History TabletopGame / SLAIndustries

The game has had a difficult upbringing, and been subject to a sporadic release schedule on its journey through the hands of various publishers. Originally published by Nightfall themselves, it was taken up by Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast during the mid-1990s before being dropped in favour of something LighterAndSofter. It then survived a couple of releases at Hogshead, and before being published by Creator/Cubicle7. Now Nightfall Games is back, and a second edition of the game is in the works.

* ArmourIsUseless: Notably defied. The best armors can stop anti-vehicle rounds dead, whereas the most common pistol on Mort is essentially a BB Gun with great marketing, meaning that even weak armor can defeat it.This goes doubly in the game's second edition, with the addition of randomized instead of fixed damage and removal of Penetration values, so even the oft-loathed Blocker Body armor can stop a decent amount.

* ArmourIsUseless: Notably defied. The best armors can stop anti-vehicle rounds dead, whereas the most common pistol on Mort is essentially a BB Gun with great marketing, meaning that even weak armor can defeat it.This goes doubly in the game's second edition, with the adition of randomized instead of fixed damage, so even the oft-loathed Blocker Body armor can stop a decent amount.

* ArmourIsUseless: Notably defied. The best armors can stop anti-vehicle rounds dead, whereas the most common pistol on Mort is essentially a BB Gun with great marketing, meaning that even weak armor can defeat it.

* CityPlanet: All Industrial Worlds have their land surface (and most of their seas) completely covered with industrial production facilities and cities.

* AxCrazy: Too many examples to count, but the award for ''most'' AxCrazy arguably goes to the Ex-War Criminals, who return from tours of duty in the Company Militia with several fewer marbles than they arrived with. Upon arrival, the Ex-War Criminals' preferred MO is to abscond into the Cannibal Sectors, still in possession of their battlefield equipment, and begin a leisurely campaign of murderous terror.

** Though operatives don't usually go there, the War Worlds are even worse. Once there, SLA Industries' soldiers have an average lifespan of a day. [[UpToEleven On the worst War Worlds]], this can drop to just ''twenty minutes''.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Existence in the Cannibal Sectors is basically this. Every form of life there is cannibalistic, psychotic, hostile to SLA on principle, super-poisonous, or otherwise naturally inclined to kill anything and everything but its own kind (and in the Cannibals' case, even their own kind). And if the carnivorous pigs, Carrien packs, Cannibal clans, Ex-War Criminals, Scavs, [=DarkNight=] operatives, Manchines, Dream entities, or sector mutants don't get you, then the super-polluted rain, radiation, industrial chemical hazards, and crumbling infrastructure might.

* ArmourIsUseless: Subverted. The bigger varieties can stop anti-vehicle rounds dead, whereas the most common pistol on Mort is essentially a BB Gun with great marketing, meaning that even weak armour can ignore it.

* AxCrazy: Too many to count, but the award for ''most'' AxCrazy probably goes to the Ex-War Criminals, who return from tours of duty in the Company Militia with several fewer marbles than they arrived with. Upon arrival, the Ex-War Criminals' preferred MO is to abscond into the Cannibal Sectors, still in possession of their battlefield equipment, and begin a leisurely campaign of murderous terror.

* CrapsackWorld: Mostly driven by the RuleOfScary, with touches of black comedy.

* CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: The setting undoubtably took inspiration. by ''Film/BladeRunner''. It ''never'' stops raining on planet Mort.

The game follows the exploits of SLA Operatives, highly-trained corporate troubleshooters that the company uses for everything from quashing internal subversion to clearing mutant pigs out of the sewers. Their principal area of operation is the company's capital of Mort City, an urban jungle the size of Eurasia, rain-soaked home to a churning mass of serial killers, terrorists, human traffickers, psychotic war veterans, killer cyborgs, cannibals, mutants, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs cannibal mutants]], and the aforementioned pigs.

The game has had a difficult upbringing, and been subject to a sporadic release schedule on its journey through the hands of various publishers. Originally published by Nightfall themselves, it was taken up by Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast during the mid-1990s before being dropped in favour of something LighterAndSofter. It then survived a couple of releases at Hogshead, and before being published by Creator/Cubicle7.

In tone, it lies somewhere between ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Kult}}''. Satirical treatment of consumerism, media glamorization of violence, and corporate bureaucracy coexists with brooding horror of various kinds, and the complex production history of the game has given it a variety of conflicting styles. A SLA GameMaster will typically mash these together with enthusiasm, creating a unique variation of the game world.

* AxCrazy: Too many to count, but the award for ''most'' AxCrazy probably goes to the War Criminals, who return from tours of duty in the Company Militia with several fewer marbles than they arrived with. Upon arrival, the War Criminals' preferred MO is to abscond into the stygian slums that make up the bulk of Mort City, still in possession of their battlefield equipment, and begin a leisurely campaign of murderous terror.

* CityPlanet: All Industrial Worlds, including Mort, have their land surface (and most of their seas) completely covered with industrial production facilities and cities.

* DeathWorld: The planet Mort is almost completely uninhabitable, and requires 'Atmosphere Generators' -- each the size of a city -- in order to maintain some semblance of a biosphere (and, coincidentally, keep the gravity in check). Huge swathes of Mort City itself are abandoned by civilised society, and have evolved a thriving ecosphere of giant insects, cannibals, mutants, and ''raw malevolence''.

* DoNotAdjustYourSet: A preferred tactic of one of SLA's rivals, called DarkNight.

* HopelessWar: SLA Industries has been at war with Dark Night and Thresher for centuries with no end in sight, and the War Worlds are whole planets that have been consumed by conflict between two (or all three) of the powers. It's explicitly mentioned that whenever one War World is finally abandoned, you can rest assured that another will fall into the spotlight.
* HumanAliens: The Ebon, and their evil siblings, the Brain Wasters. Externally, they look almost human if you ignore the glowing eyes. Biologically, they're distinct from humanity, and only Ebon/Brain Wasters are able to use the Ebb, which grants them Ultimate Cosmic Power at the expense of emotional instability and eventual transformation into a [[OneWingedAngel Necanthrope]].

* MegaCorp: The three interstellar "Suppressor Powers" of the galaxy: SLA Industries, DarkNight, and Thresher. SLA Industries has controlled most of the galaxy for centuries, but DarkNight and Thresher both are large enough to threaten SLA, even to the point of conducting terrorist operations on SLA's capital world, Mort.

* OneWingedAngel: Necanthropes, who are powerful and range from "inhumanly beautiful" to "inhumanly grotesque". Few have any respect for humans. Or any other mortal, for that matter.

* CosmicHorrorStory: Rarely seen in most games, originally intended to be revealed in a long-running {{Metaplot}} that fell victim to the game's infrequent releases and ExecutiveMeddling from Wizards of the Coasdt.

* MoralDissonance: Operatives -- the group to which the player characters belong -- are generally depicted as arrogant bullies or worse. For that matter, SLA Industries themselves are depicted as sinister, domineering, and just plain ''irresponsible'' to a degree that would do any MegaCorp proud. ([[GrayAndBlackMorality To be fair, though, SLA's -- and the players' -- enemies are even worse]].)

* ArmorMeterPoints: Every armor has not only a protective value that blocks damage, but hit points of its own (measuring how much punishment the armor can take before it falls apart). Similarly, every weapon has an "armor damage" value (measuring how much a hit from the weapon tears up a target's armor). As a result, having your armor disintegrate is one threat in a particularly long mission.

* CloningBlues: Simultaneously played straight and averted with Intruder on two separate occasions; once with Angel and later with Taarnish.

* DeathWorld: The planet Mort is almost completely uninhabitable, and requires 'Atmosphere Generators' - each the size of a city - in order to maintain some semblance of a biosphere (and, coincidentally, keep the gravity in check). Huge swathes of Mort City itself are abandoned by civilised society, and have evolved a thriving ecosphere of giant insects, cannibals, mutants, and ''raw malevolence''.

* FantasticRacism: Often arises as a low-level political issue. Humans are the dominant species. The psionic Ebon, reptilian Shaktar and feline Wraith Raiders constitute racial minorities outside their respective homeworlds. Ebon, in particular, are loathed and feared for their reality-warping abilities.

* ImmuneToDrugs: The Frothers, a subspecies of humanity who become addicted to combat drugs in the womb, to the extent that they are considered a separate race. They regard pharmacological excess as a cultural right, and regularly consume doses of recreational and combat drugs that would kill an ordinary human twice.

* MegaCorp: SLA Industries is a interstellar company that controls all of the planets in the "World of Progress".

* MoralDissonance: Operatives - the group to which the player characters belong - are generally depicted as arrogant bullies or worse. For that matter, SLA Industries themselves are depicted as sinister, domineering, and just plain ''irresponsible'' to a degree that would do any MegaCorp proud. (To be fair, though, SLA's - and the players' - enemies are even worse.)
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Mister Slayer, Intruder, Senti, Halloween Jack and Digger in particular, though also attributed to the faceless agents throughout the Internal Affairs Departments.

* [[ShoutOut/TabletopGames Shout Out]]: The Shaktar race are honorable, bipedal humanoid warriors with dreadlocks and bizarre mandible-like lips. In other words, they're {{Franchise/Predator}}s.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill : Several applicants, among them Slayer and Bitterness (obviously), Sigmartyr, Trasher, Halloween Jack, Intruder and the Kilneck...

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: According to the SLA Industries Writers' Bible, the World of Progress exists within the mind of a mentally-ill British man named Brent Walker. Key characters in the setting represent facets of his personality and events correspond to major points in his life. Mr. Slayer himself is a version of Walker himself. Subverted, however, in that the World of Progress has gained its own existence and poses a risk to Earth if Brent's OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil ghost destroys all life in the World of Progress.]]

The game has had a difficult upbringing, and been subject to a sporadic release schedule on its journey through the hands of various publishers. Originally published by Nightfall themselves, it was taken up by Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast during the mid-1990s before being dropped in favour of something LighterAndSofter. It then survived a couple of releases at Hogshead, and is now published by Creator/Cubicle7.

The game has had a difficult upbringing, and been subject to a sporadic release schedule on its journey through the hands of various publishers. Originally published by Nightfall themselves, it was taken up by Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast during the mid-1990s before being dropped in favour of something LighterAndSofter. It then survived a couple of releases at Hogshead, and is now published by [[http://www.cubicle-7.com/ Cubicle 7 Entertainment]].

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: According to the SLA Industries Writers' Bible, this was the intended secret behind the setting. The World of Progress all exist within the twisted, fevered subconscious of a mentally-ill British man named Brent Walker. Various key characters in the setting represent facets of his personality and events correspond to major points in his life. Mr. Slayer himself is a representation of Brent's ego. Subverted, however, in that it's long gained it's own existence and now poses a risk to Earth if Brent's OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil ghost destroys all life in the World of Progress.]]

* CameBackWrong: Delia the Destroyer and anyone else who undergoes the L.A.D. process. [[spoiler:And, according to The Truth, Stormers]]

* CloningBlues: Simultaneously played straight and averted with Intruder on two seperate occasions; Once with Angel and later with Taarnish.

* CosmicHorrorStory: Rarely seen in most games, originally intended to be revealed in a long-running {{Metaplot}} that fell victim to the game's infrequent releases and ExecutiveMeddling from Wizards.

* CyberpunkWithAChanceOfRain: Undoubtedly inspired by Film/BladeRunner; it NEVER stops raining on planet Mort.

** Though operatives don't usually go there, the War Worlds are even worse. Once there, SLA Industries' soldiers have an average lifespan of a ''day''. [[UpToEleven On the really scary War Worlds]], this can drop to just ''20 minutes''.
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: A preffered tactic of DarkNight, one of the SLA's rivals.

* {{Dystopia}}: Even on Mort (the capital planet of SLA Industries and thus the one world that you could expect to be a prosperous, secure stronghold), there are all kinds of rival company terrorists, gangs, drugs, environmental degredation, serial killers, unethical experiments going wrong in the worst ways, no less than three divisions of brutal secret police, and massive regions of urban blight which have been abandoned to barbarism. Oh, and [[UpToEleven 85% of the population is on welfare]].
* FantasticRacism: Often arises as a low-level political issue. Humans are the dominant species, with the psionic Ebon, reptilian Shaktar and feline Wraith Raiders constituting racial minorities outside their respective homeworlds. Ebon, in particular, are loathed and feared due to their reality-warping abilities.

* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: Ebons are universally considered to be gentle and youthful looking with oddly coloured hair and eyes. Anyone taking the drug Lumo can apply to this trope also.

* HumanAliens: The Ebon, and their evil siblings, the Brain Wasters. Externally, they look mostly-human if you ignore the glowing eyes. Biologically, however, they're distinct from humanity - and only Ebon/Brain Wasters are able to use the Ebb, which grants them Ultimate Cosmic Power at the expense of emotional instability and eventual transformation into a [[OneWingedAngel Necanthrope]].

* ImAHumanitarian: Many of the inhabitants / vermin of Mort's [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Cannibal Sectors]].

* JustLikeMakingLove: How one Contract Killer (Think the Hunters from Film/TheRunningMan) describes his job of killing people for money:

* LivingWeapon: Though not weapons, the deathsuits of Ebons and Brainwasters are alive and eventually gain sentience (of a sort). The gore cannons of Necanthropes are a more overt example of this trope.
* {{Magitek}}: Ebon powers are augmented by 'Science Friction' devices, made from raw Ebb energy coerced into a material form.

* MixAndMatch: One RPG-reviewing site said about the game that "Everyone who attempts to describe SLA Industries ends up comparing it to something else." For example, one fanartist called it "The best scottish dystopian {{cyberpunk}} Film/{{blade runner}} urban horror Literature/{{trainspotting}} homage ever," [[http://haruaxeman.deviantart.com/art/Grotesquery-532866593 while also claiming it reminded him of]] Literature/VenissUnderground.

* OneWingedAngel: Necanthropes, who are powerful and range from "inhumanly beautiful" to "inhumanly grotesque". Few have any respect for humans (or any other mortal, for that matter).

* SerialKiller: And how! This may be the only setting where the phrase "serial killer epidemic" could be (and was) used with a straight face.

* SinisterScythe: DPB manufactures the 'Flick-Scythe', a staff with an extendable scythe blade that oscillates for extra damage.

* TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow: 'The Truth', which is the code-name for SLA's long-running metaplot that ultimately explains everything that has (and occasionally has not...) happened in the World of Progress. For bonus points, characters who learned the Truth without proper training could accidentally erase themselves from reality.
** Arguably subverted, in that The Truth HAS been revealed to the playing public after Nightfall Games admitted that they would never get around to publishing SLA Industries as they would have liked. It's.... complicated, and no longer canon under the new developers, but it still applies to characters and settings in the older books.
*** Basically, it revolves around a [[Gnosticism Gnostic]] view of the reality. Ten years before ''The Matrix'' popularized the topic.

* ProphetEyes: The eyes of Ebons and Brain Wasters.

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: According to the SLA Industries Writers' Bible, this was the intended secret behind the setting. The Worlds of Progress all exist within the twisted, fevered subconscious of a mentally-ill British man named Brent Walker. Various key characters in the setting represent facets of his personality and events correspond to major points in his life. Mr. Slayer himself is a representation of Brent's ego.]]

* ClonesArePeopleToo: A small percentage of Stormers. The remaining majority are ExpendableClones used as shock troops on War Worlds.

The game has had a difficult upbringing, and been subject to a sporadic release schedule on its journey through the hands of various publishers. Originally published by Nightfall themselves, it was taken up by WizardsOfTheCoast during the mid-1990s before being dropped in favour of something LighterAndSofter. It then survived a couple of releases at Hogshead, and is now published by [[http://www.cubicle-7.com/ Cubicle 7 Entertainment]].

''SLA Industries'' (pronounced "SLAY Industries") is a TabletopRPG originally published in the early 1990s by Glaswegian studio Nightfall Games. It's set in the World of Progress, a horrific {{Dystopia}} governed by {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s (the eponymous SLA Industries) under the control of Mr. Slayer, an immortal plutocrat with a grand plan.

The game follows the exploits of SLA Operatives, highly-trained corporate troubleshooters that the company uses for everything from quashing internal subversion to clearing mutant pigs out of the sewers. Their principal area of operation is the company's capital of Mort City, an urban jungle the size of Eurasia, rain-soaked home to a churning mass of serial killers, terrorists, human traffickers, psychotic war veterans, killer cyborgs, cannibals, mutants, [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot cannibal mutants]], and the aforementioned pigs.

''TabletopGame/SLAIndustries'' provides examples of: