What I like about Barsoom

[Finarvyn]

I have some friends who have never read the John Carter books. They asked me what made the setting so cool, and this got me to thinking about a list of what makes the world of Barsoom so neat for me.

1. It’s basically a naval setting. I love sailing ships and the Horatio Hornblower kind of thing, and with the flying ships Barsoom is a lot like this. The problem with ocean adventures is that if you fall overboard you tend to die if you don’t find an island in a hurry, but on Barsoom you get to wander a dead seabottom. I suppose on Barsoom you might die if you don’t find a ruined city in a hurry, but overall you can adventure a while first.

2. The whole chivalry thing. I’m a big fan of King Arthur and knights of the round table, and this type of code of honor style setting has long been a favorite of mine. Of course there are no knights on Barsoom, but the feeling of honor is pervasive throughout the books. Someone attacks you, you fight back with an equal or lesser weapon. Everyone behaves like a gentleman or they get ostracized by society.

3. Good versus evil. I like settings where the you can tell the good guys from the bad guys. Something where the bad guys have a twisted master plan and the good guys have to stop it. Helium is good, Zodanga is evil. No real discussion about “a certain point of view” or anything like that. (Sort of like comparing the original Star Wars to the eventual six-movie Star Wars epic -- in the original it was clear that Vader was a bad guy but in the epic he is just misguided.)

4. Fun blend of tech and non-tech. Maybe this is part of the “age of pirates” thing, but I like the idea of a hero with sword in one hand and flintlock in the other. Barsoom has firearms but not nukes or machine guns. Barsoom has guns but you may be using a sword instead. Something about that era makes me happy.

5. Lost civilizations. While there are populated cities on Mars, there are also a wealth of ruined cities. Something “Indiana Jones” about wandering through a ruined city not knowing if you’ll find a monster, some cool piece of lost technology, or maybe some long-lost treasure. Cities have the “pits” (megadungeon) as well, which makes for lots of potential adventure.

6. It’s basically familiar. There may be some strange critters out there, but most of the people are basic humans doing basic things. Barsoom has a nice blend of the familiar with the exotic.

How about you? What makes you love Barsoom?

[warrioroffrobozz]

You forgot the scantily clad women who love Earth men ;D

[darkling]

Mar 11, 2012 9:07:57 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

1. It’s basically a naval setting. I love sailing ships and the Horatio Hornblower kind of thing, and with the flying ships Barsoom is a lot like this. The problem with ocean adventures is that if you fall overboard you tend to die if you don’t find an island in a hurry, but on Barsoom you get to wander a dead seabottom. I suppose on Barsoom you might die if you don’t find a ruined city in a hurry, but overall you can adventure a while first.

This is an excellent insight. It opens up a new perspective on things to think of the deserts as empty seas (with ruined cities being 'islands' of shelter). Very nice.

[Deleted]

Familiar enough to not require a high learning curve, different enough the referee can throw anything he likes at the players.

[Malcadon]

I know, much of this are repeats of above, but these are my personal favorites:

1. Plays-out like a swashbuckling adventure. Its not your old stuffy planetary romance - back when it was used as a study in political and philosophical thought - but it was high adventure from the jump. The protagonist is not a boring scholar, but a ham-fisted action hero like Errol Flynn.

2. It nicely blends traditional navel and swashbuckling action with super-science. Radium rifles instead of musket, and airships instead of sailing ships - all while still using swords and riding-animals. The only thing that feels missing are light-sabers and personal force fields.*

3. The alien culture is familiar, but exotic. While other works of planetary romance focus on how "alien" the natives are, ERB gives enough about the cultures to be exotic, but made it somewhat earth-like so readers can easily jump into. The first native life encountered where quite strange in appearance - the Green Men - but after that he mostly encounters humans with odd skin colors... who also lays eggs. Their cultures are different, but they have earth-like sense of chivalry. There are many other differences sparked with similarities.

4. The culture is really sexy. This is a world full ageless, beautiful nudists. ;D (Dont get me wrong, I find the nudity of James Spratt's fan-comic distasteful, but I do like nudity when done right)

5. It inspires my games like it inspired so many other fiction. What more can I say? It inspires greatness!


*I have been working on a setting were scantly-clad warriors use Holtzman shields. Such a device would make sense if it can bring combat down to point-blank range, and heavy clothing or armor traps body heat under the screen.

[geoffrey]

I also love the weird skin colors of the humans.

[kesher]

The sheer, rocketing, no-holds-barred pacing! I'd love to crank my DMing up to that speed...

[talysman]

Mar 15, 2012 7:39:18 GMT -6 geoffrey said:

I also love the weird skin colors of the humans.

Also, although the immediate impression of someone with modern-day sensibilities is that Martian races are racist, the gimmick is that every color of Martian has noble individuals and as a whole is redeemable -- except the white Therns and Lomarians. They're a lost cause.

Ultimately, the John Carter books are about love and honor in many forms. Carter is always meeting fierce opponents who are impressed by his character and become deep, loyal friends. That's not all that common in modern fantasy, and even when it surfaces, it's secondary to the plot. In the John Carter books, the plot is secondary and even trivial; the plot is driven by his friends and true love being in danger, or by his own danger and despair being ended when he is rescued by his friends.

[kesher]

Ultimately, the John Carter books are about love and honor in many forms. Carter is always meeting fierce opponents who are impressed by his character and become deep, loyal friends. That's not all that common in modern fantasy, and even when it surfaces, it's secondary to the plot. In the John Carter books, the plot is secondary and even trivial; the plot is driven by his friends and true love being in danger, or by his own danger and despair being ended when he is rescued by his friends.

That sums is up about as well as anything I've ever seen...

[DungeonDevil]

4. The culture is really sexy. This is a world full ageless, beautiful nudists. ;D

I would call it a dreamlike, liberating sensuality. A world wherein anything can and will happen.

(Dont get me wrong, I find the nudity of James Spratt's fan-comic distasteful, but I do like nudity when done right)

The first time I saw his 'comics' I was appalled less by the nudity and more by the complete lack of artistic talent at rendering the human (and alien) form with the grace, nobility, elegance and accuracy it deserves. It's like weird outsider art made by someone of stunted graphic abilities and no formal training. Ugh.

Here is an example of the human form done right. (N.B.: NSFW)

[Malcadon]

Mar 15, 2012 11:15:20 GMT -6 DungeonDevil said:

4. The culture is really sexy. This is a world full ageless, beautiful nudists. ;D

I would call it a dreamlike, liberating sensuality. A world wherein anything can and will happen.

(Dont get me wrong, I find the nudity of James Spratt's fan-comic distasteful, but I do like nudity when done right)

The first time I saw his 'comics' I was appalled less by the nudity and more by the complete lack of artistic talent at rendering the human (and alien) form with the grace, nobility, elegance and accuracy it deserves. It's like weird outsider art made by someone of stunted graphic abilities and no formal training. Ugh.

Here is an example of the human form done right. (N.B.: NSFW)

Yes, Exactly! Exalt for you!

Sensual and dreamlike. Its like paradise, but a lot more adventurous.

Spratt's lack of style and ascetics was not lost on me. Exaggerated body proportion, miss-use of skin tones (red-blush colors look wrong on green skin), goofy faces, and the way he finds every opportunity to throw exaggerated and grotesque genital into the readers' faces. I would be forgiving, if he drawn them better, but he sucked-out the "dreamlike, liberating sensuality" out of the window.

[thorswulf]

I think Talysman is really on to something with the friendship angle. Consider Burroughs influences-most definately Robert Louis Stevenson in origin I would guess. His characters are not the deep emotional sketches like the Master of Ballantrae, but have the same depth in a considerably condensed space. I think the time in which ERB lived really formed the character/nature of his books as well. Most of the world was still very much unknown when he wrote his material, and he had lived doing many different and difficult trades. Tough working men respected other tough working men- and most assuradely the majority of American men worked at physical labor.

He knew his audience, he wrote for other floks who appreciated a good yarn, just like he did.