Lords of Mars

Ashcan Edition

Ray Otus
“A warrior may change his metal, but not his heart.”
Edgar Rice Burroughs – A Princess of Mars
Lords of Mars
Lords of Mars is a roleplaying game. One player, the Martian Mastermind (MM), controls and describes the
ancient, strange, and beautiful world of Mars. Other players each control a character and describe how
they act within the world. Sometimes the MM will instruct players to roll dice to see what happens.

Make a Character
Characters each start with a cool name, 12 Health, 8 Load (and 2 items), 2 Specials, and 3 points to
distribute among the Traits: Clever, Noble, and Tough.
✦ Clever = wit, reason, learning, connections, assessment, intuition, imagination
✦ Noble = diplomacy, social graces, charisma, reputation, influence
✦ Tough = strength, athletics, reflexes, fighting, senses
✦ Load = the number of reasonably-sized items you can carry. Start with two of your choice. (See Items
for examples.) When overloaded, subtract 1 from all rolls for each item over 8. It's harder to be clever or
noble when you are straining under a ridiculous weight of “stuff.”
✦ Health = how much damage you can take. At 0, you die. Spend an uninterrupted night in a safe spot to
regain all your Health. If your rest is interrupted, you regain d6 or d3 instead. (MM's choice based on
how rough it was to get some real rest.) You may also recover d6 Health once per day for a restful,
contemplative, or joyful scene (e.g. a feast, nap in the sunshine, or a memorial service for a fallen
comrade). It is your responsibility to initiate such a scene, and the MM may disallow it if the situation
is not conducive to rest, joy, or reflection.
✦ Specials = remarkable things that set your character apart like an artifact of science, fearsome scars,
secret training, or an evolutionary advantage. (See Specials for examples.) Work with the MM to make
new ones. Specials are specific, not general. “Psionics” is no good, but “Mantos’ Mind Meld” is great.
“Gadgeteer” is too broad, but an “Anti-Gravity Belt of the Ancients” could be cool.
1
Roll for Actions
When an action's success is uncertain, a player rolls 2d6 and adds points from the most relevant Trait,
and a point for each relevant Load item or Special. If the total is equal to, or greater than the action's
Difficulty Score (DS) it is successful. Note that plusses from items and Specials only stack if they make
sense (MM's call), a character walking around with three swords does not get +3 from them when
attacking (unless they have extra arms).
DS Guidelines
Easy: 6, Moderate: 8, Hard: 10, Heroic 12, Superheroic 14, etc.
Facing Danger
If an action has a risk of physical danger, the difference between the roll and DS (or opposing roll) is the
amount of damage the character does or takes. After a round of conflict, the MM and players should
pause to consider if things have changed (morale, timed/triggered events, etc.) before diving in again.
Example Combat
Kavor Dors is fighting an enormous Blood Fly, DS 10. The player rolls 2d6, adds +2 from Kavor's Tough
and +1 from his sword. The total is 12. The difference between Kavor's 12 and DS 10 is 2, so the creature
takes 2 damage and is reduced to DS8! (The DS of creatures and characters controlled by the MM is also
their Health.) If the player had rolled an 8 instead, Kavor would have lost 2 Health.

Advancement
After each session, raise Health by 1. Then increase one Trait or gain one Special – but only if you “earned
it” in the fiction. To earn Clever you might have outsmarted an enemy or solved a problem with wit. For
Tough, you outfought an opponent or endured extreme hardship. For Noble, you won new fame. If you
have a new Special in mind, agree on it with the MM and tie it to the fiction. Your Load never increases;
however Specials never count against your Load.

2
Items
Every Martian wears a harness with
straps and hooks for carrying things
– and often only that. Characters
start with food tablets (1 week), a
flask of water (2 days) and a basic,
leather harness. Characters also
start with two common/mundane
items of their choice.
Sample Items
✦ Saber, spear, knife, battle-ax, or
whip
✦ Radium pistol or rifle
✦ Helmet, or buckler (other armor
is a sign of weakness on Mars)
✦ Rope, net, manacles
✦ Impressive cloak, jewelry,
hunting mask, or ornamental
metals (describe)
✦ Food tablets (1 week) or water (2
days)
✦ Small signaling mirror,
gyrocompass, chart or book
(describe contents)
Specials
Physical Specials may only be chosen during character
creation unless the character experiences some kind of
mutating influence or transfer of consciousness to a new body.
All new Specials must flow from a character's (in-session)
experiences. Specials never count against Load. Specials can
be lost, but only for a time. (The MM and player should figure
out how the character will recover his Special in the fiction.)
Sample Specials
✦ Airboat (scout)
✦ Extra pair of arms
✦ Animal sidekick (describe)
✦ Wings (describe)
✦ Super leap/punch (Earth strength)
✦ Title, noble lineage (describe)
✦ Psion: truth sense (also discerns basic intent)
✦ Psion: message (send only, language dependent)
✦ Psion: empathy (surface emotions only)
✦ Psion: mind pillage (battle of wills ensues)
✦ Background career or special training (define)
✦ Perfect recall
All psion abilities are line-of-sight and require concentration.
3
The World of Mars
Dead Seas
Once the bulk of Mars was covered in great seas. The evidence lies in the parched
wastes of what once was – fossilized bones of leviathans. As Mars aged, the seas
receded. Her children built city after city on the changing shores until finally
nearly all the available water on the planet flowed underground in canals,
shielded from the fierce sun and hoarded in fortified reservoirs. Now the
dead seas and ancient cities are home to savage, four-armed green
Martians. Countless as the grains of sand, they relentlessly war on
anyone and anything, including each other, crossing the dead seas on
the back of tireless and bellicose six-legged thoats. Radium rifles and
pistols are rare among the tribes and greatly prized. Most wear
tribal metals, Warhoon and Thark being the most numerous, and
carry at least three weapons.
Towering Cities
The final cities of Mars rest on plateaus of stone and reach for
the stars in the doubly-moonlit sky. The two greatest of these
are Helium and Zodanga. The richest Martians live high up in
towers bedecked with terraces, airboat moorings, and even
succulent gardens. Lower structures are dense, maze-like,
and fortified. The people of Mars come in many shades
of black, white, red, and yellow. In the past, Martians
identified themselves and made war based on skin
color. In this age, true Martians are so scarce they
cannot afford such animosities, though conflict
sometimes still occurs between rival city-states.

4
Winds of Change
The cruel winds of Mars shape both the landscape and its inhabitants. Savage dust storms etch
away any softness, leaving behind intricately carved towers of rock. Martians alone brave the
planet's thin air in elaborate airships. The making of these craft, which utilize tanks of the
eighth ray's repelling properties to position and maneuver, is a science that only a few of
their intellectuals still possess. Green Martians, jealous of this power of flight, will shoot
at any flying vessel on principle and long to capture one of the marvelous ships.
Secret Ways
Beneath the Martian landscape lies a series of caverns and tunnels, many of which
were fashioned by the ancients to distribute water and house machines that preserve
what is left of the Martian atmosphere. Most of these subterranean passages have
been closed up or lost over time. Certainly they are now inhabited by dangerous
creatures, making their use for travel even less possible than venturing over
the dry sea bottoms.
Lost Gods, Ancient Ancestors, and Visitors from the Stars
Mars is an ancient world that has entirely forgotten any gods it ever had
and nearly forgotten its first children, the race from whom modern
Martians evolved. But every century or two Mars plays host to creatures
from Earth or another sister planet. These creatures arrive by mysterious
fashion, drawn across space and time for some higher, unfathomable
purpose. Having made their mark, often with the aid of remarkable
alien abilities, they disappear again just as mysteriously as they
arrived. Only the lost gods know the purpose of this grand game of
Jetan (Martian chess). Once, Martians who reached the age of 1,000
journeyed on the planet's sole remaining river, the Iss, to what they
believed to be the afterlife. This practice ended when it was
discovered that the river flowed into the deadly Valley of Dor.

5



6



7
War in the Air!
✦ When fighting breaks out between ships, the controlling players roll 2d6 against each other – as if
each ship was a character – and add the appropriate stat based on the type of ship and action chosen
(see chart below). Use Speed for maneuvers or racing. Use Attack for shooting, ramming, boarding,
etc. Any characters on board that have an applicable Special add it to their ship's roll (max +1 per
character). Ship firing ranges are effectively limitless, but subject to line of sight.
✦ The MM sets the starting distance (or rolls d6+2). Action is simultaneous. Players declare whether
each ship is fleeing, closing, or firing and rolls are made. After the roll, ships that win either increase or
decrease the distance or do damage (based on declared action and target). At distance 10 a ship has
escaped. At distance 0 the pursuing ship may board the other.
✦ Hull is how many hits a ship can take – from other ships – in a battle. Characters can rarely damage a
ship on their own, but if they come up with a plausible scheme and succeed on their roll, count every
full 3 points of damage as 1 Hull point of damage. (5 damage would be 1 Hull damage, 6 would be 2.)
✦ Crew represents a range from the minimum number of individuals needed to effectively run the ship
to the maximum number of people it can safely convey. Decrease the lowest number by 1/2 (round up)
to find out the absolute fewest number of people that could get the ship moving. Increase the high
number by 1/2 (round up) to get the maximum number a ship can hold unsafely. When overloaded or
undercrewed, a ship's Speed and Attack are +0.
Class Crew Hull Speed Attack
A: Dreadnought 75-300 10 +1 +5
B: Battleship 40-74 8 +2 +4
C: Cruiser 20-39 6 +3 +3
D: Attack Boat 5-19 4 +4 +2
E: Scout 1-4 2 +5 +1

8



9
Bloody Conflict!
✦ When fighting breaks out between massive
forces, choose a scale and place one token
(“unit”) on the table for every 10, 50, 100…
fighters. Characters are always 1:1 and can
command up to 12 units effectively. (At scales
like 1:100, assume they have sub-commanders
to relay orders.) Units of the same type may
stack up to three deep. (Commanders don't
count against the limit.)
✦ Each unit is given 4 stats; work with the MM to
assign them.
✦ Speed: the default is 6” (a pen-length). Fast
units move 9”; slow ones 3”. Difficult terrain
reduces a unit's Speed by 3"; or, if the unit is
already slow, it stops upon entering difficult
terrain and moves through it at normal speed
on the following turn.
✦ Toughness: (how many hits a unit can take) the
default is 2. Shock troops have 3 and rabble 1.
✦ Training: the default is 1. Irregulars have 0 and
elite troops 2.
✦ Range (Y/N): Note if a unit is equipped with
radium pistols or rifles. Their range is
effectively limitless, but subject to line of sight.

10
✦ Throw a d6 to see which player moves first (reroll ties), then alternate. On your turn, roll 1d6 and move
that many units, keeping stacks intact. If you roll a 2 and have a stack of 3 and 1, you may only move
the stack of 1. (Smaller battle groups are more mobile.) You don't have to move your full distance. If
you contact an enemy force, stop moving. For 1 “pip” of the die, you can move a commander alone
(separate it from its stack, possibly joining another), activate a stack of any size without moving (if you
want to fire or attack with it), or split a stack. Friendly stacks combine automatically if one stack moves
into another (assuming the total units is 3 or less after combining). Any units that disengage from an
enemy are the immediate target of a free attack by the opposing units in contact.
✦ After moving, you may either fire or fight with the unit(s) moved. Roll 1d6 for each token in the stack,
plus 1d6 for each point of the unit's Attack value. (Do this once for the whole stack; a stack of elites,
whether 3 tokens or 1, gets +2d6 total. Remember, you can't mix types in a stack.) Then add another d6
if the stack has a commander.
✦ Each die that rolls 4, 5, or 6 does 1, 2, or 3 points of damage, respectively, to the enemy stack. Damage
always goes to units first. Subtract hits from toughness one unit at a time and discard any spare points
of damage that fail to remove a whole unit token. If an attack removes all units, subtract the
remainder from the opposing stack commander's Health. If you move multiple stacks, roll each attack
separately. Apply all damage immediately; a stack might not be able to “attack back” because it is
eliminated before its turn.
✦ Commanders that go to 0 Health are out of action. After the battle roll 2d6. On a 4 or less, the
character dies or is captured (player's choice). A result of 5-7 means the character survives with some
kind of Special injury (e.g. loses a limb). On a 10+, the character achieves a Special reputation (e.g. The
Butcher of Brightstone). A character may withdraw before hitting 0 Health, but loses 1 Noble!
✦ When an entire side in a conflict is reduced to half of its original strength – count all starting units and
round down – roll to see if it breaks. If that side still has a commander on the field, roll 2d6, otherwise
roll 1d6. On a 5 or less the force breaks and runs. Routed troops are subject to attacks per the
disengage rule and to fire from any units that can target them.
✦ Make up any other rules as needed and keep it friendly. Throw dice over any conflict of interpretation!

11
Marvelous Beasts
✦ Banth (DS 12): a ten-legged “lion,” with bulging green eyes, and needle-like teeth. Banth are hairless
except for a bristly mane. They often hunt in pairs and are stealthy, tireless stalkers.
✦ Calot (DS 8): an extremely fast “dog” kept by the green Martians, with ten legs and a frog-like head.
✦ First Born* (DS 10): black-skinned Martians who claim to be the oldest and first Martians. They are
fierce and intelligent, mostly dwelling in a subterranean domain beneath the northern pole.
✦ Green Martian* (DS 10): 10’ tall, insectoid, four-armed, tribal warrior that inhabits the dead seas.
✦ Kaldane* (DS 6): these grotesque, blue-gray heads sit atop six spidery legs and eat with two small
chela. Kaldane are most often found mounted on/controlling a headless Martian body. They have
many psionic powers and are born with ancestral memories.
✦ Plant Beast (DS 8): this semi-vampiric race of blue-skinned, bipeds inhabits the Valley Dor,
surrounding the north pole and surrounded in turn by icy mountains.
✦ Red/Yellow Martian* (DS 6+): a typical Martian looking much the same as an Earth humanoid, except
often more comely and having emerged as a young adult from an egg.
✦ Sith (DS 8): a large, “dragonfly” native to the Toonolian marshes with a deadly sting.
✦ Splider (DS 6): fanged nightmares that ride the Martian winds as silk-sailed swarms.
✦ Thern* (DS 6): white Martians from the Valley Dor who pose as demi-gods. Therns are hairless but
wear robes and yellow wigs.
✦ Thoat (DS 8): giant, shaggy, surly, six-legged beast with curly horns ridden by green Martians.
✦ Ulsio (DS 6): six legged “rat” with a horrific bony maw and strong digging claws.
✦ White Ape (DS 12): massive four-armed gorilla-like beast. Mostly nocturnal.
✦ Zitidar (DS 8): mastadon-like herd animal used for work, clothing, and sometimes food.
* The sentient and cultured peoples of Mars are bound to have notable individuals of higher DS.

12
Sources of Inspiration
✦ A Guide to Barsoom. John Flint Roy, 1976.
✦ A Princess of Mars. Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1912 (serialized). (As well as all the ERB Barsoom novels,
which feature high imagination, if often goofy/tedious plots.)
✦ Encyclopedia Barsoomia. www.barsoom.fandom.com.
✦ John Carter: Warlord of Mars. SPI wargame, 1979.

Credits
✦ Illustrations © Wm. McAusland (medallions), Ray Otus (map), and Juan Ochoa (everything else).
✦ Built on the Tunnel Goons system by Nate Treme.
✦ Additional game design, text, and layout © Ray Otus, 2019. Find more games at www.jellysaw.com or
connect with Ray and his many other projects through www.rayotus.com.
✦ Proofreading and advice supplied by members of the Anchorite Podcaster community through the
Audio Dungeon Discord: TJ Drennon, Dave Aldridge, Colin “Spikepit” Green, and Rob C.


“I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and

experiment where wiser men would have left well enough alone.”
Edgar Rice Burroughs – A Princess of Mars
✦ Adventure on a dying world in the spirit of Edgar Rice
Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars.
✦ Explore the dead sea bottoms where ravaging tribes of
green Martians lay claim to the cities of your
ancestors. Delve into ancient tunnels in search of
secret treasures or nefarious spies. Fly through the
Martian skies on an airship, dodging sand storms and
splider swarms!
✦ Lords of Mars features a rules light system that is easy
to learn and quick in play. Requires only two six-sided
dice per player.
✦ Also packed into this modest rulebook is a system for
conflicts between airships and massive land battles
between hundreds or even thousands of warriors.
✦ The game is yours! What will you do as one of the
Lords of Mars?
www.jellysaw.com