Welcome to the Jungle!

With Judy of the Jungle: The Lords of Memnon, NUELOW Games launches a new 3-volume series while digging into the once-popular jungle adventure genre.

The cover for NUELOW's first Judy of the Jungle book.

During the Golden Age of Comics, jungle adventure series were all the rage. Jungle heroes tended to either wear hunting togs and pith helmets, or little more than loin cloths, and as early as 1937, Will Eisner and Jerry Iger hit on the notion that a female jungle hero couldn't help but be popular with the core comic book audience. So, into existence came Sheena, Queen of the Jungle... and shortly after that, the first example of "fan service" was likewise published.

Sheena spawned many imitators, but none ever matched her popularity, nor have any had her staying power. Hundreds of Sheena comic book stories have been printed--with brand-new ones appearing within recent years--and she has been the subject of two feature films and two separate television series.

 Judy of the Jungle debuted in 1947, ten years after Sheena. She first appeared in Exciting Comics #55 where she became popular enough to knock long-time title star Black Terror from the cover within two issues of her debut. She enjoyed a 15-issue run, before fading into history.

 Judy may not have been the most groundbreaking of characters, but she was visually distinct from all the other Sheena wanna-bes--where they all wore some variation of an animal skin bikini, Judy's attire was a tattered cocktail dress. She may also have the most unique set of "daddy issues" in all of comicdom. Even better, her adventures never wanted for action. And her series is titled Judy of the Jungle.

This was a comic that was begging for a NUELOW Games edition.

 Judy of the Jungle: The Lords of Memnon features the first four Judy adventures, and the debut adventure of the first black jungle hero--Voodah.

Voodah is actually a more historically significant character than Judy. As already mentioned, he was the first black jungle hero... and he happens to be the creation of one of the few African Americans who worked as a full-time artist on American comics during the 1940s. However, I suspect that Voodah being black was more of an accident or perhaps spontaneous editorial rebellion, because when one compares Voodah's face to the way Baker drew other black characters, the features are very different. He seems to have been drawn as a white person, but then colored as black. My theory is further strengthened by the fact that Voodah was only black for this first three appearances (Crown Comics #3 - #5) after which he turned into a visual Tarzan clone, appearance-wise. There's also the curious detail that even when he appeared as a black man in the interior of the magazine, he never was when he appeared on the cover. Either the editorial mistake was caught by the fourth story, or the act of rebellion was squashed by higher-ups at publisher McCombs.

Voodah: White on the outside, black on the inside.

We may never know the real story at this late date, but it gives us a reason to still care about an otherwise uninteresting Tarzan knock-off that hasn't weathered the passage of time very well. With the exception of the one story illustrated by creator Baker--the one included in Judy of the Jungle: The Lords of Memnon--.and a second where he fights a dinosaur, the art on the series is as clunky and uninteresting to the modern eye as are the stories.

In addition to 38 pages of great comics, the book includes an all new talent tree and starting occupation designed to bring jungle action to your d20 OGL Modern games..

Check out previews of Judy of the Jungle: The Lords of Memnon, or perhaps even get your own copy, by clicking here. As always, if you get the book, let us know what you thought of it. We can't improve if we don't know what's right or wrong about our products!

Modern Advances: The Suicide Bomber

With Black Widows and other sundry crazies threatening to murder innocent people at the Winter Olympics this year, and Cartoonophobia once again rearing its head across the Muslim World, this seems like a good time to bring back NUELOW's classic Suicide Bomber advanced class.

Everything in this post from this point forward is Open Game Content. It may be reproduced as allowed for under the Open Game License. Copyright 2004, 2014 Steve Miller. (To check out NUELOW Games's d20 OGL offerings, click here.)

MODERN ADVANCES: THE SUICIDE BOMBER

By Dave Mendez

This is a one level advanced class for particularly sick and deluded characters who think it's heroic to walk to murder innocent, unsuspecting people by blowing themselves up.

Requirements:
Int: Max 7
Wis: Max 4
Knowledge (Religion): 1 Rank
Use Rope: 5 Ranks
Feats: Fanatic

Class Skills:
Knowledge (Chemistry), Demolitions, Gather Information, Hide, Use Rope
Skill Points at each level: 2 + Int mod

1st level class features
Attack Bonus: +0; Fort Save: +1; Ref Save: +0; Will Save: +2; Defense Bonus +0; Rep +0.
   Special Features: Make Bomb, Go Boom
   Weapon and Armor Proficiences: Suicide bombers are proficient with simple weapons.
   Make Bomb: You can use your Demolitions skill to make a bomb that only work when you strap it to your self. Once the bomb is attached to you it can not be removed by any means, if someone tries to disarm or take the bomb off it will blow up. Bomb does 1d10 point of damage/ per ranks of your alchemy skill.
   Go Boom: Once you gain enough experience to reach your next character level, the bomb will go off killing you and doing damage within a 30 ft +5 ft./rank in Demotions radius.


Want to see more from Dave Mendez? Check out Modern Basics: Tools of Terror and Blood.

Free for Super Bowl Weekend -- the 'You vs. Me' RPG!

The staff at NUELOW Games (one being Eurotrash by birth, the other by upbringing) know next to nothing about American football. Still, what with Steve Miller being based out of the Seattle area, we still feel like we want to join in the excitement.

To that end, we are offering all Seahawks fans and Broncos fans a gift (and anyone else really). Through Monday, Feb 3, our two-player RPG You vs. Me can be downloaded free of charge! Use it to bridge the gap between yourself and that special friend who is rooting for the "wrong team"--or you can use it to make the rivalry even stronger.

It can also be used during the Half-time show if it sucks.

Click here for more information about You vs. Me, and to download your own copy for free!

And... gooooooo team! To victory!

Cover drafts from upcoming NUELOW Games releases

We're intending to release three Judy of the Jungle books this year. Here are drafts of the covers for them. They may be used as they appear here, they may be altered, or they may be replaced entirely if a better idea presents itself between now and release time).

By Alex Schomburg

By Ralph Mayo

By Alex Schomburg

OGL Rules for the Wild

As mentioned in our 2013 Christmas Special, we're planning to release some jungle comics in 2014. In the process, we came up with some tidits for OGL Modern that are perfect for creating characters like Tarzan, Sheena, and soon-to-be NUELOW Games stars Voodah, Rulah, South Sea Girl, and, of course, Judy of the Jungle.

The following material is presented under the Open Game License, and it may be reproduced under the terms spelled out in it. Copyright Steve Miller 2014.
.
Starting Occupation: Defender of the Wild
You are at home in the wild, far away from modern civilization. You defend the wild space in which you live, attacking those who would threaten it with the savagery and determination of the animals you call friends.
  Prerequisite: Age 15+.
  Skills: Choose four of the following skills as permanent class skills. If a skill the character selects is already a class skill, he or she receives a +1 competence bonus on checks using that skill. Animal Handling, Climb, Intimidate, Jump, Move Silently, Ride, Spot, Survival, Swim, Treat Injury.
  Bonus Feat: Select one of the following: Archaic Weapons Proficiency, Acrobatics, or Brawl

Talent Tree: Jungle Master
Talents from this tree are available to all characters who meet the pre-requisites.
  Prerequisite: Strength 14+, Dexterity 14+, Constitution 16+
  Beastmaster: You gain a +4 competency bonus to all Animal Handling skill checks. Animal Handling becomes a permanent class skills. If it was already a class skill, you gain 2 ranks in Animal Handling.
  Hearty: You gain double the amounts of hit points through First Aid and natural healing.
  Silent Death: You gain a +4 bonus to all Move Silently checks. You deal +2 damage with melee weapons.
  Terror of the Jungle: You have a +4 bonus to all Buff and Intimidate checks when in a wilderness environment.
  Untouchable: Your Class Defense Bonus increases by +2 when you select this talent. For all even character levels acquired, you gain an additional +1 bonus to you class-based Defense Bonus.

Coming tomorrow... "Real American No. 1"!

In 1941, writer/artist Dick Briefer introduced the first Native American superhero to comics -- the Bronze Terror!

The Bronze Terror was secretly Jeff Dixon, a successful lawyer who fought against those who would oppress his people both inside and outside the court room. His adventures, which took him from the Reservation to the Big City and back again were featured in the back of Daredevil issues #2 - 11, before fading into history. It wasn't until the 1970s that another comic book series would draw so heavily on racism and other problems of Native Americans in the modern United States. So, just like with his trailblazing signature series New Adventures of Frankenstein, Briefer was ahead of his time.

The cover for NUELOW Games' Real American No. 1

Tomorrow (Thursday, 1/16/2014), NUELOW Games will proudly release Real American No. 1, a book featuring the four best Bronze Terror tales (as selected by editor Steve Miller) and a battle scenario for ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game together with stats for the Bronze Terror, his girlfriend Lilly, and more.

We hope you'll give it a look.

ROLF!: Shia LaBeouf vs. Alan Moore

Recently, actor Shia LaBeouf and writer Alan Moore separately announced their retirement from public life. A ROLF! battle scenario came to mind.

THE FUTURE HERMIT SMACKDOWN

By Steve Miller

(soon to be the work of Shia LaBeouf and Grant Morrison)

Permission granted to copy for personal use and amusement.

Backstory
"It's done!" said Shia LaBeouf. "I have announced my retreat from public life because of the meanies in the media... and I'm getting more attention than ever! Yay! It sure was great that Alan Moore did the same thing back just before New Year's or I may never have thought to do it!"
   There's a knock at the door.
   "Are you Shia LaBeouf?" asks the old man with the wild beard and hair when Shia opens the door.
   "Yes. I am the actor/writer/artist known as Shia, who recently retired from pubic life because of negative comments about me in the media."
   "I'm Alan Moore, and I'm here ta kill you, you fookin' thief!"

The Battle
The fight is for two players. each controlling a character. It continues until one of the characters is defeated.

The Characters
There are several traits and battle maneuvers not in the core ROLF! game. Sorry. Most of the ones not there can be found in ROLF!: Old and Angry. (The one all-new Trait, Plagiarist, is detailed under "New Traits.")

ALAN MOORE
Brawn 20, Body 13, Brains 7
  Traits: Improv Master, Old, So Very British
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Double Strike, Debate Philosophy, Dodge, Murderous Mitts, Signature Move, Withering Insult

Alan Moore

SHIA LABEOUF (Male)
Brawn 19, Body 19, Brains 4
  Traits: Improv Master, Plagiarist
  Battle Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Debate Philosophy, Strategic Bleeding, Strike Pose

Shia LaBeouf

New Traits
Plagiarist: Once per round, the character can use any Battle Maneuver or Spelling that has been used by any other character in the fight. If the ATT check to use the "borrowed" attack fails, the character loses one Body ATT point.


AND... A FEAT FOR USE WITH YOUR d20 SYSTEM GAMES!

In a show of appreciation for the great talent that is Shia LaBeouf, here is a feat for use with your d20 System. I'm putting it here, and I'm going to claim it as my own. After all, art should be free and we should all be free to claim that we create whatever art we feel like claiming we create!

Plagiarist [General]
You gain a +4 bonus to Linguistics checks to create (but not detect) forgeries, and when you impersonate a specific person those who know the target of your impersonation get only half the normal bonus to their Perception checks to realize you are a fake. (#microfeats)