The Atom Sword: Tara's Weapon of Choice

Another little preview item from NUELOW Games' forthcoming Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes book. OGL d20 and OpenD6 stats for Atom Swords.

Tara gives an alien the business end of her Atomic Sword.
Art by Alex Schomburg

ATOM SWORD
The Atom Sword was developed 200 years ago during the Sol Unification War as a sidearm for the officers of the Earth Space Defense Corps, After the ESDC was reorganized as the  Star Patrol, the Atomic Sword was abandoned. However, it became a popular PT item at schools that catered to the families of Earth-based militias and paramilitary forces such as the Starport Security and Customs Inspection Beurea.  Such weapons, and others like them in civilian hands generally are only capable of delivering nonlethal stun damage. A techician of superior skill with access to the right parts and tools, however, can restore the deadly nature of an Atom Sword. Performing the modification is highly illegal, as is possessing such modified swords. The minimum sentence for either crime is five years hard labor, but since the Atom Sword has become closely associated with the infamous outlaws Captain Robin and Tara, the Earth Senate has made three attempts to up the maximum peanlty for possessing or modifying one to 25 years of hard labor.

Game Statisitcs
The Atom Sword is powered by a tiny fusion battery that causes the blade to be energized with either a lethal or stun charge. The lethality of the weapon can be adjusted with a switch on the hilt. The weapon functions as a melee weapon and a ranged weapon. If used up to six times as a ranged weapon within one hour, the fusion battery is drained and requires 24 hours to recharge. During this period, an Atomic Sword is as lethal as a dull rapier with a round tip.

OGL d20 Statistics
Damage 2d8+2 (Melee, energy damage) or 2d6 (Ranged, energy damage) or 1d4 (Melee, blunt damage)
Critical 19-20/x2
Range Inrement 20 ft.
Weight 1 kg
Stun Damage/Fort DC 18
Type Energy
Size Medium
Group Exotic/ Characters who don't possess the Exotic Weapon Proficience (Atomic Sword) feat suffer a -4 penalty when wielding an Atomic Sword.
  Note: Modern Atom Swords are built to only deliver stun damage (or blunt damage when not powered). If a character wants to convert one to deliver lethal damage, specialized tools and parts must be used, together with a Repair skill check (DC25). The conversion takes 1d3 hours to complete. If the skill check fails, the Atomic Sword is rendered permanently inoperable (although its parts could be used to repair another Atomic Sword.)

OpenD6 Statistics
Character Skill: Melee Weapon, Damage 5D (Melee), 3D (Ranged), 2D+STR (Melee when not powered). Range: 3-10/20/30. Size Medium. Weight 1 kg.
  Note: Modern Atom Swords are built to only deliver stun damage (or blunt damage when not powered). If a character wants to convert one to deliver lethal damage, specialized tools and parts must be used, together with a Repair skill check with a difficulty target of 20. The conversion takes 1d3 hours to complete. If the skill check fails, the Atomic Sword is rendered permanently inoperable (although its parts could be used to repair another Atomic Sword.)

Please donate to the Hero Initiative!

For the past two years, our release schedule has been dominated by collections of comics that L.L. Hundal and Steve Miller have unearthed from the dusty, forgotten corners of the Golden Age of Comics. Many of them were written, drawn, and published by men and women who,mostly labored in anonymity and faded into obscurity even more total than that which befell their creations. Some died impoverished and alone.

The Hero Initiative is a charity devoted to providing a safety net to comics creators and put an end to the tragic tales of brilliantly creative people ending up in squalor and misery due to health issues. When we were asked to contribute a book to a fundraising bundle being produced by DriveThruComics, we naturally jumped at the chance. We have derived endless pleasure and inspiration (and even a little gas money, through the collections we publish) off the comics from yesteryear that we should do our part to give back to the comic book creators who find themselves in need.

The We Love Comic Creators Bundle contains comics from more than 50 publishers, including Science Sleuths #3 from NUELOW Games. You get over $125 worth of fantastic comics for a donation of $20. It's a fantastic deal and to the benefit of a fantastic charity.

Click here to see everything that the We Love Comic Creators has to offer. and to get it all for a donation of just $20.

Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes!

Among the projects we have in the works is a collection of "Tara" sci-fi adventure stories, retrieved from the pages of Wonder Comics. The book will include an all new "origin story" (as one has never before been published) and RPG character and equipment stats for use with ROLF! and d20 OGL Modern.

By way of a preview, here's the art by Alex "Xela" Schomburg that will appear on the cover (before masthead and text is applied). Tara is shown rescuing her friend Robin... because it's not always the damsel that gets tied up. Also, below are ROLF! stats for Robin and Tara, so you can start using them in your Battle Scenarios even before our comics/rpg hybrid book is out!

ROBIN (Male)
Brawn 28, Body 17, Brains 5
   Traits: Driver, Too Sexy For My Shirt, Honorable
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Disarm, Dodge, Signature Move, Strike Pose
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Space Pirate Boots (Armor AND Leggings, absorbs 1 point of damage). Atomic Sword (Melee AND Ranged Weapon, deals 3 points of damage).

TARA (Female)
Brawn 25, Body 18, Brains 11
   Traits: Driver, Honorable, Nimble
   Combat Maneuvers: Backflip, Basic Attack, Bitchslap, Disarm, Disembowel, Dodge, Double Strike, Hypnotize, Murderous Mitts, Seduce, The Look
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Space Dress (Clothes/Armor, absorbs 1 point of damage). Space Pirate Boots (Armor AND Leggings, absorbs 1 point of damage). Atomic Sword (Melee AND Ranged Weapon, deals 3 points of damage),

(Tara: Marauder of the Spacelanes will be NUELOW Games' second collection of classic sci-fi comics. The first was Spacehawk: Lone Wolf of the Void. Click here to see previews of that book.)

Happy President's Day!

President's Day is one of the most confusing Federal holidays on the calendar. Some people will tell you it's in honor of George Washington's birthday. Others will tell you it's in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Yet others will INSIST that it's in honor of both Washington and Lincoln's birthday. A rare few will tell you tht it's not President's Day but Presidents' Day and that it is there to honor ALL U.S. presidents. The truth is that it celebrates George Washington's birthday. Period. End of story. There has NEVER been a federal holiday recognizing Lincoln or any president other than Washington. And it's President's Day, not Presidents' Day.

At NUELOW Games, in order to sow confusion, we are taking today to recognize ALL U.S. presidents by spotlighting the various ROLF! titles we've released that feature them as characters you can play. In all cases, click on the links in the titles to be taken the title's listing for further previews.

 
 

First up, there's The Associated Shades of Hades ROLF! adaptation. It contains stats for George Washington, but we haven't actually used him in a Battle Scenario. We will have to rectify that situation one of these days.

Dead Presidents, the perfect battle scenario for those who want to honor Lincoln on President's Day. It pits the spirits of two of America's greatest presidents against the nefarious spirits of Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong Il.

We have two Battle Scenarios featuring America's horniest president -- Bill Clinton Meets a Girl Scout and Bill Clinton and the Secret City of Women. Join Bill as he bravely chases skirts where no president has chased skirts before, all while avoiding the wrath of his wife and trying to outsmart his rival Anthony Weiner.

 

We have also released several Battle Scenarios involving the current U.S. President, Barack Obama. He's a Peace Prize Winner who has restored America's reputation in the world. He also stopped the seas from rising! In the Breast Hope for Peace, he teams up with other world leaders to stop a terrorist attack and battle Martians; in Dragon vs. Tiger, he joins with Tiger Woods to stop terrorism on the golf course; and in Super Muslim Bros., we reveal how he saved Egypt from being overrun by mummies.

OGL d20 Safety Dance Feats!

Who in their right mind would adapt a music video to the OGL d20 game system? No one, which is why Steve Miller of NUELOW Games did just that.

The following two feats were inspired by the video for the great pop tune "Safety Dance" from Men Without Hats. We naturally lay no claim to the song or the video, but the following rules text is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with it. OGL Safety Dance Feats! Copyright Steve Miller 2015.

OGL SAFETY DANCE FEATS!

By Steve Miller

HALFLING SIDEKICK [Bard]
   Prerequisite: Bard lv. 3
   Benefit: You gain a 1st level halfling bard as your follower. This NPC gains a level for every 2 levels you gain. The GM generates the initial stats (with the halfling having at least two ranks in Perform (dance), Perform (sing) and Perform (string instrument), but the player is otherwise responsible for tracking the character's development. Any rules that exist in the campaign for followers apply to this character, except as noted above.

THE SAFETY DANCE [Bard]
   Prerequisite: Bard lv. 8, Perform (dance) 6 ranks, perform (sing) 6 ranks, ability to cast the Irresistible Dance spell
   Benefit: You cast Irresistible Dance. For each following round, a number of characters equal to your Charisma bonus within 30 ft and line of sight. of the initial target must roll Will save at a -4 penalty. Each character who fails the saving throw also begins to dance. You can choose to lead dancing characters in a procession of dancers if you choose--they will follow you, mimicking your dance move for as long as the Irresistible Dance effect lasts.
   Special: The maximum duration of the effect on all dancing characters is 2d4+2 rounds from the point Irresistible Dance is cast. If you stop leading the dancers, they continue to dance in place until the duration is over. If any one of them is attacked or injured while dancing, all dancers receive individual Will saves. Those who succeed stop dancing and can act normally.

Valentine's Day Deals for a Special Few!

If you're coming to the NUELOW Games blog, we assume you love us... that you really, really love us! (And don't say you're just here because of a false Google hit. Don't shatter our illusions!)

We're offering a lucky few of our most loyal fans a Valentine's Day deal on two of our most romantic releases! The links below are good for the first seven people who use them. They allow you to get downloads of the respective comics/rpg hybrid books for half off the usual price ($0.99 each).

NUELOW Valentine's Day Special: Romantic tales from the minds and pens of Joe Kubert, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Samm Schwartz, Dan DeCarlo, and more! Also includes an all-new Battle Scenario where six great lovers must duke it out after being trapped in a maze by Cupid.

NUELOW Summer Special: Fun and romance in the sun, as Kathy tries to keep boyfriend's attention; Corliss tries to score with a hunky lifeguard and grease the wheels of romance for a librarian; and Candy tries to improve a friend's love-life by helping her lose weight. The book is rounded out by Kathy's return in another ROLF! battle scenario in which a romantic rendezvous in a scenic graveyard ends up pitting her against a necromancer and his ghostly minions.


As mentioned above, the discounts available through those links are good only for the first SEVEN of our most beloved fans who get copies of the books. After thatm they links will stop working. So...don't hesitate. Just admit you love us and that you'll be our Valentine.

In addition to those limited offers, we're also offering the Romantic ROLF! bundle. It contains seven of our most heartwarming ROLF! battle scenarios, as well as the collection of Kathy comics by Frank Frazetta & Ralph Mayo (which also includes a ROLF! scenario by Hundal & Miller. We also threw in ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters for those who as of yet haven't checked out the best rollplaying game ever published. When getting these books bundled together , you'll save 50% off the cost of getting them separately. This bundle will be available through Monday, 2/16, and you can check it out by clicking here. (BTW, the ROLF! battle scenario in the Summer Special book was inspired by the cover of the Kathy book. Yet that's not where we published it, because... well. we wouldn't be NUELOW Games if we had.

Thank you all for being loyal readers and players of our whacky releases. We love you all, whether you get lucky with our discount links or not!

ROLF!: Cupid

We're putting the final touches on a Valentine's Day Special... with the cover and the actual title of the thing being the as-of-yet unresolved issues. (It's not like it's anything important....)

Meanwhile, here's Cupid as he appears in the ROLF! battle scenario included in the book (along with the non-core rules used to create him).

CUPID (Male)
Brawn: 10; Body: 14; Brains: 4
   Traits: Agent of the Divine, Dead-Eye, Wings
   Combat Maneuvers: Basic Attack, Dodge, Fly, Spelling (Arrow of Love)
   Important Stuff Worn/Wielded: Bow (Medium Ranged Weapon, deals 2 points of damage).

NEW TRAITS
Agent of the Divine: The player may re-roll a number of failed ATT checks for this character per battle equal to his or her Brain ATT. The character with this trait always takes 2 points less damage, no matter what the source (minimum 0 points).
   Dead-Eye: When rolling an ATT check with a ranged weapon, the result is reduced by 4.
   Wings: The character has wings and is able to fly under his or her own power. (A character must have the Agent of the Divine or Mutant trait to have this one.)

NEW COMBAT MANUEVERS
Fly: Upon making a successful Body ATT check, the character can move from melee to ranged combat distance immediately. The character can then choose to use another Combat Maneuver. (Characters must have the Wings Trait in order to use Fly.) ATT Body

NEW SPELLING
   Arrow of Love: While wielding a bow, the character makes a Brawn check. If it is successful, the target is struck by a magic arrow that causes him or her to fall in love with the character nearest to him or her. (The target immediately stops fighting, and tries to use the Strike Pose and Seduce Combat Maneuvers on the target, if he or she has them. If the object of the target's love attacks him or her for two rounds, the effect of this Spelling wears off.)