Magic Bongs

In observation of 4/20 Day, we present A Pot-Smoking Supplement for the d20 System by one of the minds that brought you the immortal classic OGL Drunkards!

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

THE MAGIC BONG
Scattered throughout the world are a small selection of magic bongs. How they came into being no one knowns for sure--some blame the elves, others blame the Atlanteans, and still others believe they have been charged spontenously through extensive use by magically endowed beings of any race--but they come in two varieties: The Evil Bong and the Good Bong. When pot is smoked in one of these bongs, they effects are powerful and unexpected.
   Magic Bongs typically appear like traditional hookas and have 1d3+3 pipes attached, allowing multiple characters to smoke from the device at the same time. A magic bong appears completely normal until it is in use. Once characters are smoking from it, it radiates powerful alteration magic.

USING MAGIC BONGS IN YOUR GAME
First, determine if the characters are smoking from a magic bong, and what type, by rolling 1d100 and consulting the following table.

1-90. Normal Bong
91-96. Good Bong
97-100. Evil Bong

If it's a Good Bong, roll 1d6 against the following table to determine what effect smoking from it has on the characters.

1. Gain +2 bonus to all Charisma-based skill checks for 4 hours.
2. Gain +2 bonus to all Wisdom-based skill checks for 4 hours.
3. All enchantment spells function at +1 caster level for four hours.
4. A genie appears (1-4 male, 5-6 female), grants the party a single wish, and will hang out with them for 4 hours. It will fight if necessary, but will much rather just party.
5. +4 to all Fortitude and Dexterity saves for 4 hours.
6. Transported to a wild party on the Outer Planes to hobnob and get wasted with any manner for good- and neutral-aligned creatures.

If it's an Evil Bong, roll 1d6 against the following table to determine what effect smoking fro it has on the characters.

1. Filled with the desire to eat, resulting in a -2 penalty to all Intelligence- and Wisdom-based skill checks due to an in ability to focus. The effect lasts 4 hours.
2. Constantly giggling. Suffer a -2 penalty to all Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate skill checks for four hours.
3. All enchantment spells function at -1 caster level for 4 hours.
4. Suffer a -4 penalty to Will saves to resist mind-affecting spells and spell-like abilities for four hours.
5-6. Transported to a wild party on the Outer Planes to hobnob and get wasted with all manner of fun and sexy creatures. Or so it seems. The characters are actually in a lair of deadly demons who want to humiliate them and eventually kill them.

(The Magic Bongs was inspired in part by the Charles Band films, Evil Bong.)

And to wrap things up, here are a couple of songs that are fit for the day!

A Preview of 'Deadly Liaisons"

We're preparing another entry in the NUELOW Stock Art Collection. It's got a pulp-action theme, and it's tentatively titled Deadly Liaisons.

Art by Nick Cardy

Art by Al Avison

Art by Joe Doolin

And since we make an effort to include a little actual content in our promotional posts, here's a random table to help you generate a femme fatale's secret agenda/motivation. (This table might also be a useful companion to the d20 material in NUELOW Games' Devils in Petticoats.)

WHY DID SHE HAVE TO WALK INTO YOUR GIN JOINT?
(Roll 1d6 on the tables below.)

Who is She?

1. An heiress in trouble.
2. A government agent in need of assistance.
3. An enemy spy wanting to defect.
4. A farm girl in the big city for the first time.
5. A gangster's moll on the run.
6. A thrill-seeking adventuress.


Who is She to You?
1. A total stranger.
2. A childhood friend.
3. A teenaged crush.
4. An ex-lover who broke your heart.
5. An ex-lover who had her heart broken by you.
6. A rival who once betrayed you.


What Does She Want?
1. Someone to protect her.
2. Someone to rid her of the men who are after her.
3. The key to a cypher, which will unlock the location of a: 1. vast treasure, 2. cache of blackmail material on members of Congress, 3. a mystical artifact of importance to a deadly cult, 4. dimensional gate to Atlantis, 5. formula for returning the dead to life created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein, 6. map to Shangri-La.
4. To uncover and bring to justice traitors hidden in government and industry.
5. To get revenge on the fascists that killed her family.
6. To find and destroy: 1. a master vampire and his cult, 2. the Cult of the Black Pharaoh before they trigger the end of the world, 4. a clan of werewolves, 5. a band of Ninjas bent on assassinating the nation's political leaders, 6. the mob boss who killed her father.


Who is After Her?
1. Roll two more times on this table, ignoring any additional times 1 is rolled.
2. Corrupt cops.
3. Government agents.
4. Foreign spies.
5. Death cultists.
6. A supernatural force: 1. A master vampire and its minions, 2. A mummy and cultists who worship it, 3. A pack of werewolves, 4. Druids, 5. A genie, 6. A demon.

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 feat to prevent TPK!

Here's another Metagame feat for your enjoyment. It's inspired by a plot device that appears in many horror films and a handful of sci-fi ones, too, and the Alan Hewetson/Pablo Marcos short story "An Event in the Night" that will appear in a forthcoming NUELOW Games release, which is tentatively titled Events in the Night: Horror Stories Illustrated by Pablo Marcos.

WAS IT ALL JUST A NIGHTMARE? [Minor Power, Metagame]
Was that horrible dream of death and carnage just that--a dream--or was it a preminition?
   Prerequisite: Foresight
   Benefit: You may invoke this feat once per game session after your character dies or is horribly maimed, or after the party suffers a total defeat. Your character wakes up, covered in cold sweat with heart pounding in the chest. The entire day that led up to the disastrous defeat was just a dream. Any items gained, XP earned, and character injuries that occurred during it are completely undone. It's as if the events never happened, because they didn't.
The events are now played again, and the players may used player knowledge (assuming your character shares the details of the dream with his or her comrades). The GM may make alterations to the scenario (and should, to keep ir fresh), but the broad strokes remain the same. But your character and the rest of the party will have a chance to at least attempt to correct their mistakes and avoid death.
    Special: After this feat has been evoked and the disastrous encounter has been successfully survived, roll a d20. If the result is 4 or 13, you suffer a -2 penalty to all saving throws for the entirety of the next game session... as Fate and Death stalk your character, angry that he or she eluded their grasp. (If you use "Was It All A Nightmare" again during that session, the saving throw penalty increases to -4 during the next game session and so on.

d20 Modern Metagaming Feats for Our Times

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


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

Alternative Fact [General, Metagaming]

You roll whatever you say you roll.

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

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

Protest [General, Metagaming]

Your dissatisfaction and hate may change the course of destiny!

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

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

Venting Your Righteous Anger [General, Metagaming]

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

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

More topical and modern than ever!

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!

Coming Soon: Mystic Legacies of Atlantis

While running with scissors over the holidays, we here at NUELOW Games fell... and we're having a hard time getting back up. We will get back up, eventually, and you'll once again be able to enjoy a steady stream of roleplaying game stuff and a variety of anthologies featuring comics and more.

One of the releases in the pipeline is Mystic Legacies of Atlantis. As a preview, here's the very cool cover that Bradley K. McDevitt created for it. It will feature d20 System rules by Steve Miller (with a few tidbits by L.L. Hundal and Andrew Pavlides, if current plans hold).



Brad McDevitt's cover for NUELOW's Mystic Legacies of Atlantis

And for a more substantial preview, here is a feat and talent tree that will be appearing in the book.

Shift Reality [Atlantean Magic, Minor Power Feat]
You can cause yourself and a number of specified targets to temporarily move into a pocket dimension. The location and environment appears unchanged, but you and specified targets are the only living things inside it.
   Prerequisite: Intelligence 12, Wisdom 12
   Benefit: By spending a full round action concentrating on your surroundings and nearby beings, you may immediately transport yourself and a number of living targets equal to your Wisdom bonus to a pocket dimension that has a diameter in feet equal to your Wisdom bonus times 5. Targets must be within the diameter of the pocket dimension in order to be transported. Unwilling targets may roll a Will save (DC20) if they choose to resist.
   The pocket dimension exists slightly out of phase with the normal universe. The location and environmental factors remain the same, but any living creatures in the area appear slightly transparent to those in the pocket dimension, and those in the pocket dimension remain completely invisible to them. Nothing that occurs outside the pocket dimension can harm those within it, and nothing that occurs in the pocket dimension can impact people or places outside it. If a building is lit on fire in the pocket dimension, its counterpart in the main universe remains unaffected.
   You are always at the center of the pocket dimension. As you move, so does its boundaries. Characters who do not move with you, will be left out of the pocket dimension once its area no longer includes them. Once a character drops out of a pocket dimension, they cannot reenter it unless they possess the Shift Reality feat themselves.
   Once the pocket dimension has been established, it lasts for a number of minutes equal to your Wisdom bonus, or until you choose to return yourself and others to the normal world, fall unconscious, or die. The pocket dimension moves with you, and you are always its center. Characters who do not move with him or her, will find themselves back in the normal world.
    Special: If other characters with the Shift Reality feat enter a pocket dimension established by another character, it expands to consist of overlapping areas, with each character serving as a “center” of a zone making of the pocket dimension. The entering character will still drop out of the pocket dimension if he gets too far away from the character or created it,
   This feat is a prerequisite for the Reality Shaper talent tree, as well as other superpower talent trees.

 Reality Shaper Talent Tree

Reality Shapers were generally viewed with suspicion by most other practitioners of Atlantean magic--even more than the Necromancers. They could do little but create temporary pocket dimensions and while some would use these skills to protect themselves or others from harm, others used them to escape after committing crimes or to commit crimes and assassinations.
   The foundation of a Reality Shaper's power is found in the Shift Reality feat.
   Gravity Manipulation: Make a successful Will save (DC18) as a standard action. Change the direction of gravity within the pocket dimension by 90 degrees to your left, your right, your front or back, causing walls or the outside of buildings to become the new “ground,” or to make those standing on the ground “fall” in the direction of the new “down.” You may specify the targets you wish to be impacted or you can have the change in gravity affect all, including or excluding yourself. You do not need to concentrate once the effect has been established but may act as normal. You may restore gravity to its regular state for those affected at will by taking a standard action.
   Your pocket dimension increases in area to a diameter of your Wisdom bonus in feet times 10. The number of beings you may target for transport to the pocket dimension increases to twice your Wisdom bonus.
   Prerequisite: Shift Reality feat
   World Warper: Make a successful Will save (DC15) as a standard action. You can cause solid surfaces to ripple like waves in water. If you are affecting a surface you are standing upon, the surface under you remains firm. All other beings must roll a Reflex save (DC 15 plus your Wisdom bonus). All who fail fall prone and lose all actions for the rest of the round; those who succeed suffer a -4 penalty on attack rolls and skill checks for the rest of the round.
   The following round, characters who fell may attempt to get back on their feet by taking a standard action and making another Reflex save (DC15), or a successful Acrobatics skill check. If they succeed, they will be able to perform any other actions they are due with a -4 penalty, just like those who didn’t fall previously.
   You may keep the designated surfaces rippling for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom plus your Intelligence bonus, and as long as you perform no actions other than defensive ones, such as dodging or deflecting attacks. If you take damage, you may roll a Concentration skill check to maintain the effect. You may end the ripple effect before the maximum time as a free action.
   Your pocket dimension increases in area to a diameter of your Wisdom bonus in feet times 20. The number of beings you may target for transport to the pocket dimension increases to four your Wisdom bonus
   Prerequisite: Gravity Manipulation
   World Breaker: Make a successful Will save (DC15) as a standard action. Your pocket dimension breaks into a number of pieces equal to your three times your Wisdom bonus, with some pieces floating higher than the one you stand on, and others flowing lower—roll a 1d6 for each character in the pocket dimension when you break it to see if they are on a plane above you (1-2), even to yours (3-4), or above you (5-6). Each character will be standing on their own fragment initially.
   Each part of your pocket dimension has its own gravity. Roll 1d6 for each piece that has a character on it. If the result is 1-4, the fragment has the same gravity as yours. If it is 5-6, the gravity is opposite. Characters who are on them are upside down from your vantage point, and visa-versa.
   The pieces are floating freely around each other, but one fragment is always within jumping distance (Jump skill check DC8 for ones on your plane, DC4 for those below, and DC16 for those above), although characters will have to cross 1d6 fragments to reach one where another is standing. To jump to a fragment with gravity that is reversed from the one you start from, you must roll a Wisdom check (DC11) or fall to ground and lose all actions for the rest of the round because you are disoriented by the shift in gravity.
   The number of fragments that a pocket dimension breaks into is equal to the number of characters in it, plus 1d6+6. The total space of a broken pocket dimension is 5 times the diameter of its size when whole.
   The pocket dimension can be reassembled by you making a successful Will save (DC12) as a standard action. Characters who were standing on fragments with gravity reversed from that of yours must roll Ref saves (DC14) or stumble to the ground and lose all actions for the rest of the round.
   Prerequisite: World Warper

More d20 System superpowers: The Dreamwalkers

Here's another minor power feat and talent tree to expand upon it. It will probably end up in the upcoming d20 System book about the Atlantean survivors and descendants  that walk among us in the modern world, or maybe in the one about Satan's offspring that are also among us. Or maybe it will sit around until the superpowers system finally becomes a reality.

The rest of this post is presented under the Open Game License, and it may be reproduced in accordance with those terms. Copyright 2017 Steve Miller.


Dream Viewer [Minor Power Feat]
 You are able to passively observe the dreams of others and with a great exertion of willpower calm nightmares.
   Prerequisite: Wisdom 12
   Benefit: Before you go to sleep, focus on a person you have previously met and make a Will save (DC18 if only met in passing, DC12 if a conversation was had, DC8 if a great deal of time was spent together, DC4 if close family member or loved one). If that person is also sleeping, you will share his or her dreams as if they were your own. You will generally speaking only be a spectator, but you will follow the dreamer as closely and as unnoticed as his or her shadow. If the dream is a nightmare, you may roll a second Will save, with a +4 increase to the DCs as above, to calm it and make it less terrifying to the dreamer.
   When you awaken, you always remember the dream witnessed with crystal clarity. As you watch the dream, you are able to recognize which parts of it are the most important, even if they are metaphorical dream symbols. If they are especially obscure, the GM may ask you to roll a Knowledge (Psychology) skill check to recognize them instead of simply revealing them. If the skill check fails, you will have a sense that something is important about a particular element of the dream, but you will not be able to quite put your finger on what it is.

Dream Walker Talent Tree
When you are sleeping, you may move as easily between the dreams of others as you move from one room to another when awake.
Dream Walker: After entering a target's dream using the Dream Viewer feat, you may attempt to enter the dreams of someone they know by picturing that person in your mind and making a successful Will save (DC18 if only a passing acquaintance, DC12 if a conversation was had, DC8 if a great deal of time was spent together, DC4 if a close family member or loved one. If you succeed, you may now observe or control that person's dream to the extent your talents will allow.
   Prerequisite: Dream Viewer feat
Dream Hub: Once you have entered the dream of a target, you able to bring an additional number of sleepers into the dream equal to the total of your Wisdom and Charisma modifiers. If those you wish to draw into a shared dream are unwilling or unprepared to enter the dream (like you, they must have focuses on the target prior to going to sleep, although they need not have met him or her), you must make a successful Will save (DC6, plus the individual's Wisdom modifier). The characters drawn into the dream can interact with the environment at the level permitted by the feats possessed by the character with Dream Hub.
   Whether willing or not, characters who are drawn into a dream must roll a Wisdom check to realize they are in a dream. If they fail the roll, their actions are dictated by the direction of dream rather than their own. The GM temporarily gains control of the character. Additional Wisdom checks may be made whenever something particularly strange or the character does something that is usually against his or her nature. The player decides when such rolls are to be made, and once the check is successful, the player once again fully controls the character.
   You can also use Dream Hub to draw others into your own dreams in the same fashion. To do this, you must first have constructed a Dream Palace (see the Dream Shaper talent).
  If you draw a character into your own dream or a dream you control, and that character possesses the Dream Shaper talent, they can collaborate with you to create complete Dreamscapes within your Dream Palace (see the Dream Shaper talent) that others can be drawn into.
  Prerequisite: Dream Stalker, Dream Shaper
Dream Stalker: You have the ability to enter the dreams of any person who you have at least seen a picture of. From there, you can determine his or her exact location by making a successful Wisdom check (DC11). The location is revealed within the context of the dream, as a map or a picture of where the target is, and you remember the location when you wake up.
  Prerequisite: Dream Walker
  Dream Shape: Create a second character. When you enter a dream using the Dream Stalker talent, this is your basically who you are. All attributes are 12, but one is increased by +6, one by +4, one by +2, and one by +1. Your character classes and levels remain the same, but you may reassign skill points and feats for this dream character in any way you like, except that your dream-self always possesses the Dream Viewer minor power feat and whatever talents from the Dream Walker talent tree you possess. Additionally, you gain three bonus Minor Power feats and three bonus talents from any trees except the Dream Walker talent tree.
   With a Will save (DC12) you may change the appearance of your dream character, but all attributes remain the same.
   Prerequisite: Dream Stalker
   Dream Shaper: With a successful Will save (DC11 plus the total of the target's Wisdom and Intelligence bonuses), you may alter the dream of that you have entered. You can choose to control the behavior of characters in the dream, change the setting of the dream, and any other change you wish to make. The Will save target is the same DC whether you are attempting a minor change or a major change. Each change you wish to make to the dream requires an separate roll. (Changing the behavior of minor characters or location of the dream can be done with one roll each, but important characters require a separate roll for each one.)
   If you attempt to impact part of the dream and fail, you may attempt that change again, but the DC increases by +2. The DC increase is only for the retry on already failed changes; if you try something different, the DC is still at the base.
   If you attempt to alter a person's dreamworld in a way that they find too shocking or upsetting, you risk losing control. This triggers a Will save on the part of the target (DC15) and if it is successful, you are ejected from the dream and you cannot reestablish contact for at least three days. (The target's subconcious mental defenses realialized something was up, and natural mental defenses kicked in.)
   Dream Shaper can also be used to create a "Dream Palace." This is a mental structure that exists in your mind, with any appearance you wish it to have. Each room is either a memory you wish to examine, or a pre-constructed dreamscape that either you or another character with the Dream Shaper talent can create in collaboration with you--and into which you may draw other dreamers if you desire.
   If using the Dream Palace to examine your own memories, you watch as an invisible spectator as events unfold. You may make Knowledge, Search or Spot skill checks (with a +10 bonus) to see something out of the ordinary or notice whatever it is you are looking for in your own mind. You may also roll Sense Motive skill checks (also with a +10 bonus)
This environment is one that is under your control, and the targeted dreamer that you wish to draw into it will not receive a second saving throw due to extreme changes, and any changes you or other characters allied with you wish to make to the dream environment are made with straight DC11 Will saves with no DC increases due to failed attempts.

Smells Like the Night Before Christmas!

Happy Christmas from NUELOW Games!

The Christmas Rangers!

Here's a Christmas brainstorm! Maybe someday, we'll flesh this concept out with game stats and more!

INTRODUCING... THE CHRISTMAS RANGERS!

From their secret headquarters somewhere on the North Pole, the Christmas Rangers stand ready to assist Santa when those who are particular naughty try to ruin Christmas for others, or when the forces of evil try to target Santa directly (such as agents of the Martian Diktat, Americans for Freedom from Religion, or the Iranian Republican Guard), they leap into action, wielding supernatural powers and clad in hi-tech battle armor.
   The Christmas Rangers wear colored armor from which they derive their individual names and which matches the powers they wield. The armor fully encases the wearer so their race is concealed, and it is styled in such a way that it hides the wearer's sex so each Christmas Ranger is a representative of all of humanity.
   Thanks to their armor, all Christmas Rangers can fly as fast as Santa's reindeer, can fire multi-colored, powerful laser beams from their wrists, and have strength that rivals that of the legends such as Sampson, Herakles, and Chuck Norris. The powers of the individual Rangers are as follows:


   The Green Ranger: The power to cause Christmas trees to manifest, as well as to heal those who are injured or sick.
   The Gold Ranger: The power to inspire generosity of spirit in even the most self-centered and greedy person, as well as bolster the confidence and sense of community of all people of good will.
   The Red Ranger: The power to tell the naughty from the nice, as well as to reinvigorate the tired and fill those who feel defeated with renewed strength and purpose.
    White Ranger: The power to cause snow to fall in the nearby area in even the hottest of climates, as well as the ability to freeze enemies in their tracks and to muffle sound.

The White Ranger, unmasked.

Happy Christmas from NUELOW Games!

Happy Christmas to someone who never gets any Christmas well-wishes--Allah!





Our biggest desire is a worldwide ceasefire, because Santa is up in his sleigh!

"Merry Christmas, Allah!"

Harpy Feather of Caroling

This is a magic item that is simple to create and fun for the entire adventuring party. All actions described must be taken by the characters who will ultimately wear the Harpy Feather of Caroling.

First, one has to acquire a harpy feather. Any feather will do, but it must take taken from a live harpy... and the harpy must be alive after the feather has been acquired.

Second, the feather must be taken to the Grove of Yule where the Spirit of Christmas must be asked to bless it. This can be done on the night of the 24th into the 25th of every month of the year. Characters must enter the grove unarmed.

Third, the feather must be mounted in a setting and put on a necklace (Craft [jewelry] DC7). The setting and necklace can be made of any permanent material, and may be created by a third party, but the assembly must be performed by the character who will be the owner and wearer of the Harpy Feather of Caroling.

Once the item is complete, whenever the character wears it, he or she will unfailingly remember the lyrics to any uplifting or joyful song that he or she has read or heard at any point in her life. The item also grants a +10 bonus to Perform (singing) skill checks when such songs are sung by the character.

The Harpy Feather of Caroling radiates faint Enchantment magic, but it never works for any person but the intended wearer... unless that wearer gifts it to another person out of kindness and love, Then the magic transfers.

(The preceding text is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with it. Copyright Steve Miller 2016.)

You won't find more Christmas action this side of 'Die Hard'!

For some different Christmas action this Holiday Season, you need to get yourself A Christmas Box from NUELOW Games! It's got comics and battle scenarios featuring NUELOW stars Jill Trent & Daisy Smythe, the Black Cat, and Judy of the Jungle; it's got Santa and his daughter Sugar Plum, Jesus Christ, Martians, Bill Clinton, and many more, all battling with the Spirit of Christmas in their hearts; it's got a collection of horror-themed short stories; and the core rulebook for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters....


Basically, it's everything you need to have a different sort of gaming experience with the family and loved ones this Christmas, and to otherwise entertain yourself while you are waiting up for Santa to bring the presents. (You can even ask Santa if he wants to play himself and join you for a ROLF! battle or two!)


Click here to get A Christmas Box--which features 8 fantabulous NUELOW Games Christmas-themed releases for a super-low price!

Random Superhero Background/Origin Tables

Do you want to play a superhero character but are having a hard time coming up with an origin story/background? Use the following random tables to help jump-start your imagination. (This material is system free, and it's presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with it.)

How did the Hero Get His or Her Powers?
Roll 1d12. Consult the Table.
1. Rocketed to Earth from an Alien Planet
2. Learned Mysticism from Tibetan Monks
3. Learned to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Mind and Body from Secret Cult of Mystics
4. Scientific Accident
5. Industrial Accident
6. Purposeful Scientitic Experimentation
7. Inventions of Your Own Design
8. Inventions Stolen from Evil-doers or Alien Beings
9. Blessed or Cursed by a god.
10. Born into a lost/hidden civilization that you left behind.
11. You're a Ghost or Some Other Kind of Supernatural Being
12. You're Just a Person Who Has a Unique Set of Skills, a Passion for Justice, and a Cool Costume.

What is the Hero's Sex?
Roll 1d12. Consult the table
1-4. Male
5-7. Female
8-10. Alien (roll an additional 1d6 to determine superficial sexual characterisitcs; 1-2 Male, 3-4 Female, 5-6 Shapeshifter with no specific sex.)
11-12. Android (use the tables in NUELOW's Dynamic Man for additional details

What is the Hero's Gender?
(You can also use this table to determine sexual orientation.)
Roll 1d12. Consult the table.
1-4. Male
5-8. Female
10-11. Fluid/Bisexual
12. Asexual.

What is the Hero's Race?
You can use the table in this post ("d20 System Racial Templates") to determine that. You can ignore the game mechanics if you are using a different game system than the one it was intended for, or if they don't fit with the character generation system used in your game.

Christmas is almost here!

Are you excited yet? Here at NUELOW Games, we're counting the minutes until we find out whether Santa thinks we've been naughty or nice! (This year, L.L. Hundal went to hand-deliver our wish lists, since we think there was probably a mistake last year.)

Meanwhile, here's a Christmas song to get you into the spirit and/or pass some of those very, VERY long minutes!

Calm Animals Minor Power and the Command Animal Superpower Talent Tree

It's time for another addition to the growing NUELOW Games d20 Superpowers System. This time out, we present powers intended to allow for the creation of superheroes who communicate with animals like Aquaman.  The minor power feat Calm Animals can serve as a prerequisite for most superpowers from the various talent trees presented on this blog and in many of our RPG/Comics hybrid products, but it is also the only way a character can gain access to the Command Animal Superpower Talents. That is a departure from how most of the superpower talent trees we've presented have worked so far, because we are building a system where strange combinations of powers are possible, just like with some comic book heroes and villains.

CALM ANIMALS [Minor Power Feat]
You have the power to soothe even the most savage beast.
   Benefit: By taking a full round action and making a successful Charisma check (DC12), the character turns creatures with Intelligence scores of 1-2 friendly towards him and neutral toward allied characters. He can influence a number creatures equal to his Charisma bonus. The creatures remain calmed for the duration of the encounter with them, or until they are attacked by the character or his allies.
   Targeted creatures must be within 30 feet of the character, and they must be able to see him under normal visibility conditions.
   Special: When selecting this feat, you gain a +4 bonus to Handle Animal skill checks. Ranks in the Animal Empathy or Handle Animal skills are added as a bonus to the Charisma check when using the Calm Animal power.

The Calm Animal Minor Power in action.

COMMAND ANIMAL SUPERPOWER TALENT TREE
You have a special talent for communicating with types of animals and directing them to following your instructions, no matter how wild and savage they might be.
   Command Amphibians: From frogs to salamanders, you may calm amphibians as described under the Calm Animals Minor Power and telepathically issue simple one- or two-word commands to them, such as having them attack a foe, carry an object, guard an entryway, or let you ride them. You may affect a number of amphibious animals equal to five times your Charisma bonus.
   Prerequisite: Calm Animals Minor Power feat
   Command Birds: From finches to vultures, you may calm birds as described under the Calm Animals Minor Power and telepathically issue simple one- or two-word commands to them, such as having them attack a foe, carry an object, guard an entryway, and so forth. You may affect a number of birds equal to five times your Charisma bonus.
   Prerequisite: Calm Animals Minor Power feat
   Command Fish: From angelfish to sharks, you may calm fish as described under the Calm Animals Minor Power and telepathically issue simple one- or two-word commands to them, such as having them attack a foe, carry an object, guard an entryway, or let you ride them. You may affect a number of fish equal to five times your Charisma bonus.
   Prerequisite: Calm Animals Minor Power feat
   Command Mammals: From apes to zebras, you may calm mammals as described under the Calm Animals Minor Power and telepathically issue simple one- or two-word commands to them, such as having them attack a foe, carry an object, guard an entryway, or let you ride them. You may affect a number of mammalian animals equal to five times your Charisma bonus.
   Prerequisite: Calm Animals Minor Power feat
   Command Reptiles: From crocodiles to turtles, you may calm reptiles as described under the Calm Animals Minor Power and telepathically issue simple one- or two-word commands to them, such as having them attack a foe, carry an object, guard an entryway, or let you ride them. You may affect a number of reptilian animals equal to five times your Charisma bonus.
   Prerequisite: Calm Animals Minor Power feat
   Superior Command Animals: Pick an animal type (amphibian, bird, fish, mammal, or reptile). You may command a number of that type of animal up to 20 times your Charisma bonus, within a 60-foot radius of your location in the manner described in the Command Animal Talents.
   Prerequisite: A Command Animal talent that matches the designated animal for Superior Command Animal.

Santa has the Calm Animal minor power, as well as Command Mammals,
Superior Command Animals (Mammals), and a few other powers!

If you liked 'Rogue One'...

... we think you'll also enjoy Gene Fawcette's Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes. It tells of the exciting adventures of Tara and her crew of outlaws, as they battle evil and corruption throughout space.

Cover art for Tara by Alex Schomburg

  This book brimming with swashbuckling space action can be found at DriveThruComics, RPGNow, and DriveThruRPG. In addition to the great comics, the book contains ROLF! game stats or Tara and her crew, and d20 System and OpenD6 game stats for Tara's weapon of choice--the atom sword. (Yeah... light sabres may be cool and all, but are they atom sword cool?!)

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen & A Christmas Western by R.E. Howard

Enjoy some Christmas music and an early short story by Robert E. Howard (written and published when he was still in high school). It's a Very Western Christmas today at NUELOW Games!

GOLDEN HOPE CHRISTMAS

By Robert E. Howard

Chapter 1

Red Ghallinan was a gunman. Not a trade to be proud of, perhaps, but Red was proud of it. Proud of his skill with a gun, proud of the notches on the long blue barrel of his heavy .45s. Red was a wiry, medium-sized man with a cruel, thin lipped mouth and close-set, shifty eyes. He was bow-legged from much riding, and, with his slouching walk and hard face he was, indeed, an unprepossessing figure. Red’s mind and soul were as warped as his exterior. His insister reputation caused men to strive to avoid offending him but at the same tome to cut him off from the fellowship of people. No man, good or bad, cares to chum with a killer. Even the outlaws hated him and feared him too much to admit him to their gang, so he was a lone wolf. But a lone wolf may sometimes be more feared than the whole pack.

   Let us not blame Red too much. He was born and reared in an environment of evil. His father and his father’s father had been rustlers and gun-fighters. Until he was a grown man, Red knew nothing but crime as a legitimate way of making a living and by the time he learned that a man may earn a sufficient livelihood and still remain within the law he was too set in his ways to change. So it was not altogether his fault that he was a gunfighter. Rather, it was the fault of those unscrupulous politicians and mine-owners who hired him to kill their enemies. For that was the way Red lived. He was a born gun-fighter. The killer instinct burned strongly in him—the heritage of Cain. He had never seen the man who surpassed him or even equalled him in the speed of the draw or in swift, straight shooting. These qualities together with the cold nerve and reckless bravery that goes with red hair, made him much in demand with rich men who had enemies. So he did a large business.
    But the forefront of the law began to come into Idaho and Red saw with hate the first sign of that organization which had driven him out of Texas a few years before—the vigilantes. Red’s jobs became fewer and fewer for he feared to kill unless he could make it appear self-defense.
    At last it reached a point where Red was faced with the alternative of moving on or going to work. So he rode over to miner’s cabin and announced his intention of buying the miner’s claim. The miner, after one skittish glance at Red’s guns, sold his claim for fifty dollars, signed the deed and left the country precipitately.
    Red worked the claim for a few days and then quit in disgust. He had not gotten one ounce of gold dust. This was due, partly to his distaste for work, partly to his ignorance of placer mining and mostly to the poorness of the claim.
     He was standing in the front door of the saloon of the mining town, when the stage-coach drove in and a passenger alit.
    He was a well built, frank-appearing young fellow and Red hated him instinctively. Hated him for his cleanliness, for his open, honest, pleasant face, because he was everything that Red was not.
    The newcomer was very friendly and very soon the whole town knew his antecedents. His name was Hal Sharon, a tenderfoot from the east, who had come to Idaho with the hopes of striking a bonanza and going home wealthy. Of course there was a girl in the case, though Hal said little on that point. He had a few hundred dollars and wanted to buy a good claim. At this Red took a new interest in the young man.
    Red bought drinks and lauded his claim. Sharon proved singularly trustful. He did not ask to see the claim but took Red’s word for it. A trustfulness that would have touched a less hardened man than Red.
    One or two men, angered at the deliberate swindle, tried to warn Hal but a cold glance from Red caused them to change their minds. Hal bought Red’s claim for five hundred dollars.
    He toiled unceasingly all fall and early winter, barely making enough to keep him in food and clothes, while Red lived in the little town and sneered at his uncomplaining efforts. As winter deepened, everywhere the miners stopped work and came to town to live until the snow should have melted and the ground thawed out in the spring. Only Hal Sharon stayed at his claim, working on in the cold and snow, spurred on by the thought of riches—and a girl.

--

It was a little over three weeks until Christmas when, one cold night Red Ghallinan sat by the stove in the saloon and listened to the blizzard outside. He though to Sharon, doubtless shivering in his cabin up on the slopes, and he sneered. He listened idly to the talk of the miners and cow-punchers who were discussing the coming festivals, a dance and so on.
    Christmas meant nothing to Red. Though the one bright spot I his life had been one Christmas years ago when Red was a ragged waif, shivering on the snow covered streets of Kansas City.
    He had passed a great church and, attracted by the warmth, had entered timidly. The people had sung, “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!” and when the congregation exited, an old, white haired woman had seen the boy and had taken him home and fed him and clothed him. Red had lived in her home as one of the family until spring, but when the wild geese began to fly north and the trees began to bud, the wanderlust got into the boy’s blood and he ran away and came back to his native Texas prairies. But that was years ago and Red never thought of it now.
    The door flew open and a furred and muffled figure strode in. It was Sharon—his hands shoved deep in his coat pockets.
    Instantly Red was on his feet, hand twisting just above a gun. But Hal took no notice of him. He pushed his way to the bar.
    “Boys,” he said: “I named my claim the Golden Hope, and it was a true name! Boys, I’ve struck it rich!”
    And he threw a double handful of nuggets and gold-dust on the bar.

--

Christmas Eve Red stood in the door of an eating house and watched Sharon coming down the slope, whistling merrily. He had a right to be merry. He was already worth twelve thousand dollars and had not exhausted his claim by half. Red watched with hate in his eyes. Ever since the night that Sharon had thrown his first gold on the bar, his hatred of the man had grown. Hal’s fortune seemed a personal injury to Red. Had he not worked like a slave on that claim without getting a pound of gold? And here this stranger had come and gotten rich off the same claim! Thousands to him, a measly five hundred to Red. To Red’s warped mind this assumed monstrous proportions—an outrage. He hated Sharon as he had never hated a man before. And since with him to hate was to kill, he determined to kill Hal Sharon. With a curse he reached for a gun when a thought stayed his hand. The Vigilantes! They would get him sure if he killed Sharon openly. A cunning light came to his eyes and he turned and strode away toward the unpretentious boarding house where he stayed.
    Hal Sharon walked into a saloon.
    “Seen Ghallinan lately?” he asked.
    The bartender shook his head.
    Hal tossed a bulging buck-sack on the bar, and said: “Give that to him when you see him. It’s got about a thousand dollars worth of gold-dust in it.”
    The bartender gasped. “What! You giving Red a thousand bucks after he tried to swindle you? Yes, it is safe here. Ain’t a galoot in camp touch anything belonging to a gun-fighter. But say—“
    “Well,” answered Hal, “I don’t think he got enough for his claim; he practically gave it to me. And anyway, “ he laughed over his shoulder, “It’s Christmas!”

Chapter 2

Morning in the mountains. The highest peaks touched with a delicate pink. The stars paling as the darkness grew grey. Light on the peaks, shadow still in the valleys, as if the paint brush of the Master had but passed lightly over the land, coloring openly the highest places, the places nearest to Him. Now the light-legions began to invade the valleys, driving before them the darkness; the light on the peaks grew stronger, the snow beginning to cast back the light. But as yet no sun. The king had sent his courtiers before him but he himself had not appeared.
    In a certain valley, smoke curled from the chimney of a rude log cabin. High on the hillside, a man gave a grunt of satisfaction. The man lay in a hollow, from which he had scraped the drifted snow. Ever since the first hint of dawn, he had lain there, watching the cabin. A heavy rifle lay beneath his arm.
    Down in the valley, the cabin door swung wide and a man stepped out. The watcher on the hill saw that it was the man he had come to kill.

    Hal Sharon threw his arms wide and laughed aloud in the sheer joy of living. Up on the hill, Red Ghallinan watched the man over the sights of a Sharpe .50 rifle. For the first time he noticed what a magnificent figure the young man was. Tall, strong, handsome, with the glow of health on his cheek.
    For some reason Red was not getting the enjoyment he thought he would. He shook his shoulders impatiently. His finger tightened on the trigger—suddenly Hal broke into song; the words floated clearly to Red.
    “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!”
    Where had he heard that song before? Suddenly a mist floated across Red Ghallinan’s eyes; the rifle slipped unnoticed from his hands, He drew his hand across his eyes and looked toward the east. There, alone hung one great star and as he looked, over the shoulder of a great mountain came the great sun.
    “Gawd!” gulped Red, why—it is Christmas!”

--
If you enjoyed that story, written by Robert E. Howard when he was just a teenager, you'll love the westerns he wrote when his skills were at their sharpest. Check out The Last Ride from NUELOW Games.

Oh Tannenbaum... in the Style of Rammstein(plus something for your d20 Modern game)

Psychostick and NUELOW Games want to help jumpstart your Christmas Spirit with this Rammstein parody. Or... maybe not. You be the judge!


 \
(Our resident Christmas Aficionado, L.L. Hundal, said. "Are you kidding me?!" when she first started watching. Then she began to laugh. Christmas Cheer Unlocked!)

The Members of Pyschostick wish you a happy Christmas!

And speaking of Christmas Cheer, here's something that's offered for you enjoyment under the Open Game license.


Bobble Hat of Christmas Good Will (for d20 System games)
This unique artifact radiates a faint magic aura from December 1 to January 5. During this time, it causes the wearer to radiate cheerful Christmas energy--but there is a price to pay should he or she abuse the status as an incarnation of the Christmas Spirit.
     d20 System Game Mechanics: Grants the wearer a +2 bonus to all Charisma-based skill checks. In addition, the wearer gains a +1 supernatural modifier to AC/DR and a 1 point per die of damage dealt by an attack, because those that would harm the character are hesitant to do so. If the wearer uses Bluff or Diplomacy skills to defraud or cause trouble for another person, all benefits of the Bobble Hat of Christmas Good Will are lost and the character comes under a curse that results in a -4 penalty to all Charisma-based skill checks. The only way the curse can be removed is through the power of a god, or by the character giving a Christmas gift to his most hated enemy, as well as giving away the Bobble Hat of Christmas Good Will to a more worthy owner.