"What is your favorite VSF Mars universe?" Topic

I have tons of British and "other" European stuff.
I also have a few Martian rules sets, but alas! no Martians.

If one were to get into Martian VSF gaming, which universe and/or figures would one pursue?

Note that I did not ask for "best", which is totally subjective. It inspires people to say "Snow virgins of Mars!" with no analysis or … stuff.
Please tell me WHY, and bear in mind that "Because it ROCKS" is so 14 year old skateboarder.

John;
Buy elves with pointy sticks. Paint red-ish.

Conversely, you could look for the "Space 1889" type figures by…. RAFM, maybe?

The Space 1889 universe allows me to play with colonials and martians. You can also use TSATF.

YMMV;
Eric

personally I like the Barsoomian martians bronze age figures rock

paroom station is not bad either and I won't hesitate to use barsoomians with 1889 euro's either

The Space 1889 universe, because of the depth of development and that you can take your pick of which European country has joined in on the "Scramble for Mars".

Also, the Parroom figures work well with the RAFMs.

Regards,
Keith F.

Space 1889 by Frank Chadwick but I use TSATF rules. My chosen scale is 15mm. I am eagerly awaiting Highlander Studios releases and will use them along side Black Hat Miniatures. I fiddle a little with the offical universe so I can include orcs, bugbears etc… They are primitive beastmen in remote areas pushed nearly to extinction. I also throw in a variety of lizardmen for Venus the different tribes are allied with various great powers much like indians in the FIW.

I am struggling with homegrown rules for High Martians, their ability to glide is creating some play balance problems. I was going to make them Zulus for stats but they have the potential to start off in hand to hand combat on turn one…

I fourth Space: 1889, mostly 'cause I like colonials and VSF and anti-grav airships sporting funnels belching out gobs of smoke!

Rob

What scale is your British and other stuff?

Another hand raised here for Space: 1889, for the same reasons already given. Literally *any* historical Victorian military or civilian minis can be used in the setting, accompanied by any period vehicles and conveyances (land, sea, and air; both real and fantastic) you care to field.

While I enjoy reading the Barsoom books, I'm not really interested in gaming in that universe.

Space 1889, 'guns in ruins/dungeons', which the players have to be veerrryyy careful about. The best balance for Sword,Shotgun and Science/Psionics. Different styles of airships with advantages and disadvantages. Very easy for players to slide into a campaign with a wide selection of characters. You could combine Red Sun, The Wild Bunch and Downton Abbey.
Barsoom I would use for Space 1939.
I use Savage Worlds with Paper minis.

Space 1889. Nuff said!

Coming from 'historical' (well, almost: Hyboria, 18th C. Imagi-Nations…) wargaming, I find the [almost] compulsory association of a setting, a set of rules and a range of miniatures very… odd (if a neat marketing trick).
What prevents you from using the S 1889 setting with other table-top rules if you prefer them, and for instance the Black Scorpion / Tin Man 'NOT Barsoomian' minis for the Martians? {100% personal of course, but I find the RAFM Martians specially uninspiring}.
Of course the Parroom Station are also tempting, and Mars can have several native ethical groups.

As complementary figurines, Elves are a traditional suggestion: I remember on TMP a link to Mirliton (ex-Grenadier) Elves with heavy crossbow converted to Martians with heavy jezzail.
The recent Raging Heroes 'Blood Vestals', perhaps with a minor conversion (a plastic Dark Eldar splinter pistol substituted to one of the swords? 'Sci-Fi' variants are promised)

would make a great bodyguard for the Tin Man Princess'

link (includes images of Dejah Thoris perhaps NSFW in some countries?)

For bald Martians, most of Privateer Press Skorne link combine a suitably 'exotic' / original look with appropriate weaponry

Reaper Andromedans

have a great 'Martian' potential, but unfortunately Reaper makes 'characters', not 'troops', so we have a single warrior miniature.
Now I remember a blog post displaying a whole warband of (Martian? Venusian, because of the blue skin?) Andromedan Amazons, with not two identical minis, obtained by very skilled conversions (does it ring a bell? I did not bookmark it, and I unable to find the link again).

@abdul666lw

Are these conversions that you were looking for?

link

I came across them on the reaper forum:

link

link

As for VSF setting Space 1889.

@Jason O Mahony: yes, many thanks for the links!
Done as 'Cytherean' (girls who give you Cytherean diseases ?) but would be great on Mars (with a different skin color?):

Edit: found them:
link
(the converter's nickname sparkled a memory)

Barsoom…needs no explanation!

What prevents you from using the S 1889 setting with other table-top rules if you prefer them…

Absolutely nothing.
All I am asking is what gaming "universe" Martiaphiles like and why.

Some seem to think that their choices requre no explanation. Sorry, this is a Blue book exam. Show your work, or no credit,
I appreciate the heavy lifting that some have out into this.

In our group it is a mixture of Space 1889 & Barsoom and for all the reasons listed above. We use GASLIGHT as our rule system as it adapts so well to what every we would like to run. Currently we are in the middle of a large scale battle involving High Martians, canal Martians, German Troops, and the Sanwar. Lest I forget there are also the Tharks and Jason Carson (our version of John Carter). In our world Alan Quartermain and his Zulu bodyguard have even visited Mars on a mission for the Queen. It all works for us. Having a good game is what's important.

Valor, Steel, and Flesh without a doubt! It combines the Barsoom and War of the Worlds backgrounds seamlessly. Great big battle set, and Paroom Station's line from Brigade Games has virtually everything one might need to play, too.

Barsoom by G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T.
Of course you can tweak it to include Colonial powers ala Space:1889.
It allows many 6 to 8 player games and adds lots of chances for skullduggery.
What's not to love?

Just for info, the thread about Elves as Martians TMP link (scroll down to Startroop's post of O2.25.08), the Mirliton 'Dark Elves with arquebow'

and a link to the converted minis battling on Mars: link

Alternative Armies 'Dark Elves of Catalucia Light Infantry' would make good sepoys in Human service:

I like the Space:1889 with a mix of Barsoom (which it pretty much has already).

In 15mm I use Elves (Black Raven)

Not exactly what was asked for, but a good 'alternate' Mars is S.M. Stirling's 'In the Courts of the Crimson Kings'. It is set in an alternate Apollo era world, where the US & Russia are travelling to Venus (The Sky People)& Mars, which were terraformed by aliens and populated with early Earth Humans millenia ago.

Venus has undeveloped Neanderthals & Cro-Magnon peoples, while Mars has gone all the way and sports an ancient decaying canal civilisation with airships, sand yachts, zap guns & ancient biological weapons.

It would be gameable with '70's modern US & Warsaw pact infantry plus James Bond civilians on one side and either Venusian cavemen or vaguely barbaric hi-tech Martians.

I know you have lots of Victorian minis, but why feel restricted to the Victorian era? You also have early 18th C.1dragoons, marines, highwaymen and smugglers… Suppose (memories of Keyes' "Age of Unreason') Issac Newton studied the properties of aether instead of light, discovered the Laws of phlogistic & elemental energetics rather than of gravity… Cyrano de Bergerac's dreams of travel to other planets become a possibility…

For more 'primitive' Martians (though I guess you could easily give more modern recent weapons, jezzails for instance), Crocodile Games purely 'human' warriors had be used;I wonder if they would mix well with the 'topless' Nubian in Egyptian service – looking 'Temple of the Light light auxiliaries'?

For more diversity, one can even add Sand People in the deepest deserts

link