The Baby Changing Station: A Magi-Tech Item for Your Game!

"The Baby Changing Station" was inspired by a graphic found on Facebook (included) and a comment made by a Facebook Friend. It is written with the d20 System in mind, but it is rules-light enough that it can easily be incorporated into any game setting that features highly advanced technology and/or magic---or even a combination of the two, as can be found in the World of 2044. All text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with it. Copyright 2017 by Steve Miller.

THE BABY CHANGING STATION
In the year 2244, the Baby Changing Station allows wealthy parents who are tired of taking care of an infant to turn it into a pet. In certain jurisdictions, parents convicted of child neglect or endangerment are compelled to turning their infant into an animal. If the neglect or abuse continues, they are executed.

The Baby Changing Station was developed from Atlantean magi-tech, based on devices that turned rocks into edible food. When used for commercial purposes—voluntarily turning a baby into a pet—there is a charge to the parents of 20,000 credits.

The pet created is random and generated by the magic at the heart of the device’s function. All possible animals were favored pets of spellcasters in ancient Atlantis.

Roll 1d20 against the table below to see what the baby is changed into.

1. Bat
2. Cat, Demonic*
3. Cat, Domestic

4. Dog, Chihuahua*
5. Dog, Poodle

6. Ferret

7. Fox
8. Gecko

9. Gibbon

10. Hedgehog

11. Hedgehog, Demonic*

12. Iguana
13. Meerkat
14. Mongoose
15. Parrot

16. Raven

17. Raven, Demonic*

18. Sloth

19. Snake, Garter
20. Sugar Glider

*See below

Occasionally, a glitch introduced when humans modified the magic to create the Baby Changing Station will cause a “demonic” version of an animal to appear. The creature appears normal, but has INT and WIS scores of 18, can cast spells as a 13th level sorcerer, and is fluent in all human languages (although many animals must use spells to speak). The demonic pet may or may not reveal its true nature to its owner, depending on how it perceives its situation.

If treated kindly by its owner, the supernatural beast will grant three wishes each month to him or her—even if the owner doesn’t know the wishes are being granted. (For example, if the owner says within earshot of the demonic animal that he wishes he noisy neighbor would die, and no other wishes have been requested or granted, the neighbor will indeed die a horrible and messy death. These beasts were familiars to the most powerful Atlantean mages in ancient times, and if an owner actively takes advantage of the creature's ability to grant wishes or asks it to cast spells in support of his or her activities, the owner suffers all penalties described in the rules that occur when a familiar dies.

If the owner of the pet is not kind to one of the demonic variety, it turns its magic subtly upon him or her, inflicting a -2 penalty to all rolls until amends are made. If the owner outright kills a demonic pet, he or she must is subject to the affects of a curse spell (as if cast by a 13th level caster, and permanent until a remove curse is cast by a 15th-level or higher caster), and the pet haunts his or her home as a poltergeist.

For an additional 20,000 (40,000 total) the parents can choose what sort of pet the baby is turned into. In such a case, the GM must still roll a 1d6 to see if the pet is a "demonic" variety. On a roll of 5-6, the pet is "demonic." Note that Chihuahua Dogs are always demonic.

--

Did you find this material useful or entertaining? If so, support our efforts by getting one or more of our actual products from RPGNow! (And always feel free to give us feedback in the comments section here or there.)

The Power of the Spirits (a d20 System feat and talent tree)

Here's a feat and a talent tree that you can use to add some spellcasting and mysticism to a d20 Modern campaign without adding full-blown spellcasting classes. (It's designed to model Lady Satan as she appears after she gained her mystical powers, as seen the forthcoming NUELOW Games book Lady Satan 1944.)

The rest of this post is presented under the Open Game License. Copyright 2015 Steve Miller.

SPIRITUALIST FEAT
You hear voices. You're not crazy... it's the Spirits revealing secrets to you.
   Requirement: Cha 14, Wis 14
   Benefit: Take a full round action to make a Concentration check (DC8). If successful, add 1/2 of the result as a bonus to your next Bluff, Gather Information, Intimidation, Research, Search, or Spot skill check. (The spirits are assisting you with whispers at the back of your mind.)
   Special: This feat is a prerequisite for talents from the Spirit Channeler talent tree.

SPIRIT CHANNELER TALENT TREE
You can call upon nature spirits, spirits of the dead, and other incorporeal beings for advice and assistance. Some of the assistance comes at a cost.
   In the mechanics of the game, this means you can cast spells at will. The traits that give you the ability to cast spells replace any material components of the spell, and negates any armor penalty. Other aspects and restrictions remain the same. Your character level is used in place of caster level when required.
   Elemental Attunement: When this talent is chosen, specify an Elemental school of magic (air, earth, fire, or water). You may cast a number of 0- or 1st-level spells equal to your Wisdom bonus each day. These spells are added to any amount of spells you can cast from class benefits, feats. or other traits. You may select this talent up to four times, with a different elemental school specified.
   Prerequisite: Spiritualist feat
   The View from Beyond: You may cast a number of 0- 1st-, or 2nd-level spells from the Divination school equal to your Wisdom bonus each day. These spells are added to any amount of spells you can cast from class benefits, feats. or other traits.
   Prerequisite: Spiritualist feat
   The Power of Life and Death: When this talent is chosen, specify either the Healing or Necromancy schools of magic. You may cast a number of 0- or 1st-level spells equal to your Wisdom bonus each day. These spells are added to any amount of spells you can cast from class benefits, feats. or other traits. You may select this twice, with a different elemental school specified each time.
   Prerequisite: Spiritualist feat.
   Summon Spirit: Take a full round action to make a Concentration skill check (DC12). If successful, you summon forth a poltergeist that will do your bidding for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom and Charisma bonuses combined.
   The poltergeist manifests next to you. Commands are issued mentally, and there is theoretically no limit to the range of which they can be issued to the spirit. Once the time is up, the poltergeist returns from whence it came unless you have taken no action other than commanding it. In this case, you may continue to command it, but the creature receives a Will save at the beginning of every other round (against the Concentration result that originally brought it forth). Once the spirit is free, there is a 50% chance it attacks you in anger over having been forced to stay. Otherwise, it departs. You can also command it to return to the spirit realm at any point before it breaks loose of your control.
   Prerequisite: One trait from the Spirit Channeler talent tree
   The Price of Power: You may cast a number of spells of any level equal to your Wisdom bonus each day. These spells are added to any amount of spells you can cast from class benefits, feats, or other traits. Every time you cast a spell gained from this train, you lose a number of XP equal to 100 times the spell level. This is the price the spirits exact for their assistance.
   When using this talent, you can't lose more XP than the absolute minimum of your current level. You cannot use this trait if the XP cost would cause you to lose a level.
   Prerequisite: One trait from the Spirit Channeler talent tree.


If you found this post interesting or useful, check out NUELOW Games's OGL d20 System supplements at RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. Please support my blog posts by supporting my my actual publishing operation.
  
  

If you've enjoyed "Marvel's Agent Carter," you'll like these NUELOW Games offerings!

People have been loving the latest Marvel Comics-inspired series on ABC, Agent Carter, for its female lead and 1940s setting.

If you're liking the televised pastiche, we think you'll enjoy the REAL 1940s Fighting Females that are at the heart of NUELOW Games' line of comics/rpg hybrid books.

The characters are perhaps have the most in common with Agent Carter are probably Jill Trent and Veiled Avenger.

Cover of Science Sleuths #2

Jill Trent is a scientist and inventor who puts her gadgets to use in fighting crime. She is assisted by her loyal gal pal Daisy, and their adventures were the lead feature in NUELOW's Science Sleuths 1-3. We're offering those first three issues in a discounted bundle, here. Also featured in those issues was the Spider Queen, another woman scientist who put her scientific knowledge into action for justice. (Click here to read more about Spider Queen and her amazing similarity to another spider-themed hero... who debuted some 20 years after she made her first appearance.)

Cover of Lady Satan

The Veiled Avenger is a legal secretary who puts her circus background to use in crime-fighting, driven in equal amounts by a thirst for justice and frustration with the men around her. She is also one of more brutal heroines of the 1940s, more often than not causing the death of the villains she battles. NUELOW collected the entirety of her published adventures in Lady Satan, another brutal female superhero who leaves bodies in her wake. You can get a copy of the book, or see previews by clicking here. (The book also contains a complete ROLF! battle scenario.)

Cover of ROLF!: Zero vs. One

Another character who we have retrieved from the Golden Age of Comics and collected in a new book is the mysterious secret agent Madam Zero. The entirety of her recorded adventures are included in ROLF!: Zero vs. One, together with a complete battle scenario. Click here to see previews or to get your very own copy of this complete collection of rarely reprinted comics. (Madam Zero's original publisher is noted for its many series featuring strong female leads, and she was one of the final characters they introduced to the public.)

Cover for CGAB #4

Even more obscure than Madam Zero is Miss Espionage, the daughter of Mata Hari and a spy herself. We featured her complete adventures, as well as those of the precocious teenaged hell-raiser Angela in the fourth installment of our Complete Golden Age Oddballs series. In addition to the great classic comics, this book features fiction by Steve Miller, which reveals the "secret origins" of both Miss Espionage and Angela with twists that those who appreciate Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter will love. There's also RPG rules for use with ROLF! and OGL d20 Modern. Click here for more information, or to get your own copy.

Cover for Pat Patriot

Finally, we have collected the greatest adventures of an early star-spangled superheroine--predating even the more famous Wonder Woman--in the pages of Pat Patriot. Debuting in 1941, this series focuses on a immigrant's daughter who becomes a symbol of the American spirit and devotes life to being a rallying point during a time of increased uncertainty and global war. You can see previews of the book, or get your own copy here.



These characters are but a sampling of the Golden Age female characters that we've thrown a spotlight on over the past couple of years. Among the others are the daring Black Cat, the man-hating Judy of the Jungle, the adventuring animal tamer Princess Pantha, the mysterious Fantomah, the ditzy detective Sherry Flippe, the trouble-making teenager Kathy, and more!

We intend to add several more books spotlighting forgotten female stars from the Golden Age during 2015, beginning with the Iron Lady. Look for her soon!

X is for X of the Underground

"X of the Underground" was a short-lived series that ran in Military Comics 8 - 13 from Golden Age giant Quality Comics. Edited by Will Eisner and created by Vern Henkel (who wrote and illustrated the first 3 episodes), the series was about a mysterious femme fatale who roamed Nazi occupied Europe, building a network of women underground resistance fighters and helping Allied agents when she could. She frequently operated in disguise, often cross-dressing as a German military officer to accomplish her mission.

X swings into action. Art by Lee Ames.

The "X of the Underground" series consists of fast-paced war-time espionage stories, with X inspiring the oppressed to fight back and engineering poetic (or just plain lethal) justice for loathsome Nazis. She also spends her time dodging an American war correspondent who has identified her and who wants to write her story, help in her efforts, and probably get her naked in a hayloft somewhere. The series is of high quality throughout, with the best episodes being drawn by the aforementioned Henkel, and by Lee Ames and Bob Hebberd. We will be publishing five or six of the "X of the Underground" stories in an upcoming book... we just need to decide on the presentation.

In our minds here at NUELOW Games, X is the same person as Lady Satan, even if X may be a little less coldblooded. We imagine that after she became too well-known around Paris, she gave up the red mask and cloak, honed her disguise skills, and widened her activity base. The "X of the Underground" serve as a nice bridge between the Lady Satan stories in this book, and the Lady Satan fiction and comic story we published here.

'The Werewolf Hunter #2' arrives in time to scare away 2013!

The second issue of NUELOW Games' horror anthology, The Werewolf Hunter, is now available for download. Like the first issue, it's got great horror comics rarities from the Golden Age (two adventures starring Prof. Armand Broussard, the Werewolf Hunter himself; one starring the mysterious Lade Satan; and one re-introducing "girl photographer" Gail Porter to the world), fiction (an all-new story from Angela Beegle, author of the Werewolves of Washington series; and a Robert E. Howard story with revisions by yours truly), and more systemless RPG content to bring variety to standard monsters in campaigns.

Click here to see previews and to get your own copy of The Werewolf Hunter #2.

'You're rightly named, Lady Satan!"

The latest release from NUELOW Games brings you tales of two masked women who are likely to put you in a bodybag if you're less than a perfect gentleman on the first date.

Lady Satan features six tales of action from the Golden Age of Comics, in which Lady Satan takes out Nazis in occupied France during World War 2, and the Veiled Avenger whips criminals into shape back in the U.S.A. The book also contains brief text pieces discussing the featured comics, and ROLF! statistics and a battle scenario so you can have Lady Satan and the Veiled Avenger fight each other or take on the nefarious Viscount Todschenkt. Like previous NUELOW Games comics collections, Lady Satan is presented in presented in black-and-white--as is only fitting for tales of femme fatales of the 1940s.

History buffs may be interested in knowing that Lady Satan was an early creation of George Tuska, who would go on to help establish Luke Cage, the first black superhero to carry his own title, as well as celebrated runs on Iron Man for Marvel Comics and World's Finest Comics Starring Superman and Batman for DC Comics. Additionally, the four Veiled Avenger tales in the book are the entirety of her published adventures. (There are other Lady Satan stories, but they were not done by Tuska and are quite different in nature than the two featured in this book. Click here to see previews of Lady Satan and download your own copy.

And, as a preview of things to come, here's a sample of what future Lady Satan adventures will entail, as we  bring them to you in the horror anthology Werewolf Hunter:

.