Princess of the Red Planet Adventure

[tdenmark]

May 14, 2021 7:16:26 GMT -6 jeffb said:

Perhaps drop the "A"

But that's my favorite part. In fact I considered just calling it "A".

[tdenmark]

May 14, 2021 10:08:53 GMT -6 Punkrabbitt said:

Titles can't be copyrighted, only text can be. Thus, there are MANY books titled "Love and War" including a Dragonlance novel. So, if you want to call it "A Princess Of Mars," you're good.

It isn't the title per se, but some of the named characters inside. The title just calls attention to it. It is a really strange public domain property to work with. All of it should be fair game.

[Finarvyn]

May 13, 2021 22:26:27 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

Would calling this adventure A Princess of the Red Planet be a turn off?

Since the rulebook is "Warriors of the Red Planet" it makes sense to have modules carry the "Red Planet" title.

[tdenmark]

Fair enough. Princess of the Red Planet it is.

[Punkrabbitt]

I like it.

[Mjollnir]

I'm really looking forward to this.

[cometaryorbit]

May 15, 2021 4:01:35 GMT -6 Mjollnir said:

I'm really looking forward to this.

Me too!

[tdenmark]

Apr 17, 2020 18:39:40 GMT -6 cometaryorbit said:

Depends how close you want to hew to "canon". I think the Kaldanes as secret manipulators of human-Barsoomian villains would be an awesome concept
Another thought... What would happen if the Lotharians under Tario discovered that the rest of Barsoom was still populated? With their powers, they could be a global threat despite their small numbers...

I had to reread Thuvia Maid of Mars to get what you were saying about Lotharians. This book deserves more credit, it is an excellent read.

My answer is going to be both Kaldanes and Lotharians. The DM can choose the main antagonists. To compare to the classic adventure I6 Ravenloft where the DM could custom craft the adventure so it is different each time. The Princess of Mars timeline will be presented as in the book, each character and location as faithful an adaptation as possible, described as sandboxes for the players to play in and craft their own adventure out of it. Some additional material will be inspired by the first five books that are in public domain.

That is the goal anyways.

[cometaryorbit]

OK that is really cool.

[tdenmark]

To get back to Gunslinger, which can be thought of as Chapter 0 of the adventure, here is a rough checklist of what remains to be done:

Strange Science chapter. It's about 50% done.

Maps. This is the tentative list of maps:

Graham County - Done
Fort Grant
Bonita - Done
Bonita tavern
Cave of Gold - Done
Bandit Camp
Apache Camp
Mines
Small town
Spanish Mission

Art. I've been keeping a sketchbook open as I watch westerns and doodling cowboys, natives, towns, and scenes in it. The style is intentionally very sketchy for two reasons, mainly that it conveys action and also it takes less time to draw. As this is sort of a prelude I don't want to get hung up on art (like I did with the original WotRP).

Introductory scenarios: as you can see by the map list I have a few ideas for some basic adventures to include. They may not all be necessary. We really only need the Cave and maybe a town, Ft Grant, and an Apache camp.

Gunslinger is currently 26,379 words. Way more than I was expecting to write.

This is the first time in quite a while I've written a full RPG from scratch. I could have taken the easy route and used Matt Finch's excellent free S&W doc like so many retroclones do. But I wanted a specific flavor and to borrow a few things I've been using in my own games since 5th edition came out.

I'm also rethinking the name. I like Gunslinger quite a bit, but that fit better when it was a Boot Hill retroclone. Perhaps I'll reread the first couple chapters of APoM and see if anything catches my eye.

[tdenmark]

Bonita.

This was the closest settlement to Ft. Grant, it was barely a crossroad with a saloon (the very saloon Billy the Kid killed his first man) and a few other buildings. The general store is sparsely stocked. The rancher who owns the land has a barn and a small house for his hired hands.

So I'm at the point now where I'm wrapping up Gunslinger because I'm spending more time on art and maps. Layout will be happening soon. I'm glad to be at this point because I'm ready to leave the Arizona hills and get back on to Barsoom.



link

[Finarvyn]

Nice, but the squares at a 45-degree angle make my head swim a little.

[tdenmark]

Yeah, I was wondering if anyone would let me get away with that. It really was the best way to get it to fit on a digest page (5.5"x8.5").

Plus its a little artsy. I like artsy.

Not all the maps will be like that!

[tdenmark]

I've been hard at work on finalizing the Gunslinger Strange Science in the Wild West roleplaying game and the Prelude Adventure: On the Arizona Hills, and neglecting posting updates.

I just wrapped up the chapter on Saving Throws (I mentioned this in another thread) and made a conversion table for all editions. I like how orderly it came out.



You can see the full post on my blog. dungeoneering.blogspot.com/2021/08/potrp-design-diary-25.html

[Finarvyn]

This is awesome. You are awesome!

[tdenmark]

Aug 6, 2021 19:02:19 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

This is awesome. You are awesome!

Thanks. I hope more people agree with you. This has been a lot of time consuming, and nonetheless rewarding, work.

[tdenmark]

Another long hiatus between updates.

ON THE ARIZONA HILLS

I just received the edited 1st draft back from my editor (the brilliant and under-appreciated David Pulver) and boy did he take me to the woodshed. I have to roll my sleeves up and get to work on the 2nd draft of On The Arizona Hills segment of this adventure.

I know, I know I'm spending a tremendous amount of time and effort on what amounts to just the first 2 chapters of the novel, but I really feel if I get this part right the rest of the adventure will work. I do have the rest of the entire adventure outlined and researched, it is only a matter of details at this point so the remaining parts should come together much faster. (and I don't have to write a whole new RPG!)



One of the things that was clearly missing was the "strange science" part. I mean it had some cool gadgets, similar to the gadgets from Warriors of the Red Planet, but the rest of it just felt like a plain old western. While that was part of the point: contrast with the weirdness of Barsoom, it didn't stand out on its own from any other western RPG. So I dug into the novel again and there is an important detail: James K. Powell, John Carter's mining partner, is an Engineer by training. That opened up the door to the most obvious missing class: Engineer! So now the adventuring party can have an expert at all things mechanical in order to decipher the use of any strange science items from Barsoom (or any of the other worlds in the Burroughs-verse). It is a kind of parallel class to the Scientist in Warriors of the Red Planet.

Here is the first draft (much of it borrowed directly from WotRP).

Engineer
Primary Attribute: Intelligence 13+ gets a 5% XP bonus each level.
Hit Dice: 1d6 (+1hp per level beyond 9th)
Starting Hit Points: 6 + CON adjust.
Armor/Shield Permitted: None.
Weapon Proficiencies: Rifle, Revolver, Bowie Knife, Shotgun.

Engineers in the 1800’s were knowledgeable in the cutting edge technology of their day. They understood the principles of mechanical engineering, mathematics, electricity, and the aether theorem. Much of what they knew was superseded by new discoveries, but in their day they were the experts. Many of them used their knowledge to become prospectors, railroad engineers, and the like in the Wild Western frontier. These weren’t frail men in lab coats, they were serious hardened individuals used to difficult labor.



Engineer Special Abilities
Gadgets: Each Engineer possesses a suite of instruments, devices, and weapons, collectively known as Gadgets. The Engineer adds a new device to this suite each time he or she gains a level. An Engineer with an Intelligence of 13 or higher starts out with one additional Gadget. An Engineer with high Intelligence may apply his or her Basic Ability Modifier to a Gadget that requires an attack or damage roll.
Gadgets require power to operate. Unless otherwise noted in the Gadget’s description, each Gadget may be used once per day, and must be recharged before it will function again. Each Engineer possesses a portable power source (pack, battery, etc) that will recharge any Gadget the Engineer possesses, once every 24 hours. Engineer gadgets at 4th level can hold 2 charges, at 8th level they can hold 3 charges.
Lost or destroyed Gadgets may be replaced at a cost of $100 per level of the Gadget, while lost or destroyed power packs may be replaced at a cost of $100 per level of the Engineer.
A Engineer may use another Engineer’s Gadgets for a cost of two power pack charges, providing they are able to figure out how to use it (50% chance, modified by Intelligence: Basic Ability Modifier x 5%).
Recharge: Some items (see STRANGE SCIENCE) require recharging to function. Engineers are capable of recharging one such item per day, at a materials cost of $100 per charge.




I set up the page on the Night Owl Workshop website in preparation for my first (hopefully successful) Kickstarter. www.nightowlworkshop.com/gunslinger

[tdenmark]

BTW, a little word count update:

The Gunslinger RPG is at 36,635 words
On The Arizona Hills adventure is at 6,714 words, but that is sure to blow up when I import all my notes.

Yeah, this got a little out of hand.

[Finarvyn]

The Engineer does open up some interesting options, sort of like "Wild, Wild West" or something like that. As much as I love Barsoom, it's sort of a shame that ERB didn't do more with world cross-over. I would like to have seen something more about John Carter's world and if it was supposed to be just like ours or not.

I suppose one might grab inspiration from some of REH's westerns as well. He wrote some normal ones and weird westerns as well.

[tdenmark]

Oct 29, 2021 18:20:13 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

The Engineer does open up some interesting options, sort of like "Wild, Wild West" or something like that. As much as I love Barsoom, it's sort of a shame that ERB didn't do more with world cross-over. I would like to have seen something more about John Carter's world and if it was supposed to be just like ours or not.

I suppose one might grab inspiration from some of REH's westerns as well. He wrote some normal ones and weird westerns as well.

Which weird westerns? I read Apache Chief, Apache Devil, and some other ERB westerns like Sheriff of Comanche County for research. They are good reads but pretty mundane. I was hoping for more weird stuff!

[Finarvyn]

There may be more, but glancing at my shelf I find several weird west stories by REH: "The Horror From The Mound", "Old Garfield's Heart", "Black Canaan", "The Dead Remember", and "Pigeons From Hell".

I think this will take you directly to a list on Wikipedia.

[tdenmark]

Oct 29, 2021 21:02:17 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

Oct 29, 2021 18:20:13 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

The Engineer does open up some interesting options, sort of like "Wild, Wild West" or something like that. As much as I love Barsoom, it's sort of a shame that ERB didn't do more with world cross-over. I would like to have seen something more about John Carter's world and if it was supposed to be just like ours or not.

I suppose one might grab inspiration from some of REH's westerns as well. He wrote some normal ones and weird westerns as well.

Which weird westerns? I read Apache Chief, Apache Devil, and some other ERB westerns like Sheriff of Comanche County for research. They are good reads but pretty mundane. I was hoping for more weird stuff!

Oh, wait, just caught that you said REH not ERB! Hah, yeah I haven't read any of Howard's westerns. Should I?

[Finarvyn]

Honestly, you should read pretty much ANYTHING by Robert E Howard. My favorite characters are Conan, Solomon Kane, El Borak. He wrote some great westerns, a few detective stories, Cthulhu Mythos, and so on. (HE wrote boxing stories, which I don't have much interest in, but the few I have read were good stories.) Much of his stuff deals in some manner with supernatural or weird; for example one of his boxing stories involves a guy who sees a ghost in the boxing ring.

[tdenmark]

Oct 31, 2021 4:13:30 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

Honestly, you should read pretty much ANYTHING by Robert E Howard. My favorite characters are Conan, Solomon Kane, El Borak. He wrote some great westerns, a few detective stories, Cthulhu Mythos, and so on. (HE wrote boxing stories, which I don't have much interest in, but the few I have read were good stories.) Much of his stuff deals in some manner with supernatural or weird; for example one of his boxing stories involves a guy who sees a ghost in the boxing ring.

Alright, well I've read the fairly recent compilation of Conan stories and love the way REH describes action (moves like a panther being one of his favorite similes). And I've been a fan of Savage Sword of Conan since the early 80's (I have them all!) not that that directly counts as reading REH.

But I have not read any of his Westerns.

[cometaryorbit]

Oct 29, 2021 18:20:13 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

The Engineer does open up some interesting options, sort of like "Wild, Wild West" or something like that. As much as I love Barsoom, it's sort of a shame that ERB didn't do more with world cross-over. I would like to have seen something more about John Carter's world and if it was supposed to be just like ours or not.

John Carter's Earth is mostly ours (or rather that of ERB's time*) 'on the surface' - but it's also Tarzan's world, and thus contains Pellucidar, etc.

Most of Burroughs' major series are connected. Tarzan visits Pellucidar, the Gridley Wave invented by Jason Gridley from the Pellucidar series is used to communicate with Barsoom, John Carter is involved in Earth-Barsoom communication in the Moon series. I can't remember if there is any overt connection with the Venus series, and I am pretty sure there is not with Land that Time Forgot.

*Its history diverges pretty sharply after the time ERB was writing! The Moon Maid shows WWI led almost immediately into an almost continual war lasting until 1967, after which world peace is established, and the first Earth astronauts don't launch until 2025 (trying for Mars/Barsoom but landing on the Moon).

[Finarvyn]

See, that would be interesting to read more about. I know that Burroughs had most of his history mirroring ours, but clearly there were differences. I haven't read Moon Maid (or any others in that trilogy) and had no idea that ERB's WWI lasted into the 1960's.

[tdenmark]

Nov 3, 2021 23:40:26 GMT -6 cometaryorbit said:

John Carter's Earth is mostly ours (or rather that of ERB's time*) 'on the surface' - but it's also Tarzan's world, and thus contains Pellucidar, etc.

Most of Burroughs' major series are connected. Tarzan visits Pellucidar, the Gridley Wave invented by Jason Gridley from the Pellucidar series is used to communicate with Barsoom, John Carter is involved in Earth-Barsoom communication in the Moon series. I can't remember if there is any overt connection with the Venus series, and I am pretty sure there is not with Land that Time Forgot.

I'd like to get that across in On The Arizona Hills, that it's Earth on the surface, but scratch a little too deep and find there is a lot more (the Burroughs-verse).

I could really use a list of all the tech devices ERB imagined in his various books, like the Gridley Wave, 9th ray, etc. To include in the Strange Science section.

I need to add a "Figure out strange technology" ability for the Engineer, but I'm not quite sure how to work it up. The flow chart (borrowed from GW) to figure out technology isn't quite finished yet.

I have an idea for using poker cards to be part of the mechanic for getting strange science gadgets to work. Or it could be as simple as a bonus to the die roll to solve.

[Finarvyn]

Nov 4, 2021 16:49:10 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

I need to add a "Figure out strange technology" ability for the Engineer, but I'm not quite sure how to work it up. The flow chart (borrowed from GW) to figure out technology isn't quite finished yet.

I never really liked the flowchart from GW. Always seemed sort of artificial. What would be neat (and I'm just spitballing off the top of my head here, not so well thought out) would be to have a sequence of events that have to happen. Getting from one to another could use a dice roll or card flip or some such. Maybe a critical system to step forward twice, or a fumble system to go backwards.

Maybe something like....
Step 1 - Preliminary stage; device does not work at all.
Step 2 - Exploratory stage; device shows lights or motion or some sign that it may work.
Step 3 - Accidental stage; device sometimes works and effect may be right or wrong (dice roll each time)
Step 4 - Working stage; device mostly works and effect usually is the right one (dice roll each time)
Step 5 - Perfection stage; device works in all aspects intended.

Dunno, maybe this is essentially a tiny flow chart.

Part of the problem is always that 21st century players know more than fantasy characters. A gun seems simple to us (point, aim, pull trigger) and it may seem stupid that fantasy characters can't figure that out, but a simple system is needed IMO for the "fun factor" of the campaign. A partial success for a gun might be an empty chamber (revolver) or bad cartridge (shotgun) or maybe reloading is needed, and reloading involves several steps to achieve success. A flashlight is clearly "push button, aim beam" but there are other things that can go wrong. A flashlight might not stay on because the end has become loose, so it flickers or goes in and out, or batteries might have corroded and characters might not understand what needs to be replaced (or may not have extras). I'm not sure if a rulebook ought to provide examples for a GM or just assume they can wing it.

Just some ideas.

[tdenmark]

Nov 4, 2021 16:49:10 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

I could really use a list of all the tech devices ERB imagined in his various books, like the Gridley Wave, 9th ray, etc. To include in the Strange Science section.

Found some good info on tech Burroughs invented in his various stories, so I have a lot of great items to convert into game terms. Some of it not so useful in a western (Atmospheric Plants), some of it very useful (Atom gun, Disintegration ray, etc.). This is going to be so cool.

Sunray Tank
Magnetic Elevator
Harbenite
O-220 ultralight zeppelin
Airship
Artificial life
Atmosphere factory
Atom gun
Brain and organ transplants
Carborundum aluminium
Computers: mechanical brains
Destination Compass
Disintegration Ray
Eighth Ray
Electromagnetic devices
Equilibrimotors
Fliers
Fliers, ground
Flying Death: a "smart" torpedo
Food tablets
Forandus: lightest and hardest of metals used by Barsoomians
Gridley Wave
Gyro-compass
Holographic telescopes
Hormads: (synthetic men)
Hypnosis and deathless minds
International air travel, freight and passengers.
Invisibility and cloaking devices
Microset radio
Nerve machine
Ninth Ray
Personal home protection: houses hydraulically raised at night.
Photostatic copies
Pneumatic tube transport system
Radio: aerogram, wireless, etc., headphones and morse code.
Radium: everlasting light bulbs
Radium: explosive bullets
Radium: pistols and rifles
Range finders
Recording Machine
Space ships
Street lighting: The light waves leave the lamp, pass along a prescribed circuit and return to the lamp. There is no waste
Submarines
Suspended animation
Television (yes, before television!)
"Theoretical Mechanics"
Torches, handheld
Watch or chronometer

[tdenmark]

Nov 5, 2021 6:20:23 GMT -6 Finarvyn said:

Nov 4, 2021 16:49:10 GMT -6 tdenmark said:

I need to add a "Figure out strange technology" ability for the Engineer, but I'm not quite sure how to work it up. The flow chart (borrowed from GW) to figure out technology isn't quite finished yet.

I never really liked the flowchart from GW. Always seemed sort of artificial. What would be neat (and I'm just spitballing off the top of my head here, not so well thought out) would be to have a sequence of events that have to happen. Getting from one to another could use a dice roll or card flip or some such. Maybe a critical system to step forward twice, or a fumble system to go backwards.

Maybe something like....
Step 1 - Preliminary stage; device does not work at all.
Step 2 - Exploratory stage; device shows lights or motion or some sign that it may work.
Step 3 - Accidental stage; device sometimes works and effect may be right or wrong (dice roll each time)
Step 4 - Working stage; device mostly works and effect usually is the right one (dice roll each time)
Step 5 - Perfection stage; device works in all aspects intended.

Dunno, maybe this is essentially a tiny flow chart.

Part of the problem is always that 21st century players know more than fantasy characters. A gun seems simple to us (point, aim, pull trigger) and it may seem stupid that fantasy characters can't figure that out, but a simple system is needed IMO for the "fun factor" of the campaign. A partial success for a gun might be an empty chamber (revolver) or bad cartridge (shotgun) or maybe reloading is needed, and reloading involves several steps to achieve success. A flashlight is clearly "push button, aim beam" but there are other things that can go wrong. A flashlight might not stay on because the end has become loose, so it flickers or goes in and out, or batteries might have corroded and characters might not understand what needs to be replaced (or may not have extras). I'm not sure if a rulebook ought to provide examples for a GM or just assume they can wing it.

Just some ideas.

Permission to steal?