TEXT: tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE
  (FLaMes  Of  aLBiOn)
  C O N T E N T S
  Introduction – Number ten! Who would have
  thought it…. apart from me.
  Integration 20 – Snippets from the dreaded
  I20, fill in the blanks.
  Beneath 
  The 
  Remains 
  – 
  Scenario,
  introductory adventure for future campaign.
  Never Mind The Pig – Shock Bats and
  Jekkles.
  Equipment – Leath’s Harpie and Pookie’s
  FEN-GA ‘Series 7’.
  Doom Dogs – Domino Dogs were bad, now, if
  you’re a feral, be afraid….
  Finding A Job – A Silver and a White BPN.
  Vevaphons Made Simple – Simplifying the
  Vevaphon rules (according to Glenn).
  Soft Companies – Alien Shore and Sure Shot.
  tHE bIG pICTURE is produced without
  permission 
  from 
  WoTC, 
  who 
  own 
  all
  copyrights to all SLA Industries stuff. Neither
  is tHE bIG pICTURE any sort of 'official'
  fanzine sanctioned by any of the (as was)
  Nightfall crew.
  We're just a few fans doing our bit to keep SLA
  alive and kicking.
  Any material published in tHE bIG pICTURE
  adheres to the original writers guidelines issued
  by Nightfall, and no one here is going to violate
  the trust placed in them not to disclose aspects
  of 'the truth' as laid out in the original writers
  bible. This has nothing to do with NDA's or
  fear of reprisal from WoTC, we just think it's
  up to Dave A. to release the 'truth', and maybe
  now SLA is 'dead', he will.
  From what we can gather, WoTC have no
  immediate plans to either release SLA stuff or
  to sell the license to allow other people to
  produce it.
  Whatever our faults and bias, we at tHE bIG
  pICTURE believe in SLA. As a game it is
  ground breaking, as a game system it is easy to
  learn and use. The fact that SLA has not made
  it 'big' in the gaming world seems, to us, to be
  down to a mixture of bad marketing and bad
  luck from WoTC.
  Any remarks, comments, ideas and opinions
  expressed here, especially those that may get us
  in to some trouble, have been written by A. N.
  Emu, who may (or may not) have been on Acid
  at the time.
  SLA Industries owns and controls Progress....
  The Big Picture is published by:
  Chocolate Frog Enterprises
  7 Jubilee Close
  Byfield
  Northants
  NN11  6UZ    UK.
  Unless specifically credited to an author, all
  material in The Big Picture is written by Max
  Bantleman.
  B a c k   C o v e r
  Evolution begins with SLA Industries.
  The World of Progress must move
  forward, must change, evolve.
  You can not stand still, can not go back.
  Go with the flow or.
  drown with the tide.
  2 0 0 1 – P D F   C o n v e r s i o n
  The tenth issue of tHE bIG pICTURE had to
  revert to nicked artwork for the cover,
  DrugNun. it had pieces written by G.D.
  Clough, Leath Sheales, Mathew Pook and
  Glenn Berry. It was produced at a time when
  SLA was ‘officially’ declared dead, Jageeda
  dissolved from the scene, and WoTC made it
  clear that no one would be producing SLA in
  any form. Tough times to be a ‘fan’.
  Max Bantleman, 2001.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  y a   g o   g a k
  Welcome on board to Sam Pay, who will be
  helping out with tHE bIG pICTURE, without
  whom, well you wouldn't be reading this.
  Well, we're up to issue ten and SLA seems to
  be well and truly dead. Dilemma: what do we
  do?
  WoTC have regained the license for SLA
  through default by Jageeda, who were never
  actually in a position to do anything, being
  purely a 'paper' company. Lizards have
  (apparently) no plans to release any of the SLA
  stuff ready to go (Key, Shaktar, etc.,) nor do
  they have any intention of letting anyone else
  acquire the license to produce SLA stuff.
  Puts us in a bit of a spot really.
  It would be easy to start bitching about 'what
  if', but what's done is done and what we need to
  look at now is where we go from here.
  Should we just say "screw it, let's play
  something else."
  I don't think so.
  So what then?
  Well, we can just go on as if nothing has
  happened, developing our own versions of
  Progress, with the sure knowledge that Dave A.
  will one day release the official truth to us all,
  with everything that he and the other
  Nightfallers wanted to do with SLA. But that is
  going to be some way off.
  For now, it would seem, we all have a choice to
  make.... to keep going with SLA or to dump it.
  I'm a stupid bastard, not known for my letting
  go of a games system I like; I still play C&S
  first edition for christ's sake. So, I'm going to
  keep working on SLA, developing it, and
  producing tHE bIG pICTURE is part of this
  plan.
  Nobody involved in TBP makes any money, we
  do it for the (choke) love of the game and the
  fun of pissing people off. If you want to support
  us, and why wouldn't you, buy it. Tell your
  mates to buy their own copy, get your local
  store to stock it. Put the word about.
  If you don't want to support us, fair enough. No
  one can be blamed for letting SLA go, there is
  precious little support from 'official' sources. It
  is hard to maintain enthusiasm for a game when
  even the designers don't want to talk about it....
  tHE bIG pICTURE can be e-mailed at:
  max@bantleman.demon.co.uk
  Pi@stsm.demon.co.uk
  The sources for getting hold of SLA stuff seem
  to be gradually drying up as well, anyone know
  where the rulebook and supplements are readily
  available?
  Then there's this years two (count 'em!) SLA
  meets; Mortcon in April, and SLAcon yet to be
  fixed, but probably in September.
  So SLAers can meet, game and grumble about
  SLA.... excellent!
  Some cool stuff:
  Tool, Jane's Addiction, Geezer, Faith No More,
  Testament, Freak Kitchen, Exhorder, Invocator,
  Anthrax, Overkill, Kings X, all should liven up
  your WoP.
  (FLaMes  Of  aLBiOn)
  2 0 0 1 – P D F   C o n v e r s i o n
  A mention must be made of the involvement of
  Sam Pay with tHE bIG pICTURE.
  Sam is a very modest, shy almost, slightly
  introverted, SLA fan. He spent a lot of time and
  effort in getting TBP in to a form that could be
  hosted on the net, and at that time, he gave it
  space on his own web site.
  Sam also hosted regular SLA games with our
  core gaming group ‘Pendulum’. Sam’s house
  saw some absolutely classic SLA sessions, with
  many of the ideas in MaxWoP being tried out
  on Pendulum before they saw light of day in
  TBP or a Sourcebook.
  All of Pendulum (Sam, Mark, Glenn, Dennis,
  and the poor ‘add-ons’ Justin, Phillip and
  Robert !) helped keep TBP alive with their
  unbridled enthusiasm for SLA, and of course
  they also form the core group that organise
  SLAcon.
  So. Big, big thank you to Sam Pay, and shouts
  to Pendulum. I’ll get you eventually….
  Max Bantleman, 2001.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  I N T E G R A T I O N   2 0
  Released by mistake, this transmission was
  intercepted by a DarkNight cell, who were
  trying to break in to a transmission from Third
  Eye to Head Office.
  It seems that the version of Vent being used by
  the DN cell, broke down the hidden Stygmartyr
  message, converting it to be broadcast in to
  Head Office on an open channel, rather than
  their own broadcast from Channel Resistance.
  The material was immediately redirected to the
  'top floor' where Intruder and Slayer traced it
  back to it's source.
  DN paid with the destruction of their eight cells
  in the sector where the transmission originated,
  Third Eye lost four crews and two transmission
  stations.
  Stygmartyr have cleaned up any residual
  knowledge of the broadcast, those few who do
  know of it's existence, know nothing of the
  nature of the content.
  The information has been put on both disc and
  slug, stored at Head Office, access is to
  Stygmartyr personnel only, of clearance SCL 4
  or higher.
  The transmission comprises eight sections, each
  brought from a separate source. The whole
  document comes to represent what little is
  known of the exact content of I20.
  Section 1
  Interview with Janus; Necanthrope suspected of
  acting as Monitor.
  Section 2
  Notes from Wave's own file on the white,
  thought to have been leaked by very high up
  source in SLA (Intruder?).
  Section 3
  Video footage of Tempest leader interrogating
  313 under influence of Release.
  Section 4
  Capture and interview with Curbanis, Ebon
  Operative who visited White Earth.
  Section 5
  Karma files stolen from destroyed processing
  plant hidden in Cannibal Sector 3.
  Section 6
  Notes from interview between Wave Lindsey
  and prominent DarkNight figure.
  Section 7
  Video footage of medical examination / post
  mortum of Necanthrope suicide victim, taken
  from Asylum records.
  Section 8
  Mr. Slayer's only known recorded address to
  the heads of Stygmartyr, includes some direct
  material thought to be from Bitterness.
  S e c t i o n   1
  Interview with Janus; Necanthrope suspected of
  acting as Monitor.
  Interview between Catharsis, Necanthrope
  Stygmartyr 
  agent 
  (SCL 
  3), 
  and 
  Janus,
  Necanthrope Operative (SCL 5).
  Interview was held in Head Office, recorded
  both on disc and video, though only the disc
  survives (?).
  Reference is made to the cell holding Janus,
  both to the Glyph Pillars and to the fact that
  Janus has been 'altered' by Dark Lament
  surgeons so that his flow of Flux is hindered.
  Catharsis seems to be unaffected by the Glyph
  pillars, though no demonstration of Ebb use is
  evident to back this up. There is a pause in the
  interview, during which time both disc and
  video recorders show 'white noise' though they
  are still running, as the timers are unaffected. It
  has been suggested that this break was due to
  Mr. Slayer entering the cell for a brief time (the
  length of the break is fifty six seconds).
  J: "Why am I still alive?"
  C: "You chose life."
  J: "No, I mean now, after all that's happened....
  why?"
  C: "Why do you think?"
  J: "Don't play games with me...."
  C: "Why should you be any different than the
  rest of us?"
  J: "You know where I've been, what I've
  done.... the things I've seen. Why don't you just
  kill me."
  C: "I am not in a position to do that."
  J: "Who then? Teeth? Intruder?"
  C: "You flatter yourself."
  J: "Am I being judged?"
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  C: "You are beyond that. You chose your path,
  you must live with yourself, with the
  consequences of your choices."
  J: "Then why am I here? Why are you here?
  What do you want?"
  C: "Can it be that you have forgotten
  everything you learned in the White?"
  J: "I can't think straight...."
  C: "Bitterness has done a good job on you...."
  J: "No. I remember. It just doesn't seem to
  matter."
  C: "Then you are already dead."
  (Pause)
  C: "Think back, to when your could no longer
  stand the pain from the calling. What it was like
  to give yourself up, to let the White obliterate
  you. You made a choice. Make one now."
  J: "I saw things so clearly then, it seemed so
  obvious. The glimpses of the truth made me
  feel special...."
  C: "You are special, you have been and come
  back, you have walked the sands and you live.
  You are special."
  J: "I live because you let me. There is nothing
  to be gained from that."
  C: "Self pity. Maybe I am wasting my time...."
  J: "Why should I trust you?"
  C: "You have no choice. Whether you trust me
  or not. Makes no difference. You only need to
  trust Him."
  J: "Slayer?"
  C: "Who else? Bitterness?"
  J: "Why not? He showed me real truths, not the
  half truths I have been fed by SLA...."
  C: (laughs)
  J: "Do you deny they keep things from us,
  things we have a right to know?"
  C: "We have no rights. We only do what is
  needed."
  J: "By who? For what?"
  C: "Have you really gone that far?"
  J: "I don't know where I am anymore, or why I
  am still alive...."
  C: "Enough. I said you needed to make a
  choice. Make it now."
  J: "Choose between what? Deception or truth?"
  C: "Hope and despair."
  J: "Who offers hope? Who can give me that?"
  C: "It is in you. You chose in the White. That is
  your hope."
  J: "But what of Bitterness? What of White
  Earth?"
  C: "What of it?"
  J: "There can be no hope as long as the lie goes
  on...."
  C: "There can only be hope. Without hope what
  are we? Bitterness?"
  J: "At least he sees the truth for what it is. A
  lie."
  (pause - white noise interruption - duration 56
  seconds)
  J: "I cannot refuse, you know that."
  C: "I know only that there is hope and there is
  despair."
  J: "I just want it to be over...."
  C: "It will never end. Never. Know that. He
  will not let it."
  J: "He may not have a choice...."
  C: "But you do. Come back to us. Choose
  hope."
  J: "I don't know. I can still see him, hear him,
  feel him laughing at me, the sands will never let
  me go, I still feel the blood washing over me,
  the things I've done, can they ever be
  forgiven?"
  C: "In time."
  J: "I have no choice. You know that."
  C: "I know Slayer is our hope. He offers a
  future. Bitterness offers only destruction, only
  despair. What is that? A future? I choose to
  live."
  J: "I don't know...."
  C: "We will talk again. After that there will be
  only life or death for you. Choose."
  S e c t i o n   2
  Notes from Wave's own file on the White,
  thought to have been leaked by very high up
  source in SLA (Intruder?).
  It is a place. I know there cannot be time there,
  not as we know it. Is it a gate? Does it connect
  many places? I think so. Can we go there, us
  'normal' people? I don't think so. Where did it
  come from? Is the White where he comes
  from? I think the White has always been,
  though he obviously can move in and through
  it. Unaffected? I think so. How can he do this?
  Does he control the White. I think not. Can he
  command it's outcome from those who enter?
  No.
  Does the White generate the energy Ebons
  know as Flux? I think it must. That it also
  produces the negative energy that feeds the
  other on White Earth has yet to be revealed or
  proven. Does the White control the truth? I
  don't know. Is there some way it can help my
  beloved? No, that too is a lie.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Necanthropes see things through the White,
  they seem to lift the shroud, to glimpse the face
  of the ultimate truth, even if they do not fully
  understand it. They see it. It seems a choice is
  made, whether to come back to SLA or to move
  to Bitterness, though what he can offer I don't
  know. The choice to destroy it? When the other
  discs arrive I will be in a better position to
  move the White in to the Big Picture. I must
  speak to him. I am nearly ready.
  S e c t i o n   3
  Video footage of Tempest leader interrogating
  313 under influence of Release.
  The 'interview' takes place is a burned out
  warehouse in sector 280, there are charred
  remains of boxes and storage units in the
  background. The 313 is restrained in a chair in
  the middle of the screen, a small yellow
  spotlight picks him out as the central figure.
  The 313 is sitting with his hands restrained by
  cuffs behind his back,  and his ankles shackled
  to his wrists.
  A shadowy figure prowls around the edges of
  the darkness, never quite coming in to shot, this
  is thought to be RedNun. The Tempest Op
  doing all the questioning is a woman referred to
  only as 'Cat', she wears Striker Motorcycle
  Protection, and has a Blitzer at her side. Cat
  paces from right to left while questioning the
  313, who seems to focus on her to the exclusion
  of the others.
  C: "What is your name?"
  313: "Droopy."
  C: (laughs) "Well, 'Droopy', shall we begin?"
  313: "Unshackle me and we can talk."
  C: "Not yet. But soon. And then you will not
  want to kill me anymore."
  313: "I will always want to kill you. You are
  the enemy."
  C: "Am I?"
  313: "Let me go."
  C: "You will be free to leave soon. Though it
  may surprise you to find out where you will
  want to go."
  313: "What have you done to me.... my head....
  feels.... wrong...."
  (Droopy begins to go in to spasm, his body
  tensing and shaking.)
  C: "Relax. Focus on who you are...."
  313: "I am Droopy. You are all dead."
  C: "Can you feel it? The Release? You know
  who you are.... don't fight it."
  313: "I will kill you all."
  C: "You will not. You will kill yourself."
  313: (laughs) "Never. You stupid woman, I....
  I.... I cannot...."
  C: "It is the only way to achieve Release."
  313: "What have you done? Where am I?"
  C: "We have given you a drug, Release, it will
  open your mind, show you who you are, the
  blasphemy of your creation."
  313: "Why.... I.... who else is here? Where....
  who is that?"
  C: "What is happening? What can you feel?"
  313: (screams and throws himself forwards,
  falling to the floor thrashing at his restraints)
  "No.... No.... Where am I? Let me go? Let me
  go back.... Who are you? Where is.... What is
  this?"
  C: "You know what has happened to you? Are
  you aware of yourself?"
  313: "Let me go.... I want to go now.... let me
  go...."
  C: "Only you can release yourself, only you can
  free yourself."
  313: "No. You are lying.... who am I? Why did
  they bring me here? Why wont you let me
  go...."
  (RedNun gestures to Cat, who moves close to
  Droopy, kneeling beside him, she strokes his
  face and whispers)
  C: "You know what they have done to you?
  Where you are?"
  313: "Let me go...."
  C: "I can't. Only you can do this."
  313: "Please.....
  C: "You must release yourself...."
  (Cat undoes the restraints, Droopy immediately
  curls up in the fetal position, his hands covering
  his face. Cat remains kneeling next to him. Cat
  looks over to RedNun who shakes his head.)
  C: "This must end. You know that."
  313: "It is wrong. I should not be here. Let me
  go...."
  (Cat places the Blitzer in Droopy's hand, then
  stands next to RedNun)
  C: "Go."
  313: "Thank you...."
  (Droopy places the Blitzer in his mouth,
  pointing in to his brain, then squeezes off a
  round. Cat moves over to the twitching body
  and removes the Blitzer, she fires three more
  shots in to Droopy's head.)
  C: "He told us nothing. He was too weak."
  RedNun: "Maybe the next will be stronger."
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  (Cat moves to camera then picture dies....)
  S e c t i o n   4
  Interview with Curbanis, Ebon Operative who
  visited White Earth.
  Interview takes place on audio disc only, the
  quality would suggest it was made on portable
  equipment, 
  with 
  the 
  sound 
  fading 
  and
  sometimes breaking up. Curbanis seems to be
  on the verge of falling asleep, her voice often
  trails off and then snaps back. Her inquisitor is
  not identified, but would appear to be another
  Ebon, but not a Necanthrope. The questioner is
  female and seems to be shocked by the state
  she has found Curbanis in. We have referred to
  the questioner as 'I'.
  I: "We do not have much time. They will be
  here in minutes."
  C: "I know."
  I: "Why did you go? How? So many
  questions...."
  C: "I thought I could get answers. I was
  wrong."
  I: "How? How did you get there?"
  C: "Folded."
  I: "That's impossible."
  C: "So they'd have you believe. So tired."
  I: "Tell me how you got there."
  C: "No."
  I: "You must. They will be here soon and your
  memory will be gone forever. Do you want
  that, for it all to be lost?"
  C: "I don't care. I just want to sleep."
  I: "No! You are not going to get away that
  easily. Tell me what happened, talk to me!"
  C: "Folded in from the Jonah...."
  I: "The ship?"
  C: "Yes.... need to sleep. Can we talk later....?"
  I: "Wake up! Talk to me!"
  C: "Will you let me sleep? If I tell you? Can I
  sleep....?"
  I: "Time for sleep later. Tell me."
  C: "Jonah came to a halt, we disembarked the
  troops for Hed then secured for fold back to
  Mort. That's when I felt the voice."
  I: "Voice?"
  C: "He told me he had been watching me, that
  he knew I sought the truth, that he could show
  it to me."
  I: "Who said this?"
  C: "I don't know. All I know is I believed him."
  I: "But how did you fold to White Earth? What
  about the Navigators? The Darkfinders? You
  just took a Foldship? Without anyone stopping
  you?"
  C: "Not the ship. Just me."
  I: "But how?"
  C: "I just folded to where the voice told me to
  go, seemed to work like a Beacon. Images so
  clear in my mind, feelings so real. Safe."
  I: "Then.... then what?"
  C: "The I was there, by the shore, blasted by
  the winds, blinded by screaming, my mind
  ripped away like a tear in a storm."
  I: "I don't understand."
  C: "I stood on the sands. Blood ran from my
  hands, I knew I had murdered a part of myself,
  I knew I was lost. So helpless."
  I: "In your mind? You were there in your
  mind?"
  C: "No. I was there. My feet felt the shifting
  ground, my eyes saw the blackened skies, I
  heard the gulls, tasted the fear from the flux
  storms."
  I: "What happened? Was the voice there."
  C: "He was there alright. Came to me from out
  of the wind, taunting, teasing, soothing, telling
  me I'd be alright. Laughing at me."
  I: "Who was it... was it.... him?"
  C: "I don't know. I thought it must be, but there
  are so many voices.... maybe I just wanted it to
  be him."
  I: "You stayed for how long?"
  C: "Time enough to sleep. Can I sleep now?"
  I: "You stayed how long?"
  C: "Time moved on, I remember nothing of the
  time, something was wrong with time,
  somehow I moved where I was, time moved
  around me, different...."
  I: "You're not making any sense...."
  C: "Nonsense. Riddles and nonsense. There
  was nothing to see."
  I: "Nothing to see!?"
  C: "You think it is a place of great mystery? Of
  wonder maybe? With the landscape to match
  the legends? It is nothing. It is a barren,
  desolate place with no room for hope or
  dreaming.... 
  I 
  felt 
  only 
  anger 
  and
  disappointment, and a great rage. Always the
  rage."
  I: "Were there others there? Did you meet
  anyone?"
  C: "I wandered.... I saw some others, they saw
  me, there was no need to speak.... they knew I
  was doomed, they knew I was an outsider...."
  I: "People live there? There are inhabitants?"
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  C: "Those that belong live there. Those that
  don't die there."
  I: "And Flux....?"
  C: "Flux that tears your reasoning, you cannot
  formulate, the screaming from the Flux does
  not 
  allow 
  you 
  to 
  think, 
  you 
  cannot
  concentrate.... I tried.... but it was useless....
  nothing worked...."
  I: Your Ebb abilities? Didn't work?"
  C: "Nothing worked. Nothing. There was no
  logic to any of it....  nothing to... nothing to
  make anything work.... no laws.... only what
  comes from the Flux."
  I: "I don't understand...."
  C: (smiles) "Good. Now can I sleep.... I really
  must you know...."
  I: "I must go. They will be here soon. I will
  never forget you, or what I have learned...."
  C: "You must."
  I: "Goodbye...."
  C: "There is no goodbye, not for us...."
  (White noise to end of recording.)
  S e c t i o n   5
  Karma files stolen from destroyed processing
  plant hidden in Cannibal Sector 3.
  The existence of the plant is denied by all at
  Karma, and no records show any employees or
  products coming from any of the Sectors. Dark
  Lament have passed an internal memo (SCL 4)
  implying that Karma are experimenting in the
  Sectors, though what is actually going on is not
  mentioned.
  Senti is rumoured (SCL 5) to have agents in the
  Sectors, working both Jades and Yellows,
  though whether there is some connection
  between this and the reported facility is
  debatable.
  There are two recovered pieces of files, one
  from a surgeon, known as Dr. Chiell, and the
  other from a DarkFinder report, seemingly on
  suspected subversive activity at the plant.
  Report One: Dr Chiell's 'patient assessment'.
  "Memo to self; Must speak to S. The test
  subjects are too complete. Confirms my
  theories about DW. I need to work with raw
  tissue, the infusion from the device makes it too
  resilient. Subjects reject extra conditioning.
  Two fatalities to date, and I'm running out of
  volunteers to run the lab! To Susan Hannon;
  Need stronger doses of A variant. Current strain
  is too weak, assimilates in to fluids and has
  negligible effect. Maybe worth running risk of
  previous discussion and contacting CK, Shatter
  seems drastic but it may be a necessary evil.
  Latest subject died of self inflicted injuries,
  severe trauma to face (especially eyes). Speech
  patterns completely changed before death, need
  to send for specialist from Head Office. To
  Cybil; I love you and miss you and the kids,
  will be over soon, I promise.... To Strand; Your
  latest 'observers' are hindering me more than
  they are helping. If you must send DF, please
  brief them adequately before they arrive. I will
  not lose another technician to their bad
  judgement. Self; Renew treatments, must
  increase shots to push memory further
  underground. See JH about hypnosis talked
  about at last session. Ensure K undertakes
  destruction of private notes. For Report;
  Subjects are becoming self aware too soon,
  need to break in A or S more slowly, needs to
  modify either release or route. Request from
  HO access to Stig files denied at last meeting,
  need to further knowledge of what Subjects
  fear, what drives their psychoses, why are they
  prepared to do it? Self: Don't be so bloody
  stupid."
  DarkFinder 
  Malikem 
  Sall, 
  report 
  dated
  20/4/901 SD. Recipients as listed and briefed.
  Confirm ident code: I488/SC/2290-DO. Report
  begins:
  Terminated Karl G as instructed. Others have
  been run to ground. Await further instructions
  regarding cell destruction. Uncovered activity
  at higher level than previously suspected. Dr.
  Chiell has been implicated, remain cautious,
  discreet observation seems the best course.
  Chiell has family so he should be easy to run
  in. Intercepted and destroyed DN transmission
  via 
  central 
  control, 
  intended 
  recipient
  terminated (see separate report). Need to clarify
  instructions as to rogue subjects. Further need
  for investigation in to runners from plant not
  now necessary, eight of the thirteen were killed
  in an accident in block eighteen. Like to take
  credit, but I can't. Genuine accident? Need to
  confirm response to request for equipment,
  denied? If so permission sought to forage in
  sector, maybe utilise the Scav presence, need
  clarification on position.
  Latest sighting of WL confirmed.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Stand off contact only, though I fear he knows
  I'm on to him. Instructions to move? Report
  concluded.
  S e c t i o n   6
  Notes from interview between Wave Lindsey
  and prominent DarkFinder figure.
  Interview took place at Wave's premises. Notes
  found in 'hard copy' scribbled on pieces of
  paper, notes thought to have been put together
  by hidden onlooker, possibly now missing
  assistant.
  Wave 
  looks 
  worried. 
  I 
  knew 
  he 
  had
  connections in SLA but I never suspected this.
  It must be a DarkFinder, I have seen them
  around central, they move in such a distinctive
  way. And her voice is low, almost a whisper,
  yet so compelling....
  Wave takes the package, looks nervous. Will he
  show it to me? I hope so....
  The DarkFinder is agitated.... never seen this
  before.... seems unsure of herself. Wave has
  said something to upset her.... not wise I would
  have thought. Still I trust Wave, he has not let
  me down so far.
  The argument seems to be developing.... Wave
  looks drained, exhausted, as if some further
  weight has been placed on his already breaking
  shoulders. DarkFinder is calm now.... too calm,
  sedate almost.
  I think I heard Wave mention DarkNight, but I
  can't be sure. He always denied this to me, but
  I'm sure he must have had contact with them.
  He is, as always, walking a fine line.
  The DarkFinder is leaving, almost casually, as
  if she no longer cares for the secrecy that must
  surround her.... I hope Wave knows what he is
  doing.
  Surely he didn't tell the DarkFinder anything of
  his suspicions? What he wont tell me, why
  should he share with her?
  The little I could clearly hear was this:
  W: "You have the book?"
  DF: "I do. You are a fool."
  W: "That is not for you to judge."
  DF: "You have already been judged. If he says
  you are to be trusted then I must."
  W: "But you don't do you? Trust me....?"
  DF: "Of course not. You do not know what you
  are doing. A child with good intentions and no
  idea of consequence or responsibility."
  W: "Others think differently."
  DF: "That is the only reason you are still alive.
  But that may change."
  W: "Do you want to know what's in the book?"
  DF: "No."
  W: "It is proof of the lie."
  DF: "There can be no proof. There is no lie."
  W: "You are afraid."
  DF: "I am afraid."
  W: "Of my ravings being the real truth?"
  DF: "No. I am not afraid of your ideas. I have
  heard ideas before, yours are nothing new."
  W: "Then what?"
  DF: "Of it not being over with your death."
  W: "It can never be over 'til everyone knows
  the truth."
  DF: (shakes head slowly) "You are wrong. So
  wrong."
  W: "We shall see."
  DF: "You wont."
  W: "I don't need your threats, you do not
  frighten me."
  DF: "Goodbye Wave."
  W: "I'll see you again?"
  DF: "No. This is the end of it for me...."
  W: "We shall see...."
  S e c t i o n   7
  Video footage of medical examination / post
  mortum of Necanthrope suicide victim, taken
  from Asylum records.
  Vid-cam is situated in corner of plain silver
  examination room, pans slightly from left to
  right. Visible is a slab in the centre of the room,
  a door just in shot to the right and a small
  cabinet on the left wall. On the slab is the body
  of a Necanthrope, identified as Prism. The
  Necanthrope looks much like a 'normal' human,
  except for the bulbous mass of flesh on her left
  shoulder and the lack of any facial features
  apart from eyes. Her face looks like a porcelain
  mask, her eyes are closed. Her body is painfully
  thin and covered with numerous scars of self
  mutilation, there are hundreds of tiny scratch
  marks around the base of her Gore Cannon. She
  is placed on her back on the slab, with the
  surgical tools to be used for her autopsy neatly
  placed around her. Two 'doctors' enter the
  room, one of them reaches towards the camera
  and a clock starts bottom left of screen. Both
  doctors wear long black gowns with hoods,
  each has a full facial respirator and slate grey
  goggles.
  The lights dim slightly and the autopsy begins.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  S: "Samuel Maze performing autopsy, assisted
  by junior, Gregory Reid. Subject is recorded as
  Prism, SCL 3 Necanthrope from Crystal Union.
  Subject has been resident in Asylum for eight
  months before death. See separate medical
  records for details of self mutilation and
  attempts to remove Gore Cannon. Gregory,
  collect fluids and check instruments."
  (Samuel and Gregory then proceed with
  autopsy, with Samuel making numerous
  incisions and probing internally with various
  instruments. 
  The 
  Gore 
  Cannon 
  remains
  untouched. Both the eyes are removed and
  stored as is something from deep within the
  chest of Prism. During the 'drainage' of the
  chest, small clumps of black matter can be seen
  to drain off with the viscous red fluid. Gregory
  seems unstable on his feet towards the end of
  the autopsy.)
  S: "Gregory, please leave us."
  G: "Samuel?"
  S: "You may go Gregory."
  G: "But sir, procedure...."
  S: "The procedure is you do what I tell you."
  G: "But I....
  S: "Don't argue Gregory."
  G: "But sir. I want to stay. I'm supposed to be
  under instruction."
  S: (leans heavily on table) "Very well, stay if
  you must. But stand out of my way and shut
  up."
  G: "Yes sir."
  S: "And Gregory...."
  G: "Yes sir?"
  S: "If you're going to be sick, don't forget to
  remove your respirator."
  (Samuel removes gloves and moves to small
  cabinet on left wall. Removes a thin case and
  places it near the remains of Prism's head.
  Samuel removes two tubes from the case and
  places one in to each of Prism's empty eye
  sockets. A lead is then taken from the case and
  'plugged in' to the small cabinet.)
  S: "Prism?"
  (Gregory sits down heavily on the floor by the
  door.)
  S: "Prism? You must come back now."
  (Gregory removes his respirator and seems to
  be having trouble breathing, it can be seen that
  he is a Brain Waster.)
  S: "Prism? You must come back now. Can you
  hear me?"
  (The body of Prism stiffens then goes in to
  slight spasm, spurting internal fluids from the
  numerous cuts, blood seeps from the eye
  sockets, which then begin to glow blue.)
  S: "Prism? Can you hear me?"
  P: (faint gurgling noise) "Who...."
  S: "Prism. You have been away. You are back
  now."
  (Prism seems to shudder then lye's perfectly
  still, after a few seconds, her head turns to face
  Samuel.)
  P: "I cannot come back."
  S: (seems to laugh) "You are back Prism. Now
  you must tell me what this is all about."
  P: "Who are you? Why am I still here...."
  S: "My name is Samuel. You will remember
  who I am."
  P: "Why am I still here, how....?"
  S: "You cannot leave us, not like that."
  P: "Samuel? Yes, I remember you now. You?
  You brought me back?"
  S: "I had help."
  P: "I underestimated you Samuel."
  S: "Why did you try to leave us?"
  P: "I do not belong here."
  S: "If not here, then where?"
  P: "I can't remember.
  S: "Will you come back to us."
  P: "I don't think I have a choice do I?"
  S: "Of course you have a choice. That's what all
  this is about isn't it?"
  P: (sighs) "Yes. Yes it is.... can I come back?
  How?"
  S: "You leave that to me."
  P: "Will I have to go through the White again?
  I will wont I."
  S: "Yes. And it will be different this time. You
  have grown."
  P: "I feel like I have.... I'm different.... (laughs)
  what did you do to me?"
  S: "An autopsy. For the record."
  P: "For the record.... how did I die?"
  S: "You drained yourself of Flux, in effect
  willed yourself to death...."
  P: "But you can't say that can you?"
  S: (laughs) "No. I don't think so."
  P: "I'm curious. Why the eyes?"
  S: "Each to their own. With you it was your
  eyes, you focused it all through your eyes...."
  P: "I had beautiful eyes...."
  S: "You will see through many eyes now...."
  P: "Will I remember?"
  S: "Some of it, yes."
  P: "Will they know I'm there?"
  S: "They're not supposed to, no. Confuses
  them."
  P: (giggles) "I feel different...."
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  S: "You have grown."
  P: "Yes, yes I have. I feel bigger than the stupid
  little things that worried me."
  S: "Good. Can I help you now?"
  P: "Will he be there? In the White?"
  S: "No. You are rid of him forever now...."
  P: "Nothing is forever...."
  S: "We shall see."
  P: "Goodbye Samuel. Maybe we'll meet again
  some day."
  S: "Maybe we will."
  (Samuel leans over Prism and places both
  hands on her Gore Cannon. The Cannon glows
  brighter and as it does the glowing around the
  eye sockets fades. When the Gore Cannon is
  fully ablaze, Samuel removes the two leads
  from Prism's eyes. Samuel is obviously
  weakened, he motions to Gregory who slowly
  stands then walks towards the camera, reaching
  towards it, he switches it off.)
  S e c t i o n   8
  Mr. Slayer's only known recorded address to
  the heads of Stygmartyr.
  The message is recorded on audio disc and a
  hard copy transcript is also available. Both are
  kept in the Central Library, copying is
  forbidden and access is SCL 4. Stygmartyr are
  automatically alerted each time the file is
  accessed.
  "I have called you here for a reason. There have
  been questions. They will stop. Each of you
  serves me, each of you remains because I will
  it. There is only one enemy, and you are here to
  stop him at every turn. Your internal wrangling
  is of no consequence and will stop as of today.
  I will not hold this meeting again. We need to
  look to the future, to the change it will bring,
  we must be prepared. Bitterness never sleeps,
  neither do his Monitors. Do not forget this. We
  must be as  vigilant  as they. More so. For we
  seek to build, they only come to destroy. Show
  no mercy in dealing with them. There is no
  reasoning with them. They must be destroyed,
  everywhere they are found. Bitterness is not
  known at large and this must be the way it
  stays. Monitors are out there, and they must be
  covered and destroyed. I will not tolerate any
  form of disunity. You are here as my guardians,
  to watch over Progress. You have no other
  goals or functions. Do not forget this. Return to
  your stations, remember my words, your
  vigilance is the life of Progress, your failure,
  it's destruction. You are my chosen, I am your
  future. Trust me for I have placed my trust in
  you. You do not want to let me down."
  These snippets from I20 are based on our
  version of the truth. Our version follows the
  guidelines of the writers bible and FAQ but
  differs in some aspects.
  The thing that attracted me to SLA Industries in
  the beginning was the idea of a huge secret.
  Something that must never be known; the
  'truth'.
  I was hooked on SLA before I read the writers
  guide and had decided upon a 'truth' before I
  knew what lay behind the designers universe. I
  am constantly amazed and saddened that so
  many SLA GM's do not develop their own
  truths.
  Of course the designers ideas are important, but
  so are ours. Of course it would be nice to see
  more 'official' stuff, but that's not a realistic
  prospect.
  We must get on with the job of developing
  SLA ourselves, and this includes producing our
  own versions of 'the truth'.
  I hope these bits from I20 have helped some
  people.
  (*+ enD*+)
  B E N E A T H   T H E
  R E M A I N S
  This is the start of a campaign that will plunge
  the Operatives in to a world of darkness, deceit,
  treachery and secrets that will change their
  lives forever. The future of Mort is at stake and
  the Operatives may get a chance to play their
  part in the unfolding of this epic tale.
  The story begins with a seemingly 'normal'
  Yellow.
  SCL: 9
  Contact: Department Of Environment
  Training Package Recc.: Any
  Colour Code: Yellow
  Summary: Squad needed to retrieve research
  equipment from Sector 280 Downtown. No
  undercover work necessary. Contact; Niles
  Burns on EV/0144-888-SC42.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Coverage: Third Eye
  Consolidated Bonus Scheme: 400c
  Payment: Per Operative
  SCL Increase: 0.5
  Niles Burns is an SCL 6 Dept. of Environment
  agent, it is his job to select Op's and squads to
  undertake jobs for the department. He is a Mort
  veteran who has been there, seen it, done it,
  bought the T-shirt and got real bored with it all
  a long, long time ago. He has no enthusiasm for
  anything, and gives the feeling that he really
  couldn't care less whether the squad take the
  job or not. He is an accomplished agent, and his
  'act' will make the squad feel they should take
  the BPN, if only to spite this smug git.
  Y e l l o w
  Niles gives the following information, in his
  own, languid, off hand style, frequently pausing
  to sigh and look away in an extremely bored
  manner.
  Sector 280 borders Lower Downtown, it is a
  relatively well built area of Downtown, with
  some industry still functioning, and a few
  shopping malls still used for the purpose they
  were built.
  The squad are to go to the centre of 280, to an
  area known as the 'Fireball'.
  They are to retrieve a series of experimental
  monitoring stations, abandoned by their Dept.
  Of Environment scientists after they were
  decimated by a Carrien attack.
  The BPN is simple; get in, get the equipment,
  get out.
  'Fireball' is the name given to the area
  surrounding the Acropolis Mall and the
  attached tenements. The Acropolis Mall, built
  in 800 SD, sits in the middle of four huge tower
  blocks, each ninety stories high. The Mall itself
  collapsed in 807 SD, when the power plant
  beneath it exploded, causing a huge fire to
  sweep through the Mall, leaving it a crumbling
  ruin.
  There was no money available to clean out the
  toxic remains of the Acropolis, SLA simply
  sealed in the festering core of the power plant
  by pouring millions of tons of concrete on top
  of it. The citizens of the tower blocks moved
  out, leaving them to be occupied by those who
  could stand living in an abandoned, scorched
  wasteland.
  The power plant also destroyed all of the tower
  blocks waste disposal facilities, blocking off all
  access to the network of sewers that lay beneath
  the Acropolis. The new citizens of the blocks
  took to dumping their waste, all of it, in the
  middle of the Acropolis, simply throwing it out
  of their windows or from their balconies. The
  growing waste tip settled and grew, sinking
  down to the concrete sarcophagus surrounding
  the dormant power plant. As the garbage piles
  up, so do the explosive gases within, mixed
  with what little toxic residue that can seep from
  the power plant.
  After numerous outbreaks of various diseases,
  SLA acted. Scientists discovered they could
  burn off the troublesome gases in controlled
  explosions, performed once a month. The
  'Fireball' was born.
  Now the four tower blocks stand watch over the
  mounting pile of filth and ash, mute testament
  to the ingenuity of SLA.
  Every month representatives from the Dept. Of
  Environment arrive, and in a festive, party
  atmosphere, set off charges within the garbage
  tip, causing a spectacular fireball to rise to the
  roof of the sector. All of the citizens in the
  surrounding area use the fireball as an excuse
  for a gathering and party, as do the local gangs
  and Soft Companies.
  The team from the D.O.E. set eight sensors on
  and within the rubbish heap, to measure the
  build up of gases, and to see if they could
  detect anything from within the old reactor
  core.
  After last month's fireball, they went back to
  retrieve the equipment. They were ambushed
  by a Carrien Pack and nineteen of the twenty
  two technicians were killed, their bodies never
  found.
  The Op's have three days before the next
  fireball, and the equipment has to be recovered
  before then.
  Niles will be able to give the Op's detailed
  maps of where the sensors were placed, and
  detecting equipment can be hired from the
  D.O.E. that will home in on the sensors.
  There are two main opponents to the Op's; the
  local gang and the Carriens.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  The local gang is the Flame Lords.
  The grandiose name reflects their arrogance
  and there dominance of the local area, no other
  gangs operate anywhere near the Fireball, and
  the Flame lords only real rivals are Monarch
  and the few Shivers that get posted on Sleeper
  duty to 280.
  The Flame Lords (or Flamers as they are
  known) are heavily backed by DarkNight. The
  DN agenda in 280 is mass recruitment, with the
  Flamers taking the message to the people.
  The DN backing of the Flamers is not common
  knowledge 
  (within 
  SLA), 
  though 
  an
  enterprising Op might be able to gather some
  clues from the large amounts of DN equipment
  both confiscated and reported by Shivers on
  their raids in to the sector.
  The Flamers number just over three thousand,
  with many of the senior gang members living in
  one of the four tower blocks surrounding the
  waste pit. Their leader, known as Jackal,
  resides deep within the southern-most tower
  block.
  The Flamers store most of their gear in derelict
  (and very dangerous) underground car parks on
  the outskirts of the Acropolis. These can only
  be reached through narrow, flooded passages
  that are filled with toxic waste drums and the
  remains of Shivers and Monarch officers,
  displayed crucified along the walls.
  Monarch offer the only semblance of 'official'
  policing in the sector, with those Shivers posted
  on Sleeper duty, hardly ever showing their
  faces. The Monarch officers are treated with the
  same contempt as any SLA representative by
  all of the citizens of 280.
  DN have done a good job, turning all but the
  most optimistic against SLA.
  R u n n i n g   T h e   B P N
  The Op's should not have too much trouble
  getting to sector 280, the citizens of 280 have
  succumbed to the propaganda of DN and hate
  all SLA rep's with a passion, so the Op's may
  well want to go in undercover.
  We have listed five encounters that will face
  the Op's, you may want to juggle their order of
  appearance, or even drop/add some. Bear in
  mind that this is a fairly straight forward
  introduction to the rest of the campaign, so
  wiping 'em all out now may hinder their
  progress at a later stage.
  T h e   F l a m e   L o r d s
  If you move or operate in 280 you will
  inevitably run in to the Flamers. How things go
  from there will largely be up to you.
  The Flamers are backed by DN and spout their
  propaganda at every opportunity, they are loyal
  to DN (as anyone can be), and see themselves
  as 'saviors' of the average citizen, who they
  regard as weak and feeble, needing the
  leadership of the Flamers.
  As the Op's move in to the area around the
  Acropolis, they will be approached by the
  Flamers, who will try to find out as much as
  they can about what the Op's are doing in 280.
  The Flamers may offer assistance, for a price of
  course, or they may be bought off. initially they
  will not attack, awaiting orders from their DN
  backers.
  DN will let the Op's go about their business
  until they have recovered the monitors. Once
  the Op's have the monitors, the Flamers will
  attack them, trying to steal the monitors for DN
  to study. If the Flamers are helping the Op's
  recover them, the attack will be an ambush, if
  not it may take the form of an all out assault
  while the Op's are still within the confines of
  the Acropolis.
  For the Flamers, use the Civilian Convert stats.
  (Karma 139). They will wear their colours over
  any body armour (which will be minimal), and
  they will be open in their carrying and use of
  DN equipment.
  The leader of the Flamers, known only as 'the
  Jackal' has stats. as an Espionage Agent
  (Karma 138), she is rarely seen and will avoid
  the Op's at all costs.
  Prominent Flamer gangers, that the Op's may
  encounter are:
  Spike 
  (muscle), 
  Jackson 
  (fixer), 
  Sherry
  (techno), Weezer (muscle), Lillith (negotiator)
  and Knuckles (bodyguard).
  Information the Op's may pick up from the
  Flamers:
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Carriens are becoming bolder in their raids in
  280, based (apparently) beneath the Acropolis.
  There is a 'monster' lurking beneath the
  Acropolis that even the Carrien are afraid of.
  SLA Industries has a contingency plan, known
  as 'WhiteFire' that is to be put in to operation
  should the reactor core start to become active,
  essentially it means total destruction for 280,
  with the devastation then sealing off of the
  sector.
  Scav's have been seen roaming the lower levels
  of the outer car parks of the Acropolis.
  Elvis is alive and living in one of the tower
  blocks around the Acropolis (Elvis is an ex-
  serial killer).
  C a r r i e n s
  The old reactor core meltdown attracted
  thousands of Carriens in to 280, most of whom
  were killed or left when SLA poured their
  concrete sarcophagus. Those that remained
  have bread and prospered, even if it has meant
  their continuing mutation and short, agonised
  life spans within the radioactive bowels of the
  old Acropolis.
  The Carriens have tunneled in to the crumbling
  concrete, creating a network of tunnels and
  maze like crawl spaces, from which they can
  drop down behind anyone in the lower levels of
  the Acropolis.
  The Acropolis Carriens are more hideous (if
  possible) than their Cannibal Sector brethren.
  They continually twist and contort in mutating
  pain, with every part of their disease, pain
  racked bodies, heaving and twitching with
  radioactive decay.
  Their minds are completely animalistic, with
  very little reasoning capability, they barely
  acknowledge fear and live only to breed, eat
  and take some small pleasure from the killing
  of their prey.
  Sector 280 Carrien have a Fear Rating of 9.
  Use the stats. in the main rulebook (288), with
  every one having Max. stats. for usual Carriens.
  One in three will be a Greater Carrien with
  Max. stats. One in ten will be a Mutant Carrien
  with Max. stats. The Carrien always attack in
  packs of at least ten, and can muster raiding
  parties as large as three hundred.
  Wounds inflicted by the teeth and claws of
  these Carriens need five times as much
  attention to heal as usual wounds. Ebons find
  them 
  particularly 
  disturbing 
  for 
  their
  radioactive content, and suffer a -3 modifier to
  all Flux related activities while in their
  presence.
  One of the Carriens, one of the Mutant
  Carriens, has a Flux Gem embedded in the side
  of his skull, grown over with bloodied, diseased
  skin, it will be detected by any Ebon using Flux
  within their Conc. in meters from the Carrien.
  The Gem is not of Dark Lament origin and has,
  at it's core, a myriad of old glyph symbols.
  Use your judgement for the size of the matrix
  within the gem.
  The Flux Gem will be confiscated by
  representative from either DL, Karma or IA if
  they get to see/hear about it.
  M o n a r c h   L a w   E n f o r c e m e n t
  Monarch Security have evolved, as part of the
  Shiver network, they have had to. They have
  moved beyond a 'citizens' security force, in to
  the realms of a law enforcement agency.
  The Monarchs of 280, while still under-gunned,
  undermanned and under paid, are a massive
  improvement on their 'citizen' counterparts of
  the early days. Monarch Law Enforcement
  patrols the streets of 280, contracted to SLA via
  the Shivers, their badges carry the SLA
  Industries stamp of approval, they each have a
  provisional SCL of 10, they are, to all intents
  and purposes, SLA Industries.
  The Monarch officers are the target for the
  majority of the rage displayed by the citizens of
  280, the body count for Monarchs is 20 a week,
  and set to rise with the increasing success of
  DN.
  Citizens join Monarch for one reason only; the
  money. Often, failed Op's find their way in to
  Monarch ranks, as do gangers who want to go
  'straight'.
  Monarch are slightly less corrupt than their
  Shiver counterparts, mostly through being
  isolated and not offered the bribes available to
  most Shivers.
  The citizens of 280 are merciless in their hatred
  of Monarch, and in turn, the Monarch officers
  are brutal and cold in their treatment of anyone
  caught breaking the law.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Every Monarch officer carries at least one
  unauthorised weapon, usually a pistol, some
  openly.
  Key Monarch personnel in 280 are:
  Captain Jim Mosley, Sergeant Jolanda Hunter,
  Corporal Willy Smith, Officers Hind, Cazan,
  Grolier and Paris.
  Information From Monarch:
  There is a 'Sleeper' squad at work within the
  vast maze of underground car parks of the
  Acropolis.
  Carriens emerge from their lairs on a regular
  basis, regardless of the conditions in 280.
  No Monarch squads may enter the Acropolis
  car park labyrinth without clearance from
  Shiver HQ, the Flamers know this, and the
  Carriens have figured it out (slow response).
  The reactor core has not been shut down, it is
  still actively producing power, and leaking all
  the while.
  SLA 
  Industries 
  has 
  recently 
  begun 
  a
  recruitment campaign for War Worlds among
  the Monarch Officers of 280.
  S h i v e r   S l e e p e r   S q u a d
  Shiver squad 36 Delta (36D) went missing in
  280 four weeks ago, they were posted on
  'Sleeper' duty, and had three of their nine weeks
  left to serve.
  The squad sergeant, James 'Flip' McKinnley,
  has been recruited by Cloak. His squad have
  been converted to his new 'cause', which he
  pursues with relentless zeal. Cloak want Flip to
  stay in 280, more specifically in the area of the
  Acropolis. Flip has been given the task of
  monitoring the Carrien that seem to be
  emerging from beneath the reactor core.
  Flip and his squad have been listed MIA,
  presumed dead, for four weeks. Their families
  and colleagues all believe they have been taken
  by Carrien and Scav's.
  36D have 'gone native', living deep within the
  outer reaches of the Acropolis underground car
  park.
  Flip and his squad are kept supplied by Cloak
  with weekly drops of food, ammunition and
  drugs. For the most part the squad is
  permanently wired on either Beat or Rush, with
  Flip being well and truly addicted to Flip.
  The squad lives and works out of a FEN4461
  MK VI, Hammer, mounted with FEN 706
  Power Reaper Mk 2.1 in place of one of the
  grenade launchers.
  Use the stats. in Karma (134) for the Shivers,
  with Flip as a Dispersal Shiver. Each has a
  personal side arm, either a 603 or a Blitzer,
  each also carries three frag grenades, for
  emergencies.
  36D have a 'clear area' around their Hammer,
  within which Carrien will not venture. The
  Hammer is mostly stationary, and the 706
  presents too much of a threat to the Carrien,
  they have learned to give it a wide berth.
  If the Op's venture in to the lower areas of the
  car parks, they will encounter 36D, either on a
  hunting foray or maybe their encampment.
  The Shivers do not recognise the authority of
  any but their Cloak contacts, and they will
  make it plain that they are 'not there' as far as
  'normal' SLA Op's are concerned.
  Information From The Shivers:
  The Shivers are willing to 'trade' information.
  They will have knowledge of all other rumour
  and information listed so far, as well as
  accurate knowledge of where the monitoring
  beacons are located.
  Flip may let slip their Cloak connection, but
  only through obscure reference.
  T h e   B e a s t   O f   T h e   A c r o p o l i s
  Deep beneath the remains of the Acropolis
  roams the 'beast', a genetically twisted mutant
  spawned from the radioactive wasteland that
  lies beneath the sarcophagus of the Acropolis.
  The 'beast' is a hugely mutated Cannibal Sector
  Gator (TBP 2.... whadaya mean you aint got
  number 2!!).
  For those of you who may not have issue 2
  (sigh), here's the modified stats. for this horror.
  STATS.
  Strength
  18
  Dexterity
  10
  Diagnose
  3
  Concentration
  2
  Charisma
  0
  Cool
  18
  Hits
  32
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Weight
  2000kg
  Length
  6m
  SKILLS
  RANK
  Unarmed (Bite)
  12
  Unarmed (Tail)
  10
  Unarmed (Claw)
  8
  Tracking
  8
  Detect
  10
  Swim
  15
  Dodge
  8
  Movement: Walk 2, Run 3, Sprint 6.
  Weapon
  PEN
  DMG
  AD
  Teeth
  4
  11
  2
  Tail
  1
  9
  1
  Claws
  2
  9
  1
  The DMG includes Strength/Size bonus.
  Each phase, the beast may make two attacks, on
  either the same, or separate targets.
  Obviously, the Beast's main weapon is terror
  and it's great size. It has a Fear rating of 11, and
  it's favourite tactic is to knock it's victim to the
  ground, then snap the head/neck off with an
  aimed bite.
  The Beast is incredibly tough and fast, having a
  lightning quick reaction to melee weapons, and
  seemingly impervious to the pain caused by
  firearms.
  The skin of the Beast is PV 10, ID 80 per
  location. The Beast regenerates 1 wound every
  two rounds, and recovers 3+1D6 hits every
  third round phase.
  The Beast lives in tunnels within the crumbling
  sarcophagus, 
  breaking 
  through 
  to 
  come
  crashing down on it's victim. It will eat
  anything, Carrien, pig, human, whatever. It will
  flee if it takes 80%+ damage, otherwise it fears
  nothing.
  C o m p l e t i n g   T h e   B P N
  The Squad should complete the BPN, if they
  are lucky and skilful, or they will suffer heavy
  casualties and barely escape with their lives.
  The objective of this BPN is to open the Op's
  eyes to sector 280, and the possibility that
  something is going on there.
  In the next part of the campaign, the Op's will
  be drawn deeper in to the trap, finding out
  things which take them past the point of no
  return, they will know too much.
  After that the decisions they make must be their
  own; to dig even deeper, uncovering dark
  truths, or to walk away from SLA Industries.
  Stay tuned.... there's much more to come.
  N E V E R   M I N D   T H E
  P I G
  S H O C K   B A T S
  First came the Spike Bats (TBP issue 2),
  hideous mutations from the defiled Cannibal
  Sectors, their sting sending insanity coursing
  through the veins of those they attacked. And
  now, evolved from these loathsome creatures,
  comes a new threat; Shock Bats.
  Like their Spike Bat predecessors, Shock Bats
  are huge, bat like creatures with the tail of a
  lizard and two extra spider like limbs sticking
  out from just under their wings. The Spike Bat's
  sting brought madness, the Shock Bat's sting
  hits home with a jolt.
  Stats.
  Min.
  Max.
  Norm.
  STR
  2
  5
  3
  DEX
  8
  14
  11
  DIA
  2
  3
  2
  CONC
  1
  2
  1
  HITS
  10
  20
  15
  Weight
  6kg
  20kg
  12kg
  Length
  50cm
  100cm 70cm
  Wingspan
  60cm
  120cm 80cm
  Weapons
  DMG
  PEN
  AD
  Teeth
  1
  2
  0
  Tail
  2
  3*
  1#
  SKILLS
  RANK
  Detect
  7
  Unarmed (Bite)
  7
  Unarmed (Tail)
  7
  Tracking
  9
  Fly (Dodge)
  12
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  The Shock Bat’s ‘Dodge’ is subtracted from
  it’s attackers chance to hit. SB’s can not Dodge
  and attack in the same phase.
  * The tail of the Shock Bat delivers a sting
  which is highly electrically charged.
  As well as the 3 DMG, the victim of the jolt
  must make a PHYS roll (as a skill) with a
  minus modifier of the Shock Bats STR. Success
  means they take no additional damage, failure
  means they take 2-7 points additional damage
  and are 'stunned' for (20 - PHYS) rounds, while
  stunned they get -8 to all actions.
  If the Shock Bat's tail does not penetrate the
  armour, no 'stun' is rolled for.
  # If Shock Bats hit powered armour, their 'jolt'
  has one of two affects:
  1. The armour is 'stunned' (powered down) for
  1D6 phases.
  2. The Shock Bat 'drains' the armour of 01-10%
  of it's power supply, and is killed in the
  process.
  Shock Bats pose little threat when encountered
  one at a time, if they 'swarm' they are a
  different matter. A swarm contains one to two
  thousand Bats.
  Rumours are rife over the origin of these
  creatures, the favoured tale has them being a
  DarkNight response to Domino Dogs and
  Doom Dogs.
  J E K K L E S
  W r i t t e n   By : G.D.  C l o u g h
  (S h a r d)
  Originally from the Ice Worlds, the Jekkles
  were first brought to Mort in an attempt to help
  the Wraith's settle into Mort.  However with
  Wraith's adaptability the Jekkles were not
  needed and were left abandoned. The hot
  atmosphere of Mort was not to these creatures
  liking and the adaptable creatures had to evolve
  to survive.  A feat they performed admirably.
  Jekkles resemble pole cats (only with little,
  well cleaned fur), they are light grey in colour
  and live in family packs numbering anywhere
  from 10-30 members with each pack having an
  alpha male that is slightly stronger than the
  other male pack members.  The pack will hunt
  in groups of 5-10 depending on the size of the
  and needs of the family.  The diet of the Jekkles
  is comprised mainly of Carrion young or
  vermin, they are exceptional hunters and have
  superb vision and hearing.  The absence of
  vegetation turned the Omnivore Jekkle into the
  Carnivorous 
  Jekkle, 
  the 
  teeth 
  are 
  2-3
  centimeters in length and the claws are an inch
  long.
  The Jekkles are mostly subterranean during the
  day only to emerge once the slightly cooler
  night settles in.  They can be found in the
  Cannibal sectors, usually within a mile of a
  Carrion nest and will rarely venture out past the
  walls (easier prey within walls).  Jekkles are
  fiercely territorial and will fight to the death if
  an intruder enters the well concealed burrows,
  only Wraiths are tolerated near the burrow
  which lends suggestion to the argument that
  Wraith's have evolved from the Jekkles in the
  same way Humans from Apes.  Jekkles are
  only scared by use of Flux, either against them
  or used near them and any power costing over 2
  flux may cause them to flee (cool roll).
  Stats.
  Min.
  Max.
  Norm.
  STR
  4
  9
  6
  DEX
  8
  13
  11
  DIA
  5
  9
  7
  CONC
  3
  5
  4
  PHYS
  6
  11
  8
  KNOW
  4
  7
  6
  COOL
  4
  6
  5
  HITS
  10
  20
  14
  Height
  30cm
  60cm
  45cm
  Weight
  20kg
  40kg
  30kg
  Length
  70cm
  110cm 90cm
  Walk 2.  Run 4.  Sprint 6.
  Weapons
  DMG
  PEN
  AD
  Claws
  2
  2
  1
  Teeth
  1
  4
  0
  SKILLS
  RANK
  Unarmed Combat
  4
  Hide
  6
  Detect
  6
  Running
  5
  Sneak
  5
  Tactics (Pack)
  4
  Intimidation
  1*
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  *+1 to Intimidation for each additional 2
  Jekkles, Alpha Males have +1 to all skills
  listed.)
  Advantages / Disadvantages
  Hearing
  Good. Rank 4
  Vision
  Good. Rank 5
  Housing
  Bad. Rank 15 !
  E Q U I P M E N T
  H A R P I E : T R A N S
  A T M O S P H E R I C
  I N T E R C E P T O R   A I R C R A F T
  W r i t t e n   By : L e a t h   S h e a ls
  "Here's the official report released by Dark
  Lament to accompany their new 'Harpie'
  Interceptor 
  transatmospheric 
  craft. 
  Their
  answer to Karma's 'Gargoyle', let's see how it
  compares..."
  NEW! From Dark Lament. The Harpie
  Interceptor Transatmospheric Aircraft.
  As you saw a little under half an hour ago our
  competitors made the skies unsafe with the
  release of their mutant freak aircraft. As we did
  not wish to see the public of Mort suffer from
  this monstrosity, we felt it to be our duty to
  release to you our Air Project which we have
  been working on for literally years.
  The Harpie comes into existence through the
  hard work of our Science Friction engineers.
  Although the exact workings are classified, I
  can tell you that the Harpie is created through
  visualisation and calculation, combined with
  large amounts of Flux energy. As you can see
  in the photos, the Harpie is a cylindrical aircraft
  that tapers at both ends. From its sides extend
  two short, smooth, stubby wings. These appear
  more like fins than wings, which creates less of
  a target for hostile fire and provides the
  necessary stability required for the aircraft to
  function in an atmosphere. No external power
  source or engine exhausts are visible. This is
  because the Harpie does not rely on an engine
  for its locomotion. Almost all of the energy
  needed to power
  the craft comes from the pilot themselves. This
  has been accomplished by a Dark Lament
  breakthrough in Science Friction engineering;
  the flux-matrix amplifier. This amplifier has
  been incorporated into the Harpie as a power
  grid running the length and breadth of the
  aircraft. This grid works by detecting the power
  expended by the pilot to fuel their abilities and
  magnifies them to a level which can affect the
  entire craft by drawing additional energies from
  the Ebb.
  In this manner the pilot need only use enough
  flux to influence themselves. Without the pilot,
  the Harpie is little more than dead weight, but
  once an experienced ebb-user enters the snug
  pilot's chair the craft comes alive. The ebb-user
  pilots the craft by using their own ebb abilities.
  The primary disciplines needed are Reality
  Folding and Telekinesis, although to create a
  truly effective Interceptor craft, knowledge of
  Blast, Communication, Detect and Illumination
  are required. The combination of Telekinesis
  and Reality Fold makes for a lightning-fast
  craft, capable of maneuvering in any direction,
  disappearing and reappearing mere meters from
  the enemy. Under the control of a skilled pilot,
  the Harpie is able to perform amazing feats of
  aerobatics and maneuvering, far better than any
  other craft. All this with no height ceiling, as
  the pilot can simply Reality Fold the craft
  higher and higher. Every Foldship in the SLA
  fleet is currently being equipped with at least
  one squadron of Harpies and experienced
  pilots.
  These Interceptors will work on surprise and
  maneuverability to defeat opponents. Folding
  directly into the midst of the enemy, creating
  maximum carnage then disappearing back to
  the safety of the mother ship, these Harpies
  should become one of the most devastatingly
  effective weapons ever commissioned by SLA.
  "So there you have it. The marketing
  competitors at war again. As our skies become
  filled with Karma and Dark Lament patrols, the
  citizen of Mort can only watch to see which
  product will prove more effective for SLA."
  H a r p i e : I n t e r c e p t o r   T r a n s
  A t m o s p h e r i c   A i r c r a f t
  Type: Ebb Fighter.
  Max. Speed: Telekinesis: 2000 km/ hour.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Reality Fold: Speed Not Applicable.
  Movement: 
  Science 
  Friction 
  Flux-Matrix
  Amplifier.
  Dimensions: 2.4m length, 1.3m width, 1.2m
  height.
  Weight: 472 kg.
  Crew: 1
  Passengers: 0
  Skill: Essential: Reality Fold, Telekinesis.
  Preferred: 
  Blast, 
  Communication, 
  Detect,
  Illumination. (Although only 1 rank of
  Telekinesis and Reality fold are required, at
  least 10 ranks in each of these and 5-10 ranks in
  the other skills are required for an ebb-user to
  be considered for official piloting by Dark
  Lament).
  Armament: Blast Amplifier (DMG, PEN and
  AD x2).
  Telekinesis Guided Ebb-missiles (x4).
  Cost: 600,000 credits.
  P.V. 15 I.D. 300
  Acceleration Rate: Telekinesis: As per Rank.
  Reality Fold: N/A.
  Turning Circle: 0 at all speeds.
  Additional Notes: Combat Awareness glyphs
  built into hull give +4 to dodge.
  An Eternal Flux 20 Gem is built into the
  hull as a  last resort if the pilot exhausts all
  Flux. Use of this gem will only be permitted by
  the craft when it senses the pilot is low on Ebb.
  Calming Glyphs give pilot +2 COOL and +5 to
  any  concentration rolls whilst in the craft.
  Glyphs also allow the pilot to maintain multiple
  ebb abilities, such as piloting and firing
  weapons.
  Notes: Telekinesis Guided Ebb-Missiles; Use
  pilot's skill in Telekinesis for 'to hit' roll. Pilot
  may correct missile's course up until point of
  impact.
  Missile has its own power source, so the pilot
  need only give it bumps and slight corrections
  just to point it in the right direction.
  Due to extra control given to the pilot over
  missile direction, pilot's do not need outside
  authorisation to fire these missiles, yet any
  damage to SLA property will not be looked on
  kindly by Head Office.
  Missiles cause damage as per Blast level 18.
  F E N  –  G A   ‘7   S E R I E S’
  A U T O M A T I C   P I S T O L
  W r i t t e n   B y : M a t h e w   P o o k
  General Armaments are suffering from loss of
  financial backing, their products are not selling
  well and FEN have made it clear that a buy out
  is imminent.
  A forward looking executive at GA, Martin
  Pirrelli, has launched a series of collaborations
  with other weapons manufacturers in an
  attempt to raise the stock value of GA.
  The FEN-GA '7 Series' is the first of these
  collaborations, and much rests on it's success or
  failure.
  The 7 Series uses a new ammunition size and
  type to achieve it's goal; that of having flexible
  weapons holding dual clips. The 7.62mm shell
  size intrigued FEN, whose designers were
  looking to move in to the smaller caliber
  market after the success of their 091 Farjacket
  took them to the other extreme.
  7.62mm ammunition is (at the moment) limited
  to: 'standard', HP and AP. There are plans to
  release a HEAP variant, but this may be some
  way off.
  There are four weapons currently available in
  the 7 Series. If they are a success FEN may
  take the option to 'buy out' the idea from GA
  and develop it further.
  All of the 7 Series are made from carbon-fiber /
  ceramic constructions, making them extremely
  light. They are functionally simple, allowing
  minimum maintenance. All weapons have a
  high rate of fire and low recoil, each is ready
  fitted with recoil baffling, and laser painting.
  The 704, and 711 can also take silencer and
  flash suppressor.
  7 0 1   L. A. P.   (L i g h t   A u t o m a t i c
  P i s t o l)
  The 701 is designed to be small and light,
  allowing easy concealment. Set for either
  double shot or single, elegant and simple to use.
  Clip
  ROF
  RCL
  Range
  Cost
  18
  2/1
  1/0
  8m
  80c
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  7 0 4   D. C.   (D u a l   C l i p)
  The 704 utilises the dual clip to deliver the
  'concept' of the 7 Series in to action. A switch
  allows the user to change from one clip to the
  other, changing ammunition types without
  losing a shot. Or you could of course use the
  facility to simply extend your ammunition
  supply in a firefight.
  Clip
  ROF
  RCL
  Range
  Cost
  (2) 20
  4/1
  3 (0)
  10m
  130c
  7 0 9   'R i b b o n'   (S M G)
  The 709 utilises the dual clip strategy of the
  704, but allows the user the rapid delivery of an
  SMG. Unfortunately there is no recoil baffling
  yet available for the
  709, though research is near completion on an
  'in built' reduction.
  Clip
  ROF
  RCL
  Range
  Cost
  (2) 30
  8/4/1
  5/3/1
  15m
  320c
  7 1 1   'F l e t c h'   (A R)
  The Assault Rifle 711 is sleek, light and
  incredibly simple to use. Trials on Hed showed
  it compared well to both the FEN AR and the
  Finisher. 
  Although 
  slightly 
  lacking 
  in
  penetration, it's high ammunition hold and low
  recoil meant it shone in close up action.
  Clip
  ROF
  RCL
  Range
  Cost
  (2) 20
  5/2/1
  3/1/0
  20m
  700c
  S t a n d a r d   A m m u n i t i o n
  Weapon
  PEN
  DMG
  AD
  L.A.P.
  2
  3
  1
  D.C.
  3
  4
  1
  Ribbon
  3
  4
  1
  Fletch
  4
  5
  2
  Ammunition
  PEN
  DMG
  AD
  HP
  0
  6
  0
  AP
  7
  1
  1
  The FEN-GA collaboration may be a sign of a
  way out for GA, allowing them to keep some
  autonomy by working with some of their
  competitors in joint projects. This would also
  allow both parties in each collaboration the
  chance to develop some of their more 'obscure'
  weapons ideas, that may not have otherwise
  seen the light of day.
  GA are rumoured to be working with BLA on a
  variant of the 9442 that would give Shivers
  access to a greater variety of shot types.
  D O O M   D O G S
  "The Domino Dog is as close to perfection as
  we could make it. It has proven to be one of the
  most efficient killing machines ever to come
  from the labs of Phantom Pregnancy. This
  latest development comes from Dark Lament
  without my consent or approval. They have
  managed to corrupt a very pure idea. Why am I
  not surprised? It's only saving grace is it's
  choice of prey, which I understand it hunts
  exclusively of all others. Isn't that a Silver
  Lining?"
  Maxon Hagen, response to questions at a Third
  Eye news conference on the release of the 616
  Domino Variant, 902 SD.
  "Doom Dogs were developed by Dark Lament
  in direct response to the increasing Feral Ebon
  threat growing in Downtown. They are a
  development of the Domino Dog, and we thank
  our friends at Phantom Pregnancy for their co-
  operation in this project. Doom Dogs hunt Feral
  Ebons. The citizens of Mort have nothing to
  fear."
  Sylvia Britt, Department Head of 'ShadowFire',
  Dark Lament's newest 'Bio' division, 902 SD.
  Assessment: Dr. Mark Reiko.
  Department: 
  ShadowFire, 
  Dark 
  Lament
  laboratory.
  Date: 01/04/902 SD.
  To: Mr. Daniel Travis, Head of Dept.
  Extermination.
  Subject: 
  Doom 
  Dogs, 
  performance 
  and
  suitability.
  "Two Doom Dogs were used for the trial,
  operating 
  in 
  Downtown 
  Sector 
  280.
  Corroborating evidence, in the form of video
  footage, and voice reports has been supplied by
  a Shiver 'Sleeper' Unit (see separate report).
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Both Dog's entered the Sector through storm
  drains adjoining the perimeter wall with
  Downtown 279, the Shiver monitoring station
  of 279 failed to pick them up on both optic and
  tremor scans, confirming the 'stealth' implants
  operation.
  As soon as they entered 280, the Dogs were
  confronted with a roaming pack of six Carrien.
  Both Dogs avoided contact, using natural cover
  and stealth, their 'instinct' to attack the Carrien
  being controlled by their enhanced 'target
  acquisition' program.
  Upon reaching the last reported position of
  feral activity, the Dogs spent approximately
  seven minutes finding the trail of the Ebb use,
  which they then began to follow.
  The 
  Dogs 
  covered 
  approximately 
  seven
  kilometers, through two lower levels, and
  eventually in to a sewer outlet leading to
  Cannibal Sector Three. The tracking covered
  ground contaminated with both toxic waste, as
  well as recently deposited flood debris known
  to be 'Flux contaminated'. The original scent
  was adhered to at all times.
  Upon entering CS 3, the target was acquired at
  close range, being aware they were being
  followed, the target had taken to higher ground
  in an abandoned chemical storage cylinder.
  Both Dogs closed for the kill, taking a wide,
  'split' approach, minimising targeting for the
  Feral as well as allowing easier access to 'fold'
  routes. The lead Dog took a Blast, which did
  considerable damage, this did not prevent the
  Dog from closing on the prey. The trailing Dog
  'folded' to attack, taking the Feral completely
  by surprise.
  Once the Dog had engaged the Feral in close
  combat, the Feral tried to 'port' away. Both
  Dogs successfully followed, jumping almost
  simultaneously with the Feral.
  The ensuing combat lasted approximately 48
  seconds, after which the Feral was dead. Both
  Dogs 
  spent 
  approximately 
  two 
  minutes
  'confirming' the kill and feeding, during this
  time both Dogs successfully 'leeched' Flux.
  Upon retrieval, both Dogs were found to be
  operating at low metabolic levels, the injured
  Dog had healed completely.
  The Shiver Sleeper unit which inadvertently
  filmed the encounter, verified the use of Flux as
  well as the Dogs calculated attack, stating that
  they only used 'minimal' force.
  The ten Dogs placed on order by your
  department will undergo field trials, before they
  are delivered on 30/04 as per contract."
  Report approved for release by Ms Sylvia Britt,
  Department Head, ShadowFire.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Doom Dogs are based on the successful
  Domino 
  Dogs, 
  with 
  some 
  startling
  enhancements to allow them to concentrate on
  hunting Ebons.
  The chitinous armoured layer of the Doom Dog
  has been impregnated with a Flux Gem
  'Matrix', making it act as a sort of Deathsuit.
  The Doom Dog's brain has been programmed
  using a Flux Matrix allowing it to access it's
  Ebb Abilities.
  The 'Ebb Abilities' the Doom Dog may use are:
  1. Detect, Ebb Awareness, Rank 8, true Track.
  8 Flux.
  2. Reality Folding, Ebb Manipulation, Rank 7,
  Jump Port 7. 7 Flux.
  3. Protect, Ebon Guard, Rank 4, Channel 1.
  This is the basis for the Doom Dog's 'leech'
  ability. 0 Flux.
  Doom 
  Dogs 
  have 
  their 
  Ebb 
  Abilities
  'programmed' in to their brains, at an equivalent
  of skill level 6.
  They do not 'formulate' to use their abilities, but
  rather drive them with instinct, needing to
  achieve 11+ as a skill roll to activate any
  ability. Each ability is triggered to go off
  immediately, i.e. in the phase it is used.
  Doom Dogs use their Flux Gem Matrix to
  gather and store Flux in their armoured skin.
  They gather 20 Flux per day, which is stored in
  their skin. Flux used drains from their store,
  and is replenished 24 hours later.
  Doom Dogs have the ability to 'leech' Flux
  from victims they have slain. They do this by
  using their Channeling ability, with this they
  may be able to boost their Flux Storage by up
  to 10, which remains with them until the days
  end, when it is 'cleared down' with the other
  Flux. The maximum Flux a Doom Dogs skin
  may hold is 30.
  The Dogs are programmed to hunt Ebons. They
  will ignore other enemies in favour of pursuing
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  their chosen prey. if they are attacked and
  damaged by another sort of 'target', they will
  deviate from the hunt to dispatch their attacker.
  Doom Dogs track feral Ebons through the
  distinctive 'taste' of the Flux they use. Flux
  gathered, stored and used by Feral Ebons has a
  different 'signature' for two main reasons.
  Firstly the Flux is not 'used' through a
  Deathsuit, the Ferals use their direct thoughts
  and emotions to channel the Flux, leaving a
  definite 'character' imprint on the Flux residue.
  Secondly, Ferals 'formulate' at a sub-conscious
  level, without using the strict mental disciplines
  of their Ebon cousins. This means the Flux
  used is almost 'raw', again leaving a distinctive
  'taste' for the Dogs to follow.
  Generally, the Doom Dogs will be sent in to
  areas where there is known Feral activity, and
  where there has been a confirmed sighting of
  Ebb use by a Feral.
  The Doom Dogs acquisition program contains
  Flux signatures from 'normal' Ebons, i.e. ones
  that use a Deathsuit and Formulate. this ensures
  that they will almost never make the mistake of
  targeting an Ebon Operative. So far, in all
  laboratory as well as field trials, no 'legitimate'
  Ebon has been attacked.
  Ebons do not find this all-together re-assuring,
  and most sane Ebons have a very healthy fear
  of Doom Dogs.
  Doom Dogs are programmed to respond to
  Necanthropes as masters and priority programs
  ensure 
  that 
  a 
  Necanthropes 
  instructions
  override previous hunt targets.
  D o o m   D o g s
  STR
  12
  Walk
  3m
  DEX
  14
  Run
  6m
  DIA
  3
  Sprint
  8m
  CONC
  4
  Weight
  110kg
  PHYS
  13
  Length
  3m
  KNOW
  3
  (Nose to Tail)
  COOL
  15
  SKILLS
  RANK
  Detect
  8
  Tracking
  8
  Sneaking
  4
  Hide
  4
  Unarmed Combat
  8
  Climb
  4
  Running
  4
  Swimming
  4
  Ebb Use
  6
  Natural
  Weapons
  PEN
  DMG
  Front Claws
  3
  3
  Hind Claws
  2
  3
  Quills
  2
  4
  Teeth
  4
  6
  Position
  Hits
  P.V.
  Total
  70
  --
  Head
  23
  7
  Torso
  70
  7
  Legs
  35
  7
  Doom Dogs regenerate at a rate of 2 hits per
  round, and take 'no wounds' during combat.
  "Hey, I hate Ferals as much as the next gal, but
  these things make my bones go cold, feel sorry
  for the Feral fuckers really."
  Lace, female Operative with UnderScore.
  "It just stalked on by me like I wasn't there. I
  froze in my tracks man. As it passed I just
  sensed death. No way would I take one on,
  simply not enough UV on Mort."
  'Frosty' Frazer Dern, Frother with RunThrough.
  "Dark Lament have gone too far this time. This
  is 
  an 
  abomination. 
  Malice, 
  death 
  and
  unrelenting hatred emanate from every pore of
  the Dog's body. Every Ebon with any shred of
  emotional sanity left should fear them. It is
  only a matter of time before they break their
  programming."
  Root, Ebon Operative with Blood Twist.
  "Hey! Cool! Dark Lament actually got
  something right for a change. Where can I get
  one?"
  Zoot, Brain Waster, First Strike.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  F I N D I N G   A   J O B :
  B P N ’ S
  Here we go with a White and a Silver, two of
  the more obscure BPN types. Hopefully both
  will offer plenty of scope for Op's to make or
  break their careers.
  "Hey, I laughed 'til it hurt. These guys just slay
  me!"
  One of the most popular shows on TV is the
  Lauran and Harty Show, these two slap-stick
  heroes have over eighty weekly shows and nine
  movies under their belt. The public simply can't
  get enough of their antics, their physical brand
  of humour and the sparse, snappy dialogue, has
  made them the 'peoples' heroes.
  The Lauran and Harty Show goes out every
  Saturday night, right after the prime time news
  broadcast, a prized slot for both advertising and
  sponsorship. Third Eye have signed the stars
  for another fifty weekly shows and three
  movies. Lauran and Harty are set to be around
  for a long time.
  The merchandising of the two stars has grown
  to match their fame; anything you can think of
  can be bought with their distinct faces on it,
  along with some of their catch phrases.
  T h e   B P N
  Stan Lauran and Oliver Harty are big business
  for Third eye. Their brand of comedy has hit a
  vein of support in the citizens of Mort not seen
  for many years now.
  Their humour is very physical, their stunts are
  legendary, as is the stars' insistence on doing
  them themselves.
  Both of the actors are tightly managed by Third
  Eye, 
  their 
  public 
  appearances 
  carefully
  monitored and their private lives kept very
  private indeed.
  Third Eye guard their stars closely to protect a
  secret. Both Lauran and Harty are in fact a
  make of Stormer. A Vevaphon variant, with
  greatly increased facial flexibility and enhanced
  regenerative abilities.
  The 'batch' of Vevaphons that Stan and Olly
  come from consists of eight Stormers, four of
  each 'type'. Two are kept working and six are
  kept in deep slumber.
  Each Stormer has been 'programmed' with the
  Stan and Olly character, and is almost
  incapable of independent thought patterns, they
  will always speak and act as their screen
  persona.
  Three days ago Tempest broke in to the holding
  laboratory and attempted the 'Release' of the six
  sleeping Vevaphons. The Stormers awoke and
  slew all of the Tempest operatives, then
  escaped in to the maze of upper Downtown,
  attracting much attention as they went.
  Third Eye believe that the release drug pumped
  in to the Vevaphons has had a twisted affect,
  instead of inspiring suicide, it would seem to
  have prompted the Vevaphons to seek out and
  destroy their original 'templates', the characters
  upon which they are based; Lauran and Harty
  must die.
  Third Eye have long since buried the human
  actors upon which the two characters were
  based, and fear for the lives of the two Stormers
  currently working as Stan and Olly. The
  public's demand for the two stars is as strong as
  ever, and rather than cancel the scheduled
  public appearances, Third Eye have issued a
  BPN to protect their assets.
  SCL: 9 (Arbitrary)
  Contact: Third Eye News, BPN Dept.
  Training Package Recc.: Any (see below)
  Colour Code: Silver
  Summary: Squad of Operatives needed to
  accompany media stars on promotional visits to
  malls. Only competent, good looking squads
  need apply. Contact Liasa Brooks; 555/ar/485-
  660
  Coverage: Third Eye
  Consolidated Bonus Scheme: 2,000c
  Payment: Per squad
  SCL Increase: 0.5
  W h a t   T h e   O p e r a t i v e s   A r e
  T o l d
  Liasa Brooks will be careful not to tell the Op's
  that the stars are Vevaphons. She will simply
  tell them that Third Eye has received numerous
  death threats against Stan and Olly, and that the
  most recent of these are being taken seriously.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Essentially, Third Eye want a squad to
  accompany the duo on their next three public
  engagements, staying with them as bodyguards
  in between times.
  The Op's are reminded that they will be on
  camera for most of their time on the BPN, with
  some footage going out live.
  Liasa will tell the Op's that a gang of 'copycats'
  has formed, dressing and acting like Stan and
  Olly, they look comical but are deadly serious.
  They have been spotted in Upper Downtown
  and are rumoured to be armed and extremely
  dangerous. The Op's will be issued with six
  termination warrants with the gangs names on,
  though no pictures of the gang exist, they will
  be made up to look exactly the same as Stan
  and Olly.
  The fact that the Op's will be on camera for
  most of the BPN will be emphasised by Liasa,
  who makes it clear that Stan and Olly's public
  duties must not be hindered.
  Stan and Olly's next three public appearances
  are to be:
  Opening a Shopping Mall in Suburbia.
  Attending the funeral of a fellow comedy
  legend, Louie Similiar.
  Presenting awards at a Third Eye show biz
  party.
  T h e   S t o r m e r s   P l a n
  The Vevaphons are each programmed with the
  knowledge of the three events, in case one of
  them had to be used for the occasion.
  Essentially, they will split in to three pairs, and
  make one or more attempts at each appearance.
  T h e   S h o p p i n g   M a l l
  "That's another fine mess.... "
  The two Vevaphons will intercept the Op's on
  their way to the Mall, pulling out in front of
  them with a huge 'dumper' truck.
  The Op's may or may not be aware that the
  vehicle in front of them is being driven by the
  two Vev's.
  The two Stormers will suddenly break or veer
  towards the Op's, causing them to make a
  difficult Drive skill roll (-5 to -8), if they fail,
  the Op's will inevitably crash in to something.
  If they pass, the Vev's release their secret
  weapon.
  The back of the dumper truck disgorges
  hundreds of thousands of synthetic banana
  skins all over the road. If done at speed, they
  cause the Op driving to make a Drive skill roll
  at -8.
  It soon becomes apparent that the Op's cannot
  continue over the skins, whether they stop
  voluntarily or they crash, phase two is put in to
  operation.... the skins are set alight.
  They burn with a ferocious blue flame, giving
  off a thick black, toxic smoke that obscures the
  view and chokes the breath from those
  breathing unaided.
  After the skins are alight, the Vev's move on
  the car with Stan and Olly in it. Both Stormers
  are out of control and will charge down the
  vehicle, hoping to get a chance to either smash
  through a window, so striking at Stan and Olly,
  or they will 'pour' themselves through an
  opening like a hatch, re-assembling in the
  vehicle in a frenzy of claws and teeth.
  Stan and Olly will panic, in true comedy mode,
  trying to get themselves out of the situation by
  generally making things worse, usually be
  doing the exact opposite of what they are told.
  They will act in a slap stick manner at all times,
  using the Op's as 'extras' for their get away
  gags.
  The two Stormers can only be stopped by
  reducing them to bloodied rags, otherwise they
  will fight with every ounce of strength to get
  Stan and Olly.
  T h e   F u n e r a l
  "I'm sorry Olly, I didn't know what to do.... "
  Louie Similiar is a comedy legend, a fore
  runner to Stan and Olly and a giant in the
  annals of Third Eye comedy history.
  Louie is to be buried in the Uptown Necropolis
  of Dedonite, a towering block of vaults and
  gardens, with eighty levels of below ground
  storage. Each floor of the Necropolis is a
  thousand meters across, and each follows the
  same circular pattern. Up to thirty burials occur
  simultaneously on each floor, with the coffins
  being brought in by central elevators.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Louie is to be buried in an exclusive garden of
  rest on the 93rd floor, shared by only seventy
  other occupants, compared with the seven
  thousand on each of the other floors.
  His funeral is attended by two thousand Third
  Eye guests and numerous camera crews.
  The two Vev's have a double edged plan.
  During the speech to be given by Stan and Olly,
  one of them will burst from Louie's coffin,
  which they have previously emptied, to make a
  grab for the throat of either Stan or Olly. The
  Vev in the coffin is covered with Frag
  grenades, thirty in all, wired to go off
  simultaneously.
  Prior to the speech, Third Eye have planned a
  surprise farewell from Louie's slap stick side
  kicks, the KeyBone Chops. Twenty of these
  comedy Shiver types will come crashing in to
  the cemetery, apparently chasing (or being
  chased by) some heinous villain, blowing
  whistles, waving riot batons and falling around
  a lot.
  They will work the crowd with great
  enthusiasm, never getting too close to Stan and
  Olly. One of the Op's could easily mistake one
  of the Chops as a Vev.
  If the Op's manage to escape the funeral the
  other Vev will strike. As they reach the ground
  floor in the elevator, there will be a loud
  explosion, the roof of the elevator will be
  ripped open and in will drop the other Vev. His
  aim is to disguise himself as the real version of
  'himself'. He will interact with his 'real' partner
  and confuse the Op's, trying to get them to
  shoot the 'real' version of himself.
  In the slap stick confusion that follows, the Vev
  will try to inject the 'real' version of his
  character with Release. If successful, he will
  drop the charade and attack the remaining
  partner, caring nothing for his own life.
  Once injected with Release, the 'real' Stan or
  Olly (your choice), will start to become morose
  and lethargic, all in a fashion in keeping with
  their character; Stanley will cry a lot and fidget
  with his clothing, and anything around him,
  Olly will get grumpy and take to badgering
  Stanley and the Op's, blaming them for his
  current sad state.
  T h i r d   E y e   S h o w   B i z   P a r t y
  By the evening of the party, the Released
  Stormer will be utterly depressed and suicidal,
  looking for ways to kill himself, all in keeping
  with their character; throwing themselves under
  trains, or hanging themselves with their own
  tie, etc.
  At the awards, the final pair of Vev's are
  waiting in the roof of the auditorium, concealed
  in the ropes and gantry's of the stage scenery.
  They will wait for Stan and Olly to take the
  stage before attempting their strike....
  And here's where you come in.... take your
  favourite mishap from a Stan and Olly classic
  and go for it.
  Drop a piano from the rafters, or a safe, or a
  girder, or have them drop dressed as Gorilla's.
  Another tack is to have them capture a very
  prominent Third Eye official, hold him hostage
  at the top of an apartment block and demand
  that Stan and Olly bring them a full sized piano,
  pushing it up the stairs of course. The trade will
  be the life of the Third Eye official for the lives
  of Stan and Olly.
  You may think this a bit silly, and you may be
  right. But we prefer to see it as a chance to role
  play and re-enforce the power that media stars
  have over the likes of the Op's.
  And of course you do get a chance to do your
  Stan and Olly impersonations and drop piano's
  on people.... what do you want from a game?
  S t a n   &   O l l y   V e v a p h o n s
  Strength
  12
  Dexterity
  12
  Diagnose
  8
  Concentration
  8
  Charisma
  8
  Cool
  10
  Walk
  1
  Run
  3
  Sprint
  4
  Movement
  37
  Half Move.
  74
  No Move.
  111
  SKILLS
  RANK
  Detect
  9
  SLA Info
  4
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Unarmed Combat
  11
  Blade 1H
  6
  Stealth
  9
  Sleight
  9
  Gymnastics
  5
  Hide
  7
  Acrobatics
  5
  Climb
  7
  Throw
  6
  Acting / Cinematography
  10
  They have enhanced regenerative powers,
  allowing them to ignore wounds and to heal
  two hits per phase.
  The Vevaphons have limited shape shifting
  abilities, roughly 50% flexibility of their
  'normal' Vev cousins.
  As a 'safety' feature, each Vev has a built in life
  span of four years, after which their DNA starts
  to break down.
  The Stan and Olly Vev's have only one goal;
  kill the original Stan and Olly, they care
  nothing for their own mortality.
  "Oh good. A 'White'. Maybe a little too subtle
  for us?"
  Flying Jelly Attack Confectionery have been
  producing sweets and desserts for some time
  now, having a well established share of the
  confectionery market in most areas of Mort.
  Their relative success is in their ability to
  change their product lines to meet public
  demand, which can be fickle to say the least.
  They also have one of the more successful
  advertising campaigns on Mort, including the
  sponsorship of two Operative squads and three
  Contract Killers.
  Recently a 'copycat' serial killer has appeared in
  Downtown, mimicking one of the sponsored
  Contract Killers, bad business for Flying Jelly.
  They want the serial tracked and killed.
  Unfortunately, the two squads they sponsor are
  otherwise engaged, one off world in the Stone
  Rim Colonies, the other working a Yellow for
  the Dept. of the Environment. Hence the BPN.
  SCL: 9
  Contact: Dept. Contract Sector, Mr. Amos
  Anderson: C/455-983-0264
  Training Package Recc.: At least one I&I in
  squad.
  Colour Code: White
  Summary: Squad of Operatives needed to
  investigate serial killer operating in copycat
  fashion. 
  Extermination 
  warrant 
  available
  (monitored bonus).
  Coverage: Station Analysis
  Consolidated 
  Bonus 
  Scheme: 
  400c
  (Extermination Warrant Bonus; 500c)
  Payment: Per Operative. Warrant : Squad
  SCL Increase: 0.5
  Amos will give the Op's discs with dossiers
  covering the Contract Killer, Claw, and the
  'copycat' Serial Killer, Mawler.
  The information gained by the Op's should be
  worked for by investigation and effort, don't
  simply let them make skill rolls. The dossiers
  may contain whatever of the following you see
  fit, depends how much of a leg up you want to
  give the Op's.
  C l a w
  Street Information: Contained in dossier,
  additional discovered with Streetwise roll at
  indicated difficulty rating.
  Claw is a 'hot' Contract killer, believed to be in
  negotiation with DPB and the Dept. of
  Extermination. Claw works the sectors a lot,
  earning a lot of cash from Carrien bounty.
  Claw's trademark is either mutilating or
  removing the eyes. Claw has been around for a
  few months now and has made enemies of the
  two gangs whose territory he regularly crosses
  to get to the sectors where he works (mainly 3
  and 4); RazorBacks and Lords of the Sprawl.
  Claw has fought 'on camera' duels with the
  Contract Killers NeoKnight and Kracker,
  killing them both in SlaughterZone specials
  where they ran in to each other during a Carrien
  hunt.
  5: The RazorBacks plan to ambush Claw on his
  way out of the sectors, to steal the Carrien
  tokens and to pay back for their humiliation at
  his hands; Claw fought seventeen of them in a
  'dual', killing them all.
  10: Claw is believed to be a non-human, none
  have seen him out of his SilverBack, but word
  on the street is he's either a Wraith Raider or a
  Feral Ebon.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  SLA Info.: Skill roll at difficulty ratings to
  obtain information.
  3: Claw went 'contract' three months ago,
  before this he was the only surviving member
  of a squad wiped out in a DarkNight ambush on
  a shuttle in the Stone Rim Colonies. Claw is
  currently SCL 6.
  5: Claw is a Wraith Raider. It is known that
  Cloak have interviewed Claw on three
  occasions, though there are no files available on
  the interviews. The Contract killer, Kracker,
  killed by Claw was working a Grey for Cloak
  at the time of his death.
  12: Claw is working a Platinum for Head
  Office, somehow connected with Karma and
  the Cannibal Sectors.
  M a w l e r
  Street Information: All contained in dossier.
  Mawler works the two sectors in Downtown
  bordering the walls with the Cannibal Sectors
  Claw is known to favour. Mawler works in pale
  imitation of Claw, killing his victims with
  blades then removing their eyes.
  Mawler has killed eleven victims so far and is
  loathed and feared by the residents of the areas
  he works. Word is the Lords of the Sprawl are
  using Mawler to increase their protection
  racket. The RazorBacks are committed to
  hunting down Mawler, as he is bad for their
  rep.
  SLA Info.: Skill roll at difficulty ratings;
  5: Mawler is believed to be a human, possibly
  an outcast from the RazorBacks gang. He kills
  once, maybe twice a week, with no apparently
  consistent MO, apart from the removing of the
  eyes. It is thought he kills with a MAC Knife or
  similar blade.
  8: Mawler is thought to be an escaped inmate
  from the Arkham Institute, an asylum in
  Suburbia. A sociopath, Mawler spent some
  time trying to assimilate in to gang culture,
  failing this he turned rogue and is now obsessed
  with Claw, believing him to be a 'soul mate'.
  13: Mawler is failed Operative, being thrown
  out from Meny due to failing a final stage
  Psyche Evaluation, he was under observation at
  the Arkham Institute, suspected of homicidal
  tendencies. Mawler's real name is Mandrik
  Carson.
  W h a t ' s   G o i n g   O n
  Claw is not happy with his Flying Jelly
  sponsorship, they are slow payers and do not
  give him any exposure that will further his
  career. He wants out from the contract, and
  more to the point, he wants Flying Jelly to stop
  using him to endorse their products.
  Claw's Flying Jelly contract has a full year to
  run.
  Claw figured that a diversion was needed,
  something to take attention away from him, to
  make Flying Jelly disassociate themselves from
  him. Enter Mawler.
  Claw bumped in to Mawler on one of his return
  trips from the sectors. Claw wiped out six of
  Mawler's colleagues from the RazorBacks and
  spared him, telling Mawler that they were
  "brothers in blood", inciting Mawler to keep up
  with Claw in his killings.
  Claw had no way of knowing how successful
  his meeting had been. Mawler took to his task
  with murderous enthusiasm.
  Mawler and Claw have no physical contact,
  though sometimes Claw leaves messages
  scrawled on the walls of the sectors for his
  'blood brother' to read.
  Flying Jelly do not suspect the link between
  Claw and Mawler, though they are aware of a
  shift in the public's perception of Claw, he now
  seems to be becoming 'boring', a new campaign
  is being planned on the back of Mawler.
  Flying Jelly have issued the BPN in an attempt
  to give Mawler some added street cred., having
  a squad investigating him will draw more
  attention to his activities, thus raising his
  profile in the eyes of the public.
  Flying Jelly do not really want the Op's to
  succeed in the BPN, if they get the chance they
  will feed the Op's false leads and information.
  Amos is heavily involved in the new Mawler
  campaign and does not intend to throw his
  career away.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  R u n n i n g   T h e   B P N
  Mawler is a difficult opponent, having both
  gang and street connections, maybe even a few
  old Op buddies with favours he can call in. He
  is deranged and believes he has a mission to
  compliment his 'blood brother' in his killings.
  Use stats. for Props (Karma 139).
  Claw realises that Mawler will soon move the
  focus from him as far as Flying Jelly are
  concerned, when his own popularity reaches a
  suitable low, Claw plans to buy himself out of
  the contract.
  Should the Op's catch or kill Mawler, Claw will
  take it upon himself to 'resurrect' the Serial
  killer by resuming the killing spree in
  Downtown. Claw will mimic Mawler's style,
  and may even plant evidence and rumour that
  the Op's caught the wrong person.
  The Op's may or may not be involved in the
  follow up BPN to catch the 'real' Mawler. If
  Claw is successful in resuming the dead Serial's
  reign of terror, the Op's will have their payment
  for the BPN withdrawn and will gain a rank of
  Bad Rep with Third Eye.
  The Op's may want to resume their hunt for
  Mawler (aka Claw), who will be elusive to the
  point of phantasm. Claw can be used as a
  background theme to the Op's lives, giving
  them something to work on in their own time.
  Maybe the Op's will one day confront Claw, on
  camera, with a huge grudge to settle....
  Claw has Shock, SinewShock, Brace and
  SinewBrace, 
  all 
  to 
  level 
  3. 
  Skeletal
  Enhancement; Claws and Quills (Retracting).
  Strength
  (10) 13
  Dexterity
  (15) 18
  Diagnose
  10
  Concentration
  8
  Charisma
  6
  Cool
  (8) 9
  Walk
  2
  Run
  4
  Sprint
  (6) 9
  Movement
  41
  Half Move.
  82
  No Move.
  123
  SKILLS
  RANK
  Survival
  6
  Tracking
  8
  Detect
  8
  Martial Arts
  15
  Running
  10
  Climb
  8
  Hide
  8
  Sneaking
  7
  Acrobatics
  9
  Blade, 1-H
  13
  Flexible Weapon
  10
  Gymnastics
  8
  Swim
  7
  Throw
  7
  Tactics
  7
  Streetwise
  6
  Evaluate Opponent
  6
  Claw wears SilverBack armour and is armed
  with a Gash Fist, Power Whip and three
  Throwing Knives (MAC).
  V E V A P H O N S   M A D E
  S I M P L E
  W r i t t e n   By  :  G l e n n   B e r r y
  After playing two Vevaphons at SLA-Con 97, I
  thought they were a great idea but there's
  something about the rules for them that really
  doesn't work for me, also I didn't want to make
  them as powerful as a T1000, these are my
  rewritten rules for them.
  V e v a p h o n   S k i l l  -  M o r p h i n g
  All Vevaphons get a Rank 4 in this skill when
  starting out, this skill has no upper limitation,
  however, it is not increased like other skills,
  this skill is increased along the lines of the
  Ebon skill Formulae, whereby a rank is
  awarded by the GM for creative use of the
  Morph skill or if he/she feels the character has
  learned something about the Morphing ability.
  This skill is used for any alterations to the body
  of the Vevaphon, whatsoever.
  V e v a p h o n   S t a t i s t i c s
  I saw no reason to play with the statistics as
  such and have left them as per Karma (pp125).
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  STR
  5 - 10
  Height
  1.5m - 2m
  DEX
  5 - 10
  Weight
  61kg - 80kg
  DIA
  5 - 10
  Walk
  1
  CONC
  5 - 10
  Run
  2
  CHA
  5 - 10
  Sprint
  4
  COOL
  5 - 10
  Move
  17+2/STR
  Hlf Mve
  x2
  No Mve
  x3
  V e v a p h o n   A b i l i t i e s –
  M e t a m o r p h o s i n g
  There  are 4 restrictions on this ability, these
  are:
  1) The Vevaphon cannot split it's mass, if it
  does the lesser parts will die if they are not
  absorbed back into the main body within
  (Original) phys x2 hours, all the Vevaphons
  statistics are reduced to the percentage of the
  largest piece.
  2) The Vevaphon cannot metamorphose mass
  up or down.
  3) The Vevaphon is unable to duplicate
  identities, this does not mean they cannot
  duplicate looks, it means they may not take on
  the personality and or memories of an
  individual.
  4) Vevaphons may not mix their bodies with
  other Vevaphons for anything other than
  pleasure, whilst intermixed they are unable to
  anything other than withdraw due to the
  entirely pleasurable sensations, experienced
  whilst in such a state.
  S t a t i s t i c   A l t e r a t i o n s
  The Vevaphon is able to manipulate it's body,
  to change the way it's body works in order to
  better suit the job it is trying to perform -
  changing the tissue to compensate for the
  various pressures, stresses and forces placed on
  the body during a mission.
  G a m e   U s e
  The Vevaphon is able to transfer points
  between DEX and STR, the Vevaphon cannot
  transfer a statistic down below one.
  Any skill maximums are affected, and if a skill
  is held at a level higher than the original level
  of a statistic, the skill can be used at the higher
  level.
  In order to transfer points between statistics it
  takes two phases and a Morphing roll of 16.
  A r m o u r
  Although possible for a Vevaphon to wear
  armour, it is unlikely that they will for the
  Vevaphon is able to harden it's outer surface, in
  effect creating it's own armour.
  G a m e   U s e
  The Vevaphon creates armour by hardening it's
  outer layer, this has the effect though of
  reducing it's DEX by 1 point per 2 PV, it is
  possible for the Vevaphon to have a negative
  DEX, although the Vevaphon is unable to move
  whilst it's DEX is 0 or less.
  Every 2 points of PV requires a Morph skill roll
  of 18+, and takes a phase.
  N a t u r a l   W e a p o n s
  The Vevaphon is able to create blunt and
  bladed weapons, by shifting cells to form the
  weapon required, creating weapons similar in
  effect to knives, hammers swords, baseball
  bats, etc.
  At high levels of Morphing skill the Vevaphon
  is able to emulate a friction glove by oscillating
  the cells of the hand to create a Vibro weapon.
  G a m e   U s e
  A Vevaphon gains, at each rank of Morphing
  skill, certain abilities to create weapons using
  the parts of its bodies:
  Rank 4
  Weapon: Blade
  DMG 1, PEN 1, AD 0.
  Description: The hand is transformed into a
  single blade approx. 24cm long.
  Rank 5
  Weapon: Hammer
  DMG 2, PEN 0, AD 1.
  Description: The hand is made more dense and
  resembles a hammer.
  Rank 6
  Weapon: Sword
  DMG 2, PEN 1, AD 1.
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Description: The hand and forearm are
  transformed into a sword, approx. 1m long.
  Rank 7
  Weapon: Axe
  DMG 3, PEN 2, AD 2.
  Description: The Vevaphon adds mass to its
  hand to form a large axe head.
  Rank 8
  Weapon: Power Up
  DMG +1, PEN +1, AD +1.
  Description: This skill is the ability to vibrate
  the edges of any personal weapons created in
  previous Ranks.
  Rank 9
  Power Up 2
  DMG +2, PEN +2, AD +2.
  Description: This skill is the ability to vibrate
  the edges of personal weapons created in
  previous ranks
  Rank 10
  Weapon: Instant Blade
  DMG 3, PEN 3, AD 1.
  Description: As for Sword, but can be created
  in one phase.
  Rank 11
  Weapon: Instant Hammer
  DMG 4, PEN 2, AD 3.
  Description: As per previous named skill but
  can be created in one phase.
  Rank 12
  Weapon: Instant Axe
  DMG 5, PEN 4, AD 3.
  Description: As per previous named skill but
  can be created in one phase.
  Rank 13
  Weapon: Power Fist
  DMG 6, PEN 0, AD 6.
  Description: Mass is added to the fist and the
  outer layers are oscillated.
  N o t e s
  Each particular weapon can be created in as
  many phases as the sum of DMG and PEN.
  Each rank can use the weapon of the ranks
  below.
  The 'power ups' are cumulative and are applied
  to all the weapons of the ranks below, although
  this is at the discretion of the Vevaphon.
  The Instant weapons are created by the
  Vevaphon in one phase.
  The Vevaphon receives the Natural weapon
  bonus for all weapons created.
  V e v a p h o n s   T a k i n g   D a m a g e
  The cells of a Vevaphons body are much less
  susceptible to damage from kinetic sources as
  they can shift out of the way, they are more
  susceptible to damage from the Ebb as it
  interferes with the Morphing ability.
  G a m e   U s e
  Vevaphons take only half damage from single
  point kinetic wounds, i.e. blades, spears,
  bullets.
  They take full damage from multi-point  kinetic
  wounds and all energy type attacks, i.e.
  explosions, cold, electricity, fire.
  They take full damage from all Ebb generated
  damage, and heal at 1/4 their 'normal'
  regeneration rate.
  H e a l i n g  /  R e c o n s t r u c t i o n
  The Vevaphon has extremely fast healing
  abilities and can regrow billions of cells in
  seconds, Vevaphons do not bleed.
  G a m e   U s e
  The Vevaphon regenerates at a rate of one hit
  point per round, no wounds are taken from any
  damage.
  "Vev's have a bad rep in the Operative world,
  too tricksy, too slippery, too weird. Silly putty
  monsters from some freak show, created by
  Karma without too much thought or attention to
  detail. Spook's civilians like nothing else."
  Billy 'Bones' Turrin, Operative with WarDogs,
  Mort 902 SD.
  "Vyv, he's our squad Vev, at least I think it's a
  'he', how would you know, y'know? Anyway,
  yeah, he's pretty cool. He's there when you
  need him, usually with some weird shit going
  on with parts of his body, like swords and stuff
  instead of arms. Yeah, Vyv's alright by me."
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  Dexter flint, Frother with Black Dust, Mort 901
  SD.
  "I make my body in to what's needed. I get the
  job done. I like working as an Operative. I don't
  like guns, but I carry one. Ebons make my head
  hurt. I do not live in a bucket, why do Humans
  say that? It is not at all funny."
  Vyv, Vevaphon Operative with Black Dust,
  Mort 901 SD.
  Glenn's views on Vevaphons reflect what a lot
  of people feel; great character class, too
  complicated in the rules.
  The emphasis on their Morphing 'skill' being
  awarded in a similar fashion to the Ebon
  Formulate, makes them more 'playable' as
  characters. One thing, what happens when they
  reach 20.... ?
  S O F T   C O M P A N I E S
  A L I E N   S H O R E
  Company motto: "Turn a stranger in to a
  friend."
  Alien Shore began life as a simple operation
  running from the upper reaches of Downtown,
  originally known as "Quick Change".
  Their back street clinics offered every 'off the
  shelf' surgical service anyone could possibly
  want: abortions, sex changes, cosmetic surgery,
  body piercing, tattooing, minor surgical repair,
  transplants and implant removal.
  As their business grew, Quick Change picked
  up on a new trend among the citizens of Mort.
  More and more of their clients were asking for
  minor cosmetic enhancements or changes to
  make them look more like their alien cousins.
  The chief surgeons and chemists of Quick
  Change saw an opportunity for growth, and
  Alien Shore was born.
  Alien Shore can make you look more like an
  'alien', with surgery they can quite successfully
  re-create the physiques and the looks of Ebons,
  Wraiths or Shaktars.
  The projected figure for Alien Shore's turnover
  for 902 SD is in excess of 20M unis (Source:
  Dept. Recreation & Entertainment).
  SLA have woken up to Alien Shore.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Alien Shore are heavily, and very secretly,
  backed by DarkNight.
  The Director of Operations for Alien Shore is
  an enigmatic, reclusive man known to all
  employees of Alien Shore as Dr. 'X'.
  Alien Shore currently employ seventy people,
  operating from three mobile premises. They are
  known to retain the services of six Props, and
  liberally spread money amongst the Shivers and
  Gangs in the Downtown sectors they operate
  from.
  The secret of Alien Shore's success is their
  radical use of surgery, in conjunction with 'new
  wave' drugs. A lot of tissue is used in most
  operations, very little of which comes from the
  client. Most of the additional muscle/skin/bone
  needed to achieve the 'alien' look is grafted on.
  The low rejection rate (04%) of grafted tissue,
  is testament to the effectiveness of Alien
  Shore's new wave of drugs.
  Dr. X worked as a pioneer in much of DN's
  early work in developing a usable form of
  Shatter. Over the last six years, the good Dr.
  has refined this to incorporate elements of
  Cyclopheromine, a key component in the
  Karma drug AliceTM.
  Alien Shore use 'tissue' taken from a variety of
  sources, mainly the victims of the Props they
  hire, though occasionally they will use Gangs
  to bring them bits of Aliens they find hardest to
  manufacture, such as Shaktar 'jaws' and Wraith
  Raider tails.
  One of the most remarkable achievements of
  Alien Shore is their recreation of a 'Deathsuit'.
  The skin and tissue used to achieve this affect
  is highly unstable, and has to be replaced twice
  a year, though the look is eerily lifelike (while
  it lasts).
  Alien 
  Shore 
  have 
  distributed 
  catalogues
  throughout Downtown, and are known to have
  created make up affects for at least three 'major'
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  TV series (Rogue Raider being the most well
  known).
  Alien Shore's prices vary greatly, depending
  upon the look the client wants, and how far
  they are away from 'naturally' achieving the
  desired look. It costs more to make a 1.5m
  weed look like a Shaktar, than it does a muscle
  bound 2.5m giant.
  The real nightmare of Alien Shore is their 'new
  wave' drug Katalamine, which is the hybrid
  Shatter/AliceTM cocktail used in all of their
  surgical operations.
  Katalamine acts as a DNA altering agent, as
  well as a powerful hallucinogenic. The clients
  of Alien Shore gain Delusions and Psychoses,
  and believe themselves to be what they desire.
  Clients of Alien Shore fight the onset of
  physical and mental collapse in to insanity
  using their DIA and their PHYS. As a rule of
  thumb, it takes DIA+PHYS weeks for the full
  effects of Katalamine to kick in.
  Each day after the 'warm up' period (D+P in
  weeks), the client must make a PHYS roll
  against addiction to the drug, with a -1 modifier
  for each day after the first roll.
  Once they fail their roll, the Katalamine begins
  to alter their bodies structure to resemble the
  image they have of themselves in their mind.
  Each day they loose one HP through the
  transformation, they will not notice this as they
  also get (20 - DIA) Ranks of Delusion.
  They will violently oppose anyone who
  challenges their image of themselves.
  Once they reach 0 HP they will die, usually
  from heart failure, or from their brain simply
  being 'melted' by the Katalamine.
  The Alien races of the WoP are, needless to
  say, disgusted with the activities of Alien
  Shore, though some more than others.
  Ebons seem to find it a blasphemy beyond
  compassion, Shaktars have so far shown an
  inclination to kill those 'impostors' they come
  across, while Wraith Raiders seem almost
  faintly amused by it all.
  The citizens of Downtown see Alien Shore as a
  'rich kids' play thing, and most will gladly help
  Alien Shore with their 'material gathering' as it
  pays good unis.
  SLA Industries has recently re-classified Alien
  Shore as a Class One Soft Company. There are
  three BPN's currently being sponsored for the
  closure of Alien Shore.
  S U R E   S H O T
  Company Tag Line: "Be sure. Use Sure Shot."
  With general Armaments going nowhere, and
  expected to be bought out by FEN, there have
  been a number of defections from the company
  over the latter half of 901 SD.
  Many have gone to work for other arms
  companies that feed the WoP's constant
  demands for weapons, others have started their
  own companies.
  A small minority have taken their skills in to
  the 'black' market, and started Soft Companies.
  One of these is Sure Shot, born on the eve of
  902 SD, their first products hit the streets
  within two months of their conception,
  prompting rumours of high level backing.
  Sure Shot is headed by three individuals, all of
  them former employees of GA assigned to the
  Multi-Round project.
  Derek Snyder, former project head, has taken
  with him Ernst and Bonni Krake. Ernst and
  Bonni are both graduates of the Accelerated
  Weapons Design program at Meny, where they
  met and married in 899 SD. Derek, Ernst and
  Bonni all have ideas of their own that they
  know will be swept away in the FEN buy out of
  GA.
  Sure Shot's weapons are highly priced and sold
  through a small network of contacts. Mainly
  used by Prop's and starting Operatives. The
  Black Markets of Mort have not seen any great
  influx of Sure Shot weapons, and there is no
  sign of production increasing to a level where
  they will be able to challenge either of the two
  Black Market leaders; DarkNight and Friendly
  Fire.
  G a m e   S y s t e m   S t u f f
  Sure Shot are backed by both DarkNight and
  the Thresher. Derek Snyder juggles these
  connections without the knowledge of Ernst
  and Bonni, who believe they are being secretly
  
  tHE  bIG  pICTURE – SLA Industries Fanzine – Issue 10 -  © 2001 Max Bantleman
  backed by a SLA Dept. DarkNight and
  Thresher are unaware of each other's backing of
  Sure Shot.
  The companies first gun is a 10mm revolver,
  the SS H-1A, aimed at the market 'between' the
  GA47 and FEN 603 pistols. Heavily built, the
  difference between this and the Blitzer is that
  the cylinder revolves around a second central
  barrel, chambered for the 12.7mm round. This
  barrel holds only one round and along with the
  main cylinder is accessed by breaking open the
  gun. Whole cylinders can be removed for speed
  loading.
  Sure Shot have recognised that the beginning
  Operative, and certainly the 'average citizen',
  may not have the resources to purchase a larger
  caliber gun, but might have the funds for one or
  two rounds of 12.7mm.
  Writing in 902's Spring edition of Hardware,
  Gun Bunny wrote; "This is a stop gap weapon.
  It's the stop gap between some frig's last round
  and running away."
  Once the last 10mm round has been fired, the
  hammer pivots slightly and locks in place so
  that it rests ready to strike the 12.7mm round.
  The hammer is re-set by either firing the central
  round, or by breaking open the breech.
  Reloading both a new cylinder and a 12.7mm
  round takes a separate action.
  The SS H-1A can be fitted with any standard
  sights, laser painters or recoil bafflers. The SS
  H-1A is recognised by it's designers as far from
  perfect, it has a shorter range due to the
  imbalance caused by the central barrel, and
  hideous recoil.
  On the drawing board from Sure Shot is a 'dual'
  shotgun, pump action with two cylinders. One
  chambering a 10mm slug, the other a 12.7mm
  round, which may be any of the available
  ammo types for this caliber.
  The idea is to give the user the choice of
  stopping and killing power. It is generally
  acknowledged that a well placed 10mm slug
  can incapacitate a target, and a 12.7mm slug (or
  two) should produce the goods if a 'kill' is
  needed.
  The 'working' name for the gun is the 'Snubut'.
  It is known that Ernst and Bonni are working
  on a kind of 'Chopper' variant that could be
  fired from the 12.7mm chamber.
  Preliminary stats. for the 'mini-Chopper':
  DMG
  PEN
  AD
  Cost (each)
  10
  6
  4
  30u
  Expected price for the Snubut: 10,000u.
  Street price for SS H-1A: 1,300u
  Another issue, issue 10, came and went, and I
  was still convinced that SLA would somehow be
  reborn. There was simply too much interest in
  it to let it die. There was no information
  forthcoming from WoTC or Nightfall, and
  things were looking as they had always been
  for the last two years…. bleak.
  I was GMing SLA, writing and running
  convention games, talking with people on the
  SLA-l, getting some inquiries through shops,
  and generally keeping SLA high on my list of
  priorities for things to do.
  Issue 10 has a fantastic, well tried and tested
  BPN, featuring Stan and Olly, you must give it
  a go !
  Max Bantleman, 2001.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/SLA Industries (SWADE)/The Big Picture/Sla Industries - The Big Picture 10.pdf