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The Barsoomian Milieu
Barsoom is a world of perilous adventure and romance. The
ancient, dead cities and dried sea-bottoms of Barsoom, its war-torn
civilizations, the constant clashes between primitive and advancing
cultures all combine to create a world where death and danger
lurk around every corner.
Adventure gaming in the Barsoomian milieu is not like other
games. On Barsoom, the lines between fantasy and science fiction
are often blurred or even crossed. Barsoom is a world of stark,
often incongrous, contrasts. High-tech navies course across the
sky in great airships to do battle using swords and daggers.
World-spanning empires rely on primitive city walls to protect
their citizens. Technology is used to prolong life to hundreds,
even thousands of years, yet on Barsoom human life has little
value.
As you prepare to begin your Barsoomian adventures, you must
consider these points:
- Most Barsoomians know they are living on a dying world. For
all the technological advancements being made today, Barsoomian
society is still only a pale shadow of what it was in the past.
The most advanced of Barsoomian cultures will regard this
as tragic, but a fact worth remembering and a past to be aspired
to rather than mourned. The primitive cultures may think of the
past as a period of weakness and decadence. In many ways, both
are correct. The ancient Barsoomians built for themselves a wondrous
and enlightened society and, despite their extinction, their
legacy still lives on in the form of the great Atmosphere factories.
- The future of Barsoom was irreversably changed by the arrival
of John Carter. The presence of the Earth-man brought a badly
needed infusion of new life to the dying world, and has spurred
a new age of advancement in technology and exploration. Since
his advent upon Barsoom, he has worked tirelessly to unite the
greatest of the Red nations under his flag, and has charted out
new and unexplored regions of the ancient planet, and has spurred
others to do the same.
The wilderness of Barsoom offers many challenges and opportunities
for the adventurous wanderer.
- There should always be an opportunity for romance. Nearly
all of Edgar Rice Burroughs' stories have, at their heart, the
quest for love and the pursuit of romance. The hero and his lady
are always being separated from each other by some new peril
or being beset by a new tragedy. Often he must prove himself
and his worth to her before she admits she will accept him.
The last sentence is very important. The hero must prove
his worth. The storyteller must never let the hero achive
any of his goals too easily, especially this one. The
"kill" is not as important as the "chase".
Finally, on the subject of romance, once the hero has won
his lady (or vice-versa, as the case may be), any consideration
of sex should be kept strictly off-screen! This
is romance, not pornography. After the happy couple are finally
reunited, allow time in the game for a quick hug and a kiss,
but then "fade to black" and end the session.
The Storyteller
The Storyteller is the person responsible for setting the
story, creating encounters, building the world and generally
making life difficult for the players. The Storyteller has three
basic functions.
- Referee - As referee, the Storyteller must know the
rules of the game (whichever system you have chosen) and be able
to interpret them during play. Players tend to try to do things
that may not be within the scope of the written rules. The Gamemaster
must be ready for any and all events and be prepared to interpret
the rules and apply them fairly.
Always remember that the game rules aren't intended to cover
every possible action or outcome. Be prepared for arguments and
discussions with players, but keep in mind that another function
of the referee is to keep the action moving. Don't let the game
get bogged down by rules lawyering. Keep things flowing, fast
and fun.
- Storyteller - Every game you run is called an "adventure".
The players' characters are the central characters of their own
Barsoom novel. Adventures focus on the players' characters and
what happens to them. Even if the action does not directly affect
them, they will have the chance to affect the storyline by the
things they do, the people they meet, and the places they visit.
Players like to feel as though their actions are important,
and have consequences that affect the world their characters
live in. Give them enough freedom of action for the game to be
fun for all, and don't try to direct their actions.
- Mood Setter - The Storyteller should make the players
feel as though they really are on Barsoom. Dying planet,
ancient cultures, fantastic technologies, pseudoscientific gobbledygook,
and strange races are all hallmarks of Edgar Rice Burroughs'
adventures. Use all of them to give the proper tone to your adventures.
The Players
The job of the players is to have fun and make the Storyteller's
job difficult by foiling his nefarious schemes. The players'
characters are the heroes of the story. They can be reluctant
heroes, enthusiastic heroes, or any other type of heroes they
wish to be, but they should always be important, if not integral,
to the plotline.
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