New Post Post Apocalpytic Mars Adventure Using The Fantastic Heroes & Witchery Rpg

This wonder  painting by British space artist Leslie Carr is from the nonfiction book The Exploration of Space (1951), by Arthur C. Clarke. This piece of artwork is my stand in for the Human/Martian city state of Qu Esu. One of the last untouched post Colonial Mars colonies with a working space port and quasi late 1960's technology.

So tonight marked one of the first new sessions of my post apocalyptic Mars games using the Fantastic Heroes And Witchery Rpg. The Fantastic Heroes and Witchery rpg is a retroclone of D&D which offers a wide variety of character races and options, a good solid month ago I ordered a copy of the game from LuLu and the hardback arrived. I'm quite satisfied with this hardback.

For months I've been quietly going over the game after reading Venger Satanis's review of it HERE  . And today after reading Metal Earth's post about his own upcoming Fantastic Heroes and Witchery/Mars game HERE. First let me say that I hope that you heal up fast Metal Earth ! 

I'm glad there's another Mars game out there. My PAM game is actually set in the post Colonial period of Mars when the majority of Martians have mutated and gone back to the traditional tribal ways. The game is partially based on the old pulp science fiction and fantasy magazines of yesteryear and 1950's science fiction films.Films such as Rocket Ship XM from 1950.

The PC's in tonight's game are going to be descendants from the various alien who became trapped on Mars, mutant Martian races, humans from the domed colonies, and more. Most of which are easily transported from Fantastic Heroes & Witchery. There are reasons for the various Mars, alternate worlds, and far flung colonies. Worm hole gates connected a series of Mars and Mars like worlds together only to be shattered apart as the planar gate system was wrecked by the Entropic Wars of Mars. 

Many of the effects of the Apocalpytic events of Mars have uncovered hidden super science relics of the ancient past and awakened the long dormant forces of Entropic magic upon the planet. Various planar powers have also turned a very jealous eye towards the planet and the ancient heritage of Mars turns it volume up among the natives. Earth is desperate to keep a claim on Mars but its a tenuous hold at best and a bit too little too late. While the majority of Martian survivors cling to existence, out in the sands of Mars ancient evils stir. A few city states and hidden enclaves survive. 

Tonight the players held a character workshop to get into the ins and outs of FH&W. There's quite a bit of difference between other retroclones and this new system. There's bits of 1st,2nd,3rd, and even a bit of fourth edition within Fantastic Heroes and Witchery. Yet it seems all good and the players responded to the system quite nicely. So how is this new system going to marry up with the other version of the post apocalyptic Mars games I've run in the past? Only time will tell but so far so good. 

There's a free version of the Fantastic Heroes and Witchery rpg right HERE or you can buy the hardback right over HERE 

 There are also two free downloads that you might want grab if your getting into using the FH&W rpg  - The Pulp Adventures pdf by James Cast, that tweaks existing classes to play the game in the Pulp genre. (And by the way this would make for perfect classes to play in the Cthulhu 1930 genre!) available HERE 

And the Rayguns, Rocket ships, and Robots that neatly fits in science fiction and science fantasy elements as well as including some new races and equipment. HERE

Now I've read through Warriors Of The Red Planet Retroclone and I've run it a couple of times. I think its a fine Beta & as such well worth the price of admission but I don't think that its the end all and be all of retroclones. That being said I do think its a damn fine resource for running a Mars game. 
Something has happened to the price of the game that was back in June of this year five dollars, its now increased to 16.50 and yet still reads as a Beta version.
Hmm available right HERE  But I'd wait till LuLu has a very good sale. 

 I'm actually thinking of using the Bandits and Battle cruisers sci fi space ship rules instead with Fantastic Heroes and Witchery but there needs to be some adjustments.
The character workshop went very well and it doesn't look like its going to take much to marry up the existing PAM game with this new one.
More to come!