And now they're purging their own...

The RPG industry crusaders and protectors of all that is good and pure, and the promoters of inclusive inclusivity of the highest calibre are running out of miscreants to spotlight and throw into the pit. So now they appear to be going after their own.

Christopher Helton has authored this naked hit piece on Sean Patrick Fannon: New Allegations Show More Work Needs to be Done. Fannon has been a reliable and outspoken supporter of efforts to destroy the evil sexists and racists and bigots and anyone else who fails to demonstrate how much they hate fascists and oppressors by beaving like a fascist and oppressor. And yet, Helton has reached back several years to "expose" accusations leveled by mostly anonymous individuals... and accusations that, as far as I recall, predate Fannon's required public affermation of his status as a Crusader and Protector of All That is Good and Right and True.

I suppose the lesson here is that once you're a sinner, you're always a sinner. There's no redemption, no forgiveness, no hope of ever gaining grace... because no matter what, once your fellow believers run out of the wicked to pursue and crush, they will turn inward and start purging the ranks. And those who have confessed their sins provide a ready-made target list for lazy people like Helton to work off.
Or maybe Fannon became a target because didn't praise the right game product in the right way... or maybe he praised the wrong one? (For those who might not know, Sean Patrick Fannon is a game designer and reviewer who is perhaps best known these days for Sean's Pick of the Day.)

Whatever the motivation, Helton has unleashed the shrieking angels of vengeance upon Fannon with a by-the-book hitpiece. I have seen his post referred to as "journalism." As a one-time feature writer and features editor, I wouldn't have wanted my name on this sort of badly sourced rumor mongering, nor would I accepted this trash as an editor, even with the lower standards for what is good reporting and what isn't. Except the purpose here was almost certainly not to practice good journalism.

It's worth noting that Fannon has posted a response to Helton's character assassination--a response that even starts and ends with the Litany of the Protectors of All That is Good and Right and True. You can read that here. It's much better written, and much better supported with sources and quotes, and generally shows Fannon to be the superior writer (and journalist for that matter).

So... if you've made a confession because you wanted to prove your Righteousness in the eyes of the Inquistion, beware. They may come for you as they came for Fannon.

Body Wraps of Dimension Travel

Here's a magical item for use in your just about any roleplaying game.

Body Wraps of Dimension Travel
Found in sets of three, nine, and twelve, they are tightly wound spools of six-inch wide strips of a silken fabric. They can be of any color. If inspected with a detect magic spell or ability, the cloth radiates transmutation magic, and an Atlantean symbol becomes visible every six inches.

The Body Wraps of Dimension Travel were created by Atlantean Witches as a means of letting non-witches, non-spellcasters, or spellcasters unable to traverse dimensions to join them on jaunts to other universes and planes. Each set is pre-enchanted with a specific destination and users are transported to that location with unfailing accuracy, regardless of any wards or anti-magic fields that may be in place at either end of the journey.

Each spool contains enough fabric to wrap a large human completely from head-to-toe; it is virtually impossible for a person to wrap themselves, as they must be wrapped so tight that they are unable to move and no part of their body must be exposed. No clothes or items of jewelry or external body piercing can be worn under them if the wraps are to function.



Art by Murphy Anderson

When the command word is spoken (the symbol on the fabric), wrapped characters are shifted from their present plane and location to the destination enchanted into the wraps. The wrap is consumed during the transfer, so the characters arrive naked. (Typically, the point of arrival is a chamber within a base of operations established by Atlantean Witches. It contains robes, sandals, and other basic equipment.)

Since the destruction of the Atlantean outposts on Earth, the secret to creating Body Wraps of Dimension Travel on our world has been preserved by the magical heirs to the Atlantean legacy, the Witchkind. Using the wraps is a one-way trip, although if users arrive at a location still inhabited by Atlantean Witches, or which has been taken over by the Witchkind (or can otherwise locate them), a return trip may be facilitated.

You can read more about the Witchkind and Atlantean magic in Love Witch (by Marv Wolfman and Steve Miller, with art by Ernie Colon and Don Heck) and Secrets of the Witchkind (by Steve Miller, with art by Bradley K. McDevitt).

Need a Valentine's Day palate cleanser?

Whether you want to get the sticky-sweet taste out of your mouth because you're bitter, or because you want to prepare for what's to come on this Day of Celebrating Romance and Love, we have just the collection of stories for you to read!

Art by Basil Wolverton

Weird Romance, the latest release from NUELOW Games is a collection of short horror, humor, and fantasy tales that are all tinged with the rosey color of romance. These stories were produced by great talents such as Steve Ditko, Dick Giordano, Basil Wolverton, Sam Schwartz, and others. They are well worth your time and money, whether you are just looking for some great reading material or have an interest in the lesser-known works of men who helped build the foundation upon which modern sequential storytelling rests. In addition to the great comics, the book also features a series of tables with which you can randomly generate a love interest for a player character in just about any RPG syste, (It wouldn't be a NUELOW Games release if we didn't toss RPG support in with the comics!)

You can get Weird Romance at RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, and DriveThruComics.

And for good measure, here's a trio of Valentine's Day-related adventure seeds...

* A cleric (or otherwise spiritual character) is awakened in the night by a small, winged humanoid--Cupid! He is being hunted by a group of cultists who want to eliminate love and romance from the world, clearing the way for the return of the Great Old Ones. Cupid is begging for the character's help and protection.

* A sworn and very deadly enemy of a player character suddenly wants not only a truce but also a romantic relationship with him or her. If rebuffed, the enemy will start to make life hell for everyone around the character until he or she accepts the offer of love. Investigations reveal that Cupid missed a shot his magic arrowand has caused this trouble. The party must find the demigod and get him to lift the spell. (In the end, the enemy, if the situation is handled correctly, could end up as an ally of the party, due to residual effects of the magic;)

* Cupid is distraught, because his female counterpart has been abducted by persons unknown. He demands that the party find and free her, or he will not inspire love and romance in anyone every again.

Piper Perabo (cos)playing Female Cupid

The Love Witch has been unleashed!

Last month, we previewed some of the game material that was slated for Love Witch, a book collecting some early work by legendary comics creators Marv Wolfman and Ernie Colon (with additional art by Jack Able, Don Heck, and Mike Esposito). The book is now out, and available for purchase! (And if you liked NUELOW's Sorceress of Zoom books, you'll love Burnick the Love Witch!)

The cover for Love Witch from NUELOW Games

Love Witch features three illustrated tales of dark fantasy set in the times of legend following the destruction of Atlantis. Taking his cue from Wolfman's work, veteran game designer and NUELOW head-honcho created a new set of flexible spellcasting rules for the d20 System game. Relying on the feats and talents mechanics, and completely divorced from specific classes, this system captures magic use as shown in comics, movies, and fiction more effectively than the standard rules. While it is presented as being the spellcasting methods of Atlantis, it can be used in any setting or time-frame in which your campaign is set.

Click here to see previews of Love Witch at RPGNow, or to get your own copy. The book is also available at DriveThruComics and DriveThruRPG.

'Monster, Monster: Vampires' on sale now!

With game designer Andrew Pavlides and artist Pablo Marcos once again front-and-center, we've released our third product for D&D Fifth Edition--Monster, Monster: Vampires! 

Cover art by Michael Wolmarans

Monster, Monster: Vampires is more than twice the size of the previous entries in the series. It contains five vampire variants of use with your Fifth Edition games, three adventure hooks revolving around unique vampire personalities, and two chilling, offbeat illustrated vampire tales. Andrew and Pablo are joined this time out by "guest contributors" Ed Fedory and Steve Miller, while Robert Martin and Ricardo Villamonte provide most of the spot illustrations. It's all behind a creepy cover by Michael Wolmarans.

Monster, Monster: Vampires is available at RPGNow, DriveThruComics, and DriveThruRPG. You can see previews at any of those sites. Further, it's already been reviewed! Click here to see what was said bout the book on the RPG Crazy blog.

Heroes of 7-Eleven: The Feat and Talent Tree

A goofy project that we're putting together here at NUELOW Games is the OGL d20 Modern supplement Heroes of 7-Eleven. Here are drafts of an all-new starting occupation, feat, and talent tree that will appear in it.

The following text is presented under the Open Game License. Copyright 2016 by Steve Miller.

NEW STARTING OCCUPATION

Clerk

You're a proud employee of the greatest convenience store chain on the planet!

   Prerequisite: Age 18+.

   Skills: Choose three of the following skills as permanent class skills. If a skill the character selects is already a class skill, he or she receives a +1 competence bonus on checks using that skill. Craft (electronic, mechanical, or structural), Climb, Drive, Intimidate, Listen, Repair, Spot.

   Bonus Feat: Select either Alterness or Confident

   Wealth Bonus Increase: +1.

NEW FEAT

Shift Worker

You don't need as much rest as normal mortals, so you can bounce with almost no notice from day shift to graveyard shift to swing shift with no problem! And double shifts? Not only not a problem--they're invorating!

   Benefit: You only need half the regular amount of rest and sleep to recover lost hit points, class abilities, and so on. This feat stacks with other feats or talents that reduces a character's need for rest.

   Prerequisite: Con 11

By Niall O'Loughlin

NEW TALENT TREE

Hero of 7-Eleven Talents

Day after day, you fight the good fight against self-absorbed morons who believe they are always right. They call themselves "customers," but you know them as "pains-in-the-ass." And then there's the tweakers and the wanna-be gangsters who for some reason think there's more than $40 in the till, and who are willing to shoot you and any pains-in-the-ass that happen be around for it. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. That someone is, sadly, you. But you have some unique talents to help you survive...
   Feign Concern: When pretending to care about complaints, compliments, or threats regarding your job performance, workplace appearance, or anything relating to your place of employment or your employer, you gain a +4 bonus to all Bluff and Diplomacy skill checks. When inside any retail establishment, you also gain a +4 bonus to all Sense Motive skill checks.
   Bonus Feat: Gain one of the following feats instead of a talent. You must meet all qualifications and prerequisites for a feat before you may select it. You may do this up to five times.
   Altertness, Attentive, Confident, Elusive Target, Endurance, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, and Meticulous.
   Prerequisite: Shift Worker or Feign Concern talent
   Day Manager Material: As Feign Concern, but the bonus to Bluff and Diplomacy skill checks increases to +8.
   Prerequisite: Feign Concern
   Night Manager Material: When inside any retail establishment, you gain a +6 bonus to all Spot and Dodge skill checks. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus to your Initiative rolls and Defense Rating.
   Prerequisites: Feign Concern, Shift Worker feat

Did you find this material amusing and/or useful? Support my efforts to bring fun RPG material to the world by buying some of NUELOW Games' releases at RPGNow. Click here to see a selection!

Remains of Atlantis: The Daughters of Burnick and the Watchers of the Stones

One of the books that's moving its way through the NUELOW Games production process has the tentative title of The Love Witch. We're especially thrilled at this one, because we're producing it through an arrangement with the legendary Marv Wolman , the co-creator of the title character. Wolfman is perhaps best known for his work on Marvel's Tomb of Dracula and DC's The New Teen Titans, but he has worked on many, MANY great series and characters over his four-decades-and-counting long writing career. Words can't express how excited we are to be able to produce The Love Witch book.
By way of preview, here's a sample of the non-comics material that will be in the book. It is by Steve Miller, inspired by Wolfman's work. The feat (Atlantean Magic) is released under the Open Game License, but all other text in this post is considered Product Identity and may not be reproduced without the express permission of the copyright holder. Copyright 2016 by Steve Miller.




NEW FEAT
Atlantean Magic
You have discovered the magical practices a lost civilization.
   Prerequisite: 3rd-level, Allegiance to the Daughters of Burnick, the Watchers of the Stones, or some other secret society that traces its roots back to Atlantis.
   Benefit: The character may cast a number of Arcane or Divine spells equal to the total of your Intelligence and Wisdom bonuses per day. The character may cast the spells at will, with no need to memorize them ahead of time, but you can only cast spells that you have mastered by learning them from someone who already knows them, or by learning them from Atlantean texts. The casting time, somatic, and verbal components of the spells remain, whatever is listed in the spell description, but all material components are replaced by this feat. The caster level is equal to the character's total number of levels.
   Special: Each spell cast drains some of the character's life force. Each spell cast drains 100 XP per spell level. The character can't lose more XP than the absolute minimum of the current character level, and any attempt to cast a spell that would cause the character to drop below that threshold automatically fails. (0-level spells of course drain no XP.)


NEW ORGANIZATIONS
Daughters of Burnick
After the destruction of Atlantis, the magic-using orders in the colony on the modern-day British Isles fell into a state of civil war. The Philiamancers (whose magic practices were based in personal connections and love) and Biomancers (whose magic was drawn from the savage power of nature) struggled against each other for generations, each order becoming more brutal and unforgiving of each other and even their own members with each passing decade. The last leader of the Philiamancers was Burnick the Love Witch, a woman who had been raised to wage war and whose heart was full of hatred rather than love. She was eventually defeated as much by the Biomancers as her own dark heart, and her passing also marked the end of the entire art of Philamancers.
   In the early 19th century, an amateur archeologist and mystic, Lady Elizabeth Harrow, discovered a coastal cave that had been the home of Burnick and her closest retainers. She spent 30 years translating the manuscripts and discerning the purpose of the many artifacts she located, and, upon practicing some of the rituals, she became the first person in more than 10,000 years to practice the lost art of Philamancy.
   Shortly afterwards, Lady Elizabeth founded the Daughters of Burnick, a chartable organization on the surface but in actuality a secret society made up entirely of women. Today, the Daugthers of Burnick are active around the world, openly promoting awareness about women's rights and healthcare issues, while secretly working to change male dominated societies through a variety of means. The organization is funded through charitable donations and a trust that Lady Elizabeth established in her will. The Daughters of Burnick has been headquartered in Harrow Manor, and, unknown to all but the most highly ranking members, Lady Elizabeth remains in charge, having acquired eternal youth and near-immortality through the ancient Atlantean rites.

Elizabeth Harrow, leader of the Daughters of Burnick

   Purpose and Goals: The Daughters of Burnick exists to defend women against abuse and oppression  of male dominated societies, and to promote the equality of women around the world. They generally use social activism and political means to further their goals, but the secret part of the organization use a variety of means, up to and including magic, to achieve their ends.
   Attitudes: The Daughters of Burnick are fiercely devoted to economic and social equality between the sexes, but they always use measured responses when dealing with opponents. When facing philosophical disagreements, they use words and logic in their attempts to overcome them; when faced with legal challenges, the court room is where they face them; and when confronted with violence, they use violence--or magic. Violence, magic, and other extreme measures are the province of the hidden part of the organization, and such activities are always approved and coordinated by Lady Elizabeth herself.
   Membership: Anyone can join the public Daughters of Burnick charity for a $15 annual membership fee. The organization also employs hundreds of people in all sorts of capacities worldwide, from janitors, to security officers, to accountants and attorneys. Women of particular skill-sets (such as those possessed by those with levels in hero classes), or who have an aptitude for magic and share the organization's distaste for social inequity and the mistreatment of women, may be invited to join the hidden side of the Daughters of Burnick. The vetting process is a long one, and prospective members are put through many tests before they are invited to meet with Lady Elizabeth and initiated into the ancient secrets at the heart of the organization.
   Enemies: ISIS, the Taliban, and other groups who include the oppression of women as their agenda frequently target Daughters of Burnick. The Watchers of the Stones are suspicious of the Daughters of Burnick, as they fear it will be the vehicle that will bring about the foretold return of their ancient enemy.

The Watchers of the Stones
After the destruction of Atlantis, old rivalries between the male-dominated Biomantic and the female-dominated Philiamantic schools of magic erupted into full-fledged war, as the citizens of the Atlantean colony on the modern-day British Isles turned on each other in a desperate struggle for survival. It was a conflict that lasted for centuries, but eventually the Biomancers won, completely eradicated the Philiamancers with a tremendous ritual that left the center of Biomantic power nearly drained of all energy. The victory of the Biomancers over the Philiamancers was further made hollow by the fact that they themselves were also nearly wiped out in the final battle.
   Today, the mystic traditions of Atlantean Biomancers are continued by a small and secretive cult of druids. They are based in Amesbury, a small town near Stonehenge. Long ago, a seer predicted that the last Philiamancer, Burnick the Love Witch, would emerge from the mists of time and resume the war.
   Purpose and Goals: The Watchers guard what magic that remains in the ancient structure. They fight anyone who tries to use its magic without their permission and cooperation. They also watch for the return of Burnick, and if they cannot reason with her they hope that they will be strong enough to destroy her.

Mason Garrity, leader of the Watchers

   Attitudes: Until the occult craze of the 1960s, the Watchers were secretive and kept their true beliefs and performed their ceremonies hidden from view. Now, the order owns and operates a shop in Amesbury, named Children of Stonehenge, that sells Stonehenge souvenirs and occult paraphernalia. Most of what the store offers is trinkets for tourists and toys for wanna-bes, but those with knowledge of the occult will recognize that some of the pricier items are genuine magical foci and other components needed for rituals and spells. Similarly, those extremely well-versed in occult lore will recognize the ancient druidic symbols that are plainly part of the shop's logo. If a person asks about the symbols, whoever is working in the shop will quietly acknowledge that the store is indeed run by druids who have dwelled in the area since before Stonehenge was erected.
    Membership: Membership is the Watchers of the Stones is limited to the twelve families that have been the heart of the order/secret society since its founding. The families have been prolific, however, and the Watchers have potential members everywhere in the world. They have always very carefully tracked the lineages of the Twelve Families, and they sometimes reach to a "lost member" in times of need, informing the person of their heritage and giving him or her the change to unlock the mystical potential he or she possesses.
   Enemies: Any organization that uses magic to harm innocents or twist the proper course of nature will find themselves opposed by the Watchers of the Stones. The group is also anticipating the eventual return of Burnick the Love Witch, and they stand ready to fight her when that day comes. They also have a general dislike of Lady Elizabeth, leader of the Daughters of Burnick, since she has used magic to restore her youth and extend her life.


--
If you found this post interesting or useful, we hope you'll check out some of our releases that tie into the NUELOW Games tale of Atlantis, such as Secrets of the Immortals and Jungle Terrors.

Rulah, Jungle Goddess, joins NUELOW's line-up

In 1947, daredevil Jane Dodge vanished while flying her plane over Africa... and that's when her life really began.

NUELOW Games has just released the first volume in a new series of comics/rpg jungle adventure books--Rulah, Jungle Goddess. It's a series that occupies a middle ground between the straight-up adventure stories found in our Judy of the Jungle titles, and the fantasy/horror-tinged tales in The Three Lives of Fantomah books, as Rulah battles foes who are both natural and supernatural.

Rulah, Jungle Goddess contains the story of how Jane Dodge became Rulah, as well as three other adventures that sees her battle Nazis, evil priests, and monstrous harpies. In addition, it features OGL d20 Modern rules that are geared toward letting players make characters who are living gods and goddesses like Rulah... and even ones who have supernatural powers like Fantomah. (The game section has a new starting occupation, two new talent trees, and several feats fit for a living goddess.)

Click here to see previews of Rulah, Jungle Goddess, or to get your own copy at RPGNow. You can also get the book from DriveThruComics by clicking here..

The OGL d20 Modern rules in Rulah, Jungle Goddess make great additions to the material presented in Modern Basics: Jungle Action, and they're fully compatible with all the feats- and talent tree-based d20 superhero mechanics that we've published.

Two new templates for the OGL d20 System... and comics!

The latest in release from NUELOW Games is in perfect keeping with the season of October, as it loaded with ghosts, werewolves, and general weirdness.

Art by Bernard Bailey and Dave Berg

Ghost Woman... Also Featuring Spooks contains two early works from Dave Berg, best known for his gentle ribbing of American culture in the pages of MAD Magazine, a tale from Bernard Bailey, and two new templates, a talent tree, and feats for d20 System that bring new twists to life and death .

The Berg stories tell the tale of a college professor who, after being murdered by an embezzler, returns to Earth in spirit form to fight injustice. The story from Bailey, featuring ghosts, undead werewolves, and the origin of a monster hunter, manages in eight pages to present a sketch of a game setting more interesting than many source books manage in 80.

The RPG material is by Steve Miller, who worked on the Ravenloft gothic horror game setting. It includes a template that allow player characters to remain in play even after they've suffered a final and irreversible death, a template that introduces a new kind of werewolf that more closely resembles the ones of folklore, and a new talent tree and feats that support the templates. (Talent trees are used in the OGL d20 Modern game, but the templates and feats are usable in any RPG that is based on the d20 System.)

Ghost Woman... Also Featuring Spooks is available at RPGNow and DriveThruComics. Click on your preferred site to see previews or to get a copy.

NUELOW Games offers the world an apology

We're sure you've all heard about the flying city that appeared in the sky over China. It looked like this:

There have been all sorts off theories posited regarding what that is. Some say it was a Fata Morgana. Others say a dimensional portal opened, and we got a glimpse into an alternate reality. Yet others say that China was experimenting with highly advanced laser holographic projection technology, or that they've created a flying city using anti-grav technology.

The Sorceress of Zoom.
Portrait by Bradley K. McDevitt

All of those theories are wrong.

The truth is that what everyone saw was the City of Zoom, the dimension-traveling home of the Sorceress. And we apologize for the panic and confusion it caused.

NUELOW head-honcho Steve Miller was discussing with the Sorceress what to include in the third volume of our Sorceress of Zoom series. During that conversation, Miller was munching on one of those black Halloween burgers from Burger King. He mentioned that eating one reportedly turns your poop green, and the Sorceress decided she wanted to acquire some to feed to her minions. Miller, unfortunately, referred to Burger King as "B-King" and the Sorceress thought he said "Peking."

We apologize to the world for the panic this has caused. We apologize specifically to the hundreds of Chinese citizens that were abducted by the Sorceress in her search for black hamburgers, especially those she temporarily turned into komodo dragons or bowls of egg drop soup.

Miller has promised that he will never interact directly with the Sorceress again, but will instead leave all communications with her to Chuck  Norris or L.L. Hundal. Please don't sue us.

For more insights into the truth behind the flying city that appeared in the sky above China, read The Sorceress of Zoom and The Sorceress of Zoom: Down to Earth from NUELOW Games. During 2016, we plan on releasing a third volume in the series. The Sorceress has asked that we include rules describing her in the OLG version of the Traveller game system. It's her favorite, because characters can die during creation. You can read sample pages from the existing books at the Shades of Gray blog by clicking here.

See Previews or Buy at DriveThruComics

See Previews or Buy at DriveThruComics.

'Tournament of Rapists' hysteria hits the Big Time!

Right-wing news website Brietbart.com has published an article about the Tournament of Rapists dust-up. You can read it here. It's mostly a factual account of the crusade launched by the Brigades of the Outraged, Onebookshelf's response, and the appearance of a new mob of unreasoning, hysterical people.

You can't tell, but it goes to 11.

While the Brietbar writer (Allum Bokhari) gets more things right than the majority of those I see still commenting about the "controversy"--fanatical dingbats at either end of the spectrum whose main objective it seems is to keep outrage alive and to encourage "action" not against the publisher of the offending product but rather against Onebookshelf.com, a company that hundreds of publishers and thousands of independent creators use to distribute their products online--he has picked up and amplified their favorite line; That Tournament of Rapists is a game.

The offending product was not a game. Period. I really wish people would stop parading their ignorance around. I don't care what "side" of this "fight" they're on. I'm not terribly surprised that the Brigades of the Outraged don't know what it is they're actually outraged about--why let facts of reality get in the way of a good riot?--but lately I've been seeing equally ignorant blather from people who should know better.

It's gaming brilliance, but NOT a game.

Tournament of Rapists is not a game. Not even close. It was a supplement to a setting that uses the same game engine that many NUELOW Games releases use. It's the same game engine that the popular Pathfinder Roleplaying Game uses. All of our publications are produced, to a greater or lesser extent, by virtue of the Open Game License. But Tournament of Rapists was no more than a "game" than Modern Basics: Jungle Action or Feary Tales are games. They are supplements. They are part of a vast tapestry of available roleplaying supplements, tiny threads that have no meaning or purpose beyond the game they tie into.

If bug-eyed, would-be morality police (followed closely by equally hysterical freedom of expression supporters) hadn't seized on Tournament of Rapists as a way to further their respective agendas, this thing would have sold half a dozens copies and then slipped into oblivion... maybe selling one or two additional ones each month. (I am assuming something as niche-of-a-niche as this would sell on the level of items I consider failures here at NUELOW). In other words, no one would have known or cared of its existence. Certainly, there wouldn't be shrieking mobs of ill-informed assholes calling for "action" against literally thousands of creative people who had nothing whatsoever to do with Tournament of Rapists.

I have, as they say, a dog in this fight. NUELOW Games has an exclusive distribution agreement with Onebookshelf.com. Back in 2011, when we were reviving NUELOW, I emailed Warehouise23.com (another online distributor/retailer of games) to see if they would carry us... and Warehouse23 couldn't even be bothered to give me the courtesy of a reply. Onebookshelf, on the other hand, has always been responsive to my questions as a publisher, They also mostly leave me alone to manage my own little store that is serviced on their sites. Just like they do with everyone else who publishes and distributes through them.

I like that freedom. I like the fact that they treat me as if I matter, even though my company is strictly small-fry. (We never have strong enough sales to make to the left-hand listing of publishers on the front page, and we rarely break the Top 50% of best-selling publishers in a month, except for the niches we serve where we are usually in the Top 5%... but that's a sign of how small the audience is for what we produce rather than a measure of success). However, the freedom that I have to release what I want, when I want, and how I want--within certain well-defined technical quality parameters--is what the mob of would-be censors want to put a stop to. I've seen some of the greater idiots issue demands for Onebookshelf to approve releases before they go up, because of the "rape game" that, as I spelled out above, never existed.

Onebookshelf came up with a policy to handle "offensive content" that should satisfy any reasonable person. You can read it here if you like.. It provides a way for the outraged to inform management of their displeasure, and it spells out the steps that Onebookshelf's staff will take in response to said outrage that is fair to publishers and the hyperventilating alike. It's a policy that more or less keeps business as usual, but adds a safety valve to the process.

Naturally, it didn't appease the most fanatical of the self-righteous crusaders. They continue to stir up their mobs, who continue to swallow their half-baked cow chips and fantasies about a "rape game.' That is not particularly shocking to me, as I long ago observed that the worst thing you can do is to let the self-righteous leaders mobs of the perpetually offended sense weakness; nothing will satisfy them.and they will just keep coming. All you can do is make sure they don't have convincing arguments for the intelligent and sane majority out there.

Aw, hell. Another Internet Mob. Is there an unending supply of halfwits out there?

But. to my surprise, the sensible policy of Onebookshelf inspired another group to encourage minions to go on a rampage of boycotts and general stupidity. "Onebookshelf has given into the mob," they claimed. "Onebookshelf is going to censor our game! Look! They already banned that game over there--the rape game, you've been hearing about! Take your business elsewhere!"

Yeah... certain publishers, proclaimed libertarians, and self-described and self-appointed defenders or roleplaying games were now using the same fucking approach that the self-appointed morality- and thought-police were using. People who should know better, who should be able to recognize a "business as usual" policy, were stirring up new mobs of uniformed halfwits that, in the long run, could only have the effect of damaging everyone's business. To make it worse, they were just as unable to tell a "game" from a "supplement," as the Brigades of the Outraged.

There are morons to the left of me, and there are idiots to the right. Which brings me back to the top.

The Breitbart writer got his facts wrong, just like the Brigades of the Outraged. It's rather embarrassing for him that his article is under a headline stating "Social Justice Warriors Attack Tabletop Gaming, Get Their Facts Hopelessly Wrong," since he accepted the total white-wash that Skortched Urf put forth about Tournament of Rapists AND he picked up the distortion that it's a "game." I would have much preferred this article--which is well-intended and exactly in the place where reasonable people should stand on the topic of Onebookshelf, the hundreds of publishers served by it, and Tournament of Rapists--wasn't marred by the distortions spewed by those who want to make it more difficult for me to publish what I want, and for you to buy what you want for your gaming groups.

Well... thank you for reading. Do come back some other time when I may actually have posted some fun game content--most likely not a game, though. Just something that can be used with a game. If you made it this far, however, you must either be a real fan, or really bored. In either case, perhaps I can interest you in some of the products carried by Onebookshelf that I have contributed to for NUELOW Games, TSR, Wizards of the Coast, White Wolf and several others? Your purchase will be a symbolic and actual victory over the rampaging Internet Warriors. Click here to see a selection of what is available.

Please? Everything you buy helps me and other creators pay rent and eat.

The Staff of Steves - a magic item of great power and wonder!

Once upon a time, Steve Miller went to lunch with two luminaries from the gaming industry. While gnoshing on tasty vittles, one of them observed, "Everyone at this table is named Steve."

So was born the legendary League of Steves. (Or maybe the Stint of Steves, or Sleeve of Steves... a Facebook poll about what to call a gathering of Steves did not lead to a clear answer. But it did lead to the inspiration for the most brilliant magic item you are likely to ever to include in a campaign.)

The Staff of Steves

From an idea by Kairam Ahmed Hamdan & Bradley K. McDevitt. 

Design by Steve Miller. Copyright 2015 Steve Miller.

Text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with it. 

The Staff of Steves is a powerful item that either comes into existence through a random convergence of supernatural circumstances, or is created by a secret cabal of artificers, drunken fairies, or... well, who knows how they come into being. Like the presence of Steves in the world, the Staff of Steves just is.

This Red Shirt will survive because he has a Staff of Steves.

The Staff of Steves takes many forms, but it is always a slender item, at least five feet in length... you know, a staff. It's specific appearance can be anything from an ornately carved oaken staff to a curtain rod. It has the following game effects:
* Acts as a +4 weapon for purposes of overcoming a target's damage resistance.
* Acts as a +2 staff for purposes of attack and damage rolls.
* Grants a +4 bonus to AC (or Defense Rating) when wielded by a character named Steve.
* Allows its wielder to cast Charm Person 3 times per day (6 times per day if wielded by a character named Steve).
* Allows its wielder to cast Create Food and Water 3 times per day (casts Feast if wielded by a character named Steve).
* Allows its wielder to cast Stinking Cloud 1 time per day (but only after Create Food and Water or Feast has been cast at least once).
* Allows its wielder to read sheet music with unfailing accuracy.
* Allows its wielder to summon a random number of Steves once per day. The Steves are all 3rd level Experts (or similar NPC class), with 15 hit points, armed with clubs or similar blunt objects (1d3 points of damage), and have one or more skills (+6 to the d20 skill check) that is helpful to the wielder. The remain with the wielder, defending and assisting in any way they can (cooking, cleaning, doing paperwork, performing rock music, running roleplaying game sessions, assassinating heads-of-state, boosting of ego) for three hours, until dismissed, or until slain. The number of Steves appearing is 1d6+2.
* It allows a *player* named Steve to have his character reroll 1d6 failed actions per game session. (Rolled at the beginning of the session, as soon as the dice come out. The result must be confirmed and recorded by the GM. If the Steve forgets to roll immediatey, this effect does not apply ).

Note: "Steve" can be male or female, as it can be short for Stephen, Steven, Stefano, Stefanie, Stephanie, and all other variants you can think of.

(If you were amused by the Staff of Steves, please consider supporting Steve (and NUELOW Games) by getting some of the OGL d20 items I've actually put some effort into. Some of them even work in straight games. Click here to see the listings at RPGNow.

The Brigade of the Righteous goes after the wrong eff'in targets. Again.

Last week, I made some comments about a particularly unpleasant roleplaying game supplement that was being offered for sale in an extremely hamfisted way. You can read that post here.

In the days since, some shortsighted publishers did show up to posture, but there were also numerous successful attempts at stirring up mobs of self-righteous gamers with virtual torches and pitchforks, in an effort to "make them pay" (as one delightful person put in at one blog) for DARING to publish something they didn't like/found offensive.

The Brigade of the Righteous. (Artist's Rendition)

As is almost always the case, these mobs consist mostly of morons who are offended third-hand--they are offended just to be offended, and they don't even have the slightest clue what it really is they're supposed to be offended over. (Otherwise, so many of them wouldn't be referring to Tournament of Rapists as a "rape game." And, as is almost always the case with self-righteous, ill-informed idiots, they are venting their rage at completely innocent bystanders.

These Brigades of the Righteous are calling for every pure-hearted soul to boycott the Onebookshelf sites (RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, DriveThruComics, DriveTruFiction, DriveThruCards, and the WargameVault), while they themselves are swearing blood-oaths and deleting their accounts on the sites so that they may forever be purged of evil. What these fuckwits don't seem to comprehend is that they are visiting their righteous revenge on HUNDREDS of independent publishers and THOUSANDS of writers and artist who had nothing to do with Tournament of Rapists.

NUELOW Games is strictly small-fry, but I actually rely on the income the sales generate to make ends meet. I also have half-a-dozen contributors to whom I pay (admittedly paltry sums of) royalties. They had nothing to do with Tournament of Rapists, nor did I. So why do the self-righteous Web Warriors feel the need to "make us pay"?

Deserving of boycott?

Hell, if the objective is to honor diversity and inclusion and punish the wicked, wicked misogynists, NUELOW Games can even be considered to be on their side. After all, we've produced the only complete collections of series written or drawn by some of the few women who were active in comics during the 1940s (Ginger and Snap, Complete Golden Age Oddballs: Angela & Miss Espionage). We've also produced the only complete collections of comics series starring strong female heroes (Iron Lady, Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes, Warrior Maiden Starlight). And then there's Science Sleuths, the first three volumes of which starred a woman scientist/superhero, and a pair of characters who are not only strong women, whose adventures meet the Bechdel Test, and who are a same-sex couple. I think we checked almost every box on the Inclusivity Form with that one.

Deserving of boycott?

So... what exactly did my contributors and I do to the Brigades of Righteousness that they need to "make us pay"? Or are they just too dumb and wrapped up in the giddy feeling of outrage that they don't see they're hitting far more than the target of their anger?

Please don't let these calls for boycotts amount to anything. Take a look at what NUELOW Games has to offer and get yourself something good to read from RPGNow, DriveThruComics, or DriveThruFiction. If there's nothing you like from us, browse around. You're bound to find something... among the tens of thousands of offerings that aren't Tournament of Rapists.

UPDATE
Onebookshelf has announced a new policy for dealing with "offensive" content. I think it's a good one. You can read it here.

Random Illness/Disability Generator (using a deck of cards)

While engaging in a purely mechanical and utterly boring task, the following addendum to a character creation system came to mind. This is raw, untested, and pretty much as it popped into my head. It is geared for d20 System games--such as Pathfinder, d20 Star Wars, or NUELOW Games favorite OGL d20 Modern--but it is easily applicable to any system that has analogies to the d20 System attributes and saving throw mechanics, Basically, it's a system for generating disabilities and mental illnesses for characters.

Maybe one of the NUELOW crew will think of something we can do with this. Maybe YOU can think of something we can do with this--and if you do, don't hesitate to get in touch! Meanwhile, however, this is released under the Open Game License. Copyright 2015 Steve Miller.

RANDOM OGL DISABILITY/ILLNESS GENERATOR 

(using a deck of cards)

Generation System
1. Draw Three Cards. Discard any Aces or Jokers.
2. Determine the character's illness/disability by comparing the suits of the cards to the lists below. If the cards drawn are of different suits, the character suffers from all the illnesses/disabilities indicated by the cards. (See "Face Cards" for some special conditions, however.)

Face Cards
If one is a face card, your character has Multiple Personality Disorder; the sex of the card determines if the personality is male or female. If you drew one or more number cards of the same suit as the face card, the number on those cards determine how many multiple personalities you have. If multiple face cards are drawn, discard any Jacks or Queens first, then draw another card.
Otherwise, the suit of cards drawn determine the illness(es) your character suffers from.

Clubs
   Odd -- Sadist... your character enjoys hurting other loving things. (+1 to attack rolls and damage, -4 to all Charisma-based skill checks and attribute rolls).
   Even -- Over-sensitive... your character is so concerned with hurting others (especially their feelings) that it's debilitating (-2 to all attack and damage rolls, +2 to all Charisma-based skill checks and attribute rolls).

Diamonds
   Odd -- Bleeder... your character is easily injured and heals slowly. (+1 point to any and all damage suffered. -1 point to natural recovery).
   Even -- Arthritic... your character's joints are still and it's painful to move sometimes. (-2 to all Dexterity-based skill checks and attribute rolls, -1 to Reflex saves.)

Hearts
   Odd--Weak Constitution... your character has overall poor health. (-2 to all Strength- and Constitution-based skill checks and attribute rolls. -1 to Fort saves.)
   Even--Egomaniac... your character is over-confident. (+2 to all Charisma-based skill checks and attribute rolls, -4 to all Wisdom-based skill checks and attribute rolls.)

Spades
   Odd--Weak Hearing... your character suffers a penalty to all Listen skill checks, Move Silently skill checks, and checks for Surprise equal to one-half the numeric value of the card, rounded up.
   Even--Weak Eyesight... your character suffers a penalty to ranged attacks, Search skill checks and Spot skill check equal to one-half the numeric value of the card.

The Evolution of a Cover

It's not often that I talk about what goes into making NUELOW Games releases, because I think, by and large, no one really cares how and what we do. But I'm going to make an exception with the cover for Modern Basics: Jungle Action, our most recent release.

After reviewing the Xela paintings we have yet to use on a cover, we decided we wanted something that had a man and a woman jungle character, fighting equally. We turned to several Maurice Whitman drawings--many which originally appeared no the covers of Fiction House's Jungle Comics or Kaanga. We narrowed it down to two possibilities, and with some back and forth, we settled on one where Kaanga and Ann were fighting panthers with equal ferocity. Hundal also thought the colors said "jungle" more than the other top pick we were looking at.

(That's actually funny in a way, because we're both color blind, me moreso than her, but it is sometimes quite literally the blind leading the blind.)

With the cover image chosen, I went to work cleaning it up, and otherwise getting it into the shape you see posted above. I then added the title and logo. This was easier than in some of the cases, because the original source was in good shape.

Although the cover was complete, I still had a soft spot for the one we rejected. I thought it was more colorful (said the color blind guy) and that it might still be the better choice. So I posted a cropped version of it to a Facebook group and solicited opinions... not so much because I wanted to overrule Hundal. but because I wanted to check my taste in art. Here's that cropped image. (It's cropped the way it is because I never finished cleaning up the bottom of the picture, not wanting to waste the time once we'd settled firmly on one. We're probably going to do another jungle-themed clip-art pack, so I'll include the finished image there.)

The general opinion of the Facebook denizens was that Hundal was right... the image we'd gone with was the better one. (Cartoonist Stan! was the odd-man out, as he felt the "rejected" one was more dynamic and modern.) But one commentator asked a question I didn't initially understand: "why no POC on either?"

As far as I knew, POC meant Point of Contact or Person On-Call. It also means Person/People of Color, and once that was explained to me, I understood the question.

The answer, first and foremost, is that Maurice Whitman drew those pictures in the mid-1940s and there simply weren't any People of Color who were jungle heroes. Even Voodah, who started out black, was turned white within the space of three issues... and he was never portrayed as such on any of the covers of Crown Comics where he appeared. Another Matt Baker jungle character, Alani the South Sea Girl, was more okay, I suppose, because she was an exotic islander of oriental mystery and all that.

But, and perhaps more to the point, there were no People of Color on either cover image, because it's just not something Hundal or I think much about. Even when we do take measures that reflect "diversity" in what we produce and publish, it's not something we dwell on... as illustrated by the fact that we never bothered to promote ourselves as "gay friendly" (even though ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game has had gay characters built into it since long before it was the hip thing to do) and we didn't even notice that our comic book line is heavy on female characters until I sat down to analyze what we might do when we ran out of worthwhile comics to repackage. We produce, design, and write things that we find entertaining and amusing, and we hope that others share our taste. We create from the heart, not to meet a quota system or some other standard that others have deemed it sensible to live up to.

Now I was thinking about it, however. And other artists chimed in, mostly making comments from a design perspective rather than racial equality or social justice or some-such. They were all making good points. The image would be stronger with a Person of Color on it. So... to the Photoshop Cave I went to experiment. And here's the result, next to a repeat of the image from above.

As I'm sure you can see, making the female character dark-skinned adds depth to the image. It also causes the eye to focus more and move from left to right, basically following the the action of the picture. Making this modification was also easier and quicker than I had thought it would be. Just because Whitman's drawing was originally colored as having two white people in it back in the 1940s, doesn't mean it had to stay that way.

So, by revising the cover based on comments from the public, we ended up with a much stronger picture. We might even end up looking good in the eyes of someone who comes along counting how many People of Color we have on our covers. (Although by making that comment, I probably just blew any chance of that.)

More importantly, perhaps, is the ease with which I was able to make the adjustment to the picture. I will have to do the same to the cover for Real American No. 1, since Bronze Terror and Lily weren't supposed to be yellow. (Remember what I said about the blind leading the blind? Welll...)

Modern Basics: Jungle Action is available at RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.

A fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

On June 11, 1936, short-story author and poet Robert E. Howard took a gun from the glove box of his car and shot himself to death. His suicide came as he was reaching new creative heights, and his career was shifting in a more literary-oriented direction. We'll never know what great stories and characters evaporated at that tragic moment. Roy Thomas and Sandy Plunkett dramatized the tragedy in this illustrated story.

NUELOW Games is currently engaged in an effort to raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention by offering all of the Robert E. Howard-related products in a single discounted package--that also includes a great Howard-inspired RPG from Bedrock Games--and donating all of its proceeds. Click here to check out the bundle, or read on for more information.

A page from Shadows of Dream, featuring poetry by Robert E. Howard.
It's one of 25 different books in the Suicide Prevention Fundraiser bundle.

THE WHY & THE WHAT
If you've been paying even the slightest bit of attention to NUELOW Games in recent years, you've noticed that the works of Robert E. Howard have been an important part of many of our releases. Steve Miller loves Howard mostly for his action/adventure and horror fiction, and L.L. Hundal loves Howard primarily for his comedy stories. Both think his non-fantasy work is his best work.

But the vast majority of readers only know him for being the creator of Conan, and many never move beyond those stories--if they even get that far, given all the comic books and movies and pastiches by other authors that are most likely encountered first. To share our love for Howard's other writings--writings he himself stated he wanted to be remembered for rather than Conan or even Kull and Kane--we produced a number of anthologies collecting his non-fantasy short stories. Given that NUELOW Games is, well, a game publisher, we've also released a number of ROLF! battle scenarios making use of characters that Howard created (even Conan)--battle scenarios that are compatible with "The Violent Worlds of Robert E. Howard," a complete RPG which was included in the Fists of Foolishness short story collection.

Every year, we've one a special sales event to mark the anniversary of the tragic end to Howard's life, hoping to attract more attention to the fantastic stories he left us. This year, we have gone a step further.

The 24 Howard-related books and game products featured in this large bundle are the majority of the Howard-related releases we've produced over the few years. They can be had for just $20-- a savings of over 50 percent off the cost of purchasing them individually. You can get dozens of great short stories and more battle scenarios than you can shake a bucket of dice at for every little money. What makes this deal even more attractive is that NUELOW Games (in conjunction with partner Bedrock Games) will donate all of its proceeds [$13.50 after distributors and contributors have gotten their cut] to the American Suicide Prevention Foundation.

The Suicide Prevention Fundraiser bundle will be available until the end of June, and NUELOW will makes its donation to the AFSP by the middle of July. Click here to see what is in the bundle, or to get your copy right now. Be a small part in helping modern-day Robert E. Howards get the support and help they need before it's too late.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BUNDLE
* The complete Sertorius rolelaying game

* Stories and novellas Howard wrote that he would have been preferred to be remembered for, collection in Oriental Stories, Oriental Stories Vol. 2, and Oriental Stories Vol 3: A Texan in Afghanistan. These books feature some of his best writing.
* Samplings of Howard's "Southern Gothic" horror/action tales in Shadows of Texas and Names in the Black Book.
* The complete collection of Howard's comedic tales of boxer Steve Costigan in Fists of Foolishness and Shanghaied Mitts.
* The complete collection of Howard's comedic western tales featuring dimwitted mountain man Breckinridge Elkins in Bath-time on Bear Creek, The Misadventures of Breckinridge Elkins, and Breckinridge Elkins Rides Again.
* A sampling of Howard's poetry in Shadows of Dreams.
* NUELOW Games designer favorite ROLF! battle scenarios based on Howard's writings, such as ROLF!: The Hopping Vampires of Yao Ping, ROLF!: The Tornado vs. Steve Costigan, and ROLF!: The Sheik.

And ten more short story collections and game products that celebrate the creations of Robert E. Howard--all at a steep discount, and all currently on sale to support a great cause.

Get your copy of the Suicide Prevention Fundraiser from NUELOW Games from DriveThruFiction, DriveThruRPG, or RPGNow.