Mars

"Barsoom"

The Martians (they call their planet "Barsoom") are a technically advanced but magically inept people. They use no magic whatsoever, and have no mages or priests. They are able to do incredible work in designing technological weapons and ships, but do not devote their skills do other fields. Mars is a dry planet. Long ago it had water, but almost all of that dried up. Now most of the planet is great dry ocean basins, the bottoms of which are covered in edible moss. Mars is a planet that is slowly dying - its air is becoming thin, its water is very rare, and its resources are almost depleted. The creatures of Mars have learned to survive these situations very well, breathing fouled air as if it were good air and being able to go for extended times without water or food. Most of the intelligent races on Mars are constantly combating each other - this keeps the population under the maximum level that the planet can support, and also allows the victors to claim spoils of food, art, and slaves. Slaves are not badly treated, especially if they are owned by wealthy or prestigious families (or were themselves members of such households in their home cities).

The two main intelligent races on Mars are the red men and the green men (see individual entries below). While the red men build cities and create art and poetry, the green men only pillage, destroy, and kill, living in ancient abandoned cities which they periodically leave to raid other green tribes or lost bands of red men. Red men living in different cities are almost never friendly - usually the competition becomes intense over resources.

Note that all creatures of Mars are egg-layers - even the red men. The eggs of red or green men, when laid, are about as large as two fists put together. The eggs grow and develop for approximately five years, at which time the new red or green man is born, almost fully grown (the red men are physically equivalent to 16-year-old Terran humans when hatched).

     Units of Distance
     Unit    It's Their...  Equal To...
     sofad   inch              1.17 inches
     ad      foot             11.7 inches
     haad    mile           2339 feet
     karad   degree            1 degree
     10 sofads = 1 ad
     200 ads = 1 haad
     100 haads = 1 karad
     360 karads = circumference of planet at equator

     Units of Time
     Unit    It's Their     Equal To
     tal     second           .8 seconds
     xat     minute         80 seconds
     zode    hour            2.25 hours
     100 tals = 1 xat
     100 xats = 1 zode
     10 zodes = 1 day
     dawn is zode 0

     Woods
     Skeel - a precious hardwood
     Sompus - a beech-like tree
     Sorapus - a heavy hardwood

     Military Units
     utan = 100 soldiers - led by a dwar, who is assisted by padwars

     umak = 100 utans = 10,000 soldiers - led by an odwar
     dwar = captain (7th level and up)
     jedwar = "5 star" general (15th level and up)
     odwar = general (10th level and up)
     padwar = lieutenant (5th level and up)
     panthan = soldier of fortune, mercenary

     Natives
     Red Men
     Height: 5'7" - 6'1"
     Weight: As per human
     Hair: Black
     Eyes: Black/Brown
     Skin: Red-brown (like Native Americans)
     Ability Minimums and Maximums
     Str 13/17
     Int 3/18
     Wis 3/18
     Dex 9/18
     Con 3/18
     Cha 12/18
     All red Barsoomians must accept a -1 penalty to STR, but get a +1
     bonus to DEX

Red men can be warriors or rogues (assassins). They do not use magic, and only worship their ancestors (somewhat). They speak the language common to all Barsoomians. Having lived for generations on a magic-free world, they have no resistance to magic. The only time they are allowed a saving throw versus magic-type effects is if it involves dodging (such as lightning bolts, wand rays, etc.).

Red men, being trained from birth (hatching) with weapons, can automatically specialize in one of the three blade weapons commonly used (longsword, short sword, dagger) without using an extra proficiency slot. Therefore, all red warriors are proficient in longsword, short sword, dagger, and pistol, and is specialized in one of the blade weapons. Red men are able to survive for several days without food and water before suffering penalties, and are used to breathing thin air. They do not like heavy armor, but their harnesses provide AC 9.

     Green Men
     Height: 8'8" - 9'4"
     Weight: 200-300 lbs
     Hair: None
     Eyes: Blue
     Skin: Olive green

Physical notes: Their eyes are on the sides of their head, their ears are antennae with cups on the end, and they possess 2 large upward-protruding fangs which end where their eyes ought to be. They have 4 arms (the middle set of arms is sometimes used as a set of legs for added stability or to reduce their height).

     Ability Minimums and Maximums
     Str 10/17
     Int 12/17
     Wis 3/15
     Dex 12/18
     Con 3/15
     Cha 3/12

All green men are warriors. Regardless of level, they have at least 3 hit dice. They use longswords, short swords, daggers, pistols, rifles, and great spears (20' long, d12/2d8 damage). They speak the Barsoomian language. Having lived for generations on a magic-free world, they have no resistance to magic. The only time they are allowed a saving throw versus magic-type effects is if it involves dodging (such as lightning bolts, wand rays, etc.).

Unlike the red men, green men do not get a "free" specialization. Rather, they automatically have 2-handed fighting. Warriors who reach 3rd level have 3-handed fighting (-0 on right arms, -2 on left), and those that reach 6th level have 4-handed fighting (meaning that they may use a 4th weapon at the normal penalty for that side). Large weapons, such as their rifles and great spears require 2 hands to use (both on the same side of the body). Like the red men, they forbear the use of armor, but their harnesses also provide AC 9 protection.

     Weapons
     Pistols:
     Cost 1000 gp
     Weight 2 lb
     Size S
     Type P
     Damage d6+spec
     Range 4/8/12

     Rifles:
     Cost 2500 gp
     Weight 7 lb
     Size L
     Type P
     Damage 2d6+spec
     Range 8/20/32

     Ammunition:
     Cost: 50 gp/shot
     Weight 1 oz

Rifles & pistols are made of skeel and aluminum steel. They are strong and light. The ammunition is interchangeable. Only green men use rifles (they are 6' long). For damage, if the die/dies is/are rolled and a 6 is rolled, that die is rolled again, with the result added to the total. This can continue indefinitely, so long as a 6 is rolled each time. Rifles and pistols have a rate of fire of 1. Pistols hold one shot, but a new bullet can be replaced in that round so long as the firing and reloading are the only actions being taken. Rifles hold 2 bullets, and reloading is as for a pistol. Therefore, for one round the rifle can be fired and another action taken with no penalty to action or ROF. Bullets work because the chemical (element?) inside the bullet absorbs energy from the Terraspace sun. The firing pin imparts enough kinetic energy to the chemical to cause it to explode, which makes the bullet travel along the barrel. Because of this need for this particular solar energy, the bullets lose the necessary energy to fire after 1 hour of being shielded from the sunlight. This means that these weapons are useless outside of Terraspace. One minute in sunlight will recharge it.

Medicine

The red and green men normally carry 2 doses of medical salves that greatly reduce wounds and accelerate healing. Each dose will cure 7 points of damage from one wound. If no wounds are "worth" 7 points, the extra points are lost.

Vehicles

Most transportation on Mars is with the large propeller-driven airships that they have mastered the construction of. The ships range from sleek (and fragile) one-man scouts to huge battleships capable of holding 100 men or more. The sizes of these ships are comparable to Spelljamming ships of equivalent crew, but without the spikes and fins (which increase air drag). The ships are able to float due to tanks of buoyant gas; damage to these tanks is the primary cause of forced landings. Since the ships work by rapidly turning propellers, they do not function well in space, where the only air to push against is within the ship's own (rather small) air envelope. In space, these ships can only move at tactical speed, with an SR of 1 (like all non-magical engines). On-planet, however, the smaller ships are capable of reaching incredible speeds - up to 96".

Monsters

Apt -: an arctic monster with four legs, an upright torso, 2 arms, large tusks, and multi-faceted eyes. AC 4 Move 9" HD 11 AT d8, d6x2 + hug
Banth -: the Barsoomian lion. It has 10 legs, large mouth, several rows of teeth, and no hair except for its mane. AC 5 Move 15" HD 10 AT d12, d8x6
Calot -: the Barsoomian dog. It has 10 short legs, tusks, and many many teeth. Normally used as guard animals by the green men. AC 5 Move 18" HD 5 AT d8, d6x4 - jaws will lock shut
Goolians -: silly cowardly humanoids that live in the Toonoolian marsh, in the city of Gooli. The have tails, marsupial pouches, and make prodigious leaps. They will only attack if they outnumber their opponents by at least 10 AC 9 + DEX Move 15" (leaping) HD 1 AT by weapon type
Gryph -: a rare Barsoomian bird. (description in the Fiend Folio).
Orluk -: arctic bear creature. They have black and yellow striped fur and six legs. AC 5 Move 12" HD 8 AT d8, d6x3 - hugs for 3d6
Plant Men -: blue humanoids, tentacle arms with mouths, one eye, flat broad tail. AC 6 Move 9" HD 5 AT d4/d4 (arms) or 4d6 (tail) - arms will lock on
Sith -: a forest-dwelling giant wasp, very poisonous. AC 2 Move 24" HD 8 AT 2d4 + poison - save or die, save or 3d4
Sorak -: a martian six-legged cat. AC 7 Move 15" HD 1 AT d3
Thoat -: used as a riding beast and as livestock. The green men's thoats are larger and more vicious. They have eight legs, a broad flat tail, and gray hairless skin. They resemble "taun-tauns." AC 5 Move 15" HD 5 (7) AT 2d4/d4x4
Ulsio -: the Barsoomian rat. (Described under "osquip" in the FF).
White Ape -: the terror of Barsoom. Humanoid and intelligent, they have four huge muscular arms (18/00 STR), move fast, and have no hair except on their heads. Their skin and hair are white, with pink eyes. They sometimes use primitive weapons. AC 6 Move 12" HD 7 AT d6x4 + hug or by weapon type.

Satellites

Phobos
Deimos