Words & Wonders: SLICs, Mobs, Momentum

How to Run Fast, Violent, Cinematic Encounters

by T. Glenn Bane

Let me start with a confession.

Most combats don’t bog down because players don’t care.
They bog down because the GM is juggling too many moving parts at once.

Too many stat blocks.
Too many modifiers.
Too many little decisions that don’t actually matter to the moment.

Meanwhile, the energy that brought everyone to the fight—the tension, the danger, the pulp—leaks out onto the floor.

That problem is exactly why SLICs exist.

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What SLICs Actually Are

SLICs—Simple Low‑Impact Characters—are not “lesser NPCs.”
They are purpose-built narrative tools.

A SLIC is anything that needs to act, resist, threaten, or apply pressure without demanding the GM’s full cognitive load.

They are not simplified because they are unimportant.
They are simplified because the scene is important.

Traditional NPC stat blocks try to simulate potential.
SLICs exist to resolve what’s happening right now.

That distinction is everything.

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Why Full NPC Stat Blocks Kill Pacing

Here’s the blunt truth:

If you have to stop and parse numbers, the moment is already gone.

In pulp fiction:

• bar fights don’t pause for initiative debates
• mobs surge, they don’t wait their turn
• danger escalates before anyone feels comfortable

Full characters are great when they matter individually.
They are poison when volume and speed are the point.

SLICs remove bookkeeping so the GM can stay focused on:

• movement
• escalation
• consequences

The table doesn’t need realism.
It needs momentum.

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SLICs as Mobs and Swarms

Some threats aren’t about individuals—they’re about pressure.

A cult mob.
A gang in an alley.
A pack of scavengers flooding through a doorway.

SLICs shine here because:

• one roll represents many bodies
• the danger scales instantly
• the threat feels unified and aggressive

Instead of tracking six enemies with minor differences, you run:

• one advancing force
• with growing or shrinking impact
• reacting as a single entity

The players feel outnumbered immediately—without the GM drowning in math.

That’s not abstraction.
That’s cinematic truth.

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SLICs as Hazards and Environments

One of the most underused aspects of SLICs is this:

They don’t have to be people.

A collapsing temple?
That’s a SLIC.

Raging fire spreading through a nightclub?
SLIC.

A high-speed police cordon tightening block by block?
Absolutely a SLIC.

By treating environments as active participants, you:

• give danger agency
• allow meaningful rolls
• keep pressure advancing every turn

The world stops being a backdrop and starts pushing back.

And that is pure pulp.

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Social and Psychological Threats

This may surprise some GMs, but it shouldn’t.

Crowds can intimidate.
Rumors can spread.
Fear can move faster than fists.

SLICs work beautifully for:

• hostile audiences
• interrogations under pressure
• mounting public panic
• power dynamics in a room

A room full of angry dockworkers doesn’t need individual stat sheets.
It needs:

• a rising tension rating
• a clear breaking point
• consequences if mishandled

That’s not “hand-waving.”
That’s respecting the weight of social force.

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Scaling Danger Without Math Bloat

Traditional systems scale danger by adding complexity.

Worlds of Pulp does the opposite.

With SLICs, danger scales by:

• increasing pressure
• widening consequences
• accelerating response

You don’t add more math.
You add more urgency.

Players feel the escalation immediately because:

• rolls resolve quickly
• outcomes are obvious
• failure changes the situation, not just the numbers

Speed is the difficulty curve.

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Why SLICs Reinforce the Pulp Tone

Pulp stories don’t linger.

They surge.
They collide.
They break things.

SLICs support that tone by:

• prioritizing action over accounting
• rewarding improvisation
• keeping spotlight on decisions, not procedures

When players realize the world can hit hard and fast, they stop stalling and start acting.

That’s the heart of action‑serial play.

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What This Gives You as a GM

Real freedom.

You can:

• scale scenes on the fly
• introduce chaos without prep paralysis
• keep fights loud, dangerous, and short
• control pacing without breaking immersion

Most importantly, you stop managing enemies and start directing scenes.

And scenes—not stat blocks—are what your players remember.

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Final Thought

SLICs aren’t about cutting corners.

They’re about choosing what matters.

If a thing exists to create pressure, momentum, or danger, then it deserves speed—not detail.

Run what matters slowly.
Run everything else like it’s on fire.

That’s pulp.

— T. Glenn Bane

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