Tin Foil Hats and More for the d20 System

In 1954, the Soviet bloc and NATO cooperated on first repelling, and then covering up, an alien invasion of Earth. The aliens' main weapons were telepathy-based, and they were able to make humans see what they wanted them to see. Although the aliens were defeated, the world's militaries and intelligence organizations couldn't be sure they had been driven off the planet completely, so they worked to create means by which their troops and operatives could keep from falling victim to the aliens mind-effecting powers, or to see through them even after falling sway to them.

With the immediate threat averted, however, cooperation between the two military alliances soon faltered, and it ceased completely when it was discovered that the Soviet military had been infiltrated by the aliens and that the enemy was undermining the effort to invent countermeasures. Many of their top scientists NATO--led by Britain and the U.S., with assistance from Japanese scientists--had better luck, and created two different types of devices to defend against the aliens: Psychic Blockers (codenamed "Tin Foil Hats" and Ocular Filters (codenamed "Cheap Sunglasses").

NATO's anti-alien devices were manufactured in labs located in a remote corner of what is referred to as Area 51 in Nevada. Their method of creation, and the fact they even were being created and given to chosen military personnel and intelligence operatives was such a carefully guarded secret that when a mishap with Atlantean technology in 1983 caused the building housing the lab and all in it to be shifted to another dimension, the knowledge of their existence was all but lost.

The surviving aliens of the 1954 invasion attempt have been trying to find and destroy the remaining devices, as they attempt to soften humanity for the day when another full-forced invasion is launched, while the U.S. government has been trying to reclaim and protect the devices.


PSYCHIC BLOCKER ("TIN FOIL HAT")
The Tin Foil Hat comes in two different varieties: one that can be subtly shaped and fit inside (or over) other headgear, and one that looks like the crude and cartoonish, tin-foil hat from conspiracy theory jokes. (The first variety was made in the government labs at Area 51, while the other was made by a researcher who went rogue and decided the general public needed to warned about the psychic aliens and given the means to protect themselves. From 1978 through his death in 2019, he made and distributed an unknown number of these while living life on the run from both government agents and aliens.)
   Although both varieties appear to be made from tin foil, they are made of a special material, the formula for which was lost when the secret lab was dimensionally shifted.
   When worn, the Psychic Blocker grants a character enhanced protection to all mind-effecting magic, mind-effecting  spell-like effects, and mind-effecting psychic or psionic powers. When targeted with such abilities or spells, the wearer gains a +6 bonus to the Will save to resist. If no saving throw would normally be allowed, the character may roll a Will save with a +3 bonus to resist.


Type (and Number) of Psychic Blocker Found
Psychic Blockers are usually located in abandoned government safehouses, hideouts for aliens or human traitors working with them, or among the possessions of dead friends (who passed away under mysterious circumstances, or simply of old age) or defeated foes. Roll 1d10 the following table to see what kind of Psychic Blocker, as well as how many, is found by the player characters.

1d10 Result      Type of Blocker      Number Found
1                       First Variety            1
2                       First Variety            1d6
3                       First Variety            1d6+1
4-6                   Second Variety        1d6+2
7-9                   Second Variety        2d6+2
10                    Second Variety        3d6-1

OCULAR FILTER ("CHEAP SUNGLASSES")
These appear to be normal sunglasses that are made in styles that were popular in the 1960s, 1970s, or up until the mid-1980s. The lenses, however, are made with materials derived from alien technology that was recovered from their wrecked ships.
   When worn, the character can see all things as they actually are. With a Spot skill check (DC8) the wearer of sees though illusions generated by magic or psychic sources, sees the exact locations of creatures or objects under blur or displacement effects, sees invisible creatures or objects normally, and sees the true form of polymorphed, changed, or transmuted things. Creatures who can shapechange, like certain supernatural beings, will be surrounded by a vague, faintly glowing shape of their natural form, or their most commonly used alternate appearance. The range of the ocular filter is the wearer's line of sight. They will also reveal the true appearance of beings and items in photographs, broadcasted signals, or in films.
Number Found and Styles of Ocular Filters Found 
Ocular Filters are usually located in abandoned government safehouses, hideouts for aliens or human traitors working with them, or among the possessions of dead friends (who passed away under mysterious circumstances, or simply of old age) or defeated foes. Roll 1d10 the following table to see what kind of Psychic Blocker, as well as how many, is found by the player characters.

1d10 Result      Number Found and Style
1                       1d3 1960s
2                       1d2 1960s, 1d2 1970
3                       1d3 1970s
4                       1d3 1970s, 1d3 1980s
5-7                   1d3+1 1970s, 1d3+1 1980s
8-9                   1d2 1970s, 1d6+1 1980s
10                    1d2 1960s, 1d6 1970s, 1d6+3 1980s

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All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 Steve Miller. (If you find this material useful or interesting, please purchase some of our actual products. It will encourage us to make more!)

What ruins the interplanetary cruise?

Here's a table to spark ideas for a side adventures the next time the player characters are traveling between planets in your sci-fi campaign. Roll 1d12 to determine what disrupts a peaceful trip.

1. Crew is seized by Space Madness
2. Martian Fever spreads among the passengers, killing them and reanimating their bodies.
3. The ship is hijacked by Venusian seperatists
4. The ship is boarded by space pirates
5. An old friend of the party seeks them out for protection
6. An old enemy of the party seeks them out for protection
7. A deadly being made of pure mental energy is moving from body to body, causing murder and mayhemn
8. Assassins are targeting a politician traveling incognito
9. Thugs want to kidnap a couple of eloping rich kids and hold them for ransom
10. Space Witches have chosen the ship and this passage as the time and place for their latest ritual
11. The life support systems mysteriously malfunction
12. A powerful energy beam draws the ship toward Uranus

Art by Joe Doolin

And here's a song that might provide a little inspiration as well!

Clone (A d20 System feat for your sci-fi or conspiracy games)

Random ideas? We gots 'em here at NUELOW Games! (And for this one, all the text in this post is presented under the Open Game License. Copyright 2018 Steve Miller.)

Clone [General]
You've been cloned!
   Prerequisite: 4th level or higher
   Benefit: Just before this feat is chosen, make a copy of the character gaining it. This is a clone of the character. How a clone came to be is something that's left up the GM or the player (with GM approval) to figure out; perhaps this feat is offered as an option at the end of an adventure. (Maybe we'll do a random table as a companion to this feat at some point).
   While the clone is superficiously identical to the character, there some differences.
   First, the clone is one level lower than the character, with an XP total that's 1d2x1000 points short of gaining another level.
Second, a random attribute of the clone is different than the original character. Use the following table to determine which attribute by rolling 1d6 and then rolling a second time to see if the indicated attribute is higher or lower than that of the original character.

1.Strength (1-4. 1 attribute point lower; 5-6. 1 attribute point higher)
2. Dexterity (1-3. 1 attribute point lower; 4-6. 1 attribute point higher)
3. Constitition (1-4. 1 attribute point lower; 5-6. 1 attribute point higher)
4. Intelligence (1-3. 1 attribute point lower; 3-6. 1 attribute point higher)
5. Wisdom (1-4. 1 attribute point lower; 5-6. 1 attribute point higher)
6. Charisma (1-3. 1 attribute point lower; 4-6. 1 attribute point higher)

The clone's stats are adjusted as indicated by the die rolls, and any changes to attribute bonuses or skill points must be applied as well.

The clone can be used in a few different ways. Here are a few suggestions.
   * The player can set it aside and keep it in reserve for if or when the main character dies. Then, the clone steps into that character's place and the world may never know what happened. (Again, the GM and player can decide where the clone is kept in the meantime and how it awakens once the original character is dead. The clone enters play at the level it was created at.)
   * The player can alternate between the original character and the clone at will (or when the GM rules it makes sense for the two to swap). Each gains their own XP according to the adventures they take part in, and the clone advances like any other character. What sort of living arrangement the clone has, whether its existence is a known factor, and so on, are details to be worked out by the players and the GM.
   * The clone can be a temporary character used by new players who want to try out the game.
   * Whenever the player can't make a session, the GM runs the clone is his or her place.

Hardboiled Space Detectives!

Here's a random adventure generator for any sci-fi RPG campaign that features interstellar space travel and hard-talking heroes for hire.

HARDBOILED SPACE DETECTIVES!
What's the latest case? (Roll 1d8 against the following tables to generate it.)

WHO'S THE CLIENT?
1. A grieving Martian Widow
2. A smarmy Venusian businessman
3. A mysterious person in a body- and face-concealing environmental suit.
4. A robot that has gained sentience.
5. An immigrant from the Alpha Centauri system.
6. A high-powered, multi-star system law firm.

7. A government official.

8. An exiled noble from 1. Asgaard, 2. Atlantis, 3. the Catian Dominion, 4. Mars, 5. Venus, 6. an obscure, nearly forgotten Earth colony, 7. an alternate universe, 8. "Does it matter? I'm in exile, but my money's good." (If it matters, roll again on the sub-table.)

WHAT'S THE JOB?
1. Find and ID a killer the police say doesn't exist.
2. Find a missing fortune in Tasari crystals.
3. Prove an accused murderer innocent.
4. Find the missing formula for a new radiation vaccine.
5. Get the client safely to the Alpha Centauri system.

6. Infiltrate a galactic megacorp and find proof of an executive's corruption.

7. Prove that the Ansaati Grays and not the Tugahri were behind a failed abduction.
6. Locate 1. a runaway bride/groom, 2. a runaway teenager, 3. the heir to controlling interest in an intersteallar business combine, 4. a corrupt cop that's gone into hiding, 5. a witness that's gone into hiding, 6. the client's loved one whom everyone believes is dead (except the client), 7-8. the famous Mecurian Deathbat.

WHAT EXOTIC LOCATION WILL THE CASE TAKE THE DETECTIVE TO?
1. The Slave Markets of Jupiter
2. The seedy undercity of New Osaka
3. Moon Colony Theta
4. The exclusive spas at the Martian Hot Springs
5. The Radium Mines of Mercury
6. The penal colony on Jupiter Station VII

7. The fortress of the Tugahri Monarch

8. The Royal Spaceyards of Atlantis

WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON?
1-3. The client is hiring the Hardboiled Space Detectives for exactly the reason stated.
4. The client is fronting for an old enemy of the Hardboiled Space Detectives, and it's all a frame-up!
5. The client intends to murder the Space Detective and eliminate the target once it is located.

6. The client is seeking a cache of treasure and weapons of mass destruction that have remained hidden since the last war between Asgaard and Atlantis.

7. The client is hoping to restore his or her reputation and gain revenge of those who ruined it.
8. The client is a criminal mastermind seeking to eliminate 1. a rival, 2. an ex-lover, 3. the one other person who knows all about the secret criminal empire, 4. the one person who can unravel the interstellar slave trade, 5. the child that's been hidden away by the other parent, 6. a government official who took a bribe but never delivered, 7. a retired law enforcement official, 8. Roll again on "WHO'S THE CLIENT?"

Sci-Fi RPG Subplot Idea Generator (for any game system)

Here are a couple tables to randomly generate subplot ideas for your sci-fi campaign. Roll first on Why is the Android Behaving Strangely?, then on Who's Behind It?

WHY IS THE ANDROID BEHAVING STRANGELY? (Roll 1d6)
1. A flaw in the programming. (Don't roll on "Who's Behind It").
2. A hacker is trying to control it via a remote uplink.
3. Adjustments to its programming intended to 1-2, make it more efficient; 3-4 make it more human-like in its reactions; 5-6 make it eventually turn on its owners.
4. A virus uploaded into its programming matrix is gradually causing it to 1-2 shut down; 2-3 become a spy-bot; 5-6 become a killing machine.
5. A disembodied alien entity has taken over its personality maxtrix and is now in control.
6. The android is unchanged. The player characters have been shifted to an alternate universe similar to their own.

WHO'S BEHIND IT? (Roll 1d6)
1. No organized force; it's just one of those things.
2. An old enemy.
3. An agent of a galactic mega-corp trying to get the PCs under his or her control.
4. An old friend trying to secretly reach out for help.
5. A mercenary group trying to establish their reputation by taking down the player characters.
6. An alien invasion force that wants to distract or neutralize the player characters so they won't get in their way.

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Retro Sci-Fi with NUELOW Games!

While we haven't done much in the sci-fi genre, we think that what we have done is very high quality, and all great sources of inspiration for sci-fi roleplaying game campaigns. The most concentrated sources of inspiration are the collections of royalty-free art that is yours to use in almost any fashion you can think of once you've purchased one or more of them. We've just released the fourth one--NUELOW Stock Art Collection #15: Fantastic Frontiers--and to celebrate, we're giving you an even more concentrated source of inspiration: A series of tables that will let you generate the framework for an alien invasion campaign--Who Are The Aliens?, What Do the Aliens Want?, How Are They Going to Get It?, and How Does Humanity Ultimately Defeat Them! (We've used the covers from our art collections to illustrate this post because, well, we hope you'll go buy one or more of them at RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, DriveThruComics, or DriveThruFiction.)

Art by John Celardo

Who Are the Aliens?
Roll 1d12 to determine who the aliens are!
1. Red Martians (Sexy and Savage)
2. Green Martians (Six-Armed and Savage)
3. Venusian Amazons (Sexy and Commanding)
4. Tentacle Monsters from Alpha-Ceti Six (Sexy. Ew.)
5. Bug-Eyed Swamp Men (Slimy and Smelly)
6. Nordics (Tall, Buff and Blond Boozers)
7. The Greys (Short, Skinny, and Fond of Giving Anal Probes)
8. Lizard People (Shapeshifters)
10. Atlanteans (Mystical Super-scientists)
11. The Immortals (Masters of Time and Space)
12. Caedens (Cat People)

Art by Will Eisner

What Do the Aliens Want?

Roll 1d12 to determine what the aliens want!

1. Peaceful coexistence, with human society and theirs exchanging knowledge and comingling freely.

2. Peaceful coexistence, so long as humanity recognizes their status as superior beings.

3. Peaceful coexistence, so long as humanity doesn't encrouch upon their well-defined dominion of worlds that have long been recognized by other intelligent species.

4. Help from humans in defeating a vicious enemy... that wil be coming for us next if the aliens are defeated.

5. Help in defeating a rampaging, intergalactic robot army. (Roll 1d12 again. 1-6: The robots contact humanity and offer alliance and peaceful coexistence if we help defeat the aliens; 7-12: The robots contact humanity and vow to wipe us out along with all other non-mechanical life in the universe. ("EXTERMINATE!"))

6. The return of an artifact that will save their people and which is lost somewhere on Earth. If we fail to help locate and turn it over, they will invade with the intent of destroying us as their last act as a dying species.

7. Our bodies, to house the minds of their young.

8. Our mineral wealth, especially gold and diamonds.

9. All water, be it in the sea, in the air, or in human bodies.

10. All children under the age of 3, so they can be nutured and modified into superior beings--and any infants born in the future.

11. To save the whales.

12. Our Women!

Art by Dan Zolnerowich

How Are They Going to Get It?
Roll 1d12 to determine how they're going accomplish their goals.
1. Take control of humanity by infiltrating our political leadership.
2. Take control of humanity by infiltrating our academics.
3. Take control of humanity by infiltrating our arts communities.
4. Replace important humans with robot doubles.
5. Orbital Mind Control lasers
6. Orbital Weather Control Satellites
7. Destroy Earth by launching meteors at us.
8. Invade Earth with a massive alien army.
10. Taint food sources so they only poison humans and other mammals.
11. Turn all plant life against
12. Roll two more times on the table. The aliens are conducting a two-pronged attack!

Art by Joe Doolin

How Does Humanity Ultimately Defeat Them?
Roll 1d12 to determine how humanity will ultimately defeat them.
1. Through the power of love.
2. Through our never-say-die spirit.
3. By finding a way to their home world and bringing the war to them.
4. By discovering the aliens secret and deadly allergy to (roll 1d12: 1. KFC's Secret 11 Herbs & Spices, 2. Dos Equis Beer, 3. Keystone Beer, 4. Gluten, 5. Justin Beiber Music, 6. Slim Whitman Music, 7. Barbara Streisand Music, 8. Roseanne Barr, 9. Axe Body Spray, 10. Hipsters, 11. The Common Cold Virus, 12. An ancient weapon, uncovered at the last minute).
5. Chuck Norris
6. Alien rebels become our allies.
7. Professor Fiend develops a super weapon (that has a serious downside, but still....)
8. Santa Claus Comes to the Rescue (he don't take crap from no aliens!)
10. Stardust the Super Wizard comes to our rescue
11. Bill Clinton seduces their leader.
12. Flash--he's for every one of us, he'll save every one of us!

Q is for Quino

Quino [First Appeared in Wham Comics #2, 1940]

Art and Writing by Frank Thomas

Quino is literally the Father of Saturnian civilization. He is a scientific genius who was an advisor to the last of the Sorcerer Kings of Atlantis. As the ancient gods began to turn against the Atlanteans, Quino devised scientific means to save the continent and its people from their wrath. The king feared Quino would anger the gods further, and he wove a powerful spell that transported Quino and all his inventions to Saturn where he expected Quino to perish.

Instead, Quino used his science to survive. The same means that he had intended to use to save Atlantis allowed him to create a safe zone in which he could live. An unexpected side effect of this artificial environment was that it slowed his body's aging process to a near standstill, extending his already long Atlantean lifespan from two centuries to several millennia.
   To keep himself busy, he devised a means to extend his life-supporting environment to a series of interlinked valleys in one of Saturn's mountain ranges. Longing for company, he then applied a combination of magic and super-science to create a race of humanoids that over the millennia he guided into a peaceful civilization that rivaled Atlantis in greatness.

Eventually, Quino became a little homesick for Earth, but the Sorcerer King's magic still barred him from ever returning there. He created the Master Viscope and X-Rayscopes and beginning in 1812 A.D,, he devoted much of his time to studying Earth and the civilizations that currently existed on it. He was saddened that his own people appeared to have been entirely wiped from existence, but it troubled him even more that there seemed to be even more unhappiness on the planet then ever before. As he watched, humanity developed greater and greater capacity for harming each other, and he decided he would intervene.

He chose one of his best and brightest assistants, Solarman, to travel to Earth and mitigate some of the suffering there. Using Quino's Vacuum Ray Projector, Solarman traveled back and forth between Saturn and Earth, making his first trip in 1940. Quino mostly had Solarman intervene on relatively small scales, fearing that the ancient gods might otherwise notice that an Atlantean still lived and come after him and the race he had created. Solarman assisted the people of Earth until 1983 A/D., after which he retired to focus on his own growing family on Saturn.

By the late 23rd century A.D, Quino's people were contacted by explorers from Earth. Few Saturnians had any interest in the universe outside their own planet, but a few joined in humanity's exploratory efforts... and the overall peaceful and intellectual nature of their civilization came to influence many leading scholars on Earth.

Quino continues to guide his people, and he ocassionally shares his super-science with the people of Earth, Mars, Venus, and other major cultures in the solar system and beyond. He remains fearful of the gods, however, sensing that they are still out there and that they may yet return.

Aside from Solarman, the most famous of all Saturnians is Dork. In the 26th century A.D., he befriends the mysterious spacefarer known as Spacehawk. When Dork , Spacehawk and other allies are thrown back in time to the year 1941 A.D., Dork seeks out Quino. The scientist subjects the time-lost heroes to the same treatment that slowed his own aging process, so they too could enjoy near-immortality... and possibly survive long enough to see their homes and loved ones again.

QUINO (Male)
Brawn 11, Body 13, Brains 8
   Traits: Improv Master, Jolly, Speller, Irrepressible Optimist
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Infectious Good Cheer, Run Away!, Spelling (You'll Only Hurt Yourself), Walk and Chew Gum.
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Atlantean-style Robes (Armor, absorbs 3 points of damage).

Special Note: Quino was featured in Solarman's one and only appearance in Wham Comics #2. Aside from the detail that he's from an advanced and peaceful civilization on Saturn, and that he sent Solarman to Earth, everything else in this article is the invention of Steve Miller.

F is for Flor

Flor [first appearance Jet #3, 1951]

Art by Al Williamson

Flor was born to laborers in the colony of Titan, destined for a life of backbreaking work in the mines feeding the hungry industries of Earth. Her natural beauty attracted the attention of the colony's governor who brought her to his palace as a concubine. Here, Flor met Della May, and together they plotted to gain their liberty by first killing the governor and his wife and then joining Titan's flourishing criminal underworld.
   The young women grew close as they gradually became important and feared criminal masterminds, going from partners to friends to lovers. Together, they wove a network of smugglers and pirates that was a challenge to the system's oppressive Earth-based government and a rival to the somewhat less-violent Venus-based smuggling ring known as the Brotherhood of Space.

Art by Al Williamson

   Flor had the reputation for being able to acquire anything and kill anyone if the price was right. She took personal delight in torturing to death anyone who failed or offended her. One survivor of her wrath told a tale of how Flor and Della once made love as the blood of prisoners who were being sliced to death by robots rained down upon them.
   Flor hated the Earth government and all its functionaries, and whenever it didn't interfer with her business she would lend support to rebels who opposed it. She had an even stronger hatred for the bounty hunter nicknamed Space Ace, as he foiled more than one of her schemes... but she hated the crew of the Space Rover and their captain Tara even more. Not only had Tara and her crew assisted the Brotherhood of Space in stopping Flor from gaining a foothold on Venus, but Della once expressed the opinion that Tara was "sexy in that little uniform she wears."

FLOR (Female)
Brawn 23, Body 17. Brains 11
   Traits: Coldblooded, Nimble, Same-Sex Preference
   Combat Manuevers: Basic Attack, Castrate, Disarm, Disembowel, Dodge, Double Strike, Murderous Mitts, Seduce, Strike Pose, The Look, The Walk,
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Ray Gun (Ranged Weapon, deals 3 points of damage that ignore armor). Whip (Melee Weapon, deals 2 points of damage that tear away clothes. After 10 points dealt, a character who is wearing Clothes (not Armor) is dressed in tatters that barely cover nakedness).

Special Note: L.L. Hundal, co-creator of the ROLF! game system contributed to this entry. For more on Flor's enemy Tara, see NUELOW Games' Tara, Marauder of the Spacelanes.

Now available -- 'Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes'!

Check out retro sci-fi comics (with a touch of Good Girl Art) at their finest in Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes--new from NUELOW Games!

Cover art by Alex Schomburg

Join Tara and her loyal companions Robin and Malo, as they fight against corrupt governments and evil alien invaders in four of their greatest adventures, penciled by the great Gene Fawcette. Also included, published here for the first time ever, is the story of how Tara and her crew first met, as well as all-new rules material for the OGL d20, OpenD6, and ROLF! game systems.

Click here to see previews of Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes, or to get your own copy.

The Atom Sword: Tara's Weapon of Choice

Another little preview item from NUELOW Games' forthcoming Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes book. OGL d20 and OpenD6 stats for Atom Swords.

Tara gives an alien the business end of her Atomic Sword.
Art by Alex Schomburg

ATOM SWORD
The Atom Sword was developed 200 years ago during the Sol Unification War as a sidearm for the officers of the Earth Space Defense Corps, After the ESDC was reorganized as the  Star Patrol, the Atomic Sword was abandoned. However, it became a popular PT item at schools that catered to the families of Earth-based militias and paramilitary forces such as the Starport Security and Customs Inspection Beurea.  Such weapons, and others like them in civilian hands generally are only capable of delivering nonlethal stun damage. A techician of superior skill with access to the right parts and tools, however, can restore the deadly nature of an Atom Sword. Performing the modification is highly illegal, as is possessing such modified swords. The minimum sentence for either crime is five years hard labor, but since the Atom Sword has become closely associated with the infamous outlaws Captain Robin and Tara, the Earth Senate has made three attempts to up the maximum peanlty for possessing or modifying one to 25 years of hard labor.

Game Statisitcs
The Atom Sword is powered by a tiny fusion battery that causes the blade to be energized with either a lethal or stun charge. The lethality of the weapon can be adjusted with a switch on the hilt. The weapon functions as a melee weapon and a ranged weapon. If used up to six times as a ranged weapon within one hour, the fusion battery is drained and requires 24 hours to recharge. During this period, an Atomic Sword is as lethal as a dull rapier with a round tip.

OGL d20 Statistics
Damage 2d8+2 (Melee, energy damage) or 2d6 (Ranged, energy damage) or 1d4 (Melee, blunt damage)
Critical 19-20/x2
Range Inrement 20 ft.
Weight 1 kg
Stun Damage/Fort DC 18
Type Energy
Size Medium
Group Exotic/ Characters who don't possess the Exotic Weapon Proficience (Atomic Sword) feat suffer a -4 penalty when wielding an Atomic Sword.
  Note: Modern Atom Swords are built to only deliver stun damage (or blunt damage when not powered). If a character wants to convert one to deliver lethal damage, specialized tools and parts must be used, together with a Repair skill check (DC25). The conversion takes 1d3 hours to complete. If the skill check fails, the Atomic Sword is rendered permanently inoperable (although its parts could be used to repair another Atomic Sword.)

OpenD6 Statistics
Character Skill: Melee Weapon, Damage 5D (Melee), 3D (Ranged), 2D+STR (Melee when not powered). Range: 3-10/20/30. Size Medium. Weight 1 kg.
  Note: Modern Atom Swords are built to only deliver stun damage (or blunt damage when not powered). If a character wants to convert one to deliver lethal damage, specialized tools and parts must be used, together with a Repair skill check with a difficulty target of 20. The conversion takes 1d3 hours to complete. If the skill check fails, the Atomic Sword is rendered permanently inoperable (although its parts could be used to repair another Atomic Sword.)

Spacehawk... he's the lone wolf of the void!

In 1941, it was still a time of "anything goes" in comic book story-telling. It was at this point that cartoonist Basil Wolverton created Spacehawk, which to this very day stands as one of the most visually interesting sci-fi comics to ever see print. Wolverton's unique art-style was on full display in his portrayal of the rubbery Martians and other aliens that Spacehawk went up against, as he battled space pirates, despots, and others who threatened the lives of innocents.

Spacehawk cover art by Will Eisner

NUELOW Games has collected the five best Spacehawk stories in Spacehawk: Lone Wolf of the Void. We are presenting them in color, so readers can see a close approximation of what readers in 1941 experienced. Click here to see previews or to get your own copy of the book

In addition to the classic Basil Wolverton comics, NUELOW's Spacehawk book also contains d20 OGL Modern rules for creating sci-fi heroes like Spacehawk.

NUELOW Stock Art Collection #4 now available!

We've just released our latest collection of artwork from our archives for your enjoyment and publishing projects.

 NUELOW Stock Art Collection #4: Scenes From Yesterday's Future: contains 38 color and black-and-white drawings, most of which have been adapted from the covers of Gold Age comic book such as Planet Comics and Space Adventures. Click on the link to see previews of the set, or to get your own copy and start adorning your website or retro sci fi projects with illustrations by Joe Doolin, Dick Giordano, and others.