Alright, we’ve all been here before, new person taking over SLA, sudden flurry of activity, suddenly goes dead, hear nothing more for four years….
Yeah, we’ve all been there
This time is different
This time it’s me
So here’s how its going to play
Release Schedule
December 2006 – Dragonmeet – CS1, and this year, it’ll be there, no question.
December 2006 – Christmas - All previous books will be available on PDF download from Drivethrurpg and RPGnow.com, as an added bonus, we’re talking to Drivethru now with regards putting the first MRB (V1) on as the christmas freebie, this is both to increase the activity around SLA and also to give everyone who didn’t manage to get a copy the first time around a chance to see how it all started. If they don’t have it as the official freebie, I’m sure that a free download can be arranged to all the fans separately.
March 2007 – Hunter Sheets and the latest edition of Karma (which would be the 906 tech update as opposed to the previous version, we’re going to keep the format very much similar to the original Karma for this one). I’m giving serious thought to releasing both Hunter Sheets and the new Karma on an official SLA memory stick, but I’d like to know from the fanbase who’d be interested in such a device, I know the folders did well, but I want to know how much interest there is for merchandising within SLA.
August 2007 – Integration 20 (working title) – Campaign sourcebook detailing all the events between 904 and 910, this book is both a source of updates and data for the new characters and events in the WoP, but also the primer for how the world comes to be the way it is in…
December 2007 – SLA2 – SLA second edition, system revised, game updated, what we’ve all be waiting for.
We’ve got a provisional release schedule for 2008, such things as GMs/Players guides, race books, Suppressor Powers, Worlds of Progress and Gangs of Mort City, but I want to get 2007 started before I start running ahead.
A few other things are going to change, the first of which is the truth, the source of a number of problems with SLA, there will still be an underlying story to the WoP, but it won’t be generally available, Integration 20 will pull together all the loose ends to the truth and change things so that while the elements of the game are still the same, there won’t be the problems that the truth caused. At the same time, a number of things like Shard Angels, Monitors, Chien Demons and other things will be made clear (which doesn’t mean you can stock up on the hesh and go monster hunting, it just means that you know why you’ve never seen one and why you stay out of the way if one turns up). The Focus of the game is going to be brought back down to the urban horror it was in the beginning, there’s still going to be a few big guns in there, but they won’t unbalance things anywhere near as much as they do now.
Another thing that’s going to change is the Fans involvement, I know how its been in the past, there’s been no involvement allowed, the fans kept it alive and mostly got told “don’t produce anything, just be thankful we don’t ban you”.
That’s ended, as of now
We’re going to be asking for Fanbooks, and what’s more, we’re going to be paying for them. There are going to be two different lines coming out of the SLA base now, those done officially, and those sanctioned from fans, the first is called Head Office, the second is called Operative Action. If you’ve got an idea you want to put together something for, or if (like many of us) you’ve got a book you’ve already done and you want to put it out there, we want to know about it. All payment will be done in royalties, you’ll get a percentage of the profits of the book that you’re putting out, we’ll help with all the aspects apart from the actual writing, which we’re going to leave to you. We’re not saying that every book is going to get printed, but if it’s a good idea and we like it, then it’s in with a very good chance.
If on the other hand you’ve just finished playing Halo and decide to write up the gear for SLA, nice, but understand that you’ve got nothing coming as its not what we’re looking for.
All Fanbooks will be produced on a PDF or POD basis only unless the requests for a print version are strong enough, at which point we’ll upgrade it. If you want to produce one for free and just put it out there, fine, no problem from me, it’s what made this game as good as it is, there’ll be no more policing of fan material from here.
The fan books process is part of one of the new initiatives that we’re starting called the Operative program, SLAs greatest resource has always been its Fans and its time that was recognised. As of now, anyone wanting to apply for an operative card can get one, and it’ll be an actual card with your photo on it and all your details, the SCL will be recorded on the database and will go up with the work you do. You start at the normal SCL and work your way up the ladder with BPNs, which work something like this.
Blue – Assist a SLA demo at a convention
Red – Do a SLA demo at a convention
Silver – Help out on the SLA stand at a convention
Black – Run a SLA LARP
Yellow – Fanbook – Write a fanbook on existing material, which is to say that it’s something that’s already been written about but you have a new slant on it, after all, a Yellow is a retrieval, so we’re looking to be reminded about something, but in a way that puts it in a new slant.
White/Green – Fanbook – Write a fanbook on new material, this is something that’s new to SLA, something that hasn’t been seen yet, which means that you’ll have to work hard to find something
Platinum – Canon Material – These are issued directly from us, and it’s a commissioned book on a specific subject. Platinums are paid assignments, with cold hard cash being given at the completion of the book.
All of you that have been helping for years, and we know who you are, when you apply for your cards, all the previous service that’s been put in will be put on the card immediately.
The benefits for SCL levels have yet to be finalised, but the higher up the ladder you go, the more things will be available, such as previews of new material, opportunities to playtest new systemworks (which includes SLA2), occasional freebies and access to the newsfeed which will be starting up shortly, which will include a daily update on what’s going on in the SLA world and will weave a picture of what’s going on on a day to day basis, which will also tie in to the new releases. This newsfeed will most likely be going live within the month.
The first fanbook is likely to be SLA300, it’s been sitting in the archives for years now and has never seen the light of day, but it’s got to be editted and presented properly before it does see the light of day, any proceeds from the sale of that book are going straight back into the Salvation tower restoration fund.
There’s going to be more, but I don’t want to dump everything on everyone at once.
Bit of a running start, so I’m going to leave it at that, any questions, you know where to find me.
John
Not so much a Stormer as a Frother with a height problem.
) langsam näherrückende Veröffentlichung von Cannibal Sector One.
