As the bullets rip in to them tearing through
  their feeble armour and clothes, and the
  grenades rain in close, blowing their bodies
  apart, they will become aware of Shadow
  Formulating and using the Relic.
  If Godsmack are no longer around, or are not
  appropriate, Rust will have returned from the
  Stone Rim Colonies, and unaware of the Op’s
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  involvement with Core, will seek to kill them,
  take back the remains of Angel and the body of
  Shadow.
  T h e   T w i s t   I n   T h e   T a i l
  Shadow has gone too far.
  She has attempted to help the Op’s (and
  herself) by using a form of precognitive
  healing, in conjunction with Heal 12 (Rank 19
  ability), the Flux discharged has backfired the
  Formulae used to create an effect similar to
  Deathwake….
  The Op’s will regain consciousness after their
  massacre at the hands of Godsmack: each will
  come to realise that something is terribly
  wrong.
  Each of the Op’s has been ‘Reborn’ in the body
  of one of their comrades, their spirits and souls
  transferred from their ‘own’ body and dragged
  back in to the WoP to inhabit a strange shell,
  totally unfamiliar and utterly alien to them.
  The Players will have to swap character sheets,
  being in possession of a ‘new’ racial body,
  together with it’s physical and mental skills.
  Their mind remains as it was however,
  complete with memories and experiences, so
  although they will have new skills and abilities,
  they will be unable to use them at anything
  other than a ‘base’ instinctual level.
  Each also has accumulated 6 Ranks of Fears
  and Phobias, chosen by them.
  At first they may believe they are dreaming,
  hallucinating or maybe even dead…. but as
  they pick themselves up, find the body of
  Shadow (who is completely burned out and
  irrecoverably dead), they will realise the
  horrible truth of their situation. If any of them
  can’t cope and wants to commit suicide: let
  them.
  R e q u i e m
  Shadow is dead, the Relic is gone, they have
  failed in their attempt to carry out the BPN.
  They have witnessed (and survived) a deep
  secret behind SLA and a hint at the Deathwake
  Device.
  They are changed beyond the comprehension of
  those around; their dark secrets must remain
  theirs alone. They have become the prey of
  departments like Cloak, Stygmartyr and the
  fabled Catharsis.
  Where the Op’s go from here is up to them and
  their cunning. Whether they remain sane
  enough to accept the challenge the rebirth
  offers, and whether the GM will use their born
  again nature to further the deeper means of
  their campaign: we can not say.
  Still, nobody said it would be easy did they?
  T H E   S H ‘ M R
  (Pronounced ShIm-ear by Humans)
  “The Sh’mr? What do you know of them?
  No.... Not here.... Meet me in my office
  tomorrow morning, 8 sharp and we’ll talk....”
  Hans Lowry; Third Eye Station Monitor,
  setting up Op from 'Cold Front', Mort 903 SD.
  The Sh'mr were named and first catalogued by
  the Shaktar. The name 'Sh'mr' is itself very hard
  for the Shaktar to pronounce, and reflects their
  ancient hatred of this diabolic race.
  The Sh'mr first appear in Shaktar Legends at
  the time of the God Wars, where there is
  mention of them in the Q'wKln Texts. The
  priests of the Shintash clan apparently
  encountered them first; this may also confirm,
  by association, a suspicion long held by Dark
  Lament that the early Shaktar Priests may have
  had some form of 'Feral' Ebb use ability. If this
  could be proved, it would throw in to disarray
  everything the other races thought they knew
  about the Shaktar. Dark Lament have a number
  of undercover Operatives living on Kn'nth
  trying to detect any 'Feral' Ebb use by living
  Shaktar.
  After the first, fatal mistakes made by the
  Shintash clan in trying to make allies of the
  Sh'mr, the Shaktar have learned their lesson.
  Sh'mr are killed on sight, or suspicion, and
  those that consort with or even speak of them
  with anything less than complete contempt, are
  declared Gk'tsh.
  What is now known (by a very select few) is
  that they were originally sent by the Root Dogs
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  in an effort to destabilise the God Wars and to
  force the continuing conflict to degenerate in to
  anarchy and chaos. Some Shaktar still believe
  the Sh'mr are agents of Doktetcomast (an
  obscure, ancient lesser God), sent to punish the
  other God's followers for the banishing of
  Cunder, the only ally Doktetcomast had during
  the Wars.
  “Our ancestors were foolish. We will not make
  the same mistakes. No Shaktar will. The Sh’mr
  are to be hunted and destroyed by all, from
  whatever Clan.”
  Rkt Jnll, Shaktar Operative (Shintash Clan)
  with 'No Fear', Mort 903 SD.
  S h ' m r   R a c e   H i s t o r y
  The Sh'mr began life as Ebons, sent to the
  Black Stump by Slayer to seek out and report
  on the activities of Mandrake and the Black
  Church.
  28 Ebons entered the Black Stump aboard the
  Foldship Scythe, 12 were killed in the
  encounter with the Root Dogs (destroyed
  utterly), and the remaining 16 were captured.
  The Foldship was sent back, on a collision
  course with New Paris, only to be intercepted
  and destroyed by the Necanthrope Union
  Myne.
  “The Scythe? Destroyed, all crew killed.
  Myne? You don’t need to know. You don’t
  want to know. I strongly suggest you forget
  whatever you think you know.”
  Burn, SCL 6 Brain Waster solo Op, over-heard
  in the Pit, Mort 903 SD.
  All 28 Ebons were listed as 'presumed dead' by
  SLA. Dark Lament sent scouts to the edge of
  the Black Stump to 'feel' for their Flux
  presence, and when none was detected, they
  reported back to SLA, who closed the file on
  the Scythe and all it's crew.
  Each of the Ebons chosen for the Scythe was a
  powerful Ebb-user in their own right, being
  selected by Slayer for their high Formulae and
  knowledge of the Ebb; most were close to
  turning, some were already on White Noise.
  The Root Dogs twisted the captured Ebons
  beyond all recognition of their former selves,
  infecting them with a chaotic DNA mutating
  virus.
  The Ebons natural Flux use, and their
  understanding of the Ebb, allowed them to offer
  some resistance, and to control the greater
  excesses of the change. What emerged from the
  Root Dog's tanks were monsters, but monsters
  with the inner soul of an Ebon.
  The Root Dogs split their mutated subjects in to
  two groups of 8, sending them to Kn'nth and
  Polo. The tortured Ebons could do nothing but
  obey their new masters, their will's broken and
  their bodies twisted out of their control. The
  newly created Sh'mr knew nothing of their
  creators intentions, but they soon realised they
  were a curse within the WoP that was destined
  to spread like a disease.
  Little, if anything, is known of the Polo Sh'mr,
  though it is suspected (by Dark Lament), that
  they haunt the swamp regions of the Myran
  Wastes on Yuran, where the flow of the Ebb is
  concentrated on Polo. If this is the case, they
  may be the creatures the Wraith Raiders know
  (and hunt) as the Prriss (pron.: p'reece). The
  Prriss are bestial, showing little if any real
  intelligence, their limited flux use is thought of
  by Wraith Raiders as no more extraordinary
  than that of the Qwc (reptilian flyer from
  Kn'nth).
  “I hunted the Prriss back in ‘89. Very tough
  hunt. Lost two companions, nearly got killed
  myself. The Prriss make you see what you
  want, make you forget why you want to kill
  them. Then they tear your head open and you
  remember.”
  Farien, Wraith Raider guide, Polo 902 SD.
  Another possibility (and that assumed by Dark
  Lament), is that the Sh'mr hunt the Prriss,
  maybe even living among them as cover. This
  would explain why the Polo Sh'mr seem to
  have 
  either 
  disappeared 
  completely 
  or
  somehow 'regressed' to the level of the Prriss.
  It is only on Kn'nth that the Sh'mr appear to
  have evolved and developed socially.
  The Sh'mr of Kn'nth live in family groups of
  seven; never any larger or smaller (presumably
  developed from the contact with the Shaktar
  psyche and their reverence for the number
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  seven). If a family member dies, the Sh'mr
  'create' a new one.
  Elsewhere in the WoP, the Sh’mr live in family
  groups of four. This seems to be the optimum
  number for the Sh'mr, who find it hard to
  maintain links in larger groups outside Kn'nth.
  S h ' m r   R a c e   C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
  The Sh'mr are very long lived, they can reach
  an age of 900 years old. They are limited in
  number by their twisted nature, which will
  never allow more than 28,000 Sh'mr to exist at
  any one time in the WoP. The Root Dogs
  instigated the upper limit on the Sh'mr race, for
  their own secret, degenerate purposes, which
  have yet to be uncovered by SLA.
  "I suspect it has something to do with the Sh'mr
  actually carrying a piece of the Root Dogs
  inside them; something to do with race
  consciousness. Or it's part of the chaotic nature
  of the beast’s creation, nothing more than dumb
  luck."
  Dr Chrya Hyko, Dark Lament Dept. Head,
  internal report to Cartharsis (Division of
  Stygmartyr), Mort 903 SD.
  The Sh'mr do not 'breed' as 'normal' races, and
  have absolutely no sexual desires or needs.
  “I live because I have the will. I have the desire
  to survive. I am not driven by the pathetic
  needs you people have. I am stronger than that.
  My family will always survive, when you kill
  me, they will replace me. You cannot defeat us.
  You will all die. You will all die....”
  Excerpt from interview with suspected Sh’mr,
  shortly before execution, Kn’nth 901 SD.
  Interview not for re-broadcast.
  Sh'mr live in family groups and can not stand to
  be alone (away from other Sh'mr) for any
  length of time; ranging between one and three
  weeks. If they are kept separated for longer
  than this, they will try to 'create' a new family
  member, which will be doomed to failure if
  there are already 28,000 Sh'mr in existence.
  After a few failed attempts, the lonely Sh'mr
  will die, apparently of heart failure (despair?).
  Sh'mr stand between 1.5 and 2.5 metres tall,
  weighing anything from 90 kg to 180 kg.
  They always have black hair (on their head
  only), and their eyes are always either Emerald
  Green (predominantly in 'females') or Pale Blue
  (mainly in 'males').
  Sh'mr grow no bodily hair and have very
  smooth, silk like skin that appears to be slightly
  wet at all times. Sh'mr can easily pass as
  human.
  “It’s in their eyes man, just don’t look into their
  fucking eyes. I would have cut my own arm off
  if she had of asked me.... Just don’t look in to
  the eyes.... Not the eyes.... “
  Frankie ‘FlyBoy’ Finnigan, SCL 8 Frother
  Scout with 'OffSpring', Psyche Evaluation
  (failed) Mort 903 SD.
  All Sh'mr are lithe and wiry, with taut,
  muscular athletic frames. They usually have
  very long fingers and thin necks.
  Sh'mr move with a definite economy of
  movement, resembling a coiled spring when
  they do strike. Those with experience in
  evaluating their opponents would do well to
  take note of the gangly stranger they somehow
  feel threatened by, Sh'mr often cause the 'hairs
  on the back of the neck' syndrome in those with
  particularly high skills in evaluating the
  opposition.
  P e r s o n a l i t y   A n d   A t t i t u d e s
  By their very nature, Sh'mr are secretive and
  paranoid. They need to be extremely careful in
  their dealings with everyone in the WoP.
  Sh'mr neither fear or 'like' anyone, their bestial
  nature of a dedicated hunter/killer prevents
  them from understanding 'friendship' in any of
  it's forms. Their close family ties and bonds are
  born from necessity and loneliness, only
  another Sh'mr could be trusted and only another
  Sh'mr could possibly understand the tortured
  loneliness of their existence.
  “Ask a Wraith Raider about friendship. Come
  to think of it, the Sh’mr and the Chilly’s ain’t
  that far apart. Except you’ve maybe got a
  chance with a psychotic Chilly....”
  ‘Boots’ Morgan, SCL 8 Human Pilot seconded
  to Kn’nth Defence Fleet, Kn’nth 901 SD.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  As part of their survival instinct, Sh'mr have
  learned to fake the outward appearance of
  emotions that make them seem more 'human' to
  those around them; it is easy for them to pass as
  simply sociopathic humans.
  However, to conceal themselves, Sh'mr often
  live in secluded areas, away from all other
  people.
  Sh'mr have an intense dislike, bordering on
  physical discomfort, of strong sunlight and UV,
  this stems from their creation by the Root Dogs
  and is universally present in all Sh'mr. Strobe
  lighting 
  can 
  cause 
  a 
  Sh’mr 
  to 
  ‘fit’
  uncontrollably, effectively ‘deflating’ them
  until they are clear of it’s sight.
  "The subject seems unable to control their
  reactions to the strobe and UV light, the latter
  causing them to tear their own eyes out with the
  pain towards the end of the second day. By the
  end of the fifth day, they were fully recovered.
  We have yet to see any mutilation or injury the
  subject could not recover from."
  Seth 
  Caulkin, 
  Dark 
  Lament 
  technician,
  DarkNight leaked report, Mort 901 SD.
  Sh'mr awaken each new day with a randomised
  set of minor phobias; Each day, roll 1D10 and
  add that many ranks of phobias (randomised)
  from the list in the main rulebook. The GM
  decides the dice rolled for the random selection
  of phobias, the player allocates Ranks, no more
  than 2 in each.
  “Don’t try to understand them. They are insane.
  They are disorder personified. The Sh’mr will
  transform from one day to the next; always a
  monster, always a killer. There is no reasoning
  with them, you will never deal with the same
  Sh’mr twice. Do not try to understand them.
  They are insane. Just Kill them. Kill them
  all....”
  Veneer, 
  SCL 
  7 
  Ebon 
  Operative 
  with
  'BloodRoot', Mort 902 SD.
  C h a r a c t e r i s t i c   R a n g e s
  If generating as a PC, generate using 'normal'
  rules, but with a starting total of 200 points.
  Sh'mr start with 0 Flux and 1 Formulae.
  STR: 5-10 Normal Range. 1-5 Deflated.
  11-20 Boosted.
  DEX: 5-10 Normal Range. 11-16 Boosted.
  PHYS: (STR + DEX) Div2 Normal Range /
  Deflated / Boosted.
  CONC: 5-8 Normal Range. 1-5 Deflated.
  DIA: 5-10 Normal Range. 1-5 Deflated.
  10-13 Boosted.
  KNOW: (CONC + DIA) Div2 Normal Range /
  Deflated / Boosted.
  CHA: 3-8 Normal Range. 9-13 Boosted.
  COOL : 5-15 Normal Range. 16-20 Boosted.
  Formulae Range: 1-20.
  Normal Range: This is the 'usual' range of
  characteristics, bought and paid for at character
  generation. The Sh'mr operates within this
  range unless it is Deflated or Boosted.
  Deflated: This range is used when a Sh'mr runs
  low on Flux, or has it's HP reduced to below it's
  'Threshold'. A Sh’mr is said to be 'low on flux',
  when it's current Flux level falls below it's
  Formulae, when this happens, the Sh'mr applies
  the range for each characteristic that has a
  'Deflated' range.
  Boosted: This range is used when a Sh'mr
  pumps Flux to it's Ebb ability to alter it's
  physical or mental being.
  All Skills Ratings (maximums) are affected by
  the Sh'mr's current governing Statistic.
  "He seemed to just go limp, like he ran out of
  power, just doubled over and legged it. He
  would have killed me for sure if he'd have stuck
  around. He was weak but moving like a Chilly
  on Blaze, no way I could have caught him….
  Deflated? Well, maybe, I wouldn't have
  survived if he'd stuck around, 'deflated' or
  not…. "
  Floyd 'Moose' Klowse, interview with Cloak
  Operative, Mort 903 SD. (Not for media use).
  Threshold: A Sh'mr has a constantly changing
  body; it's internal cellular structure is inherently
  unstable. When their Hit Points (HP's) fall
  below their Stored Flux, they are below the
  point where they can control this shifting DNA
  chaos, and are said to be below their
  'Threshold'. When this occurs, they become
  'Deflated', using the set range of each of the
  Characteristics that can 'Deflate'.
  The 'Deflated' Range: Once the Sh'mr is in a
  state where it needs to generate a 'Deflated'
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  range of characteristics, they do so by rolling a
  D10 as a D5; i.e. 1-2 = 1, 3-4 = 2, etc. The
  number (rolled once for all) is the number that
  ALL their Deflated characteristics act at for the
  duration of the 'Deflation'.
  The Deflated state lasts until the circumstances
  that brought it about change, and either the
  Flux or HP of the Sh'mr go above the total
  necessary for Deflation. Deflation lasts a
  minimum of: minutes = number rolled for
  Deflation Range for stat., i.e. if 3 rolled on D5,
  all stats/ subject to Deflation are at '3' for 3
  minutes.
  The Boosted Range: Once the Sh'mr has used
  it's Ebb Ability (Boost) to start the Boosting
  process, they must spend two Flux per point per
  stat. they wish to Boost. The Sh'mr remains in a
  Boosted state for a number of minutes equal to
  their Formulae.
  "They can pull strength from nowhere. You
  may think you can beat them, looking as puny
  as they do; but you can't. They just get bigger
  and stronger…. "
  Sid, SCL 5 313 Operative with 'DredLuck',
  Mort 903 SD.
  R e g e n e r a t i o n
  The Sh’mr have an ability to regenerate their
  chaotically changing bodies far in excess of
  anything that Karma have been able to (so far)
  engineer.
  The Sh’mr do not need to regenerate wounds
  before hits; they regenerate one wound and four
  hits in the fourth phase of every round.
  “I shot him. Then I hit him. Then I shot him
  some more. I bit him and clawed him. I ripped
  his eyes out, tore a hole in his stomach big
  enough to park a Calaharvey in and the fucker
  still managed to get away. Don’t ask me how.
  Gives me a headache just trying to remember
  what the slippery fucker looked like.”
  Toots, 313 Stormer Operative with 'Knight &
  Daze', Mort 902 SD.
  E b b   A b i l i t i e s
  Sh'mr have access to a random range of Ebb
  Abilities, which shift from day to day. At the
  beginning of each day (25 hour period), roll
  1D10 on the following table for the Ebb Ability
  the Sh'mr has access to for the next 25 hour
  period. Sh'mr roll 1D10 for each 4 Formulae
  they possess (A Sh'mr with Formulae 9, would
  roll 2D10). Any duplicate rolls allow the Sh'mr
  to choose an ability in lieu of the duplicated
  number (Sh'mr with Formulae 9 rolls 2D10 and
  gets two 3's, they have Communication and
  may choose another ability group.)
  1) Blast - Force Ebb Kinetic
  2) Blue Thermal - Glacial Ebb
  3) Communication - Voice of the Ebb
  4) Detect - Ebb Awareness
  5) Healing - Art of Healing & Purification
  6) Illumination - Ebb Illumination
  7) Reality folding - Ebb Manipulation
  8) Red Thermal - Inferno Ebb
  9) Senses - Sense Perception
  10) Telekinesis - Force Focus
  Like Feral Ebons, Sh'mr can use any ability
  from the Ebb Ability group that they have the
  Flux to pay for, they are not limited by the
  abilities 'rank'. As an alternative 'games rule',
  you could allow the Sh'mr abilities up to their
  Formulae in rank.
  “They are NOT Ebons! Anyone who says they
  are can spend some time ‘discussing’ the matter
  with the Teeth.”
  Stone, SCL 5 Ebon Instructor at Meny, Mort
  903 
  SD. 
  (Pupil 
  asking 
  questions 
  later
  ‘withdrawn’ 
  from 
  training, 
  last 
  known
  whereabouts; Dante.)
  S h ' m r   C o r e   E b b   A b i l i t i e s
  As well as the randomised Ebb abilities, the
  Sh'mr has access to a set of Core abilities that
  they can use as long as they have the Flux to
  pay for them.
  These core abilities have been assigned Core
  'ranks' and 'categories', as one of the Ebb
  Abilities, for teaching/learning purposes by
  other Ebb users. The Sh'mr Core Abilities may
  be taught by some Necanthropes, though they
  will choose their pupils carefully as they are
  keenly aware of the powerful nature of these
  Core abilities.
  1) Boost - (Enhancement: Augmentation of
  Ebon Energies)
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  2) Mesmerise - (Communication: Voice of the
  Ebb)
  3) Mirror - (Senses: Sense Perception)
  4) 
  Assimilate 
  - 
  (Reality 
  Folding: 
  Ebb
  Manipulation)
  5) Flux Drain - (Healing: Art of Healing &
  Purification)
  6) Infect - (Gore Cannon: Celrydreahad)
  "Their understanding of the Ebb interests me.
  They have developed very specialised abilities.
  I want to know more, where they got the 'spark'
  from, how it all started, where their evolution
  will take them…. but I'm not yet bored enough
  with life to try and find out."
  Mire, SCL 6 Ebon Operative with 'Force 5',
  seconded to Dark Lament as body guards to
  'field researchers', Kn'nth, 903 SD.
  Enhancement: Augmentation of Ebon Energies
  RANK 9: Boost.
  This ability allows the Sh’mr to ‘boost’ one of
  their characteristics by 1 per 1 Flux spent, up to
  the 
  maximums 
  indicated 
  under 
  ‘Race
  Characteristics’. The stat. Remains boosted for
  a number of minutes equal to the Sh’mr’s
  Formulae.
  Sh’mr Use: Primarily used to deal with
  situations or enemies that may be outside the
  Sh’mr’s usual range.
  “I had him. Then he had me.”
  Dying words of Fornost, Brain waster from
  'DaD' (Down and Dirty), Sector 320 Shiver
  Medical Facility, Mort 903 SD.
  Communication: Voice of the Ebb
  RANK 10: Mesmerise.
  The Sh’mr can create in their targets mind the
  impression that the Sh’mr is a very close friend,
  or even family. The target will treat the Sh’mr
  with complete trust, accepting the Sh’mr’s
  suggestions and ideas as if they were the most
  logical, sensible, worthwhile things in the
  world. The target can not be persuaded to harm
  themselves or their immediate family, though
  the Sh’mr will be treated with preference over
  anyone except next of kin.
  The Mesmerism lasts for a total of the Sh'mr's
  CONC in minutes, +1 minute per rank of
  Formulae the Sh'mr possesses..
  Mesmerism costs the Sh’mr 10 Flux to use.
  The target for the Mesmerism gets an ‘Ebb
  Save’ against being Mesmerised; victim's
  CONC (as a skill) with a -10 Rank Modifier.
  The Sh’mr may ‘pump’ extra Flux in to the
  Mesmerism to reduce the Ebb Save even
  further; for every 2 extra points of Flux they
  use, the target receives a -1 modifier to their
  Ebb Save.
  Sh’mr Use: Typically, the Sh’mr use this ability
  to get close to their targets, to allow them to
  either strike or drain Flux from them. It also
  prevents the Sh’mr from having their true
  natures revealed, as the target will readily
  believe they are a ‘normal’ person.
  “Hey back off! This here’s my friend! Mess
  with him, mess with me! You want a fight, you
  got one buddy....”
  Jake McClusky, SCL 10 Frother trainee,
  encountered by Shaktar in Downtown market,
  Sector 480, Mort 903 SD.
  Senses: Sense Perception
  RANK 10: Mirror.
  This ability allows the Sh’mr to trick those
  within his range in to thinking it’s appearance
  is completely different. The Sh’mr can ‘mirror’
  the appearance of any person or animal within
  10 meters of itself. The Sh’mr’s range for
  'projecting' this ability is their CONC in meters.
  All targets within the Sh’mr’s range are
  affected, and each must make an Ebb Save to
  avoid being fooled (use Rank as minus
  modifier, i.e. -10) by the Sh’mr. The mirror
  image is perfect, as it is in the targets mind not
  in ‘physical’ form. It will move, react and have
  all five sensual perceptions of the ‘original’. If
  a target talks to the mirror image, they will get
  the answers/conversation they expect, as it is
  their own mind that is fuelling the deception
  and their knowledge that holds it in their own
  mind.
  Mirror costs 12 Flux to use. The ‘mirror’ lasts
  for 1 minute, and can be extended by the Sh’mr
  at the cost of 2 Flux per 5 minutes after the
  first.
  Sh’mr Use: Sh’mr use this ability to confuse
  their pursuers and to conceal themselves within
  herds or packs of animals and in crowds.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  “It was just too weird for words. Ebon shit I
  guess. The thing just seemed to disappear in to
  the crowd, then I notice people changing, like
  right in front of my eyes, then it’s like I’m not
  sure. I know it’s in there, but it seems to be
  tripping from place to place, and no one cares,
  no-one thinks this is weird. Like the world is
  suddenly full of twins and no-one’s noticed.
  Maybe I’m just getting too slow, maybe it’s
  time to move on....”
  Oliver Stein, Third Eye Camera-Op, filming
  with Shaktar ‘hunter’, Downtown Sector 480,
  Mort 903 SD.
  Reality Folding: Ebb Manipulation
  RANK 12: Assimilate.
  One of the Sh’mr’s most powerful abilities and
  the direct result of the Root Dog creation.
  Possibly the reason the Root Dogs created the
  Sh'mr, to 'play' with developing this ability.
  This ability allows the Sh’mr to ‘absorb’ all of
  the 
  targets 
  DNA 
  patterns 
  and 
  thought
  processes. The Sh’mr, to all intents and
  purposes, ‘becomes’ the target, with all
  knowledge, memories, skills and physical traits
  intact.
  The 'target' (victim) must make an initial save
  against being physically stunned by the
  assimilation, using their PHYS as a skill, with a
  -12 (Rank modifier). If they succeed, they
  suffer no ill effects, if they fail, they are
  'stunned' for (20 - PHYS) minutes, after which
  they are fully recovered and remember nothing
  of the assimilation.
  The Sh’mr retains a dual personality, allowing
  it to reassert it’s own form at will or when the
  Flux powering the assimilation is used up. The
  assimilation is partly real/physical and partly
  illusion, if the Sh’mr differs wildly in their
  body mass from the target (target is over 60%
  bigger than Sh’mr), they will appear to be the
  same, though in reality they will remain at their
  body mass. Any targets below 60% of the
  Sh’mr’s mass will also be part illusion.
  Assimilate costs 15 Flux to use. The Sh’mr
  retains the assimilation for it’s DIA in minutes.
  Non-Ebb user targets receives no Ebb Save and
  are unaffected by the assimilation. Ebb users
  receive an Ebb Save of their Formulae (as a
  skill); success means they resist completely.
  Failure means the assimilation is successful and
  is ‘powered’ by the targets Flux, i.e. paid for
  from their Flux pool, if the target has not got
  enough Flux to pay for the assimilation, they
  pay the difference in Hit Points (torso).
  Sh’mr Use: Often used to gain access to
  resources otherwise unavailable to the Sh’mr.
  Ebon targets are selected when a particular Ebb
  ability or skill may be needed. The Sh'mr has
  access to any skill (Ebon or 'mundane') that
  their 'target' has; Ebb abilities must be paid for
  as normal using their own Flux. Sh'mr do not
  need to formulate, when using a targets Ebb
  skills, they act like 'Feral' Ebons.
  “This has never happened. You are fine. I was
  never here. Do you understand?”
  Cloak de-brief of ‘assimilated’ Op, Mort
  Central, 903 SD.
  Healing: Art of Healing & Purification
  RANK 11: Flux Drain.
  This ability allows the Sh’mr to drain Flux
  from a Flux Store, this can either be in an Ebb
  User or ‘artefact’ (such as an Ebb Medi-kit).
  The drain has drastic physical and mental
  affects for the target and is, perhaps, the most
  hideous of the Sh’mr Ebb abilities.
  The Sh’mr has to touch it’s target, the target
  receives no Ebb Save.
  The Sh’mr needs to make a Formulae roll (as a
  skill) using the targets Formulae as a negative
  modifier. If successful the drain takes place
  (cost for drain deducted from Flux drained,
  then Sh’mr), if they fail the Sh’mr loses the
  flux to pay for the drain but gains nothing. If
  the Sh'mr fails their roll, the victim is
  completely unaware that anything has been
  attempted.
  The victim of a successful Flux Drain suffers
  the affects of a 'PsychoVirus', as if they had
  been contacted by a Rank 9 - Psychovirus 2.
  This gives the victim a -1 to their COOL for
  each point of Flux the Sh'mr spent in the drain.
  The COOL loss lasts for a number of days
  equal to the victims DIA (the more they
  understand, the more frightened they are). After
  this period in days, they regain their COOL at
  the rate of 1 point per day.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Flux Drain costs 5 Flux to use, plus an
  additional Flux for each Formulae rank the
  target has.
  Sh’mr Use: Sh’mr use the Drain to gain Flux
  and to power their encounters with Ebb Users.
  Sh’mr need Flux just to survive, so the Flux
  Drain is essential for their continued existence.
  “This is why there is so much fear surrounding
  the Sh’mr. This is why Dark Lament want them
  so bad. This is why they will ultimately be
  hunted down and killed. This is why I am afraid
  of them. Everything else is just window
  dressing.”
  Shyft, SCL 9 Ebon Operative, working as
  liaison with Shaktar ‘hunter’ squad, Kn’nth 902
  SD.
  Gore Cannon: Celrydreahad
  RANK 9: Infect.
  The Sh’mr can use this ability to infect the
  target with a destabilising virus from it’s own
  DNA strain.
  The target will lose one point from their Hit
  points each day after the Infection has taken
  place; these points cannot be regained or healed
  by either natural or Ebb means. Their bodies
  are literally falling to pieces as their DNA
  structure is broken down and attacked by the
  infection. When their bodies reach zero hit
  points, they effectively ‘die’ and are reborn 1-
  20 days later as Sh’mr.
  Their former physical characteristics are
  replaced by those of a Sh’mr. If the infected
  cannot rise again as Sh’mr, due to their limited
  numbering in the WoP, they simply die.
  The only known cure for the infection comes
  from the Necanthrope Gore Cannon ability;
  Drain 2 (RANK 18). This allows the
  Necanthrope to drain the infection from the
  target and to ‘fire’ it out of their system through
  their Gore Cannon. It costs the Necanthrope 5
  Flux per (original) PHYS of the target to
  perform.
  Infect costs 20 Flux to use. There is no Ebb
  Save against Infect.
  Sh’mr Use: The Sh’mr use Infect to create
  more of their kind.
  “Head Office knows they’re here. No one will
  admit to anything, everyone is scared. Talk to
  anyone and they’ll tell you nothing. You can’t
  even mention the 'Black Stump' without
  getting.... <BLAM!>”
  Interview terminated with Human SCL 9 Op
  Chase Willoughby by Frank Weiss, Cloak
  sanctioned, Mort 903 SD.
  S h ' m r   A n d   T h e   F l o w   O f   T h e
  E b b
  F l u x   G a t h e r i n g   /   U s e
  Sh’mr gather Flux at a rate of 1D10+10 points
  per day (25 hour period). They can 'store' up to
  (Formulae X CONC) Flux.
  Sh’mr do not need to ‘formulate’ their abilities
  or the Ebb Abilities they gain access to on a
  daily basis. They simply ‘unleash’ them. The
  ability takes affect one phase after it is
  unleashed, the Flux is paid in the turn it is
  unleashed.
  All Sh'mr need to expend 1D20 Flux per day
  simply to survive. They must roll at the start of
  the day (25 hour period), they must 'pay' this
  Flux before the end of the day or they will die
  that night.
  “Sh’mr. Ferals. Same shit, different name. They
  all go down under enough burn.”
  Lava, SCL 5 Brain Waster, contracted to Dark
  Lament, Mort 903 SD.
  "They feel the same as the Ferals, their Flux
  tastes similar. I can not say whether they are
  related, not because I'm not allowed; because I
  don't know. I think not though, there is
  something about them that feels 'wrong' for
  Ferals. I feel a chaos in them that is not present
  in Ferals. And I wasn't allowed to say that."
  BlueFire, BrainWaster 'hunter', assigned to
  Dark Lament, Mort 903 SD.
  Sh'mr increase in Formulae like all Ebb users.
  Their understanding allows them greater access
  to their 'daily' skills, offering some control (via
  duplicated rolls).
  When a Sh'mr's Formulae reaches 12 they
  begin to hear the call of their Masters; the Root
  Dogs. For every point above 12, the Sh'mr
  classes it as a 'skill level' (Formulae 15 would
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  be the equivalent of skill level 3) in a trait
  known as 'Gathering'.
  G a t h e r i n g
  Once their Formulae is over 12, they feel the
  need to travel to the Black Stump to join with
  their creators. They must roll against their
  Gathering trait (as a skill) once every three
  months (90 consecutive daily periods). If they
  'succeed' (achieve 15+), they must make their
  way to the Black Stump by the most direct
  means possible. Once they have started their
  journey, any delay causes them to weaken and
  if they delay too long, they will die. Each week
  they are away from the Black Stump after they
  have succumbed to the calling, the Sh'mr looses
  one point from a randomly chosen Stat. This
  loss can not be regenerated and may affect
  other Stats. or skill use. If any Stat. reaches
  zero, the Sh'mr dies.
  Sh'mr can never 'turn'. They do not seek to
  enter the White, they have no desire to become
  Necanthrope. Once they reach the Black
  Stump, their Root Dog creators and masters
  have their own, dark, sinister uses for their
  chaotic off-spring.
  S L A   I n d u s t r i e s   A n d   T h e
  S h ' m r
  There are very few people within SLA who
  know of the existence of the Sh'mr, and few of
  those will ever talk about them.
  Most of the information on the SLA Database
  is held in Dark Lament files, and most of these
  are classified SCL 4+. SLA do not want the
  Sh'mr to become common knowledge; their
  connection to the Root Dogs could lead to other
  connections being made and more of the truth
  being uncovered, and this, of course, must not
  be allowed to happen.
  Dark Lament occasionally hire a select few to
  hunt the Sh'mr, usually Brain Wasters or
  Wraith Raiders. The Shaktar send forth their
  Holy Warriors when they hear of a suspected
  Sh'mr appearance; Shaktar hate the Sh'mr more
  than any other race.
  "The Sh'mr? Just a fairy tale monster to scare
  Shaktar kids. You think you know any different
  and you may end up knowing too much."
  Harque, Ebon Dark Lament technician, Mort
  903 SD.
  "They are here. They are evil and bring chaos.
  They will eat your soul and destroy your
  civilisation. They must be stopped. If you are
  not here to help me, you are here to stop me,
  and I can't let that happen."
  R'zt 
  Qwk'N, 
  Shaktar 
  Operative 
  with
  'EvenFlow', Mort 903 SD.
  S h ’ m r   I n   T h e   W o P
  The Sh’mr are creatures of chaos and disorder.
  Their inner nature means they try to cling to
  emotional security through their ‘family
  groups’. Other than this, the Sh’mr care for and
  respect no one.
  The Root Dogs knew that the Sh’mr’s nature
  and their unique abilities would allow them to
  cause the most havoc in a society where the
  individuals actions could have consequences
  for the whole group / social order. Hence the
  decision to send them initially to Polo and
  Kn’nth.
  Since their creation, the Sh’mr have spread
  through the WoP, though they are extremely
  rare outside Polo and Kn’nth.
  The Shaktar treat the Sh’mr as a traditional
  enemy, recognising them as a bestial foe from
  the dark mists of their past. Wraith Raiders
  treat them as any other prey, acknowledging
  their status as worthy adversaries.
  The other races in the WoP have been largely
  shielded from the Sh’mr and know little if
  anything of their existence.
  "They come from the Black Stump, sent by the
  Root Dogs to undermine our society. They feed
  on Flux, they can only survive by draining
  Ebons of their life force. The abilities they
  possess are known to some of our Necanthrope
  Elders but can never be taught to our Brother
  Ebons. All anyone needs to know is that they
  do exist and that they must be destroyed
  wherever they are encountered, cut from our
  society like a cancerous growth. Sh'mr can not
  be reasoned with, they are like animals, like a
  virus, like a disease. Anyone who has had
  contact with them must be cleansed. None of
  this took place, you heard nothing and I was
  never here. Do you understand? No? Good."
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Chalice, Necanthrope Operative with 'Veil'
  Union, Mort, 903 SD.
  G a m e s   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  A good introduction to Sh’mr in the WoP
  would be to have one of the Op’s unknowingly
  encounter one on Mort, and then be visited by a
  Shaktar Kn’tkt (Holy Warrior) acting as a
  'Sh’mr Hunter'. The Shaktar will ask for the
  Op’s help, if they are not forthcoming, then the
  Kn’tkt may become insistent....
  Sh'mr may be played as Player Characters, but
  only by very experienced players, and those
  who are willing to sacrifice some of the
  stability associated with other character types.
  The Sh'mr will only work in a group or squad if
  the Sh'mr can drain Flux from at least one other
  Ebb user without being noticed. A Sh'mr would
  work well in an all Ebon squad.
  As NPC's they should be rare and alluded to
  rather than encountered. A powerful Sh'mr
  could easily become the Nemesis of a squad.
  Essentially they are beasts of chaos; malignant
  hunters roaming the WoP, struggling to come
  to terms with their curse, forced to kill to live.
  They will always be the most hated of outsiders
  and must live secretive, furtive lives.
  SLA will keep their existence a well guarded
  secret, only those who absolutely have to will
  know of them and their powers.
  The Sh'mr may appear to be full of
  contradictions and inconsistencies, both in their
  background and their character make up; this is
  intentional. The emphasis is on keeping them
  chaotic and unpredictable, driven by needs that
  humans 
  can 
  barely 
  perceive, 
  let 
  alone
  understand.
  D E A T H S U I T S
  What’s the point in writing a piece on
  DeathSuits, we all know about DeathSuits,
  right?
  Well, what exactly do we know? And what do
  we ‘assume’ and take as read even though it’s
  never been clarified? And what’s the point in
  writing about it if everyone already assumes it?
  And why is it impossible to exceed the speed of
  light, concepts of ‘infinity’ must be discarded
  right?
  Anyway….
  The point of this article is to get both GM’s and
  Players to take Deathsuits more seriously, to
  give more thought to their use and application.
  Ebons have for too long taken for granted the
  awesome creation that is the Deathsuit. To
  begin to build a more complete picture of what
  Deathsuits are, and how they may actually
  function, we may need to cover some old
  ground…. so bear with us and please be
  patient….
  Deathsuits are made from Science Friction,
  they are fashioned by an Ebb User working for
  Dark Lament. Each Deathsuit is forged from
  raw Flux and Ebb use, being bound by the
  creative vision of the Ebon and limited only by
  their ability to weave Flux. To retain it’s
  physical shape and form, each Deathsuit is
  instilled with a Flux Matrix at it’s inception. It
  is the Flux Matrix that gives the Deathsuit it’s
  stable physical presence and allows Dark
  Lament to add the Glyphs and cypher codes
  that will give the Deathsuit it’s ability to aid
  any Ebon wearing it with their formulation of
  Ebb Abilities. OK, you are all yawning and
  saying “yeah, we know all this.” But, if that’s
  the case why is it ignored that the Science
  Friction item created is dependent upon the
  Ebon creating it for shape and form? In short;
  the Deathsuit looks as the ‘creating’ Ebon
  imagines, not as the wearing Ebon imagines….
  but wait a minute, this conflicts what we also
  know about Deathsuits reflecting the wearers
  emotions…. so there’s a gap. Ebons need to
  assimilate their Deathsuit with their own, innate
  ‘Flux Matrix’, they need to ‘tune’ their suit to
  respond 
  to 
  their 
  particular 
  Flux 
  use
  ‘wavelength’; the taste of the Flux if you like.
  This is why Ebons must start with a Formulae
  of 1. The ‘tuning’ of the Deathsuit is governed
  by both the ‘Protect; Ebon Guard’ ability and
  the Formulae. But we’re jumping ahead….
  Should Ebons have to buy, i.e. pay for, their
  Deathsuit? Would you let a starting Operative
  from any other race, begin their game life with
  a ‘free’ suit of Powered Armour (PP9 Exo)? No
  of course not…. The Ebon must pay for their
  Deathsuit, it forms the core of their Ebb use, it
  is at the heart of their characters development,
  it is worth twenty times what DL charge for it
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  and Ebons are too unbalanced in other areas to
  let them get away with not paying for the
  Deathsuit.
  So, we have the Ebon forking out the meagre
  750c for their Deathsuit. Let’s see how things
  develop from there. But hang on a minute,
  we’ve jumped again…. if we assume the Ebon
  buys their suit with the 1,500c starting monies,
  then what have they been using for their
  training and graduating process from Meny?
  Do all non-Operative, i.e. in training, Ebons use
  Glyph Cards, or do they use ‘temporary’
  Deathsuits, kind of generic suits that they can
  not ‘bond’ with, but that will allow them to
  access the abilities without resorting to the
  archaic Glyph cards? Somehow that doesn’t
  feel right, the Ebon should only ever have a
  relationship with one Deathsuit, and that should
  take him to the grave and beyond…. so we
  must assume the Ebon gains his Deathsuit
  when he enters Meny, and that the moneys for
  it are paid directly to Dark Lament by SLA at
  the 
  Ebon’s 
  graduation. 
  So 
  the 
  Ebon
  automatically pays for the suit?
  So, we have an Ebon, starting his training at
  Meny, about to enter the realm of the Ebb, Flux
  use, gathering, storage and all…. The Ebon
  must now ‘tune’ their Deathsuit to enable them
  to match it’s Matrix with their own, to fully
  integrate it with their flow of Flux.
  T u n i n g   A   D e a t h s u i t
  Every Ebon that draws Flux in to the WoP adds
  their own particular feel and flavour to it,
  stamping it with their own unique brand and
  style of use. The first job for the Ebon is to tune
  their Deathsuit to recognise and accept this
  ‘taste’ of flux as part of it’s intrinsic Flux
  Matrix, otherwise the Deathsuit will not be able
  to make full use of the Flux, rejecting it as a
  ‘foreign body’ rather than as a part of the Ebb
  Use process.
  We can also make a leap here, to bring in to
  play the vaguely hinted at concept that Ebons
  are creatures driven by their emotions. We will
  use the Ebons emotions to form the basis for
  their Flux ‘taste’, each differing from the other
  as any two Ebon personalities would differ, we
  can even draw out analogies for ‘taste’, ‘smell’
  and ‘colour’ of Flux dependent upon the
  Ebon’s fundamental, underlying emotional
  state: deeply depressed, introspective Ebons
  produce bitter, acrid, black Flux (or whatever
  your interpretation suggests….). This can also
  lead us to the conclusion that once an Ebon has
  their Deathsuit tuned, they can become ‘out of
  tune’ with it, should they lose control of their
  emotional state, or be seriously affected so that
  their psychological state changes to one the
  Deathsuit Flux Matrix does not ‘recognise’.
  This can either be used in ‘game terms’ by the
  GM as a non-critical aid to the Players role
  playing the Ebon, by adapting an attitude of
  relating to the Ebon how their Flux use may
  vary when using abilities, and maybe hinting
  that Concentration rolls may be involved if the
  inconsistencies continue, with greater minuses
  for greater variations in character. For example,
  a normally patient calm Ebon, who has taken
  the ‘Exceedingly Cool’ advantage suddenly
  loses his temper in character because, basically,
  he’s bored and frustrated, the Ebon wants to
  ‘Blast’ a gang member where he would usually
  use more subtle ways to get what he wanted
  from him, the GM judges this drastic change to
  be enough to endanger the Deathsuits ‘reading’
  of the Flux use, and so makes the Ebon make a
  ‘CONC Roll’, with a –5 modifier in order to
  formulate the Blast….
  In the Ebon Sourcebook (what do you mean
  you haven’t bought one yet….?) we touch on
  the subject of attaching ‘core’ or ‘base’
  emotions to the Ebon and their abilities, so our
  Ebon 
  may 
  have 
  ‘Inquisitive’ 
  for
  communication, or ‘Angry’ for Blast, if they
  then try to use these abilities when not in the
  ‘appropriate’ emotional state, the Deathsuit is
  slightly ‘out of tune’ and requires a CONC roll
  (with suitable modifier) to channel the Flux for
  formulation.
  OK. So we have a Deathsuit, we know when
  we got it, how much it’s cost, how it’s
  connected to the Ebon and how they are tied to
  it through their emotional /
  psychological state…. so far so good.
  This also allows us to utilise the suits ‘mood
  reflective’ properties for appearance. If the
  Ebon is angry, what colour is associated with
  that emotion (for them)? How is this reflected
  in the Deathsuit? Can the Ebon control it, or is
  it a ‘reflex’ action on the Deathsuits part? Our
  Ebon may be calm on the exterior, trying to
  convince the gang member that he really
  doesn’t want to hurt him, and that they’re going
  to be the best of friends, when the Ebon’s
  Deathsuit flares scarlet, and begins to appear to
  ‘ooze’ blood….
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  And then on to what does it actually look like?
  The classic ‘skinned man’ look may hold for
  some of the Deathsuits, but surely not for all of
  them? And can the appearance be changed, as
  the colour can, either by force of will or mood?
  We would suggest yes. The texture has to
  remain’ organic’ as is the nature of Science
  Friction material, but it can be changed from
  ‘muscle tissue’ in appearance to ‘textured skin’
  maybe scales, maybe even smoother, like
  interlocking plates. The limitations are born
  from the creating Ebons imagination at the
  Deathsuits ‘birth’ and the wearing Ebons skill
  and force of will. Link the Ebons Formulae to
  their ability to change the fundamental look of
  their Deathsuit, get the Ebon Player to write
  down degrees of refinement they wish to
  achieve in the look of their suit, grading from
  1-10 in Formulae.
  In the description (in games system terms) of
  the Deathsuit, there is a PV / ID for the ‘head’
  location. Does this mean the Deathsuit is
  permanently covering the wearers head and
  face? It doesn’t seem to fit the social image of
  the Ebon race; they wouldn’t want anything
  making it harder for them to communicate and
  show their emotional states.
  The Deathsuit covers the wearer in a very
  similar way to a Scuba Divers wet Suit, leaving
  the hands, feet, neck, face and head bare, until
  the last minute when the extra protection is
  required. For the Deathsuit, this means that the
  extremities are where there is a slight folding
  and gathering of material, like small rings or
  pouches, the material can be ‘activated’ to
  move over and cover the extremities with a
  thought from the wearer. It costs 1 Flux for the
  Deathsuit’s wearer to fully activate the armour
  properties of the Deathsuit and cover their
  extremities, the extension takes 1 Phase and
  does not require Formulation, it automatically
  happens the Phase after the wearer wants it to.
  Protect: Ebon Guard
  Rank 1: Shroud Deathsuit – The activation of
  the completely enclosing property of the
  Deathsuit in it’s capacity as ‘armour’. The
  hands, feet and head (including the face) are
  shrouded by the Deathsuit. It takes 1 Phase to
  activate the Shroud effect and costs 1 Flux. All
  Ebons are taught this ability in their first year at
  Meny. The extremities are covered with the
  same PV / ID as the Deathsuit’s ‘class’ (Light,
  Medium, etc.).
  D e a t h s u i t   M a i n t e n a n c e
  Does a Deathsuit need maintenance? Until the
  Ebon wearer reaches ‘Rank 17: Living Suit’ in
  the Ebon Guard ability, the answer is yes. Up to
  this point the Deathsuit is still a piece of
  Science Friction material, all be it a highly
  charged, maybe even sensitive piece, but it is
  still effectively classed as ‘equipment’.
  All Science Friction material that channels and
  discharges Flux gathers residual flux and must
  be ‘cleaned’ from time to time, otherwise the
  build up of unwanted Flux ‘waste’ will begin to
  corrupt the object, causing it to suffer negative
  modifiers when used by an Ebon for
  channelling or storing Flux. It may be likened
  to the phenomenon that affects Glyph Pillars in
  FoldShips, where the central guidance pillar is
  prone to a build up of residual energy,
  converted in to the deadly Ebb Crystals. (TBP
  11)
  Protect: Ebon Guard
  Rank 2:  Flush Deathsuit – The clearing of any
  residual build up of Flux within the Deathsuit,
  which may manifest itself as small crystalline
  structures on the interior surface of the suit, or
  as a ‘clouding’ of the Deathsuit’s colour. It
  costs 1 flux per PV of the Deathsuit to Flush,
  and takes the Ebon their CONC multiplied by
  the PV being flushed in minutes to complete
  the ceremony. A Deathsuit needs to be
  ‘Flushed’ approximately once every 3 months.
  For every 3 months the suit is not Flushed, the
  Ebon receives a –1 modifier to any Formulation
  rolls they make.
  The ceremony is treated by the Ebon as a very
  serious procedure, not least because they have
  to remove the Deathsuit to perform it. The
  ceremony requires nothing but peace and quiet
  and a little space for the Ebon to lay the
  Deathsuit out and pass their hands over it.
  During the ceremony the Ebon thinks of
  nothing else and can be quite vulnerable to
  attack; they seldom flush their Deathsuit
  anywhere other than their own apartment, and
  then usually with a trusted colleague in the next
  room.
  S t o r i n g   F l u x
  Using the ‘Channel’ Ability, the Ebon can store
  Flux in their Deathsuit for use in powering any
  Ebb Ability they have the skill to use. But how
  do they get the Flux in to the Deathsuit? Do
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  they simply ’spend’ the Flux they wish to store
  in their Deathsuit, and there it sits until it is
  called upon through the use of an ability? If so,
  there are some things to bear in mind:
  Most Ebons will begin play with between 10
  and 20 Flux (stat.), with increases during the
  campaign at a cost of 2 EXP for 1 Flux, they
  are not exactly going to be rocketing up the
  Flux Store.
  An additional way you may want to allow your
  Ebon Players to ‘charge’ their Deathsuits is
  through the direct placing of Flux in to the
  Deathsuits while they sleep, up to a maximum
  of their own Self Flux Store. i.e. if an Ebon has
  a Flux stat. of 23, not only will they regenerate
  their own 23 points of Flux after a good eight
  hours sleep, but they will be able to channel up
  to 23 Flux in to their Deathsuit, awaking with
  both themselves and their Deathsuit fully
  charged (up to it’s Rank capacity).
  This may make it too easy for the Ebon to
  gather and store Flux and must be moderated
  by the kind of ease with which you allow Flux
  to be gathered and spent in your particular
  WoP.
  As an aside, can a Deathsuit have zero Flux?
  We would suggest not. The Flux Matrix must
  have at least 1 flux in it to keep it open and
  ‘flowing’, if it is drained completely, it will
  begin to wither and shrivel, reducing in it’s
  capacity to act as a conduit for Flux and the
  flow of the Ebb. A Deathsuit will ‘leech’ 1 Flux
  from it’s wearer if it is driven to zero by the
  Ebons use of the stored Flux. Treat as a Rank
  12: Suck Flux ability use.
  R e p a i r i n g   D e a t h s u i t s
  The Rank 2 ability: Heal Deathsuit, deals with
  the permanent healing of a damaged Deathsuit,
  using care, time and a lot of Flux, which is as it
  should be. But Dark Lament realised that a lot
  of Ebons need a quick fix for their Deathsuit
  when they are in a pressure situation, so they
  developed the ‘Temporary Heal’ ability:
  Protect: Ebon Guard.
  Rank 2: Temporary Heal Deathsuit – this
  allows the physical healing of the Deathsuit in
  exactly the same way as the Heal Deathsuit
  ability, only the effects are more drastic, shorter
  lived and have consequences if not revisited
  and healed ‘properly’ using the Rank 2 heal
  Deathsuit ability. This skill costs the Ebon 2
  points of Flux per 6 ID restored to the
  Deathsuit, temporarily. The ID is restored for 1
  hour, after which it will ‘crumble’, falling to
  zero. If it is not healed within an hour of
  reaching zero, the affected area becomes
  useless and must be replaced (effectively it
  becomes dead tissue).
  The ‘temporary’ heal is obviously designed to
  get Ebons out of tight spots until they can
  lavish the due care and attention in Healing
  their Deathsuit that the suit deserves.
  S e c r e t s   O f   T h e   D e a t h s u i t
  Deathsuits are the gift, aid and boon from SLA
  Industries to the Ebon race. It is rumoured that
  even Intruder wears a Deathsuit of sorts. So
  what shadowy secrets lie behind the greatest
  piece of Science Friction in the whole of the
  WoP?
  The Deathsuit is the sixth sense of the Ebon
  race, without it, they are little more than
  conjurors, relying upon Glyph Cards as props.
  There is an argument that the Deathsuit is also
  the natural way for SLA to ‘control’ the Ebon
  race, a race which Mr Slayer can never really
  trust.
  The natural conclusion to this theory is that
  without the Deathsuit, the Ebon cannot ‘turn’,
  and become a Necanthrope. It is the Deathsuit
  that causes the Dream Demons, and the
  Deathsuit that twists the Ebon in to the shape of
  a Necanthrope, bending ultimately to the will of
  Mr Slayer and not the wearing Ebon.
  If you do not want the conspiracy to be on this
  grand a scale, explore the possibilities of the
  Deathsuit as both ‘monitor’ and extension of
  Dark Lament. A version of the ‘Ebon Chip’
  (this issue) could easily be fitted to the suit,
  reporting back to it’s masters via Ebb
  Communication Glyphs in the suit. And where
  do Dark Lament get the hideously large
  amounts of Flux they need to perform their
  work? Maybe the Deathsuits leech Flux back to
  DL via Glyph ‘guidance’ pillars, taking as
  much as 10% from the wearing Ebon each
  day….
  Ebons rely on their Deathsuits for all their Ebb
  use. 99% of all Ebons in the WoP wear, and are
  naked without, a Deathsuit. There must be
  possibilities for a darker, more sinister
  background for their production, use and
  connections to DL.
  And what about Feral Ebons (TBP 9)? They do
  not need Deathsuits and have their own unique
  way of manipulating Flux and the Ebb…. but
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  what if they got hold of a Deathsuit? used it
  purely as an ‘accelerator’? and what if an Ebon,
  taking off their Deathsuit, found they could still
  use the Ebb, that they were in fact a Feral,
  subdued by the wearing of the Deathsuit?
  We realise that everyone’s WoP is different,
  and each GM has the Ebon race with a slightly
  different background and development.
  But surely all GM’s explore the relationship
  between an Ebon and their Deathsuit? And if
  not, maybe this article will prompt some deeper
  digging….
  J U S T I C E   F O R   A L L
  It may at first be hard to imagine a system of
  Justice within SLA. There is so much darkness,
  horror, violence and impending chaos that it
  may seem irrelevant in such a brutalised
  society. But there must always be laws, or there
  is no civilisation. And the laws will always be
  made by the ruling majority, made to suit their
  needs and fuel their continued reign in power.
  So it is with SLA.
  How SLA administer their Justice system will
  of course depend on how SLA run their WoP in
  general in your games. If they are completely
  authoritarian, overbearing and dictatorial in
  nature, they will have a different set of ‘rules’
  that need enforcing to a more insidious SLA,
  working through the economy and their
  ultimate control of all things in the ‘market’.
  SLA knows the value of law and order, it
  knows, as all governing bodies do, that it must
  make it’s citizens feel secure. People within the
  society of the WoP must feel free from the
  affects of crime, no matter what ‘crimes’ their
  governing classes may be perpetrating in the
  name of justice; for the majority of citizens the
  laws must be clear, simple and enforced. Then,
  as long as it is the minority who are seen to
  break them, the majority will feel safe.
  What we are doing here is offering a set of
  possibilities, some, none or all of which may be
  worth considering for use in your WoP.
  J u s t i c e   S y s t e m   I n   S L A
  –  T h e   L a w s
  It sounds ridiculous, but it’s worth considering;
  what exactly is a crime?
  In a society such as ours today, people can be
  prosecuted for any number of things, from the
  petty to the heinous, ranging from murder to
  self defence, from theft to arson, from racism to
  rape. Taking the view that the WoP, any WoP
  is an extrapolation of our own society leads you
  to the inevitable conclusion that the laws,
  crimes and enforcement would be an extension
  of what we have now, or at least a version of it
  twisted to fit the grim everyday existence of the
  WoP. So many of the laws still apply, and
  would have to be enforced by a justice system
  similar to that which we know of today. Shivers
  can be likened to the Police, IA and Cloak to
  government agencies and Monarch to ‘security’
  forces, perhaps with some dispensation for
  equipment and behaviour (powers of arrest
  etc.).
  The burden here falls squarely on the Shivers.
  If the list of criminal offences is as extensive as
  it is today, then they are going to have their
  work cut out for them, responding to every
  assault, petty theft, minor break in, racist
  incident, road accident etc. Are they fighting a
  losing battle? Is this accepted by Slayer and
  SLA? Does anyone care? If the Shivers are
  effectively stooges for the activities of SLA,
  expected to clean up after the populations
  unrest and unruly response to the draconian
  laws laid down by the company, then the
  Shivers are going to turn in to a de-moralised,
  corrupt, lack luster, force of malcontents,
  looking to simply get through another day. This
  may well fit the style of your WoP, and would
  explain a lot of the animosity between Shivers
  and Op’s as the Op’s can be seen as some kind
  of elite, above dealing with the ‘everyday’
  mundane, mindless, endless stream of minor
  offences that cloud the Shivers every day.
  C r i m e s
  Lets move the WoP to a darker setting.
  Changing the code of what is ‘accepted’
  behaviour, 
  changing 
  what 
  is 
  actually
  considered a crime; let’s base the laws on a
  society and a system of social justice where the
  citizen is expected to act slightly differently
  than the way we do today.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  The whole society is more deeply corrupt, with
  organised crime on a scale we can only
  imagine, with gangs roaming their territory
  openly, and with every intent to carry out their
  criminal activities to the fullest. Guns are more
  prevalent, as are knives, clubs and any kind of
  weapon you can imagine. The ‘average’ citizen
  is a cynical, jaded, morally corrupt individual
  who expects to live with the effects of crime
  through out their whole life, their expectation is
  one of damage limitation not avoidance.
  Protection monies are paid, as are bribes to
  Shivers, as this is the only way to run any kind
  of business or livelihood. SLA are the
  overlords, who need to be bought off through
  taxes, and more insidiously through permits
  and licenses; you must pay to have the right to
  live.
  In this society, petty crimes such as minor
  assault go almost unnoticed, unless the victim
  has connections and has paid their dues. Minor
  break-ins, burglaries and thefts from shops and
  businesses are seen as an occupational hazard,
  with little or no intervention from the Shivers.
  The reasoning is one of cynical reality, if
  you’ve been robbed or had your business
  torched you couldn’t have been paying the right
  money to the right people.
  With the population as poor and as densely
  packed as it is on most of Mort, the Shivers and
  Monarchs know they need to concentrate on the
  more serious crimes as they can expect little if
  any support in their investigation of the minor
  ones. So the ‘minor’ crimes tend to get reported
  less and less, with the tolerance of what is
  ‘acceptable’ being pushed higher the deeper
  you go in to Downtown, or any run down,
  deprived area.
  People take the law more and more in to their
  own hands. DarkNight are always their to
  supply the necessary tools of justice, for a price
  of course. As guns become more common,
  vigilante groups and ‘citizens militia’ become
  more of a force to be reckoned with. Wars
  between these groups and the gangs breaks out
  more frequently as each tries to regain control
  of the streets and tenement blocks.
  With the general watering down of law and
  order we need to ask’ what is a crime?
  Broadly speaking, crimes can be broken down
  in to three categories:
  Crimes against property.
  Crimes against the person.
  Crimes of Subversion.
  Crimes against property are:
  Vandalism. Petty Theft. Grand Theft. Arson.
  Vandalism
  The destruction or degrading of someone’s
  property by another. This is a largely ignored
  crime, that is usually brought in to play when
  Shivers (or Op’s) need a ‘legal’ reason to bring
  in a ganger or other street type. The charge is
  almost always impossible to prove and is
  generally acknowledged to be a ‘holding
  charge’ which allows the suspect to be held in
  custody for up to 24 hours, after which they
  must be released.
  The level of vandalism on Mort is frightening.
  Anything is vandalised simply because it is
  there. Nothing is safe. And with the growing
  increase 
  of 
  ‘street 
  graffiti’ 
  advertising
  campaigns, it has become even harder to
  classify defacing property a ‘crime’.
  Vandalism can also be used by Shivers to gain
  a little extra income, as most gangers will
  gladly pay the standard 20u bribe to the Shiver
  to turn a blind eye.
  Petty Theft
  Petty theft is defined by the value of the
  property and from whom it was stolen.
  Anything of less than 1000c value is classed as
  petty theft, unless it belongs to SLA, when it
  automatically becomes Grand Theft regardless
  of value. Petty theft is one of the hardest crimes
  to prove as goods are moved through black
  markets, fences, or simply stripped and
  reclaimed by gangs and the homeless. Suspects
  cannot be picked up and held on suspicion of
  Petty Theft, they can only be arrested and
  charged with it. It is the crime most likely to be
  bought off on a regular basis by gangs or Soft
  Co.’s that have ‘permanent’ bases, as the
  Shivers can easily raid such premises.
  Grand Theft
  Grand Theft is defined as ANY SLA property
  or any ‘privately’ owned property of value
  1000c+. All vehicle theft is classed as Grand
  Theft due to the value and the ‘leased’ nature of
  most SLA vehicles. Grand Theft is always
  treated as a very serious crime and always
  prompts an investigation by the Shivers or
  Monarchs, each of which must be fully reported
  and filed. A lot of BPN’s (Yellows and Whites)
  are triggered by Grand Theft. Often, the victims
  will try to gather as much evidence as they can
  before reporting the crime, delaying the actual
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  register of the crime by as much as two days.
  As a standing order, no Grand Theft can be
  lodged as a crime if more than three days have
  elapsed since the goods were stolen, after this
  time they are listed simply as ‘missing’.
  Bribing your way out of Grand Theft is only
  possible if the property stolen did not belong to
  SLA, and then it will cost you anywhere
  between 5,000u – 10,000u depending upon how
  much evidence has to be ‘lost’. It also helps if
  the property is returned, which can reduce the
  cost of the bribe by up to 50%.
  Arson
  Arson is the most serious crime against
  property on Mort. All Arson is investigated and
  a report logged, usually with a completion
  detail of an arrest/s and charges being filed.
  Follow up BPN’s (if any) are always White,
  though the cause of the fire is usually
  discovered and reported by the Fire Shivers
  Forensics, who will spend up to two days on
  the site once the fire is out. There is no way to
  bribe your way out of an Arson charge, and
  many gangs will give up a scape-goat or the
  culprit to avoid too much SLA digging on their
  turf. All citizens will help in the tracking of an
  arsonist, and none will offer any protection or
  help to any individual or organisation (gang or
  otherwise) that uses Arson.
  Crimes against the Person are:
  Common 
  Assault. 
  Armed 
  Assault.
  Manslaughter. Murder.
  Common Assault
  This is used to describe anything from a ‘brawl’
  to rape. It is basically the charge used to cover
  all areas of assault not involving a firearm,
  including the numerous attacks using blades,
  clubs, etc., that are carried out everyday on
  every street in Mort. Common Assault is not
  taken very seriously by the Shivers, as the
  victim is expected to exact their own form of
  revenge through ‘Street Justice,’ as it is
  notoriously hard to prove, the Shivers may even
  help the victim in cases such as rape, where
  they have been known to ‘deliver’ the guilty
  party bound and gagged to a pre-arranged drop
  point, all for a fee of course.
  Common Assault can be bought off fairly
  cheaply, with bribes ranging from 50u – 100u.
  After a gang brawl the Shivers expect to be
  paid off in full, especially if there is video
  footage which will need to be ‘lost’ or if Third
  Eye are involved. Common Assault is never
  used to charge someone attacking an Operative,
  but is always used when a Shiver is the victim;
  Op’s are not expected to file charges of
  Common Assault, they are supposed to take it
  as part and parcel of their job.
  Armed Assault
  Armed Assault can only be charged if a victim
  has been robbed and or assaulted by a perp.
  with a firearm that was discharged during the
  course of the assault. Generally a common
  occurrence for the more serious of the
  robberies, where a store, gang or Soft Co. are
  involved, it is a tough one to bribe your way
  out of, costs between 500u to 3,000u. It is rare
  for Shivers to log calls of Armed Assault
  against either themselves or Operatives, despite
  what Shiver HQ instructs them to do (which is
  log every Armed Assault; in an attempt to get
  Shivers better armed). Any assault on Shivers
  or Op’s is more likely to be met with an
  ‘unofficial’ response, and bearing in mind that
  99% of all Shivers carry an unauthorised back
  up weapon, they do not like to be seen as
  somehow hypocritical, bad for the street rep.’s.
  If a death occurs during the course of an Armed
  Assault, the charge is immediately escalated to
  either Manslaughter or Murder.
  Manslaughter / Murder
  Manslaughter is used when there is no obvious
  prior intent to kill, Murder when there is. A
  bungled robbery where the victim ends up
  getting shot is more likely to be charged as
  Manslaughter. Any Shiver or Operative death is
  always charged as Murder.
  Follow up investigations for both Manslaughter
  and Murder are expensive and resource heavy
  for Shivers, sometimes their Station House may
  sponsor a White if a Murder looks to be too
  complex or involving a ‘higher’ level of culprit
  than they’d care to deal with. Bribes to escape
  Manslaughter are expensive, but not impossibly
  so, ranging from 40,000u to 60,000u, this will
  normally either get the charge dropped or
  commuted to one of Assault, this depends on
  how much forensic evidence has to be buried.
  Murder charges are seldom open to negotiation
  unless the victim’s relatives or immediate
  business associates are open to the idea, even
  then the rates are extortionate, ranging from
  80,000u to 300,000u depending upon the case
  to be ‘bungled’.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Crimes of Subversion
  SLA Industries reserves this charge for those
  who are seen to be working directly against the
  ‘interests’ of SLA Industries or one of it’s
  licensed subsidiaries.
  Usually brought against either Soft Companies,
  gangs or other organised criminals, it can never
  be bribed away and will always entail a BPN
  being issued, either before a charge is brought,
  or once the culprit is in custody. The charge is
  more common than SLA would like, and there
  will be a general trend towards reserving it for
  those that need to be shut down in large scale
  actions, or removed through shows of strength
  and violence. Shivers rarely bring Subversion
  charges, it is usually left to Op’s and IA agents,
  Cloak never bring Subversion charges, though
  they will sanction investigations (if Cloak
  believe you are a Subversive; you are already
  dead.)
  Courts
  Once charges have been brought, and the
  accused is in custody, is there a process of trial
  by court and/or jury? We would suggest there
  must be. The alternative to this occurs when
  SLA are a ‘Big Brother’ style state, who
  assume guilt of the accused with their arrest,
  but this may make the Shivers too powerful,
  unless you only allow arrest by Operatives.
  Courts need not be the elaborate affairs we
  know of, they can be simplified both in process
  and in function.
  Jury trials are reserved for: Arson and Murder.
  In all other cases the Prosecution and the
  Defence each have a full day to present their
  evidence to a Council of Judges, three experts
  at law, who will decide on the outcome of the
  case. Once the decision has been reached, there
  can be no appeal, and any sentence or fine is
  carried out with immediate effect.
  Jury trials are presided over by two Judges and
  a Jury of 12 men/women. The trial always has a
  time limit of two weeks, after which time the
  jury will be instructed to retire and consider /
  reach their verdict. There are no hung juries
  and if necessary the two Judges will make the
  decision. There is a right of appeal from Jury
  trial, which must be lodged and held within two
  months of the original trial; appeals are rare,
  and almost never succeed.
  Trials 
  are 
  expensive 
  business 
  and 
  the
  Prosecution are expected to never bring a case
  they can not win, to this end more charges are
  dropped than taken to court.
  P u n i s h m e n t
  Once a defendant has been found guilty, they
  are offered a choice in how they ‘pay’ for their
  crime.
  Fines and Work Orders are split 50/50 between
  the victim (if alive) or the next of kin and SLA
  Industries, with work being carried out at the
  instruction of the survivor or their relatives.
  Where a crime has a list of alternative
  punishments, the guilty party has the choice of
  which they accept as their punishment.
  Vandalism.
  Fine: 1,000u – 10,000u.
  Work Order: 3 - 20 days service (make good
  vandalism, longer if needed up to max. of 90
  days).
  Petty Theft.
  Fine: 2,000u – 5,000u.
  Work Order: 3 - 10 days service.
  Grand Theft.
  Fine: 10,000u – 100,000u.
  Work Order: 30 - 90 days service
  Imprisonment: 1 year.
  Arson.
  Fine: 100,000u.
  Work Order: 360 days service
  Imprisonment: 3 years.
  Common Assault.
  Fine: 1,000u – 10,000u.
  Work Order: 10 - 30 days service
  Armed Assault.
  Fine: 5,000u – 50,000u.
  Work Order: 30 - 180 days service
  Imprisonment: 1 year.
  Manslaughter.
  Fine: 10,000u – 50,000u.
  Work Order: 360 days service
  Imprisonment: 2 years.
  Murder.
  Work Order: 1,800 days service
  Imprisonment: 10 years.
  Death by lethal injection.
  Subversion.
  Work Order: 3,600 days service.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Death by lethal injection.
  Fines.
  Fines must be paid within five days of the
  guilty judgement being made, during which
  time the guilty are held within cells at a Shiver
  Station. Fines are usually paid in uni’s though
  credits are acceptable. The fine is split 50/50
  with the victim or their next of kin surviving
  relative and SLA Industries. Where the ‘victim’
  is a SLA Dept. the whole of the fine goes to
  that Dept.
  Work Orders.
  The guilty party is put to work for the duration
  of the Work Order, watched over by either a
  Warden from the Department of Works, or a
  Shiver. During the nights they are locked in a
  holding cell at a Shiver Station. The work they
  carry out must be beneficial to both the victim
  (or nearest surviving kin) and SLA Industries.
  If the guilty choose a Work Order and the
  victim has no appropriate (or possible work)
  SLA may use the guilty person to work for
  them and offer the victim cash in lieu of the
  work; this however is rare with most victims
  choosing the dirtiest, most dangerous job they
  can think of, and SLA having many such jobs
  that need doing both in factories and on the
  streets (and below in the sewers).
  Imprisonment.
  SLA places it’s criminal prisoners in large jails
  usually situated in Industrial Sectors or off
  world on moons. The prisoners are made to
  work during the day but are never brought in to
  contact with ‘outside citizens’. While in prison,
  they have no ‘rights’ and are treated as animals,
  made to produce the best they can and subject
  to the harsh regime of lockdown and physical
  punishment should they transgress any of the
  many rules of the jail. There is no segregation
  within any SLA Prison, and there is no
  ‘protective custody’, so the likes of the Skin
  Trade operators are placed along side Serial
  Killers and ‘concerned citizens’. The mortality
  rate of inmates is high, with a 20% fatality rate
  among prisoners. Some prisoners may be
  offered shorter terms if they ‘volunteer’ for
  certain SLA ‘experiments’ and ‘missions’.
  Watched at all times by Enforcer Shivers,
  prisoners become dehumanised and brutalised
  by the prison regime; SLA does not care, it
  seeks to punish not to rehabilitate through
  prisons.
  Death Penalty.
  You may choose to ignore the death penalty,
  either through moral reasons (arguing that it is
  fundamentally wrong to take human life), or
  through 
  economic 
  reasons 
  (waste 
  of 
  a
  ‘resource’ that can be enslaved and used to
  work for SLA.)
  SLA Industries reasoning behind their use of
  the death penalty is simple: it’s cheaper than
  jail, it solves a problem once and for all.
  The fact that SLA reserves the death penalty for
  only two crimes also means they can avoid the
  ‘hung for a horse as much as a sheep’
  mentality.
  And remember: this is the ‘systemised’ use of
  the death penalty, through the ‘justice’ system
  of courts, lawyers, Shivers and Judges. This is
  not the same as Termination Warrants issued
  by SLA Departments to target a specific
  individual for the good of the company.
  The death penalty may be chosen by the guilty
  party and is only very rarely imposed by the
  court: usually in the case of Subversives or
  particularly high profile Serial Killer cases
  where the public demands it.
  Street Justice
  Outside of the ‘official’ channels of justice is
  the Street Justice of citizens and Shivers.
  Revenge is sweet and the WoP has a sweet
  tooth.
  Paid hits are fairly common in Downtown, with
  the local gang or Soft Co. providing the muscle,
  so citizens often form groups, committees and
  ‘tenants associations’ to raise funds for their
  protection. Vigilante groups and individuals are
  common place, sometimes becoming the bane
  of the local gang or Props. Then there’s always
  the Shivers. The Soft Co. Hit & Run (issue 13
  TBP) is an excellent example of how justice
  can be taken to the streets.
  Ultimately though most citizens learn the
  golden rule of Mort very early on in their lives;
  prevention is better than cure. To this end, most
  (if not all) arm themselves with what they can,
  be it a knife, club, knuckle duster or gun. There
  are very few ‘soft targets’ on Mort, and in
  Downtown there is virtually no ‘casual’ crime
  to speak of; it’s all organised and sanctioned by
  one of the many crime syndicates of the Sector
  or it does not take place, the gang bosses are
  only too well aware of how mean the average
  citizen is, and how a spark can ignite a flame
  that may well burn the Sector to the ground.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Shopkeepers have a gun, every home has at
  least one gun, Soft Co.’s and the ‘roaming’
  businesses have their own muscle, and the
  gangs and crime syndicates have their ‘muscle’.
  There would seem to be no such thing as the
  ‘average, innocent’ citizen. In the dark world of
  the WoP, people have learned there is no one to
  help them but themselves. Everyone looks out
  for number one, each according to their own
  moral code. As the song goes; “there is no
  Justice; Just us.”
  N E V E R   M I N D   T H E
  P I G
  S L I G G S
  Where Sliggs came from and how long they
  have been on Mort remains a complete
  mystery. Very little is actually known about
  these loathsome creatures by anybody, there is
  a growing awareness within SLA that one of
  the SLA Departments, probably the Dept. of
  the Environment, is going to have to start
  issuing BPN’s to find out more about the
  disgusting, black beasts in order for SLA to
  begin some kind of control program.
  Sliggs can be found in any environment where
  there is water or moisture; which is basically
  everywhere on Mort. They seem to thrive on
  pollution and can cope with great extremes in
  temperature with no noticeable affect.
  Word on the Street is that Sliggs are originally
  from Kn’nth, brought to Mort by Chapter
  Seven as a kind of ‘punishment’ for the
  mistreatment of the Shaktar Homeworld by
  SLA. Wherever they’re from, one things for
  sure, they’re here to stay, and unless they can
  be controlled, they could threaten to spread all
  over Mort in truly epidemic proportions.
  A p p e a r a n c e
  Sliggs vary in length and girth from 30cm to
  200cm long, and 5cm to 40cm across their
  middles. They look like giant slugs with a set of
  ‘antennae’ at each end of their body, which
  they use to sense their environment. They move
  like a snail or slug, having a single, muscular
  ‘foot’ along the bottom of their body. They
  move at anything from 1cm to 5cm per round,
  depending upon size. They leave a horrible trail
  of viscous mucous behind them wherever they
  go. Their skin is universally black, with a light
  brown edge around the bottom near their
  stomach muscle. The ends of their antennae
  glow a putrid yellow, giving off a faint
  luminescence that can be quite bright where
  Sliggs gather in their thousand.
  P h y s i c a l   A t t r i b u t e s
  Sliggs are a-sexual, they can reproduce without
  any sexual contact, there are no apparent
  ‘males’ or ‘females’ of the species. When they
  do lay eggs, they lay between 1-3000 at a time,
  most of which are eaten by numerous natural
  predators like small rodents, etc. The eggs look
  like tiny green peas, glistening with a protective
  mucous, they stick to wherever they are laid
  until they hatch; newborn Sliggs are between 3-
  6cm long. They grow at a phenomenal rate
  until they reach their optimum size, which is
  governed by their environment; food supply,
  heat, light, air sources, the better the
  environment the bigger they get. Sliggs can
  either live on their own or in huge colonies
  numbering thousands, rumours of millions of
  Sliggs infesting some of the larger chambers of
  Lower Downtown are rife.
  Stats.
  Min.
  Max.
  Length
  30cm
  300cm
  Weight
  1kg
  60kg
  STR
  1
  5
  DEX
  1
  3
  Hits
  5
  30
  Movement
  1cm
  5cm
  ‘Weapon’
  PEN
  DMG / AD
  Acidic Slime
  0
  6 / 6 (per exposure /
  ‘dose’ left for 1 round to dissolve it’s target)
  Natural ArmourPV
  I.D.
  Skin
  8
  30 
  / 
  300 
  (size
  dependent)
  Sliggs eat anything. They ingest the tiny
  amounts of food they require by smothering the
  vegetable/decaying material with their acidic
  slime and then sucking in the liquefied
  nutrients through the ‘foot’ muscle. The acidic
  slime takes one round to inflict 6 DMG, Sliggs
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  can produce 100 ‘doses’ of the slime for every
  1kg they weigh.
  Sliggs have a life span of 60 to 180 days, their
  bodies dissolve to a stinking mush once they
  die.
  S l i g g s   I n   T h e   G a m e
  All very well, I hear you say…. but so what?
  Well.
  Sliggs can drop on to an Op from anywhere,
  and will start to ‘dissolve’ the armour / cloth /
  skin as potential food as soon as they land.
  Sliggs grip with a mixture of the glue in their
  slime and suction, their ‘victim’ needs to make
  an opposed STR roll to remove them, one
  attempt per round (not phase) as they are
  notoriously slippery and hard to get a grip on.
  Sliggs have a preference for Dark Lament
  material, and they find Deathsuits irresistible,
  seemingly being able to sense them from up to
  100m away, moving towards them with a
  sluggish determination.
  The body chemistry of a live Sligg is very
  strange, and can be used to produce a
  disturbing narcotic experience. If a live Sligg is
  put in to a Bong (Hubbly Bubbly Pipe) and
  smoked, the resulting narcotic experience is
  much like Alice, but with no chance for
  addiction and no Detox. The main problem is
  the tough nature of the Sliggs skin, their soggy
  innards and the creatures unwillingness to burn.
  More damage is done to the smoker from the
  fumes of the combustible agent used to ‘light’
  the Sligg, than from the animals burning body.
  Burning Sliggs give off a terrible foul odor and
  make a very high pitched, shrieking, whining
  noise. Smoking Sliggs has been classed as a
  ‘Class 1’ Narcotic Offence, resulting in a fine
  of 300u and an SCL decrease of 0.1.
  T R A A L
  Intercepted bulletin, believed to have been
  transmitted 
  from 
  the 
  roving 
  DarkNight
  Broadcast Unit ‘Tiger 1’, picked up by Third
  Eye Relay Station in Suburbia Sector 298,
  Mort, 903 SD.
  *++*Message Begins+**+ (AdVent Content
  Approved).
  Bulletin Origin: Cell 32.
  Time Sent: 23:50, December 30th, 903 SD.
  Encoding: Advent (version 2.6), receding
  playback.
  Message Reads: Enclosed report on Traal,
  species under examination for possible mass
  migration to Mort from Taalus IV Resource
  World.
  Report compiled by Dr. Susan Chambers, head
  of SLA Research Facility ‘Green Belt’.
  “The Traal are indigenous to Taalus IV, and we
  believe unique to this Homeworld environment.
  Every test subject transferred to any other
  temperature range has died within a week.
  Subjects die from ‘drowning’ in their own
  bodily fluids, which appear to gather and
  saturate the ‘lungs’ instead of being passed
  through the system.
  Appearance: The Traal stand bipedal, ranging
  from 1.5m to 2m tall. They have a very hard,
  chitinous exo-skeleton akin to that of an Ant. In
  appearance they are indistinguishable from a
  ‘walking Ant’. Their skin colouring is always
  the same; pale Blue.
  Physical Attributes: Traal are capable of lifting
  up to twenty times their own body weight, and
  leaping up to ten times their own height. They
  travel on four or two legs, depending upon
  terrain. They have only four senses, having (as
  far as we can tell) absolutely no sense of taste.
  Traal can only eat semi-liquefied food, and use
  their mandibles for crushing to a pulp anything
  they intend to eat. They need to eat only
  occasionally, though they do have a great thirst.
  A hungry Traal will kill and eat anything it can
  get it’s claws and jaws to. They are Omnivores,
  but resort to vegetation only in emergencies,
  preferring meat.
  Mental Capacity / Social Attributes: Traal
  appear to have the intelligence level of a large
  feline, but with the jumbled up sense of
  purpose of an insect; they can be machine like
  in their pursuit of prey and a mate, and this may
  turn out to be their greatest weakness.
  Generally Traal are solitary creatures, only
  seeking out other Traal to mate, which they do
  twice in their life cycle. Traal lay eggs when
  they are a year old and at three years old; they
  live to an age of four. The eggs are left to fend
  for themselves after laying, and hatch after 30
  days. The main problem we are having with
  classifying the Traal is placing them within the
  food chain. They appear to be ideally suited to
  head the eco-system, but do not seek to build
  either permanent dwellings, nests or hives.
  They remain nomadic for the whole period of
  their lives, neither claiming or respecting any
  territorial boundaries.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  *++*Message Ends+**+ (AdVent Tag -
  1197468444).
  DarkNight have brought upwards of a thousand
  Traal to Mort, releasing them in to the upper
  reaches of Downtown.
  Stats.
  Min.
  Max.
  Height
  1m
  2m
  Weight
  40kg
  70kg
  STR
  8
  13
  DEX
  8
  15
  Hits
  20
  40
  Movement
  Walk; 1. Run; 4. Sprint; 8.
  (Traal can only Run or Sprint on a ratio of 1 in
  5 with Walking, and never two consecutive
  turns at each speed.
  ‘Weapon’
  PEN
  DMG
  AD
  Mandibles (Bite)
  6
  6
  2
  Claws (X4)
  4
  4
  1
  Natural ArmourPV
  I.D.
  Exo-Skin
  12
  30 (any location)
  Skills: Detect 6, Swim 8, Climb 8, Unarmed
  Combat 8, Dodge 8, Survival 8.
  Traal regenerate at a rate of 2 Hits per ‘turn’,
  they do not suffer from ‘wounds’.
  W h e r e   T h e   T r a a l   L i v e
  Traal are particularly sensitive to temperature,
  they need to live in a range similar to that of
  their Homeworld; 32-40 degrees C. If they find
  themselves getting cooler or warmer, they will
  take urgent action to raise / lower their body
  temperature, if they can’t they will die within
  30 hours of being out of the nominal
  temperature range. With this in mind, the Traal
  need to live in well regulated areas, where there
  are not going to be any drastic changes in
  temperature. To this end they usually end up
  either deep underground or near to power
  sources such as Power Plants or the larger
  factories.
  Traal are nomadic by nature and when they are
  restricted to an area for their survival, they get
  very aggressive and ‘touchy'’ being ready to
  attack without provocation.
  The bestial, pragmatic nature of the Traal
  means they maybe thought of as no more a
  nuisance than a Pig or Gator, their massive
  STR and DEX however, make them more than
  ‘soft opponents’, and they can be a real danger
  if encountered unexpectedly.
  Karma, and Phantom Pregnancy in particular,
  are trying to graft some kind of ‘sentience’ in to
  the Traal, loosely based on the Domino Dog
  development, in an attempt to make the Traal in
  to a form of mechanised warrior, ideal for
  many War Worlds. So far all attempts have
  failed….
  E Q U I P M E N T
  W h o l e   E q u i p m e n t   S e c t i o n
  W r i t t e n   B y : C h r i s   C o t g r o v e
  S L A   S h i v e r   F a s t   R e s p o n s e
  V e h i c l e
  “Red BPN’s are a pain in the ass, good money,
  chance for some groovy action, but how often
  can you get through a Sector in time to really
  make a difference? Shit, heavy traffic has cost
  me more cred.’s than all the Soft Co.’s put
  together….”
  Jacob Lorr, Human I&I Op with squad
  ‘LiteFire’, Mort 903 SD.
  Produced by SLA to be used by Squads
  responding to Code Red BPN's in an attempt to
  increase response time.
  Due to the nature of a Code Red, squads need
  some sort of high-speed transportation so that
  they can arrive at the scene before everything is
  all over.  Kilcopters are too expensive to use in
  these situations, and ground vehicles (such as
  Battle Taxis) are inappropriate in other cases.
  The SFRV is an airborne VTOL vehicle,
  capable of hovering, with a capacity of 8
  people (Stormers count as 2); it requires a crew
  of 1 pilot: usually, SLA assigns a specially
  trained Shiver Officer.
   SFRV pilots have a reputation amongst Ops as
  being daredevils and speed freaks, and taking
  extraordinary risks, such as dodging between
  the walkways of Downtown at 500 kph.
  Fortunately, SFRV pilots are skilled enough to
  pull this off.  (Don't try this at home, kids.)
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  In some cases, a briefing officer will travel with
  the Squad to provide an en-route briefing of the
  situation.
  The SFRV is armoured, to withstand assaults
  from DarkNight personnel who often attempt to
  prevent the deployment of Op’s who are
  responding to a Code Red.
  It carries a light defensive armament; the SFRV
  is built for speed, not for sustained combat.
  Cloak Division have also been known to use
  SFRV's, to arrive at the scene of "incidents"
  before anyone else, as have several high level
  SCL Operatives.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Max. Speed:  500 kmh/h (80m/phase)
  PV: 15  ID: 300
  Acc. / Dec.:  10
  Weight: 3 tonnes
  Turning Circle: 80 flying; 0 hovering.
  Cost: 300,000c
  Crew:   1 pilot
  Passengers:  8
  Skill:    Pilot, Military
  Movement:   Fusion Turbine
  Armament: Ball mounted FEN Power Reaper,
  with internal 1000  round ammunition bin.
  S L A   H o l o g r a p h i c
  C o m m u n i c a t o r s
  SLA 
  Industries 
  has 
  many 
  ways 
  of
  communicating with its countless employees
  and Operatives; in recent years, holographic
  communicators have become popular, as they
  allow the sender to observe the receivers
  reactions to their message.
  “Just when I was getting the hang of lying over
  the phone…. sums up my luck completely….
  and you can’t hide where you are either….
  what kind of idiot would invent something like
  this? The military? Figures…. “
  Lisa Cordoza, Human Strike Squad Op with
  ‘WetWork’, Mort 903 SD.
  The 
  concept 
  of 
  portable 
  holographic
  communication was originally a development
  of military technology on War Worlds,
  allowing faster relay of orders between base
  commanders and units in the field.
  SLA Industries, realising the potential for
  profit, simply made their outdated technology
  available to the open market.
  Holographic communiqués can also be sent via
  existing fibre-optic cable networks (also known
  as optical or optronic networks), if a link is
  provided (usually by a Chippy Lead).
  The 
  featured 
  holo-communicator 
  is
  manufactured by HoloCom, a specialised,
  wholly owned subsidiary of SLA Industries.
  To date, they are the foremost producer of
  commercial holographic projectors.
  Large scale holocommunication suites do exist
  (one example is the HoloCom "Executive").
  However, they are prohibitively expensive, and
  limited to the rich, the influential and the
  military.
  Large scale holocommunicators are used
  aboard some FoldShips as a form of intership
  and orbit-to-ground communications.
  Operatives above SCL can access the SLA
  HoloNet on Mort; however, a "reduced" charge
  of 5 c per minute is enforced,  and use is
  limited to transmission of business messages
  only.
  (Special dispensation is required for the
  transmission of personal messages - contact
  Department of Forms for more information).
  H o l o C o m   P 1 0 0   P o r t a b l e
  This unit (no larger than a laptop computer)
  provides the Operative in the field with the
  capability to transmit and receive top-quality
  holographic communications.
  It incorporates a small video camera and an
  omnidirectional audio recorder, along with a
  miniaturised holographic projector, which all
  flip back into handy recesses when not in use.
  Provided in a durable. lightweight casing, the
  P100 is more than capable of taking wear and
  tear - essential for all equipment used by
  today's Operative.
  The monochrome hologram produced by the
  P100 is approximately 30-50 cm in height (this
  can be adjusted to a larger size, but please be
  advised that image quality may suffer).  The
  range of the portable unit is limited; links into
  an existing optical communications network are
  achieved through the use of a Chippy Lead
  provided with your P100.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  The basic unit also includes the capacity to
  record and playback images stored on a
  dataslug.
  The P100 is available in a range of colours,
  from Camouflage to Day-Glo Orange; we
  ensure that as well as providing you with the
  facility for up-to-date communications, the
  HoloCom P100 looks good with your favourite
  armour or outfit too!
  HoloCom – “Ensuring that personal touch in
  today’s communications.”
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Cost: 100c
  Black Market Cost: 2000u
  Dimensions: 30 x 15 x 6 cm
  Range: 100m (to nearest network point)
  User Life: 5000 hours
  To connect a P100 into an existing optical
  network requires an Electronics Repair roll.
  The onboard power supply can be recharged
  from the standard SLA fusion recharger.
  The camera / microphone can be extended on a
  50cm retractable reel cable.
  The unit can produce full size holograms, but
  the image is grainy (it will just about fool a
  Carrien 
  or 
  Carnivorous 
  Pig) 
  and 
  the
  transmission quality will break down, resulting
  in portions of the message being lost (GM's
  discretion).
  Please note that the HoloNet does not extend
  into some areas of Downtown, or the Cannibal
  Sectors.
  S L A   E n v i r o n m e n t   S u i t
  (T y p e   2)
  “We’ve been waiting a long time for this. Stone
  Rim Colonies here we come!”
  Mraw Chewgh, Wraith Operative with the
  Wraith Raider squad ‘WhiteStalk’, New Paris
  903 SD.
  Commonly used by employees all over the
  Known Universe who work in harsh or
  dangerous environments, the SLA Environment
  Suit is the result of an exclusive civil contract
  form Power Projects.
   Upgrading the old Type 1 Suit, the Type 2
  offers increased mobility and a light power
  chassis for heavy lifting work.
  The Type 2 provides a 2 hour air supply and air
  filtration/purification (filters need replacement
  every 12 hours of continuous use.)
  The suit is fully contained against radiation,
  aerobic and anaerobic viruses and biological
  organisms, and is resistant to most corrosive
  substances / atmospheres.
  It boasts automatic temperature adjustment
  (Wraith Raiders love this suit!), helmet HUD,
  antidazzle visor and shoulder lights as standard.
  Options include a biomonitor/tracking device,
  and a sensor pack for exploration missions.
  A mining version of the Type 2 is available,
  with a six-hour internal air supply.
  Please note that although the suit is resistant to
  extremes of temperature, it will not stand up to
  prolonged exposure to flame throwers, napalm
  cannons, or immersion in liquid nitrogen.
  Larger suits are available for Shaktars &
  Stormers.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  PV: 5. ID: Head 10, Torso 20, Arms 15, Legs
  17.
  +1 to users effective STR for purposes of
  lifting / carrying purposes; -2 negative modifier
  for combat and movement, due to the minor
  encumbrance of the suit.
  Cost:  Standard - 1000c.  Mining – 1,500c
  E b o n   F i n a n c e   C h i p   V a r i a n t
  –  T h e   ‘W a t c h e r’
  W r i t t e n   B y  :  A d r i a n   B a k e r
  A n d   C h r i s   C o t g r o v e
  “This has to be a joke right?”
  Turmoil, Brain Waster Op with squad ‘Dark
  Down’, Mort 903 SD.
  Karma's 
  recent 
  research 
  into 
  biogenetic
  telepathy whilst working on the Janus 2225
  Stormer variant (designed by Dr Taro Toyama)
  also prompted Dark Lament to re-evaluate a
  design of a Finance Chip variant for Ebb-using
  Operatives.
  A standard chip cannot be implanted into an
  Ebon due to their connection to the Ebb; flux
  permeates their entire body, and causes
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  biogenetic implants to be harmlessly rejected
  and destroyed.
  Dark Lament have created their "chip" to
  interface not with the brain of an Ebon, but
  with their DeathSuit.
  First, a genetic sample is taken from the Ebon
  who is to receive the implant, along with a
  minute fragment of their DeathSuit (which is
  easily 
  regenerated). 
   
  Science 
  Friction
  techniques then shape the implant from these
  samples and saturate it with flux, to give it a
  kind of "life".
  It is then fitted to the DeathSuit in the same
  manner as other Dark Lament technology.
  “Dark Lament are not making themselves any
  friends with shit like this I can tell you. Like
  they care.”
  Jag, Ebon I&I Operative with squad ‘Neon’,
  Mort 903 SD.
  The bond between the implant and the
  DeathSuit prevents an Ebon from disposing of
  it; to do so, they would have to shed their suit.
  Not 
  only 
  would 
  this 
  cause 
  immense
  psychological distress, but would result in the
  loss of all Ebb abilities due to lack of an
  equation accelerator.
  Upon implantation, the Ebon begins to receive
  the standard 200c/month bonus for a Chipped
  Op.
  When interviewed, Karma consultant Dr
  Maxon Hagen (creator of the "Domino Dog")
  was noted to voice his approval of the EFC
  project:
  "I'm all in favour of keeping an eye on the
  Ebon population; why should the human race
  be kept under scrutiny when these "truth-
  seekers" get away scot-free?  We all know what
  curiosity did to the cat - now we'll get the
  chance to see if it'll do the same to the Ebons."
  D e s i g n   N o t e s   &   G a m e   S y s t e m
  S t u f f
  Taken from notes of Dr. Adriana Baxter (SCL
  7 Dept. Ebb), consulting Dark Lament
  Technician on ‘Watcher’ project, addressed to
  Ms. Christine Greenback (SCL 5), design
  consultant on loan from Phase Inc. for the
  Watcher Project, Not for re-use or distribution
  without express permission of Head Office.
  “So what do you think Christine?  There are of
  course, several things we've stumbled across
  whilst working on this:
  First is the fact that no Ebon or Brain Waster
  would accept this implant willingly.  Ebons
  value their privacy a lot, and would probably
  go nuts, and Brain Wasters get up to things on a
  regular basis that they wouldn't want others to
  see, ESPECIALLY the Company...
  Personally, I think that the implant works best
  as a form of punishment, perhaps for being too
  inquisitive or causing lots of collateral damage.
  The offender would be implanted for a
  probationary period and their activities assessed
  as loyal Operatives and as Ebb-users under
  Dark Lament. If they manage to get through the
  probationary period without black marks, the
  implant is removed. If not... well I'll leave it to
  your imagination.
  Secondly is the use of the Implant by
  Necanthropes and undercover Dark Lament
  sponsored Operatives, who would be able to
  interdermalise it within their Deathsuit (the
  normal version is going to be constantly visible
  - either as an eye set into the chest / shoulder of
  the suit, as a literal "third eye" set in the
  forehead area or as a series of audio-visual
  sensory organs placed over the suit's surface.)
  The actual appearance of the implant is also
  another matter for some debate - we've
  narrowed it down to the following - any
  suggestions?:
   a) a series of audio-visual organs placed over
  the suit's surface.
   b) a black lidless eye, with a wet, slimy look to
  it.
   c) a slitted eye (like a cat or a snake).
   d) a black eye that blinks every so often.
  Another thing is that eventually the implant
  could actually turn out to be sentient, in a
  similar way to a Necanthrope's Gore Cannon,
  or serves as a psychic link to a Dark Lament
  observer (either an Ebon or Necanthrope
  assigned to watch over the Watchers host).
  The ‘powers that be’ actually wanted it to leech
  Flux from the wearer to operate, and also
  wanted Ebons with the implant to be able to
  store Flux within it to access later - I'm not sure
  about this idea, as it strikes me as a dangerous
  road to go down. As it stands at the moment,
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  the Watcher leeches flux from the character
  while they are asleep (1-3 per night), or when
  they wake every day if none was available
  during the night.
  Something that just occurred to me is what
  would happen if an Operative who received this
  implant went into the White, and underwent
  metamorphosis into a Necanthrope. What
  would be visible to Dark Lament at the other
  end?
  I am not too keen to take up the offers from
  Cloak Division for collaboration on both ‘test
  subjects’ and the monitoring facilities, I believe
  the project should remain firmly ‘in house’ as a
  Dark Lament only administered technology.
  With the imminent release of the final designs
  for approval by Head Office, I would
  appreciate your thoughts on all matters raised,
  maybe we could discuss it over dinner? Give
  me a call.”
  Head Office Inter-Departmental Memo:
  To: All SLA Department Heads.
  SCL Clearance: 4+.
  Subject: Watcher Enhancement.
  From: Mr Slayer.
  Message Reads:
  “I understand there has been some doubt
  voiced, both in private and in public, as to the
  ‘useful’ nature of the Watcher Enhancement.
  To be clear: The Watcher Project was
  instigated at my specific request. I expect to
  receive every Departments fullest co-operation
  in the implementation of the Project. Any
  individuals that feel they will be unable to offer
  their full co-operation, should feel free to
  submit themselves to any Dept. Psyche
  Evaluation Unit for re-assignment on mental
  health grounds. Watcher will be a success. The
  Ebon race is no different to any other within the
  WoP, their ongoing loyalty and dedication is
  not being questioned. And neither are my
  methods.
  Thank you for your time and attention.”
  Response: 
  Please 
  sign 
  and 
  return
  acknowledgement of receipt and understanding
  of this communiqué.
  S O F T   C O M P A N I E S
  B L U E    M O O N
  Company Motto: “Need a helping hand? Have
  a drink on us.”
  Blue Moon appeared on the streets in markets
  and in Malls about three months ago, with over
  a hundred ‘franchised’ operations springing up
  in this time. Each is a one person outfit, selling
  from a mobile ‘still’ or a make shift ‘stand’.
  Recently there has been a spate of Blue Moon
  inspired parties and gatherings on the street,
  involving both citizens and gang members,
  with most of the booze being supplied free of
  charge by Blue Moon.
  Most Blue Moon bartenders are streetwise and
  stay local to one area. The service they provide
  is valued by the locals and the Shivers are
  prone to taking their customary bribes in either
  uni’s or Blue Moon product.
  Blue Moon have a high street presence at the
  moment, sponsoring graffiti art advertising
  campaigns in all of the sectors they operate in.
  The street rep. of Blue Moon is high, with their
  bartenders being given free range of the sectors,
  freeing them from the constraints of gang
  bribes and the Monarch shakedowns.
  There is a general feeling that Blue Moon are a
  very necessary addition to the ‘free trading
  markets’ of the Mort economy. Most citizens
  will simply buy booze from the cheapest
  supplier, and the quality of Blue Moon product
  is high.
  Anyone giving the Blue Moon bartenders any
  trouble is quickly jumped on by any and all
  local citizens in the area. Any Op’s associated
  with hassling Blue Moon will immediately gain
  Bad Rep. with the local citizenry, maybe even
  the local Shivers (through the inevitable
  disturbances they will cause).
  The main Product of Blue Moon comes in two
  forms; Moonshine and Tilt. Moonshine is a
  very powerful, smooth, dark brown, sweet
  spirit, with the kick of a mule and the after
  affect of a deep sleep. Tilt is a fizzy yellow
  beer, akin to Slosh in texture and taste but with
  a sweet smell of Lemon. It takes 5-8 shots of
  Moonshine and 4-6 cans of Tilt to get most
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  normal drinkers out of their skull. 1 ‘shot’ of
  Moonshine is roughly 50ml, one can of Tilt is
  330ml.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Moonshine
  Game Effects: Extreme drunkenness, possibly
  hallucination.
  Addiction: -1 PHYS per 10.
  Detox. Effects: -1 DEX, -1 STR, -1 CONC.
  Addiction: 1 bottle per day (30 shots).
  Cost: 2u per shot (50u per bottle).
  Tilt
  Game Effects: Extreme drunkenness.
  Addiction: -1 PHYS per 20.
  Detox. Effects: -1 CONC, -1 DIA, -1 CHAR.
  Addiction: 8 cans per day.
  Cost: 5u per can.
  The key ingredient in both Moonshine and Tilt
  is a chemical called Bichlorozine, a kind of
  sedative with qualities related to Alice.
  The main chemical plant for Blue Moon’s
  production of Biochlorozine is deep in
  Downtown Sector 811, two blocks away from
  the perimeter wall with Cannibal Sector Three.
  From this plant, the huge quantities of booze
  are shipped out by the van and lorry load. The
  main production plant also supplies the raw
  materials for the numerous small ‘stills’ that
  spring up in each Sector to support the local
  bartender and their trade. Local stills are often
  run by the bartender and one or two helpers,
  usually with the protection of a local Prop or
  gang.
  B e h i n d   T h e   B l u e   M o o n
  Blue Moon is financed and run by two SLA
  Operatives. Keith O’Mally (‘Hawk’) and
  Timothy McPherson (‘ShowTime’), both I&I
  Op’s SCL 4. They carry on their own careers as
  a duo of very successful Contract Killers, while
  funding and organising the Blue Moon
  activities. There is a little known, secretive club
  within SLA that both Keith and Timothy
  belong to. The ‘League of Marketing’ is made
  up from sixty wealthy SLA Operatives, each
  rich enough to ‘fund’ either Soft Co.’s or gangs
  as a form of high class mischief making. Each
  member of the League tries to out do the others
  for longevity and scale of response from SLA.
  The main problem is that Blue Moon have
  become so successful that the Soft Company
  may well soon be the target of a ‘buy out’ by
  SLA, and in order for this to happen the
  backers must be known, which would place
  both Keith and Timothy in untenable positions.
  The current turnover of Blue Moon is running
  in to hundreds of thousands of credits per
  month, with most going back in to the growth
  of the organisation. It wont be long, perhaps
  one or two months, before the two Op’s will
  need to devote all of their time to the Soft Co.,
  or will have to sell it off, possibly to
  DarkNight, lock stock and barrel.
  From their experience as Op’s, Keith and
  Timothy have set Blue Moon up using all of the
  knowledge they have gained from shutting
  down or tracing and sabotaging other Soft
  Co.’s, hence the structure of Blue Moon is
  pretty water tight, making the success of the
  company inevitable, at least in the short term.
  How Hawk and ShowTime handle the growth
  and success of Blue Moon can be left up to you
  and your WoP, maybe they will fake their own
  deaths at the hands of another Softie, maybe
  they will simply sell out.
  S C R I B E
  Street Slogan: “Is it real or is it Scribe?”
  Scribe were established eleven weeks ago and
  operate exclusively from Suburban Sector 532.
  They have a fairly low street level presence,
  mainly running their business from the Malls of
  the Sector, touring with their mobile Scribe
  Shop, visiting different Malls on different days,
  advertised the day before on local radio and
  through leaflets and street gangs.
  With the ever increasing beaurocracy of SLA,
  Scribe offer a much needed service for the out
  of pocket citizen, supplying anything from a
  Pet Permit to a Travel Pass to a Driving or
  Vehicle License. If it’s a permit, license or
  form, then Scribe can supply it, at a fraction of
  the cost of the real thing.
  The quality of Scribe’s work is outstanding,
  which is why they are thought of so highly by
  their clients, and why they are becoming such a
  thorn in the side for SLA.
  Shivers and Monarch hate Scribe with a
  passion, and will pay dearly to gain information
  on the Soft Co., the passes and permits they
  supply are making the law enforcement
  agencies lives a hell, as citizens apparently
  have the right paperwork in seemingly
  impossible circumstances. It is draining a lot of
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  much needed resource to carry out in depth
  checks of paperwork, which adds to the work
  load of the already over stretched Shivers.
  Citizens love Scribe. The Soft Co. has the full
  support of all elements of Sector 532, from
  shop keepers to cab drivers, from gang
  members to unemployed down and outs,
  everyone appreciates the service and the chance
  to pay less for the necessities of life.
  Nobody really knows who or how many people
  work for Scribe, as the only contact Joe public
  has is with the touring Scribe Shops, which are
  usually manned by three people, two salesmen
  and one back up, usually a Prop.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Scribe are backed by DarkNight.
  Their main workshop is buried deep beneath
  the ruins of a disused chemical pant on the
  fringes of 532, where it borders the Upper
  Downtown Sector 640. The workshop is home
  to the eighteen ‘Scribes’ who produce the
  forgeries, together with all of their equipment;
  computers, printers, laminating and photo
  equipment. The hide out is always guarded by
  five DN Civilian Converts and one Espionage
  Agent, along with eight to twenty gangers and
  maybe two or three Props.
  The local gang, the ‘Blitzers’ have been
  thoroughly infiltrated by DN and are loyal to
  the needs of both DN and Scribe.
  Scribe consist of the following personnel:
  18 Scribes (forgers – manual and electronic).
  20 ‘Salesmen’ (use Civilian Convert bump
  SLA Info. to 6).
  12 Drivers / Guards (use Props.)
  20 Street Guides, touts and contacts for
  business, (use Mort Civilian).
  The local gang, the Blitzers, number around
  100, with each being armed with either a blade
  or a pistol. Their ‘colours’ consist of a pair of
  purple velvet trousers.
  W h a t ’ s   T h e   R e a l   F o r m ?
  The head of Scribe is Pablo Sanchez, an ex-
  Operative turned DarkNight Espionage Agent
  (use Human NPC pp143 – bump Pistol to 8,
  Business Administration to 8). Pablo goes by
  the Street Name of ‘PigPen’. Pablo’s strategy
  for running Scribe as a ‘business’ is paying off,
  and the deception that they are merely in it for
  the money is well founded in the financial
  success of the Soft Co., which has a turn over
  of roughly 30,000c a week.
  Scribe are being used by DN as an experiment.
  DN have a high level ‘mole’ within the SLA
  Dept. of Forms who feeds them blank templates
  of originals and can acquire other templates
  from both the Dept. of Administration and the
  Dept. of the Environment. The ‘copies’ that
  Scribe sell are quite often as genuine as any
  SLA document.
  DN intend to gauge the response from SLA to
  the counterfeit operation to see if it’s
  worthwhile implementing on a much larger
  scale, over the whole of Downtown. To this
  end, DN are prepared to sink quite a lot of
  resource in to keeping Scribe going.
  The DN backing of Scribe is a closely guarded
  secret. All DN personnel are acting as Soft Co.
  employees, making out the real motivation is
  purely financial. The Blitzers and the locals
  have no idea that DN are behind it all, though
  the gangs leader, ‘Shotgun’ Suzie Mann has her
  suspicions.
  Anyone investigating Scribe will get the full
  co-operation of the Shivers and the Monarch
  officers in the area, though they will suffer a
  Bad Rep. from all of the gangs and citizens of
  532.
  S c r i b e   P r i c e s
  The SLA forms, permits and licenses needed in
  any WoP will be dependent upon how the GM
  runs 
  SLA 
  and 
  where 
  the 
  monster 
  of
  beaurocracy sits in their vision of the WoP.
  Scribe will only deal in unis, street currency
  that they can launder through DN. Usually, a
  Scribe forgery will cost you between 10% and
  20% of the original; remember DN are over
  resourcing the Soft Co. so the prices are not
  truly reflective of the market and business
  requirements for the success of a ‘real’ Soft
  Co., which would have to sell at between 40%
  and 60% of the ‘true’ price to break even and
  make a profit.
  The pricing may be the first real clue as to the
  ‘true’ nature of Scribe.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  M E E T   N   G R E E T
  Bo Peep, the 714 Chagrin Operative, seconded
  to Karma, was interviewed by Frank Weiss
  during a break in the action at a siege at one of
  the LifeForce facilities in Suburbia Sector 592.
  All material is licensed to Inter-Com © 903
  SD. Eye 4 Inter-Com, a fully licensed
  subsidiary of Third Eye.
  FW: “Bo Peep, what’s happening here?”
  BP: “The outer buildings of the LifeForce
  complex have been struck, mortar fire, there are
  some terrorists in there now scavenging gear.
  How did you get here so fast? Where are the
  Shivers?”
  FW: “Shivers are three minutes away….”
  BP: “Shit. I see. You’d better find some cover
  then….”
  FW: “Are you going in? How many of them are
  there, who are they?”
  BP: “I think there are between eight and ten,
  classic DN strike pattern.”
  (Camera pans slowly over Bo Peep as he strains
  his muscles and flexes his limbs and tail….)
  FW: “Eight to ten? And you’re going in? Any
  last words….?”
  BP: (Frowns, looks puzzled,) “Last words? No.
  Wait here I will be back….”
  FW: “The small arms fire is pretty intense, they
  know you’re out here, and presumably know
  you’re coming in, is that the best plan you’ve
  got?”
  BP: “Yes.”
  FW: “Ah. OK.”
  BP: “I am trained for this, this is what I do,
  they do not stand a chance, besides, I can’t let
  them steal from my employers now can I?”
  FW: “Puts a blot on the old resume….”
  BP: (laughs) “Exactly…. wait here….”
  (Camera picks up a FEN 091 Farjacket that has
  ‘appeared’ in Bo Peeps hand, the 714 leaps out
  from behind the low wall and charges….
  camera pans to Frank Weiss….)
  FW: “Well, I guess we’ll just wait here then….
  it should be all over one way or the other,
  pretty soon.”
  (Small arms fire intensifies, interspersed with
  louder, larger calibre fire, then silence, then
  screams cut short, then more fire, then more
  screams, then pause, then loud explosion…. Bo
  Peep appears leaping over wall, smothering
  Frank Weiss and cameraman…. very large
  explosion…. debris hits camera….)
  FW: “What was that!”
  BP: “Booby traps around storage containers,
  dumb fuckers, they never learn do they?”
  FW: “You’ve got some heavy wounds there,
  you going to be OK? What happened?”
  BP: “One of the sneaky little shits had a stolen
  Blitzer.… some people, no morals….”
  FW: “How many were there?”
  BP: I got six, three killed in the explosion….
  there was another, but I think he was Feral, he
  disappeared…. but I know what he looks
  like….”
  FW: “Then I should think he’s a worried man.”
  BP: “I’ll do my best to keep him that way, but
  not for long.”
  FW: “Shivers are a minute away, thank you for
  the time and the brief chat. Can we meet again
  for a more ‘formal’ interview?”
  BP: “Sure, whatever. Maybe somewhere a little
  quieter?”
  FW: “That wouldn’t be too hard.”
  (Bo Peep grins to camera, leaps small wall and
  charges off in direction of burning facility….)
  FW: “And who said 714’s were stupid?
  Certainly not me…. Feral’s in league with DN,
  you heard it here first, stay tuned as we return
  to the studio for the second part of ‘Dominos
  Of Doom’.”
  Bo Peep: 714 Chagrin Stormer.
  SCL 7. Assigned to Karma.
  2.8m tall, weighs 180kg. Walk: 1, Run: 2,
  Sprint: 4. ‘Clamber’ (Climb): 2.
  Move: 103kg, Half M: 309kg, No M: 515kg.
  STR: 23, DEX: 15, DIA 5, CONC: 7, CHA 3,
  COOL: 15, PHYS: 19, KNOW: 6.
  Bo Peep has Level 3 Assertion Tendons, Quad
  Limbs (four arms), Lash Vertebrae (prehensile
  tail), 
  Maul 
  Claws 
  and 
  Teeth, 
  Skeletal
  Enhancement Teeth and Elbow and Knee
  Quills, Surveyor Trans Optics.
  Claws / Quills: DMG; 10, PEN; 3, AD; 1.
  (Includes STR Bonus).
  Teeth: DMG; 8, PEN; 3, AD; 1. (Includes 0.5
  STR Bonus.)
  Tail: DMG 11, PEN; 4, AD; 1.
  S k i l l s
  Unarmed Combat: 15, Intimidate: 5, Evaluate
  Opponent: 6, Hide: 10, Sneaking: 9, Martial
  Arts: 9, Climb: 12, Acrobatics: 9, Blade 1-H 8,
  Tactics: 5, Detect: 6, Pistol: 5, Rifle: 6, Auto
  Support: 6, Throw: 6. Streetwise 4. SLA Info.
  3. Rival Company 4.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 14 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Bo Peep usually wears ‘customised’ Striker
  Protection: P.V.: 4. I.D.: Torso 12, Arms / Legs
  8.
  He carries a concealed Farjacket beneath his
  clothing and attacks using mainly ‘called’ shots
  with his claws and FEN (loaded with AP). He
  is not above simply tearing people’s heads off.
  Bo Peep is seconded to Karma for the duration
  of an Orange BPN (new ‘corporate’ BPN type).
  His status as an Operative is “assigned to
  BPN.”
  Word on the street is that Bo Peep has found
  his ideal place in SLA, working on ‘special’
  assignments for Karma. He has Good Rep. with
  six local gangs, due to his ‘flexible’ nature over
  minor offences, and Bad Rep. with local
  Shivers and Monarchs.
  Now working solo, Bo Peep has only ever been
  in one squad; ‘Tilt’, an all Stormer squad that
  were disbanded by IA after an encounter with a
  Tempest cell in which two of the five
  Operatives were ‘released’. IA and Cloak have
  a monthly review of Bo Peeps status, he needs
  to go for Psyche Evaluation every two months.
  Issue fourteen was helped greatly by the
  enthusiasm and the contribution from Chris
  Cotgrove, who also very kindly paid out of his
  own pocket for some artwork for TBP covers.
  Unfortunately, due to some ‘shinannigans’
  from the artist, we don’t have the covers
  available to scan. But we do appreciate Chris’s
  help.
  Sam Pay continues to be an ongoing help and
  inspiration, as does Whitt.
  Issue fifteen is three quarters finished.
  I look forward to having my doubts and
  suspicions about putting TBP in electronic
  format only quashed.
  But I’m not holding my breath…. !
  Max Bantleman, 2001.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/SLA Industries (SWADE)/SLA Industries - tHE bIG pICTURE 14.pdf