In the World of Progress, the corporation SLA Industries rules all. Employing Operatives to enforce, extend and maintain their power base, SLA controls a multitude of worlds - industrial, franchise and resource - with planet Mort at its core. As Operatives execute the company’s will, new threats emerge through the cracks of the city walls, turning Downtown into a battleground.
You, the SLA Operative, are fighting for fame and fortune against a backdrop of a crumbling reality. Operatives feed the always-on televisions with a gaudy media of wall-to-wall death and dismemberment. Operative life is all about climbing the corporate ladder and earning sponsorship deals and notoriety along the way.
The full-colour 224-page Tabletop Roleplaying Game uses Nightfall Games' S5S rules system and updates the 1st Edition setting as years have passed on Mort since then. The newly arrived Neophron signals a shift in the balance of the universe, as the scholarly species joins the ranks of SLA Industries. Sending their brightest to train as Operatives, they serve alongside Ebonites, Shaktars, Wraithen and Humans.
Dream Entities claw at the fabric of reality, dredging up nightmares. Elsewhere, the Shi’An Blood Cult rises, corrupting the disenfranchised masses of Mort to its cause and unleashing the horrors from White Earth into an unsuspecting world. As SLA Industries battles to reclaim the Cannibal Sectors outside, Operatives are forced to deal with problems within the city walls more so than ever before...and below, the Deep Construct awakens.
Expore the World of SLA Industries
Introduction: Beginning with a terminology for the World of Progress, the Introduction also covers those aligned against SLA Industries before covering what roleplaying games are, a brief history of SLA Industries (the TTRPG, not the corporation), before summarizing how to play the game and what is needed for it.
Halloween Jack on the Prowl
History: Twenty-one pages of highly detailed history, from before before SLA Industries created the World of Progress up through 915 years of history. The history is broken out by century, followed by important events that occurred during each one.
The World of Progress: This chapter details the setting, beginning with the Planet Mort before drilling down more and more, before ending up at Mort City. Each neighborhood in the city is covered, along with points of interest and getting around on in the city. After that, the chapter covers the World of Progess itself, which is a catchall term for all SLA controlled space: seven different types of worlds are described, as well as what lies beyond SLA Industries' borders and space travel. A handful of specific worlds round out the chapter.
Operative Hours: All about playing a SLA Operative. From how they're recruited, where they tend to live, to Blueprint New Files "BPNs," which are jobs for Operatives to take to earn a living as a successful freelancer. SLA Industries itself is detailed within this chapter, breaking out and describing various departments and their individual responsibilities. This chapter, combing with the preceding two, provide all the necessary background information needed for a player to immerse themselves in the World of Progress.
Character Creation: Walks Players through character creation, beginning with selecting one of the nine playable species before assigning points on stats. Skills and traits follow, with movement and finally equipment brining up the rear.
Rules and Mechanics: Introduces Nightfall Games' S5S rules system and quicklu gets down to business with the different types of rolls needed in the game. Combat follows and as that section ends with rules on damage, it only makes sense that health and healng follows. Improving one's Operative comes next, followed by several other sections to fully round out the game mechanics.
The Ebb: This chapter provides information on a form of energy that underpins the world of SLA Industries. Understood only by the Ebonites and a few ancient species, the chapter begins with what the Ebb is and how it is used, before providing the rules of using it in game. The various "disciplines" that users of the Ebb specialize in finish the chapter.
Hardware: Melee Weapons. Ranged Weapons. Things that go Boom! Hardware consists of over 30 pages detailing the weapons, armor, vehicles, and equipment in general.
Threat Analysis: Formed in 905sd, the Threat Analysis department identifies and disseminates information on any and all threats. The chapter begins with known threats, before veering off to discuss those that are more dangerous and/or subtle. The histories of many of the World of Progress enemies are provided here, as well as stat blocks and special equipment and how each group/villain operates.
The Web of Lies: Detailing the various methods used by SLA Industries to communicate with their Operatives, from BPNs to Hunter Sheets, this chapter covers how to run a game in the World of Progress. Creating NPCs, awarding (and spending) experience points, and what to do when not on a gig is also covered.
Index: It's a pretty standard index. A blank character sheet, NPC stat block, BPNs, and a Hunter sheet can also be found in this section.
