NUELOW at Christmas: Merry Christmas

Brigid the Christmas Dragon has been visiting rapper Snoop Dogg on Christmas since he was a child. When Snoop converted to Rastafarianism, he took to celebrating Christmas in January, which thrilled Brigid because it gave her more time to spend with him and his family.

Here are Brigid and Snoop in 2015, keeping alive their tradition of singing a few Christmas carols and having their time together memorialized in a photo.

(All images featured in the 2024 Christmas posts were generated using computer programs. Snoop Dogg isn't actually friends with Brigid the Christmas Dragon, nor has he ever had his picture taken with her.)

(All images featured in the 2024 Christmas posts were generated using computer programs. Snoop Dogg isn't actually friends with Brigid the Christmas Dragon, nor has he ever had his picture taken with her.)

NUELOW at Christmas: Happy Christmas!

 Since he was a child, rapper and songwriter Snoop Dogg has spent a few hours each Christmas with Brigid the Christmas Dragon. Here's a photo of their get-together on Christmas Eve 2009!

(All images featured in the 2024 Christmas posts were generated using computer programs. Snoop Dogg isn't actually friends with Brigid the Christmas Dragon, nor has he ever had his picture taken with her.)

NUELOW at Christmas: Merry Christmas!

Brigid the Christmas Dragon has been friends with rapper and song writer Snoop Dogg since he was 11 years old. She has always stopped in to visit him around Christmas time, and now she is close with his children and their families as well.

Although the pair had always enjoyed singing Christmas carols together and to each other, it wasn't until 1999 that Snoop hit upon the idea of immortalizing their once-a-year joyful reunions with a photo. On this Christmas Eve, we are going to share those with the world for the very first time!

Here's Brigid and Snoop on Christmas Eve 1999.

(All images featured in the 2024 Christmas posts were generated using computer programs. Snoop Dogg isn't actually friends with Brigid the Christmas Dragon, nor has he ever had his picture taken with her.)

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twenty-Four

Merry Christmas everyone! Whether you celebrate it or not, we here at NUELOW Games hope that the next couple of days are as happy and bright for you as if Brigid the Christmas Dragon had shown up on your doorstep wanting to spend it with you!

And speaking of Brigid and Christmas, here's a little bit about...

BRIGID'S FIRST CHRISTMAS

Some music to set the mood...

 

 

It was the year 803AD. Brigid had been walking among humans, cloaking her true nature in a form that appeared harmless to them, as they evolved from cave dwellers to builders of mighty towers and beyond. Of all humanity's creations and quirky habits, it was their Winter Festivals that she loved the most. Over the past many decades, these Winter Festivals were increasingly transforming into Christmas, and Brigid was growing a bit anxious that humanity might abandon something she loved about them.

 

But, on Christmas Eve of 803AD, Brigid came to the defense of a small Christian village in southern Jylland that a Viking chieftain had marked to be a blood sacrifice (and grand gift) to Odin for Yule.
After defeating the Viking attackers--briefly abandoning her human form to do so, she was invited to join the Christmas celebration. They asked her to join them in thanks, despite having witnessed her true form and her terrifying destructive powers. From that day forward, Brigid was in love with Christmas.

Here's a table to randomly generate the threat that ruins the heroes' Christmas. You may not have time to run it this year (unless you actually know what the Twelve Days of Christmas are), but maybe next year. Or maybe for "Christmas in July"!


WHAT RUINS THE HEROES' CHRISTMAS? (Roll 1d12)
  1. An old foe they thought long gone returns for revenge.
  2. An old foe they thought long dead returns at the head of an army of zombies.
  3. An old foe begs for their help to stop an even worse evil.
  4. While dinner is cooking, the oven mysteriously malfunctions, and fire elementals escape onto the Prime Material Plane.
  5. While dinner is cooking, the oven mysteriously malfunctions and reanimates the Christmas meal as a fiery, murderous beast-zombie.
  6. While dinner is cooking, the oven mysteriously malfunctions and causes everyone gathering for the Christmas dinner (and the entire house they're in) to be transported to Hell.
  7. Santa has been kidnapped by vengeful Martians, and it's up to the heroes to save him and Christmas!
  8. Santa's Daughter, Sugarplum, has been kidnapped by her crazed ex-boyfriend and Santa has come to the heroes for help.
  9. Cultists have summoned Narlahohohotep--the Caroler Out of Space--at Nakatomi Plaza. Brigid the Christmas Dragon comes to the heroes for help in stopping the end of the world.
 10. Santa's Reindeer have been stolen.
 11. A serial killer is on the loose!
 12. Roll two more times on the table, ignoring and rerolling duplicate results and additional results of 12. Both things converge to ruin the heroes' Christmas!


And while the heroes may feel like they're Two Steps from Hell, it's Christmas! So everything will hopefully turn out right in the end!

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twenty-Three

When Jesus got together with Santa for their annual pre-Christmas lunch meeting, Jesus not only brought a gift for Santa--surprising old Saint Nick who is always giving but never getting the gifts--but he revealed his plans for this year's Night of Good Cheer: "I am going to bring gifts to those who are perpetually on your naughty list. I will also bring them forgiveness!"

This year, the Son of God is...

PUTTING THE CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS

Jesus decided to begin his trek at the furthest point from Heaven--Hell. Here, he gave gifts to demons of various kinds, including the succubae.

He ventured into the Dreamrealm, a dimension that overlaps with ours, and brought gifts to some of the darkest beings that exist there and haunt the nightmares and infest the more twisted side of mortals' imaginations.

 
  

 

He then moved onto slightly less evil beings--politicians!

  

From the politicians, he sought out a Mad Scientist and the blood-thirsty, time-traveling android she created (and that than immediately ran wild).

 

 
He then sought out the strange and legendary creatures that live on the fringes of human society... and which often prey upon the unwary.

He met Bigfoot...
 

 

... he faced (sort of) the Slender Man...

... he got his feet wet with the Maiden of the Moon Pool...

... he brought a smile to the face of the Swamp Beast...

... and he calmed the fury of the Wolfman. All through the joy of Christmas

 
 

 

Finally, he has the gift of comfort and joy to YOU, the readers and gamers who enjoys what NUELOW Games has to offer.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twenty-Two

It was rare that someone surprised him, but she did. Twice.

First, she was so quiet and still that he didn't notice her standing in the corner as he emerged from the fireplace to put gifts in the stockings that had been hung with care. She was also so stunningly beautiful as she emerged from the shadow while saying softly that she has hoped this night would come for many, many years. So beautiful, in fact, that she almost made him wish he wasn't a happily married man.

Second, she was so inviting in her demeanor that she convinced him to take a break before the presents were doled out and share some eggnog and cookies with her. He had never deviated from his routine for as long as he could remember, but she made him feel like he was about to receive gifts. Oh, how he wished he wasn't happily married.

But then, it happened...

 WHAT INTERRUPTS THE MOMENT 

BETWEEN SANTA AND THE VIXEN?

Roll 1d8 to determine what happens between Santa and the mystery woman.

    1. Nothing. They have a nice time together, during which she tells him how much she loves Christmas.

    2. Her jealous, mixed martial arts champion boyfriend bursts in, raging with jealousy and ready to beat Santa to death! The Vixen flees.

    3. Her jealous boyfriend bursts in and starts taking pictures of Santa and the Vixen. He angrily declares that he is going to ruin both their reputations by posting the pictures 

on various sites and platforms around the internet. Santa seeks out the PCs and begs them to prevent the boyfriend from ruining an innocent lady's reputation.

   4. Santa finishes the eggnog and cookies and reluctantly leaves the Vixen and her cozy home. But, once outside, he discovers that his sleigh and all the reindeer have been stolen. When he rushes back inside, he finds the Vixen has vanished as well! Santas seeks out the PCs to help retrieve his sleigh before Christmas is ruined!

   5. After a couple sips of the eggnog, Santa begins to feel dizzy... and then passes out. When he awakens, he is on a spaceship headed for Mars! Meanwhile, the Vixen, now free of Martian mind control, seeks out the PCs to help get Santa back before Christmas is ruined!

    6. Santa drinks the eggnog. The Vixen then tells him has been poisoned and that he has 24 hours to live. He will get the antidote to the poison if he signs his workshop and the elves who work there over to MegaToy Inc. Santa goes to teh PCs for help.

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NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twenty-One

Here's a Christmas-flavored adventure idea for a modern setting that contains magic.

THE ELF ON THE SHELF MASSACRES
Someone is murdering the families of witnesses against Papa Jambo, the reputedly magic-using crimelord who is currently on trial for multiple murders. Despite heavy police protection, the assassins are still managing to infiltrate the homes and murder the families in their sleep; in one case, they even killed one of the officers on the protective detail.

After these shadowy assassins kill a pair of evidence technicians at a crime scene, the player characters are called in to help the investigation. Upon inspecting the crime scenes, they find one thing in common: Each home has an Elf on the Shelf doll in it... and at one point, one of the characters is attacked by one of the toys after it animates. (Use Kobold stats, 1d4 points of damage with a knife or some other sharp household object).



With some investigation, the characters discover that the Elf on the Shelf dolls were all sent to the family from the same downtown address, even if the packages all appeared to come from a variety of hard-to-contact relatives.

Upon visiting the warehouse, the party is attacked by 24 murderous Elf on the Shelf dolls. They attack in groups of 1d6+1 until all are destroyed. Further investigation of the warehouse reveals other addresses to which killer dolls were sent that morning, as well as the following (roll 1d4):

   1. That Papa Jambo's apprentice is animating the dolls and that he has moved to a different location with 48 more... which will be sent to judges and other law enforcement officials if he has the chance.
   2. That one of Papa Jambo's rivals are trying to frame him for the murders--and that rival is an even stronger and more evil sorcerer than Jambo.
   3. Family members or loved ones of the player characters have been targeted to recieve killer Elf on the Shelf dolls... and that they may already be in their homes!
   4. The Papa Jambo on trial is a look-a-like impostor and that the real crimelord is at a secret location, plotting a monstrous revenge that will turn Christmas Eve into a bloodbath!

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twenty

THE SIX ARTIFACTS OF SANTA CLAUS

For a number of centuries, a set of related magical items believed to be the property of Santa Claus has been changing hands and drifting through the underground market for supernatural items. Only rarely have they been collected in one place, and it is the goal of many collectors to own all six items in the set. Some, like Brigid the Christmas Dragon, want to acquire them so they can return them to Santa as a present, but most want the bragging rights.

   Below, we present the Six Artifacts of Santa Claus as viewed through the lense of the d20 Game System. (The descriptions of the six items are released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its term.)

Giant Candy Cane of Peacemaking: This giant candy cane functions like a great hammer and deals 1d12 non-lethal bludgeoning damage. There are no bonuses to hit or damage rolls, but a target that is struck must make a successful Wisdom saving throw (DC22) or be frozen in place. The target is aware of everything happening around them, but unable to move in any way other than to breathe. The target is held in place until the wielder of the candy cane releases him or her from the enchantment (with a standard action), until dispel magic with a 20th level effectiveness is cast on the target, or until 12 hours have passed from the moment the target failed the Wisdom saving throw.

Santa’s Bag of Christmas Gifts: This is a bag of holding with 600 lbs. of weight available. Gifts can be taking out of the bag as a free action. The gift is always something the person it is intended for wants or needs.

Santa’s Boots: These heavy black boots paradoxically provide the wearer a +4 bonus to Stealth skill checks, at will the wearer can choose to leave no tracks in snow. The boots resize to fit whoever puts them on.

Santa's Hat: This red, fur-lined bobble hat appears like one of the most iconic symbols of Christmas. It grants the wearer the ability to unerringly identify the current location of a being whose true name is known to him or her, as well as the place that being considers its home.

Santa's Overcoat: This red long coat provides the wearer immunity to natural cold temperatures or from getting cold from being wet. When fully buttoned, Santa's Overcoat also grants a +2 bonus to AC/DR, +1 bonus to most saving throws, and a +4 bonus to saving throws made to resist air- water- and cold-based spell-effects and spell-like abilities.

   Santa's Overcoat is made for a tall, broad-shouldered, corpulent man, but it adjusted slightly if a smaller person wears it... but it still appears to be ill-fitting on anyone but Santa himself.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ITEMS

In reality, the six items described in this article were actually made by Brigid the Christmas Dragon because she wanted to fill in for Santa Claus if he ever needed help. The items were stolen from her original lair in France, on Christmas Eve of 1792 when it was penetrated by revolutionaries as the Reign of Terror was taking shape. She has been trying to recover them ever since, not because she necessarily wants to give them to Santa, but because she thinks he will laugh at them if her creations were ever put side by side with the spectacularly wondrous magical items he uses to deliver gifts and happiness all around the world.

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Nineteen

HE KNOWS WHO'S BAD OR GOOD... 

BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE TRYING TO KILL HIM! 

The world's leading assassin, Madam Satan, is hired to kill Santa Claus. Confronting St. Nick awakens memories of Christmases long gone, and, in turn, brings a long-dormant part of her soul back to life. She turns from predator to protector... but will she be able to save Santa and the very heart of Christmas itself from the 12 killers that were brought in by the client to replace her?

NOT SINCE DIE HARD HAVE YOU SEEN 

A MORE ACTION-PACKED CHRISTMAS MOVIE!

COMING ONLY TO THEATERS DECEMBER 25, 2024...

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Eighteen

Dozens of centuries ago, a red dragon who is known as Brigid fell in love with the human winter festivals that eventually became Christmas. She continues her love affair with Christmas, and she has taken to spending some of her time creating magic candles that she secretly places in places where people of good cheer and kindness gather. Humans, when they notice them, have taken to referring to these mysterious magic items as candles of peace.

 

Brigid also uses the candles herself, placing them all over the part of her lair that is visible to humans. She sometimes invites heroes (such as the player characters) and disadvantaged children to spend all of Christmas Eve waiting up for Santa with her... and there's a 1d6 chance that he shows up slightly before dawn to visit with his biggest and oldest fan and those she think are worthy of getting gifts from him.

The rest of this post is presented under the Open Game License, and it presents rules for candles of peace for use in the d20 System and D&D compatible games.

Candle of Peace
Candles of Peace are found in churches and shrines to good-aligned deities. No one knows how they are created or by whom. They just seem to appear in dark corners  bundles of 2d4+4, on random festival days for the deity a given shrine, church, or temple is devoted to. If subjected to detect magic, candles of peace radiate faint auras of divine magic, but nothing more specific can be determined. Roll 1d6 to determine what color the candles are: 1-2 red; 3-4 white; 5-6 green.
   When lit, a candle of peace provides a +2 bonus to Will saves to resist fear effects, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude saves to resist disease, venoms, and poisons (magical and non-magical) within a 10-foot radius and sight of the candle's flame. Each candle can burn a total of 48 hours before completely expended. It can be lit and extinguished any number of times during that period. (Each time it is lit, the GM can assume that a minimum of 1/4 of an hour  of burn time is spent.)
   A candle of peace cannot be wet or submerged in water to work. It can be used to ignite flammable materials and substances. It can be extinguished by any means that would extinguish a normal candle.
   Up to four candles of peace can be lit at the same time and their benefits will stack, for a maximum bonus of +8. They cannot be more than 4 inches apart for the bonuses to stack. The radius of the effect never expands beyond the 10-foot radius.



Best Holiday wishes from your friends at NUELOW Games! Here's Mike Oldfield's fabulous version of "Silent Night" to help set the mood!

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Seventeen

THE DRAGON WHO LOVES CHRISTMAS

When she walks among humans, she calls herself "Brigid" in honor of a goddess she once knew. Her real name is too long and complicated for lesser beings to pronounce, so she doesn't even bother to tell them.

Brigid is one of the oldest living beings on Earth. Brigid is an ancient dragon.... an ancient red dragon. Unlike most of her kind, she not retreated to the elemental planes with the Titans and other ancient races who were driven from Earth by the Atlanteans. Instead, she has spent tens of thousands of years observing humanity as it developed from cave-dwelling scavengers to masters of the Earth and becoming capable of destruction on a level that not even red dragons can conceive of in their darkest imaginings.

Brigid first became interested in humanity when she noticed they had "tamed" fire and made it just another one of their tools. Over the millennia, she traveled among them in human form--dragons are all capable of taking whatever shape they like, but few bother to perfect the skill to the degree that Brigid has--and she has been worshipped as a goddess of fire and light (and sometimes destruction) by many cultures that have emerged and faded.

 

  

 
 

But out all the inventions and achievements she has witnessed grown out of human imagination and community were the celebrations of Saturnalia and Yule; she loved the chaotic way humans in that part of the world celebrated life and brought light to the darkest of seasons. She also enjoyed getting gifts and getting roaringly drunk and treating lucky crowds to amazing displays of fire magic.

As Christianity gained dominance and the ancient festivals merged into a celebration of the faith's central figure, Brigid's love of the festivities surrounded it only grew greater. The songs, the decorations, the setting aside of differences and coming together in peace--if only for brief moments. And by the time what we consider "modern day" had arrived, Brigid loved that Christmas was EVERYWHERE thanks to all the various human inventions' who needs magic when you have broadcast networks and Muzak in malls?!

Every Christmas, Brigid assumes the human form she considers her most perfect and dresses it in quirky Christmas outfits. She visits churches and community centers around the world; she crashes corporate and political Christmas parties; she approaches both the financial and cultural elite, as well as the poorest and most rejected members of societies, asking to help them celebrate Christmas.
If treated with a minimum of hospitality and good cheer, she is a good guest that brings much entertainment to the party. If she is treated warmly and generously, the generosity is returned. The party's hosts receive a charm that will bring good luck to them and their direct descendants for 100 years so long as they are kind and generous while guests who are nice to her receive charms that grant them good luck for the next year.

 

 

If those who are impoverished or on the fringes of human societies accept her offer to spend Christmas with them, they find themselves whisked away to a wondrous palace that reflects Yule and Christmas in all its forms. They are guests at a spectacular feast and leave with gifts both useful and desired, as well as money to get back on their feet and magically cured of whatever addictions of ailments they may have been suffering from.

On the other hand, if Brigid is rebuffed or treated rudely, she makes sure those who lack proper Christmas spirit have their Holiday Seasons ruined by unexplained fires. How severe those fires are depends on how badly Brigid is treated. If she is physically attacked, she will reveal her true from and lay waste to a swath of the land, killing dozens if not hundreds of people... but leaving those who violated the Spirit of Christmas alive and fully aware of what they unleashed.

NUELOW at Christmas: Day SixteenBessie Love and the Magical Mistletoe

It's the time of year when the Spirits of Christmas move across the land, randomly bestowing icons of the holidays with supernatural blessings. Among the things they empower is the mistletoe that hangs in the doorways of frisky young people.

 
During the Christmas Season of 1925, Bessie Love (silent movie star who secretly fought against supernatural evil as a costumed mystery woman), noticed that enchanted mistletoe was showing up at the parties she was attending. Even in her own house, the mistletoe that hung over the doorway to her sitting room suddenly became enchanted on Christmas Eve. 

The magic seemed to vary in strength and appeared harmless--perhaps even helpful in some cases--so it was a fairly low priority for her to track its origins. Instead, she collected the enchanted sprigs when possible and preserved them in her collection of magical artifacts. She noted they tended to regain their enchantment every Christmas Eve, even after they'd long since dried out.

Eventually, when she joined forces with Santa's Helpers to save Kris Kringle himself from certain doom in 1933, she discovered the true origin and nature of the enchanted mistletoe, even if she never did find out exactly what their full range of effects could be.

MAGICAL MISTLETOE
The Spirits of Christmas enchant random mistletoe sprigs in doorways to bestow various blessings from December 21 through January 5.

IS THE MISTLETOE MAGICAL?
Roll 1d6 to determine the nature of the mistletoe hung in the doorway.

1. Not magical, but still pretty (and a pretty good excuse for smooching).
2. Vampires may not cross through the doorway in which the mistletoe hangs, they cannot touch it, and anyone on the other side is immune to their mind-effecting powers.
3. Everyone who passes through the doorway in which the mistletoe hangs are instantly filled with a sense of comfort and joy. They receive a +4 bonus to all Charisma checks and Charisma-based skill checks that are done in acts of love and friendship or to defuse tense situations.

4. Unfaithful lovers feel compelled to confess their betrayal while under the mistletoe (Will save DC24 to resist).
5. Faithful lovers who kiss under the mistletoe gain the spell-like abilities of comprehend languages, discern lie and detect illusion as if they were 20th-level spellcasters.

6. Faithful lovers gain a +4 bonus to all saving skill checks, saving throws, and attack rolls made when fighting together or defending each other for 24 hours after kissing beneath the mistletoe.

--

The text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright Steve Miller 2017, 2024. (If you found this material useful and/or entertaining, please support our efforts by buying one of our products at DriveThruRPG.)

Also, for the record, both images of Bessie Love in this post are as fictitious as her career as a superhero. They were made using a specifically "trained" model at OpenArt.ai.

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Fifteen

There exists among us people who are touched by the Spirits of Christmas at birth. As children, they seem extra kind and extra cheerful (especially around the Holidays). When they turn 16, the Spirits visit the individual and offer them a chance to become a Santa's Helper.

A pair of Santa's Helpers

 

SANTA'S HELPER 
(d20 System rules, presented under the Open Game License. Copyright 2024 by Steve Miller)
During character creation, the player declares that his character chose to become a Santa's Helper. (This can also be rolled randomly if the GM prefers; the character is a Santa's Helper on a roll of 001 on percentile dice.)
  In addition to all standard class abilities and bonus feats, a Santa's Helper gains the following abilities for two days out of the year, December 24 and 25.
  Joy of Fellowship: The character and his closest allies (other PCs for example) gain a +1 bonus to all saving throws, attack rolls, and skill checks.
  Spellcasting: The character may cast a number of spells from the following list a number of times per day equal to his Wisdom + Charisma bonus. He casts the spell by making a gesture (such as twitching his nose or winking, with no other components required): Animal Friendship, Detect Thoughts, Disguise Self, Fabricate, Knock, Nondetection, Passwall, Telekinesis.
   Bonus Feat: The character adds Naughty or Nice to the selection of available bonus feats. The ability gained from this feat is available all year long.

   Drawback: A Santa's Helper is expected to be kind and helpful to all but the most naughty and outright evil beings. If he or she is mean or violent toward an innocent, friendly, or harmless target, he or she instantly loses his mystical status and all benefits that come with it..

   Special: If Santa requires assistance in delivering gifts to good children, or if there's a particular threat that is stopping him from visiting an area that requires the sort of skills and attention that only a player character can bring to bear, he or she is asked to spring into action. (Hopefully, the other party members will go along to help the Helper!) 

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Fourteen

The text in today's post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with it. Copyright 2024 by Steve Miller.

MAGICAL CHRISTMAS COOKIES

A powerful person (rich, well-connected, a sorcerer, sorcerer-related, or just with access to magic), or perhaps even Santa himself, has gifted the player characters with a tin of magical Christmas cookies. Each type of cookie has a different effect (described on a piece of parchment in the tin), and it lasts for 8 hours or until another cookie from the tin is eaten. Each type of cookie is separated from the others by a thin sheet of paper.

    Danish Vanilla Wreaths (8 in the tin): +4 bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy skill checks. Ability to understand all Scandinavian languages.

    Gingerbread Santas (8 in the tin): +4 bonus to Move Silently and Hide skill checks. Ability to fall from up to 10 ft. and suffer no damage.

    Russian Tea Cakes (8 in the tin): +4 bonus to Gather Information and Intimidate skill checks. Ability to understand Russian.

    Shortbread Cookie (8 in the tin): +1 to all saving throws.

    Sugar Cookie Jesus (8 in the tin): Heal 1d6+1 hit points with a touch, up to a number of times equal to Wisdom+Charisma bonuses.

    White Christmas Chocolate Chip (8 in the tin): -2 damage from all elemental sources.

Although the cookies are the main attraction, but tin itself is also mildly magical. It keeps any food items placed within it fresh and edible without a need for refrigeration. The food items will still spoil at their normal rate.

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NUELOW at Christmas: Day Thirteen

Sometimes, Santa needs a little help making his rounds on Christmas Eve. Sometimes, it gets so bad that even his regular staff of Helpers can't provide enough support. During these times, Noelle Candy, one of Santa's Helper's who specializes in Helper Recruitment & Training, reaches out to suitable candidates to serve as temporary workers to get the job done.

Noelle Candy, Santa's Recruitment Specialist

In 2023, she reached out to several... well... beings on the Naughty List that she knew wanted to made amends for past dark deeds. They performed so well that she's invited them back for this year. So, if Santa can't make it to your house, one of these special hires will.

Marvin the Zombie Master, an Undead Necromancer Who's Changed

 

Garry Loop, a Werewolf Who Got Bit by the Christmas Spirit

The Grim Reaper, Trying to Rehabilitate his Reputation

Jason Vorhees, Hoping to Kill Some Naughty Kids

Roll 1d6 against the tables to see how present delivery goes on Christmas Eve.

WHO BRINGS PRESENTS TO THE PC's HOME?

1. Santa, the Big Man Himself

2. Noelle Candy

3. Marvin the Zombie Master

4. Garry Loop the Werewolf

5. The Grim Reaper

6. Jason Vorhees

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PCs CONFRONTS THE GIFT-BRINGER PEACEFULLY?

1-2. He or she wishes them a 'Merry Christmas', asks where the milk and cookies are.

3. He or she flees without leaving presents.

4. He or she gives the PCs a one-shot blessing, giving them a +4 bonus to a single die roll.

5-6. He or she grants them a benefit specific to the Gift-Giver until next January 6.

       Santa: Grants a +2 bonus to skill checks involving being stealthy.

       Noelle: Grants a +2 bonus to skill checks involving eliciting loyalty.

       Marvin: Grants a +2 bonus to damage dealt to undead foes.

       Garry: Grants a +2 bonus to damage dealt to lycanthropes.

       The Grim Reaper: Grants a +2 bonus to resist illness and infections.

       Jason Vorhees: Grants a +2 bonus to attacks and damage rolls.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PCs CONFRONTS THE GIFT-BRINGER 

WITH HOSTILITY?

1-2. He or she tries to flee without leaving presents. If pursued, he or she 

       fights back.

3-4. He or she drops all the gifts and flees. 1d4 hours later, 20 armed elves 

        show up to retrieve the gifts, fighting the PCs if necessary. The initial

        gift-giver will fight back if pursued.

5.     He or she will fight to the death if necessary. 1d4 hours later, 20 armed

        elves arrive to avenge the Helper.

6.     He or she tries to reason with the PC and resolve the confrontation

        peacefully. If that fails, he or she will fight to the death if forced to.

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Twelve

It's Christmas Eve and nothing is stirring in Mira's house. The only sound is her singing softly to herself, as she sits at the dining room table, holding a bottle containing a curious pulsing spark...

Last Christmas, 

I gave you my heart 

But the very next day, you threw it away 

This year, to save me from tears 

I've captured your soul in this bottle...

Soul Bottles

Originating in ancient Atlantis, Soul Bottles, and the secret of their creation, has been preserved by the Witchkind and a small number of Immortals. Generally speaking, they have been used to either imprison the souls of evil beings so they will never return to trouble the living, or to preserve the soul of someone who has unfinished business in this world but who ended up severely injured or deathly ill and was sure to die before his time. Once in a while, they are used for more nefarious or personal reasons, such as Mira capturing the soul of the man who broke her heart.

Creating a Soul Bottle

The most basic component of a soul bottle is, as the name suggests, a bottle. It must be a sturdy bottle made of glass that either has a stopper or screw-top lid that seals tightly. If the bottle is too fragile, it will be shattered by the raw energy of the soul; or if the bottle doesn't seal tight enough, the soul will escape its containment. In both cases, the soul is lost to the Mortal Realm and has moved onto its next stage of existence.

   Once a bottle has been selected, the person enchanting it must keep it close to his or her person (within melee range) for 13 days. Then, the bottle must be left in the open air from sundown to sunrise for the three nights of the Full Moon. This will complete the basic enchantment on the bottle, and it is now attuned to the person who wishes to place a soul within it.

   Next, the bottle must be prepared to house a specific soul. This can be the same person who began the process or someone completely different; but the person working on the bottle at this stage must know the intended target personally. For 21 days, the person preparing the bottle must gather all his or her tears that are wept while thinking of their relationship with the target between sunrise and sunset. The tears can be the result of anguish, joy, or hate-filled rage, or any other emotion that the enchanter feels toward the target.

Using a Soul Bottle

Once the tears have been collected, the bottle must be given to the intended target, by the person who prepared it to hold the soul. As soon as the target touches the bottle, the magic begins to paralyze his or her body. Moments later, as the target collapses, his or her soul rushes into the bottle. The bottle must then be immediately sealed, so the soul doesn't escape.

The Fate of the Body and Soul

The target's body is left in a coma and will eventually die if special measures aren't taken. If the captured soul is released from the bottle, it returns to its body. If the body is dead, the soul moves onto the Afterlife and whatever reward or punishment it has earned (or to reincarnation, or whatever fate awaits those who die in the world).

   The soul can also be drawn into a specially prepared body that's been created through spellcraft or cloning technology, using the original body from which it was drawn as raw materials.

 

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Eleven

'Tis the Season for Feats... and these should appeal to d20 System gamers wether they love of hate Christmas! (All feats in this post are presented under the Open Game License.)

CHRISTMAS CAROLER [General]
Your musical talents and skills as a performer increase during the Christmas Season, even more so when you are performing, or performing to, Christmas music.

   Prerequisite: At least 1 rank in two or more Perform skills.
   Benefit: From December 15 through January 5 each year, you gain a +4 bonus to all skills related to dancing, singing, and playing instruments. The bonus is increased to +6 if your performance involves Christmas music.
   Special: During the rest of year, the bonus from this feat is +1, but it applies to all varieties of performances involving music in one way or another.from this feat apply to all performances is reduced to +1.

GRINCH [General]
You are adept at stealing that which might bring others joy.
   Benefit: From December 15 through January 5, you gain a +4 bonus to all Disable Device/Traps, Hide, Move Silently and Open Locks skill checks made to steal gifts, packages, and holiday decorations.
   Special: During the rest of year, the bonus gained from this feat is +1.

HOLIDAY WARRIOR [General]
Whether you're pro-Christmas ("there's a war on Christmas!"/"I am insulted that you wished me Happy Holidays!") or anti-Christmas ("your cultural appropriation of the trappings of dead pagan religions offends me"/"I feel violated by your Christmas decorations!"), you are a brilliant at ruining everyone's good mood and holiday cheer.
   Benefit: Whenever the character is within 30 ft. of Christmas decorations, or other items related by Christmas, or someone brings up anything related to Christmas or wishes him or her "Happy Holidays!", you gain a +4 bonus to Intimidate skill checks, as well as a +2 bonus to all melee attack rolls. You also impose a -2 penalty on Morale checks. The effects last until the character leaves the area.
   Special: The benefits of this feat can also apply to Easter, Kwanza, Yom Kippur, Ramadan... any major holiday during which others want to have fun or enjoy each other's company and fellowship that the character wants to ruin. In such cases, the player merely needs to say that he or she is applying the Holiday Warrior benefits to the holiday in question.

KRAMPUS [General]
The naughty had better watch out!
   Prerequisite: Naughty or Nice
   Benefit: You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls against targets identified using the Naughty or Nice feat. In addition, any spells or spell-like abilities uses agains the target function at one level higher than the character's actual caster level.

SELFLESS [General]
You are ready to support those in need.
   Benefit: Give up one of your character's actions. Designate another player. The character under that player's control gains a +4 bonus to the next d20 roll made. You may use this ability as many times each round as you have actions.
   Special: When this feat is chosen, gain 2 character points that must be spent on skills immediately.

TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY [General]
You spread joy and cheer.
   Prerequisite: Wisdom 12, Charisma 14
   Benefit: Take a full round action to make a Concentration check (DC8). For the duration of the next encounter, all other PCs and allied NPCs present when you make the check gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws and morale checks.
   Special: The bonus is increased to +4 for present PCs and NPCs who join together and sing a Christmas carol (or other campaign-setting appropriate song of a similar nature) while the skill check is being made. Skills checks of Perform (sing) (DC4) are needed to stay on key.

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And to keep the Christmas Spirit building among all of you out there, here's a great video (with even greater music) from violinist/dancer Lindsey Sterling. (We think she may have the Christmas Caroler feat...)

NUELOW at Christmas: Day Ten

They both show up in your house, uninvited...

They both love making lists...

They both know who's been naughty or nice...

And they both love cookies!

Is it any wonder they're besties?