"John Carter....which board..?" Topic

Hi …I have become interested in the J.C. World of Rice-Burroughs……..I know about the figs etc that are available from PeterPig etc (or think I do)………Are there any groups gaming this and what are you using re rules etc

I saw the film last week. The story is an epic fantasy but the setting is science fiction. In many ways, it is similar to Star Wars and Buck Rogers.

I would look for some Star Wars rules and try them.

Mick

GASLIGHT or Voyages Extrodinaires would work for the smaller actions, 28mm figures from Brigade Games, RAFM and Bronze Age.

For bigger actions – ie battles – look at Black Hat's Martian Empires for both rules and figures in 18mm. The Peter Pig red martians are nice but I'm less keen on their green ones.

Savage Worlds Showdown with their Mars supplement.

For major characters in 28mm don't forget the excellent Tin Man Minis!
Imho the RAFM Martians are far less appealing than the Parroom Station (Brigade Games) ones, but neither are truly 'Barsoomian' (Space 1889 instead, with not totally human features).

Here on TMP Barsoom is generally dealt with in the Victorian SF board.

Take a look at bucksurdu.com/blog/?p=1345

These are pictures of a large GASLIGHT game we ran at Historicon last month. The game was not exclusively John Carter. There were some Verne, Wells, and other elements. The game involved 20 players for 3.5 hours.

Sadly John Carter was knocked out during an epic battle with Green Martians. Deja Thoris was rescued and brought to safety however. I'm sure Woola will find Carter, barely alive, and drag him somewhere to recuperate before his next adventure…

Buck

You might want to check out these recent threads (with photos) from John Carter-esque games that were run at Hisoricon:

TMP link

TMP link

Both the GASLIGHT Mars Extravaganza and The Conqueror Worm of Mars were run with G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T. rules.

I use 28mm Parroom Station models and the Valor Steel and Flesh rules which combine the John Carter story with the War of the Worlds one. So you get Green Men, Red Men, and Cephalids with their tripods all in one cool setting.

Rattrap Productions also has the Fantastic Worlds rules that work for JC.

I played in the Fantastic Worlds game with its author a few months back in a JCM scenario. Pretty awesome! He indicated that those rules were specifically developed for the JCM world. It is character oriented skirmish game and was a blast to play. I picked up a set of these since then and they my rules of choice for small actions on Barsoom.

Lost Pict

Take a look at V.S.F. rules. Those are great.

I am a big fan of the Valor, Steel, and Flesh rules (VSF) and they will fit the bill for John Carter with mid to larger games. If you want to go with more detail and small engagements with say less than twenty figures take a look at Fantastic Worlds.

I've run a "Rescue the Incomparable Princess" scenario at 3 cons using Bronze Age, Tin Man & Paroom Station figures (+ a few Reaper monsters). John Carter & Tars Tarkas vie with Therns, 1st Born, Zodangans, & Warhoons to save Dejah Thoris from a mad scientist & his synthetic minions. I used a modified version of "Mordheim" for rules.

There's even this blast from the past…. Warriors of Mars from TSR before D&D ever happened…

link

Yeah. When I started asking about Barsoom a while back all I got were comments from people who thought I meant the "Space 1889" or "Martian Empires" Mars, the kind with all sorts of colonial troops from Earth nations and flying ironclads.

Either I have somehow created in my mind a more grandiose and thrilling image of Burroughs' worlds, or people just find it less exciting to game than the more recent colonial armies concepts.

Dan

I've always lumped that kind of sci fi (everything but "hard" sci fi) into either pulp or fantasy. Mainly because it was a major subject in the actual pulp magazines. But most people on TMP are splitters, not lumpers.

LOL.

In the days of the fathers of Science Fiction, Jules Verne, HG Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs (late 19th century to early 20th), their stuff was considered "hard" SF.

So, I guess that at some point in the not too distant future, today's "hard" SF will be regarded as soft/limp.

Dan

There's also "Warriors of MARS" by Adamant Entertainment for "Savage Worlds: Showdowns." The setting is a pastiche of Barsoom, but it can easily be modified.

Tin Man tinminis.com 'Wild ride of a lovely maiden'

(also available in a more Barsoomian 'topless' version)

Don't forget Bronze Age miniatures for the Dead Earth line of figs (heroic 28's)

bronzeagemin.com

While not a miniatures-based system, we're developing a new RPG based firmly in ERBs Barsoom, and would love input from fans as to what they'd like to see in it, i.e. what's been missing from previous attempts…