J is for Jester's Regalia

Today's Blogging Challenge entry is a collection of magic items for the d20 System. All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

The Jester's Regalia (By Steve Miller)
The Jester's Regalia was created for Berlan, the renegade son of King Erlash the Third of Reyla. The young man wanted to spend his life singing and dancing rather than leading armies and royal courts, and he commissioned some of the realms finest magic craftsmen to create a unique costume for him that would enhance his abilities as an entertainer.
   The outfit that was created for him has been named the Jester's Regalia by historians, as Berlan spent time performing as a roaming jester and comedian in the neighboring kingdom of Desilain after fleeing from his father's court.  It is crafted from the finest silks and linens and is bright purple, green, and gold in color. Small bells along the seams of the cap and the tunic's arms tinkle when the character moves.
   Berlan's career in show business ended abruptly when he was murdered and dismembered by a troupe of wandering minstrels who were envious of his rapidly growing fame. To hide their crime, they scattered the elements of the Jester's Regalia throughout the lands they traveled through. While individual pieces have since been reported in the possession of this collector or that adventurer, no one has ever managed to gather all give pieces together since Berlan's demise.

D20 System Stats
Each of the five pieces that make up the Jester's Regelia give the wearer a specific bonus.

   Jester's Cap: When worn, grants the character a +2 bonus to all Charisma-based skills, as well as a +2 bonus to Disguise checks as part of it hides the wearer's face and provides a slight magical distortion to his or her voice--making it more high pitched.
   Jester's Gloves: When worn, grants the character a +4 to Sleight of Hand skill checks.
   Jester's Shoes: When worn, grants the character a +4 bonus to Climb skill checks.
   Jester's Tights: When worn, grants the character a +2 bonus to Tumble skill checks.
   Jester's Tunic: When worn, grants that character a +2 enhancement bonus to armor class or defense rating..

   When all five pieces are worn together, the character  gains the fascinate ability, and can cast the following spells twice per day as if he or she is a 15th level caster: animate rope, dancing lights, ghost sound, mass charm monster, prestidigitation, sculpt sound, suggestion, tiny hut, zone of silence.

   Drawback: Unfortunately, the Jester's Regalia carries a potentially lethal downside, one that was inserted into the item during the creation process by an agent of King Erlash III who wanted to stop his son from embarrassing himself and the royal family. Whenever a character with 5 or more ranks in any Perform skill watches anyone perform in the entire Jester's Regalia, there is a 10% chance that character will be filled with an instant dislike and disgust for the performer. If the affected character fails a Will save (DC20) that dislike turns into a homicidal rage that prompts the character to instantly attack the performer. The dislike and/or rage remains until the effected character is subjected to remove curse cast at 20th level.

I is for Icing Death and Twinkler

Another day, another entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge from NUELOW Games! Today, we offer a couple of magical items with stats for OGL d20 System games, OpenD6 Games, and ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game. Everything under the headers OGL d20 System Stats and OpenD6 System Stats is Open Game content, and is published under this license.

Icing Death and Twinkler (By Steve Miller)

Worldstrider and dealer of curiosities Tanner P. Valentine became fascinated with a certain Drow adventurer from a distant world. Discovering the drow was quite famous, Valentine decided to market miniature replicas of his famous matched magical swords in the form of cake knives. He named his products Icing Death and Twinkler and he marketed them through the Planestrider chain of interdimensional rest-stops. They were only on the market for a brief time before Drow, admirers, friends and enemies of the famous adventurer alike, decended on stores carrying them and destroyed the items and the stores itself. The Drow's friends felt they were an insult to him, and the Drow's enemies felt they were an insult to them--that such powerful weapons and their owner would be trivilized in such a way filled everyone who knew the Drow with indignation or fury. (And then there were the lawyers who filed suit on behalf of the Drow and his trademarkable image....)
  As for Tanner P. Valentine, he still has to give both Worldstrider reststops and Drow enclaves a wide berth. He still has a few cake knife sets he is willing to quietly sell to interested parties he meets.

D20 System Stats
Icing Death and Twinkler are matched cake knives with curved blades and ornate black handles. If used as weapons, they function as +1 daggers. They were mass-produced in elven magic item sweatshops and they are therefor not safe to use to actually cut cake. If they are used to cut cake (or any other food substance), there is a 33% chance that the magical energies leaking from the knives will poison the food. In such a case, any who eat it must roll a DC 15 Fort save or be sickened for 1d6 hours, suffering a -2 penalty to all attack rolls and skill checks.

OpenD6 System Stats
Icing Death and Twinkler are matched cake knives with curved blades and ornate black handles. They are mildly enchanted and deal STR+2 when used as weapons. They were mass-produced in elven magic item sweatshops and they are therefore not safe to use to actually cut cake. If they are used to cut cake (or any other food substance), there is a 33% chance that the magical energies leaking from the knives will poison the food. In such a case, any who eat it must roll a Strength check against a target number of 12 or suffer a -1D penalty to all rolls for 1D6 hours.

ROLF! System Stats
Icing Death and Twinkler are small melee weapons that carry a dangerous enchantment. They inflict 1 point of damage that ignore armor and 1 point of regular damage.

H is for the Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator

Today's offering in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge is by Dave Mendez and Steve Miller. It features stats for OGL d20 System games and  NUELOW Games's ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game. (The paragraph labeled "OGL d20 System Stats" is Open Gaming Content and may be republished under the terms of the Open Gaming License.)

 Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator (By Steve Miller and Dave Mendez)
This device is a 3x3x3 smooth black cube that weighs 100 pounds. A large red button is located at the direct center on one of its sides. When pressed, the cube hums briefly and the smell of cotton candy and sawdust and stale sweat wafts momentarily through the air.
    The Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator emits an energy field that weakens Hell Harlequins and Killer Klowns within a 60-ft radius. Once the button is pushed, the generator remains active for 24 hours, unless damaged. It requires 10 hours to recharge between each use.

OGL d20 System Stats
Hell Harlequins and Killer Klowns suffer a -2 penalty to all attack rolls and saving throws while within range of an active Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator.
    The particle generator has 50 hit points and a damage reduction of 5/+1. It stops working after suffering 25 hit points of damage, but can still be repaired. It is damaged beyond repair after suffering 40 hit points of damage.

 ROLF! System Stats
Hell Harlequins and Killer Klowns suffer one point of damage that ignores armor for each round they are near an active Higgs-Bozo Particle Generator.
    The particle generator has 20 Brawn points and it can only be damaged by weapons or combat maneuvers that ignore armor. It stops working after it has taken 10 Brawn points.

G is for Ghost Spotter and Ghost Whisperer

Today's offering for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge is another pair of ghost-related d20 System feats from Dave Mendez and Steve Miller. All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

GHOST SPOTTER [General]
You can see things that otherwise can only be heard by captured by electronic photography/videography.
   Prerequisites: Wisdom 15.
   Benefit: With a brief moment of concentration and a sucessful Spot check (DC 10), the character can see ghosts with the naked eye. The higher the skill roll total, the clearer the character can the ghosts. This can be two-edged sword, as the sight of particularly gruesome ghosts may force a Fear check
Special:

GHOST WHISPERER [General]
You have a knack for convincing ghosts to "move on" or otherwise behave.
   Prerequisite: Charisma 15, Diplomacy 2 ranks, Ghost Spotter
   Benefit: The character gains a +4 bonus to Bargain and Diplomacy checks when speaking to ghosts and other incorporeal beings.

F is for the Fount of All Wisdom

Continuing the A to Z April Blogging Challenge with another tidbit for use in your OGL d20 System RPG sessions. All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

The Fount of All Wisdom (By Steve Miller)

On a windswept plateau, high in the mountains that marked the northeastern border of the falled kingdom of Reylar stands a decaying, sprawling complex of temples. These buildings are so ancient that not even Reylar's earliest historians knew who built them or the names of the gods who smile down at explorers from wallcarving and giant statues. The only facts known is that Reylar's first Warrior-King rose to power with wealth and magical artifacts gained from the catacombs and hidden temples in the maze-like tunnels beneath the structures, and that for centuries that followed, adventurers who braved the wilderness and scaled the forbidding mountains also returned with great wealth.

Although the main treasure troves of the ruins have long since been emptied, occasional small rewards can be had by those who explore them, mostly in the form of gear recovered from the bodies of less skilled explorers. Such trinkets are not why modern adventurers and explorers make the long and deadly journey to reach the ruins--the come in search of the legendary Fount of All Wisdom,.Reportedly located deep within the tunnel complex below the ruins, those who drink from it gain wisdom possessed by the gods themselves. But gaining such insight carries with it possible price--the weak-minded are unable to handle divine wisdom and they are driven hoplessly mad.

OGL d20 System Rules
The Fount of Wisdom consists of a large marble basin and three life-sized, highly detailed statues of human females--one representing a young girl, one representing a full-grown woman, and one representing an old woman--pouring neverending streams of crystal clear water from tilted goblets in their hands.

Each character can drink four times from the fount in a lifetime--once from each individual stream and once from the basin. The proper order to drink is from the basin, from the young girl, from the full-grown woman, and finally the old woman. Drinking out of order counts as one of the four time, but it gives no benefit other than slaking a character's thirst. When used in the proper sequence, characters can gain random benefits (or drawbacks) as described on the following tables. Each table is keyed to a d6 roll. Benefits and drawbacks are permanent, unless otherwise noted, and they stack with other results from using the fount.

Effects of the Basin
1. No effect.
2. Survival becomes a permanent class skill.
3. Listen becomes a permanent class skill.
4. Sense Motive becomes a permanent class skill.
5. +1 to Wisdom attribute.
6. +1 to Strength or Constitution attribute; player's choice.

Effects of the Young Girl
1. Character becomes 2d6 years younger, with any appropriate age-based attribute adjustments 
     occurring instantly.
2. Roll again on Effects of Basin table. If result has already occurred, no effect.
3. +2 permanent bonus to Listen skill checks.
4. +2 permanent bonus to Sense Movie skill checks.
5. +2 permanent bonus to Handle Animal skill checks.
6. +1 to Wisdom attribute.

Effects of the Grown Woman
1.Character loses 1d3 Charisma attribute points, round up.
2. Roll again on the Effects of the Basin table. If the result has already occurred, no effect.
3. +1 permanent bonus to Listen checks.
4. +1 permanent bonus to Sense Motive checks.
5. +2 permanent bonus to Spot checks.
6. +2 to Wisdom attribute.

Effects of the Old Woman
1. The character is subject to a permanent confusion spell effect. Only a healing artifact or a god itself can
     restore the character to normal.
2. Roll on the Effects of the Grown Woman table, If the result has already occurred, no effect.
3. Roll on the Effects of the Basin table. If the result has already occurred, no effect.
4. Whenever the character rolls a successful critical attack, he must roll a Will save (DC30) or fall victim to the effects of the hideous laughter spell (as if cast by a 20th level caster),.
5. The character instantly ages 2d6 years, with any modifiers to attributes applied immediately.
6. +4 to Wisdom attribute.

E is for Ectoplasmic Dominator and Dampener

Today's A to Z April Blogging Challenge offers a couple of feats that fit in nicely with the horror feats presented here a couple of weeks ago.

A thanks goes to Dave Mendez, a long time friend of NUELOW Games, for his contribution today. If you want to contribute something as we work our way through the alphabet with RPG tidbits, email us at stevemillermail@gmail.com.

All text in this post is Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.


Ectoplasmic Dominator (By Steve Miller)
Incorporeal beings are weaker when attempting to attack you. This ability comes from your brave spirit that ensures you're not afraid of ghosts.
   Benefit: You gain a Defense Rating or Armor Class bonus of +2, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Will saves against attacks made by incorporeal beings.

Ectoplasmic Dampener (By Dave Mendez)
Incorporeal beings are slightly weaker when you are nearby due to your grounded personality.
   Prerequisite: Ectoplasmic Dominator, character level 5+.
   Benefit: The character and all allied creatures within 15 feet gain a +2 bonus to Defense Rating or Armor Class, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude and Will saves against attacks made by incorporeal beings/ These bonuses stack with all others.


(If you like those feats, you might also like our ghost-centric Advanced Class, the Ghostmaster. Click here to check it out (and perhaps even buy your own copy).

D is for Direscents

Today's entry in the "A to Z Blogging Challenge" is a bit of a cheat. It's a description of magical plants that's been revised from a piece written a decade ago. (There may be a second, all-original item posted later too, and if you want to participate, send an item to stevemillermail@gmail.com.)


All text in this post is considered Open Gaming Content and is published under this license. If you wish to reuse this material, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to NUELOW Games and Steve Miller.

Direscents (By Steve Miller)

Direscent plants are a genus of deadly, flowering vines often found in the vicinity of alchemist's laboratories, sorcerer's homes, and certain temples devoted to gods whose portfolios include aspects relating to unspoiled wildernesses.

The origin of these plants is disputed, with some records claiming the direscent varieties are the result of a magical botany experiment gone wrong, while others hold them to be the creation of the goddess Fahlarene, the Guardian of Wild Places. Even the most dedicated scholars have been unable to discern the truth, Fahlarene as usual can't be bothered with petty questions from scholars and other civilized folk, so it is not likely that the true origin of direscents will ever be known to mortals.

The plants are recognzied by their large pitcher-shaped flowers and broad pollen fronds hanging from the center of the flowers. (Picture a flower somewhere between a lily and a tulip.) On average, there are 1d6 blooming flowers within each square foot of direscent patch. The plant's magical origins first became suspected when people noticed these flowers bloomed on bimonthly cycles, even through winter, if the beds were kept exposed to the sun. In fact, many towns planted direscents without knowing the dangers because they wanted flowering plants in their gardens or along their fences all winter. Still, the plant's hardiness aside, the dangers from the flowers lie in the pollen fronds.

All the direscent varieties have a dark green, ground crawling stalk with waxen leaves similar in shape to a cloven hoof. The stalks crawl along like ivy, sometimes covering the exterior of a tower, hanging over roof edges, and creating a curtain of vines, etc. These stalks are tough, and require at least 3 points of slashing damage to sever them. Even if severed, direscents root where they fall, if possible, and they can spread and carpet whole areas.

Further, any human or humanoid skin (any flesh without scales, a thick hide, or heavy fur protection) that comes into contact with the oily leaves or stalks of a direscent becomes irritated and breaks out in a rash. While not fatal, if left untreated by washing with soap or treating with a cure disease, the affected skin breaks out into minor blood boils and the afflicted person suffers a high fever (onset time 1d8 hours, lasting for 2d12 hours; 1d4 points of subdual damage during affliction).

Lastly, the oils on direscent leaves and stalks have a deteriorating effect on leather. While leather gloves can be used to protect one's hands from their effects, the oils react with the curing agents in leather products and render the leather rotted and useless within 48 hours of contact. Leather armor lasts slightly longer, but within 96 hours, said armor is likewise rotted at any point of contact with the plants' oils.

Three primary varieties of direscents exist, known by color and by various colloquial names assigned by their effects. Note that direct contact with the plants shakes loose the pollen in a 10-foot diameter cloud in that round and the cloud expands an additional 10 feet in each direction the following round. Also, if wind or other forces are used to shake pollen loose, the pollen's most dangerous effects are only viable within 25 feet of release from the plant. Any pollen drifting farther away from the plant is too widely spread to cause more than a mild skin irritant without any measurable game effects.

Orange Direscent / "Flamebloom": While most direscents do not compound their effects, the orange flower does. If exposed to the pollen from less than a dozen flamebloom, the living being must make a Fortitude Save at DC 14 or fall comatose for 2d12 hours. However, if a being comes into contact with pollen from more than 12 orange flowers, the Fortitude DC becomes 18; if successful, the victim suffers the comatose fever as above, but if it fails, the victim's skin erupts in flames. The pollen and skin oils react violently and inflict 1d8 points of fire damage. GMs can mitigate or expand this damage depending on the amount of skin exposure on a victim (deal with clothing and exposed skin using the Cover rules).

Red Direscent / "Stenchrose": This flower is the most dangerous of the direscents, as any living flesh that comes into contact with its pollen has its pheromones and base scent grossly magnified. While most humans would only notice a rise in the person's normal body odor, anything with a sensitive nose -- such as those creatures having the Scent feat -- would be able to detect or track this person easily. Hiding and other attempts at remaining unnoticed are reduced by half, and any attempts to track said victim increase by 50% as well. The person's scent remains escalated for 3d12 hours, even after immersion in water. The only antidote to this is an alcohol bath, which can wash away the pollen-impregnated skin oils. For quick on-the-road fixes, it takes the contents of three full wineskins to totally wash away the pollen on a Medium-size humanoid.

Purple Direscent / "Mage-bane": The pollen of the purple direscent immediately acts as an allergen upon any physical contact (Fortitude save at DC 12 or the victim is treated as being stunned, due to sneezing, coughing, watering eyes, etc. for 2d4 minutes) but also has hidden dangers for any spellcasters, divine or arcane. Exposure to the mage-bane pollen also forces a Fortitude save at DC 14 to avoid blindness and severe itching for 2d4 hours.

Beyond these effects, the hidden danger is that if this second save is successful, the first spell cast by the victim causes the pollen to conduct the energies away from the casting and disrupt the spell. Any spell cast within 3d12 hours of exposure has a 50% chance of total failure versus normal spell activity. This fine pollen can be washed away by alcohol, like the red direscent pollen above. (Some wizards are said to be cultivating black direscents to increase the lethality of the purple bloom's pollen, hoping to make magic feedback on the caster or force any active magic to be disrupted by the pollen. Luckily, such plants are only rumors, not yet reality.)

Cultivating Direscent Plants

Characters who wish to cultivate direscent plants have to harvest and transport their own plants. Few merchants carry actual direscent seeds or live plants, as followers of Fahrlarene have been known to curse those who do as these nature priests hold the plants sacred.

Direscent plants grow low to the ground and spread in patches, like strawberries. They can survive in virtually any climate where there is at least one inch of precipitation per year and plenty of sunshine. The grow best in mineral-rich soil, but have been known to take root anywhere they receive direct sunlight for at least two hours every day.

While direscent plants bloom all year, their stalks only grow during the warm months. Careful cultivation can expand a direscent patch by 10 square feet per growing season in arctic climes; 25 square feet per growing season in temperate climes; 50 square feet per growing season in subtropical and tropical climes; and five square feet per growing season in a desert environment.

The growth of the plants can be hastened by druids or through the use of appropriate magic and skills. Direscents respond to such activities as normal plants would.

Direscent Pollen as a Weapon

The glass vials that are used to collect and store direscent pollen can be used as grenadelike weapons. In larger cities, arms-merchants who cater to adventurers or less-than-honorable fighting men and women sell vials of direscent pollen for use as ranged weapons. The vials have the same range as a throwing dagger. They typically sell for 100 gp each. The potency of the pollen fades after six months unless magically prepared or treated. Still, one vial, depending on the rarity of direscents in the area, could sell for much more than the price given above.