Fear-filled Friday: Ghostbusting!

It's October. The dark night of Halloween is drawing ever closer. To help you get in the mood, we're going to bring you a series of ghost- and haunting-themed adventure seeds (and perhaps a few other goodies). Each post in this series will be rounded out by a fun cover of Ray Parker Jr.'s legendary "Ghostbusters" theme song.

Although saddened by the passing of Uncle Demitrius, the Pleasantons were thrilled to move into the isolated old house he left them in his will. At least they were until it turned out to be haunted.

Can the PCs get to the bottom of what's going on? (Roll 1d8 on the tables to randomly generate a Dark Old House ghostbusting adventure seed!

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE HOUSE?
1. Strange lights and sounds are waking the family up at night.

2. Items are being moved around and drawers are being emptied and the contents scattered.
3. Food in the fridge is spoiling and all liquids in opened containers (such as milk and juice) are evaporating overnight.
4. The family’s baby keeps disappearing from her room, but is always found safely in some bizarre part of the house.
5. The plumbing keeps going haywire with strong blasts of scalding or ice cold water, sinks and tubs backing up and causing flooding, or small fires keep erupting in the living room and bedroom.
6. Demitrius is heard uttering strange chants or vague threats.
7. Strange shapes appear in the bedrooms, waking family members at night, sometimes even grabbing them before vanishing.
8. Roll twice on the table, re-rolling any Sixes or repeated numbers.

WHY ARE THE SPIRITS RESTLESS?
1. They aren’t. A greedy real estate developer (and supposed family friend) is trying to scare the family from their home.
2. They aren’t. A crooked antique dealer (and supposed family friend) is sneaking into the house and searching for treasure that, according to old records he found, is hidden in the walls.
3. They aren’t. The angry lover of the husband (1-3)/wife (4-6) has used a magic ritual to bind a minor demon to the house to harass the family.
4. The kids played with a Quija Board and 1d6 poltergeists now inhabit the house.
5. When the old well at the bottom of the backyard was unsealed, elemental and nature spirits were awakened and released.
6. Children playing in the back yard awakened the cursed souls of cultists sacrificed by their leader to appease their dark god (and to prevent his discovery by the authorities).
7. Demitrius was murdered and his ghost is trying to warn the family that the are next if they don't leave... because a lunatic has decided he wants the house for himself.
8. Demitrius was a demon worshiper who traded his soul for theirs; the manifestations in the house is Demistrius summoning spirits and preparing to suck the souls out of the family so he may live forever.

A preview of 'OGL Potheads'

To amuse himself and his Facebook Friends, our fearless leader Steve Miller did some pothead releated d20 Sysetm content. The thing took on a life of its own, and a product thematically similar to OGL Drunkards may be forthcoming. Meanwhile, here's a draft of some of the potential content. (Like Secrets of the Witchkind drew some inspiration from the classic TV series Bewitched, so does this hypothetical product draw inspiration from Charles Bands' Evil Bong series. (All text for the rest of this post is released under the Open Game License. Copyright Steve Miller 2018.)
Comments are welcomed!

NEW STARTING OCCUPATION
Stoner
Prerequisite: Age 15+
Skills: Choose three 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. Craft (visual art or writing), Knowledge (arcane lore or popular culture), Perform (dance, keyboards, percussion instruments, sing, stringed instruments), Spot.
Feats: Select either Creative or Pothead
Special: Characters with this starting profession may select [Stoner] feats in place of bonus feats earned when advancing in their class.


NEW SKILL
Herbalism (Wis, trained only)
You can tell skunk weed from the good stuff, and you can tell what can be smoked and what shouldn't be smoked. You also know the ingridents for making simple herbal remedies. The DC of the skill check depends on what you are attempting to accomplish. Here are some examples:
   DC5: Tell catnip from pot
   DC8: Tell skunk weed from the good stuff.
   DC11: Make a hang-over remedy, or otherwise alleviate mild pain.
   DC15: Tell the good stuff from Magic Weed
   Special: If the character has 5 ranks in Herbalism, he or she gains a +2 synergy bonus to Craft (Pharmaceutical).


NEW FEATS
Emptyhead [Stoner]
You can clear your mind and gain amazing results.
   Prerequisite: Pothead
   Benefit: Roll a Concentration skill check (DC11+your INT bonus) and meditate. For each round spent in meditation to clear your mind, the character gains a +2 bonus to the next Resarch, Gather Information, and Spot skill checks you make.

Greater Emptyhead [Meta-Gaming, Stoner]
The wide open spaces of your mind can yield unusual insights.
   Prerequisite: Emptyhead
   Benefit: Roll a Concentration skill check (DC13+your INT bonus) as a full round action. If the check is successful, you may ask the GM three questions geared toward solving whatever problems or mysteries the characters are trying to overcome in the game. The GM must give you an honest and helpful answer (like an obvious clue or the outright solution). The GM does not necessarily need to provide the means to resolving the problem or evidence to prove the solution to the mystery, just provide the answers to the questions. If the question has no answer, the GM can say that he or she doesn't know. (In game terms, these answers come to the character using the Greater Emptyhead feat as flashes of brilliant and cosmic insight.)

Master of the Emptyhead [Stoner]
Your mind is a gateway to other times and places and worlds
   Prerequisite: Greater Emptyhead
   Benefit: Roll a Concentration skill check (DC13+your INT bonus). Meditate for three rounds. At the end of the third round, your mind becomes a dimensional portal and you and all creatures within 30 feet of your location are transported to a random time and place. [TBD = Table to be Designed]


Pothead [Stoner]
You toke 'em when you got 'em.
    Benefit: Gain a permanent -1 penalty to Initiaive checks, but a +4 bonus to Will saving throws to resist mind-affecting magic and spell-like effects.
    Special: You gain a +2 bonus to Wealth checks made when scoring weed.

A preview of "The Elementals"

This material will appear in a slightly different (as in edited) form in NUELOW Games' next release The Elementals for the OGL d20 System. First up, is an optional part of modifications to the character generation system that determines which Great Dragon's magic impacted the character's ancient ancestors.


HOW WERE YOUR ELEMENTAL POWERS AWAKENED? (Roll 1d6)

Art by Storn Cook

   1. You have always felt attracted to the element you draw your power from, but as you entered your teens, you began to develop the powers you now possess.
   2. You almost lost your life in a situation involving the element your powers are drawn from; in the aftermath, you discovered new abilities.
   3-4. Your family has always been key members of a global cult devoted to worshiping the dragon spirits. You were identified as one of the Blessed and prepared for the day when your powers would manifest themselves.
   5. You were doing yoga, meditating, taking mind-altering drugs (or some combination thereof) when your mind was flooded with flashes of a long-gone age when Great Dragons watched over Earth and all life on it. You fell into a coma 16 hours, and when you recovered, your powers had developed.
   6. A strange old man approached you and said that you were the heir to a great and ancient gift... and that you were to take over the role he had filled for the last several decades. After showing you his power, he trained you in the use of yours.


HOW DID THE PLAYER CHARACTERS MEET? (Roll 1d6)
   1. At the funeral of a shared mentor.
   2. They are abducted and imprisoned together for reasons they initially don't understand and must work together to escape and figure out why.
   3. They were raised in the same secret society and brought together when the time was right.
   4. They each felt drawn to the same isolated castle in Ireland.
   5. They are the sole survivors of a natural disaster.
   6. While they are individually being hunted by assassins, they each recieved a message (and the means) to travel to a remote building in the Mojave Desert in order to discover the key to survive and the reason for why they are being hunted.


NEW FEAT
Here's a feat that may be included... the editor is still mulling over a few last minute brainstorms that I had regarding what could go into The Elementals.

Sense Elemental
You can sense when you are near someone else who carries a spark of a Great Dragon within them.
   Prerequisite: Child of a Great Dragon, Spot 4 ranks.
   Benefit: When your characer is within 60 feet of another Elemental, the GM tells you the character feels as though something is "off" or as if "someone just walked over your grave" or some other statement to show you are sensing something unusual. Upon making a successful Spot skill check (DC12), you can identify the source of your unease--another Elemental. If the Elemental is out of your line of sight, you know exactly where he or she is. You may The sense of unease ends as soon as you recognise the other Immortal.)
   The sense of unease also ends if the Spot check reveals some other threat or mystery that draws your attention.

What ruins the interplanetary cruise?

Here's a table to spark ideas for a side adventures the next time the player characters are traveling between planets in your sci-fi campaign. Roll 1d12 to determine what disrupts a peaceful trip.

1. Crew is seized by Space Madness
2. Martian Fever spreads among the passengers, killing them and reanimating their bodies.
3. The ship is hijacked by Venusian seperatists
4. The ship is boarded by space pirates
5. An old friend of the party seeks them out for protection
6. An old enemy of the party seeks them out for protection
7. A deadly being made of pure mental energy is moving from body to body, causing murder and mayhemn
8. Assassins are targeting a politician traveling incognito
9. Thugs want to kidnap a couple of eloping rich kids and hold them for ransom
10. Space Witches have chosen the ship and this passage as the time and place for their latest ritual
11. The life support systems mysteriously malfunction
12. A powerful energy beam draws the ship toward Uranus

Art by Joe Doolin

And here's a song that might provide a little inspiration as well!

The Super Hero Class (for d20 Modern)

Some five years ago, NUELOW head-honcho Steve Miller had an idea for a system of super powers that could be grated onto any d20 System game that used the feats and talents mechanic to advance character abilities. It began with the post linked here, and Miller and his partner in NUELOWness, L.L. Hundal, has been expanding upon it ever since... through posts here at the blog and with content in many of the comics/rpg hybrid products that they've produced.

   Miller & Hundal have agreed that they think they've just about covered all their favorite comic book heroes and their abilities via the rules they've been creating... and that it may be time to pull all the bits and bobs together into a unified and coherent whole and release an actual product! One of the last pieces may or may not be this new base class while Hundal has been using in her d20 Modern games for the last few go-arounds.

   All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduce in accordance with its terms. Copyright Steve Miller 2018

THE SUPER HERO CLASS

By L.L. Hundal & Steve Miller

There are Fast heroes, Smart Heroes, Strong heroes... all the kinds of heroes you find described in the d20 Modern Standard Reference Document. But the Super hero stands above them all. Whether driven by supernatural forces, family heritage, or some life-altering trauma, the super hero has powers and abilities beyond those of mere mortals that he or she puts to use to defend the innocent from criminals and other evil people and entities that would prey upon them. It is a versatile class with access to the wide range of talents, as well as minor power feats.

THE SUPER HERO CLASS

Ability: Player's Choice; Super heroes come in all shapes, sizes and intelligence quotients.

Hit Die: 1d8

Action Points: Super heroes gain a number of action points equal to 5 + one-half their character level, rounded down, at 1st level and every time they attain a new level in this class.

Class Skills: The Super hero's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (mechanical) (Int), Drive (Dex), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Strength), Knowledge (current events, science [pick individual branches separately], streetwise) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Pilot (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (none), and Tumble (Dex).

Also, the starting occupation the character selects can provide additional class skills to choose from.

Skill Points at 1st Level: (6 + Int modifier) x4.

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 5 + Int modifier.

Table: The Super Hero
Class Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Class Features	Defense Bonus	Reputation Bonus
1st	+1	+0	+1	+1	Talent	+2	+0
2nd	+2	+1	+1	+1	Bonus feat	+3	+1
3rd	+3	+1	+2	+1	Talent	+3	+1
4th	+4	+2	+2	+2	Bonus feat	+4	+2
5th	+5	+2	+3	+2	Talent	+4	+2
6th	+6/+1	+3	+3	+2	Bonus feat	+5	+3
7th	+6/+1	+3	+4	+3	Talent	+5	+3
8th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+3	Bonus feat	+6	+4
9th	+7/+2	+4	+5	+3	Talent	+6	+4
10th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+4	Bonus feat	+7	+5

Starting Feats

In addition to the two feats all characters get at 1st level, a Super hero begins play with the Combat Martial Arts feat, or a Weapons Proficiency feat of the player's choice. The character must meet any prerequisites before selecting a feat.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Super hero.

Talents

At 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th level, the Super hero may select a talent from any the following talent trees. Some trees have a set order that must be followed, while others provide a list to choose from.

   Any and all Super Power talent trees for which the Super hero meets the prerequisites.

    No talent can be selected more than once unless expressly indicated in its description.

Feats

At 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th level, the Super hero may select a bonus feat from the following list.

   Any [Minor Power] feat, plus Alertness, Athletic, Blind-fight, Builder, Combat Expertise, Educated, Gearhead, Improved Disarm, Frightful Presence, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Meticulous, Studious, Trustworthy, Weapon Focus.

Masks of the Ninja Cuties

This post is a supplement to NUELOW Games' Ninja Cuties. You can also find drafts of the material from that booklet on this blog, but if you like this post, we hope you'll consider getting our product.

MASKS OF THE NINJA CUTIES

The first Grandmaster of the Ninja Cutie clan has six children--three sons and three daughters. Being unable to choose which of his adult children would be the best to take over leadership of the clan, he said that he would give the position to the child who defeated a Grandmaster of a rival clan and presented him with the mask that embodied that clan's spirit. Two weeks later, five of his children returned together, each presenting him with a clan's mask... all except the youngest daughter. The children explained that she devised the strategey that saw the siblings working together to defeat all the other clan leaders and take the artifacts from them. He was so pleased that instead of giving control of the clan to just one of them, he divided its resources equally among them. He gave his youngest child the Face of the Cutie, the mask that symbolized the Shouchiibi (Ninja Cutie) clan, and the rest retained the masks they'd seized as the symbol of the part of the clan--the "House"-- of which they were now in charge.
   As the Ninja Cutie Clan spread across the globe, the division of the clan that had happened in its early days served it well. Each part of the clain essentially ended up with its own "territory" and the masks were housed within the secret headquarters of the House in question. Here are the six Masks of the Ninja Cuties, as defined with the d20 System. (The rest of the text in this post is released under the Open Game License and it may reproduced in accordance with its terms.)

Art by Adam Warren

The Face of the Dragon (Located in Manchester, Great Britain)
This mask grants the wearer a +2 bonus to all Wisdom-based skill checks. Once per day, the mask will protect the wearer against a mind-affecting attack or spell (automatic failure; the GM doesn't even need to inform the player it happened unless its obvious). Once per day, the wearer can conciously invoke the mask's power to gain a +4 bonus to all Will saves for two hours.

The Face of the Fox (Located in New York City, USA)
The mask grants the wearer a +2 bonus to all Intelligence-based skill cheks. Once per day, the mask can be activated by touching its left ear to allow the wearer to automatically see through  technologically- or magically-created illusions for 30 minutes.

The Face of the Cutie (Located in Tokyo, Japan)
This mask grants the wearer a +2 bonus to all Charisma-based skill checks. Once per day, the mask allows the wearer to cast charm monster at 12th-level effectiveness.

The Visage of the Bull (Located in Rio De Janerio, Brazil)
The mask grants the wearer a +2 bonus to all Strength-based skill checks. Three times per day, the wearer may ignore the hardness of an object while striking to break it.

The Visage of the Cat (Located in Hong Kong, China)
The mask grants the wearer a +2 bonus to all Dexterity-based skill checks. For one combat per day, the wearer cannot be flanked and gains a +1 bonus to AC or DC (depending on the d20 System variant) against all attacks.

The Visage of the Bear (Located in Christchurch, New Zealand)
The mask grants the wearer +4 to all Constitution-based skill checks, as well as a +1 bonus to all Fortitude saves.

Ninja Cuties

d20 Supers: The Combination Hero

There are a number of superheroes who are actually one or more individual beings who merge, either temporarily or permanently, into the hero. The most famous of these may be DC Comics' Firestorm, but Yankee Doodle Jones (who will be seen in a forthcoming anthology from NUELOW Games) also falls into this category.
   This post presents rules for the d20 System game that will let you create your own superhero who is greater than the sum total of his or her parts. It's an involved process that involves generating multiple characters that eventually become one, but we think the end result will be worth it for the story and roleplaying potential it offers.
   Part of this article is a random origin generation (the tables titled How Did the Combination Hero Come to Be? and How is the Combination Undone?), but we encourage you--in cooperation with your GM--to come up with a carefully considered backstory instead. You might even want to create a history for each of the characters who become the Combination Hero, so that if and when they become separated, you know how to play one or more of them.

CREATING THE COMBINATION HERO (for the d20 System)

By Steve Miller

Step One
Roll 1d3+1. The result is the number of characters that makes up the Combination Hero.

Step Two

By Everett Raymond Kinstler

Generate each character, using the standard character generation rules for the campaign/game you are playing in. (If alternate rules are in play that allow for more generous attributes [such as rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest] they should not be used.)
Assign the results to attributes in the order they were rolled.
   Randomly generate the level of each character by rolling 1d4. Assign character classes skills, feats, talents, and everything else that a character would have for each one, bringing the character up to its highest level. (You can shortcut this stage by only defining the individual characters' skills, although having each of the character that makes up the whole to come might be important in certain situations.)

Step Three
Transfer the highest stats of the previously generated characters to a new character sheet. These are the starting attributes for the Combination Hero.
Add the total levels of the previously generated characters together; this is the starting number of levels for the Combination Hero.
   Note any skills possessed by the original characters that had 5 or more ranks on the Combination Hero's sheet. These are Permanent Class Skills for the Combination Hero.
   Select a bonus feat for each character that makes up the Combination Hero. This is where you can begin to give the character superpowers, for example, if you're using NUELOW's feats- and talents-based power system. (The Combination Hero must meet all prerequisites in order to have the bonus feat.)
Assign character classes, skills, feats, talents, and everything else that a character would have for each one, bringing the character up to its highest level.

HOW DID THE COMBINATION HERO COME TO BE? (Roll 1d10)
Use this table to randomly determine how the combination hero came into existence. Some of the results require an additional roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table, below, since many Combination heroes can separate back into those who make them. Most of these sub-results also describe how the characters can then recombine.
   Naturally, you can also just read these tables and pick a result that you want to be you the point of origin and/or method to uncombine/recombine for your character.
   1. The characters were struck by a mysterious ray from space. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table)
   2. The characters performed a mystic ritual that worked as intended. The combination is undone when the combination hero utters a magic phrase.
   3. The characters performed a mystic ritual that went awry. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table.)
   4. The characters were subjected to a mystic ritual by evil cultists. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table.)
   5. The characters were joined into a single being by an Atlantean artifact. The artifact must be used against to undo the combination.
   6. The characters were killed, but a powerful entity gave them a change for a new life as a single being. Only the entity who created them can undo the union (which may or may not kill the individual characters).
   7. The characters volunteered to become a single being through super-scientific means. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table.)
   8. The characters were abducted by a mad scientist and forced to become one being to prove his theories. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table)
   9. The characters offended a Tibetan hermit who cursed them into existing as one being until they make amends. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table)
  10. The Combination Hero woke up in the middle of smoldering wreckage or ruins with no notion of how he or she came to exist. (Roll on the How is the Combination Undone? table)

HOW IS THE COMBINATION UNDONE (Roll 1d10)
   1-2. It is permanent unless undone through the will of a powerful god.
   3-4. The hero must speak a magic word that is only known to a mystic order that dwells in a remote, hard to access place. Any of the characters who made up the hero will be able to speak the work and re-combine them all.
   5-6. The hero must be exposed to rays from a specific alien device.
   7. The hero must touch a particular object. When the characters who were combined all touch the object again at the same time, they will re-combine into the hero.
   8. When the hero is subjected to a rare type of radiation or a specific type of magical energy.
   9. The hero must die.
  10. The hero must bathe in the Pool of All. This causes the characters to separate, although they do not become immortal unless they enter the Pool individually. (See Secrets of the Immortals for more.)

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All text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright Steve Miler 2018.