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| Dead Earth Imperial Citizen* |
The Red Martians. If you read A Princess of Mars carefully, you will notice that Burroughs refers to the Red Martians - and the Green Martians for that matter - as "humans". We've suggested that this is more than a figure of speech or humanist sentiment, right here.
Since the Red Martians are human in almost every way that matters, with the exception of being egg layers, it may be more useful to suggest some civilizational Aspects. We will do that first:
- Warring City-States clinging to dying Canals
- The Green Martians are our enemies, except when they're our allies
- An armed and loyal citizenry - except for a few spies and ambitious traitors
- Better technology than the Green Martians
- Each City-State has an Air Navy!
- Not quite as decadent as the Old Martians
So how about a fighting man of Mars? Or a woman? Below are some stats for a worthy opponent.
*This is an excellent line of not-Barsoom miniatures which are of course perfect for a Barsoom campaign. We've made good use of them for Tekumel gaming as well.
OGL MECHANICS
Red Martian Blade
ASPECTS:
- High Concept: A Gallant of the Red Martians
- Trouble: Loyal to a fault
- Aspect: A perfect physical specimen
- Aspect: Trained in the Twin Sword School of the Red Sands Academy
- Aspect: A radium pistol always ready
- Careful: +1
- Clever: +1
- Flashy: +3
- Forceful: +2
- Quick: +2
- Sneaky: 0
STUNTS:
- Expert Pilot - +2 to Quick Approach to operate Red Martian flying ships
- Two Blades Are Better than One - +2 to Flashy Approach when Attacking with a sword in each hand
- Quick on the Draw: Once per session, go first in combat with a Quick Attack when using a Radium Pistol
I get that this is a Fighting Man of Mars, but his aspects are REALLY heavily combat-oriented.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Sandchigger! The last two Aspects are the only two that are explicitly combat oriented, but what else would you like to see? Love to hear you're ideas!
DeleteI _suppose_ "A Perfect Physical Specimen" could be used for seduction purposes, but aside from the Flaw they all seem to say "hey, I fight dudes" to me. Maybe a Stunt that was more social?
DeleteThat post is more about Burroughs' description of the Red Martians, which tends to emphasize their health, litheness, and vigor - physical perfection and athleticism.
DeleteI mean "Aspect", not post..
DeleteI'm always glad to see any Burroughsian stuff show up,
ReplyDeleteThanks, Trey! I am a bit fan of both Burroughs, so who knows what else might show up here?
DeleteHow about the Scientist-types? Burroughs also featured a few Science-oriented NPCs in his Barsoom tales. Also the Leaders of the various City-states would very likely take on a few more social aspects, since they were expected to be charismatic, noble, etc., except for the craven cowards and despicable tyrants who served as bad guys, of course.
ReplyDeleteCool post.
Doh! Forget that last comment, just spotted the Martian Scientist post. That's what I get for trying to get caught-up while distracted by the current project. Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteNo worries at all. Glad to see all of your comments on the posts. I hope to get caught up with replies later today but I'm in the midst of a Machen Marathon at the moment!
DeleteA Machen Marathon? Sounds like fun indeed. Just re-read Great God Pan and Inmost Light, two of my favorites. Looking forward to the discussion-thingy tomorrow. Did I mention that there is a pub in Wermspittle called 'The Three Impostors'? Couldn't resist. They have bowls of Hard Candy out on the bar and at the tables for their patrons....and a wide selection of Black Liquors not available anywhere else...
ReplyDelete