The Secret Life of Bessie Love

In 1915, 17-year-old Juanita Horton's family was struggling to make ends meet, so her mother told her to go down to Biograph Studios to see if they'd give her work. Producer and director D.W. Griffith thought she'd be great on camera, and after a few bit parts, Juanita was on her way to stardom under the stagename Bessie Love.

But unbeknowst to the adoring movie-going public, Bessie Love was far more than just another Hollywood star... she was also the mysterious masked adventuress known as the Love Bug!

SECRET ORIGIN OF THE LOVE BUG
In the very early morning of September 3 of 1924, Bessie Love was awakened by frantic knocking at her door. Outside, in the swirling fog, was an elderly woman with a small suitcase. She thrust the case at Bessie and said, "You have been chosen."
   Before Bessie could react, the woman retreated into the fog and vanished. The confused actress took the suitcase into the sitting room and opened it. Inside was a strange bejeweled costume consisting of a mask, a curious-looking headdress, a backless leotard, and matching shoes. As she touched the mask, her mind was filled with images of and facts about an ancient order of mystics locked in an eternal battle with a demonic cult bent on bringing about literal Hell on Earth. The "costume" was in truth ancient ceremonial garb and mystically powered armor that assisted the wearer in her fight against demons... and Bessie had been chosen to carry on the fight. The vision had told her all she needed to know, as well as the powers of the outfit... and from that day forward, she split her time between acting and combatting mystical evils where she found them throughout Southern California.
   For the next year-and-a-half, newspapers carried reports of a mystery woman who fought crime and brought secret cults to light by defeating them. After rescuing children that had been slated for sacrifice to a dark god on February 14, 1926, she encountered a newspaper reporter who wanted to know her name. "Call me the Love Bug," was her swift, unthinking reply. The name stuck.
   As the 1930s dawned, Bessie found it increasingly difficult to balance her life as a Hollywood star with that of a cult-busting mystery woman. She eventually committed herself full-time to the battle against evil and left her glamorous life as an actress behind.

   By the mid-1930s, Bessie had relocated to England in order to learn more about the original creators of her magical gear and to stem the rising demonic tides at their source. Over the next decade, she faced evil mystics all over Europe and she found allies in the secret magical order The Daughters of Burdick. She still appeared in the occasional movie, but more often than not, her accepting roles was to bring her into the orbit of suspected cultists or other evil-minded people.
   In 1950, at the age of 52, Bessie decided she was getting to old for the physical demands of life as the Love Bug. She began searching for a replacement, a young woman to whom she could give the armor as it had once been given to her. Once that had been accomplished, she returned to acting full time.


THE LOVE BUG'S POWERS
The rest of this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 Steve Miller.
   The Love Bug's powers are derived entirely from her mystical armor, which radiates faint magic of an indeterminant type if such is detected for. The entire outfit must be worn for any of the powers to function. It is described below in terms of the d20 System roleplaying game rules.
   The Jewel-lined Domino Mask: This is a black mask, the edges of which are lined with tiny diamonds. It only covers the area around the wearer's eyes. Once per day, as a standard action, the wearer can invoke the spell-like ability of true seeing. The effect is just like the spell of the same name, as if cast by a 12th-level caster, but with a duration equal to twice the wearer's Wisdom bonus in minutes.
   The Bejeweled Headdress: Two jewel-encrusted insect-like anttenae rise from this tight-fitting headcover. It provides the wearer with a +4 bonus to all saving throws to resist mind-affecting magic and spell-like effects. In addition, once per day, as a standard action, the wearer can invoke the spell-like ability of telepathy. This ability functions as if cast by a 12th-level caster, but with a duration equal to twice the wearer's Wisdom bonus in minutes.
   The Bejewled Leotard: The jewels covering this tight-fitting garment are arranged in the patterns of Atlantean sigils of protection. It grants the wearer a +2 bonus to AC/DR, as well as a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Reflex saving throws. These bonuses stack with other similar bonuses.
   The Bejeweled Shoes: The wearer's base movement rate is increased by 10. The shoes also provide a +4 bonus to all movement and balance-related skill checks.
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   As previously mentioned, for any of the powers to function, all four pieces of the set must be worn. If the wearer enters an area where magic is suppressed or otherwise doesn't usually work, the powers don't function, but they return immediately upon leaving that area. If dispel magic is cast at the wearer, she must make a successful saving throw (DC12), or the armor ceases to function for a number of minutes equal to the level of the person who cast dispel magic.
  
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The Creations of Hannah Blythe

In 1927, elementalist Hannah Blythe and her fellow members in the Crooked Circle found themsevles in a pitched battle against a cult bent on calling forth the Storm God's destructive water spirits and lay waste to the city of Long Beach, California. Using techniques she learned from an ancient Atlantean tome, she created several magic items to help her fight the Circle's waterborn enemies.
   The items were the Bathing Suit of Proection, the Swim Cap of Illusion, the Water Wings of Strength and Diving, and the Water Shoes of Swimming.

The rest of this post is released under the Open Game License. The material may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 Steve Miller.


THE CREATIONS OF HANNAH BLYTHE
All of Hannah's creation appear to be normal articles of clothing--even if the bathing suit has curious designs upon it. (An Arcane Lore or Spell Craft skill check (DC18) will allow a character to recognize the designs as Atlantiean runes of power.)
   The enchantments on the items crated by Hannah Blythe are powered by Atlantean runes, which are plainly visible on the bathing suit, but are hidden inside the cap, the shoes, and the water wings. If the runes are damaged or altered, the items lose their magic. If spells or items are used to inspect Anna's creations, they radiate faint water elemental magic, with a subtle touch of something indistinct.
   Bathing Suit of Protection: When worn without any other articles of clothing on the torso, the wearer is immune to natural cold temperatures or from getting cold from being wet. The Bathing Suit of Protection also grants a +1 bonus to AC or DR, +1 bonus to most saving throws, and a +4 bonus to saving throws made to resist water- and cold-based spell-effects and spell-like abilities.
   Swim Cap of Illusion: By uttering the command word ("cerracao") while wearing the yellow flower-adorned swim cap, the wearer becomes shouded in an illusion that helps her blend into the surroundings. The illusion depends on where the character is; if she is swimming in the ocean, she may like moolight glinting on the surface, or a bloom of jellyfish, and if she's on shore, she may appear like a bush, or a closed parasol on a stand. The illusion lasts five minutes, or until the wearer dismisses it by saying the command word again or makes an attack. If the character remains still, the illusion is perfect and no-one notices her, except those creatures with immunity to magical illusions (floating with the current in the ocean counts as remaining still). If the character moves, those within line of sight may roll a Will saving throw (DC15) to see through the illusion.
   Water Shoes of Swimming: The wearer gains a +6 bonus to all Swim skill checks. This bonus stacks will all other bonuses. In addition, the characer may walk or run at normal movement rate across muddy ground or in water that's up to knee deep.
   Water Wings of Strength and Diving: The wearer's Strength is increased by 2. By saying the command word ("afundar"), the water wings allows the wearer to dive and swim underwater at twice the normal movement rate.


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The Power of Twins

In fantastic fiction (and perhaps even in reality?) twins share bonds far more powerful than other siblings. This feat attempts to model that. (All text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 by Steve Miller.)

IDENTICAL TWIN [General, Character Creation Only]
You have an identical twin brother or sister.
Benefit: You gain several benefits from this feat.
   Twin: To use the benefits of this feat, you must create a second character--your primary character's twin. This second character has the same Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution attributes as the primary one, but you generate the Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma attributes according to the rules for character creation. You and your twin are basically physically identical, although more intellectual and ephemeral trains may be vastly different. Personal grooming and style may also make them appear differently, but Disguise skill checks or a make-over can make the characters apparent copies of each other. Classes/professions, skills, feats... all of those may be very different between the two characters. Both must have the Identical Twin feat.
   As the campaign is played, your twin gains XP at 1/2 the rate your primary character does. You may go back and forth between playing the characters, as described below under Trading Places.
   Sense Your Twin: You may detect the direction of your twin if he or she is alive, on the same plane as you, and you succeed in an Know Direction skill check against DC15 (or a Wisdom attribute check if you do not have that skill). In addition, you may know if your twin is in extreme pain or mental anguish. A failure on this check gives no information. You may retry once per round as a standard action.
   Dream Message: One every other night, you may send a dream message to your twin. As you are going to sleep, you must think about your twin and roll a successful Concentration skill check against a DC11 (or a successful Intelligence attribute check if you not have that skill). You appear in your twins dreams, and you may give him or her a message of any length. Your twin remembers every detail of the message when he or she awakens. If your twin is awake when you send the message, they will receive it the next time they fall asleep. If you fail the skill check, you must wait two nights before trying again. Your twin may send you messages the same way.
   Dream Visit: Once every four nights, you and your twin may communicate in dreams. Both characters must think of their twin as they are falling asleep and roll a successful Concentration skill check against DC13 (or a successful Intelligence attribute check for a Twin without the skill). If both characters make successful rolls, they share a hyper-realistic dream in which they are at some location where they both felt safe and happy. They may converse as if awake, and each twin remembers the dream clearly when he or she wakes up. If only one twin makes a successful roll, the communication is one-way. The twin with the successful roll may impart information to his or her twin (which will be remembered when the twin awakens) but nothing is gained in return. If both twins fail the roll, no communication is established, and four nights must pass before another attempt can be made. This ability only works if the twins are on the same plane.
   Trading Places: You may make arrangements to meet your twin somewhere that makes sense for adventure in progress (GM's call). The twin now becomes the primary character. The swap can be made in secret if the twins have made an effort to keep their physical appearances similar.
   Severed Bond: If your twin is killed, you must make a Will saving throw (DC12). If the save fails, you suffer a -2 penalty to all skill checks and attack rolls until you get a good night's sleep because you feel like something is wrong. When you sleep, you have a dream in which your twin tells you goodbye and you see a clear vision of his or her fate, including who was responsible for the death if the twin knows. You loose the Twin feat and may select one of the following in its place: Alertness, Danger Sense, Headstrong, Lucky, Selfless, Vengeful (or another feat by GM permission). Your character must qualify for any feat selected.
   If it is your primary character that is killed, you may bring the twin into the game as described under Trading Places.
   Special: You may only take this feat as a starting feat during character creation.