SLA Industries has had a chequered past, most of which is irrelevant to this review and can be found by going to www.nightfall.co.uk. Suffice to say, the game is now back in the hands of Nightfall Games, its original producer, and is published in conjunction with Hogshead Publishing, the company that also produces Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and several excellent ‘small’ games (eg. Puppetland and Powerkill). The game has been re-released in softcover and has recently seen the production of a hardcover version.
According to the blurb, SLA Industries is a roleplaying game of urban horror. It is set in a nightmarish over-bureaucratised futuristic universe (the ‘World of Progress’) in which just about everything is owned and controlled by the mysterious Mr. Slayer. The history of the World of Progress is that the universe was spiralling into decay with every society at war and on the brink of extinction (the ‘Conflict Wars’). Mr. Slayer appeared about 900 years ago, striding into the Conflict Wars with his seemingly unstoppable bodyguards, the Kilneck. He proceeded to hire his bodyguards out to the highest bidder, and used this capital to produce the best arms and armour in the World of Progress. Everyone purchased equipment from his new company (SLA Industries) so as not to be left behind in the arms race. SLA Industries then produced biogenentically-created super-soldiers. Fast, loyal and cheap, these were snapped up by the conflict races as reinforcements and disposable troops. Once everyone owned SLA equipment and used SLA troops, Mr. Slayer engaged his master plan, activating programming within the troops and flaws within the equipment. Overnight, every race found that their weapons and armour no longer worked, and their hired goons were rampaging across their cities. Everyone died, and SLA Industries rose from the ashes as the undisputed ruler of everything.
Did I say undisputed? That’s not entirely correct. Despite SLA-owned propaganda television there are still a couple of enemies out there. DarkNight are another SLA-like company seeking to gain control of the World of Progress, and Thresher are a bunch of ex-DarkNight and SLA troops who stumbled on old conflict war technology and decided to make their own grab for a piece of the pie.
So what does all this mean for the player characters? After 900 years, SLA has degenerated into a stagnant society filled with red-tape and forms, where nothing is ever truly new and old ideas are recycled and repackaged to the public. PCs come from the ranks of Operatives; semi-independent contractors hired by SLA to take care of all those jobs that SLA needs done, from media appearances to the suppression and deletion of anyone who might make SLA look bad. Mr. Slayer is still in charge, and DarkNight and Thresher still bite at the heels of SLA Industries.
Operatives are semi-independent since they are not full-time employees of SLA, but cannot freely choose to work for the other ‘suppressor powers’. The goals of most Operatives are to survive, become rich and famous, and save enough to retire, not necessarily in that order. Operatives make money by taking missions called ‘Blueprint News Files’ (BPNs) and do whatever is described on the card.
The system of SLA Industries is rather simple. Roll 2d10, add appropriate skill/stat, add or subtract GM modifiers and if the total is 11 or greater you succeed. If the total is greater than 20 it’s exceptional success. Most of the complication occurs in the combat section. The same basic mechanic is used, but keeping track of the large number of modifiers can be a chore for the beginning GM (more experienced GMs would probably note down the important modifiers and make the rest up as needed). Combat is divided into rounds (3 seconds), which are divided into five phases. Depending on a character’s Dexterity score, they may act in different phases (eg. someone with a Dex of 1 would act once per round, in phase 3, someone with a Dex of 15 would act every phase). Yes, this does mean that each phase is equivalent to 0.6 seconds and that this is a rather ridiculous space of time (in real life) for accomplishing much, but the system does work in practice.
Character creation is a points-based system, where players can tailor-make their character by pending points where they want. As with all point-spending systems, this does mean that characters will generally have to be specialised in one area, or take a plethora of skills at lower levels. Considering the broad range of BPNs and challenges that an Operative can expect to face, becoming at least partially proficient in several areas is probably a good idea. Character creation points can also be spent purchasing advantages, and extra points can be gained by taking disadvantages. As with all advantage/disadvantage systems, these should be seen as a means to flesh out the character, not just to get extra points, and they can be abused if the GM is not careful about which combinations he/she allows. Hit points are divided into body locations, and weapons deal a set amount of damage, modified only by the user’s strength (for melee combat) or accuracy (that exceptional success rule).
Characters in SLA Industries have access to big guns and big armour, and some people do like to play the game as a ‘big guns’ game, but essentially that is not what SLA Industries is about. Even in the heaviest armour, with the biggest guns, there do exist enemies that can kill you without breaking too much of a sweat. SLA is about living in a bureaucracy-driven, stagnant, media-whore society where the characters strive to be individual and get noticed without rocking the boat or making waves. Characters live in fear of that bullet that could kill them, the threat of treading on the toes of someone high above you and being assassinated in your sleep, or the horror of looking in the mirror every morning and confronting those horrible things they’ve done in order to survive and make money. Once you’re in SLA Industries you’re there for life. Mr. Slayer owns you body and soul.
So the question remains; are there any problems with SLA Industries as written? Well, yes, actually. There are occasions where rules are poorly presented and difficult to understand. Sometimes the book contradicts itself within the same paragraph, leading to confusion for the reader. In other areas background and rules are hinted at but left unsaid or (worse), partially developed. Finally, the background of SLA Industries has a vast impact on how and why things happen in the World of Progress, whilst having virtually no impact on the day-to-day running of games (unless the GM wishes to explore those background themes). Most of these key background elements are known to only a select few with hints and clues being hidden in the text. Unfortunately, the majority of these clues are so subtle that they are only revealed as clues once the ‘truth’ is known. A bit like interpreting prophecies after the fact. Fortunately, to restate, these background elements are firmly in the background, and need never play a part in a game if the GM does not know them, or does not wish to include them.
Visually, the book is very appealing, with artwork ranging from gorgeously detailed and thought provoking to the standard expected from an RPG. The reprint has seen a lot of the artwork becoming darker in shade and some of the detail is lost from a few of the pieces as a result. Despite this setback the appearance of the book still works very well for invoking the sights and feel of the SLA Industries universe.
When I first found SLA Industries (back in probably 1993) I was awed by the rich background, the dark and gritty world, but had almost no idea how to run the game. BPNs allow the GM to give the characters ‘missions’, but ultimately many GMs like to take their players beyond games of ‘get mission, complete mission, get paid, get next mission’. A detailed GM section on how to run the game would be invaluable. Fortunately, there is a lot of online support for the game; the company’s web page is a good place to start (www.nightfall.co.uk).
In conclusion, SLA Industries is a rich game of incredible potential. I’ve been a fan for many years and have never encountered a group of players who haven’t become fans of the game after only a couple of sessions. It can require a bit of work to figure out how best to run the game for you, but check it out. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
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