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Murder Most Random
by John K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/07/2023 10:51:13

This is a great supplement for murder mystery writers. I wish there were more like it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Murder Most Random
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Love Witch
by Timothy B. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 09/20/2022 13:14:58

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/09/100-days-of-halloween-love-witch.html

Something a little different tonight. NUELOW Games has given us a lot of off-beat supplements for d20; many using old comics that have fallen into the public domain. It is a good idea really, some of these older comics are actually good and some are kinda creepy and many lend themselves well to all sorts of games. That is what we have tonight. Though I will admit I am not 100% sure if the comic used IS public domain OR if it is one they licensed for this use. The copyright notice seems to indicate that Marv "Teen Titans" Wolfman still owns and it is used with his permission.

Love Witch

PDF. 56 pages. Color Cover. Black & White interior art.

Not to be confused with the similar-sounding movie out the same year.

This product is split into four major parts. Parts 1 to 3 are the comics about the "Love Witch" and Part 4 is the OGL d20 rules to use some of the magic.

Burnick is our titular Love Witch. The first comic introduces us to this beautiful but evil witch. The next two deal with her various battles, with the last one dealing with her battle with her arch enemies the Druids.

The Game related sections start on page 36 and deal with the fall of Atlantis and the migrations of the Atlanteans. The magic of Atlantis, at least in terms of the d20 rules are a bunch of different feats that can be taken to provide magical effects. Not a bad method and it certainly feels different.

In the modern eras, we get two groups that continue the Love Witches fight. The Daughters of Burnick continue in the steps of the Love Witch and the Watchers of the Stones who are the modern-day Druids.

It's fun and I could easily see a "Daughters of Burnick" coven that I could use with my own witch books or even better with the Hyperborea RPG.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Love Witch
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Relentlessly Gay (for ROLF! and OGL d20)
by Joe K. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/23/2022 08:19:07

I thought this was a witty and campy addition to what is already a very clever and campy game. ROLF takes what's stupid about real world events and classic golden age comics and plays it straight. If you only liked the 1966 Batman show for the source material, this is not the game for you - but if you're looking for something funny and fun, then this is in your wheelhouse keykeykeykeyiifiiffiifiifffiifiiff



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Relentlessly Gay (for ROLF! and OGL d20)
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NUELOW Stock Art Collection #4: Scenes From Yesterday's Future
by Simon B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/31/2021 01:11:28

Some excellent Public Domain SciFi images for use in TableTop RPG project etc. I've used them extensively. Quality is variable but some of them are excellent. I just wish the past wasn't so misogynist and was more inclusive. There are some images (inclduing the cover image) I couldn't bring myself to use. Still well worth the money, though.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
NUELOW Stock Art Collection #4: Scenes From Yesterday's Future
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ROLF: Pirates vs. Fairies
by Lord S. E. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/18/2021 00:45:20

ROLF: Pirates vs. Fairies

This is a Battle Royal style game. You take on one of 8 characters and battle it out with other characters. Not what I was expecting. But, now I need to look at the ROLF rules, It looks as if it would be a good time filler.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
ROLF: Pirates vs. Fairies
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ROLF: Cap'n Jack on the Isle of Pirate's Doom
by Lord S. E. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/18/2021 00:41:46

ROLF: Cap'n Jack on the Isle of Pirate's Doom

This is a Battle Royal style game. You take on one of 8 characters and battle it out with other characters. Not what I was expecting. But, now I need to look at the ROLF rules, It looks as if it would be a good time filler.

~I’m Lord Skudley, and that’s my opinion.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
ROLF: Cap'n Jack on the Isle of Pirate's Doom
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Monster, Monster: Vampires
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/04/2021 16:11:47

" Few monsters are as popular or versatile as the vampire. It’s popularity and presence in the public mind has grown ever larger in every artistic genre from fiction and poetry, to movies and comics, and to roleplaying games."

"They can be physically hideous, or they can be as beautiful as angels. They can be soulless monsters, or they can victims of a curse they wish to be liberated from. When it comes to vampires, only your imagination limits you, because the genre standards for them are fluid and many. Some might even say there are no standards for how to properly portray a vampire in fiction"

Monster, Monster: Vampires By Ed Fedory, Andrew Pavlides, Steve Miller From NUELOW Games clocks in at forty pages for Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. But actually Monster, Monster: Vampires has the usual NUELOW Games Skywald publishing monster comic book story. This is followed by several different types of vampires in monster camps such as this lovely; "Feral Vampire Medium undead, Chaotic Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 97 (13d8 +39) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) Int 12 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 12 (+1) Saving Throws Strength+8, Wis+6 Skills Intimidation +6, perception+6, stealth+6, survival+6 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 xp)" There are some really well written individual species of undead here that are just waiting to suck the life out of even a modern group of adventurers. This makes this exceptionally perfect for Amazing Adventures fifth edition.

And while there's vampires actually in AA, these variants allow the DM to present quite a bit of variety & a bit of mystery for example this lovely ripe for creation or conversion into an NPC; "Demonic Vampire Medium undead, Chaotic Evil Armor Class 17 (natural armor, shield) Hit Points 97 (13d8 +39) Speed 30 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 16 (+3) Int 12 (+1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 12 (+1) Saving Throws Strength+8, Wis+6 Skills Intimidation +6, Perception +6, Stealth +6, Survival +6 Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non magical weapons Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned Senses Darkvision 120’, passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 8 (3900 xp)"

And thus we get even more vampire varieties but its the set up, proper monster ecology, & we even get some NPC's to throw into your fifth edition games. But these are perfectly complicated enough to add into a modernish Pulp game. Take for example Black Anne please! She's perfectly suited for a modern game; "For decades, Black Anne and her cult of witches terrorized remote northern islands. While coven members came and went—claimed by old age, sacrifice to the dark powers they drew power from, or the weapons of righteous adventurers, Anne avoided death’s icy grip. She was a favored servant of a god of ultimate evil, and she maintained her your through evil rites that involved bathing in the blood of children." And we get more loveliness as time goes on. Is this new or wholly innovative?! No but that's not the point here. Monster, Monster: Vampires is perfect for the DM with no time that wants to inject a good dose of vampire blood into their own home campaigns. Thanks for reading our review Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Blog Want More Pulpy Goodness Please Subscribe To https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Monster, Monster: Vampires
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Love Witch
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/29/2020 11:52:54

"In an age before the rise of human civilizations, empires ruled by aliens and gods dominated the Earth. Prominent among these was Atlantis. This nation had its roots in a solar system far removed from our own, and they colonized the Sol system through a mixture of technology and magic that was the hallmark of their civilization."

So what exactly is Neulow Games The Love Witch? Well its all about a hybrid of graphic novel or comic book old school Seventies goodness & Miller's game design according to him ; " The Love Witch contains three exciting tales that mix high fantasy and horror by master comics-scribe Marv Wolfman, with gorgeous art by Ernie Colon, Don Heck, and others. The book also contains an all-new feat and talent-based magic system that can be brought into any d20 System and which is far more flexible than is typical, as it is not tied to any class- or level-based abilities." And its within these abilities & gaming design that Miller's writing shows through because this right up my campaign alleyway. The magic of Atlantis is solidly laid bare here. This is a tight book clocking in at fifty six pages with of Atlantean magic via the Love Witch PC class but its really not. We'll get to that. And its here that the book shines. We get alternative schools of Necromancy, a full view of the PC class & deeper mysteries into the fate of Atlantis. Because of Nuelow Games approach to the Lovewitch I got exactly what I need with crossover potential with Witchkind & the Immortals both of which play key rolls within my campaigns.

So is this a PC class or not?! Sorta but more of a legacy according to Miller;"It was mentioned above that Atlantean magic is not a class feature in the d20 System. Instead, heroes gain the ability to use magic by acquiring one or more feats either during character creation or as they advance in level. Their spellcasting abilities grow more refined and powerful through additional feats, as well as talents and ranks in certain skills. Depending on when the GM’s campaign is set, or what relationship the heroes have to Atlantean enclaves after the continent has been destroyed, the characters may have access to the feats that form the foundation of the spellcasting system in this book." And its this that makes the Lovewitch easy to slip into a campaign. Things like 'Deathless' make the Lovewitch an easy match for Immortals; "Deathless [General] You are hard to kill. If slain, you will rise from your grave. Your supernatural patron wants your work to continue. Prerequisite: Ancient Blood or Ancient Spirit Benefit: +2 to Fort and Will saves. Special: When the character is dropped below -10 hit points (or the threshold used for “dead” in the campaign), he or she doesn’t die. Instead, the character’s spirit leaves the body and continues to exist as a formless entity on the mortal plane. If the Disembodied template is available in the campaign (see NUELOW’s Ghost Woman), the character has gained that template. If not, the character exists formless near the location of his or her demise until a suitable living vessel comes along. The character may attempt to possess the being. The target receives a Will save (DC12+your character level) to resist. If the target is injured or somehow emotionally vulnerable or frightened, the Will save is DC8+your character level. The target immediately gains Dual Souls as a bonus feat, with this character become Character B. (See Dual Souls for details.)" And this makes it simple for the DM to take Castles & Crusades Siege system or Fantastic Heroes & Witchery to adapt the Lovewitch to their home campaigns.

Is the Lovewitch perfect?! No its a supplement that's built to fit into Miller's OGL material but easily lifted & fitted for an experienced DM. It has that Seventies horror comics vibe & we've had one player whose PC is going down the Lovewitch path & has the ancestry for this supplement's magic. All in all its a fine addition to the DM's tool box. Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want more OSR goodness?! Subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Love Witch
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Stardust the Super Wizard
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/12/2020 17:15:16

"Stardust the Super Wizard is a name spoken in hushed whispers throughout the universe, He uses his vast knowledge of interplanetary science and sorcery to monitor all inhabited worlds, and when he finds beings he considers exceptionally evil or vile, he dispenses the justice he feels they deserve. Once you've incurred the wrath of the Super Wizard, you are done for!"

For many now the Nuelow games universe setting has been one that we've been dipping into for many years. A combination of public domain comic book series & supplement the whole book is more then the combination of its parts. This formula is one that allows Nuelow to flesh out characters such as Stardust The Super Wizard; "Stardust the Super Wizard from NUELOW Games collects six tales from the Golden Age of Comics by one or its most eccentric and erratic creators, Fletcher Hanks. Although he only worked in comics for a brief time during 1939 to 1941, the over-the-top nature of his work left a permanent mark on the emerging artform--and it makes the stories worth reading even today. The "Stardust the Super Wizard" series is where his bizarre story-telling style was most prominently on display. followed closely by run on the "Fantomah" series (highlights from which are featured in NUELOW's The Three Lives of Fantomah: Mystery Woman of the Jungle." Who is Stardust The Super Wizard? According to the Public Domain Super Hero site; "Stardust the Super Wizard lived on a "private star" far out in space. He patrolled the cosmos fighting criminals, racketeers, spies, and terrorists, but comes to Earth after intercepting a radio signal from America." And Neulow Games What really makes Stardust The Super Wizard is the cultclassic comic artwork but who was this renagade comic book artist from the Golden Age of comic books;"Fletcher Hanks, Sr. (December 1, 1889 – January 22, 1976) was a cartoonist from the Golden Age of Comic Books, who wrote and drew stories detailing the adventures of all-powerful, supernatural heroes and their elaborate punishments of transgressors. In addition to his birth name, Hanks worked under a number of pen names, including "Hank Christy," "Charles Netcher," "C. C. Starr," and "Barclay Flagg." Hanks was active in comic books from 1939 to 1941" Here's a great article on the comic book work & fate of Fletcher Hanks.

Stardust The Super Wizard would be considered a cultclassic cosmic anti hero & he's a reality bender with super science. This cosmic demigod is as bizarre today as he was back when he exploded onto the Golden Age. Stardust alters criminals, bends reality, & causes complete genocide of several gangs. Stardust the Super Wizard (2016) has several super science devices of some really twisted applications for adventures. Because is a simple OGL d20 Modern product & so easily convert to most OSR systems. Steve Miller doesn't get half the credit that he should as a game designer. Stardust the Super Wizard works well as a NPC antagonist for OSR super heroes. There are several super hero systems that I'd use Stardust the Super Wizard as a main villain. The original material for Stardust the Super Wizard is well done. Stardust is a perfect candidate for a cult leader or the like because he acts as judge, jury, & executioner. His actions towards his continuum's Earth are bizarre. In some respects Stardust reminds me of DC Comic's Mister Mxyzptlk with his crazy actions &

I can see playing an epic campaign of bizarre crazy reality bending adventure & weirdness. Invading Stardust's base could be climax of a long series of weird adventures with Stardust doing incredibly strange things along the way. The thing to remember about Stardust The Super Wizard is the fact that this is a character of absolutes, the punishments ironically fit the crimes. Things that detract from Stardust the Super Wizard ? Stardust the Super Wizard 's base needs to be improved. The map while usable needs a huge improvement but other then that Stardust the Super Wizard is completely usable as a villain or antihero of the highest order. I'd say four out of five & I've got a whole lotta of Stardust the Super Wizard action coming in one of my campaigns so stay tuned.

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Want more OSR action on this & other games? Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Stardust the Super Wizard
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ROLF: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters
by William C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/30/2020 05:50:58

The writing in this is clear, and light hearted. A little bit edgy, in a humorous manner. The funny does not lessen the strength of the rule system. Simple enough you could use it to play anything, and enough crunch that it can handle anything you want to throw at it. Plus, Elmore art!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
ROLF: The Rollplaying Game of Big Dumb Fighters
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For a Song and a Dance
by Jeremy M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/23/2020 14:06:11

Love it.

I always kind of roll my eyes when modern and modernish games make major historical figures into whatever – Abraham Lincoln is a vampire! Churchhill was a robot! Cleopatra was an alien! But oddly I really enjoy when they make minor historical characters funky and supernatural. Bessie Love as a Buffy-esque occult warrior? Come on!

The first section is the “Love Collection” – a Batcave style treasure trove of items Bessie has taken from her fallen foes. The Sharp Dressed Man collection is unique and awesome both, the Bethlehem Drums are less interesting to be but still well done.

Next section is skills and feats/talent trees. As it says itself in the intro in any 3.5ish game skills and feats have been done to death but there’s some nice stuff here. Depending on your group and how they like to play it straddles the line of a bit too silly for some, but that’s kind of the joy of it.

The next section is a couple random generators. One is for magical thrift store clothing. Cool idea, but random tables don’t do a lot for me. The other is for artifact destruction methods, again neat but not really my interests.

The last section is a template and talents for disembodied characters. Interesting and well done but nothing that blew me away.

Overall for a pay what you want product I rate it as fantastic. Well worth the suggested buck fifty.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
For a Song and a Dance
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review! I like hearing what does and doesn't work for people out there, both as a publisher and a designer.
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Secrets of the Witchkind
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/14/2020 22:13:05

"Secrets of the Witchkind presents everything you need to bring a new, highly magical player character race to at d20 System campagin setting you enjoy. The Witchkind aren't just spellcasters... everything they are is tied to magic, and they use it more naturally than any other beings in the multiverse."

So I wanted to get back into a bit of OSR kitbashing with Secrets of the Witchkind by Steve Miller. The cover art by Bradley McDermitt convey's a sort of absolutely insane witchkind that might be the perfect NPC villain. Before we go any further this book this is a D20 modern Basics book. The book has a sort of Bewitched quality about it which happens right from the intro; "Every human culture has legends about men and women who bend reality to their will through magic. In the following pages, we reveal the source of those legends, the beings that sorcerers and wizards and demonologists through the ages have aspired to be like— Witchkind! A note about gender language in this product: Throughout this booklet, we refer to "witches" as a general term for witchkind. We do this as a matter of expedience, because we didn't want to type "witches and warlocks" or even "witchkind" over and over. Any reference to a witch applies equally to warlocks, who are their male counterparts. (That should be selfevident, but we have found in the course of the he/she/it wars that it is not.)"

One thing about Secrets of the Witchkind is that this higher quality book then some of Neulow games other offerings. The author has put more work into production & it shows. I was shocked to see that this book was up to Secrets of the Immortals standards. We get racial background on Witchkind their history, events, culture, etc. & it gets pretty indepth; "What is known is that witches and warlocks have existed along side and among humans for tens of thousands of years. The earliest witches seem to have been created via an accident in Atlantis that flooded several thousand people with magical energy during an attempt to study the extra-dimensional Realm of Fairies. When it became clear that there was no reversing the changes they had undergone, the Atlantean leaders isolated them for the rest of their population by restricting them to an extra-dimensional settlement that eventually evolved into a trading and diplomatic post where Atlantis interacted with all the other planes. " So once again this goes side by side with Secrets of the Immortals history another hidden race that has existed side by side with humanity. That's not a bad thing & Secrets of Witchkind is lite enough system wise to work with other OSR D20 products out on the market. This includes Troll Lord Games Amazing Adventures! But Witchkind are extremely long lived PC's.

The layout here is good & the material here is higher level then I was sort of expecting but many of the D20 Neulow games supplements could be used with Light City a supers hack for the outstanding and simplified Swords & Wizardry Light and Swords & Wizardry Continual Light designed by Erik Tenkar. If I was gonna pitch a whole cloth campaign it would be used with Light City: The Assembly! That campaign material has the right mix of supernatural heroics & super villain nastiness to fit the implied material in Secrets of The Witchkind.

Is Secrets of The Witchkind a rip off of the Betwitched television show? Kinda but not really at all this product is more of an upsend of the witch in a way where the feats & magic system of the Witchkind convey a much more dynamic & almost Pulp like mystic super heroic figure. They have a complete independent magic system; "The following spell point costs are baselines. There are circumstances that can either increase or decrease the amount of spell points expended. Here are some universal conditions that impact the spell point cost. • Spells in core rulebooks and other supplements: Spell level x3 • Minor spell effects, as created by player: 1 spell point (for example, turning a taco into a burrito) • Medium spell effects, as created by player: 6 spell points (for example, placing an enchantment on an item that causes the person carrying it to always tell the truth for 24 hours) • Elaborate spell effects, as created by player: 12 spell points (for example, causing a room to completely change in appearance) • Major spell effects, as created by player: 24 spell points (causing a fully furnished house to appear in an empty lot for a number days equal to character level) • Epic spell effects, as created by player: 100 spell points (for example, causing one or more structures to appear or disappear on a permanent basis, drawing a historical figure from the past into current time, or sending the witch and a number of other people back or forward in time)." The layout & fonts are very well done here in Secrets of The Witchkind. The feats of the Witchkind reflect their 'otherness' from the run of the mill human; "Empathy [Minor Power] You detect the surface emotions of any creature you can see that is in the power’s area. Benefit: As a full round action, you can focus your attention on a single creature within your line of sight. Roll a Willpower save (DC10). If the roll is successful, you know the target's exact emotional state--afraid, angry, hate-filled, curious, friendly, or any other emotion. The following round, you gain a +4 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Sense Motive checks you make at the target. Special: This feat serves a prerequisite for any talent from Superpower trees." You get an almost a really horrific nasty effect with the Talents of the Witchkind;"Invisibility You can become hard to see or totally invisible at will. The invisibility can be activated by a thought (standard action), and remains in effect until he wills himself visible again, or loses consciousness. The character’s clothes and carried objects become invisible as well. Shadowy: By taking a standard attack action, you turn partially invisible. You gain a +4 bonus to all Hide checks. This bonus increases to +10 if you are in a dark area or it is night. Invisible: By taking a standard attack action, you turn invisible. All attacks made against you suffer a -6 penalty. Creatures that can see invisible objects can still see you, and you can be sensed by equipment that detects body heat or movement. Likewise, if you step in a puddle, are submerged in water, stand in heavy rain, or if someone fills the air with dust or flour that clings to you, you essentially become visible. Prerequisite: Shadowy Insubstantial: As Invisible, except the character becomes vaporous and become immune to damage from all damage sources except those that compress or displace air, such as extreme heat and cold. The character suffers normal damage from such attacks. Prerequisite: Invisible"

How is this phamplet different from say the work of Tim Brannan of the Otherside Blog say his The Children of the Gods The Classical Witch Tradition book? Well there are both some major thematic differences & racial ones. The witchkind are their own species, the have their own detailed societal overview, there racial details that differ. In other words the Secrets of The Witchkind is its own product separate from many of the witch books on the market. I'll be doing a review of Tim Brannan's The Children of the Gods The Classical Witch Tradition book coming up but that's its own blog entry.

Secrets of The Witchkind is its own book & supplement. Its one that adds a very different take on a very long & almost immortal race unto itself. Is it good? In a word yes! Does it do its job?! Yes it does & perhaps a bit more. Overall I'm glad to have it & will be using it soon. Do I think you should get it? Yes if you want to add in a very different spin Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery blog Grab this book!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Secrets of the Witchkind
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ROLF: Bill Clinton and the Secret City of Women
by Ioan C. - Z. D. a. P. W. &. O. - [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/28/2019 02:20:28

Bill Clinton is a nice player and a decent president tat has a nice family (Chelsea and Hilary) tat probably e loves them Te big expectations from him even when suported by Hilary are about decent peoples life Around Bush Family he was suportive and friendly and he always tried to resolve even the biggest problems I know Chelsea Clinton got married and as deligtfull kids and togheter with Mark her husband tey make a appy couple So mote it be



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
ROLF: Bill Clinton and the Secret City of Women
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Lady Satan 1974
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/09/2019 13:59:16

"... and Lady Satan shall continue on at will!" After being dormant for centuries, a spirit of ultimate evil stirs and seizes control of young Anne Jason's body. What follows is a violent struggle for control of a life that's been stolen... and to stop the will of Satan to be manifest on Earth.

Lady Satan 1974 is the first-ever collection of the entire series that first ran in Scream and Psycho magazines from Skywald Publishing. Hewetson's creation is a little remarked upon milestone in American comics history, as it was the first horror series to star an African American woman (even if she was possessed by a Bride of Satan for much of each of the four chapters)."

I have a very storied history with Skywald Publications going back to '74 when I found a stack of Scream & Nightmare magazines next to my uncle's Playboys he kept under his bed. The lurid & dangerously suggestive covers were indicative of the horror magazines of the time. This brings me to Skywald incarnation 's Lady Satan. So I asked Neulow Games Steve Miller to send me over their Lady Satan 1974 for review. Lady Satan is one complicated horror anti hero character, & in fact might be considered by today's standards an out & out villain. Her origin is strongly connected with the Satanic revival of the Seventies & its occult Satanic cultist urban legend horrors. Originally she was a Satanic cultist Anne whose spirit is taken over by Anne, the evil "Black Witch of Salem." She becomes a bride of Satan (personally I think that this might be a pit fiend with delusions of grandeur & he's been playing her for the fool. Or this is Satan at a low point in the Seventies). Anyway she's got a very definitive split existence with her body shared between the pathetic & 'innocent' Anne or the blood thirsty Anne the Black Witch of Salem. She isn't murderous per say but its only a matter of time in my opinion. Some innocent or scum is going to get in her way & then all bets are off. This is a character who walks the razor's edge of evil manic horror & is most likely will use it to cut down those around her. The Public Domain Super Hero entry on her bares this out here. The cult of Satanists are straight outta Seventies horror comics especially those of the Marvel' Tomb of Dracula, Ghostrider, & Warren horror magazines. Skywald horror magazines always had their own feel, look, themes, & greater Skywaldverse lurking in the background of Scream, Nightmare, Psycho & their other horror magazines. Lady's Satan's powers are sort of nebulous but she can't die so I think we're dealing with an undead or demonic being here cast in the best Universal or Seventies horror monster mold. Neulow games provides a very solid footing with Basic D20 rules for having two spirits inhabit one body, Satanic minions, cultists rules, etc. all of this is centered around the theme of comic book Seventies horror. Not too shabby at all for forty four pages. According to Public Domain Super Heroes site; "Lady Satan is sometimes referred to as the first African American female to star in her own stories, however Butterfly (also published by Skywald) debuted two years earlier" From her appearances in Scream and Psycho magazines from Skywald Publishing Lady Satan is one very dangerous character & most likely an incredibly dangerous NPC character that only experienced party's of adventurers should encounter. Why do I say this? Because Anne The Black Witch of Salem personality is about 10 seconds in the future of taking full control of that Satanic cult that brought her back into the world of 1974. The D20 Basic Rules state it right out; "These rules are designed with OGL Modern in mind, but the majority of them are easily incorporated into other d20 System games. While much of this material is perhaps best suited for NPCs, a reformed hero who is now battling against his former brothers and sisters in the practice of evil." Yeah the world of 1974 saw the rise of supernatural anti heroes like Marvel's Dracula, Ghost Rider, The Son of Satan, etc. But their much older going back to the Golden Age of Comics with Pep Comics Madam Satan.

Could it be that Anne, the evil "Black Witch of Salem " is actually much older then the cult realizes?! I think so. But its Lady Satan's insanity & instability that worries me ;" In her first appearance, the innocent girl's name was given as "Anne Jason" however, in her second appearance (and without explanation), her name was given as "Anne Jackson " ,this indicates the NPC character's delicate hold on sanity. Many of these anti hero characters are as powerful as mid level AD&D style lich or minor demon. Who is going to want a potentially murderous 'Lady Satan' in their fair city?! Any paladin or hero worth their salt is going to work on destroying them at the drop of a hat & that's where things get interesting. The Satanic cult that brought Anne, the evil "Black Witch of Salem" as lady Satan might in fact have been a transplanted group of Nazi operating in the back confines of a great American city. This might lead to the dungeon master operating a 'Dark Shadows' soap style campaign where he can bring in various threats to his fair city through a planar mechanism. In fact Lady Satan 1944 might be hunting for Anne, the evil "Black Witch of Salem ".

We've seen various incarnations of party's of adventurers cross over from Greyhawk in Gary Gygax's various Dragon Magazine articles into Gamma World & Boot Hill. Its not unreasonable to assume that given the scope of demonic & devil activity that a party of adventurers might magically be drawn into the modern world to hunt down the latest incarnation of evil especially one as potentially dangerous as Lady Satan! With a bit of time & energy Lady Satan has the potential to be a real headache for characters in any OSR or D20 game campaign. A dungeon master given some effort can turn Lady Satan into a fully fleshed out NPC of grand potential. I think this is a four outta five on Neulow Games part.

Eric Fabiaschi

Swords & Stitchery Blog

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Rating:
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Lady Satan 1974
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Lady Satan 1944
by Eric F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/05/2019 14:27:59

"I'll answer the invitation to death... but not with bullets." When everyone she loved was killed in a Nazi bombing raid, a young woman surrendered her entire existence to a quest for revenge. Under the name Lady Satan, she first hunted and killed the Nazis wherever she could with conventional weapons... but later, she became a master of black magic. Even after the Nazi monsters were broken and consigned to history, she continued her fight, becoming a hunter of all manner of supernatural monsters." So the year is 1979 I'm living in Hudson New York, my family is getting ready to move back to Connecticut. Like many families we survived the Recession of the late Seventies via tag sales,odd jobs, & any mean necessary. Flea markets were also a must back then & there was a comic book dealer that used to blow through from New York City. One of the comic books he had was 'Lady Satan' & I became obsessed with the character. So when Steve Miller of Nuelow games offered me the chance to do some reviews of his games I gravitated to the comic book character I was imprinted with. Lady Satan 1944 is a good solid introduction & overview of the Lady Satan character with rules for creating your own version of the character as NPC or PC. The layout is easy on the eyes & not too much is expanded upon so there's room for the dungeon master to make Lady Satan their own. I owned a few Lady Satan comic books back in the 90's but an apartment fire took those. You can go over a bit more of Lady Satan's background on the Public Domain Super Hero's site here. That being said Steve goes into a bit more background on the now public domain character;" Lady Satan was one of the legion of superheroes that rushed onto the market during the superhero comic book craze of the early 1940s. She has the distinction of being among the first female superheroes, debuting in 1941, the same year as the more famous Black Cat and Phantom Lady, and premiering the same month as the most famous of comic book heroines, Wonder Woman. But Lady Satan was not destined for the success enjoyed by some of her classmates. After just two stories—published in Dynamic Comics issues 2 and 3, she vanished into the haze of war, without the world even getting to know her real name. (Several years later, publisher Harry A. Chesler would give Lady Satan a second shot at stardom, bringing her back as a sorceress instead of a spy. This second chance didn’t fare much better than the first, and this time she faded away for good.) The first two Lady Satan stories in this book are the two that were published in 1941 and 1942. They are illustrated, and possibly written by, George Tuska, who would would go onto assist in the creation of the first black superhero to headline his own comic book, Luke Cage, Power Man, as well as celebrated runs on World’s Finest Comics and Iron Man. Tuska’s unmistakable hand is evident throughout the stories, even if his style was still developing. Tuska was a staff artist at Chesler’s comic book studio from 1939 to 1941, and most sources credit him with creating the character of Lady Satan. The two other stories are from the second batch of stories featuring the character, after she gained magical powers. Again, Chesler did not credit creators, but the first one (To Catch a Predator) appears to have been penciled by Chesler staffer Bill Madden and inked either by George Tuska or Ralph Mayo. The final tale included here once again looke to have been drawn by George Tuska. The short story that bridges the two versions of Lady Satan and revealing the source of her magic, first appeared in NUELOW Games’s The Werewolf Hunter #1, and is reprinted here in slightly altered form. This story is the first time Lady Satan’s transformation was explained"

NUELOW Games’s does an excellent job of bridging the gap from vengeful assassin to full on sorceress of the black arts. This is done with a simple & easy to understand bit of D20 Basic magic with some easily converted feats & skills via her transformation into the black arts. All of this ties into the first two comic book story "The Daring Lady Satan" & The Rebirth of Lady Satan fiction piece. This gives the character a solid grounding as a bad ass NPC for your games. "Lady Satan was ranked sixth in the Huffington Post's list of the 10 Most Bada Comic Book Heroines" via Lady Satan Public domain Super Hero entry Lady Satan lives up to the moniker & the character is easily converted over to Troll Lord's Amazing Adventures! rpg. There's enough background & fiction that an enterprising dungeon master could easily convert her over an AA! game campaign. But that's not the only way that this excellent character could be used! There is often a deep & abiding connection between post apocalyptic worlds & supernatural evil. This connection often comes from quasi fictional Biblical or Satanic occult sources. Often times these encounters happen via dimensional or planar gateways. Imaging a party of pulp or Dungeons & Dragons adventurers encountering Lady Satan in say the Mutant Future Rpg wastelands.

It would not be outta of the realm of possibility to find ones adventuring party encountering Lady Satan in the post apocalyptic wastelands. If she was on the trail of a supernatural mutant that had been whisked into the late 30's or early 40's via Nazi super science time or dimensional gate technology. Lady Satan & the adventures might find themselves coming face to face with several of Tim Sniderman's Deviant Database I & II mutant supernatural horror themed mutants. Lady Satan is also a full on investigator of the supernatural & could be encountered jumping through a time gate only to wind up right within one of Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classic or Mutant Crawl Classics campaign adventures as well via Nazi or super hero super science! All together I really enjoyed the Neulow Games Lady Satan 1944 booklet clocking in at thirty six pages there's just enough here to get the juices flowing & serves a solid introduction for the character!!

Eric Fabiaschi Swords & Stitchery Want to see more original OSR content? Please subscribe to https://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Lady Satan 1944
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