The Truth

Concealed by 900 years of lies, Mr Slayer has many secrets that he wants to remain secrets. The World of Progress has been carefully guided so that its main activities act as a diversion from what is really going on behind the scenes. Mr Slayer's Bigger Picture is exactly that and few know the Truth behind his company.

Aspects of the background to SLA Industries are contained in the Nightfall Writer's Guide to SLA Industries. This document contains articles that are specific to the Nightfall Intellectual Property and discuss some of the characters and activities that are happening behind the scenes in the World of Progress. Nightfall Games has allowed some members of the list to gain a copy of the Writer's Guide (sometimes referred to as 'the Truth' or 'The Bible'). If you want to try and persuade them to let you have a copy the best way is to privately email them at enquiries@nightfall.co.uk Pestering those members on the list that you think may have a copy of the Truth will not help as they have all agreed not to distribute any copies of the Writer's Guide following a request by Nightfall.

i20 Editor's Note:

Bear in mind that the Writers Bible is now a good six years or so out of date, was never intended to be released to players or GM's in its "current" form, and it has been stated by numerous sources that it will be rewritten pending a re-release of the game - making possibly all of the background material contained within it obsolete.

In the absence of an official continuing storyline, what may be best for a SLA GM (novice or otherwise) is to define their own Truth for their version of the World of Progress based around the headings contained here. If you think of the Truth as either one fact or a series of facts covered up by layer upon layer of conspiracy, the game gets very interesting, going well beyond the "big guns" image that it commonly attracts. Who are Stigmartyr? What is the story of White Earth? Who is Slayer? What is the White? These questions, when answered to fit your own "Big Picture" of your SLA campaign, can define a unique story for your players to explore.

At the end of the day, the official story remains untold, and will have to wait until SLA is back up on its feet again.

Unanswered Questions

What are Brain Wasters and Necanthropes?

There is a lot of hypothesis on the list about the true nature of the Brain Wasters and the Necanthropes. Many believe that the Necanthropes are a form of corruption on the Ebons and not the true evolvement that they make themselves out to be. Although their powers and abilities are similar to the Ebons, they have a much darker outlook on life, treating Ebons almost as second class citizens rather than their own children. With the first Brain Waster appearing at the same time as the Preceptor, many view Brain Wasters as proof of this corruption, the Necanthrope influence clearly affecting the normal Ebons quite severly. Many of the pople on the list believe that the general population of Brain Wasters is growing as the Necanthropes gain more of a foothold in SLA society.

What is the White?

Viewpoints differ as to whether the White is a true evolutionary process for the Ebons, whether it is a link to White Earth or whether is is a link to an alien place where unknown beings fuse with the dead Ebon bodies to form Necanthropes. All that is known is that those who enter are irrevocably changed and not always for the better. It is unknown whether to survive the White is to succeed or to fail in its purpose.

What are Stigmartyr?

Stigmartyr are a top secret covert-operations agency. Acting unseen by the majority of the public, their methods are extreme and deadly as they execute the will of Mr. Slayer. Those who have seen them in action talk about beings as powerful as the Kilneck were and yet disguised as normal people. It seems as if their main purpose is to suppress any knowledge about The Truth or White Earth and ensure the smooth running of SLA Industries. No-one is safe from their grip.

What happened to the Kilneck?

The seven Kilneck members (Venom, Temp, Mitz, Tapestry, Silhouette, Babble and Mirage) left the World of Progress after the Deathwake Abomination. They were rumoured to have travelled to White Earth and the area that lies beyond White Earth. It is believed that they will return to the World of Progress should their sect-leader Intruder ever need them.

What is the Deathwake Device?

The Deathwake Device was created by Senti using the Deathwake skill that Intruder had taught her. The purpose of the device is to allow the Stormers to be sentient creatures rather than mindless automatons. As long as the Deathwake Device is operational, SLA Industries can continue to produce its shock-troops. It is generally believed that Digger, the Manchine that lives in Salvation Tower is either the guardian of Deathwake or the device itself.

Why is Digger so impossible to kill?

Either due to his closeness to the device (if he is the guardian to it) or because he is the Deathwake Device, Digger is believed to be invulnerable. The largest of all Manchines, it is unknown what abilities Digger has gained from his close proximity to the Deathwake energy, but all who have tried to fight him have failed.

Why is Halloween Jack so impossible to kill?

As with Digger, many have tried fighting Halloween Jack and have failed. Weapons that should slice through him seem ineffective and bullets don't even slow him down. In the short time that Halloween Jack has been around he has gained a reputation as the most feared Serial Killer on Mort, with many people dying each year futilely trying to fight for their lives. Halloween Jack gains his strength and abilties from Bitterness.

What happened to Wave Lyndsay?

Wave Lyndsay disappeared on the night that Integration 20 was due to be released. In a short story that Dave Allsop wrote he revealed that Intruder reluctantly killed Wave, before burning the offices of Integration 20. After Intruder left, Wave Lyndsay was reincarnated by Bitterness as Halloween Jack, created as another thorn in Slayer's side.

Who is Bitterness?

Also called the Bloody Walker of the Sands, the Walker, or just Walker, Bitterness is the nemesis of Mr Slayer. Little is known about him, only that he lives and rules White Earth. His actions in the World of Progress are carried out through Monitors like Halloween Jack as well as other minions and servants. It is Bitterness that appeared on the original front cover of SLA Industries and he also appears in the short stories on the inside cover of each book. In the Mort Sourcebook he refers to Slayer as his brother, although whether this is just figuratively speaking or not is unknown.

What is White Earth?

A semi-mythical place in the World of Progress, White Earth is covered in sand dunes and strange servants of Bitterness. Occassionally people from the World of Progress are allowed to enter the planet, but all are changed irrevocably by their visit. It also marks the last known point of the World of Progress, forming a boundary to the area beyond White Earth that the Kilneck, Cadavar and the FoldShip Yung disappeared in to many centuries ago.

Style Guide

The Style Guide is taken from the first section of the Truth and details some of the behind the scene activities in SLA. It also gives answers to a few sections that have not been properly discussed in any of the released books. This information is very much GM's info only, and preferably should not be read by those who are only players of SLA Industries. Originally TimD gave permission for this to go on DoM but it has now been added to this FAQ.

Articles

There are several additional articles that describe aspects of the World of Progress. The majority of these were written some time ago and might not actively reflect the current official view of the World of Progress, however they do give an insight in to some of the possible backgrounds to key events and people.

Halloween Jack
Halloween Jack (the truth) was written by Dave Allsop and describes the events leading up to the creation of Halloween Jack by Bitterness.

Cherish
Cherish was also written by Dave Allsop whilst he was at Jageeda Publishing. It describes an "Ethereal" called Apathy who is interrogated by a Stigmartyr agent.

The Journal of Nikita Oblong
Written by Jared Earle the Journal of Nikita Oblong is a short internal memo from Stigmartyr outlining survival essentials on White Earth and then describing one woman's view of events that she has witnessed on White Earth.

Stigmartyr
Stigmartyr was written by Nightfall (Morton Smith and others) whilst at WotC and describes the background, structure and some of the past events that have happened to Stigmartyr. However, Tim Dedopulos has since stated that some aspects of it may be different from the current (2000) Nightfall view.

The Structure of SLA Industries
Written by Tim Dedopulos, the Structure of SLA Industries is not technically a Truth article although it does give a real world comparison between the different enforcement agencies in the World of Progress. It can also be found in the Style Guide.

The Johannas
Again not a strict Truth item The Johannas is a short summary of the most feared DownTown gang. Although written by Morton Smith, it includes ideas from several of the (current and previous) Nightfall members.