It's the First Day of Summer AND Free RPG Day!

To celebrate the first day of summer and Free RPG Day, we're offering three of our roleplaying games for free!

Until Midnight when June 21st turns into June 22nd, you can download Fists of Foolishness, which contains The Violent Worlds of Robert E. Howard RPG and a dozen short stories to get you the proper mood to run adventures with it; You vs. Me, a  crazy two-player, GM-less RPG by L.L. Hundal;; and Dyvil: First Edition by the legendary game designer and author Jeff Grubb, free of charge!

Additionally, the NUELOW Games Summer Special is still on sale at a reduced price. In addition to half a dozen summer-themed comics, it features a scenario compatible with both The Violent Worlds of Robert E. Howard and You vs. Me.

Check out the free games and summer deals before they are gone!

N is for Numa

While that may be Tarzan-ese for "Lion," the Numa being referred to here is perhaps the most obscure and short-lived Golden Age of Comics character that will be touched upon in this series of posts.

Numa to the rescue. Art by A.C. Hollingsworth

Numa was a busty, scantily clad jungle girl who used her vine-swinging talents and Judo mastery to right wrongs in the Congo. In her single two-page adventure, she rescued another white jungle-dwelling girl from being sacrificed to dark gods while exposing a pair of blasphemous thieves. Her story was published under the heading "Jungle Fables" in Rulah Jungle Goddess #18 from Fox Features Syndicate. Like Numa, that was the only time a Jungle Fable appeared in any Fox title, and I don't think the editors at Fox knew the meaning of the word "fable."

We are currently planning on including Numa's adventure in the soon-to-be-released Judy of the Jungle: Warriors of the Laughing Hyena. Numa's adventure was illustrated by A.C. Hollingsworth, one of the earliest African American artists to work for mainstream comic book packagers and publishers. Hollingsworth later went onto become a civil rights activist. (NUELOW Games as previously featured his work on the Purple Tigress, another strip from Fox Features Syndicate that we included in the first issue of Complete Golden Age Oddballs. (And if we end up not including her in the Judy of the Jungle book, Numa will show up with other Oddballs in a future issue of that series.)

Just for fun, here's Numa in the ROLF! game system.

NUMA (Female)

Brawn 18, Body 18, Brains 5

Traits: Busty, Martial Artist, Nimble

Combat Maneuvers: Backflip, Murderous Mitts, Signature Move, Strike Pose

Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Fur Bikini (Clothes, barely covers nakedness). Large Knife (Melee Weapon OR One-shot Ranged Weapon. Deals 2 points of damage.)

J is for Jeep and Peep

If you were around and reading comics in 1945, you may have come across Jeep Comics on the newsstands. But if you blinked, you would have missed the series... along with the publishers that released them (R.B. Leffingwell & Company and Spotlight Comics).

The stars of the three published issues of Jeep Comics were Jeep and Peep, a pair of crime-fighters and explorers of the unknown and mysterious who traveled about in a flying, jet-powered Jeep. Jeep, so nick-named because he loved Jeeps so much that he let the Army give him one instead of his discharge pay, wore a red cape everywhere he went, while teen-aged Peep dressed normally... although he probably wore powered sugar everywhere, as one story dealt with how he was getting too fat and out of shape to fight crime.

Yes... "Jeep and Peep" was a series ahead of its time. I have no doubt it would be very, VERY popular today in some circles, because it carries messages about childhood obesity and the importance of exercising, as well as of energy and natural conservation. Jeep's flying Jeep is powered by an amazing, fuel efficient jet engine he has created... it only takes two drops of lighter fluid for Jeep and Peep to fly a distance of a hundred miles or more.

I'm not sure what's going here, except that Jeep and Peep are driving on air!

Any book we release collecting the "Jeep and Peep" series will be a cherished item by anyone who wants to stop global warming, or who believed in Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign. In fact, I will probably send comp copies to environmental groups around the globe; maybe I can get it made required reading!

At any rate, "Jeep and Peep" are perfect candidates for the Complete Golden Age Oddballs series... and I suspect that you'll be able to see all the flying Jeep action collected for the first time in place sooner rather than later!

And just because I'll be writing these stats eventually anyway, here are Jeep and Peep ala ROLF!

JEEP (Male)
Brawn 18, Body 15, Brains 7
  Traits: Driver, Inventor, Honorable
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dodge, Double-Strike, Murderous Mitts, Strike Pose
  Important Things Worn/Wielded: Super-Cape (Armor, absorbs up to 2 points of damage).

PEEP (Male)
Brawn 13, Body 9, Brains 5
  Traits: Comic Relief, Driver, Improv Master
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Deflect, Disarm, Walking Disaster Area
  Important Things Worn/Wielded: Cheeseburger (Small One-shot Ranged Weapon, or tasty snack. Deals 1 point of damage).

F is for Front Page Peggy

Front Page Peggy is to reporters what Jill Trent is to entrepreneur inventors... in the sense that she's a successful woman in a male dominated field who can beat the living hell out of any bad guy who crosses her path. She headlined four stories (in Startling Comics #41 - 43 and The Fighting Yank #27, all during 1946) where she was seen chasing down stories and knocking out villains with a dedication that puts her male counterparts to shame. (Even when she is assigned a social page article, Peggy sniffs out a far more important story.)

The first look at Front Page Peggy. Art by Al Camy

Peggy is an example of the crusading/adventuring journalist that was a popular figure in movies, pulp fiction, comics during the 1930s and 1940s. Perhaps the best-known example of this character type is found in His Girl Friday starring Cary Grant and Roselind Russell.

The first two "Front Page Peggy" adventures were drawn by Al Camy, the primary artist on "Jill Trent, Science Sleuth." We will be including those in issues of Newshounds, our planned series collecting Golden Age comics featuring two-fisted reporters. (For a look at Al Camy's Jill Trent, check out any issue of Science Sleuths.)

Here's "Front Page" Peggy ala ROLF!:

PEGGY JENSEN (Female)
aka Front Page Peggy
Brawn 22, Body 18, Brains 7
   Traits: Improv Master, Nimble
   Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Dodge, Disarm, Knock Out, Murderous Mitts, Seduce
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Fashionable, yet practical, hat and dress (clothes). Purse (Small Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage).

C is for the Corsair Queen

The Corsair Queen and her ship Destroyer prowled the waters of the Caribbean in issues 25,26, and 27 of Buccaneers from Quality Comics. Her true name was Lila Evans, and she was the daughter of the governor of Cartago. When her father was murdered in a pirate raid, Lila took to the high seas in search of revenge and adventure. While posing as a pirate, she became the scourge of all injustice.

Corsair Queen is an example of how it was far more common-place for major publishers to have regular series that weren't superhero-centric. We will be presenting the two best of her adventures later this year in our Speak Like a Pirate Day Special in September. That product will also feature a ROLF! Battle Scenario that pits her against the very first woman to take up the mantle of the Black Cat. (By then, we may even include some rules for Lester Smith's CORE RPG. Time will tell!)

In the meantime, here she is ala ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters.

Lila Evans, the Corsair Queen (Female)
Brain 20, Body 17, Brains 7
Traits: Busty, Nimble, Honorable
   Battle Manuevers: Backflip, Basic Attack, Castrate, Disarm, Disembowel, Double Strike, Seduce, Strike Pose
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Flintlock Pistol (Small Ranged Weapon, deals 2 points of damage. Ignores armor. Cutlass (Medium Melee Weapon, deals 3 points of damage).

Introducing the Golden Age Oddballs!

Complete Golden Age Oddballs brings together every appearance of obscure, off-center characters from the earl years of the comic book medium. Most of these stories will never have been collected in one spot before.

The first installment of this new series from NUELOW Games, Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Prankster & Purple Tigress is now available for your enjoyment. Aside from the classic comics, it contains brief publication backgrounds for each character, as well as the roleplaying game content you've come to expect from a NUELOW Games comics project. Additionally, we place the Prankster and the Purple Tigress in our emerging "universe," which will be featured in Lester Smith's CORE Roleplaying Game.

Click here to see previews of the book, or to get your very own copy. And be sure to let us know what you think of it. Without your feedback, we can't make our releases better!

Is it time for a third Bill Clinton-starring product?

Trashy tabloid- and  rightwing websites are a-twitter over former United States President Bill Clinton posing with for a picture with a pair of (assumed) prostitutes from Carson City's Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel.

Barbie, Bill, and Ava

We thought we were all Clintoned out with ROLF!: Bill Clinton Meets a Girl Scout and ROLF!: Bill Clinton and the Secret City of Women, but maybe there's room for a trilogy here? Especially with Hillary Clinton getting ready for another run for the White House?

The various reporters are quick to note that Clinton may not have known he was posing with escorts who arrived with aging porn star Ron Jeremy, but, to borrow a phrase from Mrs. Clinton--WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?!?

ROLF!: Bill and Ron's Excellent Adventure almost writes itself. The only thing we have to decide is whether Carlos Danger is Friend or Foe.

There's a new Steven Seagal flick coming out!

As anyone visiting this blog (or any of the others I've maintained) knows, I have somewhat eclectic tastes. It should come as no surprise that I am awaiting Steven Seagal's latest DVD release with great expectation and curiosity.

What's more, it's set just north of where NUELOW Central is located--in Seattle!

A compiled version of two episodes from the True Justice television series, Dark Vengeance stars Seagal as Elijah Kane, who, with his team of detectives, is hunting down the Black Magic Killer. George Takei (of Star Trek and--well, being George Takei--fame) also makes an appearance.

I missed True Justice when it first aired during the 2011 and 2012 television seasons--being that I'm entering my 15th year of not having cable television at my home--so I'm looking forward to catching it now. I am even more fascinated by the fact that the serial killer in the film is, according to a promo blurb for the film, hunting victims in the "vagrant strip club underworld"... something which sounds like the title of a ROLF! supplement if you ask me.

And on that note, here is Steven Seagal ala ROLF!.(The Traits and Combat Maneuvers used, but not included in the core rules, can be found in ROLF!: Chinese Take Out.)

STEVEN SEAGAL (Male)
Brawn 33, Body 10, Brains 7
   Traits: Improv Master, Martial Artist, Stone Cold Killer
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disembowel, Dodge, Double Strike, Murderous Mitts, Signature Move, The Look.
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Black Outfit (Clothes), Samurai Sword (Medium Melee Weapon, deals 4 points of damage that ignore armor). Pistol (Small Ranged Weapon, deals 3 points of damage that ignore armor).

Dark Vengeance arrives in a Redbox kiosk near you on Feb. 27 (that's tomorrow!). I probably won't get to it until the weekend, so if you beat me to the film, be sure let me know what you think. Meanwhile, you can click here to check out a fan art contest the promotion company behind the film is hosting!

You can also click here to read reviews of Steven Seagal films I've posted to Watching the Detectives.

This may be a bit premature...

... but it appears that another End of the World has come and gone. And yet, we're all still here.

Epic ROLF! scenarios by Hundal & Miller

 According to the claims of some "Norse mythology experts," today (Feb 22, 2014) is the day the Vikings predicted the World Would End... Ragnarok wold bring low the gods, the earth, reality itself.

And it's safe to say they were wrong. Loki's pet wolf hasn't eaten the sun. Earthquakes haven't spat Jotuns from the earth (or whatever). While there are still a few hours left to go here in 2/22/2014 here at NUELOW Central, it's been 2/23/2014 for about two hours at our branch office in Wadyia, and they seem to be fine.

Boy, do we regret taking the week off here at NUELOW Games and spending it in recreating Viking feasts. We're going to have an epic hangover tomorrow, and we're going to have to catch up on lots of work.

However, in celebration of yet another End of the World that has come and gone, we are offering ROLF!: Apocalypse Not free of charge through this week's Day of Odin. (That's Wednesday for all you non-Viking types.)

ROLF! Apocalypse Not was part of our Final Battles series, which was created to countdown to to the predicted End of the World i 2012. They're all available in one big bundle that can be yours by clicking here!

A full year's of ROLF! madness from Hundal & Miller!

Introducing Ginger and Snap (via ROLF!)

This week, NUELOW Games will release Ginger and Snap, the first ever collection of a humor series featuring a pair of gender-role swapping twins. You can read more about the book and its background here, at Steve Miller's Shades of Gray blog.

Meanwhile, here at NUELOW games, we're offering you the all-new ROLF! trait, as well as ROLF stats for Ginger and Snap by L.L. Hundal.


NEW TRAIT FOR ROLF!
   Twin: You make two characters for the "price of one," each of them with the Twin attribute. Each character possesses this Trait and starts with one less Combat Maneuver and/or Spelling than their Brains ATT indicates. Each character also has the same scores in ATT, but one Twin must have his or her ATT scores lowered by 2 points. The points can be deducted from one ATT or divided. Each Twin’s Combat Maneuvers can as similar or different as the player chooses to make them.
   Depending on the Battle Scenario, the player of the Twins can start with both characters in play, or he can swap one out through the use of Run Away or some similar Maneuver that removes a character from a fight. The other Twin joins in the fight the following round at the appropriate point dictated by the ABBA sequence. This can be done as often as the player likes, but if the side of the player controlling the Twins ever is left with no active character in a fight, the other side wins.
   If a Battle Scenario specifies that characters start the Scenario with their ATT restored to starting levels, a Twin re-entering the fight does so with any lost ATT points intact.

   If a Twin is ever reduced to Zero Brawn, the other Twin immediately loses half his or her Brawn permanently.


PRE-GENERATED CHARACTERS FOR ROLF!
GINGER (Female)
Brawn 14, Body 12, Brains 7
   Traits: Improv Master, Twin (of Snap)
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Run Away, Strike Pose, Withering Insult
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: School Books (Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage OR One Shot Ranged Weapon, deals 1 point of damage).

SNAP (Male)
Brawn 13, Body 12, Brains 6
   Traits: Improv Master, Twin (of Ginger)
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dodge, Double Strike, Run Away, Strike Pose

   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: School Books (Melee Weapon, deals 1 point of damage OR One Shot Ranged Weapon, deals 1 point of damage).

Ginger (right) and her twin brother Snap

ROLF!: Shia LaBeouf vs. Alan Moore

Recently, actor Shia LaBeouf and writer Alan Moore separately announced their retirement from public life. A ROLF! battle scenario came to mind.

THE FUTURE HERMIT SMACKDOWN

By Steve Miller

(soon to be the work of Shia LaBeouf and Grant Morrison)

Permission granted to copy for personal use and amusement.

Backstory
"It's done!" said Shia LaBeouf. "I have announced my retreat from public life because of the meanies in the media... and I'm getting more attention than ever! Yay! It sure was great that Alan Moore did the same thing back just before New Year's or I may never have thought to do it!"
   There's a knock at the door.
   "Are you Shia LaBeouf?" asks the old man with the wild beard and hair when Shia opens the door.
   "Yes. I am the actor/writer/artist known as Shia, who recently retired from pubic life because of negative comments about me in the media."
   "I'm Alan Moore, and I'm here ta kill you, you fookin' thief!"

The Battle
The fight is for two players. each controlling a character. It continues until one of the characters is defeated.

The Characters
There are several traits and battle maneuvers not in the core ROLF! game. Sorry. Most of the ones not there can be found in ROLF!: Old and Angry. (The one all-new Trait, Plagiarist, is detailed under "New Traits.")

ALAN MOORE
Brawn 20, Body 13, Brains 7
  Traits: Improv Master, Old, So Very British
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Double Strike, Debate Philosophy, Dodge, Murderous Mitts, Signature Move, Withering Insult

Alan Moore

SHIA LABEOUF (Male)
Brawn 19, Body 19, Brains 4
  Traits: Improv Master, Plagiarist
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Strategic Bleeding, Strike Pose

Shia LaBeouf

New Traits
Plagiarist: Once per round, the character can use any Battle Maneuver or Spelling that has been used by any other character in the fight. If the ATT check to use the "borrowed" attack fails, the character loses one Body ATT point.


AND... A FEAT FOR USE WITH YOUR d20 SYSTEM GAMES!

In a show of appreciation for the great talent that is Shia LaBeouf, here is a feat for use with your d20 System. I'm putting it here, and I'm going to claim it as my own. After all, art should be free and we should all be free to claim that we create whatever art we feel like claiming we create!

Plagiarist [General]
You gain a +4 bonus to Linguistics checks to create (but not detect) forgeries, and when you impersonate a specific person those who know the target of your impersonation get only half the normal bonus to their Perception checks to realize you are a fake. (#microfeats)

Happy Christmas from NUELOW Games!

Just in time Christmas, we bring you A ROLF! Christmas Special: The Revenge of Santos (and other heartwarming battle scenarios). It's by the same crew that brought you last year's ROLF!: Christmas Chaos, and the centerpiece of this product is a standalone sequel not only to or very first Christmas Special--Santa vs. Santos vs. Jesus--but also to ROLF!: Hawaiian Manhunt.

If that isn't special enough, there's also a battle scenario that pits Frosty the Snowman against Abominable Snowmen, and one that answers the question "what would happen if Santa tried to collect James Randi's million dollar prize for proving his supernatural powers?"

In addition to all that gaming goodness, this booklet also features a nine-page comic starring Judy of the Jungle, because nothing says Christmas like a girl in a skimpy outfit swinging from vines!

As our gift to you, in thanks for visiting our blog, you can get The Revenge of Santos for 33% the normal price by using the links in this post.

May your Chirstmas Season be filled with much gaming!

Nothing can stop "Madden's Boys" (or the OGL Modern superhero rules)!

Our latest comics/rpg hybrid book is near and dear to the heart of NUELOW Games editor and designer L.L. Hundal She has a great affection for the art of Bill Madden... and this book features five stories penciled and inked by him.

Madden's Boys continues NUELOW Games's effort to shine a little light on cool forgotten characters and comic book creators and this is perhaps our most significant effort in that regard yet. Madden and his small body of work is so disregarded that even respected Golden Age historians respond with a "who?" when approached with questions. Like our previous Madden-centric books Mother Hubbard and The Unholy 3 & OGL Trickery, we present the entirety of a series he drew (in this case "Dynamic Boy") but the book also contains his contributions to the "Yankee Boy" series--the three inaugural stories of one the more successful creations to emerge from Harry 'A' Chesler's studio.

In addition to showcasing Bill Madden's dynamic artwork, Madden's Boys contains the most varied selection of roleplaying game material we've included in our comics/rpg hybrid books so far. Not only does it contain an all-new set of rules for making superheroes in d20 OGL Modern superhero games, but it also features game statistics for Dynamic Boy and Yankee Boy in the ROLF! and Hideout & Hoodlums game systems/ And it's all behind an original cover by Darrel Miller.

On New Comics Day this week, why don't you add a copy of Madden's Boys to your DriveThruComics shopping cart? You won't regret it!

Miley Cyrus ala ROLF! (with a special OGL d20 bonus feat)

In celebration of Miley Cyrus being named Artist of the Year by MTV, we present stats for her, so you can bring her to your gaming table. If you thought she was all about taking a dump on good taste and good music, you were wrong. MTV says so. It doesn't matter what it looks like she's doing in this picture.

ROLF!: MYLIE CYRUS 

MYLIE CYRUS (Female)
Brawn 14, Body 16, Brains 4
   Traits: Nimble, Too Sexy for My Shirt
   Combat Maneuvers: Backflip, Basic Attack, Dance Machine, Seduce
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Giant Foam Finger (Large Melee Weapon. Deals 1 point of damage).

THE MYLIE CYRUS FEAT (for OGL Modern and More!) 

By L.L. Hundal 

  Prehensile Tongue Your tongue is unnaturally elongated, strong, and good for much more than just tying cherry stems into knots.
    Benefit: You can use your tongue to perform any Dex based skill that involves manipulating small objects, such as Open Locks. The skill check DC is increased by +4.
   Special: Prehensile Tongue gives a +2 circumstance bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and/or Seduction skill checks as appropriate. Anyone who sees your tongue on display must roll a Fort save or be put off food for 2d6 hours.

--
Everything in this post, except the photo and Mylie Cyrus (who is defined as someone's product identity but not ours), is presented under the Open Gaming License. Copyright 2013 Steve Miller

Two new comics/RPG hybrids available now

The latest ebooks from NUELOW Games continue our ongoing efforts to bring great Golden Age comics to modern readers while simultaneously presenting fun new game material.

First up, we have ROLF!: Hawaiian Manhunt. It features a classic Sally the Sleuth episode by Adolphe Barreuax, a trio of outrageous battle scenarios that form a sort-of sequel by ROLF! co-creator L.L. Hundal, and pre-generated characters and two all-new Spellings --"Change Trait" and "Oh, No You Didn't!" (This marks Sally's third appearance in ROLF!, with Turkey Shoot and A Recipe for Evil being the previous two.)

Then, just released this past weekend, we offer a look at a certified classic--Dick Briefer's New Adventures of Frankenstein. After reading the first two installments of Briefer's legendary series, you can pit Frankenstein's Monster against another horror legend--Herbert West, the Re-Animator, in a new battle scenario for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game.

ROLF! co-creators L.L. Hundal and Steve Miller traded roles between the two books,  switching from editor to game designer respectively. We're both eager to hear what you think of these latest products, especially since Hundal has another Sally idea for the upcoming Christmas Special--for which we are still taking submissions.

A ROLF! John F. Kennedy Memorial Special

Like the attack on Pearl Harbor and the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was a shock to the American system and psyche, It's not surprising that the past couple weeks have seen lots of Kennedy coverage and retrospectives.

Never ones to misuse a moment/trend, we at NUELOW Games hereby offers one as well. On this very day,  November 22, fifty years ago President Kennedy was assassinated by a pathetic little monkey named Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was himself assassinated two days later, bringing about the events we relate below.

ROLF!: JOHN F. KENNEDY vs. LEE HARVEY OSWALD

Design: Steve Miller - Editing: L.L Hundal

Copyright Steve Miller 2013

(permission granted to copy for personal gaming use)

This is a simple battle scenario for two players that uses the Houseboat on the River Styx and The Associated Shades of Hades setting as its starting point. (Well, the deaths of President Kennedy and his assassin are the starting points, but the world of Houseboat is what lets them meet.

BACKSTORY

"Wait... what happened?"

   Lee Harvey Oswald, Soviet Dupe (although he himself considered himself a soldier in the international army of partisans fighting for the freedom of the oppressed and downtrodden), looked around, confused. One moment, he had been with police and other running dog capitalist lackeys, the next he was laying in the bottom of a gently rocking small boat, There was a little water in it, and his ass was wet.

   "You're crossing the River Styx, my good man," 

   Oswald sat up and looked at the hooded figure at the boat;s stern. It was a small man in a hooded cloak, operating an outboard motor that put-putted far more softly than he would have expected. The man's face couldn't quite be made out in the deep shadows of the hood, but his eyes glittered and his teeth shone as he smiled and told Lee, "There's someone on the shore who really wants to meet you."

   "I don't know what's going on, but you need to get me to a payphone." Harvey looked around. The boat was moving across inky black water that was as smooth as glass. The craft was bound tightly by a fog so heavy that the boat's wake could barely be seen and no land was visible in any direction.

   "Not one for reading, eh?" the boatman said with a hint of condemnation in his voice. "If you were, you'd know what the River Styx was. Pick up that manual on the seat there. I'll give you your bearings."

   Oswald's gaze turned to the point indicated by the old man's bony finger and saw a booklet with what appeared to be Adam and Eve on the cover titled So You're Dead--Now What?: A Newcomer's Guide to Hades.

   "What the hell are you playing at?" Oswald shouted, getting to his feet.

   "It's personalized service," the boatman replied. "Mostly because bloody Captain Ahab thought he saw the White Whale and ran the usual ferry aground trying to chase it, but also because John wanted to make sure he knew exactly where you'd arrive so he could get to know you."

   "Turn his boat around, or I'll kill you." Harvey growled.

   "All-ashore who're going ashore," the boatman replied. The sudden jolt of the boat running aground toppled Harvey and sent him tumbling through the air. He landed hard in the tall grass on the riverbank. "Mr. Kennedy, meet Mr. Oswald."

   Oswald's head was spinning from the impact and as he looked up, he saw an impossible figure looming over him--the broad-shouldered shape of John F. Kennedy--the man he had assassinated two days prior.

   "So you're the coward who shot me," Kennedy grumbled, pulling Oswald to his feet. "Let's see how tough you are face-to-face."

   "No. Wait. This can't be happening!"

   And that's when Oswald noticed that Kennedy had a big knife and a machine gun slung over his shoulder.

  "But it is," Kennedy replied. "On behalf of the Associated Shades of Hades, let me welcome you to the Afterlife with a richly deserved ass-kicking.

PRE-GENERATED CHARACTERS

These characters are made using a few Traits and Battle Maneuvers not found in the main ROLF! bookbook. They are in the ROLF!: Dead Presidents supplement. (If this had been an actual product, we would have provided them along with the characters.)

JOHN F. KENNEDY (Male) 
Brawn: 28; Body: 18; Brains: 8
    Traits: Egomaniac, Limousine Liberal
    Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Debate Philosophy, Knock Out, Seduction, Strike Pose,
Run Away!, Walk and Chew Gum
    Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Combat Knife (Small Melee Weapon. Deals 2 points of dmg). Machine Gun (Medium Ranged Weapon. Deals 3 points of dmg. Ignores Armor.).

LEE HARVEY OSWALD (Male... sort of)
Brawn is 19; Body 10; Brains 4.
    Traits: Coldhearted, Dead-Eye, Dumb
    Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Run Away!.
    Important Stuff Worn/Wielded:, Bayonet (Small Melee Weapon. 2 points of dmg.). Sniper Rifle
(Medium Ranged Weapon. 3 points of dmg. Ignores Armor.)

THE BATTLE SCENARIO
Kennedy and Oswald fight until one or the other is defeated. Then they can fight again the next day.

An Index of Houseboat on the River Styx ROLF! products:

The Associated Shades of Hades

Playwrights and Piledrivers

Serenade for Sirens in G Major

Dead Presidents

Want to contribute to the 2013 NUELOW Christmas Special?

It's the time of year when we turn our minds to our annual Christmas product. L.L. Hundal is working on a ROLF! battle scenario titled "Revenge of Santos" (or maybe "Return of Santos"... she's debating), but other than that we have no idea yet what else we're doing this year.

And this is where YOU have a chance to become a published writer or RPG designer (which is half a step above self-published).

The NUELOW Christmas Special needs YOUR submission of new ROLF! rules, characters, and battle scenarios, OGL d20 or OpenD6 material, comic strips, poems... so long as it's Christmas-y and a bit weird or funny, we're interested in it. Submissions are open until Monday, December 9.

Send us your contribution! Be an object of admiration for the dozens upon dozens of NUELOW Games fans out there.

Here are the official submissions guidelines:

1. Send your original creations as attachments or in the body of emails to stevemillermail@gmail.com. Text submissions must be a maximum 500 words in length. Cartoons and other graphics must be in jpg format. NUELOW Games is willing to review brief proposals to see if we like the idea before you execute it. NUELOW Games reserves the right to reject your completed submission even if we approved a proposal. By agreeing to review proposals and submissions, NUELOW Games is not establishing or implying any obligation between the submitter and itself.

2. All accepted submissions will be published under the Open Game License, except for elements that NUELOW Games chooses to define as Product Identity, and material for the ROLF! game. When your submission is accepted, you assign the copyright of your creation to NUELOW Games in exchange for a byline, a free copy of "Christmas Extravaganza," and a free copy of one other NUELOW Games product of your choice. (If any part of your creation is revised and used in future releases, you will also receive a byline.)

3. Payment will be made upon the release of "Christmas Special" depending on whether you have notified NUELOW Games as to your choice of free product.

4. All decisions by NUELOW Games staff are final.

(We hope to get submissions... it would be nice to get some new blood in our products!)

NUELOW Heroes & Villains: Ace Buckley and Toni Stark

In Science Sleuths #4 (releasing later this week), another science-minded couple joins the line-up--Ace Buckley and Toni Stark, time-travelers. They will also appear in Science Sleuths #5, and they may or may not be the stars of a Thanksgiving-themed ROLF! supplement. I have an idea for what I think is a cute short story that I hopefully will get done in time; if not, it will show in Science Sleuths #5.

Ace and Toni visit Queen Bess's England. More in Science Sleuths #4.

Meanwhile, here are Ace and Toni ala ROLF! (created with input from L.L. Hundal) along with a time-travel oriented, never-before-seen Combat Maneuver. Other Traits or Combat Maneuvers not in the basic ROLF! rule book can be found in Science Sleuths #4, or ROLF! Christmas Special III.

ACE BUCKLEY (Male)

Brawn 17, Body 15, Brains 8

   Traits: Dead-Eye, Driver, Improv Master, Too Sexy for My Shirt

   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Disarm, Dodge, Driver, Murderous Mitts, Sure Shot, Time Traveler

   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Type of Armor appropriate to time period he has traveled to (absorbs 1-3 points of damage); Medium-sized Melee or Ranged weapon, appropriate to the time period he has traveled to (deals 3 points of damage).

   Origin Story: Ace Buckley was an engineer and scientist who worked for the Stark Machine and Manufacturing Company. Einstein's Theory of Relativity fired his imagination, and he eventually designed what he was sure was a working time machine. Toni Stark, the daughter of Ace's boss, help fund the construction of an actual working machine... and then joined Ace on his travels through time to witness (and sometimes interfere with) historically important events. 

TONI STARK (Female)

Brawn 14, Body 15, Brains 7

   Traits: Busty, Nimble

   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Bitch Slap, Dance Move, Dodge, Seduce, The Walk, Time Traveler

   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Clothes appropriate for time period she has traveled to. Small Melee Weapon appropriate to the time she has traveled to (deals 2 points of damage).

   Origin Story: Although every bit as brilliant and scientifically minded as her brother Howard, their parents wanted nothing for Antonia "Toni" Stark but for her to find a socially suitable husband. Toni had different ideas, though, and she began befriending fringe scientists and researchers in the hopes of finding an outlet for her intellect and scientific curiosity. When she heard that an employee of her father's firm was pursuing time-travel technology in his spare time, she knew that she had to be part of that effort. She helped fund Ace Buckley's construction of a working time machine and became his traveling companion through the ages.

New Combat Maneuver

Time Traveler: The character has access to a time machine or some other method to travel through time. If a fight that is ended through the successful use of the Run Away Combat Maneuver, or similar game effect, the character uses his or her time travel machine to restart the fight. All characters return to their original starting position.

On sale now -- 'Science Sleuths #3'

As seems appropriate for the third issue of our popular Science Sleuths comic/rpg anthology series,we're bringing installments of three different series featuring crime-fighting scientists.

With Science Sleuths #3,"Rocketman" gets added to the mix. "Rocketman" chronicles the adventures of Cal Martin and his fiancee Doris Dalton. Partners in love and business, who also share a passion for crime-fighting, they are brilliant inventors who have chosen to keep their greatest inventions for themselves and to use them to become the costumed superheroes Rocketman and Rocketgirl.

This issue also features ROLF! stats for Rocketman and Rocketgirl.

For the next few issues, "Rocketman" will be the lead feature in Science Sleuths, with Jill Trent becoming the backup feature. Some of the "Rocketman" stories will be extra-special, as they will feature partially new scripts by NUELOW Games's lead designer and publisher Steve Miller.. This issue marks the final time Spider Queen slings her webs, though.

Click here to see previews of Science Sleuths #3 and to get yoiur very own copy. You can read more and see an additional preview of this issue at the Shades of Gray blog.

When life imitates ROLF!: Hollie-May Saker vs. the Feminazis!

We should have written this battle scenario. But real life beat us to it.

A pair of Rush Limbaugh's Feminazis tore off their shirts and stormed the catwalk at the Paris Fashion Week. They harassed and "manhandled" one of the models. The model, Brit Hollie-May Saker, punched one of them in the nose and continued modeling the flapper-style dress she was wearing.

You can read all about it in "That Bitch Ruined My Walk" by clicking here.

And, inspired by actual events, here are a couple of battle scenarios and ROLF! stats for Hollie-May Saker (and I really hope that last name is pronounced "sack-her" and not "say-ker"), FEMEN Feminazi protesters, and Rush Linbaugh. Yes... Rush Limbaugh has nothing to do with Paris Fashion Week or Hollie-May Saker, but we once Hollie-May is done kicking the crap out of the Feminazis, the Feminazis can vent their frustrations on Limbaugh.


PRE-GENERATED CHARACTERS

HOLLIE-MAY SAKER (Female)
Brawn 15, Body 17, Brains 5
   Traits: Improv Master, Nimble, Short-tempered, Too Sexy for My Shirt,
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Murderous Mitts, Strike Pose, The Look, The Walk
Important Stuff Work/Wielded: High Fashion (Clothes), Smartphone (One-shot Ranged Weapon. Deals 1 point of damage).


FEMEN PROTESTER/FEMINAZI (Female)
Brawn 12, Body 14, Brains 3
Traits: Dour, Too Sexy for My Shirt
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Bitch Slap, Castrate
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Penis-shaped Club (Melee Weapon. Deals 2 points of damage).


RUSH LIMBAUGH (Male)
Brawn 11, Body 12, Brains 6
   Traits: Jolly, Too Sexy for My Shirt
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Disarm, Dodge, Knock Out, Run Away
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Expensive Suit (Clothes), Cigarcase (One-shot Ranged Weapon. Deals 1 point of damage). The Golden EIB Microphone (Melee Weapon. Deals 2 points of damge.

For more fashion-world mayhem and violence, check out ROLF!: Supermodel Slapfest. The Combat Maneuvers featured in the previous character designs not in the main rules can be found in that supplement.

And just because, here are some random pictures of Holly-May Saket...