From the School of Typomancy...

Here's a spell from the little-known School of Typomancy. Spells of this nature are generally discovered when game designers and writers type too fast and/or don't bother proof-reading text before letting editors see it

LIGHTNING BLOT (1st level, Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard)

Components: V

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)

Area of Effect: 10 ft radius

Effect: Burst of light and static electricity

Duration: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: See below

Spell Resistance: Yes

Creatures within the area of effect must roll Fortitude saves or suffer 1d3+1 point of electrical damage and be dazzled for one minute. If the saving throw is successful, the targets suffer no damage, but all their hair stands on end as they are subjected to extreme static electricity. This persists for ten minutes or until they touch another person or being, inflicting 1 point of damage upon the person touched, and suffering 1 point themselves. (If the touched being rolls a successful Fortitude save, it suffers no damage.)

The text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2020 Steve Miller.

Bessie Love and the Shawl of the Babushka

During the 1920s and early 1930s, Bessie Love was a popular movie star. Away from the adoring public, however, she led a secret life as the superhero Love Bug and defended Earth against supernatural evil. During her adventures, she collected a number of magical treasures. One of these was the shawl of the babushka. In this post, we reveal another of Bessie's secret adventures while describing this unique magical item in terms of the d20 System rules.


THE SHAWL OF THE BABUSHKA
In 1946, Bessie Love (in her guise of the Love Bug) battled Baba Yaga to save children abducted from a village in eastern Ukraine. At the end of that adventure, she walked away with a shawl that Baba Yaga had woven and enchanted for her most loyal servants. At one time, 13 of these were known to exist; two were destroyed during the encounter that Love had with Baba Yaga and three witches, but ten more may still exist. The secret to making this item is known only to Baba Yaga
   The shawl of the babushka is a triangular piece of cloth that is roughly 3 feet wide and 7 feet in length. If subjected to detect magic, it radiates faint transmutation magic.
    The fabric is a red so deep that it is almost black. It is embroidered with flowery patterns in bright yellow and blue and green, but if those patterns are carefully studied (1d6+2 rounds) and a successful Knowledge (Arcane) skill check is rolled (DC20), it becomes apparent that mystic symbols of demonic origin are concealed in harmless-seeming floral motif. The purpose of the symbols isn't clear. (Only high-ranking demonlords and Baba Yaga herself know the meaning of the symbols, but see below for more.)

Powers of the Shawl of the Babushka
When worn, a shawl of the babushka grants the following protections and powers to its wearer:
   *Immunity to normal hot- and cold-weather conditions. The wearer is comfortable in the hottest and coldest places on Earth.
   *Immunity to be located by any magical means, except through the personal and direct actions of a god.
   * +4 bonus to saving throws made to resist damage from elemental magic.
   * Use charm person as a spell-like ability at 20th-level effectiveness twice per day.
   There is one final power that is not revealed by identify or anything short of a wish spell. It can only be explained by Baba Yaga, a demonlord, or learned through experimentation.
   * Become one of three different human females: A plump and friendly-seeming old woman; a bent, boney, hag-like old woman; and an extremely attractive young woman. Although the character using this ability retains all of his or her own statistics, levels, and class abilities, this transformation does not register as a magical one; for as long as the character wears the shawl, he or she is the woman that he or she has chosen to be. Aside from a vague similarity in facial features (Spot check of DC18 for anyone to notice), there is nothing else to give away the character's transformation. The transformation remains in effect until the character is no longer wearing the shawl.
   The transformation is brought about with a successful Willpower saving throw (DC12) and a full round action. Until the character realizes that there are three different forms that can be adopted, the woman that he or she changes into is rolled randomly on the following table:

Random Shawl Transformation (Roll 1d6)
1-2: Plump Old Woman
3-4: Withered Old Woman
5-6: Beautiful Young Woman


Drawbacks of the Shawl of the Babushka
The shawl of the babushka is a magic item made by Baba Yaga specifically for her most loyal human minions, typically witches. Wearers to whom she has gifted it wouldn't necessarily view these effects as "drawbacks".
   * Whenever the character uses the charm person spell-like ability, the GM rolls 2d6+1. On a roll of 4 or 13, Baba Yaga gains the ability to see and hear everything the character does for an hour, even if the shawl is immediately removed. She also knows exactly where the character is located.
   * Whenever the character transforms into one of the female forms, the GM rolls 2d6+1. On a result of 13, the character is physically replaced by a succubus for 1d4+2 hours. While the character is trapped in the demonic plane, no harm will befall him or her, but he will be warned against trying to cross Baba Yaga, as well as being offered the opportunity to gain the Chosen feat as a bonus, or otherwise makes offers to tempt the character to serve them. (Even if the character refuses all offers, the demons will always be cordial and polite to the temporarily planeshifted character; they will even happily explain everything about the shawl and its powers.
   The interaction with the demon generally takes place in a richly appointed, parlor with comfortable couches and easy chairs. If the character is rude or aggressive, the demons try to remain friendly and polite but they will leave him or her alone if the character persists. If the character attacks them, he or she is immediately transported to a sweltering, dark void for the duration to the swap.



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All text in this post is presented under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance to its terms. Copyright 2020 Steve Miller.

The Cupid Sex Swap Caper

Here's a campaign subplot, and new magical item, to help GMs get ready for Valentine's Day. This material should be useful for any D&D variant, ranging from the good old D&D Rules Cyclopedia, through AD&D, all the various d20 System iterations, and maybe all the way up to D&D Fifth Edition. (All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2020 Steve Miller.)


Cupid's insane sister, Himera, has trapped him in a pocket dimension, and she has taken over as the Spirit of Love. She wants to move up from mere minor entity to full-fledged god, and she is appearing to characters with Charisma scores of 16 or better, and Wisdom scores of 12 or better, with an offer: "Promise to be loving and kind to those who deserve kindness. Promise to defend and protect romantic lovers wherever you find them. Promise these things, and I will give you power and make you a Soldier in my Army of Love."

When a character agrees to be a Soldier in the Army of Love, a silver chain with a heart-shaped ruby pendant appears around his or her neck. The necklace cannot be removed, and, although it does not radiate magic, it is an artifact that grants its wearer the following abilities:

    * +5 bonus to hit with all bows, all bows and missiles they fire are treated as if they are enchanted weapons

    * Use charm person as a spell-like ability a number of times per day equal to the character's Charisma bonus. The character's total levels is the caster level.

    * If the amulet is flipped around so it hangs down between the character's shoulder blades, if the character utters the command word "It's the Power of Love", a pair of ghostly wings appear on his or her back that function as a feather fall spell cast at 20th level. The spell effect is limited to the character, although he or she can share the effect with one other creature (up to Medium-size) if it is embraced tightly.

Himera will continue to appear to the character from time to time, sometimes offering helpful hints in solving whatever problems the character and his or her allies are currently facing, and other times she will ask that assistance be provided to star-crossed lovers under dire threat.

    When the character next gains a level, Himera appears to him or her and demands that the character become a Priest/Cleric/Mystic (or whatever class casts divine magic in your campaign). If the character refuses, he or she, and close friends, allies, and others he or she cares about, are transported to the pocket dimension where Cupid is imprisoned. They must then help the actual Spirit of Love escape from captivity and put his sister back where she belongs.

    Even if the character chooses to become a priest of Himera, at some point he or she is bound to do something that offends the capricious entity and will find him- or herself banished with all their friends and loved ones to Cupid's prison.

In This Christmas Season...

… here's a magic item for your d20 System RPGs (like Pathfinder and such).



Candle of Peace
Candles of Peace are found in churches and shrines to good-aligned deities. No one knows how they are created or by whom. They just seem to appear in dark corners  bundles of 2d4+4, on random festival days for the deity a given shrine, church, or temple is devoted to. If subjected to detect magic, candles of peace radiate faint auras of divine magic, but nothing more specific can be determined. Roll 1d6 to determine what color the candles are: 1-2 red; 3-4 white; 5-6 green.
   When lit, a candle of peace provides a +2 bonus to Will saves to resist fear effects, and a +2 bonus to Fortitude saves to resist disease, venoms, and poisons (magical and non-magical) within a 10-foot radius and sight of the candle's flame. Each candle can burn a total of 48 hours before completely expended. It can be lit and extinguished any number of times during that period. (Each time it is lit, the GM can assume that a minimum of 1/4 of an hour  of burn time is spent.)
   A candle of peace cannot be wet or submerged in water to work. It can be used to ignite flammable materials and substances. It can be extinguished by any means that would extinguish a normal candle.
   Up to four candles of peace can be lit at the same time and their benefits will stack, for a maximum bonus of +8. They cannot be more than 4 inches apart for the bonuses to stack. The radius of the effect never expands beyond the 10-foot radius.



Best Holiday wishes from your friends at NUELOW Games! Here's Mike Oldfield's fabulous version of "Silent Night" to help set the mood!

Bessie Love and the Gourdians

In 1928, during her time fighting supernatural evil as The Love Bug, actress and secret warrior in the battle of good vs. evil, Bessie Love liberated a Gourdian from enslavement by an evil necromancer. She posed with him for a portrait, and he visited her and her family every Halloween for the rest of her life.



Bessie Love and "Gourdon", the Gourdian she befriended.

THE GOURDIANS
Tens of thousands of years ago, during the height of the Atlantean civilization on Earth, a misfired experiment in pushing the boundaries the Aeromancy and Biomancy magical disciplines flooded a pumpkin patch with magic and brought into existence a whole new species of beings. The Atlanteans named them "Gourdians" and the beings didn't really care what others referred to them as, so the name stuck.
   Most of the Gourdians exist in a non-corporeal state, drifting through the boundaries between this universe and parallel realties, as well as this plane of existence, the spiritual realms, and the dimension that the Witchkind call home (generally considered part of the Realm of Fairies). They appear like floating, ghostly pumpkin with feet and occasional hats. They also manifest spindly arms with three-fingered hands when they need to wave or give someone the middle finger. Their faces appear as if they were carved out of their surface and it appears like there is a bright light glowing within them.
   Once a year, when the dimensional veils are weakened during the time some mortals describe as October 30th through November 2nd, the Gourdians cross over onto the Earth plane. While here, they are semi-corporeal, and they can interact with our world to a limited extent.


GOURDIAN STATS AND ABILITIES
* Gourdians appear in groups of 3d4-2.
* Gourdians have a base Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of 8, but each increases by 1 for each Gourdian that is assembled together (to a maximum of 18).
* Gourdians have 1 rank in all existing skills (attribute bonuses apply when appropriate).
* Gourdians are treated like 12th-level Fast Heroes (Rogues) for puroses of saving throws and attack rolls.
* Gouridans have 12 hit points. When reduced to 0 or less, they do not die, but instead become non-corporeal and are banished back to the spaces between dimensions.
* They can lift objects using the telekinesis spell, as a spell-like ability, at will. The can also use telekinesis offensively twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
* When non-corporeal, Gourdians cannot be harmed nor can they do anything but observe their surroundings. They are invisible except to true seeing spells and spell-like abilities. They cannot be harmed in this state, except with a wish spell... and the only thing that can be done is that they must be wished out of existence.
* Gourdians can use fear as a spell-like ability twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
* Gourdians can use planeshift as a spell-like ability twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
* Gourdians have a permanent true seeing ability, and they can look into any dimension adjecent to the one they are currently in.
* Gourdians can cast bless or curse as spell-like abilities twice per day, four times on October 30th through November 2nd.
* Gourdians may grant a worthy person up to three wishes on October 31. (They usually do this for those who have sacrificed a great deal to to good deeds, or who combat evil against all odds.)
* Gourdians may initiate mental contact with any intelligent being that is within their lines of sight. The target hears a distant whisper, and the GM is to ask if the target chooses to listen. They can carrying on a mental conversation with a willing target for as long as 13 minutes, making themselves automatically understood in the target's native language. Only one Gourdian can be in contact with a target at a time, and they can only contact a single individual at a time. Unwilling targets may roll a Will save; if the save is successful, the Gourdian still makes contact but can only communicate for three minutes.
   Gourdians usually contact people they want to help, warn, or, in the case of evil beings who have incurred their wrath, terrorize... but sometimes they just want to chat or tell jokes. (They love telling bad jokes.)

One of the Witchkind, who is not amused by this Gourdian's jokes

GOURDIANS IN PLAY
Gourdians like spending time on Earth, especially on Halloween. Although they usually just hang around the Witchkind, they will sometimes roam far and wide, helping heroes and making life difficult for villains.
   Gourdians can be trapped using a special variant of the lesser planar binding spell and a specially prepared lamp (oil-burning or one that takes a candle). A single Gourdian can be trapped in a lamp, and the person who trapped it can force it to use its spell-like abilities on targets he or she specificies until the Gourdian has been forced to use three wishes. If the Gourdian is commanded to harm an Atlantean, one of the Witchkind, or other Gouridans, it is freed and will attack the person who trapped it. The Gourdian can also be liberated if the lamp holding it is smashed or targeted with dispel magic. A freed Gourdian will offer to grant wishes to the person who freed it.

The Balls of Yog-Sogoth

The Balls of Yog-Sogoth are a pair of perfect spheres of a smooth, white, semi-translucent crystaline substance. One can be comfortably cradled in the palm of an average adult male human's hand. Each glows softly with a white light that originates from the orb's center. Legend holds that the balls were dropped from the elder god Yog-Sogoth itself, and so they are highly sought after by the cults devoted to the various aspects of the entity. No one really knows their true origin, however.


A cultist handling a Ball of Yog-Sogoth

POWERS OF THE BALLS OF YOG-SOGOTH
If subjected to a detect magic spell, the Balls of Yog-Sogoth radiate faint alteration and divination magic. No other magic short of a wish spell will reveal any additional information about the mysterious spheres. Seekers of knowledge must discover the power of the balls through their own experimentation, or by recovering and reading sacred scrolls possessed and jealously guarded by obscure cults, or perhaps an Immortal or two.
   To use the Balls of Yog-Sogoth, a user must old them in their hands. The balls function in different ways, depending on whether a user is handling one or two of them.
    One Ball: While cradling a single of Yog-Sogoth's balls, the character will receive a mental image of a magical item that is in his or her possession, or in the possession of a friend or ally. The charcter comes to know everything about the item as if he or she had cast an identify spell upon it. It takes 1d6 rounds for the vision to materalize. Once the user has realized this use of a ball, he or she can mentally picture specific items and gain information as if he or she had cast identify upon them.
   Drawback: For each item past the first that the user identifies within a 72-hour period, there is an increasing chance (10% on the second item, 30% on the third item, 50% on the fourth item, 70% on the fifth item, 90% on each additional items) that the user will collapse into a deep coma that lasts 1d6+1 days. Upon regaining consciousness, the character must roll a Fortitude save (DC18) or feel weakened to the point of suffering a -4 penalty to Strength and Constitution scores for 24 hours.
   Two Balls: While holding one of Yog-Sogoth's balls in each hand, the character can either envision a historical figure well-known contemporary figure, or someone with whom the character is personally acquainted, be it a friend or foe. After concentrating on the mental image of the person for 1d6+1 rounds, the character receives one of the following vividly detailed visions, as if he or she was present for the events and experienced them as the person did. (Roll 1d6 to determine which kind of vision.)

   1. The happiest moment of the person's childhood.
   2. The proudest moment of their youth.
   3. Their greatest achievement during their lifetime.
   4. The place the person felt most comfortable/spent most of their
        leisure time (if dead); where the person will be in exactly one day
        (if alive).
   5. The place where the person spent/spends the most time with the person
        they loved/love the most, as well as who that person is.
   6. The single event or secret that the person wants to keep hidden forever.

   Drawback: If the user tries to have more than one vision within a 72-hour period, there is an increasing chance (10% on the second vision, 30% on the third vision, 50% on the fourth vision, 70% on the fifth vision, 90% on each additional vision) that the user will collapse into a deep coma that lasts 1d6+1 days. Upon regaining consciousness, the character must roll a Fortitude save (DC18) or feel weakened to the point of suffering a -4 penalty to Strength and Constitution scores for 24 hours.
   Each additional vision within the 72-hour period is determined randomly, just like the first. If the same scene is rolled more than once, the user sees it from a different angle, perhaps even experiencing the scene as someone else did/does. Each reiteration reveals new details.

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All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 Steve Miller. (If you find this material useful or interesting, please purchase some of our actual products. It will encourage us to make more!)

Tin Foil Hats and More for the d20 System

In 1954, the Soviet bloc and NATO cooperated on first repelling, and then covering up, an alien invasion of Earth. The aliens' main weapons were telepathy-based, and they were able to make humans see what they wanted them to see. Although the aliens were defeated, the world's militaries and intelligence organizations couldn't be sure they had been driven off the planet completely, so they worked to create means by which their troops and operatives could keep from falling victim to the aliens mind-effecting powers, or to see through them even after falling sway to them.

With the immediate threat averted, however, cooperation between the two military alliances soon faltered, and it ceased completely when it was discovered that the Soviet military had been infiltrated by the aliens and that the enemy was undermining the effort to invent countermeasures. Many of their top scientists NATO--led by Britain and the U.S., with assistance from Japanese scientists--had better luck, and created two different types of devices to defend against the aliens: Psychic Blockers (codenamed "Tin Foil Hats" and Ocular Filters (codenamed "Cheap Sunglasses").

NATO's anti-alien devices were manufactured in labs located in a remote corner of what is referred to as Area 51 in Nevada. Their method of creation, and the fact they even were being created and given to chosen military personnel and intelligence operatives was such a carefully guarded secret that when a mishap with Atlantean technology in 1983 caused the building housing the lab and all in it to be shifted to another dimension, the knowledge of their existence was all but lost.

The surviving aliens of the 1954 invasion attempt have been trying to find and destroy the remaining devices, as they attempt to soften humanity for the day when another full-forced invasion is launched, while the U.S. government has been trying to reclaim and protect the devices.


PSYCHIC BLOCKER ("TIN FOIL HAT")
The Tin Foil Hat comes in two different varieties: one that can be subtly shaped and fit inside (or over) other headgear, and one that looks like the crude and cartoonish, tin-foil hat from conspiracy theory jokes. (The first variety was made in the government labs at Area 51, while the other was made by a researcher who went rogue and decided the general public needed to warned about the psychic aliens and given the means to protect themselves. From 1978 through his death in 2019, he made and distributed an unknown number of these while living life on the run from both government agents and aliens.)
   Although both varieties appear to be made from tin foil, they are made of a special material, the formula for which was lost when the secret lab was dimensionally shifted.
   When worn, the Psychic Blocker grants a character enhanced protection to all mind-effecting magic, mind-effecting  spell-like effects, and mind-effecting psychic or psionic powers. When targeted with such abilities or spells, the wearer gains a +6 bonus to the Will save to resist. If no saving throw would normally be allowed, the character may roll a Will save with a +3 bonus to resist.


Type (and Number) of Psychic Blocker Found
Psychic Blockers are usually located in abandoned government safehouses, hideouts for aliens or human traitors working with them, or among the possessions of dead friends (who passed away under mysterious circumstances, or simply of old age) or defeated foes. Roll 1d10 the following table to see what kind of Psychic Blocker, as well as how many, is found by the player characters.

1d10 Result      Type of Blocker      Number Found
1                       First Variety            1
2                       First Variety            1d6
3                       First Variety            1d6+1
4-6                   Second Variety        1d6+2
7-9                   Second Variety        2d6+2
10                    Second Variety        3d6-1

OCULAR FILTER ("CHEAP SUNGLASSES")
These appear to be normal sunglasses that are made in styles that were popular in the 1960s, 1970s, or up until the mid-1980s. The lenses, however, are made with materials derived from alien technology that was recovered from their wrecked ships.
   When worn, the character can see all things as they actually are. With a Spot skill check (DC8) the wearer of sees though illusions generated by magic or psychic sources, sees the exact locations of creatures or objects under blur or displacement effects, sees invisible creatures or objects normally, and sees the true form of polymorphed, changed, or transmuted things. Creatures who can shapechange, like certain supernatural beings, will be surrounded by a vague, faintly glowing shape of their natural form, or their most commonly used alternate appearance. The range of the ocular filter is the wearer's line of sight. They will also reveal the true appearance of beings and items in photographs, broadcasted signals, or in films.
Number Found and Styles of Ocular Filters Found 
Ocular Filters are usually located in abandoned government safehouses, hideouts for aliens or human traitors working with them, or among the possessions of dead friends (who passed away under mysterious circumstances, or simply of old age) or defeated foes. Roll 1d10 the following table to see what kind of Psychic Blocker, as well as how many, is found by the player characters.

1d10 Result      Number Found and Style
1                       1d3 1960s
2                       1d2 1960s, 1d2 1970
3                       1d3 1970s
4                       1d3 1970s, 1d3 1980s
5-7                   1d3+1 1970s, 1d3+1 1980s
8-9                   1d2 1970s, 1d6+1 1980s
10                    1d2 1960s, 1d6 1970s, 1d6+3 1980s

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All text in this post is released under the Open Game License and may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2019 Steve Miller. (If you find this material useful or interesting, please purchase some of our actual products. It will encourage us to make more!)