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Note: I'll not bore the Earthly reader with
detailed accounts of information already well-known to him, such as Social
and Technological data, and instead provide a general description of the
major differences between Jasoomians and Barsoomians, and suggestions on
how to integrate the former into Barsoomian adventure gaming.
"Jasoomian" refers collectively to anyone from the planet Earth, which
is known upon Barsoom as "Jasoom." Jasoomians are thus not actually
a Barsoomian race. Earthborn humans are indistinguishable in
form from the humanoid races of Barsoom, though they differ significantly
in appearance. Few humans have the coppery red skin of a red man,
none possess the lemon-yellow of the Okarians, and even the darkest of
the black races of Earth share only their skin color with the First Born.
Biologically, Earthborn humans are only a little different from Barsoomian
natives, but what differences there are are significant. The most
important difference between the two is that while Barsoomians are oviparous,
or egg-laying, Earthmen and -women are viparous, or live-bearing.
Another major difference is in longevity. The average lifespan on
Earth is less than a tenth that attainable on Barsoom. Finally, the
telepathic abilities so well-developed on Barsoom are entirely unknown
on Earth, except to the few Earthmen who have managed to cross the void
of time and space to the red planet. Once upon Barsoom, an Earthman
is able to read the minds of any native Barsoomian, though they cannot
read a single blip from his unless he wills it. The mechanism of
this wondrous change that occurs in the brains of Earthly travellers is
not known, but has been reported by both John Carter and Ulysses Paxton,
the only two Earthmen known to have crossed the void to Mars.
Other than these differences, though, Barsoomians and Jasoomians might
as well be biological twins. The foods available on Barsoom can be
safely eaten by a Jasoomian, and provide all the nutrients needed.
Despite the obvious oddities, the two species are reproductively compatible,
and appear to be capable of interbreeding without any difficulties.
Crossing the Void: The most important issue that
must be tackled by both the Gamemaster and the Player is how his character
arrived on Barsoom in the first place. The best way to get the character
there is for the GM to run a brief "introduction" or "origin" scenario,
similar to the first chapters of A Princess of Mars and The Master
Mind of Mars, which transport the heroes naked and unarmed into a hostile
environment. This is also known as the "cold-start" method, and works
very well when you want to get the story moving, quickly. It is also
the method used repeatedly by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Ideally, the "crossover" scenario should follow the death (actual or
apparent) of the character, accompanied by a brief out-of-body experience,
but this is not, strictly speaking, necessary. There are a host of
other possible methods, including space travel and discovery of ancient
artifacts on Earth, that should work just as well. However, to remain
true to the genre, the traveller should have to die before arriving
upon Barsoom. Here's an example:
Scott Gridley, renowned inventor, ham
radio buff and son of Jason Gridley and Jana, the Red Flower of Zoram (see
Tarzan
at the Earth's Core), has successfully built a spacecraft in his backyard
(work out the details later; this is pulp sci-fi). His ìethershipî,
as he calls it, has been built to similar specifications as those used
by Carson Napier in his earlier, failed attempt to reach the red planet.
Gridley has outfitted his craft with all the elements essential to a two-month
trip across interplanetary space, and heís made all the proper calculations
for the journey (taking the Moon into account this time, of course).
The day of the launch arrives and all goes well. Our hero is on his
way to the red planet!
A month and a half into the journey, he realizes
something has gone wrong. Heís headed for Mars, just as planned,
but at too shallow an angle and too high a velocity. At his current
rate of approach, heíll just skip right off the atmosphere like a stone
and continue on into the outer solar system, where heíll probably die.
And he doesnít have enough fuel to correct his approach sufficiently.
A micrometeor has struck his fuel tank and caused a slow but steady leak
that has left him helpless and doomed. Desperately he tries to contact
Hadron of Hastor via his Gridley transmitter, but only receives no answer.
He watches the red planet fill his viewport, feels his spacecraft rumble
as it skips through the upper atmosphere of Mars, and then heís flung out
beyond the planetís weak gravitational pull...
Another month has passed. Mars is a red
speck in Gridley's viewport, his food has run out and heís almost out of
fresh air. Delirious from hunger and carbon dioxide poisoning, he
struggles to catch one last glimpse of the red planet before he dies.
As he slips into unconsciousness, he feels a sudden snapping sensation,
like the breaking of a steel pin, and he suddenly finds himself looking
down at his own, dead body. Bewildered, he looks again at the shrinking
red dot in his viewport. A moment of utter blackness and extreme
cold and pain follows...
And so forth. The point of this scene is to
get the character in place. The actual details are not really important,
but should be somewhat plausible. It doesn't have to be good science,
but it should be explainable by at least reasonably understandable "pseudoscientific
gobbledigook." If you prefer to use a more "traditional" storyline,
with the character dying in combat and being transported to Mars afterward,
that's easily done as well. Read a few historical novels about the
First and Second World Wars, Korea, or even Vietnam. There are plenty
of good sources to choose from.
Keep in mind, though that different cultures have
had very different views of the planet Mars, and characters from certain
cultures will simply not be appropriate to the milieu. For example,
while a warrior from imperial Rome or ancient Greece (both of which viewd
Mars as a symbol of war) would be a highly appropriate choice, a character
from China or Japan would probably not. Red is a symbol of good luck
and fortune in both societies, and Mars is not associated with war in either.
And the ancient Aztecs saw signs and portents of misfortune in nearly every
heavenly body, including the red planet.
Arrival:
Next, of course, you must decide where and how the character appears on
Barsoom. Most of the planet is uninhabited, so the chances of popping
up in an empty desert are pretty good. If you're stuck for ideas,
here's a short list of possible locations:
Open desert or plain
In a dead city
Near an incubator in the open plain
In a swamp or marsh
In a courtyard or city square
On a city street
In a marketplace
In an apartment
In a laboratory
In a prison cell
In an aircraft hangar
In an arena
In a restaurant or bar
In a military encampment
Any of these places can produce dangerous or amusing
results. Imagine the reaction of, say, a young Barsoomian noblelady
when she finds a naked person suddenly materializing in her bedchamber!
The icy blackness surrounding and permeating
Scott Gridley's essence begins to coalesce into solidity, an icy coldness
and gentle pressure against his back. Gray patches and bright points
resolve into brighter patterns against the darkness surrounding his vision.
Awareness returns, and with it the sudden realization that he has not died.
As his sight returns he finds himself lying on his back on a hard stone
floor, looking up toward a distant ceiling intricately carved with reliefs
and arabesques. Starlight from the brilliant Martian night filters
in through an open window a few yards away, casting strange shadows against
the walls and floor.
Barsoom! Overcome with excitement, Scott
leaps to his feet, sailing ten feet into the air and crashing against a
stoneware vase on a pedestal halfway across the room. A pretty head,
surmounted by a mass of tousled black hair, looks sleepily out from a pile
of silks and furs in a windowless corner and glances, bleary-eyed, about
the chamber. The young lady's dark eyes fall on the naked man blundering
about her bedchamber and she lets out a startled shout while reaching for
the short-sword lying by her bedding...
Once you've got him where you want him, the next order of business should
be to put him in a fight-or-flight situation, preferably at an extreme
disadvantage. John Carter found himself staring down the business
end of Tars Tarkas' forty-foot spear (PoM, 3); Ulysses Paxton was confronted
by an irate and well-armed Ras Thavas. Both men, upon arriving on
Mars, were greeted the same way - with long, extremely sharp bits of metal
being pointed at them. And it looks like our young Mr. Gridley is
about to be given a similar welcome!
Don't try to orchestrate it too much, though, or the player will feel
trapped. Give him some freedom of movement, and opportunities to
guide his character's fate.
Startled by the lady's cry, Scott trips
again over the remains of the vase and slides across the floor into the
wall a few feet away from her. Noticing for the first time the slender,
lovely, red-skinned maiden he struggles to his feet, tries to regain what
remains of his dignity, and begins apologizing profusely. She is
not amused, however, and, gathering a fur around her lithe form, levels
her blade at his chest and begins shouting in a strange and alien tongue.
Moments later, three men armed with swords and
pistols burst through the door. Scott begins desperately searching
for an escape route...
And that's probably an adequate beginning for his
adventure. Whatever Scott's player decides to do next, whether to
risk death by jumping for the window, risk death by taking on the guards,
or just give himself up, is up to him. Whatever he does, he'll probably
meet the lady and her guards again, under better (or at least different)
circumstances.
Upon reaching Barsoom, however your character manages to do it, there
should be a short period of learning, during which the hapless Earthman
must learn the language and discover the extent of his abilities and limitations.
There should be plenty of opportunities for social faux pas as well.
Gaming Notes: Jasoomian characters should be extremely
rare. These characters work particularly well in one-on-one storylines,
where there is a gamemaster and a single player. Gamemasters should
be very careful to restrict the number of Earthmen in their games, or Barsoom
will lose a lot of its otherworldly mystery. Also, I think it's particularly
important to start Jasoomians off in as vulnerable a state as possible.
Naked and unarmed is best, of course, but even the best prepared characters
can be caught off their guard. A character and his weapons can easily
be parted.
A Jasoomian character should get an initial bonus to STR of +2,
with corresponding penalties of -2 to DEX and CON. He should also
find movement incredibly difficult at first, as every move sends him careening
about the landscape like a rubber ball. The penalties will gradually
disappear, at the rate of one point per Barsoomian month (66 days) until
the character becomes accustomed to the lesser gravity and the thinner
atmosphere. Telepathy does not appear naturally in Jasoomians; however,
they can be taught the skill at a cost of 20 XP or two months of pratice
(132 days).
Special Skills: All Jasoomians get +2 to STR while
on Barsoom. They also have an automatic Telepathic mind shield
that prevents "unauthorized access" to their thoughts, unless they make
a conscious effort to allow others to read their minds. |