Review & OSR Commentary On Infinite Stars (Issue 2 - Nov 2011) Omer Golan-Joel, Richard Hazlewood, & Brian Pichelman The Free Fanzine For Original Traveller & Stars Without Number rpg

 I'm a bit Kickstarted out at the moment & since the last review of   Infinite Stars (Issue 1 - Aug 2011) We decided to go ahead with a review of Infinite Stars (Issue 2 - Nov 2011)  by Omer Golan-Joel, Richard Hazlewood,  & Brian Pichelman . Because this fanzine is a solid resource for both old school Traveller & Stars without Number the articles can be used for other OSR games as well as we shall see. 

'Expanded World Creation Rules for Stars Without Number' By Richard Hazlewood continues its course by giving expanded guidelines for world creation in SWN & they will work with Stars Without Number Revised. The 'tag' system & other general SWN system is put to good use in the article as SWN & Traveller's heart & soul are actually exploration as much as the trade aspect. This is a solidly done article. We jump over to another 'Dawn Sector' expansion with 'Dawn Sector: The Bladish' By Brian Pichelman. These guys are alien lobster men.  Did I mention they like war & are extremely tough?! Oh and dangerous! All perfect stuff for SWN Revised actually. 
Is the second  issue worth the free download from 2011?! Actually, yes on two fronts.

The material so far can easily be converted over to Cepheus Engine rpg but its more then that. 'A Less-Travelled Road: In Defense of Dying in Traveller Character Generation'  By Omer Golan-Joel gets into the heart of the old school aesthetics. The idea of the consequences of character generation  being build into the game itself. 'Outer Veil: Freeman's Belt – Part I'  By Richard Hazlewood gives us yet another adventure or campaign component in the form of some solid science fiction and note; "  The background for this story is based on the Outer Veil setting developed by Omer Golen-Joel and published by Spica Publishing and is used with permission of the author. In no way should the events or specific descriptions in this story be considered “official” or “canon” to the published setting. Any differences between the official published material and this story are the fault of the author. I would also like to send a special thank you to Omer for allowing me to play in his sandbox" 
What does this issue actually say for itself as a fanzine?! That the parts are sometimes greater then the whole in this case the issue in question brings  new ideas, options, & characteristics to Cepheus Engine PC's. It's still relevant even in today's OSR marketplace. All of this material can easily be converted over to Cepheus Engine rpg easily giving the DM even more toys for the toybox. 

 

 

Infinite Stars (Issue 2 - Nov 2011) By 
 Omer Golan-Joel,
Richard Hazlewood, 
 & Brian Pichelman Is Available Right Over Here. 

Secrets of Judges Guilds "City State of the Invincible Overlord" By Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

 Its been ages since we've talked about Judge's Guilds "City State of the Invincible Overlord" By Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw. There's some very interesting little tidbits worked into the background of the grand ol'e fantasy city state. I went over the some of the ins & outs of Judge's Guilds "City State of the Invincible Overlord" By Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw here. 

Yesterday's OSR Nexus The Infinite City rpg session got me thinking again about Troll Lord's The Starship Warden & its possible relationship to 'The Wilderlands of High Fantasy'. More specifically ideas about  the planar rings of  the Rings of Brass, magical portals that lead to dwarven roads carved through the planes from Castles & Crusades Stains Upon The Green.

These Brass Ring portals  might in fact be portals created by the same occult technologies that appear in Judges Guild's Portals of Torsh?! Portals of Torsh was by Rudy Craft from 1980. And the module series Portals of Torsh, Portals of Irontooth, and Portals of Twilight concern a series of planar locations & dungeons which the characters can stumble into or explore. These were early planar travel modules. They are very underrated today & most players wouldn't have a clue about them. 

Portions of the Starship Warden that are stabilized & civilized in a sorta of pseudo European setting might have planar traders come in from the 'Wilderlands of High Fantasy' to trade with them. This leads into many possibilities including the fact that the wily invincible overlord or his court may have maps to the starship Warden. Then the question becomes what other destinations & secrets does the court of the overlord have?! Could they be making a packet selling information about other dungeons & adventure locations from aboard the Warden?! 

OSR Nexus The Infinite City - Actual Play Report - Ghouls In The City

 "Welcome to Nexus, the Infinite City. The city where all realities meet. A place where Ancient Babylon is just down the street, and the next off ramp leads to the lost cities of Mars. Rub shoulders with alien gangbangers. Party it up with the creatures of the night. Fight alongside Aztec cyberpunks and Roman centurions. Rumble with street mages. Lock down trade deals with avaricious dinosaurs. Unravel the mysteries of the metaverse. And make it to the club in time to check out the latest shriekrap bands."

So DM Steve has had an on going Nexus The Infinite City game going on using Worlds Without End rpg system. The idea of an infinite city spawl tucked in with rifte Babylon & alien artitecture is one that he's been doing now since Stars Without Numbers Revised hit the OSR scene. The idea here is that humans have been turning themselves into Elves through a transhuman process. The 'real forces of the Fey' are vastly upset by this! They consider this an abomination. And last night we crossed paths with another OSR powerhouse. But we ran away! 

Now across the dimensional threshold 'The Eld' of The Misty Isle of the Eld fame are taking on the newly created Elves as slaves & Eld technological fodder. Ahh but not all is well for the newly created Elves. Some of their lot are subcombing to a horrid plague that turns the new elves into ravingly hungry ghouls!   The Eld simply burn the newly formed ghouls & its another cost of doing business to them. There's more going on here then meets the eye. 


Dave Sutherland Ghoul from the AD&D 
Monster Manual 

The occult technologies that are being used by the humans maybe to blame. No one knows where it came from. Simply that it was found in an abandoned temple in some forgotten side street & it was overrun with you guessed it ghouls. The Elves are immune to the paralysing touch of the ghouls but the local humans including the medlies are not. Our group of adventurers has been hired to check out this temple. But I'm not convinced. There's something more going on here?! So around the street we start checking. Yes there's lots of minor undead around the place. The usual zombies, the occasional ghost, etc. Somerthing about this neighborhood doesn't smell right to us players. I'm playing a cleric of Hel in this game. Needless to say that my PC isn't amused by the humans trying to escape their fate of death. Something is beyond not right with this situation. And we need to talk with the 'Fey' coming up next game. But I've a feeling I know whose behind the undead aspect & that's OD&D or B/X's version of the demon lord Orcus. 

Getting A More Lovecraftian Campaign Spin On Leigh Brackett's 'Shadow Over Mars'

" Rick Urquhart was going to conquer the turmoil-ridden planet of Mars. He was penniless and unknown, but there could be no doubt that he would rule the Red Planet-the ancient Martian mystic had made the prophecy, there was no way fate could cheat him of his prize.. "

When we begin looking into the lovely work of the far future of  the Terran Exploitation Company within the bounds of Startling Stories v11n02 [1944-Fall]'s Leigh Brackett's Shadow over Mars. Three things become evident. The Terran Exploitation Company are complete & utter bastards exploiting the ancient Martian races. This corporation is running absolutely scared & they have no idea of the extent of the Martian race's artifcial nature. All of this goes back to my original AS&SH campaign notes from Thursday, August 3, 2017 here on the blog. 

You can download
& read 'The Shadow Over Mars' Right Over Here. 

This one of Brackett's first Martian novels & you can see the plight of the Martians likened to the American Indians in the United States West. Brackett would go on to write a ton of Pulp Westerns. Brackett's Shadow over Mars brings home the fact that there's been race after race that goes back eons on the Red Planet. Her Martians fit John Carter into a pocket of the Martian royalty. Brackett's Martians are thieves, wizards, warriors, & the alleyway runners of an exploited planet. And their fighting for their very existence. 
Mars exploits the hard bitten bastards as her saviors making it a perfect canvas for a party of adventurers. Especially those of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. The Hyperboreans have their own part to play in the transformation of the solar system. 
The Terran Exploitation Company seems almost like the 'Company' of the classic 70's film Alien. Out to exploit the conquered planet at any means necessary but Mars has other plans. At some far distant point in the future of Old Earth the Hyperboreans returned according to Clark Ashton Smith's Hyperborea cycle & his Zothique cycles.

The humans of 'Shadow Over Mars' are solidly within the sleazy vein of Martian stories, the grungy New Town section with its stripper Venusian girls, 3-D cinemas, and various drug parlors are the perfect metaphor of the Earthman's coming to Mars.  The Terran Exploitation Company knows that their time is almost up & they are scrambling to get all they can outta of Mars as fast as possible. They are perfect rpg fodder to use Night Owl Workshop's Colonial Troopers to stand in as their forces. Mars is not going to give up all of its secrets easily. 

The Terran Exploitation Company knows that when the stars are right then Clark Ashon Smith's  Vulthoom  an alien 'god' (plant like) is going to awaken & then every Terran on Mars is deep trouble. They want to keep the peace with the current crop of Martians but when the new cycle begins they figure they can retreat back to Earth. But can they really?! 

OSR Treasures of Reality, The Threshold, & More- Rpg Pundit's The Invisible College & Night Shift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars By Jason Vey & Timothy Brannan.

There is a single main definition of the object of all magical Ritual. It is the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm. The Supreme and Complete Ritual is therefore the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel; or, in the language of Mysticism, Union with God.
Ch. 1 : The Principles of Ritual
Aleister Crowley 
We are living through one of the last cycles of Chaos & scorn according certain Hindu sacred texts. All of this is a part of the 'Invisible College' rpg on some back burner paragraph but its there. But what if there were high dimensional realities right around the corner where we might escape to as a part of the Great Work?! We'll pick up right here from where we left off from here last time on the blog. 

Try to imagine for a moment that the D&D or AD&D campaign settings that we know & love ala Greyhawk are actually higher dimensional realms perhaps a part of a mega dimensional campaign. Now its only been eight days since our last blog entry on this OSR ousting here. Since then several thoughts have been going through my conversations with DM Steve. He suggested Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number simply get rid of the Latter Earth which is the game's default campaign setting. And insert in your own version of a TSR mega setting perhaps Blackmoor, Mystara, & Greyhawk as one mega campaign setting. The ritual magick of  'Invisible College' rpg taps into the same other dimensional source as D&D. That source is the realm of Chaos inherit within the center of  'dream'. The same energies that 'gods' and 'immortals' access. 

Let me simply go on record as saying that I don't give two shites about any of the authors of these rpg's political or religious beliefs. Now that being said there are monsters under the bed and these monsters sometimes come into our world through some very dangerous back doors. And this is all very David Lynch. And this brings us right back to Welcome to Saint Cloud. The Lynchian vibe is very strong in this adventure & this brings up a point. That many of the places that David Lynch's literature, films, etc. talk about are places where reality is breaking down. Whose doing this?! The magus of course by their very acts of magick because it serves to bring in the corrosion of chaos. 

 Lynch's Mulholland Drive could well be a magus dealing with the breakdown of their own reality. The whole affair looping back on itself in higher or lower dimensional reality. There are cracks that form within such realities allowing demons or worse to exploit them. 

Now if we follow the anti logic here then we can see several factions within 'Invisible College' rpg exploiting such weaknesses. On the extreme end of such manipulation you have villains or magus such as John Carpenter's 'In The Mouth of Madness''s Sutter Cane taking pieces of reality & turning them into their own personal balloon animals. 

These piece of reality could be seen as fragments of the dreamlands bound up as domains floating next to the endless void. They circle but can not touch the endless exo planet. But what about all those valuable 'treasures' and artifacts that seemingly & endlessly end up in every pawnshop, estate sale, etc. across the Earth? Why are these allowed to come into our world?! Because the Fey & the monsters of the dungeons  of these over & underworlds want to spread their countless baubles from dungeon to reality for the endless parade of fresh meat. And this is where  Night Shift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars Companion  By Jason Vey & Timothy Brannan comes into play. The monsters are the magus's muscle & boots on the ground. This is because this end of reality is so dangerous. The PC's have to keep back the hordes from overrunning us. Part Jack Kirby's Fourth World & part Clive Barker's Nightbreed for influence but its gonna be Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door that's gonna be the hungry location. This place is quietly going to casting its net into our local time space reality for the unwary & the foolish. This end of the dreamlands feeds very well indeed. Why?! Next time... 

'Ts-eh-Go' Adapted From Godzilla The Series '98 For Cepheus Atom & Those Old School 2d6 Science Fantasy Role Playing Campaigns

 

Going back to the Nineteen Fifty Seven 'San Lorenzo affair' the Area Fifty One Giant Monster unit collected both DNA & RNA from the giant scoropion remains from the United State's Mexican border. The United States governament began actively reseaching & studying the possibily of a cloned & controllable weaponized giant scorpion Kaiju. A cloned army to combat threats to America, the worsening Cold War, & the increasing threat of Kaiju. The San Lorenzo brood came from the inner Earth. The United States was fully involved in the Occult Wars at this time. Nazi fifth columnist spies allowed the San Lorenzo brood  to escape from the Area Fifty One facility. These are some of the most dangerous Kaiju that haunt the South West to this day. 
During the early Two Thousands, Project 'Ts-eh-Go' was created to not only deal with the San Lorenzo brood but also with several other rogue Kaiju species. The project was so successful that Second Wave was given congressional approval in the Spring of 2001. 

The Second Wave 'scorpion  kaiju ' used both human & Kaiju blood to create a hybrid creature that is highly aggressive & very deadly to other mutantions & kaiju. These kaiju have performed incredibly well against many other monsters. But 'Ts-eh-Go'   have interbred with the  San Lorenzo brood to produce a hybrid kaiju that have inserted themselves into the inner Earth's ecological system. 'Ts-eh-Go' are now a common sight all across the South Western United States. These hybrid Kaiju are hardy, dangerous, & often considered a local problem by many U.S.  government bodies & the U.S. military. 

'Ts-eh-Go'  are fierce hunters, fast, & very prolific breeders  and deadly aggressive. These Kaiju are often found killing livestock, other Kaiju, & even the occasional human. The monsters have also been captured & used in several Southwestern & Southern Kaiju circuses. 'Ts-eh-Go' also fetch very good prices on the industrial market. Their acid is used in many applications for industrial purposes. 
The 'Ts-eh-Go' is also used by several Nazi terrorist cells captured or bred from the Inner Earth. These monsters have even been found East of Florida. The menace of 'Ts-eh-Go'  remains a priority of Kaiju hunter units & mercenaries. Some of these units employ the Thorny Devil Kaiju as assistant cavalry pieces. The  'Ts-eh-Go'  remains a pest Kaiju species of the highest order. 

'Ts-eh-Go'

# Appearing  1d6 at a nest or 2d6 for a full nest colony 

5/10, Move 30m,  Armor 7, 2 Claw (melee 3d damage), Bite (melee 4D damage),  Sting (melee  4 damage) & victim must make a throw of Physical 6+ to stay conscious or be considered poisoned, Survival 3,  Combat 2,  Melee 3 . Gigantism. Camouflage,  Armor, Regeneration As Troll,Thick hide, robust,  Special Abilities - Acid Spray - The 'Ts-eh-Go is able unleash a spray of a thick bio acid that does 3d damage per round to metal, flesh, & even other Kaiju. The victim must victim must throw Physical 6+ or face full damage from this bio molecular  acid. Furious Frenzy the 'Ts-eh-Go' goes into a beserk like fury where it triples its attacks for 3 rounds, Radioactive Sting - The monster mixes in a good dose of its radioactive blood into its sting while the sting does normal damage the victim is considered contaminated unless a Physical +6 throw is made to avoid the worst of the effects. Bite of fury - The 'Ts-eh-Go' bites with a violence born of menace tripling its damage against an opponent twice or three times its size. Immune to Normal Fires, Mundane Weapons, Desert Conditions, 

'Serpent Men On Mars!' - OSR Commentary On 'Sea Kings of Mars' from Thrilling Wonder Stories v34n02 (1949 06) & The 'Old Mars' Campaign Setting

 This post is going to pick right up from my 2019 post on this blog entry here " Further OSR Commentary On The Free 'Old Mars' Downloads For Your Old School Campaigns"

Download & Read Sea Kings of Mars Here

A quick rereading of  a copy of Sea Kings of Mars from Thrilling Wonder Stories v34n02 (1949 06) is one of Leigh Brackett's best.  Brackett's  writing about the serpentmen of Mars that's brought home one of my favorite villain races of Mars.  The Dhuvians, aka the Serpent Men: these are hated and feared by all Martians, these masters of super science were taught these forbidden knowleges by the very 'gods' themselves. Rhiannon being one of the Quiru, “hero gods who were human but superhuman.”  
Sea Kings has plenty of elements of Sword & Planet that can easily be brought into a campaign such as  the Tomb of Rhiannon,itself filled with all manner of bizarre super science weapons & devices. Its the fact that behind the Sark Empire of cruelty are the Dhuvians. And these serpent men have the cooperation of a 'god'. 
Sure the hero & the love interest both triumph over the odds in Sea Kings of Mars. It begs the question what happened to the the Dhuvians?! 
For my own post apocalytic Mars they woke up after the bombs fell & really got things really nasty from there. There are two OSR resources that I used for my own campaign when it comes to  the Dhuvians.  Oldskull Serpent Folk from Oldskull, aka Kent David Kelly has been my go to source for these guys. This book by itself has everything a DM needs to really bring home these serpent men villains. 

And when it comes to the Dhuvians then we've also got Gregorius21778: Ssssnake-Men! This product was  used to represent different tribal nations of serpentmen across their Martian empire. 

The Dhuvians  are going to be major antagonistic force in our upcoming campaign acting as villains & vile NPC's coming up! 

Review & OSR Commentary On The Free Infinite Stars (Issue 1 - Aug 2011) Fanzine By Omer Golan-Joel & Co. For Original Traveller & Stars Without Number Free Edition

 


 

There are times when I've heard from DM's that they wish that there was a fanzine dedicated to Stars Without Numbers rpg & Cepheus Engine? Well there was but it was originally dedicated to Stars Without Number & original Traveller. Come with us now down the dark corridors of time to 2011 &   Infinite Stars (Issue 1 - Aug 2011). 

Infinite Stars (Issue 1 - Aug 2011) by Omer Golan-Joel & Co. for original Traveller & Stars Without Number rpg first edition.  According to the editorial of issue#1; "The moment has finally arrived. After some considerable birth pains and a lot of delays caused by our Real Lives(TM), you are finally reading the first ever issue of Infinite Stars. This free fanzine is intended to serve as a platform for opinions and material for Stars Without Number(TM) , Traveller(TM) and other sciencefiction role-playing games. Our door is open to anyone who wishes to see his or her material or opinions published for these games, as long as it is reasonable, and, of course, as long as it does not infringe on the intellectual property rights of the original authors of these games. This first issue unveils some of the main serial sections of this fanzine: The Manufactory which is concerned with technology, ships and equipment; A Less Travelled Road in which we discuss Classic Traveller; Dawn Sector which is a fan-made sector for Stars Without Number; and Personnel Files in which we present character generation options, and, later on, we will provide NPCs as well. In future issues, we might start additional sections such as The Menagerie which will discuss alien life-forms, and Visitations which will provide short adventures."  But is the first issue worth the free download from 2011?! Actually, yes on two fronts.



Richard Hazelwood has a very streamlined ship manufacturing process article in the Manufactory which is still solid even for Stars Without Number Revised. 'A Road Less Travelled: A Fresh Look At Traveller' by Omer Golan-Joel & its opinions can be covered over to Cepheus Engine rpg a retroclone of classic Traveller. 'Dawn Sector: The World of Flicker' By Brian Pichelman covers a brand new sector & is extremely useful for the DM looking to have a sector that isn't well known among the sci fi 2d6 fandom. 'Personnel Files: More Options for Stars Without Number Characters' By Omer Golan-Joel brings new ideas, options, & characteristics to SWN PC's. It's still relevant even in today's OSR marketplace. 
 

Why?! Because much of the material is usable with the  Cepheus Engine rpg & its still a solid fanzine. Yes there's several 2d6 fanzines on the market for Cepheus Engine but what makes Infinite Stars unique is the combo of old school Traveller & Stars Without Number rpg in equal measure. 
You can find 

 Infinite Stars (Issue 1 - Aug 2011)
Fanzine Available Right Here 

More OSR Resources Aboard The Warden - B2 Keep on The Borderlands By Gary Gygax - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

Henri The Hurricane caused lots of mayhem for me as a DM this past weekend. It turned out to be a mild storm with an attitude. If one listened to the newscasters it was supposed to be the 'storm of the century'. And said newscasters almost but not quite seem geniunely diappointed when there wasn't any real destruction unlike Hurricane Sandy which barrelled through New England in 2012. We cancelled four game sessions this weekend . Fortunely my current B2 Keep of the Borderlands by Gary Gygax  kept my mind busy. 


 B2 Keep on the Bordlerands set aboard the Warden or a simlar starship has gotten me thinking about another older campaign  idea. Adventurer, Coqueror, King rpg's The Sinister Stone of Sakkara by Matthew Skail & , Alexander Macris works very well as a bridge gap between B2 & some of the weirdness aboard the Warden. A quisi Indo European adventure location with the advanced beastmen & their growing numbers aboard the Starship Warden works. 

There's already a Science Fantasy background baked into many of the ACK's adventures & the ACK's theme could continue with using  AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  to expand upon the quisi Late Roman Empire feel of this style of adventure.  AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  could provide a true base of operations within such a campaign. The AX3: Capital of the Borderlands book has more then enough material in it to add & drop it into an existing campaign or it could alternatively be used to bridge gap the classic B2 Keep on the Borderlands as a campaign extension for the Starship Warden.

AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  could easily serve
as the home base for the PC's. 

  The late Roman Empire asthestic of AX3: Capital of the Borderlands  could help to explain some of the weirdness of why the fortresses have been established along the borderlands. The campaign is going to walk a fine line between the dark Pulp fantasy of ACK's & the grittiness of 'The Star Ship Warden'. There's more then enough room to stick in other OSR influences here. The ACK's influence could allow the campaign setting to take on an almost ancient Alexandra style with traces of the Silk Road exoticism thrown in with more then enough Thundarr The Barbanian moments. 

The Starship Warden has more then enough traces of  actual Earth history within it to allow the DM to do both gonzo & serious in equal turns. 
The Warden has many influencs within its pages & its possible that the PC's  might find one of the multiple houses on their travels across the campaign lands. This means that the PC's could stumble upon one of the many ruined homes scattered across the landscape of the Warden.

This very situation actually goes back to one of the early Metamorphis Alpha Rpg first edition adventures. The excellent 'Metamorphosis Alpha: The House On The Hill' by Craig J. Brain, Bonus Content by James M. Ward could be slipped between B2 Keep on the Borderland & some of the other Starship Warden encounters. Even though this adventure is first edition MA its easily adaptable with very little work by the DM to the Starship Warden. 

The houses featured in the adventure are both familar & yet very dangerous highlighting the entire feel of the Metamorphis Alpha game going back to its beginnings. 
The Warden takes its weirdness on its own terms & this is something that extends a great deal to the Amazing Adventures version of the Starship Warden. Familiar & yet utterly alien in equal turns. 
Make no mistake that  'Metamorphosis Alpha: The House On The Hill'  is absolutely deadly unto itself. Stupid actions are going to equal dead PC's. Read through the entire adventure & don't convert this one on the fly. This is the voice of experince here. Read through, take notes, and convert monsters as needed. 
These house could contain very valuable information about the actual state of the Warden. The predicament that the PC's find themselves in & the current state of the Warden. Could this mini adventure be linked into the cult of Chaos?! Its very possible as the PC's stumble across a group of cultists messsing with a bungalow aboard the Warden for valuable artifacts or possible weapons. The PC's coming into the middle of such a raid? And then dealing with the fall out from it.  There's also the fact that currently there's a  9.95 the Metamorphosis Alpha Bundle  which snags you Metamorphosis Alpha 1E, 3 Metamorphosis Alpha sourcebooks, and Death Ziggurat & Warden Adventures. Erok Tankard has far more details on this bundle here. 
These resources would have to be converted over to Starship Warden rules as the DM & players see fit. 

Queen of the Martian Catacombs 'Old Mars' Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyprborea & Warriors of The Red Planet Hyrbid Campaign Notes Updated

 This is the first of the Eric John Stark stories & its got all of the pulpy weirdness we've come to expect from Leigh Brackett's Mars.

"Gaunt giant and passionate beauty, two dragged thirst-crazed across endless crimson sands in terrible test of endurance. One knew where cool life-giving water lapped old stones smooth - a place of secret horror, death to reveal
S.O.S. Aphrodite by Stanley Mullen - No wonder that signal stabbed out into the icy void from a ship of hate and evil"


When it comes to iconic Martian tales they don't come closer then Queen of The Martian Catacombs, I've been rereading this tale while I've been flat on my ass with the Flu. Yeah, yeah, I'm taking care of myself and drinking plenty of fluids and the usual whatnot that folks tell you when your sick. What I've also been doing between fever gripped spasms has been rereading Queen of the Martian Catacombs by Leigh Brackett.  Don't let 'the damsel in distress' routine of the Planet Stories pulp artwork fool you. The women in Brackett's tales are power players. They've got more on their minds then mere biological imperatives and it doesn't involve our heroes.  In fact the give and take of the players that are involved here remind me of the best of Robert Howard's & Edgar Rice Burroughs. But its that touch of the forbidden wastelands of Mars that sends it home for me into the field of the Lovecraft circle of writers. There is another twist in which the hero becomes involved with the Terran agents and a little brush fire war going in background of the wastelands of Mars.
The story telling is rapid fire & the material reads like partly between a normal sword & planet mixed with a banana republic revolution set against the dying embers of a world that is half forgotten. In other words a perfect venue for a sword & sorcery style game.
The "Giants of the Earth" articles in old issues of The Dragon gave the D&D stats for Stark( Issue #28, p. 35.) and as I remember he was a total bad ass. This story can be dovetailed right into the C.L. Moore North West Smith tales. This is a Mars on the edge of a boil and almost but not quite brought to its decedent head by internal forces. Here is the perfect Mars to marry to both Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea & Warriors of the Red Planet. I'll never forget running into the cover for Volume three The Reavers of Skaith. Brackett's Mars has the space ports and Earth's interests clearly marked out, settlements drawn, but this is a world where Clark Aston Smith's Lovecraftian horrors clearly hide out in the desert sands.


Once again the idea here of the power of the Martian desert world set with the PC's dealing with its ancient realities mixed with the modern Imperialism & Earth Colonialism is a powerful combination. Take the basics of the AS&SH as the back bone system mix it in with the Warriors of the Red Planet retroclone and your ready to go. But there's far more to this combination then simply meets the eye. If we start looking a bit further a field into Gulliver of Mars, by Edwin L. Arnold then we begin to see a very different area of Old Mars. The swampy & highly dangerous temperate polar regions of the Hither & Thither peoples.

Give the expansiveness of Old Mars this isn't a surprise & there are hints throughout several novels of classic pulp and Victorian authors of connections between lost Hyperborea & Mars as a possible colony. Brackett & Moore take this implied connection and expand on it until we have solid Lovecraftian leads and in roads especially in 

Queen of the Martian Catacombs

by Leigh Brackett

Here's where the PC's could easily get caught up in the politics of the Terran Empire & the system crap stirring its engaged in on Mars. This is the same sort of interference & tactics that we see the wizards of Thundarr's era engaged in back on Old Earth. There's far more that's implied here & the connections to some of the politics that we see in C.L. Moore's North West Smith stories can't be mere coincidence. In fact if I was to speculate I'd say that the Sol system pot of Old Earth's system with its bloated suns had been messed with before. This feeling of a trodden upon Mars gives the planet a 'lived in' & on ancient decadence that we don't get with some of Burroughs books.

1d20 Random Ancient Martian Minor Treasures Table 

1. 1d4 ancient Martian mind jewels worth 60 gold pieces to the right collector, they contain weird & half remembered alien dreams 
2. Short sword jeweled for a small alien hand more of a +2 dagger in a human hand or larger. 
3. A small soul mirror worth 70 gold pieces to the right buyer. 
4. An ancient map of the dead sea bottoms  worth 700 gold pieces 
5. Twin jeweled mind needles capable of delicate surgery 1000 gold pieces to a medical collector 
6. An ancient hand of jet and onyx that points the way to an ancient treasure vault deep in the Martian desert .600 gold pieces
7. Weird Martian jewel made from a preserved alien brain. There is still a psychic trace of the former owner 70 gold pieces as a curiosity 
8.  Pathan warrior harness plain 70 gold pieces with the names of two hundred tribal warriors of renowned names carved into it 
9. A long sword carved with 15 names of protection from ancient demons of the Martian nights 
10. A clawed gauntlet of red Martian iron spiked +3 damage worth 700 gold pieces in the Southern markets 
11. An ancient seed of Tu worth 700 gold pieces 
12. A water crystal with the Southern beam marked clearly and in solid working order at least 100 gold pieces 
13. The dark heart of a Martian dead god now a curiosity of morbid aspect  300 gold pieces to a black magician 
14. Weird  crystal face mask of the ancients  worth 700 gold pieces and able to block telepathy and mind probes  
15. The globe of Tous A Hither people artifact that allows its owner to gaze into certain parts of the Martian underworld. Worth 8000 gold pieces 
16. Plain silver dagger with a gem set in the handle. 70 gold pieces 
17. A cut jeweled statue of a Martian night angel  200 gold pieces 
18. Strangely wrought statues made of a solid ruby from the ancient sea bottoms with several White Ape claw marks 300 gold pieces 
19. Green Martian horn of sounding 700 gold pieces because of the fine workmanship. 
20. The black gem of Far 'ru This gem allows the owner to see into the hearts of those preserved on the sea of death. Its worth 1000 gold pieces for the workmanship

How could we  handle Queen of the Martian Catacombs? We'd really need to use this novella as a part of campaign jump off point. Given the events of this story there's going to be lots of fall out. And where did the forbidden knowledge for this stories events come from?! This is going to lead back into the Martian underworld & possibly the Black Circle of sorcerers moving events on Mars from behind the scenes. There's lots to consider here because the fall out here is going to be intense possibly even leading to a Martian civil war. And that's where the PC trouble shooters are going to have to come in to deflate the situation.