In Observance of World Otter Day

We just learned that it's World Otter Day. We love otters, and if Black Cat wasn't already our unofficial mascot here at NUELOW Games, it would be an otter. With that in mind, here are two artifacts (otterfacts?) for your d20 System and Open D6 games! (All text in this post is released under the Open Game License. Copyright Steve Miller 2018.)


RINGS OF THE OTTER
These rings were recovered by occult investigator Marion K. Bassett on the site where legend holds that Atlantean Otter Mages used to meet. Their true origins remain unknown, but Bassett hopes to someday come across a ghost ancient enough to know their origins and what magic powers they may contain.

Ring of the Wet Otter
This ring raidiates a faint aura of water magic. It is silver and is inset with a piece of obsidian carved to look like a smiling otter face. It grants the person wearing it increased abilities while in water.
  D20 System: Gain a +6 bonus to all Swim skill checks. Gain a +4 bonus to all Craft and Perform skills used while floating or swimming in water. (These bonuses are only gained in water that's deeper than 1/2 the character's height.)
  OpenD6 System: Gain +1D to all Swim checks. Gain +1 to all Perception and Mechanical skills used while floating or swimming in water. (These bonuses are only gained in water that's deeper than 1/2 the character's height.)

Ring of the Nimble Otter
This ring radiates a faint aura of alteration magic. It enhances the dextrousness of the character wearing it. It is silver and is inset with a piece of obsidian carved to look like a smiling otter face that is winking.
   D20 System: Gain a +2 bonus to all Dexterity-based skill checks and Reflex saves.
  Open D6 System: Gain +1D in the Dexterity attribute.

Both Rings
In addition to the benefits decribed above, when either one of these rings is worn, the character is surrounded by an aura of cuteness. It detects as protective magic of a weak and unspecific sort.
  D20 System: +1 bonus to all Charisma-based skills, except for a -6 penalty to Interrogate and Intimidate and skill checks. These modifier double when both rings are worn.
  OpenD6 System: +1 bonus to all skills intended to entertain and amuse others. -1D to skills intended to scare or force others to reveal information to you that they want to keep to themselves.

d20 Modern Metagaming Feats for Our Times

Gamers are always going on about whether this or that RPG is realistic. Well, we aim to please here at NUELOW Games, so here are two feats that will make your d20 Modern games super ultra modern by bringing the feel of the world around us to your gaming table!


All text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2017 Steve Miller

Alternative Fact [General, Metagaming]

You roll whatever you say you roll.

   Benefit: Whenever you roll a failed saving throw, skill check, or attack you, you can invoke this feat and instead declare that you rolled a 20 (or any other possible result that you choose).

   Special: Your character permanently loses 1 rank in the Diplomacy or Intimidate skill (your choice, or random roll by the DM/GM) whenever this feat is invoked. If the character has no ranks in either skill, it loses 250XP. (Using this feat CAN cause a character to lose a level if enough XP are spent.)

Protest [General, Metagaming]

Your dissatisfaction and hate may change the course of destiny!

   Benefit: Whenever you roll a failed saving throw, skill check, or attack roll, you may invoke your right to protest. At this time, all normal actions and play stop. You roll a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate skill check (whichever is highest for the character) with a DC18. If this skill check is successful, play resumes at the point you failed the previous roll and you reroll as if the initial roll never happened,

   Special: Each time you invoke this feat, all other players receive a -1 penalty to skill checks, saving throws, and attack rolls for the rest of the game session, just to make sure they understand how important it is that you get to win.

Venting Your Righteous Anger [General, Metagaming]

(from an idea by Scott Kankelborg)
You're peaceful, and no one better dare say otherwise!
    Prerequisite: Protest
    Benefit: As Protest, but after the initial failed d20 roll, you may also break 1d4 common household items present in the home of whoever is hosting the game session. You or the GM may roll to determine how many.
    Special: If you ever attempt to compensate the other players for their loss you lose access to the Protest feat.

These feats should be added to the list of bonus feats available to the Hardcore Activist advanced class.

More topical and modern than ever!

A product whose time has come (again)!

Do you want to bring to your OLG Modern game the sort of character who will chain themselves to a dolphin, do a "BlackBrunch" or scream on street corners about boycotting a movie or book they don't like? Then the Hardcore Activist is the advanced class you've been waiting for!


Do you want to bring to your OGL Modern game the sort of character who will murder a pair of random police officers sitting in their car, or who will beat up a random member of this or that ethnic or social group just because they look like someone who once wronged them in some way? Then the Masked Avenger advanced class may be your path to roleplaying thrills.

Modern Advances: The Hardcore Activist & The Masked Avenger is a concise, straight-to-the-point supplement for OGL Modern that is easily adaptable to similar game systems. It offers two advanced classes, 12 new feats, two nonplayer characters that show the classes applied while offering hooks to incorporate them into your adventures.

This kick-off product for the Modern Advances series was among the first releases of the reconstituted NUELOW Games back in 2011. If the news is anything to go by, it may be a product who's time has come again. Or maybe we're being absolutely tasteless in the way we're promoting again... we're not known for being particularly sensitive, politically savvy, or socially aware.

Click here to see previews of Modern Advances: The Hardcore Activist & the Masked Avenger, or to get your own copy.

'The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book One'

NUELOW Games launches a new series with The Three Lives of Fantomah. This three volume series will present the best from the 49-episode run (in Jungle Comics #2 - #51) of a character that started out as the first female superhero in comics, transformed into a standard "jungle girl," and ultimately became the ruler of a "lost civilization."

The cover for The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book One

The book features four stories by the character's creator Fletcher Hanks (known for ultra-powered heroes who kill evil-doers in creative ways) and the first by "W.B. Hovious," a pen-name that various writers and artists produced the series under after Hanks' departure. In addition, it contains some d20 System/OGL Modern rules that are designed to capture Fantomah's unusual nature and development as the series unfolded. If you liked the quirkiness of the Modern Advances and Modern Basics series of products, you want to check this one out, as it makes unusual use (perhaps even abuse) of the d20 System's magic, level, and XP systems.

Click here to see previews or to download your own copy of the book. You can see further previews of the series at the Shades of Gray blog by clicking here.

Modern Advances: The Suicide Bomber

With Black Widows and other sundry crazies threatening to murder innocent people at the Winter Olympics this year, and Cartoonophobia once again rearing its head across the Muslim World, this seems like a good time to bring back NUELOW's classic Suicide Bomber advanced class.

Everything in this post from this point forward is Open Game Content. It may be reproduced as allowed for under the Open Game License. Copyright 2004, 2014 Steve Miller. (To check out NUELOW Games's d20 OGL offerings, click here.)

MODERN ADVANCES: THE SUICIDE BOMBER

By Dave Mendez

This is a one level advanced class for particularly sick and deluded characters who think it's heroic to walk to murder innocent, unsuspecting people by blowing themselves up.

Requirements:
Int: Max 7
Wis: Max 4
Knowledge (Religion): 1 Rank
Use Rope: 5 Ranks
Feats: Fanatic

Class Skills:
Knowledge (Chemistry), Demolitions, Gather Information, Hide, Use Rope
Skill Points at each level: 2 + Int mod

1st level class features
Attack Bonus: +0; Fort Save: +1; Ref Save: +0; Will Save: +2; Defense Bonus +0; Rep +0.
   Special Features: Make Bomb, Go Boom
   Weapon and Armor Proficiences: Suicide bombers are proficient with simple weapons.
   Make Bomb: You can use your Demolitions skill to make a bomb that only work when you strap it to your self. Once the bomb is attached to you it can not be removed by any means, if someone tries to disarm or take the bomb off it will blow up. Bomb does 1d10 point of damage/ per ranks of your alchemy skill.
   Go Boom: Once you gain enough experience to reach your next character level, the bomb will go off killing you and doing damage within a 30 ft +5 ft./rank in Demotions radius.


Want to see more from Dave Mendez? Check out Modern Basics: Tools of Terror and Blood.

What was lost, has been found--The Garden Mage returns!

An oldie-but-goodie product that we've received requests to re-release has been the OGL d20 product Modern Advances; The Garden Mage. However, we have not been able to find any of the source files, and Steve Miller has been unwilling to recreate it from the scraps that were uncovered by fans on the web... because he was uncertain if he would be able to do it right.

Yesterday, however, while trying to solve another problem, we found the original Garden Mage files. They had been mislabeled and therefore archived incorrectly as well.

As a result, the most famous Garden Mage of them all, Kyle Bellamy, who wandered into the bushes in late 2007 and was believed lost and presumed dead, has resurfaced and been given a new home at the NUELOW Games storefronts on RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.

In celebration, we're offering Modern Advances: The Garden Mage at a discounted price to anyone who chooses to purchase it through this link. This is a limited time offer that's good through 8/30/2013.

For more information and previews of the product, click here. (You must use the link above to receive the discount, however.)

We hope you enjoy Modern Advances: The Garden Mage. Please let us know!

S is for Sin-Eater and Spirit Armor

It's plain to see that for NUELOW Games one of the preferred iterations of the OGL d20 is the OGL Modern--otherwise, we probably wouldn't have released these products. With that in mind, here's a talent tree for use with your OGL Modern Games. This material is presented under the Open Gaming License. If you choose to reproduce it, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games.

Sin-Eater: A Talent Tree for Dedicated Heroes (By Steve Miller)

This dedicated hero has the mystical ability to absorb the power of evil spirits and turn it to his advantage.

   Spirit Sense: When the character enters a structure or other defined area, where an evil spirit or restless ghost is present, he receives a Will save (rolled secretly by the GM).. If successful, he knows "something is wrong" and cannot be surprised or caught flat-footed by spirits or mortal enemies

   Transfer Condition: By sharing a brief meal with a character who is poisoned or suffering from a condition, the dedicated hero transfers the condition onto himself; this takes 3 rounds and the ritual meal must not be interrupted by attacks or the participants performing other actions. The character from whom the condition was transferred is restored to normal status and fully healed if applicable.

   The dedicated hero suffers from the effect of the condition for one round, but can then make a Fortitude save (DC12) to neutralize it. If the saving throw fails, the Sin Eater is now subject to the condition unless cured through normal means.

   This talent can only be used on poisons and the following conditions: Ability Damaged, Blinded, Confused, Deafened, and Sickened.

   Transfer Curse: The dedicated hero can transfer magical curses from their target characters by sharing a meal with them. This ritual meal takes 30 minutes and cannot be interrupted by combat or other skill use. At the end of the 30 minutes, the cursed characters are immediately liberated from the ill effects of the curses, and the dedicated hero is now subject to them.

   The dedicated hero suffers from the effects of transferred curses for one round. He may then roll a Will save (DC15) to neutralize them. If all the characters from whom curses were transferred were under the same effect, only one roll is needed, but if there was more than one kind of curse, the dedicated hero must roll once for each kind.  

   If the dedicated hero is absorbing a curse from a structure, the Will save is made against a DC18.

   If the Will save fails, the dedicated hero is subject to the curses transferred until they are removed through magical means.

   Prerequisite: Transfer Condition

and from a building or other defined area, by 

   Bonus Feat: The hero gains one of the following as a bonus feat: Alertness, Focused, Ghost Spotter, Ghost Whisperer, or Spirit Armor. All prerequisites must still be met to gain the feat.

   Consume Sin: By eating a meal in a place haunted by an evil spirit or ghost, the dedocated hero absorbs some of the creature's power, weakening it while empowering himself. The effectiveness of this ritual depends on how long the hero spends performing it. The effects are cumulative.

Time Spent on Meal    Penalty to Ghost/Spirit   Bonus for Hero

3 rounds                     -1 to attack rolls             +1 to Defense vs. ghosts

15 minutes                 -1 to attack rolls and       +1 to Defense and saving

                                   saving throws                  throws

30 minutes                  -2 to attack rolls,            +2 to saving throws and skill

                                  saving throws, and            checks

                                  skill checks

1 hour                        -2 to attack rolls,             +4 to attack rolls

                                  -10 hit points                     and skill checks, +10 hit points

While consuming the ritual meal, the hero cannot engage in combat or perform actions other than engaging other characters or creatures in conversation. If the hero suffers damage or other disruptions, he can make a Concentration check to maintain the inner calm necessary to successfully absorb the ghost's evil. If the hero is interrupted or chooses to stop the ritual, the benefits gained at the last achieved benchmark are gained. (If a hero decides to attack a ghost after 50 minutes, the creature has all the penalties up to the 30-minute mark while the hero has all the benefits).

   The penalties and benefits remain until the ghost targeted with the ritual is destroyed or otherwise laid to rest, or the next sunrise. If the dedicated hero should be killed before either event, his soul rises as a restless, destructive and hate-filled ghost.

New Feat

GMs who incorporate this feat into their games should add it to the list of bonus feats for the dedicated hero.

Spirit Armor [General]

Your spirit fortifies your body against assaults by incorporeal creatures and spirits.

   Prerequisite: Wisdom 17, Focused.

   Benefit: The hero gains +4 to Defense and +2 to Fort saves against physical attacks made by incorporeal beings.

   Prerequisite: Focused

E is for Ectoplasmic Dominator and Dampener

Today's A to Z April Blogging Challenge offers a couple of feats that fit in nicely with the horror feats presented here a couple of weeks ago.

A thanks goes to Dave Mendez, a long time friend of NUELOW Games, for his contribution today. If you want to contribute something as we work our way through the alphabet with RPG tidbits, email us at stevemillermail@gmail.com.

All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.


Ectoplasmic Dominator (By Steve Miller)
Incorporeal beings are weaker when attempting to attack you. This ability comes from your brave spirit that ensures you're not afraid of ghosts.
   Benefit: You gain a Defense Rating or Armor Class bonus of +2, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Will saves against attacks made by incorporeal beings.

Ectoplasmic Dampener (By Dave Mendez)
Incorporeal beings are slightly weaker when you are nearby due to your grounded personality.
   Prerequisite: Ectoplasmic Dominator, character level 5+.
   Benefit: The character and all allied creatures within 15 feet gain a +2 bonus to Defense Rating or Armor Class, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Will saves against attacks made by incorporeal beings/ These bonuses stack with all others.


(If you like those feats, you might also like our ghost-centric Advanced Class, the Ghostmaster. Click here to check it out (and perhaps even buy your own copy).

New Modern d20 OGL rules set from NUELOW!

I've made it pretty clear over the years that I'm not a big fan of the combination of a level-based character advancement when it's married to a restrictive, class-based system for governing character abilities. But it's hard to deny that the most popular RPG games do just that.

But that doesn't mean those games can't be made better by breaking down some of the level/class barriers. And that's where this latest release from NUELOW Games comes in.

MODERN BASICS--Feats of Mysticism & Magic: A Flexible Magic System for OGL Games is a brief supplement that is compatible with most d20-based OGL systems. It divorces the spellcasting system classes, opening up more flexibility in character creation and advancement. It is designed with more mordern and futuristic settings in mind where the stereotypical wizard and cleric are the exceptions rather than the norm.

Click here to see a preview, and/or to get your own copy for just $0.75. And please let me know how it works for you if you use in in your games!

Now available: Modern Advances - Ghostmaster

This week, NUELOW Games returns to our OGL Modern/d20 System series Modern Advances with "The Ghostmaster."

Inspired by films like The Frighteners and classic television series like Randall and Hopkirk (deceased) and Ghost Whisperer, "Modern Advances: Ghostmaster" provides a different take on ghosts for Modern OGL games. This release features:

- The Ghostmaster advanced class.
- Three new feats, including Ghost Companion.
- The first of NUELOW Games' Terror Templates, which will rework classic creatures in ways that fit better with modern and futuristic settings.
- A fully detailed NPC -- celebrity Ghostmaster Marion K. Bassett.

Modern Advances: Ghostmaster is compatible with the leading d20-based OGL game systems. Click here to get your copy for only $3.00.

For your OGL Modern Games: The Alien Abductee!

NUELOW Games has just released another "Modern Advances" booklet over at RPGNow, "Alien Abductee"!

If you're playing d20 Modern or another game that's compatible with Modern OGL, I think you'll find this advanced class and associated feats and Talent Tree useful and amusing.

Click here to read more and to see the listing at RPGNow.

(And what do you think of my Photoshop skills? I'm a master, ain't I?!)

The return of Modern Advances!

Back when I made products for ID Adventures, I did a fun little series called "Modern Advances." It provided quirky advanced classes for OGL Modern games.

Now, with NUELOW Games coming back to life, I'm also reviving Modern Advances! I'm hoping there are still players out there, because d20 Modern was a fine game, and the Modern Advances line makes it even finer!

First up... "The Hardcore Activist and the Masked Avenger." (With a design and cover art by yours truly, Steve Miller.)

Check it out by clicking here! It's a revised version of a couple of ID Adventures releases, but I'm hoping that MA will be popular enough to warrant the design and release of NEW entries as well.