The Super Hero Class (for d20 Modern)

Some five years ago, NUELOW head-honcho Steve Miller had an idea for a system of super powers that could be grated onto any d20 System game that used the feats and talents mechanic to advance character abilities. It began with the post linked here, and Miller and his partner in NUELOWness, L.L. Hundal, has been expanding upon it ever since... through posts here at the blog and with content in many of the comics/rpg hybrid products that they've produced.

   Miller & Hundal have agreed that they think they've just about covered all their favorite comic book heroes and their abilities via the rules they've been creating... and that it may be time to pull all the bits and bobs together into a unified and coherent whole and release an actual product! One of the last pieces may or may not be this new base class while Hundal has been using in her d20 Modern games for the last few go-arounds.

   All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduce in accordance with its terms. Copyright Steve Miller 2018

THE SUPER HERO CLASS

By L.L. Hundal & Steve Miller

There are Fast heroes, Smart Heroes, Strong heroes... all the kinds of heroes you find described in the d20 Modern Standard Reference Document. But the Super hero stands above them all. Whether driven by supernatural forces, family heritage, or some life-altering trauma, the super hero has powers and abilities beyond those of mere mortals that he or she puts to use to defend the innocent from criminals and other evil people and entities that would prey upon them. It is a versatile class with access to the wide range of talents, as well as minor power feats.

THE SUPER HERO CLASS

Ability: Player's Choice; Super heroes come in all shapes, sizes and intelligence quotients.

Hit Die: 1d8

Action Points: Super heroes gain a number of action points equal to 5 + one-half their character level, rounded down, at 1st level and every time they attain a new level in this class.

Class Skills: The Super hero's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (mechanical) (Int), Drive (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Strength), Knowledge (current events, science [pick individual branches separately], streetwise) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Pilot (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (none), and Tumble (Dex).

Also, the starting occupation the character selects can provide additional class skills to choose from.

Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 5 + Int modifier.

Table: The Super Hero
Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Class Features	Defense Bonus	Reputation Bonus
1st	+1	+0	+1	+1	Talent	+2	+0
2nd	+2	+1	+1	+1	Bonus feat	+3	+1
3rd	+3	+1	+2	+1	Talent	+3	+1
4th	+4	+2	+2	+2	Bonus feat	+4	+2
5th	+5	+2	+3	+2	Talent	+4	+2
6th	+6/+1	+3	+3	+2	Bonus feat	+5	+3
7th	+6/+1	+3	+4	+3	Talent	+5	+3
8th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+3	Bonus feat	+6	+4
9th	+7/+2	+4	+5	+3	Talent	+6	+4
10th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+4	Bonus feat	+7	+5

Starting Feats

In addition to the two feats all characters get at 1st level, a Super hero begins play with the Combat Martial Arts feat, or a Weapons Proficiency feat of the player's choice. The character must meet any prerequisites before selecting a feat.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Super hero.

Talents

At 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level, the Super hero may select a talent from any the following talent trees. Some trees have a set order that must be followed, while others provide a list to choose from.

   Any and all Super Power talent trees for which the Super hero meets the prerequisites.

    No talent can be selected more than once unless expressly indicated in its description.

Feats

At 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th level, the Super hero may select a bonus feat from the following list.

   Any [Minor Power] feat, plus Alertness, Athletic, Blind-fight, Builder, Combat Expertise, Educated, Gearhead, Improved Disarm, Frightful Presence, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Meticulous, Studious, Trustworthy, Weapon Focus.

It's our first release of 2018!

Nothing can throw a campaign off-kilter quicker than a TPK... and that's where the latest release from us here at NUELOW Games comes in!

Cover art by Dick Giordano

Hard to Kill: Feats and Talents for the d20 System provides character abilities and mechanics that will allow PCs to stare Death in the face and laugh. Even if Death shoves that laughter right back down their throats and causes them to explode in a fine mist of gore and bone shards, this booklet provides the means for the character with the right combination of feat to literally come back from the dead.

Hard to Kill contains five feats, four talent trees, and an add-on to the character generation system that gives a newly created character a random reason for why enemies shout, "Why won't you die?!" Although designed with d20 Modern in mind, this material is easily adapted to popular d20 System variants such as StarFinder, or any d20 System variant that uses feats and talents.

As an added bonus for those of you who have been following our comics/rpg hybrid products. Hard to Kill also expands further on the d20 Supers System that was introduced in Madden's Boys. (The material stands perfectly fine on its own, like the various game sections in the aforementioned comics/rpg hybrid books.)

Hard to Kill is available for download at RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.

--

Speaking of our comics/rpg hybrid releases, in Ghost Woman... Also Featuring Spooks, we included d20 System rules for keeping a player character active and in the hands of its player even AFTER death. Such a character isn't just hard to kill... because how do you kill someone who's already dead? (The rules also include a way to give a "second life" to a major villain who falls at the hands of the player characters.

How is the Vacation in Mexico Going to be Ruined?

Here are adventure seeds for an RPG campaign in a modern setting.

What Ruins the Mexican Vacation?
The player characters are hoping for a nice relaxing vacation in sunny Mexico... but, being that they're player characters, things aren't going to be so relaxing. What harshes their mellow this time? (Roll a d12 against the list below.)

   1. A drug cartel decides to force them into being "mules" and won't take no for an answer.
   2. An old enemy hiding South of the Border recognizes a party member and thinks they're after him or her.
   3. An old enemy who's been hiding South of the Border recognizes the party and approaches them with a request for help against 1-3)slavers posing as 'coyotes', 4-6) a drug cartel that's trying to force him to help them by kidnapping someone he loves, 7-9) the corrupt officials that have been shielding him, but who are now involved in things so horrible he wants no part of it, 10-12)discover what is going on at a secret base in the desert and why the Native Americans living nearby are vanishing.
   4. Space aliens are using the resort the characters are staying at a front for their unholy experiments on humans.
   5. A waiter familiar with the PCs (possibly through an old enemy) approaches them asks them to rescue his sister from a nearby cult compound. The cult is being run by 1-3) rogue CIA operatives conducting mind-control experiments, 4-6) an ancient Olmec vampire, recently awakened and working on restablishing his vampiric powerbase, 7-9) space aliens, who are replacing humans with duplicates in preparation for an invasion, 10-12) a druglord who is testing a new product that has the unfortunate side effect of turning users into werewolves.

   6. Mole People begin their invasion of the surface world at the resort the PCs are saying at (use kobold stats). Naturally, they are led by a sexy human queen (or hunky human king) who takes a fancy to a party member.
   7. Cultists in nearby Mayan ruins are performing a ritual that will summon mighty demons to cleanse Central American of everyone without pure Native American blood.
   8. A friend of the party is abducted and held for ransom by 1-2) a cartel boss, 3-4) an old enemy of the party, 5-6) renegade CIA agents, 7-8) 'coyotes', 9-10) a mad scientist, 11-12) Cultists.
   9. A mad scientist is attempting to create President Trump's border wall with 1-3) strange chemicals in the water supply, 4-6) mind control rays, 7-9) a stolen alien spaceship and its energy shield techology, 10-12) summoning and enslaving the ancient Oltec gods.
   10. Renegade CIA agents want to force the party into taking down 1-3)a terrorist ring, 4-6)a drug cartel, 7-9)corrupt officials coordinating cross-border crime, 10-12)a cult that is infiltrating CIA stations throughout Central and South America.
   11. A local priest approaches the party and asks them to recover a relic that has been stolen from his church by a local drug boss.
   12. Roll two more times, re-rolling duplicate results. Both indicated things ruin the party's vacation.

--

If you found this material entertaining and/or useful, buy one or more of our products. It will inspire us to make more! Click here for the full catalog at DriveThruRPG!

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!

Modern Basics of 2016

The latest from NUELOW Games is a collection of feats, talents, and templates that have been revised from material that originally appeared in posts here or on the NUELOW Games Facebook page.

The cover for a collection of tools to make your d20 System gam ultra postmodern!

The Modern Basics 2016 Annual features work by NUELOW Games regulars L.L. Hundal, Dave Mendez, and Steve Miller, and it was mostly inspired by things you've seen in the news during the year that will (thankfully) soon be over.


You can see previews and get your copy of the one product you need to accurately replicate the aura of 2016 in your d20 Modern games at RPGNOW and DriveThruRPG. Get yours today and fix flaws in the game system you didn't even know existed!

Whatchagonna do when they come for you?! It's d20 Cops!

Cops are a hot topic these days, although not always in a good way. Maybe some of you out there are contemplating d20 System campaigns where the heroes are cops--well, if you are, we have just the product to help you add the right flavor to the player characters!

Cop Feats Galore!

Although designed with d20 Modern in mind, the feats in Modern Basics: Good Cop, Bad Cop can easily apply to any d20 System variant you're using, be it something with Finder as part of the name or something entirely different. Happy crime-busting (or bribe-taking, depending on the nature of the campaign).

Modern Basics: Good Cop, Bad Cop is available at RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. Click on the link to your favorite site to see previews or to get your own copy.

And here's a song from Rucka-Rucka Ali that may or may not help inspire your game!

For the record, NUELOW Games's first sale of 2016...

... was the oh-so-classy evergreen product Modern Basics: Feats of an Adult Nature.

Warning! This Contains Adult Mature Content (and stuff)!

If you haven't gotten your copy yet, now might be a great time. Wouldn't it be cool to see that classic OGL d20 Modern supplement back on the "Hot Seller" list?!

Click here to get your copy at DriveThruRPG! You can also get it at RPGNow if you prefer!

Now appearing in the center ring -- PRINCESS PANTHA!

In 1946, the world-famous circus performer and animal trainer Princess Pantha vanished while on safari in Africa. NUELOW Games proudly brings you the story of what happened next.

By Art Saaf

Princess Pantha: The Hunt for M'Gana is the first of two books collecting the best of this foray by Nedor/Standard into the "jungle girl" genre during the 1ate 1940s. If you like jungle action and strong female characters, you'll like Princess Pantha, because she may lost in the jungle when we first meet her, but she ends up rescuing her "savior" more than he ends up rescuing her.

In addition to some fun comics classics (by Art Saaf and Ralph Mayo, the main talents behind NUELOW's Judy of the Jungle series), The Hunt for M'Gana contains new feats and talent trees so gamers playing d20 System games (such as OGL or d20 Modern or Pathfinder) can create their own heroes with animal training skills that rival those of Pantha. game section also features the stars of the series, Princess Pantha and Dane Hunter, written up as d20 Modern characters.

Click here to see previews of Princess Pantha: The Hunt for M'Gana, or to download your own copy.

A new comics/rpg hybrid for 'new comics day'!

Comic readers all across the land know that Wednesday is tthe day new comics arrive at the store. Well, we actually got our act together here at NUELOW Games, and we've released a new comic book on New Comics Day!

Feary Tales is our latest addition to our line-up of comics/rpg hybrid books. It contains six short horror stories, all twisted adaptations of fairy tales, and most of them from the brilliant mind of Steve Ditko (in his pre-Marvel Comics days).

For RPG gamers, it presents an all-new race of monsters--the Faery Ghouls. They can be dropped into pretty much any d20 System game you like, although, like most NUELOW OLG material, they are designed foremost for OGL Modern. The book also contains Tom Thumb is lost, a single-player mini-game.

Feary Tales is available at all the usual outlets. You can click here to see previews, or to get your own copy. It is presently on sale for 25 percent off the usual price, as part of the ongoing Christmas in July celebration! (The discounted price is good until August 1.)

The 'official' OGL d20 Feather Charms is now out

Regular readers of the blog have already seen the content of this product, but if you would like a copy of it nicely typeset and illustrated, you can download OGL d20: Feather Charms from RPGNow.com for next to nothing.

For more Native American-inspired OGL d20 material, you can also check out Warrior Maiden Starlight. The book features the complete "Starlight" series by Ann Adams and Ralph Mayo, collected in one book for the first time, as well as notes and rules for running a d20 System game drawing inspiration from pre-European contact Native American civilizations.

Did we err in 'Modern Basics: Feats of an Adult Nature'?

In Modern Basics: Feats of an Adult Nature, we included the Gaydar feat. The prerequisite for taking it was the Gay feat.

But we got to thinking that there's something wrong with our model here, because you can't make a character who is a business owner in Arizona under those rules. If they don't possess the Gaydar feat, how are all those Arizona businesses owners that supposedly don't want to serve gay people going to tell them from everyone else?

Obviously, a fix is needed. So, here are a couple different ones.

(The Arizonan feat and Discerning Business Owner are presented under the Open Game License and it may be reproduced in compliant products and forums. Copyright Steve Miller 2014.)

NEW STARTING PROFESSION
Discerning Business Owner

You have the ability to leap to conclusions in a single bound, refusing service to anyone you happen not to like.

   Bonus Class Skills: Sense Motive and Spot become permanent class skills. If they are already class skills, you gain a +2 bonus to all checks using these skills.

   Bonus Feat: Gaydar (Discerning Business Owner replaces all prerequisites)

NEW FEAT
Arizonan [General]
You are of Arizona, body and soul.
   Benefit: +2 Fort saves to resist heat damage, +2 bonus to Charisma-based skill checks when wearing a ten-gallon or larger hat.
   Special: This feat qualifies the character for the Gaydar feat.

Gay? Or just from Arizona? Only the Gaydar knows!

NUELOW d20 Supers (Part Two)

Here's a little more of the OGL Modern superpowers add-on system that's slated to appear in our forthcoming Madden's Boys book. The pre-req for these talent trees is at least one of the Minor Power feats described in this post.

More to come --and feedback is always welcomed. (This post is published under the Open Gaming License. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller.)

A NEW SYSTEM FOR SUPERPOWERS IN OGL MODERN AND MORE

(Part Two)

TALENT TREES

INVULNERABLE
Robust: The character becomes especially robust, gaining a number of hit points equal to his or her character level as soon as this talent is selected. Thereafter, the character gains +1 hit point with each level gained.
   Resistence to Harm: Damage suffered from all non-magical and supernatural sources is reduced by 10 points. This reduction is is applied before saving throws or other damage-reducing mechanics are applied.
   Resistence to Magic: Damage suffered from all magical and supernatural sources is reduced by 15 points. This reduction is is applied before saving throws or other damage-reducing mechanics are applied.

   Unbreakable: Damage suffered from all non-magical sources is reduced by an additional 25 points. This reduction is is applied before saving throws or other damage-reducing mechanics are applied.
   Prerequisite: Resistence to Harm, Robust.

SPEED
Speed I: When making a full-round action, the character may take an extra unarmed attack, or take an extra attack with any held weapon The character also gains a +2 dodge bonus to Defense Rating and Reflex save, as well as a +10-feet per level increase to movement rate per round. The character can maintain his increased movement rate for a number of rounds equal to his character level before suffering from fatigue.
   Speed II: As Speed I, except the increase in movement rate per round is +20 feet per level.  
   Prerequisite: Speed I
   Speed III: When making a full-round action, the character may take two extra unarmed attack, or take two extra attacks with any held weapon The character also gains a +4 dodge bonus to Defense Rating and Reflex save, as well as a +40-feet per level increase to movement rate per round. The character can maintain his increased movement rate for a number of rounds equal to twice his character level before suffering from fatigue
   Prerequisite: Speed II
   Speed IV: As Speed III, except the increased movement rate can be maintained for a number of minutes equal to the character's level.
   Prerequisite: Speed III

Bring a taste of terror to your OGL d20 campaigns

The latest in NUELOW Games's Modern Basics series presents revised bits and pieces that originally appeared on this very blog, and adds a pair of all-new talent trees and a dozen or so additional brand new feats--all of them being perfect Tools of Terror and Blood.

Modern Basics: Tools of Terror and Blood was designed by Steve Miller-- contributor to the classic Ravneloft gothic horror game setting--with help from NUELOW Games regular contributors L.L. Hundal and Dave Mendez. It presents OGL game mechanics to bring elements of slasher films and supernatural thrillers to your gaming table by injecting standards of those genres straight into core of the characters through feats and talent trees.

Although designed primarily with the OGL Modern system in mind. Modern Basics: Tools of Terror and Blood is easily adaptable to other d20-based systems, and it should prove a valuable asset to any GM and players who have wished their favorite game would include the means to more effectively mirror their favorite genre.

Modern Basics: Tools of Terror and Blood is available for purchase and download from RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. Click here to see previews or get your very own copy for less than a dollar.

X is for XXX

Long-time NUELOW Games fans and followers know that we've been including "mature content" in our game products since the earliest days. We've not often made a big deal out of it, because we just include what seems right for the game we're doing.

So when comic book publisher got lots of attention and praise for turning a Golden Age superhero gay, it annoyed Steve Miller, because we'd been there and done that in ROLF! products. And when L.L. Hundal read that a certain RPG publisher was being praised for creating the "ultimate inclusive RPG" because they'd included some homosexual characters in a supplement, she virtually trembled with righteous indignation because we put that stuff in our core rulebooks... and no one's ever bestowed us with outrageously hyperbolic praise. She was so irritated that she wrote a string of feats she labeled "Feats of Diversity and Ultimateness."

Those feats, first presented on this very blog, have now been revised and included with a bunch of others in our latest OGL Modern supplement--Modern Basics: Feats of an Adult Nature. You can read more about the product by clicking on that link.. and if you order one after using that link, you'll receive a small discount on the already low price.

We hope you will enjoy making your game more socially relevant and intellectually challenging with sex-related feats. Lord knows we're looking forward to watching the accolades and award nominations roll in!

Continuing that effort, here are a couple of "mature" feats and a talent tree that will add some artistic value and intellectual heft to your OGL d20 System game. (And we're also doing this as part of the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. All material in this post is presented under the Open Gaming License.)

Anything With a Pulse [General, Social] (By L.L. Hundal)
Your character will have sex with (and can seduce) just about any sentient creature.
   Prerequisite: Adventuresome feat, No Shame feat, Sexual Prowess feat
  Benefit: The character can lay down with just about anything, anywhere. The feat can only be used on sexually mature creatures with Intelligence of 3 or higher. The character makes a Bluff check (or Seduce skill check if you are using the skill introduced in Feats of Seduction and Subterfuge) with the target's Will save as the DC. If the target is of a human or demi-human race, the Will save is made with a -2 penalty, because the character is just that sexy. If the target is humanoid but is somehow significantly different in appearance from the character, the Will save is made with no modifier. If the target is of a completely different physical build, the Will save is made with a +4 bonus.

Dubious Gender [General] (By Steve Miller)
Either through a quirk of genetics or careful personal grooming, it's hard to tell if your character is a man or a woman.
   Prerequisite: Charisma 12.
  Benefit: +2 bonus to all Bluff and Disguise skill checks.

Porn Star Talent Tree (By L.L. Hundal)
This talent tree is available to all OGL Modern hero classes.
   Friends in Weird Places: +4 bonus to all Streetwise checks
   Dual Identity: You have a porn star name under which you enjoy a +2 bonus to renown and a +4 to Bluff or Seduction skill checks designed to bed NPCs while visiting game conventions, biker bars and strip clubs. If you use your real name, you remain relatively anonymous.
   Bonus Feat: You gain Adventuresome, Anything with a Pulse, Concentration, Focused, Staying Power, or Wardrobe Malfunction. You must meet all prerequisites before selecting the feat.

T is for the Terrorist Talent Tree

Psychotic dipshits who like to murder innocent people and claim they're doing it for a cause have been front and center in American news sources again, thanks to the Brothers Dumb and Dumber and their killing spree in and around Boston, MA.

As usual, I've seen blather about how we have to reach out to terrorists with empathy in order to understand the source of their rage and/or address whatever made them kill. Yeah... just like the way we have to show empathy to a rapist and seek to understand why he does what he does.

While I may feel that there is absolutely no reason to feel any empathy for any terrorist whatsoever, I am willing to lend a hand to those who do want to "walk a mile in their shoes." Roleplaying games are a great medium for exploring such tings safely, as you are with friends and around a snack-laden table in a private house.

To that end, I present a talent tree and some feats usable in the creation of Muslim terrorists of all stripes, Basque separatists of the ETA, Irish drunkards of the IRA, or Friends of the U.S. President formerly of the Weather Underground. This talent tree will let you create a character who is the ultimate asshole, where the term "hero" is applied in purely a game mechanical sense.

Everything in this post is presented under the Open Gaming License. If you chose to reproduce this material, give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games.

THE TERRORIST TALENT TREE (By Steve Miller)
The terrorist talent tree is open to all hero classes, but it is most suitable for tough heroes and dedicated heroes. Most smart heroes are excluded form this talent tree as they won't meet the prerequisites.
   Undying Enemy: Pick an outrageously broad category of people to hate, such as Christians, Spaniards, Stock Brokers, Homosexuals, the Lefthanded, or Redheads. The hero gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls against these vile people, while gaining a +4 competency bonus on all skill checks specifically made in efforts to kill them.
   Prerequisite: Int 10 or lower, Wis 9 or lower. Allegiance to a terrorist organization or movement.
   False Allegiance: Pick an allegiance related to the category selected under Undying Enemy. You gain a +4 bonus to Bluff skill checks when interacting with those who have the same allegiance. The hero does actually change allegiances when picking this talent.
   Prerequisite: Undying Enemy.
   Bonus Feat: The hero gains Alertness, Cautious, Confident, Fanatic, or Misogynist. The hero must meet all prerequisites before he can gain a feat.
   Coward's Strike: The hero excels at attacking unsuspecting targets, but is otherwise a loser in battle. When attacking characters who are flat-footed or otherwise unable to properly defend themselves, a confirmed critical hit results in an instant kill. The hero suffers a -2 adjustment to attack and damage rolls made against characters who are ready to defend themselves.
   Too Dumb to Die: When reduced to 0 or fewer hit points in combat,or at risk of going on conscious due to conditions, the hero roll an Int check against DC12.. If the check is successful, the hero immediately regains 2d6 hit points, or is able to ignore the threatening condition for a number of rounds equal to his Con bonus.
   Prerequisite: Int 10 or lower, Wis 9 or lower.
 

NEW FEATS
Feats fit for terrorists and similar trash.

Fanatic [General]
The hero is filled with hatred toward those who don't believe as he or she does.
Prerequisite: 10 INT Maximum
Benefit: When faced with people who don't believe as he or she does, the hero gains a +2 Will save.to resist any suggestions they make, no matter how reasonable.  The hero also gains a +1 bonus to all Bluff and Intimidate skill checks involving these non-believers, but suffers a -1 to all Diplomacy checks involving them.
Special: The hero can designated a Chosen Enemy every three levels; this must be a stupidly broad category, such as "Americans," "Muslims," "Faries," or "Gwyneth Paltrow Fans." The character gains a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls made against these vile beings!


Misogynist [Social]
You hate women and you want to demean and hurt them whenever possible.
Prerequisite: Int 11 or lower, Wis 10 or lower.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls against female characters.
Special: If your Int or Wis scores are ever raised above the maximum allowed, you lose the benefits granted by this feat.

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

Horror Feats, Part One

As you may or may not know, NUELOW Games's Steve Miller used to write for the famous Ravenloft gothic horror setting for AD&D and D&D Third Edition. He also contributed to a couple Storyteller products from White Wolf. And he loves watching and reviewing horror movies, as he demonstates weekly at the Terror Titans blog. With that in mind, here are some feats that will let you bring some horror movie and slasher movie vibes to your OGL Modern games. (They compliment any product in the Modern Basics or Modern Advances series.)



(The rest of this post is Open Game Content, as defined by the Open Game License v1.0a. If you should wish to make your OGL d20 game products, please include "Horror Movie Feats, Part One by L.L Hundal. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller and NUELOW Games" in the copyright section.)

HORROR MOVIE FEATS, PART ONE

By L.L. Hundal (with a friendly tip-of-the-hat to Steve Miller for outloud design musings.)

Danger Sense [General]
You have an uncanny ability for sensing trouble just before it strikes.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to all Spot and Sense Motive checks.

Survivor [General]
This feat is suitable for monsters and victims alike. It makes them exceptionally hard to kill.
Prerequisite: Too Cute To Die
Benefit: When the character drops below half of her full hit points, she instantly recovers 2d6 hit points. Whenever the character suffers damage while below half of her full hit points, she recovers 1d6 hit points after the damage has been resolved. This benefit only applies if the character is between zero and half their total hit points.
 When the character drops below 0 hit points, she rolls a Fort save with a +4 bonus. If the save is successful, she instantly regains 2d6 hit points.

Too Cute to Die [Genera]
You are either so funny, cute, or sexy that it sometimes seems as if you are deathproof.
Prequisite: Cha 15 or higher.
Benefit: You add your Charisma bonus to your Defense Rating and Reflex saving throws.



(If you enjoyed those feats, please check out NUELOW Games's OGL d20 Sysetm products. Click here to see previews at RPGNow, or to even buy copies.)

Have you seen our new releases for OGL d20 Modern?

It dawned on me that I have failed to call attention to a couple recent releases from NUELOW Games. This is double-shocking since they're projects that I designed!

NUELOW Games, as part of an overall effort to produce more material for d20-based OGL games, have recently released three products geared for OGL Modern -- although they are compatible with the most popular OGL RPGs as well... like that one with "Path" in its name.

These new releases are appearing under the umbrella name of Modern Basics and each features feats and skills focused around a theme or type of character. So far, the series contains:

Good Cop, Bad Cop: Feats for Those Who Carry a Badge

Click here for the RPGNow product listing.

Feats of Seduction and Subterfuge

Click here for the RPGNow product listing

Feats of  Mysticism & Magic: A Flexible Magic System          .           

Click here for the product listing at RPGNow.

And if you like to have a little gaming with your poetry, you might find Shadows of Dreams a worthwhile addition to your PDF collection. At the back of this poetry collection are a handful of magic items inspired by them.

Click here for the product listing at DriveThruFiction.