Red Planet Under Siege - Mars For The Cha'alt/Godbound Campaign

"Sometime after the collapse of the Human Empires & the disappearance of  Tékumel. Mars wasn't the powerhouse it had been during the days of the Human Space Empire. Instead there were thousands of space craft dry docks across Mars & scattered city states living in the shadows of forgotten temples of technologies that had been forgotten or abandoned all together. This would be a Mars that had been abandoned & beaten down by Lovecraftian forces. Humanity fought  back with sword, sorcery, & super science. "

So yeah over the last twenty four hours things have gotten very interesting  with my players. I sorta laid the gauntlet down with regard to Mars with Tim Brannan of  'The Otherside of the blog' today. And then things got interesting. So what happened when 'The Human Space Empire' of Empire of the Petal Throne rpg fame withdrew from Mars?!  But when it comes to my Cha'alt/Godbound rpg game campaign Mars isn't what you might expect. The Cha'alt wave has quickly spread out across the solar system. Mars was transformed into a far future post Human Space Empire location. The space craft dry docks over the years fell silent & the Green Martians from deep space returned in their own space ark crafts. The red martians returned to the old ways. But the humans continued to cleave to their own technologies hovering within their own city states. This is where Night Owl Workshop's Colonial Troopers rpg  comes in & is perfect for portraying humanity's relic technologies & continuing warfare among themselves. 


It could also be used to portray a much more military oriented Cha'alt campaign but for Mars its gonna be scrapping by for super advanced modern ammo among the debris of space craft & high technologies. For me this is gonna mean a return to the old Barsoomian ways with ritual combat among the various races of Mars but especially the Green Martians. The Green Martians are first & for most a warrior race more akin to both orcs & old school Star Trek Klingons. These are a remorseless &  alien race capable of great violence beyond anything humanity has seen. This is what Green Martians would look like in my mind.


No. Encountered: 1 (1d8)
Alignment: Lawfully Evil w/Chaotic tendencies 
Size: L
Movement: 40 (70 with Throat)
Dexterity: 17
Armour Class: 4
Hit Dice: 4+4 to 6+6
Attack Rate: 4/1 (sword x4 or radium pistol x4)
Damage: 1d8 (×4) or 1d8 (x4)
Saving Throw: 14 to 12
Morale: 12
Experience Points: 400 to  850
Treasure Class: X or better. 
There are tens of thousands of tribes of marauding Green Martians on Mars, they raid & compete with the Red Martians & the various Martian races for food & natural  resources.They are a violent & dour race of alien species. They were renowned alien mercenaries during the days of the Human Empire. They were often used in gladiatorial games on a million worlds so they can be found throughout the planes Prime.

This is 'the Human Space Empire'  equivalent of a far future Mars where the atomics have been used. The humans of Mars are barely scrapping by but the Human Space Empire aliens left behind on the planet are doing alright. The Red Martians have returned en mass along with their Green Martian brethren. There are literally millions of wrecked spacecraft across the surface of Mars along with dry docks.


Mike Doscher's Silent Desert artwork was part of my inspiration here.
The artwork is used without permission & no intention of copyright or trademark violation is intended here. Just an amazing piece of artwork.




So I've said that the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons world setting  Dark Sun is a bit of a rip off of Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars. I also had intended to use Adventurer,Conqueror, King's rpg  Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu  By Omer Joel,  & Alexander Macris with this. Too bad there wasn't an ACK's hack of Dark Sun? Well there's the start of one right here. Well speaking of the ten thousand ton gurella in the room in case anyone is wondering this isn't my first time using a post apocalyptic Mars with an OSR game system. About two years ago I ran a highly modified Judge's Guild Tengel Manor campaign using the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg. Sigh.. 
To say that I'm disappointed in Bob Bledsaw II for racist & full on antisemitism is an understatement. I'm very angry at the position that this has put me in as blogger & reviewer. Over the years I've supported Judge's Guild and their products with reviews & play. 
His father Robert Bledsaw senior wasn't a racist or an antisemite from all accounts. I've done my research & spoken to some friends tonight. My position is with Frog God games making the right decision. I have no time for this sort of nonsense at my table or in my life or that of my players.
And now back to Mars & what does this have to do with Cha'alt? Well a bit of everything. Cha'alt's presence on Mars is because of the presence of xanthium-183 being used for centuries among the workers, criminal element, & others on the red planet. The Elysium has thousands of agents among the tribes of the dead sea bottoms. Assassins kill them where & whenever they can.
Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention Jason Vey's Grey Elf Games Free Dungeons & Dragons Warriors of Mars book. It has a ton of Original Dungeons & Dragons classes, monsters,etc. Yes it was created by Doc but Jason did the formatting & pdf. 

This is a world where man & Martian has risen & fallen to the depths of tribalism. This fall has enabled a wide variety of monsters & supernatural creatures to take full advantage of the holes in Mar's planar world shields. Monsters lurk now at the edge of the map waiting to strike down those fools who venture into the hidden depths. Sinks of evil gather cultists & fools who flock to the side of the occult & dark supernatural forces.