T R A T S K C I U Q
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SKU CODE MUH051424
S R A M F O R E T R A C N H O J
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Jack Norris
Michal E. Cross
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Brian Casey
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Jack Norris and Benn Graybeaon
Chris Webb
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Jay Litle
Aric Wieder
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Sam Webb
Scot Tracy Griffin
Thanks o Jim Sullos and Cahy Wilbanks a he Edgar Rice Burroughs Esae and John Carer scholar Scot Tracy Griffin for reviewing ensuring we remain as auhenic auhenic as possible o he he original wriings of Edgar Rice Burroughs Burroughs Trademarks John Carer of Mars®, Dejah Thoris®, Tars Tarkas®, Tarkas®, Woola™, Barsoom®, Warlord of Mars®, Gods of Mars®, A Princess of Mars™, and Edgar Rice Burroughs® Owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. And Used by Permission. All characers and creaures rademarked and owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
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Björn Barends
Chris Birch
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Chrisian Quino, Crisi Picu, Daren Bader, Giorgio Baroni, Michele Giorgio, Paolo Puggioni, Rodrigo González Toledo, Rolf Mohr, Sören Meding and Seve Sark
Garry Harper C�������� S������ Lloyd Gyan
Copyrigh © 2018 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All Righs Reserved. The 2d20 sysem and Modiphius Logos are copyrigh Modiphius Enerainmen Enerainmen Ld 2018. All 2d20 sysem ex is copyrigh Modiphius Enerainmen Ld. Any unauhori unauhorised sed use of copyrighed copyrighed maerial maerial is illegal. Any rademarked names are used in a ficional manner; no infringemen is inended. This is a work of ficion. Any similariy wih acual people and evens, pas or presen, is purely coincidenal and uninenional excep for hose people and evens described in an hisorical conex.
JOHN CARTER QUICKSTART
THE MOMENTUM SYSTEM For what, pray, is the pleasure of doing an easy thing? – John Carer, The Gods of Mars
These quicksar rules cover he Momenum sysem, used in John Carter of Mars . The paricipans in a game of John Carter ake on wo roles: players and a narraor . Each player conrols a single characer — making decisions for heir characers, describing how hey ac and reac in he narraor’s scenes. The Narraor is responsible for seting scenes, inerpreing rules, and conrolling Narraor characers. The Narraor is no an adversary o he players. Playing his game is exciing when he Narraor is an enhusiasic supporer of he player characers, seeking o make hose characers’ lives dramaic and exciing.
ROLLING DICE Whenever a characer’s acion migh fail, or heir failure migh be exciing for he sory, players roll dice o randomly deermine wheher hey succeed. Two ypes of dice are used o resolve hese acions: A Tweny-sided Die (d20)
Used for resolving Atribue Tess. These are abbreviaed hroughou as d20, wih a number prefix o indicae he number of d20 o roll, e.g. 2d20. A Comba Die
A special six-sided die (d6) abbreviaed wih his symbol: . Used o score damage, and acivae weapon Qualiies. In mos circumsances, more han one die of any given ype are rolled a once. These dice collecively are referred o as he dice pool (or he pool).
RE-ROLLING DICE Some alens, abiliies, and circumsance le players re-roll heir dice pool. Players can always choose which dice o re-roll, and roll hem again, replacing he original resul enirely. The new resuls sand, even if hey’re worse han he original resuls. Re-rolling dice is always opional, and players can roll all, some, or none of he dice available o be re-rolled.
COMBAT DIE If you are using a normal d6, hen please consul he able below for he Comba Die resul. When more han one is rolled ogeher he resuls are oaled. 1 damage
2 damage
0 damage
0 damage
1 damage, 1 Effec
1 damage, 1 Effec Example: John Carer successfully srikes a Whie Ape wih his sabre. The atack deals 5 damage. John Carer’s player rolls five d6s and generaes resuls of 1, 2, 4, 6, and 3. The 1 and he 2 add ogeher for a oal of 3. The 4 and 3 are ignored, and he 6 adds 1 o he oal. Adding his all ogeher, John’s atack inflics 4 damage.
T R A T S K C I U Q
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A TTRIBUTES Six atribues define each characer: Cunning , Daring , Empahy , Migh, Passion and Reason. These atribues indicae a characer’s inheren abiliies and heir physical and menal limiaions ranging in value from 4 o 12, and wo atribues are used in conjuncion wih each oher o resolve ess.
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CUNNING
DARING
Cunning is used whenever a characer wans o weaken anoher. Cunning is used for all Atacks, Insuls, and Thefs. A Cunning is used wih Migh o scutle a ship or bash down a door. A Cunning is used wih Reason o shoo a rifle.
Daring comes ino play whenever a characer is a risk. I covers Movemen, Piloing, and Defense acions of all sors. A Daring is used wih Cunning o srike wih a sword. A Daring is used wih Empahy o avoid a blow.
EMPATHY Empahy is used whenever a characer seeks o undersand or heal anoher. Empahy is used o heal all ypes of impairmens and o undersand wha your senses migh be elling you abou a person. A Empahy is used wih Reason o spo a characer up o no good.
MIGHT
PASSION
REASON
Migh is used o apply force o he inanimae world. I is used ouside of comba o lif, bend, and break iems. A Migh is used wih Daring o pick up an unconscious characer and carry hem o safey.
Passion governs any atemp o lead, love, or enerain. I is used whenever anoher characer needs o be convinced o atemp an acion. A Passion is used wih Empah y o woo a lover A Passion is used wih Cunning o seduce or insul.
Reason suppors any acion ha applies he mind o work ou a problem. A Reason is used wih Cunning o saboage an enemy flier. A Reason is used wih Empahy o undersand a foe’s batle plans.
A TTRIBUTE TESTS In siuaions where a characer atemps a ask and he oucome is unknown or uncerain, he characer atemps an Atribue Tes. A player combines wo of heir atribues o creae a Targe Number , and rolls 2d20. Each die ha rolls equal o or under he Targe Number (TN) scores one success, and each die ha scores equal o or less han he characer’s weaker atribue scores 2 successes. Atribue Tess are assigned a Difficuly raing by he Narraor, a value ranging from Simple (Difficuly 0, or D0) o Epic (D5). The Difficuly raing is he number of successes a player mus score using heir dice pool o succeed a he ask. Once players have rolled heir d20s, hey oal up he number of successes scored, and he Narraor checks wheher hey have reached he Difficuly raing, and achieved heir goal.
Example: Zala Zors has a Daring of 7 and a Might of 4. Zala Zors is atemping o endure he dangerous hea of a forced march hrough he souhern desers. The Narraor calls for her player o atemp a Dauning Daring + Might es, wih a Difficuly of 3. Zala’s Daring is 7 and her Might is 4, added ogeher o make her Targe Number 11. She rolls 2d20 which score a 5 and a 4 – boh worh one success – and he 4 is under her lowes atribue ( Might ) scoring her a hird success – meaning she has powered hrough he march, enduring he hea of he Barsoom deser, and succeeded a he ask.
TEST DIFFICULTIES NAME
SUCCESSES
EXAMPLES
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SETTING THE DIFFICULTY
COMPLICATIONS
MOMENTUM
The Narraor deermines he Difficuly level of a given ask. Atribue Tess in comba ofen have specific Difficuly raings, bu hese are baseline difficulies, and he Narraor should feel free o aler hose Difficulies based on he siuaion a hand. The Narraor may ofen assume an Atribue Tes sars a a Difficuly of Average (D1). This represens ypical condiions for a ask ha isn’ a guaraneed success, bu is sill quie sraighfor ward o accomplish. If here are no oher facors influencing his ask, he Narraor should leave he ask a Average (D1). Difficuly raings are ofen modified by seps. A es can become more challenging, increasing or decreasing in Difficuly due o he environmen, siuaion, alens, or oher modifiers. A Difficuly increased by one sep, increases by 1 – e.g. an Average (D1) es increased by one sep becomes a Challenging (D2) es.
Whenever a resul of 20 is rolled on a d20 in an Atribue Tes, he Narraor immediaely creaes an impedimen or problem — called a Complicaion — for each d20 ha scored a 20. The Complicaion is applied o he siuaion or he specific characer ha atemped he es. Complicaions are an inconvenien change of circumsances, like a roue of escape being blocked or a loss of personal resources. They make hings more difficul, more ineresing, bu hey do no seriously harm imporan characers or eliminae imporan opporuniies. Complicaions are independen of success or failure, and i is enirely possible o succeed a an Atribue Tes while simulaneously generaing a Complicaion. If he Narraor can’ hink of a Complicaion, hey may add 2 Threa o he Threa pool insead.
I is possible o score more successes during Aribu e Tess ha n are re quired by he Na rraor, and hese successes aren’ wased. Each success scored in excess of he Difficuly generaes Momenum: poins ha players can use o increase he degree of heir accomplishmen. Those poins can hen be used while he characer resolves he curren es, or saved for fuure ess.
Example: Zala Zors’ companion, Haran Phel, is crossing he deser wih her. Haran’s player rolls he same Daring + Might es, ges wo successes, bu one of he dice resuls is a 20. Haran sill succeeds, bu he Narraor decides ha Haran hurs his ankle rying o cross a dried up creek in he deser. I doesn’ do any damage, bu i is awkward and causes him o walk more enderly. Any physical ess Haran atemps while suffering from he limp will increase in Difficuly by 1 sep.
Example: Volan Von is in ho pursui of a rival spy hrough he dark back alleys of Zodanga who has solen imporan ari facs from him. Volan’s Daring + Empathy, gives him a TN of 10. The spy’s TN is also 10. Due o he chaoic naure of he alleys and limied ligh, i is a Challenging (D2) chase. Volan ges a oal of four successes, bu he spy is less forunae, wih only hree successes. Boh achieve heir goal bu Volan is he clear winner of he Opposed Tes. Afer he Di fficuly is me, Volan has 2 Momenu m and he spy 1 Momen um from he ir indi vidual ess. The spy’ s one Momenum is sub raced from Volan’ s wo Momenum, yielding Volan a oal of one Momenum. Volan is now free o use he remaining Momenum.
OPPOSED TESTS
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When wo characers are in direc opposiion o one anoher, each characer involved in he ask performs an Atribue Tes relaed o ha acion, called an Opposed Tes. Each characer makes he same es, wih he same Difficuly, and compares heir resuls. A One player succeeds: he successful characer complees heir objecive. A Boh players fail: neiher characer complees heir ask. A Boh players succeed: boh players reach he required number of success, and compare he Momenum hey’ve generaed. The characer wih he higher amoun of Momenum achieves heir goal, bu loses one Momenum for each Momenum heir opponen generaed. If any Momenum remains, i may be spen by he successful player. The losing player loses all he Momenum hey generaed during his es.
Spending a single Luck poin adds one bonus d20 o an Atribue Tes. However, bonus d20s bough using Luck poins auomaically roll a resul of 1, generaing 2 successes. When Luck is spen he player should place a d20 wih a resul of 1 displayed in fron of hem. If he characer scores enough successes wih jus d20s bough wih Luck, he player may choose no o roll any oher dice, and hus no risk any poenial Complicaions. Players can spend muliple poins of Luck on a single roll, bu Luck poins mus be spen before he res of he dice are rolled. Dice bough wih Luck coun as par of he d20 pool, so if one or more Luck poins are spen, he maximum number of dice allowed in he roll is adjused accordingly.
If here is insufficien Momenum available o spend on Creae Opporuniy, hen a player has he opion of adding o Threa o cover he cos. The resul is he same: each poin of Threa he Narraor gains is a single bonus d20 o an Atribue Tes. This is freely available, and can be done a any ime, bu comes wih he price ha he Narraor now has greaer resources o empower Narraor characers, or oherwise complicae he characers’ advenures. In he Narraor’s case, when buying bonus d20s for Narraor characers, hese later wo opions are idenical. The Narraor spends poins of Threa o add bonus dice o a Narraor Characer’s Atribue Tes.
IMPROVING THE ODDS While succeeding a mos common asks is a sraighforward mater, even he mos skilled characer canno succeed a he mos difficul asks wihou effor, opporuniy, or assisance. To ruly riumph, a characer needs o find some oher way of improving he odds. There are a number of ways o improve he odds, such as buying more d20s o roll or spending Luck.
C����� O���������� Players may spend Momenum o Creae Opporuniy (see p. XX), o obain addiional dice. Each poin of Momenum spen adds a single bonus d20 o an Atribue Tes.
T������� ��� A��������� Assisance allows oher characers o conribue a litle of heir effor and skill o a ask. If he siuaion, ime, and Narraor allow, several characers can work ogeher as a eam when atemping o perform a ask. When more han one characer is involved in a ask, one characer is designaed as he leader and he oher characers are designaed assisans. The Narraor may decide ha only a cerain number of characers may assis or can apply oher limiaions. Each assisan rolls one d20 using heir characer’s own atribues o deermine if any successes are scored, wih addiional successes from Luck or oher alens applied. If he leader scores a leas one success on he roll, any successes generaed by he assisans are added o he leader’s oal. If he leader does no generae any successes, hen any successes scored by he assisans are los and he effor fails uterly due o poor leadership and coordinaion.
DICE POOL LIMITS A single player may no buy any more han 3 more d20s for heir dice pool, meaning no more han 5d20s may be rolled by a player for an Atribue Tes. Players who are assising ohers canno buy addiional dice and Luck poins coun owards he oal of five dice.
T R A T S K C I U Q
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MOMENTUM MOMENTUM AND N ARRATIVE Momenum evokes he heroic, scienific romance of Barsoom and John Carer. Carer ofen finds ha one success leads o anoher, allowing him o achieve incredible, someimes nex-o-impossible feas of achievemen. However, Carer also finds himself rapped by circumsance, an indicaor ha Threa is ever-presen, a force challenging him o his umos as he srives o succeed.
GENERATING MOMENTUM
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As already noed, successes scored beyond he Difficuly of an Atribue Tes become Momenum. Specifically, each success scored above ha minimum hreshold becomes a single poin of Momenum. Characers can spend Momenum o achieve greaer effecs, obain useful bonuses, or make fuure acions easier for hemselves or heir eammaes. Momenum is never generaed wih a failed es, only when here are successes in excess of hose required by he Difficuly.
Example: Haran Phel is rying o scale a cliff quickly in pursui of an assassin. The es is Challenging (D2) and Phel generaes four successes wih his roll, wo more successes han he needed for he es. These exra successes ranslae ino wo Momenum, one for each exra success.
Upon succeeding a an Atribue Tes, he player should se aside or oherwise ake noe of he amoun of Momenum generaed. Imporanly, he player does no have o deermine wha he Momenum will be used for a his poin. A player deermines wha Momenum is being used for only when i is spen. Some alens, iems, and circumsances gran bonus Momenum, which is added o he oal Momenum generaed by a successful Atribue Tes. The bonus Momenum doesn’ come ino exisence unil afer he es is successful.
S AVING MOMENTUM Players have he opion of saving Momenum raher han spending i on heir successful es. This saved Momenum goes ino a personal pool. The maximum amoun of Momenum ha can be saved in his pool is equal o he characer’s lowes Atribue. Any poins of excess Momenum are discarded, bu wih he Narraor’s permission, players can conribue Momenum o a fellow players’ pool, bu he oal sill canno exceed he owning characer’s lowes Atribue. Saved Momenum can be spen a any ime alongside Momenum generaed during a subsequen es. A he end of each scene, or each full round in an Acion Scene, 1 Momenum is removed from every characer’s pool.
COMMON USES FOR MOMENTUM The mos common uses for Momenum are lised below. However, players are also encouraged o be creaive in heir use of Momenum. An excepional success should spur he player o hink ouside of he box in erms of how ha superb performance can be refleced, in eiher he resul of he immediae ask, or in how he oucome of
ha ask can impac wha happens nex. Some Momenum spends can be used freely as soon as hey are required, raher han waiing for a successful Atribue Tes. These spends are referred o as Immediae. Repeaable spends can be made as ofen as desired, so long as he Momenum is available, and a he discreion of he Narraor.
Example: Kale Singh is sc aling he side of a ower o reach a kidnapped companion. His es o cl imb he sheer wall generaes 4 Momenum. Kale uses his Momenum o make i harder for he Okar warriors rying o climb up afer him o scale he ower. However, he canno spend his Momenum o reroaciv ely add more dice o he es he jus made, ha opporuniy has passed.
C����� O������� �I��������, R���������� Make hings more difficul for an opponen by creaing problems. This increases he Difficuly of a single Atribue Tes by one or more seps. Individual seps of Difficuly increase mus be purchased separaely: i coss wo poins of Momenum o increase he Difficuly of a es by one sep, four poins for a second sep, and six poins of Momenum for he hird sep. No individual es can have is Difficuly increased by more han hree seps in his way. The increase lass only for a single es, regardless of wheher he es was passed or failed. The decision o increase a es’s Difficuly mus be made before any dice are rolled on ha es.
O����� I���������� �R���������� Momenum allows a characer o learn more abou a siuaion. Each poin of Momenum spen can be used o ask he Narraor a single quesion abou he curren siuaion, iem, objec, srucure, creaure, or characer presen in (or relevan o) he scene a hand. The Narraor mus answer his quesion ruhfully, bu he Narraor does no have o give complee informaion and i mus be he kind of informaion ha a characer migh uncover while performing heir Atribue es.
THREAT USING THREAT Threa can be used by he Narraor in exacly he same way as Momenum. When a Narraor characer wans o improve heir odds, hey spend Threa insead. If any Talens call for Momenum o be spen, he Narraor spends Threa insead.
Example: Jack wans o give his main anagonis, a villainous jeddak, a boos o an atack. He spends 2 Threa o give he villain a bonus of 2d20 on heir nex atack, rolling a oal of 4d20 for his es, as he evil jeddak akes aim a one of he player characers and presses he rig ger of his pisol…
THE THREAT POOL All Threa comes from he Threa Pool and all Narraor characers draw from Threa insead of a personal Momenum pool. Threa is also spen o win ies. Normally a player characer wins ies in a cones bu a Narraor may spend 1 Threa o have a Narraor characer win insead. Advice on how o spend Threa can be found wihin he advenure.
GENERATING THREAT The Narraor begins each session wih Threa equal o he oal number of Luck poins (see Luck on p. 8) of all he player characers. The Narraor generaes Threa hrough player Momenum spends ha add o Threa insead, and adding o he Threa pool insead of creaing a Complicaion for a characer. A Whenever a player pays for a Momenum spend using Threa, he Narraor adds ha number of poins of Threa o heir pool. A If a 20 is rolled on a d20, i creaes a Complicaion. If he Narraor would raher add 2 Threa o heir pool, insead of creaing a Complicaion for a characer, hey may do so. A If a Narraor characer rolls a 20 on a die, hey may spend 2 Threa o avoid he Complicaion.
T R A T S K C I U Q
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LUCK Player characers have access o a special ype of resource called Luck poins. These poins reflec he fac ha he game’s heroes have ambiion and deerminaion above and beyond mos people — such individuals shape heir own Luck by will alone. Luck poins can be used o pull off exciing suns, provide an edge during dramaic siuaions. Each player characer begins each session wih Luck poins equal o heir weakes Atribue and canno have more Luck han his a any ime. Any excess poins mus be immediaely spen, or hey are los.
LUCK SPENDS A Add a Bonus d20 o an Atribue Tes: A player
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can add a bonus d20 o any Atribue es for one Luck poin. The exra die is assumed o have already rolled a resul of 1, and auomaically generaes successes as if i were rolled as par of he Atribue es. Dice purchased his way sill coun owards he normal limi of hree bonus d20s. If he use of Luck generaes enough successes o pass an Atribue es, he player may choose no o roll any oher dice, avoiding he possibiliy of Complicaions.
A Perform an Addiional Conflic Acion:
During comba, a player characer can usually only perform one Conflic Acion on his urn. By spending a Luck poin, he player characer can perform a second Conflic Acion , wih no pena ly. The p layer cha racer may only gain one exra Conflic Acion in oal. A Second Wind: A player characer can cach heir breah and resore one Sress pool o full by spending a Luck poin. A Overcome a Weakness: A player characer may spend a Luck poin o ignore he effecs of, bu no heal, all Afflicions for a single Conflic Acion. A Influence he Sory: A player may spend a Luck poin o inroduce a fac or add a deail o he curren scene. Such sory declaraions can have boh narraive and mechanical effecs. Sory declaraions should be plausible, and he Narraor has he final say over wheher a suggesed f ac or deail is valid. The Narraor may also declare ha paricularly large or significan declaraions may cos more han one poin of Luck. Players are also encouraged o come up wih new ways Luck can be used in a campaign.
REGAINING & A WARDING LUCK POINTS The Narraor awards Luck poins o players for paricularly noeworhy acions — perhaps one player came up wih he perfec plan o hwar he enemy, made a bold sacrifice for he benefi of he group, gave a memorable in-characer speech, or perhaps utered a funny quip ha diffused he ension and made everyone a he able laugh. Oher imes, he Narraor may choose o award Luck poins o all he players based on heir progress in a campaign, or during he ransiion beween key scenes. Luck poins make excellen rewards when characers reach a cerain narraive milesone, defea an imporan villain, solve a mysery, or survive a ense encouner. They can also be spen immediaely, and hus provide insan graificaion. For his advenure characers shouldn’ regain any Luck poins bu should any of he players perform exraordinarily well Luck poins can be awarded as he Narraor sees fi.
QUICKSTART
ACTION SCENES In chaos of armed combas and violen encouners i is vially imporan o clearly undersand wha is happening, o whom, where, and in wha order. These encouners are called Acion Scenes.
TURN SEQUENCE In an Acion Scene, ime is srucured ino rounds and urns. Every round, each characer presen in he scene akes one urn. Once all characers have aken a urn, he round ends, and a new one begins. Rounds have no specific duraion. In a furious clash beween small groups of warriors, a round may represen seconds while a batle beween ships may rack several minues of ime beween rounds. In a characer’s urn a characer can perform each of he following:
MOVEMENT ACTION A characer can move o any poin wihin Away range as a Movemen Acion. A player can ake one Movemen Acion per urn, before Momenum spends. Movemen Acions do no require Atribue Tess unless here is a Danger.
CONFLICT ACTIONS Conflic Acions are he focus of Acion Scenes and ake up mos of a characer’s atenion and effor. Mos Conflic Acions require an Atribue Tes. A characer can perform one Conflic Acion per urn, bu here are a few ways a characer can perform an addiional Conflic Acion. However, a characer canno ake more han wo Conflic Acions a round.
The following lis describes he various ways characers can gain an exra Conflic Acion per urn. A Luck Poins. A player may spend a Luck poin o allow he characer o perform an addiional Conflic Acion. A Swif Acion Momenum Spend. By spending 2 poins of Momenum from a prior Atribue Tes (even one from a Reacion), he characer immediaely gains an addiional Conflic Acion. The Difficuly of any es associaed wih ha exra Conflic Acion increases by one sep.
A characer may exchange a Conflic for a Movemen acion, if hey need o cover more ground. Ouside of he characer’s urn, a characer can defend in Opposed ess and ake Counersrike Acions if hey can pay he Momenum cos, and ake no oher acions.
TURN ORDER Normally, a player characer acs firs each round. This characer begins he urn and mus resolve all he acions hey wish o ake before anoher characer can ac. Play hen passes o a new player characer, who performs all heir acions for he urn. Once all he player characers have aken heir urns, all he Narraor characers ake heir urns. Afer all player characers and Narraor characers have aken heir acions in a round, ha round is over. One poin of Momenum is removed from he combined Momenum pool (if any) and a new round begins. Players choose who goes firs among hem and hen he acive player chooses who goes nex. If he scene coninues afer his urn, he player who wen las has he opion of going firs nex round.
SEIZING I NITIATIVE SPOKEN ACTIONS In a characer’s urn, hey can say a shor commen o one characer or a single senence o muliple characers. The Narraor has full discreion as o when a Spoken Acion overreaches is bounds a which poin i becomes a Conflic Acion even if no es is needed. I’s a Spoken Acion ha allows a characer o make a memorable quip as hey kick an opponen. A characer may make any number of Spoken Acions, a he discreion of he Narraor.
A he sar of he round before anyone has aced, or a any ime immediaely afer a player has finished heir urn, he Narraor can spend 1 poin of Threa o inerrup he players’ urns and allow a Narraor characer o immediaely ake a urn. Once his urn is over he players may ake he nex urn, and he inerruping Narraor characer mus wai unil he nex round o ac again.
T R A T S K C I U Q
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MOVEMENT, R ANGE , AND ZONES In batle, knowing where everyone is can be of vial imporance and deermining boh absolue posiion (where you are on he batlefield) and relaive posiion (how far you are from a given friend or foe) is imporan. Raher han rack everyhing in precise disances, however, ranges are measured in four caegories and one sae: A The sae of Immediae is when an objec or characer is wihin arm’s lengh of he acing characer. Immediae isn’ a specific range, bu raher is somehing ha he player can declare when he characer is moving, so when a characer moves Near o an enemy or objec, he player may declare ha he characer is moving ino Immediae conac. Moving ou of Immediae range of an enemy may be risky, as i can leave a characer open o atack. A Near: No immediaely nex o bu close enough o reach a arge easily. Characers can shoo a, speak wih, and generally inerac wih anyone Near . Some creaures are big and fas enough o be able o rea Near as Immedi-
ae for making melee atacks. Characers who are no being hindered, blocked, or obsruced can move ino Immediae range o atack a arge in melee while hey are already Near. A Away: Places a arge apar from ohers. This includes boh long disance and closer places ha can only be reached by dramaic acions such as leaping and climbing. Thus, he oher side of a small valley migh be Away , bu so would a high cliff or a nearby airship wih fify fee of Marian sky beween i and a characer. A Far: Reachable only by he mos long-disance atacks or mehods of ineracion. Mos firearms have a range of Far , and his generally covers he furhes a characer can see. A Too Far: Targes ha are Too Far may be able o be seen or oherwise perceived, bu hey are beyond he abiliy o inerac wih physically and communicaion requires special echnology.
DISTANCE AND COMMUNICATION Characers can converse normally wih anyone Near o hem. A characer can communicae wih someone a Far range bu only a a raised volume, beyond his, a characer can shou o draw atenion, bu conveying any deph of meaning is unlikely.
CHARACTERS AND ZONES To help players visualize heir characers’ places in an encouner, he Narraor may wish o use somehing exra o help remind everyone of which characer is where like using a skeched map, okens or miniaures, and moving hem around as required.
DISTANCE AND PERCEPTION The furher away somehing is, he harder i is o noice. In game erms, his means ha characers and objecs in disan zones are harder o observe or idenify han hose nearby. When rying o noice creaures and objecs a characer increases he Difficuly of ess by a leas one sep for every incremen beyond Near . A creaure atemping o hide makes he es more challenging by making he es an Opposed es. Creaures or objecs ha are paricularly noiceable — Piloing a flier, roaring beass, or a fas-moving or brighly-colored objec — may reduce he Difficuly furher.
MOVEMENT AND TERRAIN Under normal circumsances, moving does no require an Atribue Tes. Moving o anywhere wihin Near range akes only a Free Acion. Moving o anywhere wihin Away range akes a Movemen Acion. Moving o anywhere wihin Far range akes a Conflic Acion. Moving hrough Dangers may require an Atribue Tes. This is an Atribue Tes, ypically using Daring . If movemen requires an Atribue Tes wih a Difficuly of Average (D1) or higher, hen i akes a Movemen Acion, regardless of he disance moved.
Example: Jack has creaed a Danger for an advenure – an area of sand where vibraions se off explosive gas pockes hidden underground. He decides ha walking carefully (or running o ourace he explosions) is a Challenging (D2) es wih a Danger raing of 3. If a characer fails o overcome he Danger, hey will ake 3 dice of damage — equal o he raing of he Danger.
F ALLING The disance a characer falls deermines falling damage and a falling characer may suffer addiional damage should hey fall on a Danger. Consul he able below for how many o roll.
TERRAIN
INCREASE
DANGER
D ANGERS Unless Dangers are avoided wih a suiable Atribue es, hey cause damage. Each Danger has a raing which is equal o he number of damage dice i inflics should a characer fail o cross i safely.
RATING
Characers who reasonably have some way o lessen heir fall can atemp an Average (D1) Migh + Daring es (plus 1 sep for every caegory of range beyond Near). Success avoids 1 of damage. Addiional Momenum can be spen o reduce he damage furher a he cos of 2 Momenum per avoided.
M AKING AN A TTACK There are muliple ways a characer can atack a arge. Blades and bulles merely scrach he surface of he variey of ways a creaive characer can harm anoher. A characer migh engage in ferocious arguing, make barbed jess a a characer’s expense, or wield weapons of exravagan super science. Regardless of he mehod used, he process for atacking remains he same. A The atacker picks a single arge wihin range. A The atacker atemps an Average (D1) Opposed Tes deermined by he ype of atack: A Melee atack (Immediae range): Cunning + Daring A Pisol atack (Near range): Cunning + Reason A Rifle atack (Away range): Cunning + Reason A Social atack (Near range): Cunning + Passion A If he atack is made ouside of is range, hen increase he Difficuly of he atack by 1 sep for every range ouside he weapons normal use. A The defender resiss wih Daring and anoher Atribue appropriae o he defensive acion. A If he atack his, hen he atacker rolls 2 and inflics damage as described in Damage and Recovery. If he atack misses, hen no damage is applied.
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Remember o rea each atack and defend es as separae before successes are compared. This is because, in many cases, he atacker and defender may no have he same Difficuly for heir ess.
Example: Jane Porer is shooing wih a rifle a a Warhoon raider who is charging her companions wih weapons drawn. The Narraor informs Jane’s player she will need o use Reason and Cunning for his atack. The arge is a Away range, so here’s no increased Difficuly for disance, however here is a large amoun of smoke and dus in he air from a recen airship crash. The Narraor rules his increases he Difficuly of Jane’s atack by 1. The Warhoon is defending wih Daring and Reason as i atemps o see he pah of Jane’s sho, bu has nohing o increase he Difficuly of his acion. Jane generaes 4 successes on her D2 es while he Warhoon generaes only 2 on his D1 es. Despie he ough sho, Jane his he Warhoon, and generaes 1 Momenum!
S R A M F O R E T R A C N H O J
Counersrike o move, speak, or make regular Atribue Tess ha are no Opposed. Characers defend agains a Counersrike as normal bu canno spend Momenum o make heir own Counersrike. Once he Counersrike has been defended agains, Iniiaive passes o he nex characer.
SELECTING A TTRIBUTES The rules ofen sugges paricular defaul Atribues for ess, however, hey are no se in sone. Narraors should be open o ineresing combinaions of Atribues for various acions and players should feel free o sugges hem. A characer who wishes o “ake i on he chin” migh even defend agains an atack wih Migh, describing i a sriking him bu wih no effec. Or a brillian characer migh be able o use Reason o srike an opponen hey have been waching closely for weaknesses. Narraors are encouraged o allow such variaions if hey don’ slow down play or resul in characers only using he same one or wo Atribues for every es.
IGNORE OBSTACLES: Cos 3 (Immediae) Move an addiional range band, ignoring Obsacles EXTRA DAMAGE DICE: Cos 1 (Repeaable) Each poin of Momenum allows a characer o roll an exra damage dice. DISARM: Cos 1 or 2 Knock an enemy’s weapon o heir fee, or for 2 Momenum, send an enemy’s weapon flying o where an ally migh ge i. KILL MINION: Cos 1 (Repeaable) Each poin of Momenum spen when atacking minions will dispach an addiional minion. RECOVER STRESS: Cos 1 (Immediae, Repeaable) For each poin of Momenum spen, recover 1 poin of Sress of any one damage ype.
WHAT A BOUT COVER?
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MOVE FURTHER: Cos 1 (Immediae) Move an addiional range band.
COUNTERSTRIKE Ouside of heir urn, he characer can atemp Counersrikes as a par of an Opposed es. A characer can spend 3 Momenum once hey have successfully defended agains an atack. This grans he characer an immediae Conflic Acion. The characer can perform any Conflic Acion as if i were heir urn bu canno save or donae any momenum gained during his es. The characer aking he Counersrike can only ake Conflic Acions agains heir atacker, bu can use he
A CTION SCENE MOMENTUM SPENDS The following lis provides several addiional opions available o a characer generaing Momenum in Acion Scenes. These are in addiion o he normal uses of Momenum and any ohers ha players or Narraor creae hemselves. Momenum liss are never exclusive and boh Players and Narraors should be creaive in making new spends as needed.
John Carter of Mars specifically avoids he idea of cover as seen in oher popular roleplaying games. Cover is facored ino he momenum driven damage sysem (see p. 13). While characers are expeced o ake cover when hey come under atack, here is no special benefi ha his universal aciviy grans, nor is here any penaly o be gained.
D AMAGE AND RECOVERY When a characer is successfully hi by an atack during comba, he atack inflics a cerain amoun of damage. Some environmenal effecs can also inflic damage, such as falling from a grea heigh, being se on fire, or encounering somehing errifying. A Basic Damage: Each source of damage inflics a minimum of 2 of damage. A Momenum: A player can spend Momenum when making an atack o a dd more o ha atack. Each Momenum spen adds 1 o he damage (Repeaable). In addiion o his, Creaures wih he Minion rule can be dispached enirely for 1 momenum (Repeaable). Once any damage dice have been bough, he player making he atack rolls all he . This is called he damage roll, and he final score is he amoun of damage infliced.
D�
DAMAGE
D AMAGE T YPES AND STRESS There are hree ypes of damage: Confusion, Fear , and Injury described on he able below. Sress indicaes which wo Atribues deermine he oal Sress of ha Damage ype, and deermines he wo Atribues which are penalized when a characer akes an Afflicion.
DAMAGE
STRESS
AFFLICTION
C�������� Damage infliced upon he mind is Confusion. Confusion represens a characer’s deerminaion, and heir abiliy o handle sress, conrol emoions, and resis he sresses of life. Characers whose curren Confusion is low are weary, less cerain, and less able o cope wih challenging siuaions. A characer’s Confusion Sress is equal o he highes atribue beween Empahy and Reason.
F��� Damage infliced upon he will is Fear. I migh be caused by panic, despair, and sudden shocks, such as a near miss wih a blade. Fear represens a characer’s bravery and willingness o ake risks. Characers whose curren Fear is low are weary, less cerain, and less able o cope wih challenging siuaions. A characer’s Fear Sress is equal o he highes atribue beween Daring and Passion.
I����� Damage infliced upon he body is Injury. Blades, radium bulles, or exposure o dangerous subsances cause Injury damage. Injury represens a characer’s endurance, samina, and abiliy o ignore minor injuries such as cus, scraches, bruises, and abrasions. A characer wih low Injury is ired and unable o avoid serious harm. A characer’s Injury Sress is equal o he highes atribue beween Cunning and Migh.
A characer can only wihsand so much damage of any one ype before being unable o figh furher. Each damage ype has a Sress value, as above, which is he oal amoun of Sress a characer can receive, of one ype, before suffering an Afflicion. A A characer can suffer hree Afflicions, wih each insance imposing a cumulaive 1 sep Difficuly increase o relaed Atribue Tess. A A characer suffering four Afflicions of he same ype is incapaciaed, unable o ake any Acions or Reacions wihou firs spending a poin of Luck. A A characer suffering five or more Afflicions of he same ype is blacked ou, unable o ake any more acions.
INFLICTING D AMAGE When a defender makes heir Atribue es, he wo Atribues deermine where mos of he Damage will fall. The defender consuls he Damage Types able, above, and finds he possible Damage ypes from he Atribues hey have used and chooses any one of hese Damage Types o ake damage and reduces he relevan Sress from heir Confusion, Fear, or Injury.
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If 5 or more damage is infliced or he arge’s Sress is reduced o 0 by he atack, hen a single Afflicion is infliced on he arge. If he arge applies damage o a Damage ype ha has 0 Sress before he damage roll was made, hen he arge suffers a single Afflicion. If muliple of hese condiions apply — such as a characer suffers 5 or more damage and is reduced o 0 Sress — hen each condiion inflics a single Afflicion. A he Narraor’s discreion, damage in muliples of 5 can also cause addiional Afflicions wih 10 damage causing 2 Afflicions and 15 damage causing 3 afflicions ec.
M������ Confusion he Afflicions are called Madness. Madness increases he Difficuly of Atribue Tess using Empahy or Reason. A characer suffering 4 Madness is barely coheren, overwhelmed by fears and doubs. A characer suffering 5 Madness couns as Blacked ou and is eiher caaonic or fleeing as bes hey can.
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Example: Kale Singh is s ruck by a mighy Thark's sword blow. He defended agains he blow wih his Cunning and Might . As boh Cunning and Might are linked o Injury Sress he mus ake Injury Sress from his atack. His atacker rolls 2 and scores wo 1s. This scores 2 damage, so Kale’s Injur y Sress is reduced by 2 poins, bu he hasn’ suffered an Afflicion and can now ake his urn.
BLACKING OUT If a characer suffers 5 Afflicions of he same ype, hey black ou for he res of he scene. When hey reurn o consciousness all Momenum is gone, and one Afflicion of each ype is removed. Thi s is a simplificaion of he rules found in he Corebook.
NPCS AND D AMAGE RECOVERING FROM D AMAGE
A charac er recove rs all los S ress — Confusi on, Fear, or Injury — a he end of an Acion Scene. This is auomaic, requiring only a brief res. The only ime his should no happen is if he nex scene is se immediaely afer he prior, wih he charac ers havi ng no ime o recuper ae. During Acion Scenes, characers can spend acions o ry o recover heir own or an T����� ally’s Sress during an Acion Scene. These reaFear Afflicions are called Trauma. Traumas increase men acions are described in he damage Type he Difficuly of Atribue Tess using Daring or (see p. 13). Passion. A characer suffering 4 Traumas is barely A Recovering Sress from Confusion requires coheren, overwhelmed by fears and doubs. A charan Average (D1) Empahy + Reason acer suffering 5 Traumas couns as Blacked ou and Atribue es. is eiher caaonic or fleeing as bes hey can. A Recovering Sress from Fear requires an Average (D1) Daring + Reason Atribue es. W����� A Recovering Sress from Injury requires an Injury Afflicions are called Wounds. Wounds Average (D1) Migh + Reason Atribue es. increase he Difficuly of Atribue Tess using CunA Treaing anoher characer, by defaul, uses ning orMigh. Characers suffering 4 Wounds are so Empahy + Reason unless you have a Talen badly injured ha hey are barely capable of moving. which says oherwise. A characer ha has aken 5 Wounds couns as A Healing an Afflicion is a Challenging Blacked ou and is unconscious or wrihing in agony. (D2) es.
NPCs are spli ino hree caegories. Villains, Monsers, and Minions. Villains are full characers jus like a PC. They have all he sress rackers ha a PC has and work in he same fashion. Villains include any imporan lieuenans who migh recur hroughou a campaign as well as paricularly powerful beass and any overarching nemesis characers ha migh be defeaed a he end of a campaign. Monsers are somewha weaker han Villains bu represen greaer adversaries han sandard minions. Monsers have only a single Sress racker which consiss of he sum of heir lowes and highes Atribues. They also have a Menace raing ha reflecs how many Afflicions hey can olerae. A Monser whose Sress is reduced o 0, or suffers more Afflicions han heir Menace, is dispached bu no necessarily dead. Usually he characer aking ou he monser picks wha happens o hem alhough some NPCs may have a alen ha dicaes heir final momens. Minions are weaker again and usually only show up in packs. Minion packs vary in size from wo o five and any atack ha deals damage will dispach a minion while exra Momenum can be used o dispach addiional minions wih a single atack.
QUICKSTART
QUICKSTART A DVENTURE This shor advenure is designed o allow players o ake he role of various heroes from he John Carer of Mars sories as hey encouner siuaions on Barsoom common o he wriing of Edgar Rice Burroughs, as a way o ry ou he rules in his quicksar.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED To run his advenure, you will need, a leas: A 5d20 dice A 5 six-sided dice (or Modiphius cusom d6 from Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of or Star Trek Adventures ) A The pre-generaed characers a he back of his quicksar, prined off, one for each player A 5 okens per player for Momenum A 5 okens per player for Luck A 30 okens for Threa
PRELUDE The Narraor should allow he players o converse, roleplay, and ge used o heir characers and he game for a shor ime before he acion sars. Maybe wo characers will have a friendly duel or play a game of jean, a Marian game much like Earh chess. These aciviies can be eiher described by he players or resolved using Atribue ess and challenges. While he GM can call for any combinaion of atribues he following are fairly common examples. Jus remember ha Talens can someimes overrule he GM's selecion of atribues.
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S R A M F O R E T R A C N H O J
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The defaul ime period for his advenure is shorly afer he bulk of he evens of A Princess of Mars and he decline of Helium’s long ime rival, Zodanga. During his period, Carer says for years in Helium wih his beloved Dejah Thoris, bu few of his advenures during his ime are described in Burrough’s work. As he advenure sars, Carer is raveling wih Dejah and several friends and allies by flier o mee wih a delegaion from a minor Red Marian kingdom, Voninka, ha is seeking alliance wih Helium. Voninka was a small saellie naion of Zodanga unil he naion’s recen defea a he hands of Helium and John Carer. I now seeks new allies among Helium and is jeddak, a young bu respeced leader known as Corlan Nim, has requesed a diplomaic meeing wih represenaives of Helium—he player heroes and heir crew. Unbeknowns o our heroes, he Jeddak of Voninka’s broher, Kama Nim, seeks o ambush Carer and his allies, capuring hem as par of a plo o incie war wih Helium and replace his broher on his kingdom’s hrone. He believes if he can capure he heroes, especially Dejah Thoris and he famed Carer, he can draw suppor o him.
SCENE ONE: FLAGS OVER M ARS Read he following aloud:
You are enjoying each oher’s company and relaxing on an flier frigae flying under Helium’s colors. The flier is oufited more for exploraion and diplomacy han conflic, hough i spors some deck guns and a complimen of roops. How are you passing he ime…?
Allow he players o converse, roleplay, and ge used o heir characers and he game for a shor ime before he acion sars. Maybe wo characers will have a friendly duel or play a game of jean, a Marian game much like Earh chess. Try resolving hese acions using some Atribue ess, wih a Difficuly or 1, o ge a feel for how he basic rules work. There are sample atribue ess o give you ideas on he previous page. A Pick an Atribue combinaion ha
bes fis he acion ha player is atemping A Ask hem o roll 2d20 and compare he resuls o he wo Atribues added ogeher (his is heir Targe Number.) A If hey score 1 success, hey have succeeded a he es. A If hey score any Momenum, allow hem o bank i.
If he players are on deck, ask for an Average (D1) Reason + Cunning es o see he shadow of an unknown flier descending on hem from ou of he sun. If hey succeed, hey may raise he alarm, allowing hem o go firs in he coming conflic. Any Momenum generaed by his roll will be useful i n he coming conflic as well. Unforunaely, here is no ime o move he flier ou of he way before heir ambushers open fire. If hey fail o noice he atack before i sars, he heroes will cerain noice i once i begins. Read he following aloud:
The enemy flier’s deck guns shake he flier wih fire, damaging i and killing several crew members. If he heroes raised he alarm, he damage and loss of life is noiceably lessened, hough he ship and crew are sill in peril. The enemy flier is smaller han yours, bu i possesses a reinforced prow for ramming and several grapples for boarding. The raiders fire on you as hey rush o close wih your flier and hen board i quickly… . As he ships collide, he prow of he atacking flier rams ino he heroes’ flier, smashing he upper decks before pulling up and allowing a boarding pary o rappel down on ropes o he damaged deck as i passes. Their ploy would likely succeed if i weren' for he presence of he heroes.
If he heroes raised he alarm, he damage and loss of life is noiceably lessened, hough he flier and crew are sill in peril.
R AMMING SPEED! As he ships collide, he prow of he atacking ship rams ino he heroes’ ship, smashing he upper decks before pulling up and allowing a boarding pary o rappel down on ropes o he damaged deck as i passes. Ask each player o makes a Challenging (D2) Cunning + Migh es o reac in ime and hurl hemselves o safey as he airships collide. Failure means hey are caugh in he grea impac as he ships collide and ake 2 damage o eiher Fear (Cunning ) or Injury (Migh). Afer his es is resolved, comba will begin as a mob of screaming raiders will land on he decks, ready for a figh. Read aloud:
The deck is overrun wih raiders. These are all red Marians, bu wihou any idenifying iems or clohing ha sug gess wh a ki ngdom h ey hail from. Your flier’ s crew i s sca ered f rom he impac, many of hem are injured or dead. I is up o you o deal wih his firs wave of aackers so he remaining soldiers can rally and help drive hem off. There is also a companion flier o he crashed raider vessel, and i can be seen maneuvering o fire upon your now-heavily damaged Helium flier.
If he PCs fall o he iniial onslaugh, hey will be aken prisoner and he res of he crew will be killed or lef o go down wih he airship. There are six raiders and a more skilled raider lieuenan atacking in his scene. If here are
CUNNING:
5
MIGHT:
5
DARING:
8
PASSION:
5
EMPATHY:
4
REASON:
4
CUNNING:
4
MIGHT:
5
DARING:
7
PASSION:
4
EMPATHY:
4
REASON:
4 T R A T S K C I U Q
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fewer han hree player characers in his scenario, reduce he number of raiders by wo. If here are more han four player characers in his scenario, increase he number of raiders by wo. Wih he scene se, he batle begins! If he player characers raised he alarm, hey ake heir urns firs. If hey did no raise he alarm, resolve all of your Narraor characers’ urns firs. Remember ha characers can Seize he Iniiaive by spending Momenum, o ake a urn ou of order. The raiders and heir lieuenan will need o be defeaed by he player characers before hey overrun he deck, murdering he scatered crew, and aking over he flier. If he PCs' player characers fall o he iniial onslaugh, hey will be aken prisoner and he res of he crew will be killed or lef o go down wih he flier. Given he confines of he flier’s deck, everyhing on he deck is eiher Immediae or Near ranges. All raiders are armed wih swords and pisols. The raiders are rying o defea he heroes and kidnap hem. They are paricularly ineresed in kidnapping Dejah Thoris if she is presen. This suggess his raid is poliically moivaed given
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Dejah’s saus as he Princess of Helium. If he player heroes ry o deermine if one of hem is a arge or acively noice during he scene he raider’s focus, have hem make a Challenging (D2) Cunning + Reason es. Success means hey discern he goals of hese raiders are more han mere piracy and hey clearly inend o kidnap any imporan characers hey can for use in some sor of larger scheme. You should run his figh for wo urns before moving on o he nex par of he Acion Scene using he rules provided earlier in his documen. During his ime he player characers sand alone, unable o rally he wounded and scatered soldiers on heir flier o drive off he invaders.
THE SECOND FLIER During he figh on urn wo, a second raider flier appears, moving ino atack range. The flier will fire on he player characers' flier, sriking he deck and killing many soldiers of Helium and making i impossible o rally. This also urns he deck ino a Difficuly 1 and Danger 1 Terrain (see
he Quicksar rules) for he purposes of moving across i as fires and wreckage make he flier now a dangerous place o move and figh. Furhermore, he flier will be oo damaged o move furher afer his figh is over and will begin o fall from sky as is engines are firs damaged and hen ulimaely fail. This also urns he deck ino a Difficuly 1 and Danger 1 Terrain (see he Quicksar rules) for he purposes of moving across i as fires and wreckage make he ship a dangerous place o move and figh. The enemy flier is currenly oo disan for even Carer o leap ono, and handheld weapons won’ do much o i, a leas in he imeframe provided. You should also use Threa o make he figh ough and remind he players hey can add Threa and use Momenum o augmen heir own rolls as well. To bring on any reinforcemens, spend 1 Threa per minion, and 2 Threa for any more lieuenans. One of he deck guns on he heroes’ flier can be brough o bear and fired a he enemy flier. However, i is damaged. I can be repaired wih a Dire (D4) Reason + Daring es. Only one characer can work on he gun a a ime, bu one oher charac-
er can assis. Any raiders sill alive are going o atemp o sop hem and unless a leas 1 player characer is acively fighing he raiders, hey will gain an addiional bonus die o roll agains any player characers hey atack who are performing he mainenance on he deck gun. If he player characers fail or don’ boher o fix he gun, hen he flier is hi by a direc hi from he raider vessel in he fourh round, causing i o begin o sink quickly o he ground as is engines are heavily damaged. A his ime spend Threa for he oher raider vessel o come around and land more raiders, who offer he player heroes a chance o surrender. If hey refuse, he raiders atack and ry o ake hem ou.
DECK C ANNONS FIRE! Once he deck gun is fixed, i can be fired by aking a Movemen Acion o load and aim, and a Conflic Acion o fire. This is a Challenging (D2) Daring + Reason. Success srikes he flier, causing i o veer off and rerea. Momenum generaed on his es can be used o furher damage he flier if desired (1 o seriously damage i, 2 o cause i enough damage for i o rerea, 3 o damage i badly e nough o cause i o sink and crash). If he gun misses, i can be fired up o hree imes before he makeshif repairs cause i o malfuncion again, his ime wihou he abiliy o repair i.
INTERROGATION If he raiders are defeaed, he player heroes will hear sounds of heir crew rallying and beginning o drive he raiders off oher pars of he flier. The raiders are run hrough, sho, or pushed over he railings as he heroes and heir followers urn he ide and finally ake prisoners.
Inerrogaing a prisoner is an Average (D1) Opposed es wih he player hero’s Migh + Passion agains heir arges Empahy + Daring . Success reveals ha he raiders work for Hama Nim, he broher of he jeddak hey ravel o mee. The Obain Informaion Momenum could reveal he following pieces of informaion:
A Kama Nim seeks o violenly overhrow
his broher. A He also seeks a war wih Helium, h oping
various Zodangan saellies will rally o his cause. A Kama Nim has a s mall army of panh ans (mercenaries) and loyaliss ready o die for his cause. Many are former soldiers of Zodanga.
Informaion should be provide based on wha quesions he heroes ask during an inerrogaion. If hey are i nerrogaing a capured lieuenan (raising he Difficuly of heir es by 1 sep), hey may also learn he following:
A To serve his ends Kama Nim wans
he heroes as hosages and plans o frame his broher for he ac, promping a brual conflic he can exploi.
If he heroes are defeaed hey be knocked unconscious (if hey aren’ already) and will wake up in he hold of he enemy’s flier in ime for he nex scene.
SCENE 2: OUT OF THE FLYING SHIP… Regardless of he oucome of he batle, boh he heroes’ and enemies’ ships are damaged and need repairs before i can coninue, so he flier mus land. Below he batle is a suiable landing spo near he ruins of some small ancien oupos. This is he bes place o land o affec repairs, and he heroes can atemp o land he damaged craf by making a Challenging (D2) Daring + Reason es. Le he players Succeed a Cos, meaning ha even if hey fail he es hey sill land he flier, bu i’s a rough landing and you can add 2 o your Threa pool. Regardless of how he heroes ge o he ground, hey have a momen o res, atemp o heal heir wounds, and assess he damage o heir flier. Assessing he damage o he flier is an Average (D1) Reason + Cunning es, revealing he following:
A If he s econd enemy fl ier wa s hi by h e
repaired deck gun, he damage is em porar y and afer a fe w hours of work he flier can b e air worhy a gain. A If he s econd enemy fl ier wa s no hi b y he repaired deck gun i was able o do more damage o he heroes’ flier, and i is oo damaged o fly wihou major repairs. The heroes will have o somehow secure oher ransporaion.
Afer he damage has been assessed, read he following aloud:
T R A T S K C I U Q
19
You hear a grea roar coming from he direcion of he nearby ruined oupos. Wihin seconds, you can see several large whie shapes appear ou of he ruins moving quickly owards your crash sie. The whie apes of Barsoom are atacking!
THE WHITE A PES OF M ARS
S R A M F O R E T R A C N H O J
®
20
There are several whie apes atacking: one ape plus one addiional ape for every wo heroes (e.g. a group of 5 heroes will face 3 apes.) During his batle, Heroes can spend Momenum o represen surviving crew or raiders geting in a minor bu effecive atack on he Whie Apes. For every 2 Momenum spen on such atacks, a player’s atack can be assised by a member of heir crew. Roll 1d20 for hem, using a Daring of 7 and Migh of 4, and if hey player scored one success, add any successes you scored o heir oal. Also remember Whie Apes are Monser ranked characers and as such can ake more damage han Minion ypes like he raiders hey fough previously. If he heroes defea he apes, hey will be safe for he ime being. They can eiher repair heir flier or gaher supplies and leave he area on foo. In eiher case, his ends he advenure. You can coninue hese advenures wih he rules provided if he group wans o carry on. This is a ough figh and if he heroes lose i hey will find hemselves dragged back o he lair of he whie apes o be devoured laer. They can atemp o escape or batle he remaining apes, hough boh hese conflics are ouside he scope of his advenure. However, you can use he saisics and mechanics provided in his quicksar o run hese scenes.
OPTIONAL SCENE: E SCAPE! CUNNING:
7
MIGHT:
10
DARING:
5
PASSION:
4
EMPATHY:
4
REASON:
4
If he heroes were capured, hey awaken as heir enemies’ flier crash lands. They are locked in he flier’s brig guarded by wo raiders (see above sas). They have recovered heir Sress los from he las scene and he raiders have reaed heir wounds, removing any one Afflicion hey suffered. They are wihou heir weapons or gear, which are sowed in conainers ouside heir cell. However, he impac of he flier bends and damages he brig’s door, popping is lock. They can now atack he wo Raiders (unarmed) and atemp o overpower hem. Once hey do so, hey can rearm hemselves. While hey are doing so hey hear a grea roar and crash above deck…
5
4
8
4
8
6
9
4
NAME
13
5
Princess of Mars
9
4
13
5
11
5
When encounering an enemy or rival, Dejah Thoris can spend a Luck poin o make a Challenging (D2) Empahy + Cunning es. Success means he enemy or rival sees Dejah’s value as a hosage, prisoner, or poenial ally and will no seriously harm her. This doesn’ preven he characer from imprisoning or oherwise hindering Dejah, nor will i work on beass and similar monsers.
PassionateScientist
Dejah Thoras is a passionae scienis, when she invesigaes a scienific mysery she gains +1d20 o he es and can always use Passion + Reason.
9
4
12
4
8
4
12
4
10
4
13
5
12
4
12
4
16
8
14
6
9
4
8
4
12
4
12
4
10
4
13
5
12
4
16
8
12
4
14
6
11
5
10
4
14
6
10
4
14
6
NAME:
DEJAH THORIS
RACE:
RED MARTIAN
TITLE:
PRINCESS
Jewelled Finery, Dagger (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage)
EFFECT
Argumentative Discovery
Dejah Thoras is prone o having discoveries click when in he presence of a beloved, arguing for wha’s bes for her people, or oher similar evens. If a characer she has called beloved makes a Passion + Empahy es o suppor her, she receives an addiional Momenum or +1d20 owards making a es o invesigae a scienific mysery. This bonus die is on op of any dice gained from he supporing characer hrough oher means.
Scientific Prodigy
Dejah Thoras is capable of undersanding any scienific discovery. When ou of an Acion Scene she can spend a Luck poin o make a Dauning (D3) Passion + Reason es. If successful he Narraor mus explain he general undersanding of any discovery she comes across.
6
7
5
9
5
5
13
6
NAME
11
5
Warlord of Mars
15
6
11
5
11
5
13
6
12
5
Carer has faced counless challenges on Barsoom and riumphed hrough Cunning, will, and force of arms. When facing an enemy in a duel or when sanding alone agains six or more opponens, make an Average (D1) Cunning + Daring es a he beginning of he figh. Any Momenum generaed by his es is usable in your upcoming figh.
16
7
True Companion
When acing o aid his allies or beloved Dejah Thoris direcly, John reas his Passion as if i were +2 higher han is normal raing (Passion 7 insead of 5).
Fighting Virginian
Carer is enacious, and his Earh-born srengh and years of experience gives him a subsanial edge in batle. In melee comba, he can always use Cunning + Migh for defense.
Leaps and Bouds
As a Jarsoomian, Carer can leap grea disances. For 1 Momenum, he can immediaely move up o Away (Immediae o Near, Near o Away) ignoring normal Obsacles and errain bu no complee barriers such as enclosed srucures. He can do his as par of an atack acion if desired. He may also leap ino batle a he sar of a figh, closing o Immediae range wih any foe who would oherwise be Near (or Away if he spends a Momenum).
12
5
12
5
11
5
12
5
14
5
10
5
10
5
15
6
16
7
14
5
14
5
14
5
11
5
12
5
10
5
14
5
10
5
11
5
12
5
10
5
14
5
10
5
NAME:
JOHN CARTER
RACE:
EARTHBORN
TITLE:
WARLORD OF MARS
Harness, Cloak, Sword (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage), Pisol (Fearsome, Effecs cause 1 Fear in addiion o normal damage), Dagger (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage)
EFFECT
7
6
4
8
4
4
13
6
NAME
11
4
Jeddak of Tharks
15
7
11
4
11
4
Tars may always use his Cunning when ineracing wih his fellow Tharks or hose who know and respec his posiion as Jeddak of Tharks in Conflic Acions. This includes formal duels among his people.
14
7
Mighty Warrior
11
4
Tars is fierce and powerful, using he heigh and srengh of his Thark warrior’s build o his advanage. When fighing in melee, Tars may always use Migh+Daring o atack.
15
7
11
4
11
4
11
4
10
4
12
4
8
4
8
4
16
7
14
6
12
4
12
4
12
4
11
4
10
4
8
4
12
4
8
4
11
4
10
4
8
4
12
4
8
4
NAME:
TARS TARKAS
RACE:
GREEN MARTIAN
TITLE:
JEDDAK
Harness, 2 Swords (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage), Thark Rifle (Fearsome, Effecs cause 1 Fear in addiion o normal damage)
Four -Armed Whirlwind
The Meaning of Friendship
EFFECT
Trained o use his muliple arms in batle effecively. When armed and atacking wih 2 or more weapons, Tars considers his Passion and Empahy o be +2 higher han normal when ineracing wih or acing o proec his dear friends and loved ones such as John Carer, Dejah Thoris, and his daugher, Sola.ny discovery she comes across.
6
7
6
5
5
7
13
6
NAME
12
6
Helium Jedwar
11
5
Kanos Kan may always use his Reason when ineracing wih fellow red Marian guards. His ambiion and undersanding of psychology ensures ha he sands ou when is beneficial o him.
Cunning Warrior
Kanos Kan insincively akes cover when needed. He may always use Reason+Daring when defending himself agains physical atacks.
11
5
13
6
13
6
13
6
12
5
12
5
14
7
12
6
13
6
11
5
11
5
13
6
11
5
12
5
11
5
10
5
12
5
11
5
12
5
11
5
10
5
12
5
13
6
14
7
13
6
12
5
12
5
NAME:
KANTOS KAN
RACE:
RED MARTIAN
TITLE:
JEDWAR
Harness, Cloak, Sword (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage), Pisol (Fearsome, Effecs cause 1 Fear in addiion o normal damage), Dagger (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage)
Swift Reflexes
EFFECT
Kanos Kan never misses an opporuniy o snap off some shos a enemies while seeking cover. If while defending Kanos Kan spends momenum o counersrike his damage is increased by +1 . This is in addiion o any momenum spen o gain he conflic acion needed o make an atack.
6
4
8
6
7
6
10
4
NAME
14
6
12
6
Four-Armed for War (Grade 1)
13
6
12
6
10
4
12
4
10
4
11
4
10
4
14
6
12
4
14
6
15
7
14
6
12
6
10
4
14
6
13
6
12
6
13
6
11
4
15
7
13
6
13
6
12
6
10
4
14
6
12
6
13
6
Strength of Compassion (Grade 3)
NAME:
SOLA
RACE:
GREEN MARTIAN
Harness, Thark Rifle (Fearsome, Effecs cause 1 Fear in addiion o normal damage), Dagger (Sharp, Effecs cause 1 Injury in addiion o normal damage)
Woman of Thark (Grade 1)
EFFECT When you generae Momenum while atacking wih a melee weapon or rifle, gain an exra Momenum. When acing o proec or help a loved one or someone in your charge, you gain a bonus d20 on all relevan acions and you can always use Passion and/or Empahy as par of he es. This alen doesn’ allow for atacks, bu can be used if defending on behalf of anoher. You gain on addiional Momenum from any successful es ha involves survival skills (creaing weapons, finding food, ec.).
