TEXT: The Modern Dispatch
  Hot�Piece
  Page 1
  Content�Manager:�
  Charles�Rice,�Chris�Davis
  Layout:�
  Chris�Davis
  Running Hot Piece
  Hot Piece is as far from a traditional canned module 
  as an adventure could be. The adventure is broken 
  down into episodes and conclusions. These episodes 
  are triggered (for the most part) by actions and 
  decisions of the PCs. These episodes can be run in 
  any order, in the middle of or in between the events 
  of an ongoing adventure and many of them may not 
  be used at all. 
  Further, there is no set resolution. Several 
  possibilities are provided but the episodes pursued by 
  the PCs and the tone of the campaign should have the 
  most bearing on what the solution to the adventure 
  should be. 
  While it may seem this places a lot of burden on 
  both the game master and characters (the one to 
  determine what happens and the other to diligently 
  pursue leads) this is only true if the adventure is 
  treated as a typical adventure; that is started and 
  pursued exclusively until completed. Hot piece is 
  designed to ease the game master’s burden, giving 
  him something to drop-in during a lull in the current 
  campaign. The PCs can then pursue it until they hit 
  a dead end, get bored, or something more interesting 
  catches their eye. When they are ready, they can 
  return to the mystery, or the GM can drop another 
  clue into another lull and so forth. 
  Following the episodes are events labeled 
  conclusions. The conclusions provide several ways 
  for the game master to conclude the events of the hot 
  piece in the way that best suits his campaign. 
  Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying 
  Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  d20 Modern and Wizards of the Coast are 
  trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the 
  United States and other countries and are used 
  with permission. ‘d20 System’ and the ‘d20 
  System’ logo are trademarks of Wizards of the 
  Coast, Inc. and are used according to the terms 
  of the d20 System License version 6.0.  A copy 
  of this License can be found at www.wizards.
  com/d20.
  #23
  Introduction
  Hot piece is an adventure for modern d20 games. 
  Since the adventure revolves around investigation 
  more than combat this adventure is suitable to a wide 
  range of character levels, though some classes (such 
  as Investigator) will be much handier than others. 
  Once the PCs have solved the mystery of the 
  “hot piece” they can attempt to solve the problem 
  themselves (through apprehending the suspects) 
  and this will require 4 PCs of approximately 3rd-5th 
  level; however, the PCs could just as easily end the 
  adventure by calling the police, and this could be 
  done at any level. 
  Adventure Synopsis
  Five years before the adventure begins, Sgt. John 
  Hamish, a highly decorated, popular ofﬁcer on 
  the local police force was murdered with his own 
  service revolver. His weapon was never recovered 
  but ballistics conﬁrmed beyond a doubt that his own 
  weapon was used in the murder.
  Three years ago this same weapon was used in the 
  murder of Ronald “Downtown” McCown, a local 
  ﬁgure in the city’s underworld. Then last year it was 
  used in the murder of Sedrick Howe, a local union 
  ofﬁcial with alleged ties to organized crime. 
  The weapon has not been seen since. 
  Not, that is, until it arrived yesterday, wrapped in a 
  local newspaper, in the PCs mailbox.
  Hot Piece
  By Charles Rice (RPGObjects)
  
  The Modern Dispatch
  Hot�Piece
  Page 2
  Episode: Calling the Cops
  Some PCs might want to wash their hands of the 
  hot piece ASAP. This is not the low-risk/low-reward 
  option that it may appear to these PCs at ﬁrst blush. 
  For starters, the murder or Sgt. Hamish is a “red ball” 
  (extremely important and politically sensitive) case 
  that has never closed.
  PCs who call the police and say, “hey we have this 
  gun” will immediately become the prime suspects 
  in the murders of Hamish, McCown and Howe, the 
  “break” the police have been waiting for since the 
  murder of Howe last year. If the PCs actually handle 
  the weapon without gloves, even for an instant, things 
  become rather worse, as their prints will be the only 
  prints found on the weapon. 
  The story “I never heard of Sgt. Hamish, just found 
  this gun in my mail this morning” is the kind of story 
  not easily accepted by the police. First, why would 
  the weapon be dumped in that manner? Dumping 
  it in the river makes much more sense. And even if 
  the weapon was dropped on the PCs, it would be by 
  someone who wanted to implicate them, meaning 
  they know who was involved in the murders.
  At any rate, the PCs who turn the gun in can expect 
  to be grilled, detained, followed and harassed for the 
  rest of the adventure by skeptical police who don’t 
  believe in conspiracy theories. 
  Episode: Examining the Hot Piece
  Examining the gun itself will turn up little. It’s a 
  typical .38 service revolver, the kind most police 
  departments don’t even use anymore in favor of 
  automatics. The gun has been wiped down of all 
  prints and does not appear to have been ﬁred recently. 
  PCs can also tell on an Investigate skill check (DC 
  15) that the weapon has been extremely well cared 
  for in the past ﬁve years. 
  Episode: Did You read the Paper 
  Today?
  Some PCs might not pay any attention to the 
  newspaper the hot piece is wrapped in. In fact it 
  is a much more substantial clue than the hot piece 
  itself. If the PCs do not state they are examining 
  the newspaper, allow each PC a Spot check (DC 
  15) to notice that they were not delivered today’s 
  newspaper. This could involve noticing the date or a 
  particular story that makes no sense for the current 
  time of year (such as a Hockey box score in the 
  middle of a lockout).
  In fact the newspaper describes the murder of 
  Ronald “Downtown” McCown, a small time mobster 
  killed gangland style with one bullet to the head, 
  delivered by the hot piece three years ago. At the end 
  of the brief article there is a sentence circled with 
  a red pen: “Police are questioning McCown’s sole 
  surviving relative, labor leader Jacob McCown, who 
  has also been tied to several mob related slayings”.
  Episode: Movin’ on Uptown
  Assuming the PCs do any investigating relating to 
  the murders themselves (they should be not-so subtly 
  pointed this way by the episode above) they will 
  learn that not one, but two of the murder victims are 
  in fact connected with a little digging. Successfully 
  learning of McCown’s organized crime ties, as well 
  as his ties to Sedrick Howe will require a Research 
  skill check DC 20 or Gather Information check DC 
  15 at the evidence room of the local police station.
  McCown is unofﬁcially considered a “person of 
  interest” in both murders. He has ties to numerous 
  unions (who themselves are tied to some signiﬁcant 
  underworld ﬁgures) and made an unsuccessful run 
  for city council last year. In fact it was the taint of the 
  Howe murder that was largely considered responsible 
  for the failure of McCown’s efﬁcient, well-run 
  campaign. He maintains an active campaign website 
  promising another run in the coming year.
  Should the PCs start snooping around after 
  McCown, they will ﬁnd that he has some rather 
  unfriendly men with disproportionately long arms to 
  discourage such unofﬁcial snooping. Should the PCs 
  simply make an appointment and conﬁde in McCown 
  that they are investigating his brother’s murder, he 
  will be rather more helpful as long as he believes the 
  PCs do not suspect him.
  A search of ﬁnancial records (Research skill check 
  DC 20) will show that the only major ﬁnancial move 
  McCown made after his brother’s death was to hire 
  a top-notch private bodyguard, William Wilcox, 
  formerly of the police department, for his own 
  protection. 
  A much more difﬁcult piece of information to 
  divine is that Sgt. Hamish was also on McCown’s 
  payroll. This was actually uncovered by police during 
  the investigation into Hamish’s murder and made 
  McCown the lead suspect, but with no other evidence 
  of his involvement, it was decided to bury Hamish as 
  a hero. This information could only be gleaned from 
  the police themselves requiring a Gather Information 
  skill check with a DC of 25. 
  Episode: Security Blanket
  Should the PCs investigate the chief of McCown’s 
  security force they will ﬁnd that he used to serve on 
  the local police force, where he was the partner of 
  Sgt. John Hamish. As Hamish moved to duties as a 
  desk sergeant, William Wilcox, his partner’s career 
  seemed to stagnate. Then he retired from the force 
  and took a job with a personal security ﬁrm where his 
  police background served him well. 
  Episode: The Murder of Sedrick Howe
  Regardless of what conclusion the GM intends to use, 
  the murder of Sedrick Howe should provide the key 
  to solving the mystery of the hot piece. If William 
  Wilcox has been performing the killings (either on 
  
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  Hot�Piece
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  his own or at the behest of Jacob McCown), then a 
  witness will place him talking to Howe in the hours 
  before the murder.  
  If Jacob is the killer a car registered in his name is 
  placed near the scene. 
  If the devil gun itself is possessing the killers, have 
  the PC have a nightmare in which he kills Howe 
  (what the PC does with the information that he might 
  in fact be a murderer could give a nice slant to the 
  campaign). 
  Finally if Hamish is the killer the PCs could have a 
  run-in with him. Having faked his death and covered 
  his tracks he isn’t about to let some interloping PCs 
  mess things up, so he decides to simply take the PCs 
  out with a force of security guards outnumbering the 
  PCs three to one. The PCs will get a call telling them 
  to meet in an abandoned building where they will 
  learn the truth behind the hot piece.
  Conclusion: Suspicious Minds
  In this conclusion Jacob is indeed the killer. He and 
  his brother had risen together through the ranks of 
  organized crime, with one concentrating on the street 
  while the other worked his way through law school 
  in order to be able to move through the “legitimate” 
  world.
  All good things must come to an end and 
  eventually Jacob decided he would do better at 
  running things without his brother, who was always 
  being arrested for some silly act of violence that 
  could be as easily solved through negotiation. Ron 
  had an ace in the hole however, his contact with 
  John Hamish in the local police precinct, who would 
  insure the investigation would not be placed on the 
  back burner like so many mob killings. 
  For the murder of a popular police Sergeant, 
  McCown turns to his ex-partner, William Wilcox 
  and the two of them laid out a plan to murder the 
  policeman, as well as implicate him for criminal 
  involvement. This would stop the police from 
  investigating his murder as strongly as they would a 
  “good cop”.
  Conclusion: Devil Gun
  In this scenario the gun used by Sgt. Hamish is a 
  much older gun than it appears. In fact it dates back 
  to the 1860’s and can appear as any type of gun it 
  wishes. This possessed weapon seeks vengeance 
  on the descendants of its original owner’s killer, a 
  carpetbagger killed months after the end of the Civil 
  War. 
  Its revenge is almost complete, and with the death 
  of Jacob McCown the curse will be lifted and the 
  gun will become an extremely valuable Civil War-era 
  antique revolver. In this conclusion the PC who is 
  keeping the gun must make a Will saving throw each 
  week (DC 20) or fall under the gun’s spell and begin 
  formulating a plan to kill McCown. 
  The devil gun in its true form (a perfectly 
  preserved Colt revolver from the 1860’s) makes it 
  worth a wealth award of +10.  
  Conclusion: Someone to Watch Over Me
  In this conclusion William Wilcox is the killer. 
  Jealous over his ex-partner’s sterling image, Wilcox 
  retired from the force, intending to ﬁnd another life’s 
  work. It was while working in private security that 
  Wilcox discovered Hamish’s criminal involvement. 
  This discovery, that Hamish’s image as the perfect 
  cop was just a veneer truly pushed Wilcox over the 
  edge and he assassinated him in a parking lot where 
  he was waiting to meet McCown.
  Years later, after Wilcox had begun work for Jacob 
  McCown, he learned that his younger brother knew 
  who had killed Hamish. This prompted Wilcox to 
  murder Ronald McCown as well. 
  Conclusion: The Greatest Trick
  In this conclusion John Hamish is the killer of Ronald 
  McCown and Sedrick Howe. Five years ago, under 
  investigation by internal affairs for ties with Ronald 
  McCown, Hamish faked his own death by altering 
  his ﬁngerprints and dental records on ﬁle to those of 
  William Wilcox, his alcoholic ex-partner, whom he 
  then shot in the face. 
  At the behest of Jacob McCown he then killed 
  Ronald and Sedrick over the years, using the same 
  gun as a way to distract the police department he had 
  come to hate. Hamish feels nothing but contempt for 
  his fellow ofﬁcers and delights in presenting them 
  with unsolvable crimes that have tantalizing leads, 
  which lead to dead ends.
  Conclusion: Endless Curse
  In this scenario the curse of the devil gun does not 
  end when the last “revenge killing” takes place. 
  The gun’s insidious evil spirit keeps its hold on the 
  hapless PC, forcing him to kill again and again. 
  Worse yet, the curse seems to be advancing on the 
  character, turning him into more and more of a pawn 
  for the gun. 
  Conclusion: Deep Throat?
  Following the events of the adventure, one question 
  might still linger in the PCs minds and this is 
  who sent the hot piece to them in the ﬁrst place? 
  Depending on the events the game master has chosen, 
  this answer will vary. It could have been Jacob 
  McCown, who sought to expose the involvement 
  of his own security chief William Wilcox. If a 
  supernatural explanation is used the gun might have 
  chosen the PC to be its next host. And of course the 
  PCs might have been dragged into the adventure by 
  Al Bannister (see below).
  
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  NPCs
  Jacob “Uptown” McCown
  Jacob McCown and his brother grew up on the 
  wrong side of town. In fact they grew up in a place 
  worse than the wrong side of town. For most of their 
  lives the brothers have fought to improve their lot in 
  life, ﬁrst on the streets where it was Ron, not Jacob 
  doing most of the ﬁghting. Now Jacob continues 
  ﬁghting, using his brains and streetsmarts to continue 
  advancing the family cause. 
  Jacob “Uptown” McCown (Smart Hero 
  3/Charismatic Hero 3): CR 6; Medium-size 
  humanoid; HD 3d6+3 plus 3d6+3; HP 28; Mas 12; 
  Init +0; Spd 30 ft; Defense 12, touch 12, ﬂatfooted 12 
  (+0 size, +0 Dex, +2 class); BAB +2; Grap +1; Atk 
  +1 melee (by weapon), or +2 ranged (by weapon); 
  FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL none; SV Fort +4, 
  Ref +3, Will +4; AP 3; Rep +6; Str 8, Dex 10, Con 
  12, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 14. 
     Occupation: White Collar (Diplomacy, Knowledge 
  [Business]) 
     Skills: Bluff +8, Computer Use +9, Craft (writing) 
  +9, Decipher Script +9, Diplomacy +11, Forgery +9, 
  Gather Information +8, Intimidate +8, Knowledge 
  (Art) +9, Knowledge (Behavioral Sciences) +9, 
  Knowledge (Business) +17, Knowledge (Civics) 
  +12, Knowledge (Current Events) +12, Knowledge 
  (Streetwise) +14, Research +9 
     Feats: Combat Expertise, Educated (Knowledge 
  [Business], Knowledge [Streetwise]), Personal 
  Firearms Proﬁciency, Renown, Midas Touch, Rumor 
  Monger 
     Talents (Smart Hero): Savant (Knowledge 
  [Business]), Exploit Weakness 
     Talents (Charismatic Hero): Coordinate, 
  Inspiration 
     Possessions: Wealth +12
  William Wilcox
  (head of McCown’s security detail)
  William Wilcox always seemed to be a day late and 
  a dollar short. His police career, while not exactly 
  a failure, could not be described as a success either. 
  As his partner John Hamish used to say, “If it were 
  raining 100 dollar bills Will would be outside with 
  boxing gloves on”. Once he left the force however, 
  things seemed to turn up for Will as his skills proved 
  especially valuable in the private security industry. 
  Always a good shot, Will parlayed his toughness and 
  police background into a highly successful career as a 
  private bodyguard and security specialist for several 
  large corporations.
  William Wilcox, head of McCown’s security detail 
  (Tough Hero 3/Bodyguard 4) CR 7; Medium-size 
  humanoid; HD 3d10+9 plus 4d12+12 plus 6; HP 
  70; Mas 16; Init +1; Spd 25 ft; Defense 19, touch 
  15, ﬂatfooted 18 (+0 size, +1 Dex, +4 class, +4 
  equipment); BAB +5; Grap +6; Atk +6 melee (1d6+1, 
  Metal Baton), or +6 ranged (2d6+0, Glock 17); FS 
  5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL Jacob McCown; SV 
  Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +4; AP 3; Rep +2; Str 12, Dex 
  13, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8. 
     Occupation: Law Enforcement (Knowledge 
  [Tactics], Listen) 
     Skills: Concentration +9, Drive +7, Gather 
  Information +2, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (Tactics) 
  +3, Spot +8 
     Feats: Armor Proﬁciency (light), Armor 
  Proﬁciency (medium), Combat Driving, Double Tap, 
  Personal Firearms Proﬁciency, Point Blank Shot, 
  Toughness 
     Talents (Tough Hero): Robust, Damage Reduction 
  1/— 
     Talents (Bodyguard): Harm’s Way, Combat Sense 
  +1, Sudden Action 
     Possessions: Concealable Vest, Metal Baton, Glock 
  17; Wealth +6
  McCown Security (Strong Ordinary 2) CR 2; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 2d8+2; HP 11; Mas 13; 
  Init +1; Spd 30 ft; Defense 15, touch 13, ﬂatfooted 14 
  (+0 size, +1 Dex, +2 class, +2 equipment); BAB +2; 
  Grap +4; Atk +4 melee (1d6+2, Club), or +3 ranged 
  (2d6+0, Beretta 92F); FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; 
  AL none; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will -1; AP 1; Rep +0; 
  Str 14, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8. 
     Occupation: Law Enforcement (Drive, Intimidate) 
     Skills: Drive +6, Intimidate +4, Knowledge 
  (Tactics) +5 
     Feats: Armor Proﬁciency (light), Combat Martial 
  Arts, Personal Firearms Proﬁciency 
     Talents (Strong Ordinary):  
     Possessions: Light Undercover Shirt, Club, Beretta 
  92F; Wealth +2
  John Hamish
  To the media that gloriﬁed him after his death, John 
  Hamish was everything that was right about the 
  police department; daring, brave, dedicated, a family 
  man who served his community, and died defending 
  it. As is usually the case with such wonderful stories, 
  The Devil Gun - New Item
  This possessed weapon can appear as any weapon a potential wielder would consider desirable. In fact it is 
  an antique colt revolver possessed by the vengeful spirit of its original wielder. When being used to pursue 
  its goal of vengeance against the descendants of those who wrong it, the devil gun gains a +3 enhancement 
  bonus to hit and damage.
  
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  the reality was a little different. In fact it was almost 
  the opposite. The real John Hamish was on the 
  payroll of several small time hoodlums to look the 
  other way and help nullify arrests against them, such 
  as Ronald McCown. He was also far from brave and 
  even cheated on his wife. At the time of his death, 
  despite ongoing internal affairs investigations it 
  was decided to let Hamish die as the hero he never 
  quite was in life and this is how he is likely to be 
  remembered forever.
  John Hamish (Strong Hero 3/Dedicated Hero 
  2) CR 5; Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d8+3 plus 
  2d6+2; HP 26; Mas 13; Init +2; Spd 30 ft; Defense 
  18, touch 16, ﬂatfooted 16 (+0 size, +2 Dex, +4 class, 
  +2 equipment); BAB +4; Grap +4; Atk +4 melee 
  (1d6+2, Club), or +6 ranged (2d6+0, Glock 17); FS 5 
  ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL none; SV Fort +5, Ref 
  +3, Will +5; AP 2; Rep +-2; Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, 
  Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 8. 
     Occupation: Investigative (Computer Use, Gather 
  Information) 
     Skills: Computer Use +9, Gather Information +7, 
  Investigate +6, Knowledge (Current Events) +7, 
  Knowledge (Streetwise) +7, Knowledge (Tactics) +4 
     Feats: Advanced Firearms Proﬁciency, Armor 
  Proﬁciency (light), Brawl, Combat Martial Arts, Low 
  Proﬁle, Personal Firearms Proﬁciency 
     Talents (Strong Hero): Melee Smash, Improved 
  Melee Smash 
     Talents (Dedicated Hero): Empathy 
     Possessions: Light Undercover Shirt, Club, Glock 
  17; Wealth +7
  Dr. Alejandro Montoya
  Montoya is a defrocked Catholic priest turned 
  paranormal investigator. He has a great belief in 
  the supernatural and tends to see a supernatural 
  explanation for things. He was removed from 
  his ofﬁce as an ofﬁcial church exorcist after his 
  appearance on the late night radio show “East to 
  West” where he went on a ranting tirade about secret 
  societies existing unknown even by high-ranking 
  ofﬁcials in the Catholic Church called “the Doctrine” 
  and “Frater Torquemada”. 
  Dr. Alejandro Montoya (Dedicated Hero 3) CR 3; 
  Medium-size humanoid; HD 3d6+3; HP 14; Mas 12; 
  Init +0; Spd 30 ft; Defense 12, touch 12, ﬂatfooted 12 
  (+0 size, +0 Dex, +2 class); BAB +2; Grap +1; Atk 
  +1 melee (by weapon), or +2 ranged (by weapon); 
  FS 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL none; SV Fort +3, 
  Ref +1, Will +4; AP 1; Rep +1; Str 8, Dex 10, Con 
  12, Int 14, Wis 15, Cha 13. 
     Occupation: Religious (Knowledge [Arcane 
  Lore], Knowledge [Theology and Philosophy], Sense 
  Motive) 
     Skills: Knowledge (Arcane Lore) +10, Knowledge 
  (Behavioral Sciences) +8, Knowledge (History) +8, 
  Knowledge (Theology and Philosophy) +10, Listen 
  +8, Sense Motive +8, Treat Injury +8 
     Feats: Educated (Knowledge [Arcane Lore], 
  Knowledge [Theology and Philosophy]), Sacred 
  Ritual, Exorcism 
     Talents (Dedicated Hero): Empathy, Intuition 
     Possessions: Wealth +7
  Quote: Your trouble is indeed grave my son. But I 
  can help you. 
  Al Bannister
  Al Bannaster, host of the late night “East to West” 
  radio show is a leading proponent of supernatural 
  and alien phenomena. He is convinced that John 
  Hamish’s death was the result of a police conspiracy 
  involving a cover up of an alien/military join 
  operation in the home city. It just so happens that 
  he is in the area investigating the killing again for a 
  week long special on his radio show. Even though 
  the murder had nothing to do with aliens, Bannister 
  still knows a great deal about the crimes and might 
  provide some valuable assistance to the PCs. Of 
  course if they do not come to the conclusion that 
  aliens are involved, and agree to talk at length 
  about it on “East to West” they will be labeled as 
  “government black ops agents” and become part of 
  the urban legend themselves. 
  Al Bannister (Charismatic Hero 3) CR 3; Medium-
  size humanoid; HD 3d6+3; HP 14; Mas 12; Init +0; 
  Spd 30 ft; Defense 11, touch 11, ﬂatfooted 11 (+0 
  size, +0 Dex, +1 class); BAB +1; Grap +0; Atk +0 
  melee (by weapon), or +1 ranged (by weapon); FS 5 
  ft by 5 ft; Reach 5 ft; SQ ; AL none; SV Fort +3, Ref 
  +2, Will +2; AP 1; Rep +5; Str 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 
  14, Wis 13, Cha 15. 
     Occupation: Creative (Bluff, Craft [writing], 
  Knowledge [Arcane Lore]) 
     Skills: Bluff +10, Craft (writing) +8, Diplomacy 
  +8, Disguise +4, Gather Information +8, Knowledge 
  (Arcane Lore) +8, Knowledge (Business) +8, 
  Knowledge (Current Events) +8, Knowledge 
  (Popular Culture) +8, Knowledge (Theology and 
  Philosophy) +8, Perform +8, Profession +2 
     Feats: Banter, Deceptive, Renown, Windfall 
     Talents (Charismatic Hero): Fast-Talk, Dazzle 
     Possessions: Wealth +10 
  Modern Character Generator
  Statistical blocks created with RPGObjects’ Modern Character Generator.
  
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  Open game license
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  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this 
  License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, 
  non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, the Open 
  Game Content.
  5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original 
  material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are 
  Your original creation and/or You have sufﬁcient rights to grant the rights 
  conveyed by this License.
  6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  portion of this License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT 
  NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, modifying or 
  distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright 
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  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, 
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  8. Identiﬁcation: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly 
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  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish 
  updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this 
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  10 Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License with 
  every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.
  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open 
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  12 Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the 
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  13 Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to 
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  14 Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, 
  such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it 
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  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002, Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, based 
  on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, 
  Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.
  System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2004, Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc.: Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Bruce R. 
  Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. 
  Modern Dispatch #23 2004, RPGObjects; Author Charles Rice
  open gaming content
  Designation of Product Identity: The following terms are designated as 
  product identity as outline in section 1(a) of the Open Gaming License: 
  Modern Dispatch, Darwin’s World, Blood and Guts, Blood and Fists, Blood 
  and Vigilance, Blood and Circuits, Blood and Relics.
  Designation of Open Gaming Content: The following sections of Modern 
  Dispatch #23 is designated as open gaming content except for terms deﬁned 
  as product identity above.  All illustrations, pictures, and diagrams are 
  Product identity and property of RPGObjects™.
  The NPC statistical blocks and New Item are open content.  All other text is 
  closed content.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/3rd Edition (3.x)/3rd Party/d20 Modern/3rd Party/RPG Objects/Modern Dispatch/Modern Dispatch 023 - Hot Piece.pdf