Barsoomian Characters

"...upon Mars ... men are judged upon their own merits rather than upon those of their grandsires, even though pride of lineage be great." - The Chessmen of Mars, Chapter 1

Creating Characters

The first step is to choose an Archetype. Archetypes are descriptions of a character's race and profession, determining most of his abilities, skills, possessions, etc. Some archetypes are generic; that is, nearly any charater of any race can choose them (such as Warrior or Scout); some others are specific to one race or a certain homeland (such as Green Male or Manatorian Jetan Fighter). Choose an archetype that fits with the Storyteller's game concept and location, and that fits also with your character concept.

It's also sometimes a good idea to talk with other players and find out what kind of characters they will be playing. Sometimes the Storyteller won't allow this kind of collaboration, though. Some, like myself, prefer that characters be created as independently of each other as possible to prevent the sort of "skill optimization" that can happen when players discuss each other's characters too much during creation.

Detailing

An Archetype is a good place to start, but it is only a description of one type of character. The character you create must be unique. Spend some time to make your Warrior (or Scout, Assassin or Manatorian Jetan Fighter) different from all the rest.

Race and Appearance

The first thing to consider is what your character looks like. Appearance can say a lot about a character. Edgar Rice Burroughs used physical descriptions of his characters to create impressions of their personalities - ugly people are usually associated with evil, handsome people are usually good, though this is not always the case.

For most of the Barsoomian races, such general features as hair and eye color will not change very much. Red people have black hair, dark eyes and red skin. Not much to change there. You might create a distinguishing feature, such as lighter hair or green eyes, but variations from the racial norm should be subtle.

If your character is from Earth, you have a lot more leeway. Jasoomians tend to stick out like sore thumbs among Barsoomian characters. Be careful even here, though, or you'll have a hard time disguising your character's appearance when necessary.

Consider how your character carries himself. Is he strong and confident, sly and sneaky or weak and timid? Does he have any nervous habits? What kind of impression do his mannerisms create?

How does your character dress? For most characters this will be pretty easy - standard Barsoomian dress is a leather harness and weapons. But variations in even this can create lasting impressions.

Consider now this description of Gahan of Gathol, from The Chessmen of Mars:

"She was about to cross the garden and join them when she heard her father's voice directly behind her.
"'Tara of Helium!' he called, and she turned to see him approaching with a strange warrior whose harness bore devices with which she was unfamiliar. Even among the gorgeous trappings of the men of Helium and the visitors from distant empires those of the stranger were remarkable in their barbaric splendor. The leather of his harness was completely hidden beneath ornaments of platinum thickly set with brilliant diamonds, as were the scabbards of his swords and the ornate holster that held his long, Martian pistol. Moving through the sunlit garden at the side of the great Warlord, the scintillant rays of his countless gems enveloping him as in an aureole of light imparted to his noble figure a suggestion of godliness."

Obviously all character sketches can't read like this one (there is only one Gahan of Gathol), but yours should leave the reader with a similarly vivid impression.

Background

This tells you and the Storyteller about what your character did, or what happened to him, up to the time when you started playing him. This background should be kept between you and the Storyteller only - you only have to share as much or as little as you want with the other players.

This background is fine for John Carter, but your character's should provide a bit more to grab on to:

"I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly more; but I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men, nor do I remember any childhood. So far as I can recollect I have always been a man, a man of about thirty. I appear today as I did forty years and more ago, and yet I feel that I cannot go on living forever; that some day I shall die the real death from which there is no resurrection." - John Carter (PoM, 1)

Your character may have something to hide about his past. This always makes things interesting. Maybe he is a repentant assassin trying to make things right and avoid being killed by his enemies. In this case, you probably don't want him to go talking about all the people he's killed. You can even lie a little about your background, or simply not say anything.

Perhaps something traumatic happened long ago, and your character is trying to forget. Maybe he wants revenge for something. Maybe he just wants to be left alone. Or maybe he had a religious experience and wants to share it with the world. These are just some ideas that you can consider.

What was his childhood like? What kind of parents did he have? Was he rich, poor, or a slave? How many brothers and sisters did he have? How well does he get along with them?

A well-developed background can give the Storyteller ideas for new adventures, while allowing for new developments during game play. Several books have been published which enable you to create detailed backgrounds, the best of which is the Central Casting series by Paul Jaquays. If it is still in print, I highly recommend it.

Personality

This is a summary how your character behaves. He won't (hopefully) always act this way, but the personality sketch is a good starting point. Spend a few minutes creating an interesting and fun personality for your character.

Your character should have both strengths and weaknesses. Every hero has his failings, and every villain has his good points, however minor they may be in either case. John Carter, for example, is a great warrior with a strong sense of morality and ethics, but he tends to act without thinking:

"To think, with me, is to act. Grasping Thuvia by the arm, I whispered to Tars Tarkas to follow me. Quickly we glided toward a small flier which lay furthest from the battling warriors." (GoM, 6)

When developing your character's personality, consider his sense of morality and ethics. Burroughs' characters often are confronted with moral and ethical questions. How does your character deal with such situations? Does he have a strong code of behavior, or does he try to "adapt" his ethics to suit the situation (situational ethics)? Does he believe in "might makes right" or "might for right"? Would he betray his friends for a few tanpi or does he value them above everything else?

Objectives

This is what your character hopes to accomplish. Your character's objectives are likely to change during the course of the game, and can be immediate, long-term, or short term goals. You can even divde them into such categories if you wish.

Your character's goals can be as mundane as marrying a certain person (which naturally leads to adventure), or as grand as becoming the next Warlord of Mars (the current holder of that title may have something to say about that). Goals can be as noble, grandiose, mundane, or selfish as you want. And once you achieve a goal, you can always create a new one.

Connections

This explains how your character fits into the world. Who does he know? How well does he know them? Does he have any enemies (connections aren't necessarily helpful)? And, equally importantly, how did he get involved with the other player Characters?

Friends and enemies can add flavor to a game. In times of need, a character can sometimes call on his friends for help, or sometimes the object of the game can be to help out a friend. And enemies can always be put to good use by an imaginative Storyteller.

Moving on

Once you've finished fleshing out your character, it's time to start playing!