T is for the Terrorist Talent Tree

Psychotic dipshits who like to murder innocent people and claim they're doing it for a cause have been front and center in American news sources again, thanks to the Brothers Dumb and Dumber and their killing spree in and around Boston, MA.

As usual, I've seen blather about how we have to reach out to terrorists with empathy in order to understand the source of their rage and/or address whatever made them kill. Yeah... just like the way we have to show empathy to a rapist and seek to understand why he does what he does.

While I may feel that there is absolutely no reason to feel any empathy for any terrorist whatsoever, I am willing to lend a hand to those who do want to "walk a mile in their shoes." Roleplaying games are a great medium for exploring such tings safely, as you are with friends and around a snack-laden table in a private house.

To that end, I present a talent tree and some feats usable in the creation of Muslim terrorists of all stripes, Basque separatists of the ETA, Irish drunkards of the IRA, or Friends of the U.S. President formerly of the Weather Underground. This talent tree will let you create a character who is the ultimate asshole, where the term "hero" is applied in purely a game mechanical sense.

Everything in this post is presented under the Open Gaming License. If you chose to reproduce this material, give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games.

THE TERRORIST TALENT TREE (By Steve Miller)
The terrorist talent tree is open to all hero classes, but it is most suitable for tough heroes and dedicated heroes. Most smart heroes are excluded form this talent tree as they won't meet the prerequisites.
   Undying Enemy: Pick an outrageously broad category of people to hate, such as Christians, Spaniards, Stock Brokers, Homosexuals, the Lefthanded, or Redheads. The hero gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls against these vile people, while gaining a +4 competency bonus on all skill checks specifically made in efforts to kill them.
   Prerequisite: Int 10 or lower, Wis 9 or lower. Allegiance to a terrorist organization or movement.
   False Allegiance: Pick an allegiance related to the category selected under Undying Enemy. You gain a +4 bonus to Bluff skill checks when interacting with those who have the same allegiance. The hero does actually change allegiances when picking this talent.
   Prerequisite: Undying Enemy.
   Bonus Feat: The hero gains Alertness, Cautious, Confident, Fanatic, or Misogynist. The hero must meet all prerequisites before he can gain a feat.
   Coward's Strike: The hero excels at attacking unsuspecting targets, but is otherwise a loser in battle. When attacking characters who are flat-footed or otherwise unable to properly defend themselves, a confirmed critical hit results in an instant kill. The hero suffers a -2 adjustment to attack and damage rolls made against characters who are ready to defend themselves.
   Too Dumb to Die: When reduced to 0 or fewer hit points in combat,or at risk of going on conscious due to conditions, the hero roll an Int check against DC12.. If the check is successful, the hero immediately regains 2d6 hit points, or is able to ignore the threatening condition for a number of rounds equal to his Con bonus.
   Prerequisite: Int 10 or lower, Wis 9 or lower.
 

NEW FEATS
Feats fit for terrorists and similar trash.

Fanatic [General]
The hero is filled with hatred toward those who don't believe as he or she does.
Prerequisite: 10 INT Maximum
Benefit: When faced with people who don't believe as he or she does, the hero gains a +2 Will save.to resist any suggestions they make, no matter how reasonable.  The hero also gains a +1 bonus to all Bluff and Intimidate skill checks involving these non-believers, but suffers a -1 to all Diplomacy checks involving them.
Special: The hero can designated a Chosen Enemy every three levels; this must be a stupidly broad category, such as "Americans," "Muslims," "Faries," or "Gwyneth Paltrow Fans." The character gains a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls made against these vile beings!


Misogynist [Social]
You hate women and you want to demean and hurt them whenever possible.
Prerequisite: Int 11 or lower, Wis 10 or lower.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to all attack and damage rolls against female characters.
Special: If your Int or Wis scores are ever raised above the maximum allowed, you lose the benefits granted by this feat.

S is for Sin-Eater and Spirit Armor

It's plain to see that for NUELOW Games one of the preferred iterations of the OGL d20 is the OGL Modern--otherwise, we probably wouldn't have released these products. With that in mind, here's a talent tree for use with your OGL Modern Games. This material is presented under the Open Gaming License. If you choose to reproduce it, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games.

Sin-Eater: A Talent Tree for Dedicated Heroes (By Steve Miller)

This dedicated hero has the mystical ability to absorb the power of evil spirits and turn it to his advantage.

   Spirit Sense: When the character enters a structure or other defined area, where an evil spirit or restless ghost is present, he receives a Will save (rolled secretly by the GM).. If successful, he knows "something is wrong" and cannot be surprised or caught flat-footed by spirits or mortal enemies

   Transfer Condition: By sharing a brief meal with a character who is poisoned or suffering from a condition, the dedicated hero transfers the condition onto himself; this takes 3 rounds and the ritual meal must not be interrupted by attacks or the participants performing other actions. The character from whom the condition was transferred is restored to normal status and fully healed if applicable.

   The dedicated hero suffers from the effect of the condition for one round, but can then make a Fortitude save (DC12) to neutralize it. If the saving throw fails, the Sin Eater is now subject to the condition unless cured through normal means.

   This talent can only be used on poisons and the following conditions: Ability Damaged, Blinded, Confused, Deafened, and Sickened.

   Transfer Curse: The dedicated hero can transfer magical curses from their target characters by sharing a meal with them. This ritual meal takes 30 minutes and cannot be interrupted by combat or other skill use. At the end of the 30 minutes, the cursed characters are immediately liberated from the ill effects of the curses, and the dedicated hero is now subject to them.

   The dedicated hero suffers from the effects of transferred curses for one round. He may then roll a Will save (DC15) to neutralize them. If all the characters from whom curses were transferred were under the same effect, only one roll is needed, but if there was more than one kind of curse, the dedicated hero must roll once for each kind.  

   If the dedicated hero is absorbing a curse from a structure, the Will save is made against a DC18.

   If the Will save fails, the dedicated hero is subject to the curses transferred until they are removed through magical means.

   Prerequisite: Transfer Condition

and from a building or other defined area, by 

   Bonus Feat: The hero gains one of the following as a bonus feat: Alertness, Focused, Ghost Spotter, Ghost Whisperer, or Spirit Armor. All prerequisites must still be met to gain the feat.

   Consume Sin: By eating a meal in a place haunted by an evil spirit or ghost, the dedocated hero absorbs some of the creature's power, weakening it while empowering himself. The effectiveness of this ritual depends on how long the hero spends performing it. The effects are cumulative.

Time Spent on Meal    Penalty to Ghost/Spirit   Bonus for Hero

3 rounds                     -1 to attack rolls             +1 to Defense vs. ghosts

15 minutes                 -1 to attack rolls and       +1 to Defense and saving

                                   saving throws                  throws

30 minutes                  -2 to attack rolls,            +2 to saving throws and skill

                                  saving throws, and            checks

                                  skill checks

1 hour                        -2 to attack rolls,             +4 to attack rolls

                                  -10 hit points                     and skill checks, +10 hit points

While consuming the ritual meal, the hero cannot engage in combat or perform actions other than engaging other characters or creatures in conversation. If the hero suffers damage or other disruptions, he can make a Concentration check to maintain the inner calm necessary to successfully absorb the ghost's evil. If the hero is interrupted or chooses to stop the ritual, the benefits gained at the last achieved benchmark are gained. (If a hero decides to attack a ghost after 50 minutes, the creature has all the penalties up to the 30-minute mark while the hero has all the benefits).

   The penalties and benefits remain until the ghost targeted with the ritual is destroyed or otherwise laid to rest, or the next sunrise. If the dedicated hero should be killed before either event, his soul rises as a restless, destructive and hate-filled ghost.

New Feat

GMs who incorporate this feat into their games should add it to the list of bonus feats for the dedicated hero.

Spirit Armor [General]

Your spirit fortifies your body against assaults by incorporeal creatures and spirits.

   Prerequisite: Wisdom 17, Focused.

   Benefit: The hero gains +4 to Defense and +2 to Fort saves against physical attacks made by incorporeal beings.

   Prerequisite: Focused

Q is for Quest Stones

Here's another entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge--will we make it to the end of the alphabet before the month runs out? Does anyone care? Today's offering is presented in its entirety under the Open Gaming License. If you chose to reproduce it, please give credit and copyright acknowledgement to Steve
Miller and NUELOW Games.

Quest Stones (By Steve Miller)
The fist-sized, basalt stones are engraved with the marks of the sorcerers and wizards who originally created them. Commonly used in the ancient Kingdom of Lodareno, they would be given to messengers and hirelings dispatched for specific missions. So long as the minion stayed on task, he would receive magical aid, but if he strayed from his assigned purpose, a dire curse would fall upon him. Once the assigned task is successfully completed, the stone loses all magic.
   Caches of these stones are occasionally recovered by explorers and tomb robbers venturing into the crypts of Lodareno. Modern arcane researchers have yet to uncover the means by which the stones were created, so each discovered cache becomes a highly sought commodity for government and criminal organizations alike who want to insure extra dedication and loyalty among operatives.

OGL d20 System Stats
The magic of a quest stone takes effect when a character accepts it as part of an agreement to perform a task for a superior or an employer in exchange for payment or other reward. So long as the character works toward his assigned goal, he enjoys a +1 bonus to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws.
   If the character spends more than a day on activities not related to his assigned duty, he loses the previously described bonus and is subject to a -2 penalty to all skill checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. Once the character returns to his assigned task, the penalties are lifted, but he must remain focused for another full day before the bonus is restored.
   Discarding the stone does not lift its effect upon the character; only the completion of the task, formal release from it by the person who assigned it, or a dispel magic cast at a 24th level effectiveness can do that.

P is for Paula's Apron Strings

And we continue to design our way through the alphabet here at NUELOW Games, as part of our bumbling, stumbling unofficial participation in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. This post is presented under the Open Gaming License, with the text under the header "OGL d20 System Game Rules" being Open Gaming content. Enjoy!

Paula's Apron Strings (By Steve Miller)
Paula Noreville was one of America's premiere coven leaders of the 1950s and early 1960s. From behind the facade of the perfect housewife, she led her band of witches and warlocks to victory against dark forces time and again. But for all the good she did, Paula was a domineering woman whose kind smiles and mom-and-apple-pie attitude also concealed a pathological need to have absolute control over everyone in her life.
   Paula dominated her coven and family with clever and sugar-coated psychological manipulation and the occasional application of an oven mitt-covered iron fist. As her children grew into adulthood, rebelled against her, and eventually struck out on their own, she resorted to magic in order to guarantee they would never be far from her control.
   Using the strings from her favorite apron, Paula created two unique magic items, one for each of her children. They consist of two matched sets of three-inch light blue strips of cloth cut from the apron's strings and enchanted. She hid one string in each of her children's homes and whenever she held its counterpart, the child was compelled to return home to Paula, no matter where they might be in the world.
   Paula was eventually murdered by her son after, presumably, he discovered how she had been interfering with his life. His own family had been killed shortly in a car crash after his wife decided to follow him on one of his sudden trips back to his childhood home.

OGL d20 and OpenD6 System Rules
Paula's Apron Strings consists of a matched set of two light blue strips of cloth, each 2 inches in length, They radiate faint Summoning and Necromantic magic. The user hides one of the strings in the home of the target. When he or she holds the counterpart and concentrates on the target for a full two minutes, the target is filled with an overwhelming need to the user's home and to help him or her with whatever challenges that might be facing her.
   The target can ignore the urge, but for each day of not making an effort to travel to the user, the target suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to all skill checks and attack rolls. The progression of the penalty can be stopped for a single day by target phoning or writing and sending a letter to the user, but existing penalties are not removed and it continues to grow the next day.
   The only way to be released from the bond of Paula's Apron Strings is for the target to find the one in his home and return it to the user who hid it there. The user need not willingly accept it from the target, but he or she is free of the magic once this step has been taken.

Drawback: The target of Paula's Apron Strings gradually comes to loathe the user. After being compelled three times, he or she holds a level of resentment equal to a character that has been misused while under the influence of a charm person spell. After six times, the target so dislikes the user that only the Apron Strings can even make him or her think about the user. After 12 times, the target so hates the user that a small provocation will cause him or her to become violent toward the user.

O is for Ot's Armband of Faithfulness

Here's another magic item for use in your RPG games. It's published under this license, and everything in this post (except the graphic) is Open Gaming Content. Please give acknowledgement to Steve Miller and NUELOW Games if you decide to republish it,.

Ot's Armband of Faithfulness (By Steve Miller)
Three of these delicate gold armband are known to exist, each engraved with the symbol of Ott, They were created by Mongolian shamans during the years 800-1300. C.E. Ott is the Mongolian goddess of marriage and fire, and these items are reported to make the bond of marriage unbreakable between a husband and wife. Once one spouse makes a gift of an armband of faithfulnesss, neither of them can betray the other without dire consequences.
   One of these items was originally been owned by Borte, the wife and true love Temujin, the Mongol emperor known as Genghis Khan. Legend holds that she insisted it be used to bond her and Temujin together after she was abducted and raped by members of the Merkit tribe, because she wanted to know her husband would never doubt her love and faithfulness to him. Although Temujin never doubted her, he acquiessed to her demand.

OGL d20 System Game Mechanics
Once an armband of faithfulness is exchanged between duly married partners, the giver and receiver are both subject to a powerful curse that can only be lifted by the goddess Ot herself. The curse manifests itself in two different ways:
   The recipient feels a compulsion to wear the armband at all times and could be said to feel naked without it. If the character should ever attempt to betray his or her spouse, all skill checks or saving throws involved are subject to a -4 penalty. When the betrayal is complete, any characters actively taking part in the action must roll a successful Will save (DC23) or be filled with a homicidal rage that only subsides when the recipient is dead. If the save is successful. the characters are filled with disgust and loathing for the recipient.
   The giver suffers no ill effects until he or she commits an act of betrayal against the Recipient. The moment the act is complete, the character immediately bursts into fire that cannot be extinguished, suffering 6d6 points of damage. The character continues to burn for three more rounds, suffering 4d6 points of damage, 2d6 points of damage, and finally 1d6 points of damage. If the character drops below 0 hit points, his or her body dissolves into a fine ash from which no resurrection is possible. If the character lives, he or she is horribly disfigured and crippled, immediately suffering a 10-point reduction to Strength, Dex, and Charisma attribute scores (to a minimum of 1).

OpenD6 System Game Mechanics
Once an armband of faithfulness is exchanged between duly married partners, the giver and receiver are both subject to a powerful curse that can only be lifted by the goddess Ot herself. The curse manifests itself in two different ways:
   The recipient feels a compulsion to wear the armband at all times and could be said to feel naked without it. If the character should ever attempt to betray his or her spouse, all difficulty levels are adjusted by +8. When the betrayal is complete, any characters actively taking part in the action must roll a successful Willpower check against a difficulty 23 or be filled with a homicidal rage that only subsides when the recipient is dead. If the save is successful. the characters are filled with disgust and loathing for the recipient.
   The giver suffers no ill effects until he or she commits an act of betrayal against the Recipient. The moment the act is complete, the character immediately bursts into fire that cannot be extinguished, suffering 6d6 points of damage. The character continues to burn for three more rounds, suffering 4d6 points of damage, 2d6 points of damage, and finally 1d6 points of damage. If the character drops below 0 hit points, his or her body dissolves into a fine ash from which no resurrection is possible. If the character lives, he or she is horribly disfigured and crippled, with Strength, Dexterity, and Attractiveness (if used) immediately being reduced to 1D each.

N is for Nadia's Needle

We're limping along with the A to Z April Blogging Challenge here at NUELOW Games. If we get to Z before the end of the month, I think we will have done good, given what's going on. That said, here's N (a little late, but here it is!) This item is presented under this license and everything in the post, except the illo and the paragraph labeled "The History of Nadia's Needle", is Open Gaming Content.
   This item is usable for any RPG that features magic items.

Nadia's Needle (By Steve Miller)
This item is a small sewing needle with an inch of silvery thread  run through the eye. It radiates faint magic of an indeterminate nature, which has caused many treasure seekers to overlook it while looting this or that hoard, or to discard it when it appears to be useless.
   However, this item, a camel can literally pass through the eye of the needle.When stuck into a flat surface--such as a door, wall, or floor--the needle becomes the center of a faintly glowing blue circle with a 7-foot in diameter. It is invisible to anyone further than 6 inches away from it. The circle is actually a short-range dimensional portal that allows up to four living beings (along with any gear that will fit through the opening) to pass through to the area on the other side before it closes. The needle stays embedded in the original surface, and the portal ceases to exist immediately after the needle is removed or the fourth living creature passes through it.
   The Needle is also rumored to have a second use--the ability to close portals to the City of Silver Towers, home to a pantheon of evil gods. This has not been confirmed, however.

The Background of Nadia's Needle
The true origin of Nadia's Needle is unknown. It draws its modern name from its most recently known owner, Nadia Tokareva. She was a young Soviet agent active in Germany during World War II who used the Needle as part of efforts to help those hunted by Nazis to escape to safety. Later, as the Cold War came into effect and she came to understand how tyrannical the Soviet government was, she became a double agent for the Western powers and helped people escape from East Germany and elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Nadia vanished without a trace in 1962 after reporting to a contact in the CIA that she was setting out to investigate what she believed to be a secret military facility codenamed Silver Tower.

M is for Mary Jane

 Today's entry in the A to Z April Blogging Challenge celebrates the the legalization of pot in Washington State. While no one here at NUELOW Games actually smokes the Whacky Weed (although apparently L.L is apparently one of the slang terms for marijuana), we don't mind those who do. So long as they treat their habits like drunks treat theirs and stay the hell away from their cars while high/stoned/bombed/whatever.

So here's a pre-generated character for use in a ROLF! battle scenario--Mary Jane, the Mistress of Mellow.  (A perfect foe for her would be the Tee-totaler featured in ROLF!: St. Patty vs. The Snake.)

Mary Jane, the Mistress of Mellow (By L.L. Hundal)
The mysterious dark-tressed Mary Jane has been a tireless crusader for the right to get high and mellow whenever and whereever ever since she first appeared in a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke and her green-and-yellow superhero outfit in Seattle's Pioneer Square. Her greatest foes are Buzzkill, Frigid Fanny, and the Tee-totaler.

Mary Jane (Female)
(aka Mary Jo Verde)
Brawn 21, Body 15, Brains 7
Traits: Busty, Martial Arts Master, Nimble
Combat Maneuvers:  Basic Attack, Furious Fists, Disarm, Dodge, Strike Pose, Spelling (After Me, Mellow Haze).
Important Items Worn/Wielded: Superhero Outfit (Armor. Absorbs up to 2 points of damage).

New Spelling
Mellow Haze: The Speller causes a pale green gas to form over the battle area. All characters must roll Brawn ATT checks or lose the will to fight. Unless attacked, they will leave the battle area in search of something to snack on. Characters so effected are removed from the battle scenario and considered defeated.

(This post is  Copyright 2013 NUELOW Games and Steve Miller, but permission is granted for duplication for personal use,)