SLA INDUSTRIES 2ND EDITION

PROGRESS REPORT
Issu e Th ree
 SLA INDUSTRIES 2ND EDITION

PROGRESS REPORT
Issue Three: Post-release Celebration

Writing
Dave Allsop, Jared Earle, Chris ‘Shep’ Shepperson,
Mark Rapson, Bart Wynants
Rules
Jared Earle, Mark Rapson
Art
Dave Allsop
Layout
Jared Earle
Proofreaders
Jamie Cross, Chitin Proctor

Nightfall Games are

Dave Allsop, Jared Earle, Mark Rapson

Created in Adobe InDesign on an Apple iMac using Waverly and Adobe Caslon type.

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 SLA INDUSTRIES

PROGRESS REPORT
ISSUE THREE

more structural description which will help players visualise the

INTRODUCTION place better.
This, the third Progress Report, is brought to you by the This issue also features a short story entitled Incense and
Nightfall team while we endure yet another COVID-induced Cordite by Bart Wynants. Mark and Bart have been in close
lockdown. This document also features a guest writer: Mr. Bart discussions while working on the forthcoming The Terminator
Wynants, who has joined our rules team on The Terminator RPG and that led to Bart putting pen to paper.
RPG project. Check out the QuickStart for that here on Jared has started the Rogue’s Gallery with some great NPCs
DriveThruRPG. to add to your game. These characters are a quick win for the
GM, giving them pre-made and designed characters to help
“ You want me to sit here for longer? or hinder their players. He has also given you a campaign
How much longer? beginning that abandons the characters in the heart of Cannibal
What can I do while I sit here? … Nothing? NOTHING? Sector 1. Oh, and a noodle bar. Everyone needs a noodle bar.
Well that’s just crap!” Finally, we have included the Quick Reference sheet found
in the GM Pack, which can be printed out ready for your next
- Brandy ‘The Cat’ Cortez, Human Operative session.Enjoy!
SCL 8, Squad ‘‘How do I change Title/Name?”
Cheers Mark, Jared and Dave
Continuing with the Randomisation Tables we shared in the
second Progress Report, Dave has created a couple more. One
for the Cannibal Sectors and one for your BPNs.
Next up we have the second chapter of the BPN cookbook
which, similar to the mini-campaign seeds, gives the GM a
spark of an idea to build on. There are six recipes (missions) this
time, mainly written by Dave Allsop, but with one from Mark
Rapson. Scavs, Stormers, and new SAC missions all feature. All
ideas which can be the basis of either a one shot or something
that can be woven into your ongoing campaign.
Many people have noticed the demise of the Vevaphons, their
removal from the game was quite simply driven by the fact that
they did not add much to the PC options not already covered
by the other species. Back in 2019, Mark and Shep delved into
their demise with some detail and enthusiasm, a very small part
of that writing made it into the 2nd Edition core rulebook, but
we know many would like a more in-depth explanation. Linked
to that, Mark has also written a mini-campaign which will
allow a GM to create a 5 to 10 session story arc. As with many
things SLA, the opportunity for death and destruction is high,
but with that also melancholy and sadness, as we close the book
on the Vevs forever.
Similar to the more in-depth story of the Vevs, included next
is a detailed description of The Pit. The explanation includes a

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 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

RANDOM TABLES THE BPN COOKBOOK, PART 2.

To determine a random result, roll 1 success and 1 skill die, What follows is the second part of quick-fire ideas and
allocate the success die to the ‘10s’ and the skill die to the units adventure leads for SLA GMs to embellish and expand upon to
and consult the appropriate table. In some cases you may need suit their own style of play and player group. The first part of the
to roll a d10 before the randomisation to determine how many BPN Cookbook can be found in Progress Report 2. Cookbook
randomisations are needed. ideas are simply a list of idea ingredients and suggestions to
serve up for a session at the gaming table.
Example: Isaac is rolling for 1 BPN and rolls a 1 on the You can also randomise this by rolling a d6 to see which
success die and a 7 on the skill die. Meaning a roll of 17: a mission to use.
WHITE BPN.

RANDOM BPN SELECTION TABLE 11. MISSION - ‘THE

To determine how many BPNs are available, first roll a d10. GEORGE HOTEL’
On a result of 1-3, 1 is available; 4-7, 2 are available; 8-10, 3 are As part of SLA Industries’ ‘Sweep and Clear’ Program, the
available. Then roll two d10s, as described above, to determine Op Squad is assigned to do a full survey of ‘The George Hotel’
which colour BPN should be offered. in Lower Downtown. The whole area is largely unoccupied,
01 - 15 BLUE primarily because the site is situated uncomfortably close to a
recently designated Grey Zone.
16 - 30 WHITE
SLA S.A.C. archivists say that The George Hotel has not been
31 - 40 RED legally inhabited in 48 years, and that it was closed after a mass
41 - 50 YELLOW murder took place on the premises. The culprits were the now
51 - 60 GREEN long deceased ‘Sodium Sun’ Cognate. Nobody knows for certain
what exists in The George Hotel today, but civilian passersby
61 - 65 GREY have mentioned seeing dim lights through the boarded up
66 - 70 ORANGE windows and strange noises from within. Many locals claim the
71 - 75 JADE building is ‘haunted.’
76 - 90 SILVER
12. MISSION - ‘BLACK BARRELS’
91 - 00 BLACK
A S.A.C. Op Squad has cleared a region of Mort City and
CANNIBAL SECTOR 1: RANDOM planning are set to install a shopping mall in the location, only
ENCOUNTER TABLE to discover a false wall which was concealing 18 black plastic
barrels, each one containing a corpse dissolving in acid.
Roll two d10s, as described above, to determine what denizen
As yet, the bodies cannot be identified, but the forensic team
of the Cannibal Sectors the squad will meet.
have already determined that the earliest death took place
01 - 05 A Manchine fifteen months ago and the most recent at eight months. Every
06 - 25 1d6 Cannibal Butchers cadaver shows signs of torture.
It is the work of a Soft Company called ‘The Dockers’. They
26 - 50 1d6+2 Carrien + 1 Alpha Carrien pack leader
hire themselves out to other Soft Companies to brutalise rivals
51 - 55 A Dream Entity: Titter and extort every uni from their bank account before death.
56 - 65 1d10 Carnivorous Pigs This mission may be an ongoing investigation before the GM
66 - 70 A rogue Mutant Carrien finally unveils the organisation to the Op Squad.
71 - 75 1d6-1 Scav Marauders (minimum 1)
13. ENCOUNTER - ‘DREGS’
76 - 85 1d10+2 Pack of Sector Mongrels
As the Operatives reach the deeper recesses of Lower
86 - 90 A Fleshworm Downtown they encounter one or more colonies of Dregs.
91 - 95 1d6 Dream Entity: Screamers These are human beings so isolated from Mort society that
96 - 00 1d6-1 Sector Mutants (minimum 1) they have descended into little more than animals. They have
not evolved like their distant cousins in the Cannibal Sectors.
“I’ve been to that restaurant, it must be two dozen times, and Most are naked, coated in dirt and grease. They cannot speak; at
I never know where they are going to seat me.” least no discernible language known to the Ops (in time, SLA
- Unknown Executive, Uptown will hear the Derro using this same rudimentary speech form
and refer to it as ‘Void’).

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 SLA INDUSTRIES

Dregs survive on a diet of Arrowhead Cockroaches, dead Mort The BPN includes heavy media coverage and even one-off
Rats and occasionally, their own deceased. They are quite fearful sponsorship from 3rd Eye News.
creatures, and will flee from even an innocuous torch beam. Investigation uncovers a weekly cadence to the murders and
If the Ops radio through to Head Office, they are advised to that the ordnance appears to be of Scav origin. Why is the Scav
ignore them and move on, or if you wish, exterminate them - it’s Sniper in town and is he working alone? Can the Ops capture
your’s or their choice. SLA, at this stage, has very little interest him and make good telly in the process?
in them.

14. MISSION - ‘LAZARUS’

VEVAPHON: THE END
A decrepit warjeep turns up outside the Legion Centre, driven Heralded as the future of bioengineering, the Vevaphon instead
by an ancient relic from SLA’s distant past - a Stormer Grunt proved to be a misstep and something of an embarrassment
called ‘Lazarus.’ for SLA Industries, with one of its most promising scientists
shamed and forgotten and the organisation that created them
The squad will not know much about this individual, other
closed down. Vevaphons were lauded as the solution to deal
than he is clearly a SLA Operative, and a high SCL one at
decisively with SLA’s enemies, a flexible and reactive weapon
that. Nonetheless, he treats every Operative in the squad like
capable of mimicry and infiltration. Instead, an error-filled
his superior.
bioconstruct was rushed-out that was over-engineered and
Lazarus needs assistance in tracking down a Serial Killer who incapable of the job it had been created for. They were finally
is on the run from SLA. He has been hunting his quarry for fielded in the same niche as the Xeno Stormer, which was
months, but to no avail. deployed at the same time, but the Vevaphons turned out to be
Lazarus is struggling because the Serial Killer is well much more expensive to maintain and psychologically unstable.
entrenched in the Skin Trade and is in hiding in Cannibal Many struggled to fully integrate themselves into Operative
Sector 1, with protection from Scavs. If Lazarus and the Ops life, grappling with self identity and failing to connect with
are successful in killing the Serial Killer and their protectors, other members of their squads. Although it took longer than it
he gives the Squad Leader a strange looking medal with the should have, it was no surprise that the Vevaphon program was
instruction ‘if you are ever in need of support, call Head Office eventually closed down.
and mention this medallion and I, Lazarus will return’. Once
he makes this oath, Lazarus thanks them and leaves in his Jeep. THE DOPPELGANGER INSTITUTE
15. ENCOUNTER - ‘FRANTIC FLORA’ By 890sd, the unparalleled success of Karma’s Stormer
program had garnered significant interest. Orders were issued
Flora Dillon - also known as ‘Frantic Flora’, or more recently from the top to wider utilise the capabilities of the biogenetic
‘Just Flora’, is a local to the Downtown Sector. She is an old engineers in SLA’s employ. First among such orders, was the
woman suffering from senile dementia and is often seen secondment of Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya to lead a new research
wandering the streets, silent and fixedly staring at random facility known as the the Doppelganger Institute. Parnaya, was
individuals; just generally creeping people out. in his late 30s and a stoic loner, much like many of the Karma
Flora has always had mental issues, even from a young scientists of the time. He was also one of the men responsible
age. She used to be quite aggressive and shout obscenities at for the design and implementation plan for the 711 Xeno
passersby but now it is as though she has been emptied out of Stormer and was eager to stay within Karma to see that project
all sentience. through. Though overshadowed by the fame of Dr. Maxon
Just Flora has been around for years but nobody seems to Hagen, Parnaya had never stopped seeing himself as the Xeno’s
know much about her or the life she had previously lived. In true creator. The Xeno had been a career defining breakthrough
the depths of her dementia, Flora has become highly sensitive for all at Karma around that time and, with a few more years
to the proximity of Dream Entities and one always seems to be of development, was set to become THE hot new Operative on
following the other. the streets of Mort. Unfortunately, Parnaya would not be in the
The locals have come to regard her as something of a bad Karma briefing room when his creation was unleashed.
omen. For a while she would disappear and be presumed dead, Enter the Doppelganger Institute: a new biogenetic subsidiary
only to reappear, more dazzled and bedraggled than before. of SLA Industries, heralded as Karma’s sister company, headed
Nobody knows where she vanishes off to, but whenever she by a reluctant Parnaya and a team of thirteen other experienced
returns, Dream Entities are sure to follow. scientists. The Xeno had a street date of 900sd, just 10 short
years for correct R&D, troubleshooting and DNA code
16. ENCOUNTER - ‘THIRD EYE’ strengthening. An easy task for the minds running Karma. But
now SLA wanted more, as if Parnaya’s work had not already
Ten bodies, ten weeks. The victims have nothing in common been enough, they wanted another creation to hit the streets
except each and every one has a bullet hole between their eyes. at the same time. Where the Xeno would fulfil the company’s
The media have picked up on it and christened the Serial Killer need for a manufactured warrior with strength, speed and
the ‘Third Eye News’. 3rd Eye News are not happy with the stealth tech, this new creation was being made for a different
name, but that is driving more and more interest in the killer.

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 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

purpose; an espionage agent capable of mimicking others and the eventual downfall of the project and had started to separate
infiltrating the enemies of SLA Industries. his name from the failure that would soon be walking the streets
In December of 890sd, the Doppelganger Institute was of Downtown.
founded and given just ten short years to make something Those associated with the project claim that there was no
entirely new, to create a biogenetic entity that was not connected noticeable rivalry within Doppelganger, but reviewing the
genetically to Intruder, whose DNA had formed the basis of once-private logs of Parnaya seemed to reveal otherwise.
the Stormer genotype since the beginning. Despite his fellow
scientists claiming the goal would never be met, Jeremiah knew “Private Log, October 11th, 899sd.
that what had been asked of them was not entirely impossible, Our work here is drawing to a close, at least in delivering the
merely a gargantuan task. first offering of the now-titled Vevaphon. Despite my constant
warnings that the product would be less than perfect, Cramble
“Private Log, March 4th 893sd. continues to sing its praises and put our work on a pedestal. She
We are just over 3 years into our mission here and have wasn’t here when this project began and she doesn’t understand
already hit a few major setbacks. Both Simms and Shaariqq its importance. Yes, we’ve made a new biogenetic polymorph.
have left Doppelganger citing that the task at hand will never Well done Doppelganger. But the finer points are problematic,
see fruition and bringing my DNA coding team down to a the specifics of our mission have not been met. Will the Vevaphon
skeleton crew. While replacements have arrived, they have not function as an Espionage Agent? Possibly, but not as efficiently
brought with them the experience of their predecessors. Given as it could have. Will it fail us in the long run? Almost certainly.
what Simms and Shaariqq know about the work here I can’t Cramble will refuse to accept these facts, but it’s clear to me.
imagine that the company will be letting them do a great deal We have created something both revolutionary and dangerous,
but rot in Fallgate. but importantly, flawed. We didn’t have enough time. We didn’t
Despite these setbacks, we have succeeded in creating the first have enough budget. And the worst bit - we had the ever
sample of polymorphic matter which will serve to act as Project positive ‘can’t see the bigger picture’ Dr. Cramble.
V ’s flesh. With enough development it may even be possible Time will tell.
to entirely remove the organs and nerve system that we are
Sign off.”
currently planning to implant from a Human subject, allowing
V ’s entire self to be made from this new replicating manner. Private log of Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, 899sd
Currently however, we are only able to sustain this matter for
a few hours before it withers and dies. The amount of energy THE VEVAPHONS
required to maintain a solid state is immense. Something we In 899sd, the first batch of Vevaphons oozed from their
need to solve before assembling a larger subject. tanks and quickly hit the streets of Mort. The Vevaphon was
Sign off.” a humanoid polymorphic shape shifter, capable of changing
Private log of Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, 893sd not only its appearance, but also its physical structure, forming
weapons out of its limbs, squeezing through small gaps or
disguising itself as mundane surroundings. At its base level it
INTERNAL RIVALRY was a pool of intelligent liquid capable of taking physical form
By 898sd, the Doppelganger Institute had created the first and manipulating itself in ways that other living organisms
Project V organism, named Vevaphon by Parnaya’s right-hand could only dream of. A marvel of modern engineering.
woman, Dr Shelly Cramble. Cramble had been instrumental in At face value, the Vevaphon was the perfect espionage agent, a
the final stages of the Vevaphon, or Vev’s, development, finding fact that ruffled the feathers in Karma, who had deployed the 711
the missing link in reducing the energy consumption required Xeno at the same time. While the Vevaphon had many obvious
by the Vev’s polymorphic body. This vital tweak to the code uses as an Operative, the real concept of its design was more
was the difference between an organism burning itself up and covert. Someone in Corporate had decided that a shapeshifting
dying in a matter of hours, to being able to sustain itself with ‘Human clone’ would be the perfect way to infiltrate the rivals
the correct diet. Cramble was also responsible for developing of SLA Industries and first on the hit list was DarkNight. SLA
the paste-like foodstuff that would be standard issue for all had tried to plant Operatives in DarkNight before, but no
Vevs after release into the wild. Where the Vevaphon would matter how deep they seemed to infiltrate, they always ended up
otherwise need to eat in excess of 8 large meals a day to generate dead before they got anywhere near the organisation’s chain of
the required energy levels to function, just a few mouthfuls of command. By creating a biogenetic specimen that could imitate
what had been termed ‘Vevpaste’ each day would keep the cells a known DarkNight agent, act as them, look like them and work
functioning correctly and provide the Vev with all the energy the angle for a few years, should give SLA enough to answer
and nutrients their bodies required. the ultimate question - who sits atop the throne of DarkNight.
While Parnaya was the creator, Cramble had perfected the The plan was bold and called for the greatest minds in Karma,
design and not only made it all possible, but had done it ahead but they couldn’t know the real agenda; DarkNight Infiltrators
of schedule. Exactly why Cramble was given the right to name were everywhere and this 15 year plan (10 years for creation,
the Vevaphon line is not known, but amongst the various 5 for successful infiltration) was too valuable to be ruined by
rumours, one is the most prominent: that Parnaya had foreseen a slack-mouthed researcher. If the project was a success and

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DarkNight fell, Vevaphons would become the instrumental tool than a puddle of polymorphic fluid in a vegetative state, unable
in taking down every other rival company worth mentioning. to function or take form. Cramble became the lead in solving
Of course, Corporate are not known for thinking through this issue, but despite her constant efforts, no fix could be found,
the consequences of a decision before taking action. Such leading to Vevaphons having to operate on strictly limited diets.
advancement always comes with a price. Over time, it was also discovered that the Vevaphon had fairly
abnormal tolerances to vitamins and minerals, with excessive
“How did this happen? Seriously. We’ve ended up with or deficient amounts of anything causing health complications.
another goddamn’ Stormer on the street. That’s another cost to Where a Human would become weak and sick from a lack of
us, another asset to manage and we’re still a fuck-mile away certain Vitamins, the Vevaphon would find parts of their body
from planting a sleeper that can’t be ratted out. Honestly, how dropping off or other extreme issues, such as a loss of sight
did they fuck this up? Who dropped the ball? Get me a name that would only return once the vitamin level had rebalanced.
and put a watch on them.” The need to carefully manage food intake beyond the rations
CJ Harrington, SCL 3.2, Corporate of Vevpaste was not something that the Vevaphon was ever
designed to think about, in fact it was created to have little
The Vev was ready in just 8 years, but the first specimen was
regard for self-preservation. These complications, however,
not perfect. While it could replicate the Human form, as well as
were only the tip of the problem; being built to mimic Human
most other common species, it couldn’t replicate skin tone and
behaviour meant thinking like a Human and that’s where things
texture correctly, instead appearing plastic and entirely inhuman
began to collapse.
up close. Worse still, its attempts to copy hair and other fine
fibres were, in the eyes of Corporate, a complete failure, looking
more akin to strips or sheets of semi-transparent plastic film. THE POLYMORPHIC MIND
The Vevaphon, while a marvel of biogenetic development, A Vevaphon, fresh from the tank, knows very little. It is a
was entirely unsuitable for its role, unable to accurately copy a newborn, but a newborn that is genetically coded to learn the
person’s face or features and it could be easily spotted by anyone basics of Human survival in a matter of hours. In less than
within 30 metres. It was decided that while the original concept a day the Vev can function at the same level as your average
had failed, a situation which many higher ranking individuals Human teenager and within 48 hours, it has enough know-
were angered by, the Vev should be trialed as an Operative, how to perform as an Operative, with at least average Human
given its many redeeming features, such as its ability to disguise intelligence and reasoning skills. This evolutionally period was
itself at a distance, to regenerate and to form natural weapons one of the true success stories of the project, far surpassing the
at will. In January 900sd, the first wave of Vevaphons hit the expected rates of prep for work in the field. However, there were
streets and took the Operative world by storm, even surpassing unforeseen problems that began to creep in over the first few
the results of the new Xeno Stormer. The Vevs’ new job as a months of deployment.
field operative was fulfilled on the streets of Mort, day in day Firstly, the Vevaphon was experiencing everything for the first
out, with Doppelganger manufacturing them in the hundreds time as a ‘mature adult’, without any of the life experience that
over the months that followed. However, the Vevaphon was comes with growing up. While the polymorph was coded to
exceptionally high maintenance and Doppelganger soon understand these situations, an unexpected level of confusion
reached capacity, cutting corners yet again to meet demand. came from the normal decision making process, leading to
The need for a specific food source, while seemingly easy them experiencing internal conflict for the first time without
to maintain, became problematic in time. Vevs deployed to any idea of how to resolve it. Another striking issue came from
Cannibal Sector 1 had to either take an APC worth of Vevpaste witnessing emotional reactions in others and the unexplained
with them, or devour so much food that they could put the hunger and uncontrollable urge to experience the same; to become
of a Cannibal Matriarch to shame. The first manufacturing ‘more Human’ slowly became the overarching mindset of a large
shortfall of Vevpaste was a catastrophe, resulting in the deaths number of Vevaphons. For those that didn’t experience these
of 31 Vevaphon Operatives who simply couldn’t obtain enough feelings, a noticeable sociopathic air began to creep into their
sustenance in time, or who ate far too much of the wrong thing. demeanors, forcing them to become entirely disinterested in
While their DNA was designed from scratch, the Vevs’ primary emotion, making them both violently dangerous and potentially
code was based around the Human form, allowing them to have useless as investigators or interrogators. In time, Vevaphon
a default fallback shape to take should visual reference for other Operatives were pigeon-holed as ‘hard work’ or as emotionless
forms not be available. Using Human DNA as a basis came with killing machines.
a number of unforeseen setbacks including unexpected dietary Almost 3 years after initial deployment, the worst possible
requirements. The Vev was designed to survive on Vevpaste or news came in. A Vevaphon had killed another Operative and
exceptionally large intakes of regular food should their primary was reported to have “gone rogue”. It didn’t take long before the
source not be available, but over time it became apparent that guilty Vev had been tracked down and eradicated, but not before
their DNA had a predisposition to be violently intolerant to the Operatives sent to capture and interrogate it had reported
high levels of cholesterol, something which is in extremely high that it was rambling about intense feelings of loneliness and the
concentration in most available food outlets in Downtown. This desire for a parental figure; psychological topics far from the
came to Doppelganger’s attention when the first Vevaphon intended thoughts of the Vevaphon mind.
literally ate itself to death by consuming 13 hamburgers in an
afternoon in lieu of Vevpaste. Scientists arrived to little more

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 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

While one rogue Vevaphon wasn’t that surprising, after all, Cloak Division interview with Dr.
there have been far more Stormers who have entered a state of Jeremiah Parnaya, October 908sd
mental collapse over the years, when more reports came in about
strange Vev behaviour, Corporate took more drastic measures. The order was issued for all Vevaphon Operatives to
Production on the Vev line ceased and the Doppelganger return home for debrief on February 16th, 908sd. Blindly,
Institute was tasked with perfecting the DNA code, or some responded, only to be met with a lethal injection that
developing a more robust psychological training process for caused catastrophic failure of the polymorphic cell structure,
newly born Vevaphons. Until this was perfected, Doppelganger instantaneously ending the lives of these sentient creatures.
would serve to support the existing Vev Operatives in the field While a few came calling, the vast majority chose to run. They
and would only resume production when assurances could be had learned enough about the situation at Doppelganger and
made that the current issues had been resolved. were well aware of the battles of their kin. Each and every Vev
on the street had their own ‘ticks’, some were depressed, others
Despite constant R&D over the following 5 years, in excess
psychopathic, but none of them stupid. They had all heard about
of 40 Vev Operatives had either absconded or turned on
their early counterparts who had gone rogue, some of whom
their squad mates, some in blind frenzy, others displaying the
had never been found, even after all these years on the run. Mort
symptoms of severe depression and anxiety. The mind of the
was a big place with many dark shadows to hide in and if there
Vevaphon was fragmenting. As the polymorph experienced the
was one thing a Vev could do well, it was hide.
trials and tribulations of life on the street, without childhood
learning to fall back on, it began to question its actions, its The order also had another effect. As if the Vevaphon was not
purpose and eventually its entire sense of self. The first few already conflicted enough, Doppelganger had now turned their
waves of Vevaphons had all entered critical mass and were backs on them. Shunned by the only entity that resembled a
either experiencing psychological breakdowns or an entire loss parent and turned upon by their squad mates, the Vevaphons
of empathy. While many were still functioning to a satisfactory were plunged into a pit of abandonment. For the first time,
level, the vast majority were not and a mere 8 years after the many of them felt alone, a particularly confusing sensation to
first Vevaphon hit the streets, the order was given to shutdown a creature who has only just identified that they really ‘belong’
Doppelganger and launch an investigation into the capabilities anywhere. For some Vevaphons, this was enough for them to
and leadership of the Institute. take their own lives, or push them into the emotionless state
of the mindless killing machine they had been portrayed as by
the media, but one thing was for sure, this loss of identity and
ROGUE CODE place in The World of Progress was the cruelest blow they had
Doppelganger was passed to the care of a discreet wing of ever received.
Karma and all the key members were interrogated while all
files and existing biogenetic matter were inspected under the ENEMY OF THE STATE
watchful gaze of Cloak Division.
While the Doppelganger Institute were unable to verify the
Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, the man responsible for pioneering the
exact number of Vevaphons left in the wild, the number was
whole venture, was quick to point blame at Cramble, citing her
predicted to be between 100 and 180. All trained killers, all
as a ‘loose cannon’ who encouraged the project to stick with
capable of both terrible and wonderful things. The only thing
the first working design that was ready ahead of schedule. Dr.
they all had in common now is that they were all considered to
Parnaya also stood by knowing nothing about the lines in the
be traitors and enemies of SLA Industries.
DNA code, discovered by Karma researchers, which would lead
to the development of psychological trauma in the biological The first step was an order from Corporate to cease manufacture
entity it formed. Karma researchers suggested that this ‘may’ of Vevpaste and destroy all existing stocks, a process that took
have been a deliberate plant to sabotage the project, and if all of 7 hours to complete. In less than half a day, the primary
this was the case, Parnaya was pointing the finger at Cramble. survival tool of the Vevaphon had been removed. Prior to this,
Cramble never showed up for her debrief, suggesting either an most Vevs would rarely hold onto more than a week’s supply,
admission of guilt, or an understanding that she was to be made knowing they could swing by the labs between BPNs and
the scapegoat in the entire affair. replenish it anytime. This meant that all but the few Vevaphons
that chose to stockpile it would run out in a matter of days. Of
“To suggest a scientist of my stature would partake in acts course, this wouldn’t kill the Vevs; they could still eat normal
that would sabotage the very foundation of this company is food providing they managed it well and could afford a constant
frankly insulting. My achievements with Karma and my best stream of it, but it was certainly going to make life difficult for
intentions with Doppelganger have never been for anything them.
but the good fortune of SLA Industries. The loss of Vevpaste was rumoured to have taken care of
Based on my time and experience, if anyone is to blame for approximately half of the remaining Vev population either
these actions it is Dr. Shelly Cramble. Her insistent pushing to directly or as a result of their location being identified. Shivers
take the lead on projects and her constant undermining of my began to report multiple strange glistening puddles appearing
leadership gives me the greatest of suspicions. While I would in the far reaches of Downtown and out in Cannibal Sector
not be so quick as to point at deliberate sabotage, I fear that the 1. Those who didn’t adapt to the required food intake, or find
evidence may point that way.” a reliable safe and discreet replacement in a hurry, were dead
or soon would be. Some Vevs were turned in by their squad

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 SLA INDUSTRIES

mates, loyal SLA employees who believed the news that the the last ever enclave of Vevaphons. Being among the last, the
Vevaphons were now a dangerous enemy who would turn on Vevaphon characters presented here are the strongest and
them in an instant. It was this message that would soon be canniest of their kind. They are also determined, desperate and
spread much further afield. have nothing to lose.
In September, 908sd, the first TV broadcast went out, Each part of the campaign is designed to last the length of
explaining the turncoat attitude of the remaining Vevaphons in a 3-4 hour game session and should be enhanced with any
Mort City. Rewards were offered for any information leading NPC and side-stories the GM sees fit. Each part, or scenario,
to the apprehension of a Vev and even greater rewards were is flexible and independent enough that the GM can include
offered for evidence that you had killed one. In a matter of them as a part of a longer, multifaceted campaign or can just
days, Vevaphons had become enemy number one, hated by the play through one as a one shot or small two-parter.
population of Mort and hunted by all. Note: To use this campaign you will need a copy of the SLA
Industries 2nd Edition rulebook and, ideally, the SLA Industries
THE END Cannibal Sector 1 source book.
Over the two years that followed, Vevaphons were caught Campaign Seed
on camera in vicious battles, found hiding in the darkest
A Hunter Sheet has been issued for a Manchine exhibiting
subterranean levels of Mort and even taking up shelter in the
very unusual behaviour. It has been surmised that it has
Northwest Compact, feeding on the various denizens that
malfunctioned and become disconnected from its normal
roamed the ruined remains. Eventually, after discovery, each
subroutines, no longer following its normal routes, but equally
Vevaphon has fallen to the will of SLA and the promise of a
not really behaving as a Manchine should. Additionally,
healthy reward.
the carnivorous pig population in the vicinity of the rogue
By 910sd, SLA Industries officially announced that the Manchine seems to have been hit hard.
Vevaphon was extinct, with each one accounted for. This was, of
course, not the truth. The fact was that the Vevs were old news Part 0: Downtime in Downtown
and the rewards to bring them down had cost too much. It was
The campaign should start in a bar where the characters are
time to leave the remaining few alone, at least until they caused
in downtime. Have the TVs be blasting a gory live report of
a fuss. Any future hunts would be issued only as sanctioned
the current media darling, a fully armoured Ex-War criminal
BPNs to Operatives who knew how to keep their mouths shut.
smashing his way through Lower Downtown, macerating locals
Those Vevaphons still alive are resourceful, natural survivors and massacring Shivers alike. The Ex-War criminal is fully
and skilled in the ways of streetcraft. They live in the shadows, armoured and armed, his armour is painted a blue-grey and his
kept company by little more than rats and Manchines, or have stylised helmet should look like a wolf ’s head. He looks cool!
fled to the far regions of the cannibal sectors where SLA fear You could have the bar-keep offer odds on how many people
to go. A few opt to stay on the streets of Mort City where more the Wolf will kill today.
reliable food supplies exist, wearing sealed armour at all times
What you are doing here is two-fold. Firstly you are giving
to hide their identities, joining gangs and becoming an accepted
the players time to get into their characters and experience a
part of the criminal underbelly of Downtown.
bit of non-combat roleplay and secondly you are introducing
The remaining Vevaphons are dangerous individuals, highly the Wolf and making him familiar. Reward players that roleplay
skilled, at least to the level of an experienced Operative, though well, with free beers or a Rating Point point or two. Throughout
psychologically speaking they are also in great turmoil. They the first two parts of the campaign, when you are describing
either feel like they have everything , or nothing, to lose, pushing things, mention the Wolf as often as you can without being
them to take decisions or actions that can be seen as destructive overt. This part of the campaign should take 10-20 minutes (if
or terrifying to others. The Vevs that live in isolation may not used as a prelude to Part 1), before a player notices a Hunter
have seen another living being in months, or longer, causing Sheet (see page 13) for the Disconnected.
them to relax away from their humanoid form in favour of more
grotesque shapes. Deep down in their genetically manufactured Part 1: The Disconnected
hearts they all know their days are numbered, as they cling
“It started with a Manchine acting weirdly, but very little is
onto the last remaining scraps of their existence, being slowly
what it seems”.
consumed by their own dark and spiralling thoughts. The
remaining members of the Vevaphon line know this is the end. Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, The Doppelganger Report

“I always knew my Xeno would be the one to stand the test Start the campaign by reading the Hunter Sheet for
of time.” The Disconnected, which has now been rogue for over six
months. The players should want to go after a Manchine. As
Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, 908sd
they investigate they will become aware of various anomalies
(it tends not to wear skin, it seems to be independent of
THE HUNT programming and other Machines, it doesn’t follow routines,
there is no machineplasm in its lair, for example). If a massacre
The Hunt is a multi-part mini-campaign which drives an sight is found, the patrol (whether Shiver, Ranger or Op) will
Operative squad towards uncovering and eliminating possibly be stripped of their rations, and the human (and Frother)

8
 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

contingent will have been stripped of flesh, offal and bone Part 3: The Wolf
marrow, but the skin and bones will be left.
As events unfold, it becomes clear that the Manchine has “The Wolf became infamous, while concealing the biggest of
also targeted food depots and carnivorous pigs. Initial sightings secrets.”
and reports from Cannibals and alike, will confirm that it is a Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, The Doppelganger Report
Manchine, but on further sightings or more in depth observation,
players will notice that the Manchine’s body isn’t quite right, Depending on how subtle you have been and how good the
not quite the right size or dimensions, its skeleton is waxy in player’s memories are, they will either instantly know who the
texture. Eventually the players should become suspicious and Wolf is or will need to do some investigation. Either way it
when they do, have a report come in that informs the players shouldn’t be too long before they realise that the infamous
the remains of the Stinky Stephen Manchine has been found in ‘Wolf ’ is going to be after them. They will be very injured and
a sewer in Sector 7. depleted from their encounter with the Meek and they should
be scared. It is looking dire. Then they notice a silent alarm in
Investigation of the Disconnected’s lair will uncover pigs being
the puddle that was the Meek - a red flashing light.
farmed and dumps of acquired food stuffs and dried meats and
offal. When the players confront the Disconnected it will beg Whether the Operatives hunker down or they choose to run,
for mercy, especially if injured in a battle. At this point it will they need to know that the Wolf being after them is a very bad
transform into a visually attractive approximation of a scared thing for their health. You could drive this home by showing
and fearful female human and beg the players not to destroy its an Operative squad on the TV, being methodically beaten and
farm and food stores. It is a Vevaphon. assassinated by the Wolf; first a couple of humans, then a fully
armoured Stormer, then an ADV and finally an Eban. Be as
Whether the players interrogate the Vev, or whether they
descriptive and gory as you wish, have fun, but it is important
investigate the lair and find evidence, they will find a code
that the Stormer’s demise is not to well described... you’ll need
name: The Meek. The Meek is apparently the Disconnected’s
them later.
connection to the other Vevaphons in the conclave. If neither
happens when they report back their success they should be The objective of the session here is to make the players realise
issued with a second BPN sending them after The Meek. how hard the World of Progress is, they should be scared for
their lives and realise that they are in mortal danger. The Wolf
Part 2: The Meek is their Grim Reaper and he is inevitable. Enter the previously
mentioned Stormer, if they are bunkered up, it will be knocking
“A small, damaged Vevaphon, just wanting to be left alone” on their door, if they are on the run, they will be approached
Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, The Doppelganger Report by it. The Stormer is their friend and will give them support,
supplies and medical treatment. It found them after following
This part of the campaign should be more of an investigative
leads for the Meek. It will be sad about the rest of its squad,
session. The players should be given red herrings and led up
solemn and a being of few words, when it does talk it should
dead ends. They don’t know who the Meek is, nor where to
be tinny as it is speaking through a helmet, give a legitimate
find her. Have them find trails by following news reports and
reason as to why it survived. It will introduce itself as Binary,
articles and via interactions with denizens and local Shivers.
a nickname its squad gave it because it often talks to itself. Its
You could have them go down sewers only to come across rats
pronouns are they and them.
or a carnivorous pig (if you are feeling mean). As they get nearer
their quarry, they will receive reports of a nice old lady known as As appropriate, the Wolf appears, it removes its helmet and
‘Meek Mildred’ who is always covered in rags and shrouded in throws it to the ground. Its face is a plastic-like parody of a
coats and blankets. The locals should have a positive view of her 30-something human male. It smiles with gleaming white
and even go as far as liking her. She gives the children unis and plastic teeth, that appear like a white gum shield, there is no
small hand made toys, and the locals report that on occasion definition of each tooth, its hair is like a plastic hair-shaped
they find little packages for them too. helmet. As it gets nearer, it throws down its weapons, one after
the other, then it strips its armour, leaving a trail as it gets nearer
Once they have found her, the old lady will be the sweetest
and nearer to the squad. He raises his hands in submission.
thing they have ever met, quiet, softly spoken, kind, she will
Naked, as it reveals a large knife, he turns it towards his own
even smell homely and make the characters feel warm and
body as Binary charges. The two scuffle and after a few seconds
fuzzy inside. If it is at her house, she will make them tea in
Binary rips the Vevaphon’s head from its shoulders, the body
nice china cups with saucers and offer biscuits and homemade
slumps to the floor, the knife embedded in its chest.
cake. She is lovely! When it becomes apparent to the Meek
that she has been uncovered, the brownstuff will hit the fan and Part 4: The Mother
she will transform into a multi-armed, blade-wielding mass of
tissue (one of the arms will be missing a hand - signifying her “When one creates, one becomes a parent. If someone came
damaged nature and how to potentially disarm her) and will after your children, what would you do?”
attack. When the Operatives are mainly down, or near to it, the Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, The Doppelganger Report
Meek will collapse. As she lays dying, she will transform back to
the little old lady and say in her kindly voice “The wolf will get Research will uncover the following information:
you!”, she will then smile sweetly, before she melts to a puddle Profile - Dr Shelly Cramble: Shelly Cramble is a female
of dead Vevaphon cells. Human in her thirties. Though shy, she is more than capable

9
 SLA INDUSTRIES

of standing up for herself, particularly if it means bettering her “Investigation of the Cramble conclave, suggests that all
career or making others take note of her worth. Considered associated Vevaphons, as well as Cramble herself, have been
a ‘do-gooder’ by others, Shelly’s reserved demeanor made her neutralised. The Operative squad involved is to be praised for
the valued scientist she was within the Doppelganger Institute. its work.
While with the Institute, Cramble worked her way up the It appears that the Vevaphon, commonly known as the
ranks and eventually found herself the lead scientist when the Disconnected, had been called back to Cramble’s den when the
company was closed down. in situ Vevaphon (subsequently identified as Diane) started to
The Operatives will be issued with a Crawler APC with driver, deteriorate. This relocation drew attention at some level and a
who will not know much more than what they tell her. She has Hunter Sheet was issued.
been temporarily seconded to this role. She will not leave the It seems that the Disconnected was not in fact disconnected
driver’s seat for anything (even if the vehicle is to explode) and from the conclave, instead it was a key part of it. When it was
is plumbed in via a colostomy bag system and chained to the captured it seems to have divulged the Meek as a decoy to protect
seat. She is abnormally jovial considering the situation she finds Cramble and Diane. In Cramble’s diary she notes that the
herself in and with a bit of investigation the player’s will realise Disconnected sent the Operatives after the Meek as she would
she is clearly on something. The Operatives will find themselves either disarm them with her charm or best them in combat.
back in the Disconnected’s lair, most of it will be just as they left Unfortunately for the Meek, neither was the case.
it, but as they delve deeper they will notice that the pigs seem
to be being looked after. If they had not called on Binary they The Wolf is an interesting case, clearly part of the conclave,
will find them trying to open a heavy metal door, hidden behind but its behaviour at first look makes no sense. I have no proof,
pig stys. If Binary is with them, the door should be uncovered but surmise that its depression just got too much for it and it
via a hard Detect test. The door will be hard to open, if they do felt that its days were numbered. Its murdering of the Binary’s
not manage it after some time an individual will exit it, if they squad and the death of the Meek just broke it. Ironically I think
do open it they will quickly find the said individual inside. It is this individual should in fact have been called the Disconnected,
Dr Cramble. as it seems it had become so, not only from reality, but its own
family: the Cramble conclave. The last, or should I say last two
Now on the run, Shelly is a mere shell of her former self.
members, of the conclave have me stumped as they had fooled
When encountered she will be afraid and angry. Her clothing
many Operatives into believing that they were not only one
will be the same she wore when she vanished, appearing torn
individual, but a Stormer at that. I would love to have had
and dirty. Her personal hygiene will have slipped and it should
the opportunity to study this symbiote, how was it connected?
be clear from the very first interaction that she is a desperate
Where did one start and the other finish, or did they mingle
and scared woman. She has no combat training beyond some
their cells? It is quite unbelievable. And why did it attack the
basic time on the range as is customary with all SLA employees.
Wolf ? We may never know, but I think it is likely that they
She has an SLA issue FEN 603 pistol though is unlikely to fire
knew they couldn’t save it, and its death would bring it peace,
unless desperate. While highly intelligent, her time in hiding
while also convincing the other Operatives that Binary was one
has caused her to become somewhat unhinged, meaning she
of them.
may react in unexpected or unpredictable ways.
When she sees the squad she will run. If she gets away, she Analysis of the death sites confirm that all known members of
will be found later. If not she will draw her gun and start crying. the conclave have been dispatched, with genetic checks confirming
If she gets away, she will be found in a small room injecting a dead cells from the Disconnected, Meek, Wolf, both Binaries,
sickly Vevaphon. That Vev will die as Cramble is administering Diane and obviously Cramble. No evidence of other Vevaphons
a lethal injection. Have everyone, including Cramble and Binary were identified at any site linked to the Clade. Hopefully and
roll for initiative. finally, we can now close the Doppelganger casebook forever.”
Binary will attack the player’s squad, chuckledusting the Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, The Doppelganger Report
nearest operative. As combat ensues, Cramble will attempt to Once the report has been read a DA 90 grenade smashes
hide. Binary is in effect two Vevaphons, living as one. When it is through the window and lands spinning in the middle of the
reduced to 50% or less of its initial hit points it will collapse and table.
liquid Vev will ooze from the armour, it is dead. At this point
End the session here with the perfect cliff hanger or move
Cramble will start shooting and will easily be overcome.
straight to Part 5.
After this, via a very difficult successful Detect test, wet
footprints can be seen to have been left behind by something Part 5: Unified with Duplicity
running from Binary’s armour. If the Detect test is not
successful, do not divulge this information. End here if you can. ‘In this world, the enemy of your enemy is your enemy too.”
Some time will have passed after the encounter with Cramble, Dr. Jeremiah Parnaya, The Doppelganger Report
the squad is sat in the bar, relaxing and watching violence on Start this session a millisecond after the unexpected entrance
TV. Supply the Operatives with the following report, this will of the grenade. Roll for Initiative. Roll for the Grenade (+6) and
have been sent to them with a SCL 0.4 increase each and a the “Unity” too. The Unity is the surviving Vev from Binary, it
1000c bonus for the squad. will be outside the bar. This is all out carnage and the Unity will
not stop until it or everyone else in the bar are dead. Have fun!

10
 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

VEVAPHON STATS & RULES THE MEEK

SPECIES SPECIFIC ABILITIES STR DEX KNOW CONC
2 3 4 2
Regeneration (2) - Vevaphons are capable of regenerating
themselves at a highly efficient rate, healing injuries and CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
rebuilding damaged tissue automatically. A Vevaphon has a 2 4 0 3
Regeneration Rate of 2.
Polymorph - A Vevaphon can hide in plain sight. Any Detect Hit Points Closing Rushing
rolls to spot a hiding Vevaphon receive a -3 modifier to the 20 4 6
Success Die. This modifier is reduced to -1 if the individual
looking for the Vevaphon is within 4 metres of it. Skills
Reactive Body - A Vevaphon’s skin is resistant to damage and it Detect: 4 Melee Weapons: 4
is able to move away from potentially damage causing impacts
on a cellular level. A Vevaphon’s skin has PV 4 and Resistance Streetwise: 4 Survival: 4
equal to its Hit Points. Whenever a Vevaphon regenerates any Tactics: 3 Unarmed Combat: 4
Hit Points, it also regenerates an equal value of Resistance.
Equipment
THE DISCONNECTED Knife Cacophony, Reactive Body

STR DEX KNOW CONC Notes: The Meek is a Vevaphon and so has the Regenerate
4 5 4 2 (2) and Polymorph species specific abilities.

CHA COOL LUCK Initiative Knife Cacophony

0 3 1 8 Knife Cacophony
Hit Points Closing Rushing Skill: Unarmed Combat/Melee Weapons
25 4 10 DMG Min DMG AD Weight
Skills 1d10 2 2 1

Athletics: 2 Detect: 4 Notes: The Meek carries four blades. As she takes damage
she is forced to drop them, due to her reduced capacity to
Intimidation: 4 Melee Weapons: 3
keep her form. When she is reduced to 15 Hit Points the
Streetwise: 3 Survival: 4 Knife Cacophony gains a -1 modifier to DMG. When she
is reduced to 10 Hit Points the Knife Cacophony gains a
Tactics: 3 Unarmed Combat: 4
-2 modifier to DMG. When she is reduced to 5 Hit Points
Equipment the Knife Cacophony gains a -3 modifier to DMG. This
modifier cannot be lost during a combat.
Manchine Blades, Reactive Body

Notes: The Disconnected is a Vevaphon and so has the

BINARY
Regenerate (2) and Polymorph species specific abilities.
STR DEX KNOW CONC
When the Disconnected is reduced to 12 or fewer Hit
5 2 2 3
Points: STR: 5, COOL: 6.
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
Manchine Blades
1 3 2 6
The Disconnected has held on to Stinky Stephen’s retractable
blades as part of his disguise. When attacked, the Disconnected Hit Points Closing Rushing
will lose his Manchine disguise, but continue to use the blades
46 3 6
as hand weapons. These blades have a long reach and are
incredibly sharp, inflcting significant damage with every strike.
Skills
Manchine Blades Detect: 2 Intimidation: 4
Skill: Unarmed Combat/Melee Weapons Melee Weapons: 3 Rifle: 3
DMG Min DMG AD Weight Support Weapons: 3 Tactics: 2
1d10+4 5 3 0 Unarmed Combat: 2

11
 SLA INDUSTRIES

Equipment Equipment
Chuckleduster, MAC Knife, PP70 DPB Vibro Sabre, KPS Mangler Automatic Shotgun,
Powercell Armour, Rations x4 Reactive Body, DA 90 Fragmentation Grenade x4

Notes: Binary is two Vevaphons in heavy disguise as a Notes: The Unity is a Vevaphon and has the Regenerate (2) and
Malice Stormer. They have Regenerate (2), but do not use Polymorph species specific abilities.
the Polymorph species specific ability. The Unity has Anger, Depression and Psychosis: Dissociative
Binary has Psychosis: Schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Identity Disorder.
Disorder.

DR SHELLY CRAMBLE
STR DEX KNOW CONC
2 2 4 3
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
3 2 3 5 BB LL UU EE PP RR II NN TT NN EE W
W SS
Departmental Authorisation:
Hit Points Closing Rushing
Department of Investigation
12 2 4 Training Package Recommended:

colour Code:
Any
Skills
Details:
Detect: 3 Lore (Sector): 2
Likely Vevaphon identified. Linked to an individual

R ED
Medical: 4 Pistol: 1 known as the Meek. Identify, investigate and eliminate.
Survival: 3 Tactics: 2
Throw: 2 Tracking: 2 +0.3 SCL Increase
Unarmed Combat: 1

Equipment
SLA issue FEN 603 pistol with 2 Clips, SLA Blade, Station Analysis: Consolidated Bonus Scheme: Per Op: S C L 9a.1
2 doses of Kickstart, 2 doses of Mind Numb, Track Third Eye News: 200c Per Squad:
opticS Enviro Scanner, Flashlight, BOOPA Medi- “Blueprint News” and “Third Eye” are wholly owned subsidiaries of SLA Industries. Any unauthorised use of their names or images is illegal.

Kit, BOOPA CASDIS, 5 Basic Rations.

Notes: Dr Cramble has Anger and Depression

BB LL UU EE PP RR II NN TT NN EE W
W SS
THE UNITY Departmental Authorisation:
Department of Investigation
STR DEX KNOW CONC
Training Package Recommended:

colour Code:
5 3 2 3 Any
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative Details:
1 3 0 7 Capture or eliminate Dr. Shelly Cramble. Target
R E D

Hit Points Closing Rushing identified within Cannibal Sector 1. Crawler APC and
Driver supplied.
23 4 6

Skills +0.3 SCL Increase

Detect: 2 Melee Weapons: 3
Pistol: 1 Throw: 3
Tracking: 3 Unarmed Combat: 4
Station Analysis: Consolidated Bonus Scheme: Per Op: S C L 9a.4
Third Eye News: 300c Per Squad:
“Blueprint News” and “Third Eye” are wholly owned subsidiaries of SLA Industries. Any unauthorised use of their names or images is illegal.

12
 H u n t e r S h e e t
Name:
Stinky Stephen A.K.A. The Disconnected
Description:
Manchine
Crime:
Murder
Department Contact:
Dept of Investigation
Bounty:
3500c
Quote:
“As fars as Manchines go, I think Stinky Stephen is a pretty good one. I means he killed a child
killer right? It’s a shame he’s gone.”
Magnus Fairbody, unemployed, Sector 7.

Criminal Portfolio:
The Manchine known as The Disconnected originated from Sector 7. While there it went about its business being a Manchine, following its
daily routines and routes of passage through the neighbourhood. It had little to no direct interaction with its neighbours, and had become
something of a local celebrity. The locals kept their distance, but affectionately knew the Manchine as Stinky Stephen, named partly after the
Child Murderer it had killed when he ran into the Manchine’s path when escaping a lynch mob and partly because, like all Manchines, it
stank of rotting flesh. Stephen’s neighbours would string up Pigs and various criminals in his path, supplying him with replacement flesh on
a relatively regular basis, and hence reducing the chance that Stephen would need to find his own. Throughout the entire time since he killed
the Child Murderer, Stephen wore his name sake’s beard on its own chin. Then one day Stinky Stephen disappeared. Over 3 months later, he
reappeared in Cannibal Sector 1.
Stinky Stephen’s reappearance was heralded by the disappearance of a Shiver squad patrolling the south-western part of the Northwest
Compact, then a second, more east. A third was dispatched to find the first two, they too disappeared. Two Sector Ranger Squads and then
the Operative Squad, The Lightning Hammers, followed their predecessors into the region only to vanish too. The Hammers had been in
the field for 10 days and filed their last report from the Tabor Projects before all contact was lost. At first, the disappearances were allocated
to local denizens, Cannibals, carnivorous pigs and alike, but soon it became clear that they too were disappearing along the route. Eventually,
fragmented reports came in and it gradually became apparent that the relocated Manchine was acting abnormally. It did not respond to
Digger’s calls, nor did it seem to follow movement protocols nor routines. Its movements were sporadic and erratic and it seemed to be wearing
less and less borrowed flesh and skin.
The disconnected Manchine, Stinky Stephen, has not been definitively associated with the squad or denizen disappearances, but there seems
not to be anything else that can account for so many vanishings.

Criminal Profile:
The Disconnected is an Urbanite Manchine of pretty standard stature and gait. Unlike others of its kind, it does not seem to follow any
protocols or routes of movement. The Disconnected has only been seen from distance, at least by those capable of reporting back. From such
reports nothing of any note can be drawn, although there is little comment of draped flesh over the Manchine’s body. In more recent weeks, it
has been seen wearing a cloak that seems to have been made from the skin of a Shaktar. These reports coincide with the recent disappearance
of Operative St’r’kk Glr’glr’glk and the rest of her Squad, The Lightning Hammers.

Last Known Location:

The last report from the Lightning Hammers was made from the south west tip of the Tabor Projects in Cannibal Sector 1. They had been
moving on foot in a north easterly direction

Method Of Attack:
Many Shiver squads and two Sector Ranger patrols have disappeared along the apparent route of the Disconnected and in the vicinity of the
Manchine’s new stomping ground. Before they disappeared the Operative Squad, The Lightning Hammers, reported on the killzone of the
missing Sector Rangers, The Blue Diamonds, which had been missing in action for three days. The Diamonds’ Crawler was intact, although
its homing beacon was skillfully deactivated. Their Grit had been stabbed in the mouth and the blade drawn directly upwards bisecting its
head between the eyes. Nothing of the Human Rangers remains were found, although all their gear, armour and weapons were undamaged
and fully accounted for.

Other Comments:
Various Squads of Shivers, then Rangers and more recently the Operative Squad, the Lightning Hammers have been sent to investigate the
disappearance of previous squads only to disappear themselves. Extreme caution is to be recommended.
 SLA INDUSTRIES

. Level 0: Deth’s Door - Entrance, security and weapons

THE PIT check-in.
The Pit is the most famous, if not infamous, club in the whole . Level 1: Stasis One - The largest bar and dance floors in
of Mort City. It is the reason many SLA Industries employees Mort City. This is the most popular place to hang.
chose their vocation. The club appears as nothing more than a . Level 2: The Cave - Multi-stage live music venue with
concrete bunker at its entrance level, but its structure is akin to gigs every single night, covering every imaginable genre.
an iceberg with most of its structure spiralling down from the
. Level 3: The Trof - Restaurants and fast food to suit all
front doors.
tastes and all budgets. Some of the finest food in Uptown
Once an employee has entered The Pit via Deth’s Doors is available here.
(named after the clubs original head of security) and deposited
all weapons at the mandatory check-in desk, a number of . Level 4: The Sink-Hole - Bars and dance floors, considered
escalators take them down to the first and largest of The Pit’s Frother clan turf and is usually left alone by other races.
levels, known as Statis One. This level alone dwarfs every other . Level 5: Virtual - Gaming, gambling and electronic
club in Mort City, a huge underground disc with a circumference entertainment including the only virtual reality arcade on
of almost 2km. The outer wall consists of a single bar spanning Mort.
so far it’s almost impossible to see the opposite side. Every drink . Level 6: Heretics - Metal and industrial music, considered
imaginable is served here and the single number of beverages Brain Waster turf and very few other races dare hang out
served on a daily basis is beyond comprehension. Statis One there.
is also the start of ‘the well’, an expanse near the middle of the . Level 7: Myrhdrs - Shaktar home-world themed. As
structure that drops through the first seven layers of The Pit, much a museum as it is a club. Other races are welcomed
surrounded by a clear barrier, allowing people to peer down on here, so long as they are respectful and can cope with the
the levels below, with only level 9, known as Treachery, being ‘music’.
hidden from view. Four walkways cross over the well to a large
bank of gauss elevators in the middle which form the only . Level 8: Sinokenon - Exclusive to Necanthropes. A huge
way up and down through the various levels of the club. Dead glyph encrusted stadium where Necanthropes meet to
center, beside the gauss lifts, is the ancient Glyph Pillar. This discuss the intricacies of the Ebb.
incompresenably huge Ebonite artefact runs the whole length . Level 9: Treachery - Five distinct bars surrounded by a
of the club from Statis One, right down to the ninth level. The motorcycle race track. This is where the cheapest drinks
pillar, along with a number of smaller versions that can be found and the shadiest characters can be found.
dotted around the club effectively drain Flux the moment it is
summoned, making it impossible to use Ebb disciplines within Due to the sheer size and scale of the venue, its eight-
the walls of the club. Paired with the zero-tolerance approach hour opening period can disappear in a flash and the chance
to weapons, The Pit is designed to be a ‘safe place’ to hang out, of getting around the entire place in a single night is highly
which it is… mostly. unlikely, meaning most Ops end up sticking to one of two of
The Pit’s levels during any given visit. Of course this means
“No fight or I fight you. My boys and girls are watching you. Operatives are left wanting more, which helps persuade them
Don’t make Rarg mad or you barred… and hurt.” to head back night after night.
Rarg ‘Deth2’, Security Chief at The Pit. “One night, man, I swear, this one night, I was drinking
Each of the nine levels offers its own vibe, entertainment some Dave Beers with this Wraithen chick and she was telling
schedule and music style, from ambient to noise and from me about this Stormer that had tried to hit on her earlier in
hard rock to Shaktarian folk. The Pit’s appeal is as eclectic the night… and I was like, ‘no way, Stormers don’t have a sex
as its clientele, with its management ensuring there isn’t an drive, why would it hit on you?’, so yeah, she was like full of it
employee on Mort that cannot find something they like within and didn’t have an answer, but I think it was some odd type of
the venue’s chasm of delights. Each level follows the same flirting, but then these two other Wraithen came along looking
continual bar concept as Stasis One, spanning the whole of all fuzzy and started shoving me around… I dunno, maybe they
the floor’s circumference, the only exception being Treachery, were related or wanted a piece of the action or something and
which replaces the bar around its outer edge with a motorcycle they were looking like they wanted to give me a kicking until
race track. Those layers that do not have dance floors or stages security came along… two massive Shaktar motherfuckers. They
of their own have the audio from other levels pumped into saw the ruckus and turfed those sprinters out and then this chick
them through huge speaker systems positioned along the was like, ‘lets dance’, so we drank more and then I passed out.
ceilings, walls and pillars. The Pit is effectively nine separate Crazy night man. The Pit… always a crazy night.”
clubs contained within one structure, some of which are more Tevo Robb, Frother Operative, SCL
noticeably popular with certain species than others, but all are 10.5, squad ‘Drop Donkey’.
open to Operatives and employees of the company with the
exception of Sinokenon, which exists exclusively for the high While The Pit is the place that every Operative wants to go to
ranked Necanthropes. The following is a brief overview of the blow off steam, it is also much more an opportunity to get drunk
various levels: and live it up. The Pit also serves as a boiling pot of knowledge,
where Operatives can meet to exchange information, recruit

14
 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

new squad members, tap up corporates for the inside scoop along another wall in the L-shaped eating area. The remainder
and meet with prospective sponsors in a more relaxed setting. of the diner is filled with the prep kitchen and toilets, a luxury
The Pit is where Shaktars go when they cannot face the temple, in diners this close to the wall.
where Frothers go to promote their clan’s standing and where
everyone else goes to party and drink it down. The Pit is heaven,
hell, light and dark… all night, every night.
BEYOND THE WALL
This simple BPN is the start of a tour through hell, as what is
224 NOODLES offered as a two-week holiday. turns into a months-long crawl
across inhospitable terrain and against varied enemies. To run
this adventure, the GM should read SLA Industries: Cannibal
HISTORY Sector 1 (including the conversion PDF) and watch a few war
In the shadow of the sector wall, in the north-eastern side of movies to get a feel for the setting. It is recommended that a
the city, Sungo Park opened a noodle cart, serving quick bowls fresh squad is rolled up for this, as survival is supposed to be
of hot noodles to the locals and to the Shivers whose patrols hard and a starting squad is more likely to use the best survival
started in the wall’s stations. Park was lucky to get a high-traffic tactic of running away.
spot, stall 224, in the make-shift shanty town that sprung up The squad will be led out to a remote destination and left there
as the Shivers migrated to the walls, Hole 2 being built within to make their own way home. They will be alone and outside of
sight of the noodle bar. His fortune was followed by growth, communication range, but they will have plenty of encounters
turning his cart into an open booth, with stools outlining all on the way, so they won’t get bored.
sides of his covered kitchen. Under a pink neon sign, cowling
kept his customers protected from the elements. BPN
Generations later, Sungo Park’s great-granddaughter Soolin
The Operatives are to accompany a squad of Shivers and a
Mandle now heads the business, running a much larger
two-person media crew. The Operatives will take an APC along
restaurant - 224 Estate, two streets in from the wall - while her
Fothergill Lane and beyond, as the reporter and camera tech
son Grant looks after the neon-topped stall. The stall is largely
capture life in the Bridgeheads. It’s mostly fluff they’re after,
unchanged, apart from having a small enclosed diner attached
but Shiver Command wouldn’t give them the permits unless
to it. The diner was a “pig stick in a bun” business that Soolin
they paid for an Op Squad to go with them. The lucky squad
bought when it went out of business, and she had it joined onto
of Operatives that pulled this BPN will be treated to a two-
the outdoors booth to double the kitchen’s size and triple the
week run across Cannibal Sector 1, followed by a puff piece on
number of diners.
Adventure Channel Focus.
STAFF AND MENU MEET THE CREW
Grant Mandle and his wife Yi, run the famous 224 Noodles
The squad are to rendezvous with Shiver Sergeant Dellows
booth, with a rotating staff of kitchen helpers and wait staff. The
who will take them to lunch to meet the crew and explain
main three quarters of the menu remains unchanged from what
the job. The squad meets Dellows outside 224 Noodles on a
Sungo Park finally settled on in the early years. The remaining
particularly bad day, She is wearing Body Blocker covered by
quarter of the menu is made of fads and changing fashions that
a thick green rain poncho, with a bowl of noodles in one hand
stretches from the obscure “Boat Noodles With A Cuppa For
and a plastic fork in the other. Dellows is flanked by two wet
Your Shiver” to the targeted “Cradle Bridgehead Ramen”. With
shivers, in ponchos and hats and will have to shout over the
a steady clientele of Shivers every four hours, and tourists and
weather, annoyed that her noodle bowl is catching rain.
tradespeople filling the gaps, 224 Noodles is always busy.
Dellows takes the Operatives into the diner, paying at the
outdoor booth and returning the bowl before entering the
SPONSORSHIP enclosed building where a strangely-dressed couple awaits them.
224 Noodles offers sponsorship to SLA Operatives at SCL 9. Dellows leaves the two Shiver Units outside and discards her
As a small niche business, they only offer low-end sponsorship poncho. She introduces Mel and Biv Sharp, a pair of Adventure
deals to “the sorts of Operatives we feel embody the 224 tastes,” Channel reporters dressed in high-end off-world woodlands
looking for more cerebral Operatives. gear with backpacks and a camouflage-painted Spot Bee.
Dellows explains that there will be two Shiver APCs, one with
LOCATION the squad, the media and a Shiver APC driver and another with
Dellows’ squad of Shivers that will lead the way. The APCs are
The site is shaped like a griddle pan, with the square of the
designed to hold ten people so there’s plenty of room.
old pig stick diner joined to the handle that is the outdoors
booth. Twelve stools either side of the long thin kitchen area are The APCs are stocked with enough supplies to last the
available, and anyone sitting will be approached by Grant or Yi, two weeks, even though the convoy will be making stops at
both preferring the outdoors kitchen to the small preparation Bridgeheads almost every day, but Biv comments how he’s
kitchen indoors. Indoors is a windowed wall of four diner going to try to use the tents as backdrops to his reports as often
booths each seating six customers, with another two booths as possible, as they have Marshon Camping sponsoring the

15
 SLA INDUSTRIES

show. He offers the Ops a few creds here and there if they can
help him out with making the kit look good.
THE FALL OF NODDY’S SISTER
Mel and Biv will express concern that the whole trip is taking a
HIT THE ROAD little longer than they thought, and that they will have to spend
longer days travelling if they’re to get everything they need.
After lunch at 224 Noodles, the Operatives and media
One week in, the plan is to film a few bits of Tabor Projects,
personalities are led to the Shiver station at Hole 2. Here they
make it look dangerous and turn back, heading south, maybe
get acquainted with the Shiver squad and the two APCs that
getting to Bridgehead Lennox Prime and hitting Hole 4 via
will be their homes for the next two weeks. Once the squad
Green Corner, if they can cover a little more ground each day.
is ready, little time is wasted and they head off out of the city.
An argument breaks out between Dellows and the Sharps, but
The Shiver driver treats this with little to no reverence, as it’s
it is quickly interrupted by a lot of noisy activity outside. A pair
a journey that he’s done a dozen times or more. He’s not very
of Sector Rangers show up and tries to commandeer the squad’s
talkative, but his silence is more than balanced by Mel and Biv,
APC, shouting how everyone has to get out of the Bridgehead
for whom this is the first time out in the cannibal sectors. They
now as the attack on Calamity was a feint to draw the forces
are a font of knowledge and can explain anything the squad
from Noddy’s Sister, and a massive warband of Rawhead
wants to know about life outside the city. They may not have
fanatics was on its way.
been to the cannibal sectors before, but they’ve read all about
Wulf Bennsorn, the Sector Ranger who is shouting orders,
them.
sees the media team and says he has to remove them from the
After the first day, the squad will arrive at a small town, one
fray. He waves his SCL badge and tells the Shivers that he’s
of the new outposts that’s sprung up in the wake of Project
taking an APC, the media team and their protection and is
Bellwood. These outposts usually have a Bridgehead as their
making a swift exit.
heart, but many of the walls have been removed, with the
The squad is ordered into the APC and, if one of them
Ceramospan bricks being discharged and carried out to repair
can drive, they’re put in the driver’s seat, otherwise, a Sector
the new Bridgeheads to the east, at the edge of Cradle’s
Ranger, Jane Middsen, takes the helm, with Wulf taking the
influence.
front passenger seat next to her. If the squad doesn’t get in the
The first outpost they reach, Paddle Hill, is 50km out from
APC with Wulf, they will see what an overwhelming force of
the wall, and is inhabited by Mort civilians who wanted to
cannibals looks like and, if they somehow survive, will likely end
experience life in the new frontier, alongside Shivers and the
up on the menu.
many logistics and supply chains that keep the war effort fed
As the squad escapes, they will be able to see Noddy’s Sister
and clothed at the fronts. Many operatives won’t be used to the
completely overrun. As night falls, it’s time to make a plan.
lack of walls and ceilings, and the constant heavy rains remind
Mel and Biv are completely useless now as this isn’t their fun
them that they are no longer in the city. Aside from the culture
adventure world any more. Fortunately, they realise this and will
shock, little of note happens, apart from seeing Mel and Biv
not argue over their survival. They are well trained to listen to
in action, taking turns in front of the camera, each of them
their local guides and have made a career of looking good in
enthusiastic and articulated, making the whole thing look a
remote locations while relying on their handlers. The Sector
lot more exciting than it is. If the Operatives engage with Mel
Rangers, Wulf and Jane, take over and tell everyone to make
and Biv, they will be very friendly and highly inquisitive, taking
camp after a few hours of driving.
notes if an Operative tells them something about Operative
life that they didn’t know. Biv will tell them that most of the Once the squad has a camp built, the Sector Rangers take the
civilian Paddle Hill inhabitants made it here on foot and that APC to do a perimeter sweep, with Jane driving and Wulf on
not everyone was expecting life out here to be as hard as it is. the big gun. As soon as they’re out of site, there’s a whistle,
a thump and then a bright light where the APC was headed.
A couple more days of outposts, averaging 15km/h for six
Wulf and Jane met Velocinaut, the ex-War Criminal. One of his
hours a day, and the terrain gets wilder and the Bridgeheads
land mines made quick work of the APC and his big gun took
look more active, until eventually, they arrive at Bridgehead
care of what was left.
Endeavour, an active outpost that still occasionally has to repel
attackers. If the squad is getting fidgety, have a carrien attack
break out and have them help the Shivers. STRANDED
On day five, the Adventure Channel plan takes the squad East of Noddy’s Sister, deep in Tabor Projects, the squad is
south-east, avoiding heading towards Salvation Tower and cut off. The media crew have one Spot Bee, enough light tents
instead travelling along the front line to Bridgehead Noddy for everyone, rations for a week and the best rain collectors and
and Tabor Projects. A few days of this, with a few minor filters that Marshon Camping makes. The squad has whatever
skirmishes with Cannibals and Carrien, and the squad will end they have on them. If they want to try to salvage anything from
up in Bridgehead Noddy’s Sister at the edge of Tabor Projects. the APC, there’s whatever you want them to have, but they may
Noddy’s Sister is very lightly garrisoned, with just two squads well come under fire from Velocinaut.
of Shivers, just over twenty in total, as it’s not considered to be
under threat. Cannibal Activity has been focussed on the new Oh, and it’s raining.
Bridgehead to the north, Bridgehead Calamity.

16
 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

Incense and Cordite rages had gotten the squad out of many a dire situation before. His
hopes were gunned down by the twin crack of exploding shells,
Ethan was going to die soon. abruptly cutting off Macca’s angry rant.
He could feel the UV wearing off. The white-hot haze rapidly Wisps of cobalt-blue smoke lazily drifted from the stairwell and
faded from his pulsing veins, making way for a creeping cold which into the security room where Ethan was hiding. Invading the hot,
slowly slithered up his ruined leg. Looking down at the greave metallic smell of his own blood came the already familiar scent of
on his Exo, a pair of neat, round holes marked where the bullets gunpowder laced with frankincense, thick with the promise of death.
had struck. It didn’t look like much. A couple of standard copper- Using his FEN AR as a makeshift crutch, Ethan pushed himself
jacketed slugs wouldn’t have been too bad, but these AP rounds to his feet. The invisible snake had delivered its bite, unleashing its
had punched right through his armour, tearing it up like soggy ephemeral venom inside his body and setting each nerve ablaze
cardboard. Ethan felt queasy as he recalled the wet crack of the with agony. Ethan faltered and the gun slipped from underneath
explosive shells detonating inside his leg, turning flesh and bone him, dropping him to the blood-slick concrete floor. A jagged lance
to mush. of pain shot up his leg and into his brain as the shattered knee hit
Clenching his fist twice in rapid succession, he commanded the the ground and Ethan cried out. Black spots swam before his eyes
auto-injector to administer another dose of KickStart to staunch and he struggled to retain consciousness, blinking hard trying to
the bleeding and suppress the pain. The relay switches sounded dispel them. He focused his hearing on the rapid beating of his own
their protest in a series of muted clicks and whirrs as they struggled heart and the slow footfalls steadily making their way up the stairs,
to activate the pistons until the dreaded words flared angry and red in an effort to keep it together. Pulling himself up on a nearby desk,
across the HUD of his cracked visor: Ethan balanced his weight on his one good leg and half-hopped,
half-crawled towards the reinforced door, gritting his teeth against
- no dose detected - the throbbing pain. He only barely managed to close it in time
Cursing under his ragged breath, Ethan repeated the command. before the footsteps reached the upper landing and he threw the
He was certain he’d brought four doses to the BPN - had he really bolt.
burned through all four already? These past minutes had been a Ethan let himself fall down, landing hard on his back. A bitter
blur. As Ethan struggled to remember, the creeping cold continued chuckle escaped him and swelled into a burst of mad laughter,
to crawl up his wounded leg. He imagined it as an invisible serpent, born of despair. At least this was his small victory, Ethan thought:
slowly wrapping itself around him. As it tightened its crushing to thwart his enemy until the last. Death would find him; he had
coils, Ethan felt his leg starting to throb. He swore he could smell accepted that. But not for another few dear minutes, the last minutes
the acrid, black venom on its invisible fangs, carrying the promise of of Ethan’s life. Those, at least, still belonged to him. He dragged
excruciating agony, and knew the bite would follow soon. himself to the wall opposite the door and felt around his ammo
Around him, the myriad vid-screens stuttered to life, basking pouch, producing a bent and crumpled cigarette. Straightening
Ethan in a shimmering grey light as spectral shades of static twisted it as best as he could, Ethan placed it between his lips with one
and convulsed inside plexiglass prisons, their angry, hateful hisses bloodstained hand while the other fumbled for his Klippo lighter.
pulling him back from his reverie. A shadow appeared inside the thin sliver of light showing
Gunfire had taken out most of the cameras and drones guarding underneath the door. Ethan fixed his eyes upon the handle as it
the facility. The surviving handful showed only grim tableaus of slowly began to turn. His rifle lay out of reach, but Ethan still carried
terror; each a still life drawn from a charnel gallery of horrors. It his trusty backup gun. The BLA derringer had only two shots. Each
wasn’t just the blood. Five years of Operative duty had hardened of those, however, packed the punch of a 12.7mm round, enough to
Ethan to all but the goriest displays and what little the job hadn’t vaporise anything and anyone in its path. Ethan aimed both barrels
managed to desensitise in him, his daily exposure to Gorezone had. straight at the door, trying to steady his trembling arms against
But this...this was different. his one good knee. Blinking hard again to dispel the black spots
Scattered across the flickering monitors, a score of worlds lay dancing across his vision, he started shouting:
ended. Outstretched arms reached for a mercy cruelly denied. Fear “C’mon you fucker! Lessee you come in now huh? I’ll blow your
had wrought faces into gaunt masks of terror, mouths frozen in a goddamn brains out! How’dya like that?!”
chorus of silent screams. The worst, however, was in their eyes. They were empty threats, but it was all he could muster to keep
Ethan glanced at the nearest screen, where his squad mates lay. himself from passing out as the pain and blood loss were taking a
Their wide-open eyes blazed at him with a cold, accusing emptiness, heavy toll on his body.
forever locked in silent despair. To Ethan, it seemed as if they were From beyond, there came no reply. Only a thin, metallic screech
clawing at the very edge of some great, black abyss, willing to as an invisible force pulled back the bolt on the door. After a short
sacrifice anything and anyone to save themselves from falling in. pause, the handle turned again, and the heavy door slowly swung
A salvo of curses and gunfire sounded from several floors below, open. But the thing Ethan saw was no crazed serial killer; no
confirming Macca, at least, was still alive. Six foot two in her Shatter-boosting ex-war criminal or hulking dream-demon from
HARD armour and perpetually hopped up on Rush, the Frother the depths of the cannibal sectors thirsting for his blood...
was a force to be reckoned with. Ethan’s squad was the closest thing The stark silhouette drawn against the doorway betrayed a man of
to a family Macca had, and he hadn’t been able to convince her to average height and slight build. Cobalt-blue smoke trailed from the
hide out here with him. pair of FEN 603’s held almost carelessly by his side, infusing the air
“I’ll make that bastard pay,” she had told Ethan “or die trying!” with the sharp scent of incense and cordite. A disturbing, zen-like
Then she’d called him a bloody coward and stormed off, FEN 204 peace hung about him: the same dark and foreboding tranquillity
in one hand, power claymore in the other. found in the crushing depths of the deepest oceans and the black
void lurking between distant stars. Cold indifference gleamed in his
The cursing was louder now, echoing throughout the building’s
pale blue eyes as the stranger calmly walked up to Ethan, smiling a
empty stairwell. Bursts of gunfire infused Macca’s tirade, almost
slightly sad smile.
as if censoring the worst bits from the torrent of abuse she rained
upon her enemy. Ethan smiled briefly at the thought, finding And the sight scared him more than any demon ever could.
comfort in the knowledge that Macca’s infamous drug-fuelled +++END+++

17
 SLA INDUSTRIES

PROP: BURREN MICHAELS Burren Michaels

Burren Michaels is a prop that holds court at a bar named STR DEX KNOW CONC
Ecclesiastical. He is a large human with an ashen brown skin
tone and short white hair. He carries a leather-wrapped stick 3 2 1 2
on a belt loop and wears scrap armour that looks like it’s made
from layered parts of Body Blocker and riot shields, painted CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
black and detailed in whitewash paint with angular dazzle 2 3 2 4
patterns. He also has a CAF pistol and shotgun for when people
don’t listen to the stick. Hit Points Closing Rushing
Michaels claims to have served in the SLA Military, four
17 2 5
years off-world, but he is exceedingly vague on this subject. The
reality is that he was a Shiver who served in Project Red Sky
and was the only survivor from his squad. He took the name Skills
from two of his squadmates and snuck back into the city as Detect: 1 Drive - Civilian: 1
a refugee, assuming his new identity when he discovered that
Melee Weapons: 3 Medical: 2
he was presumed dead. He is occasionally haunted by his
memories, but he doesn’t let the horror get in the way of his life, Pistol: 1 Rifle: 2
compartmentalising his former life and repressing the darker
Streetwise: 3
thoughts.
With an abundance of patience, Michaels makes most of Equipment
his income as a bodyguard and occasional enforcer, but if his
Medium Scrap Armour, “Education” (his stick), SLA 10*05
patience is tested, he has the ability to unleash rapid and furious
Bully Boy Shotgun (1 clip), CAF ‘Steel Death’ Pistol (2 clips)
violence before having to calm himself down.
Notes: None
As a prop, he can be hired as local guide to help operatives
get around a sector with minimal impact to the locals. He
charges 50u a day, cash.

GANGER: JUNIOR WRIST Junior Wrist

A young lad of The Big Numbers gang, Junior Wrist, is a youth STR DEX KNOW CONC
with delusions of grandeur. A TV addict with street knowledge
more than many of his peers, Junior is in awe of any Operative 1 1 2 1
squad he comes across. As such he is eager to help any Operative
that shows him even the smallest of interest. Throw him a few CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
unis and he’d pretty much tell you anything you want to know, 1 2 0 2
throw him a few more and he’ll escort you there. His naivety
may well get him in hot water with the rest of the gang and Hit Points Closing Rushing
he seems not to have any awareness of the danger he could be
in. He just wants to be in the vicinity of Operatives or day- 13 2 5
dreaming about being one, something that will never happen,
but an opportunity for the more unscrupulous of Operatives to Skills
take advantage of. Detect: 1 Melee Weapons: 1
Junior, like all his gang, is dressed in his best imitation of a SLA
Stealth: 2 Streetwise: 4
corporate: black trousers, white shirt and tie. He hasn’t quite got
to the point that he can afford a suit jacket, but when he does Unarmed Combat: 1
he will be spending at the local outfitters. He has no family and
has entrenched himself into the Big Numbers by working hard Equipment
and doing what he is told. His ambition and work ethic are to Striker Motorcycle Protection, Generic Unpowered
be lauded, but are more likely to be taken advantage of. Junior Melee Weapon, CAF ‘Steel Death’ Pistol (2 clips).
probably has a six month life expectancy, but it is quite possible
he may surprise everyone and make something of himself. Notes: Once per hour, if Junior Wrist is within 3 metres of
an Operative completing an active skill roll, the player may
Junior can be hired for a few unis a day as a guide and fixer. be allowed to reroll one skill die (GM’s Discretion).
He is completely trustworthy and naive when it comes to
Operatives. Giving him more credits will further endear
him to the squad, but may endanger him and his position
within his gang.

18
 PROGRESS REPORT ISSUE THREE

SOFT COMPANY: GABBY Gabby

Gabby Fynch is a Soft Company “Cola Curator” for Sputz STR DEX KNOW CONC
Cola, a small soft drinks company operating from an undisclosed
bottling plant in Downtown. 1 2 2 1
Her job is to get into retail outlets and convince them to
CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
take an order of Sputz (Bled Cherry and Vanilla Killa are this
month’s favourites). She will try to charm vendors first, then 3 2 1 3
threaten them. She generally travels without backup, thinking
that this makes her somehow more intimidating, but history Hit Points Closing Rushing
shows that she can convince shopkeepers that it is in their best
15 2 5
interest to take a crate of Sputz Flak Berry.
A week after dropping off a crate or two, Gabby will return for
Skills
the sales money, expecting cash for the whole crate, whether or
not it’s sold, blaming the salesperson for not putting in enough Detect: 1 Diplomacy: 2
effort if there are bottles or cans remaining.
Drive - Civilian: 1 Intimidation: 1
If she returns a second time for payment, it will be with a large
gang of generic toughs. Melee Weapons: 1 Pistol: 1
She wears a bright red metallic puffy jacket emblazoned with Persuasion: 3 Streetwise: 2
the Sputz logo over her padquil armour and carries a CAF Cold
Shadow SMG as a last resort. She drives an unmarked small Equipment
grey van with a dozen or so crates of pop in the back. CAF Padquil Flak Vest, Generic Unpowered Melee
Weapon, CAF ‘Cold Shadow’ SMG (3 clips).
Gabby is not a threat to even a well trained Shiver, but she
can still come across as a force to be reckoned with, if she Notes: Gabby will try to talk her way out of any conflict
so desires. before resorting to violence.

SPIV: BARCEL METCHINKER Barcel Metchinker

Posing as a cultist, Barcel is a petty conman selling tea-soaked STR DEX KNOW CONC
doodles as “the lost scrolls of Gatachan”. He very much looks
the part of a cultist and his scrolls look real enough at a glance, 1 3 2 2
and a glance is all a customer gets before Barcel disappears with
their money. CHA COOL LUCK Initiative
An adept of the Downtown school of running away, he is 2 2 0 5
equally quick of mouth and fleet of foot.
Under his many layered, yet surprisingly lightweight, outfit, Hit Points Closing Rushing
seemingly made of rags, scraps and artefacts of an unknown
15 2 6
civilisation, he carried a CAF Steel Death pistol, but he has not
used it in months, preferring to rely on evading capture. Why
Skills
waste money on bullets and learning how to shoot better, when
you can outrun said bullet? Athletics: 3 Haggle: 2
As Metchinker’s fictional cult doesn’t exist, Operatives can Hide: 3 Pistol: 1
investigate without finding a threat. Barcel’s appearance in the
World of Progress will seem to be a low-impact one; a petty con Equipment
artist spinning lies for cash, a tale as old as the deep construct.
CAF ‘Steel Death’ Pistol (1 clip), 850u.
It’s ok, Gatachan doesn’t exist … yet.

Barcel should be able to evade capture where possible. He Notes: The less Barcel knows about the Dream Entity
can be occasionally seen running across the background of shadowing him and spinning a new reality, the better.
news reports in his sector.

19
 Rate of Fire (ROF) Effects Skills
ROF Mode Rules Skill Stat
1 Single None Acrobatics Dexterity
3 Burst Fire May reroll the Success Die Admin & Finance Knowledge
10 Full-Auto May reroll any/all dice Athletics Dexterity
SUP Suppressive May reroll any/all dice Bribery Cool
Climbing Strength
Damage Modifier - Margin of Success
Computer Knowledge
Dice that Equal or Damage Modifier Demolitions Concentration
Exceed Target Number
Detect Concentration
Success Die --
Diplomacy Charisma
+1 Skill Die +1 DMG
Drive: Civilian, Military or Pilot Concentration
+2 Skill Dice +2 DMG or hit an arm
Drive: Motorcycle Dexterity
+3 Skill Dice +4 DMG or hit a leg
Education: Academic or Natural Knowledge
+4 or more Skill Dice +6 DMG and hit the head
Forensics Knowledge
Damage Modifier - Strength Forgery Dexterity

Strength of User Damage Modifier Gambling Cool

1-4 - Haggle Charisma

5 +1 DMG Interrogate Cool

6 +2 DMG Intimidate Cool

7+ +4 DMG Language (Various) Knowledge

Leadership Charisma
Damage Modifier - Rate of Fire (ROF)
Lockpick: Manual or Electronic Concentration
ROF Mode Damage Modifier Lore: Cult, Dream or Sector Knowledge
1 Single - Medical Knowledge
3 Burst Fire +2 Melee Weapons Strength
10 Full-Auto +4 Oratory Charisma
SUP Suppressive +4 Persuasion Charisma
Hand-to-hand Attack Modifiers Pistol Dexterity
Polearm Strength
Situation Modifier
Read Lips Concentration
Charging a target -1 to Success Die and
+1 Skill Die success Rifle Dexterity

Target charged you, or moved -1 to Success Die Seduction Charisma

more than their Closing Shield Craft Strength
speed this Combat Round Sleight Dexterity
Target uses Combat Defence -1 to all dice for each skill Stealth Dexterity
rank allocated to defence
Streetwise Knowledge
Target uses Acrobatic Defence -2 to all dice for each rank of
the defenders Acrobatics skill Support Weapons Strength

Successfully hit the same target +1 to Success Die Survival Cool

during the last Combat Round Swimming Strength
Target is performing a Break +1 to Success Die Tactics Concentration
Off this Combat Round Technical: Electrical, Manual or Equipment Concentration
Attacking with a natural +1 to Success Die Throw Strength
weapons (fists, teeth, claws etc)
Torture Cool
Target is suffering the Prone, +2 to Success Die
Stunned or Immobile condition Tracking Concentration
Unarmed Combat Strength