Space 1889 More Tales From the Ether

MORE TALES FROM THE ETHER

CREDITS"Caught in the Mire": Timothy B. Brown"The Lurker in the Moor": Lester W. Smith"Madness in the Moab": Tim Ryan"The Mystery of Fort Dickerson": Elaine L. PardoeDeveloper: Loren K. WisemanArt Direction: Shea RyanInterior Art: Tim Bradstreet, Steve Bryant, Rick HarrisJames Holloway, Rick LowryText Manager: Michelle SturgeonText Processing: Julia Martin, Julie Amdor, David Stephens

Copyright©1989 GDW, Inc.All Rights Reserved.Made in USA.Printed in USA.ISBN 1-55878-028-9.Space: 1889 is GDW's trademark

for its science-fiction role-playinggame of adventure in a more civi-lized time.

A catalog of Space: 1889 productsis available from GDW. Just writeand ask.

PO Box 1646Bloomington, IL 61702-1646 USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of ContentsCaught in the Mire 4

Background 4Referee's Synopsis 6Pirates of the Marshes 8The Impenetrable Swamp 10Return to the Pirate Camp 12Scenes of Battle 14

The Lurker in the Moor 16Referee's Synopsis 16The Hostage 18The Mylomeroen Swamp 20Swamp Encounters 22Invented Encounters 22Random Encounters 24The Lurker 26The Chase is On 26The Lurker's Lair 27Leaving the Swamp 28

In Syrtis Major 28What the PCs Get 28Later Adventures 29

Madness in the Moab 30Rampant Rumors 30Outfitting the Expedition 32Desert Travel 32More than a Mirage 34Beneath the Shifting Sands.... 36The Moabs 38The City Described 38Ending the Adventure 42

Mystery of Ft. Dickerson 44Frontier Outposts 44Fort Dickerson 46Trouble in the Wilderness 47Referee's Synopsis 48

Getting There 48Days One Through Three 48Day Four 48Day Eight 49Day Nine 50Day Eleven 50The Fort Proper 50A Search for Answers 52Dr. Whitehouse's Dig 55Gathering the Clues 55Splitting Forces 56A Dangerous Encounter 56The Seleti Side 56Another Body 57Climax 58

Ship Combat 60Aquatic Vessels 60Maps 61

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

Caught in the MireIN THIS ADVENTURE, most

characters will already be in the ser-vice of H. M. government, far fromthe center of British colonialism onMars. Those characters withoutbackgrounds in government servicemay pick their own reasons for be-ing involved with the MercantileLords of Thalia at a time when thelords are desperately seeking peace

with their neighboring canal city,Afirenz. For instance, a reportermight easily sell his story about anexotic Martian conflict to eagerpapers and readers back on Earth.Adventurers of many sorts can befound in the service of potentates allacross the red planet—perhaps thisis why the characters are present. Inany case, one character should be the

representative of the British colonialoffice, helping to mediate a peacebetween these two warring cities.

BACKGROUNDTHE ANCIENT TRADE routes

through equatorial Mars are literal-ly carved in stone, hewn out by fan-tastic powers that today can only bedescribed as magical. The canalsserved not only to bring water to thethirsty lands and inhabitants of Mars,but also to tie them together in trade.For many cities, the coin and bargehave proven mightier than the swordand bow.

Tradition holds that Thalia hasbeen besieged and embattled dozensof times since the time of Seldon,hosting a large number of warlords,

Althar of Thalia (Veteran NPC)RENOWNED AS the greatest

warrior in the city, Althar has risenalongside Lord Braltar as his"right-hand man. " The two haveenjoyed a close personal friendshipsince before the assassination ofLord Shesh, as each commandedmerchant vessels along the canals.In this time of war, Althar hasproven himself a capable warriorand general, using the city's pa-thetic rabble army to hold off theenemy and even harry the walls ofAfirenz.

Althar has been entrusted by thelord with the peace mission toAfirenz. He is the only warrior thelord trusts to carry out this mission,and to carry out the secret missionof locating and destroying thepirates' swampy lair.

Althar is a private Martian whorarely lets his true feelings be seen

in public. He spends a great dealof time with his troops—inspectingtheir weapons, trading for betterones, and planning strategies withhis officers. However, he is enoughof a trader that he will certainlyfind his place again once generalsare no longer needed in Thalia.

Motives: Ambitious, Eccentric.Appearance: Althar is a tall,

proud Martian with deep, penetrat-ing eyes and stern, unwaveringfeatures. The warrior presents avery Lancelotian image, whichmakes people forever wonderwhere the chink is in his armor.

Attributes SkillsStr: 3 Fisticuffs 2, Throwing 2, Close Combat 4 (edged weapon)Agl: 4 Stealth 3, Marksmanship (bow 3, rifle 2)End: 4 Wilderness Travel 3 (foraging), Fieldcraft 3Int: 5 Observation 4Chr: 3 Eloquence 2Soc: 2 Riding 3 (gashant)


kings, and barbarian hordes in itstroubled history. But none have beenmore successful than the 300-year-old reign of the Mercantile Lords.The lords are a hereditary line ofrulers who have tempered theirmilitary adventures in favor of wide-ranging trade along the ever-presentcanals. Though in actuality the linehas been broken several times bymysterious death or outright assas-sination, the learned among the pop-ulace realize that becoming a lord ismore a function of ability and ruth-lessness than of direct lineage.

The present lord is the first son ofLord Shesh. However, during LordShesh's 17-year reign, Thalia man-aged to keep its trade lines open andprofitable, even in the face of in-creasing piratical activities on the

nearby canals. When Lord Sheshwas discovered to have been poi-soned in his sleep chamber, an in-vestigation turned up evidence link-ing the crime to the ruling family ofAfirenz. Public sentiment immedi-ately pushed the new lord, LordBraltar, into a war with Afirenz, awar neither city was prepared for.

Even though new evidence in themurder of Lord Shesh points in vir-tually every direction but Afirenz,the war has dragged on for three longyears. Conflict has been charac-terized by meager offensives oneither side of the large swamp areabetween the two cities. Neither ar-my is willing to enter the swamps,certain they would be no match forthe Hill Martian pirates hiding there.By treaty, the canal has been de-

clared neutral territory, but the ever-present pirates have still virtuallystamped out travel between the twowarring cities.

At the request of Lord Braltar, theBritish colonial office has agreed tomediate a peace between the tworeluctant combatants and has sent arepresentative to bring the two to-gether. In a gesture of goodwill, thelord will send his ceremonial barge(heavily guarded against pirates, ofcourse) down the canal as a gift tothe ruling family in Afirenz. Once ithas arrived, Afirenz will send agalley with three daughters of thefamily as brides to the lord and hishigh-ranking officers. The colonialoffice then hopes to arrange for thetwo cities to cooperate in an eridica-tion campaign against the pirates.

Orthir, Captain of the Ceremonial Barge (Veteran NPC)THE BARGE very rarely leaves

Thalia for other canal cities, so itscaptain could easily take up perma-nent residence on dry land. But Or-thir will have none of that; he keepshis quarters on the barge as his per-manent abode. He will exclaim thathe has had a canal beneath his feetfor most of his long life and can-not keep his footing otherwise.

Jovial and outgoing, Orthir alsohas a serious side—he is patrioticto his lord and the traditions of thatoffice. The barge is an importantsymbol of the long line of merchantrulers in Thalia. It was once usedto ferry the lords in search of newmarkets and to maintain friendshipswith other rulers. Secretly, Orthiraspires to the days when Thaliantrading galleys plied canals in vir-tually every corner of Mars.

Att. Skills

Orthir runs a tight ship and hasbeen busy preparing for what couldbe the barge's most dangerous mis-sion in years. He believes in the no-tion that only the ceremonial guardmay ride on the barge—a fightingforce more decorative than effective.Even Althar has argued this pointwith the aged captain, but he has heldfast to his interpretation of traditionand honor.

Str: 3 Fisticuffs 2, Throwing2, Close Combat 4(edged weapon)

Agl: 4 Stealth 3, Marksman-ship 2 (bow)

End: 4 Wilderness Travel 3(mapping)

Int: 3 Observation 3, Gun-nery 2 (muzzle-loadingcannon)

Chr: 2 Eloquence 1Soc: 3 Riding 2 (gashant)

Motives: Loyalty, Responsibil-ity.

Appearance: Orthir is an elderlyCanal Martian who prefers to beseen in public only in his dressuniform. The court tailors have hadto let it out a few times over theyears, as the captain has put onconsiderable weight.

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

REFEREE'S SYNOPSISALTHAR IS A hero to the people

of Thalia; as a warrior and a mer-chant captain, he has won the heartsand minds of Thalia's people. Hiscloseness to the lord has permittedhim to act outside normal procedureat times, with authority second onlyto his master. What the people do notrealize is that Althar and the lord areactually hoping for an ambush sothey can locate the base camp of theswamp pirates.

The human characters, for what-ever reason, will accompany Altharand the barge on the journey alongthe canal to Afirenz. Its course runsthrough the heart of the pirate-infested swamp, as everyone knows,so escorting soldiers and boats willbe plentiful. Althar has overseen theoutfitting and deployment of theexpedition.

When the barge is attacked, Altharis to make the best stand possible,and then escape the ambush with asmany men and boats as he can. Withthese he is supposed to track the vic-torious pirates, find their camp, andawait reinforcements.

The human characters will be cap-tured by the pirates, but they will beturned loose since they are of no ran-som value. In the swamp, hungryand exhausted, they will find Altharand his troops, and warn them thatthe pirates plan to move before rein-forcements arrive. The war againstthe swamp pirates will have to bewaged now, with the few materialsand men at hand.

The BargeTHE CEREMONIAL barge has

seldom been used in the last 10 years;but, under the direction of Orthir, it

has been kept in good condition. Of-fered now as a gift to help end a war,Orthir was, at first, somewhat tornbetween his wish to obey his lord andhis love for his craft. Seeing his loyalservant so divided on the issue, LordBraltar stepped in and personallyordered Orthir to remain captain ofthe vessel under its new owners. Or-thir is now consumed with joy, sincehe can remain with his barge and stillfollow the orders of his lord to theletter.

The ceremonial barge is an enor-mous craft of wood, reeds, stone,and gold leaf. The craft was original-ly built to be a diplomatic vessel andto impress future trading partners—atask which it serves magnificently.The forward and flanking battle-ments ride high off the water, and thecentral tower rises higher still, fully30 feet above the waterline. It hasmasts for sails, but travel by oar isconsidered more stately—the singlerowing deck requires 100 strongbacks to make headway against thecurrent.

The barge has several elaboratefeatures. The royal suites are re-served for the lord and his retinue,or his appointed representative on aparticular journey. This suite is com-prised of a dozen rooms, includingbedrooms and reception rooms, plusa swimming pool and kitchens-stocked with the finest delicacies.The three other suites are reservedfor guests, and although they aresomewhat smaller, they provideluxurious accommodations for theirfortunate occupants. The remainderof the barge is devoted to the opera-tions of the ship, from crew quartersto a rowing deck and steerage room.The barge is ornately decorated withgold and jewels—treasures from

across Mars—for the enjoyment ofits privileged passengers.

The TreasuresOf the Barge

THOUGH OF NO particular reli-gious significance, the ceremonialbarge is central to the theme of mer-cantile canal trading and the lineageof the great lords. As such, it hasbecome the repository of much of thewealth and glory of Thalia, the prideof its aristocracy, and a worthy giftto stop a long and troublesome war.

The suites are elaborately decorat-ed with such fineries as marblestatuary, washbasins, and pillars, andall the furnishings are emblazonedwith gold, silver, and gems of allshapes and sizes. There are rogowood tables crafted by the finest ar-tisans of distant Yaonis, scentedhangings from the witch people ofthe Duo Badlands, and even silk rugsand robes from China—gifts fromBritish traders who have travelledbetween the worlds.

A small fortune is locked up in thebarge—it's not enough to bankruptThalia once it is given away, but cer-tainly enough to tempt thieves andpirates. Many Martians have losttheir lives at the hands of the guards,their blood still not completelybleached out of the sandstonebattlements.

Mission of PeaceTHE FIRST THREE days out

from Thalia have been virtuallywithout incident. The grand bargewas ceremoniously launched on itstreacherous journey by the lord, whowas officiating at a festival in honorof the event. Now it is majesticallycruising through the swamplandalong the canal, as if challenging the


elements to impede its progress.Althar has positioned boats in front

of the barge and to its rear to pro-tect against the dangerous Hill Mar-tian pirates known to infest theswamps. From the cover of the densefoliage they can strike with theirsleek, fast boats to seize any prizethat ventures through their domain.Althar is convinced that the pirateswill not attempt to take such a wellprotected barge, but he is, nonethe-less, proceeding with caution.

The humans will be placed on thebarge. Those attached to the Britishcolonial office will be afforded ac-commodations in the luxury suites.Others will, no doubt, be put up inthe lower decks with the crew. Everyday Orthir will be seen tending theship, working the crew to prepare theship for its new owners. Underlyingall their activities, however, are thetension and fear associated with trav-elling through the swamp, knowingthat watchful eyes are following the

barge, coveting its riches.The humans' activities during

these first three days will be limited.Aside from observing the passingmarshlands and their beautiful wild-life, they might make friends withsome of the crew, become acquaint-ed with Althar or Orthir, or ask ques-tions about the journey. They willcertainly get a good idea of the layoutof the barge, so they may claim tobe familiar with the escape routesonce the pirate attack begins.

Side View

Top View

Bow

Stern

Bow Suites Deck

Stem THE BARGE

Watchtower

Quarters

Cross-section

Quarters Deck

Bridge Deck

KEY

1. Guards Quarters

2. Secondary Passenger Suite

3. Servants for Main Suite

4. Captain's Quarters

Sweeper Gun Position

Scale is 6' Tactical Squares.

Bridge

Cargo & Oarsmen

MainSuite

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

PIRATES OF THE MARSHESPRESENT THE OPENING scene

of the pirate attack to the players onthe morning of their fourth day oftravel.

The dew of the chilly morning isstill evident on the deck and battle-ments of the barge when you arise foryour morning meal. The Sun is justbreaking above the foliage level ofthe surrounding swamps, preparingto create another blistering equa-torial day.

Suddenly, you notice a commotion

up ahead among the militaryboats—the advanced scouting boat isfloating down the canal back towardthe barge, and its two occupants areriddled with arrows! The barge sol-diers call Althar to the deck, and hearrives just as the pirates unleashtheir deadly ambush.

Dozens of nets fall from the talltrees onto the boats close to eithershore, while a flotilla of piratevessels emerges from the brush. Arain of flaming arrows hails downupon the military boats from an un-seen army of Hill Martians, their

WORTHLESS IN BARTER

barbarian howls terrifying many ofthe Canal Martian warriors. Thepirate vessels, crewed by savagesrowing hard against the canal,engage the forward boats, as a fewdetach to come toward the barge.

To the rear you turn to see a hugebarbarian pirate hack through thelast portions of a tree trunk, sendingits enormous weight crashing downon the leading boats there, smashingthem and cutting off the rest of theboats from the barge. Another swarmof arrows cuts through the air witha terrible hiss, cutting down many ofthe canal sailors before they canreact. Suddenly Althar is nowhere tobe seen, but the sergeant of the guardhas begun directing efforts as the firstof the savage pirates threaten toboard the barge.

The battle for the barge is goingto be won by the pirates—that muchis certain. You should allow yourcharacters to make a "final stand"on the suites deck with several of theCanal Martian guards (treat them ascaravan guard stock NPCs). Run thisfinal combat scene as you wish, butremember that two things will hap-pen: Althar will be nowhere on thebarge at this time, and the pirateleaders will not allow their soldiersto kill any humans. (You may wishto present a dramatic scene where,just as a pirate soldier is about todeliver a catastrophic blow againstone of the characters, his pirate cap-tain punches him square in the facebefore he can strike. )

In the end the characters will berounded up with a few other pris-oners, placed in a boat, and taken in-to the swamp under heavy guard.Only a few guards and soldiers fromthe barge flotilla are alive; they willbe rounded up into five boats, all

PROVIDED the characters donot escape on their own, or if theyare recaptured, they will bebrought before Tark, the leader ofthis pirate band. Only the humanswill be summoned to Tark's camp-fire; if Orthir is still with thecharacters, he will be separatedfrom them by the pirate guards.

Tark is a striking figure, with hismulticolored robes and his heavyjewelry, helping his favored piratesdevour a ferocious-looking animalturning on a spit above the fire. Theatmosphere is wildly exuberant asthe pirates celebrate the grand vic-tory they had earlier that day.

"Ah, the humans!" announcesthe great leader, and all eyes turnto the captives brought before him."Curious little things, aren'tthey?" He looks around him forapproval from his troops. "I shouldkeep at least one as a pet, don't youthink?" The rest of the piratesdutifully chuckle.

"But you see, '' he continues, ris-ing and tossing his dagger about as

he talks, "I have no quarrel withhumans, but, " sticking the daggerat one human's throat and lower-ing his voice, "I have no great lovefor them, either. "

"You present something of aproblem and a solution, so hear meout. I will spare your lives, thoughyou are worthless to me in barter.No one in Thalia would pay a cis-sawaan's bladder for you, but theymight for some of these others. Iam, therefore, going to set youloose, to travel through the swampsback to Thalia with news of our vic-tory. At least a few of you mightlive through the experience. "

He returns to his seat, turningfinally to the humans. "Of course,if you value your lives, never setfoot in my swamps again, humans.Away with them!"

At this the humans will be led tothe edge of the encampment and setloose to face the swamps withoutfood or weapons, and with perhaps100 miles between them and Thal-ia.


under the watchful eyes of heavilyarmed Hill Martian pirates. Thecharacters will realize that the HillMartians often take prisoners whomight be ransomed back to relativesor friends. Those who cannot be ran-somed are often killed, and thelikelihood of anyone in Thalia pay-ing ransom for humans is slim.

As the day progresses, more piratevessels from the ambush will catchup to the prisoner-laden boats—somecarrying wounded Hill Martians andothers carrying loot from the pillagedbarge. Many will boast that theyhave taken all the riches from thebarge and have set fire to its emptyhulk. Orthir, one of the prisoners inthe same boat with the characters,will have to be restrained at thisnews—his cries echoing ominouslythrough the dark swamplands.

EscapeTHE CHARACTERS WILL ar-

rive at the pirate encampment byevening, and they will be taken to theprisoner pens immediately. Facedwith the imminent possibility of ex-ecution, they will, no doubt, wish toescape and take their chances in theswamps.

The prisoner pens are locatedalong the northern edge of the en-campment, as shown on the mapabove. The camp is set on a verymuddy and soft area of high ground,which is easily excavated, if neces-sary. The area is covered in densetrees and foliage, and many of thebushes are of the lo-duc variety—very tough and spiny, impenetrablewithout a machete. One thing is veryevident: All the pirates are packing

things up and are not planning to stayhere much longer.

Each of the five pens containsaround a dozen prisoners from thebarge ambush. The humans will bein one pen, along with Orthir andfive other Martian guards (caravanguard stock NPCs, without weapons,of course). The pens are constructedof a bamboo-like reed, and the doorsare tied shut with heavy rope.

The characters could attempt to digtheir way out (with the help of someof the guards), or they might trickone of the pirates into opening thedoor. Also, they might organize amass break, tearing apart the sturdybut manageable pens by sheerstrength of numbers, but not withoutbloodshed—the guards can call uponassistance from the nearby encamp-ment.

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

THE IMPENETRABLE SWAMPFORCED OUT OF the pirate en-

campment at the end of a bayonet,the characters are faced with the mostunpleasant prospect of survival in thesteaming swamps. They have nofood or weapons, and the only thingthey can be certain of is that theywon't freeze to death in the swelter-ing heat of the equatorial marshes.

Use the land travel rules fromSpace: 1889 for foot travel. Remem-ber that the characters will only beable to move 10 miles per day in theswamp, which is one hex on thissmall-scale map. The map covers thearea from the pirate encampment tothe main canal all the way back to

the city of Thalia. Several specialareas have been noted and will bedescribed later.

These swamps are particularly hotand steamy. Visibility in the daylighthours is minimal until midday, whenmuch of the mist is burned away. Of-ten in the morning the Sun is barelydefinable in the sky, so finding direc-tions is nearly impossible.

When checking for encounterseach day, rolls of 5 indicate the par-ty is lost, as in Space: 1889. For thisscenario, rolls of 3, 4, and 6 also in-dicate the party is lost. Ignoreweather as a possible result. If theparty is lost during the day, move theexpedition one hex closer to the arealabeled Althar on the map.

When rolling for specific en-counters, substitute Swamp Piratesfor Swamp Pirate Camp. There isonly one camp, and unless the char-acters are in that hex, they won't en-counter it. All pirate encounters willbe pirates on patrol from Tark's mainencampment.

Food: Characters who successful-ly kill animals they encounter mayeat them. If an encountered animalis not killed, or if there is no en-counter at all in a day, add 2 to thefatigue roll of everyone in the group.

As the referee, you can see that thecharacters will not be able to findtheir way through the swamp, norwill they locate enough food to keepthemselves alive. Only when theyrun into Althar and his soldiers willthey get nourishment and be able tocontinue.

Special LocationsSEVERAL special locations are

marked on the map. Each one isdescribed here.

Ambush Site: Very little is left ofthe barge. While it was once a thingof beauty and splendor, it is now aburnt hulk, half-sunk in shallows atthe edge of the growth encroachingon the canal. Several smaller boats,in similar condition, can be found—the pirates were very thorough,cleaning everything from the bat-tlefield that was useful to them. Thecharacters may be able to scroungea couple of swords and bows, butneither food nor muskets are leftamong the dead.

Woodcutter's Village: A com-munity of Hill Martian woodcutterslives in the swamp near the canal.They are not associated with any par-ticular city, keeping pretty much tothemselves in the swamp. The com-


ONCE YOU FEEL the charac-ters are sufficiently hungry, tired,and lost, and they are within thearea marked Althar on the map,present this encounter to them.

Staggering lost through themarshes, splashing waist-deepthrough the stinking, filthy waters,you collapse from exhaustionagainst the tangled roots of a slimyblack tree. Half delirious with hun-ger, you hang onto those wicked-looking roots for what could beminutes or hours—you just can'ttell. Suddenly you see soldiers allaround you—Canal Martian sol-diers. You're convinced it's an il-lusion as you finally succumb toyour fatigue and lose conscious-ness.

When you awaken you are on amakeshift cot in a tent and are be-ing tended by a Martian soldier.You recognize him as one of theguards on the barge just as Altharcomes through the door. Althar!

ALTHAR IN HIDING"I thought you were killed!'' you

exclaim, still fighting for conscious-ness.

"I thought the same of you. Howdid you get here, human?"

Althar will go on to explain his ac-tions, how he and Lord Braltar de-vised a plan to draw the pirates intoan ambush so that Althar could fol-low them to their camp. He is nowawaiting reinforcements from Thaliaand hopes to strike in just a few days.

Here the characters should inter-rupt, interjecting their knowledgethat the camp is about to be moved.Any attack against the pirate campwill have to be made soon, in one dayat the latest!

Althar has a force of 25 soldiersarmed with rifles. He also hasenough rifles to arm the humans, butno more. The characters should pointout that at least 50 Martian prisonersare back in the pens; if they could befreed and armed, they could tripleAlthar's numbers!

munity collectively barters its woodwith canal boats that stop at adesignated spot once every fewweeks.

The community consists of 10families with 20 men (hill bravestock NPCs, armed with axes). Theyhave never seen a human before. Theleader is a strong Martian namedGrunth, who will be wary of thealiens but will also be sympathetic toanything starving in the swamp. Hewill gladly listen to what the humanshave to say.

The woodcutters have had severalskirmishes with the pirates. Pirateshave taken a few of their women and

have burnt their village once, sothere is no love lost between them.

Referee: If they can be acutely per-suasive, the characters might be ableto gain the woodcutters as alliesagainst the pirates.

Hermit: A mud hut can be seen ona small hillock jutting slightly abovethe surface of the water. The char-acters notice the warm glow of a fireand the welcome smell of roastingmeat coming from within the con-fines of the hut.

The characters have stumbledupon the abode of Wivin Scurch, avery old, extremely eccentric CanalMartian who gave up life in the city

40 years ago when his female lefthim for another Martian. Wivin hasgone quite mad since then. Nonethe-less, he still knows how to catch foodand keep himself comfortable in theswamp.

Wivin has never seen a human andwill act as if the characters are newmembers of the fantasy world he hascreated for himself. He will acknowl-edge the existence of the characters,but will slip in and out of his fantasyworld—he is useless as a source ofinformation. The characters will, atbest, be able to gain a couple of daysworth of food from poor Wivin'sstores.

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

RETURNTO THE PIRATE CAMP

TARK IS JUST about to move hisentire camp further back into theswamp, so everything is in a state ofchaos. The treasures from the bargehave been crated up for transport,and a herd of wild ruumet breehr hasbeen captured to be used as pack

PIRATE CAMP

animals, since there aren't enoughboats for the move. Such is thegeneral state of the camp when thecharacters and Althar arrive.

Specific locations within the campare described below, together withthe total number of Hill Martian pi-rates in that area at the time of anassault. Tark's entire command con-sists of 150 pirates.

Prisoner Pens: The same prison-ers are in these pens as when thecharacters left them. They areunderfed and demoralized, but theywill anxiously cooperate with anyplan to free and arm them against thepirates. Fifty Martian soldiers arehere, plus Orthir. There are alsothree pirate guards.

Armory Tent: This tent has been

Tent

Brush

Swamp

Boats

KEY

6 ft.


emptied, but the weapons are cratedup just outside it. Only 20 musketswith ammunition are here, but thereare plenty of sabers and great swordsfor the taking. The tent is guardedby two pirates, and five more piratesare working in the immediate area.

Tark's Tents: Tark and his gen-erals have constructed a perimeterwith their tents, holding council inthe center. Fifteen pirate guards sur-round these tents.

Main Encampment: The bulk ofthe swamp pirates reside here, eitherin tents or in shacks made of brush

and timber. Although the camp is notguarded, at least 60 of Tark's pirateswill be here at the start of the attack.

Mess: What food is available isprepared here. Twenty pirates willbe in the mess area.

The Herd: A great many piratesare now concerned with the handlingof the newly acquired ruumet breehr.Twenty of these pirates will belocated here.

Boat Dock: The boats are beingloaded down with booty and suppliesfrom the camp. Twenty-five piratesare presently at work here.

Attack By NightSHOULD ALTHAR deem it wis-

er to attack by dark of night, thenumber of pirates will be divided upinto the following groups in theselocations.

• Prisoner Pens: 3 guards.• Arsenal Tent: 2 guards.• Tark's Tents: 5 guards, 5 sleeping.• Main Encampment: 5 guards, 114

sleeping.• Mess: 2 guards.• The Herd: 5 guards.• Boat Dock: 10 guards.

BORN OF HILL Mart ianparents on the Zephyrian Plain,Tark ventured forth at a very youngage in search of glory. He served,for a time, as a mercenary, first inAeolia and then in Sekoor, perfect-ing his mastery of the gashant andthe great sword. As an adventurerhe has travelled widely among theequatorial cities of Mars, makingfortunes and losing them just aseasily. He first teamed up with theswamp pirates while in desperateneed of gainful employment. Sincethen he has moved efficiently to aposition of leadership, so he figureshe'll stick around, at least for awhile.

His spies in Thalia alerted himto the barge expedition, and hisgreed would not let him pass up theopportunity. Quarrels among hispirate lieutenants broke out at thepresentation of the ambush plan(many feeling the losses would betoo heavy, no matter what theprize, and that such an ambushwould bring serious retribution

Tark (Veteran NPC)from the cities). Tark has had todemote several key officers becausethey would not be silent, and now heis in good graces with his men onlybecause the raid was a success.

Tark has no love of the swamppirates and sees this as merelyanother in a continuing series ofepisodes in his adventurous life.Once a battle begins going poorly forthe pirates, Tark will very quicklyslip into the swamp and make goodhis escape.

Motives: Adventure, Greed.Appearance: Tark's lean build

belies his tremendous strength. Heseldom wears more than his loinclothand breast jerkin, but occasionallyhe dons more "pirate-like" attire forthe benefit of his men. A good por-

Attributes Skills

tion of the brown hair on Tark'sback was permanently burnt awayin some previous adventure. He isshrewd and exudes confidence andstrength.

Str: 3 Fisticuffs 3, Throwing 3, Close Combat 4 (bashing weapon)Agl: 3 Stealth 2, Marksmanship 4 (bow)End: 3 Wilderness Travel 3 (foraging)Int: 4 Observation 3Chr: 3 Eloquence 2Soc: 5 Riding (gashant 3, ruumet breehr 2)

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

SCENES OF BATTLEBASED ON information from the

human characters who have been in-side the pirate camp, Althar sees nochoice other than to initiate combatas quickly as possible. A reinforcingbattalion of soldiers is en route fromThalia, but it is not expected forseveral days. Althar is convinced thathe may not be able to destroy the pi-rates with the forces at hand, but hemay shake them up and dispersethem for the time being, bloodyingtheir noses on their own turf.

Althar's plan is a simple one. Ob-viously, he will need to penetrate the

Weapons RaidTHE TEAM must sneak into

the camp through the brush to ap-proach the weapons tent, thelocation of which can be pin-pointed by the human characters.Many of the weapons availableare already crated up. The guardsare awake and alert, but other-wise will present no surprises. Atotal of 20 muskets and about 100great swords and sabers are inand around the tent.

pirate camp in secret, avoiding thepatrols and guards at its perimeter.The prisoner pens are the key, in hisopinion. The Martians inside makea considerable fighting force, provid-ed they can be freed and armed.

Althar proposes to send in a selectforce to secure whatever weapons thepirates can provide, and then secretlyrelease the prisoners and distributethe arms. And additional raids areplanned to disrupt the pirates' boatsand their newfound herd of ruumetbreehr. Maintaining secrecy for aslong as possible is the key—once thepirates are alerted, the real fightingbegins. Althar wants his men to be

in a commanding position before thepirates know what is going on!

Running the BattlesTHE INITIAL SCENES of the

battle are on a small enough scale tobe role-played. Each of the four in-itial raids is covered here. Humanswill most likely be involved in someof these raids, but the players maywish to play the Martian NPCs whenno humans are present. In effect,allow the players to be Althar, de-ciding how many soldiers are pres-ent at each scene, and running all thecharacters as necessary. All four ofthe raids take place simultaneously.

Prisoner Pen RaidTHE PCS approaching the

prisoner pens will have an addedcomplication—they will arrive asthe guards are about to change, sothree additional pirate guards willarrive to mess things up. The prob-lem can be presented as follows.

The prisoners all appear to beasleep when you creep up to thepens. The three guards are inplace, just as they were when youwere held there several days ago.Quietly you sneak out from behindthe brush, dagger in hand, readyto dispatch one of the unsuspectingguards, when from down the path

you hear, "Look out!'' Three morepirates are on their way up thepath, and the guard you were aboutto take out whirls and knocks youdown with his musket. Cries forhelp stir the prisoners, and, nodoubt, the sleeping pirates.

The prisoners will be able toenter the fray, especially if Althar'smen hack through the ropes andbars of the pens. They are un-armed, but the sheer strength ofnumbers should bring the battle toa quick conclusion. It is certain thatmany of the pirates have been alert-ed after the ruckus at the pens.


Boat RaidTHE BOAT guards are all asleep

and can easily be taken prisoner, pro-vided the approach is made quietlyenough. Once the area is secured,Althar wants as many of the boatsdestroyed as possible. A Martianwith an ax will be able to destroy aboat in three turns. Those with torch-es can set a boat aflame in one turn.

After five turns, pirates from themain encampment will begin arriv-ing through the entry area at the rateof one-half of a die's worth per turn.The battle will be among the mostfierce, as the pirates struggle to es-cape and protect their livelihood.

YOU MAY JUDGE the out-come of the attack by the results ofthe four scenes described. For in-stance, if only one or two of themgo well, the battle will probably goto the pirates. If three or four gowell, the pirates will probably bedisbursed into the swamp, likelywithout their boats or weapons.

You may use the map of the en-tire camp to play out the battle.Althar himself will lead his main

RESOLUTIONforce. Tark will do the same, but willdisappear into the swamp if things gobadly for the pirates.

The humans will be congratulatedfor helping rid the swamp of pirates,and Thalia will, in turn, welcomemore British contact.

In more concrete terms, each char-acter will receive a gift of £50 value,with the leader and any heroic char-acters receiving more. This can takethe form of a unique gem, piece of

jewelry, or other artifact presentedwith great ceremony by the lordsof Thalia. The PCs now have val-uable contacts in the region. Re-wards from British officials will beless tangible, but no less valuable.The diplomatic service will be im-pressed with the PCs' performanceand more inclined to trust the groupwith sensitive missions. Likewise,contacts with governmental depart-ments will prove useful.

Ruumet Breehr RaidTHE RUUMET breehr are cor-

ralled near the main encampment,where many pirates lay sleeping atthe late hour of the attack. The ruu-met breehr are still half wild. Al-thar's Martians can easily disrupt theruumet breehr, forcing them to stam-pede through the main encampment.In the confusion, the Martians mayget into better position before thepirates realize an attack is on.

GDW

THE LURKER IN THE MOOR

The Lurker in the MoorMARS IS TYPICALLY thought

of as an arid planet, locked in thethroes of a slow death from want ofmoisture. But oddly enough, in a fewlocations on Mars, this image justdoes not hold true. One of thoseregions is the vast MylomeroenSwamp that lies to the northeast ofSyrtis Lapis, the British Crown Col-ony. In this adventure, your playercharacters will have the opportunityto brave the dangers of that vastmoor as they pursue the fame andfortune to be gained in the captureof a rare blossom.

REFEREE'S SYNOPSISWHILE TRAVELLING some-

where near the northern reaches ofSyrtis Lapis or the southern borderof the Umbran League (whicheversuits your campaign best), the playercharacters are attacked by a band ofaerial pirates. After defeating theirattackers, the PCs discover a youngwoman whom the pirates held as hos-tage, and an orchid-like flower ofunusual beauty and fragrance. Theplant is withering, but the girl con-vinces the PCs of its value and ex-plains that she can lead them to theone spot where more of them can befound.

Following the young woman'sguidance, the party members worktheir way deep into the MylomeroenSwamp, encountering strange people

and stranger creatures along the way.Eventually, just after discovering theblossoms' location, their beautifulyoung guide is carried off by a large,ferocious beast—the dreaded knoeshoshu.

The PCs track the knoe shoshu toits lair, where they find theirbeautiful young guide surrounded byover a dozen more beasts. In adesperate gamble, they burst into thecreatures' midst, grab the girl, andflee with her, pursued by the enragedcreatures.

Finally, they evade their pursuersand return to more civilized climes,gaining renown for their gallantry,as well as wealth for the blossom'sdiscovery.

A Fool's AmbushIT IS EASIEST to referee this por-

tion of the adventure if the playercharacters are travelling by some sortof aerial flyer. If the PCs do not ownsuch a vessel, you may wish to givethem some reason to purchasepassage on one before this adventurebegins. Also, the PCs will need somereason to be travelling near theMylomeroen Swamp. They might bevoyaging to or from the cities of theUmbran League, or they could bepatrolling the northern borders of theAstusapes Highlands, for example.Whatever the reason, it should takethem within a couple hundred miles

of the Mylomeroen Swamp. Oncethe group has reached this locale, theadventure proper can start. Thereferee can read the following nar-rative section to begin.

Your vessel is gliding smoothlythrough the chill upper air of Mars,far above the dry plains. Far to thesouth, the rocky Astusapes Moun-tains stretch across the horizon. Butto the west, north, and east you seeonly parched flatland, broken occa-sionally by ranges of sere hills.

From your high vantage point, youcan also view a network of canyonsthat lies just a few miles to the eastof your position—mute testimony tothe plentiful water that flowedthrough this region in ages past. Thecanyons cut through the rock of theplanet's surface, laying bare thestrata of red and brown stone be-neath.

As you watch the canyons slip bybeneath your vessel, the noonday Sunsuddenly winks from a shiny surfacelow on the wall of a particularlylarge crevasse. From the looks of theflash, the object must be either glassor some untarnished metal, neitherof which has any business lying in acanyon this far from civilization.Perhaps an aerial flyer has crashedrecently, leaving survivors to berescued or cargo to be salvaged! Ormaybe the flash marks the dwellingof some hitherto undiscovered raceof Martians!

Thoughts of treasure to be claimedand fame to be won fill your mind asyour ship begins to descend.

What the players do not know isthat the flash of reflected sunlightcame from a large bronze mirror onan adjustable pedestal, just recentlyplaced here by pirates to lure pass-ing ships into an ambush. As the


PCs' vessel descends into the canyonto investigate, a pirate vessel ascendsfrom its hiding place in a nearby cre-vasse. By the time the adventurersdiscover the mirror, the pirate vesselwill be hanging in the air abovethem, preparing to fire.

Whether the referee uses the basicSpace: 1889 rules or those in SkyGalleons of Mars, this portion of theadventure will involve ship-to-shipcombat. A map of the combat areais included on this page. The PCs'vessel begins the combat at pointA—ground level. The pirate vesselbegins at point B—low level—andgets one free turn to fire before thePCs can prepare their own weapons.From that point on, combat proceedsnormally.

In setting up the scenario, the ref-eree will have to decide on a vesselto use for the pirates (based upon the

capabilities of the PCs' ship). If youare using ships from the role-playingrules and the PCs have a Bloodrun-ner or Small Bird, give the pirates aSmall Bird. If the PCs have aHullcutter or Aphid, give the piratesa Hullcutter. If the PCs have aWhisperdeath, give the pirates one aswell. If the PCs have somethingother than one of the vessels men-tioned above, give the pirates avessel that is roughly equivalent.

At the onset of this combat, theplayers should be sweating. Not on-ly does their enemy have a ship thatnearly matches theirs in fightingcapability, he also has the drop onthem, as represented by his higheraltitude and his free turn of fire.

What the players should not knowis that the pirates have a Green crewand are also a little inept in theirhandling of the ship. As referee, you

should roll your dice out of theplayers' sight, and if the players arehaving a bad time of it, have thepirates take an extra round to reloada weapon or two now and then. Ifnecessary, you might even have to"fudge" a die roll once in a whileif the rolls are going against the PCs.Remember, the PCs need to shootthe pirates down and search their shipin order to begin the next part of theadventure.

Note: If it seems that the PCsmight decide to turn tail and run atthe very beginning, you might wishto have the pirates get a "lucky" hiton their ship's lifters, forcing themto follow the course of the canyonthey started in for a round or two.If you are careful to ensure that thepirates take some serious damage justafterward, thoughts of turning tailwill likely flee the players' minds.

KEYA. - PCs' ship

B. - Pirate's ship

- Low level

FOOL'S AMBUSH

- Very low level

- Ground level

The map scale is 200 yds per hex

GDW


THE HOSTAGEONCE THE PCs have shot the pi-

rates' vessel out of the sky, they willhave an opportunity to search it. Ifany of the pirate crewmembers werestill alive at the end of the ship-to-ship combat, they will be grabbingfood, water, and personal weapons,and fleeing into the rocky terrain asthe PCs land. As referee, you mightwish to have a few of the pirates stillon the wrecked ship when the PCsboard, to give them someone to com-bat.

In searching the ship, the PCs willfind 40 man-days of food and waterstores, £120 worth of coins andcheap jewelry, a few papers, a suit

of mail, a case with three Springfieldrifle-muskets (see Muzzle-LoadingRifle under Equipment in Space:1889) without powder or bullets, acarefully wrapped but slightly with-ered orchid-like flower of remarka-ble beauty and delicious aroma, anda young American woman gaggedand bound in the main cabin.

The lady is Emilie Van Warren,daughter of Dr. David Theodore VanWarren, an American botanist ofsome note. When the PCs first dis-cover her, they will find her uncon-scious from the buffeting she suf-fered during the crash of the vessel.Anyone who succeeds at an Easytask against Medicine will be able torouse the young woman and deter-

mine that she has taken no serious in-juries. In the absence of a successfulMedicine roll, Miss Van Warren willawake naturally the next morning,little the worse for wear.

Miss Van Warren's StoryONCE EMILIE Van Warren

awakens, her first reaction to thePCs' presence will be a cautious ex-pression of thanks for rescuing herfrom the pirates. She will then askwhat the group's plans are for her.As the PCs' heroic natures revealthemselves in their initial conversa-tions with her, she will relax into amore misty-eyed expression of grati-tude, but she will no break down in-to hysterical sobs of relief. The ref-

Emilie Van Warren (Green NPC)EMILIE VAN WARREN is the

daughter of an American botanist,Dr. David Theodore Van Warren,and is also a fairly knowledgeablebotanist in her own right. She is avery pleasant young woman who isdevoted to the advancement ofknowledge and who knows that thismakes her somewhat unusual forthe age in which she lives.

Miss Van Warren is quite capa-ble of suffering through whateverhardships might be necessary toachieve her goals (as is evidencedby her survival through the terrorsthat destroyed her father's last ex-pedition, in which he exploredmuch of the Mylomeroen Swampand discovered an orchid-like flow-er of unusual beauty). Miss VanWarren is completely determinedto mount a new expedition to col-lect living specimens of that plant,so that her father's name might

Att. SkillsStr: 1 Close Combat 1 (bashing

weapon)Agl: 3 Stealth 2, Marksmanship

2 (pistol)End: 2 Wilderness Travel 2

(mapping)Int: 5 Observation 4, Science 3

(biology), Linguistics 1(Koline)

Chr: 6 Eloquence 5Soc: 4 Riding 3 (horse 1, camel

1), Medicine 1

gain the fame that she believes itdeserves.

Motives: Adventuresome, Knowl-edge.

Appearance: Emilie Van War-ren is a slim young woman in hermid-twenties. She is of moderateheight, with dark hair that alwaysseems about to slip from the looseknot she keeps it pinned up in at theback of her head. She has darkbrown eyes that reveal a quick anddeep intelligence, as well as asteady determination.

Although she is generally quietrather than outgoing, and althoughshe does not spend the time primp-ing the way other young womenmight, she has an unconsciousgrace and a natural beauty whichmake themselves very evident tomost members of the opposite sex,often to Miss Van Warren's cha-grin.


eree should work to convey to theplayers the sense that Miss Van War-ren is a very self-controlled youngwoman who has recently beenthrough a hellish experience. Thestory that she then reveals to thegroup will substantiate that impres-sion.

The significant events of that storyfollow. Dr. Van Warren, her father,came to Mars to do comparativework on the relationship of Terranand Martian flora. A widower, hedid not want to be separated from hisonly living relative through the manymonths necessary for this study, sohe brought her along as a researchassistant—she is a well qualifiedbotanist. Shortly after their arrival atSyrtis Major, the doctor developeda fascination for the few majorswamplands of Mars, theorizing thatthey might yet hold plant life fromthe planet's earlier ages of develop-ment. So he put together an expedi-tion to the Mylomeroen Swamp, oneof the two major stretches of marshand bog within safe reach of theBritish Crown Colony. Emilie in-sisted on accompanying him, despiterumors of piracy in the region.

At first, the expedition went bet-ter than could have been hoped—thedoctor quickly established friendlyrelations with a few local villages ofswamp dwellers, and he discoveredvarious types of exotic plants. Withina fortnight, the doctor cataloguedover 1000 different species for laterstudy. Then, in a remote location, hecame across a stand of orchids (oneof which the PCs found on thewrecked aerial flyer). He spent twodays studying them before taking asample and declaring his intent toreturn to Syrtis Major with it. Bothhe and his daughter agreed that the

bloom's beauty and perfume wouldmake it prized on Earth, and if itwere cultivated and marketed, theresulting funds could finance the doc-tor's continuing study indefinitely.With these high hopes, the expedi-tion prepared to leave the swamp.

During the night, however, disas-ter struck. Half the expedition wascarried off in the darkness by hideousshapes, and the other half (includingthe doctor and his daughter) escapedonly by fleeing blindly into the night.The next morning, these survivorsdiscovered that they were hopeless-ly lost. But casting out in what theybelieved to be a southerly direction,they began to work their way throughthe swamp.

For three days, they toiled alongwith no idea of their location. Then,in the evening of the third day, a sec-ond calamity occurred. Without anywarning, swamp pirates attacked theparty and slew everyone except thegirl, whom they held for sale intoslavery. As they took possession ofthe expedition's boats, the piratesunceremoniously dumped the bodiesof their victims over the sides into thewater, along with anything of no im-mediately apparent value.

Through it all, Emilie sat stunnedat her father's ignominious death.When the pirates prepared to toss herfather's orchid back into the swamp,however, her cries of outrage at thisdesecration of the doctor's finaldiscovery convinced the scoundrelsof the plant's potential worth, and itwas saved.

Over the next eight days, the brig-ands headed north through the fens,intent upon reaching Meroe withtheir newfound treasure. During thistime, Emilie learned a smattering ofthe Koline trade tongue from them,enough to instruct them in caring forthe plant her father had given his lifeto bring to light.

Then, as they neared the swamp'snorthern boundary, fate took anotherstrange turn as the swamp pirateswere attacked by pirates from the air.Again, Emilie watched the slaughterhelplessly, and again she and herfather's orchid were preserved. Shespent just two days as a captive ofthe aerial pirates before they weredestroyed in their attempt to ambushthe PCs.

Through it all, Miss Van Warrenhas held up pretty well—she is madeof stern stuff. The flower, however,cannot recover. When Emilie dis-covers this, she will do everythingwithin her power to convince theplayer characters to mount anotherexpedition into the MylomeroenSwamp to retrieve more specimens.If the PCs wish to return to a city firstto outfit themselves, she will agree.Under no circumstances, however,will she tell the PCs how to locatethe plant—she insists upon comingalong as guide, explaining that sheremembers important landmarks toguide the party to the orchids' lo-cation.

GDW


THE MYLOMEROEN SWAMPAT SOME POINT in ages past,

the long stretch of canal between theFree City of Mylarkt (located ap-proximately 400 miles northeast ofGorovaan) and the Umbran League'scity-state of Meroe suffered exten-sive damage along much of itslength. Some scholars suggest thatthe area might have been the focalpoint of a severe earthquake, andthey point to a few toppled ruins innearby cities to support their conten-tion. Whatever the cause of the dam-age, however, neither Mylarkt norMeroe has ever had the resourcesnecessary to repair the breaches.

These breaches have allowed wa-ter to spill out freely into the terrainto either side of the canal. But unlikeother damaged canals that dried uponce their integrity was broken, theMylomeroen stretch remained a vi-able watercourse and turned the ter-ritory for hundreds of miles aroundinto a vast swamp. Water from therelatively nearby northern polar icecap joined with occasional run-offfrom the Astusapes Highlands andspilled from the canal into the naturalbasin between Mylarkt and Meroe,creating the Mylomeroen Swamp.

This vast marshland measuresroughly 400 miles from north tosouth and 250 miles from east towest, and it covers almost 90, 000square miles. It is home to numerousexotic species of plants and animals,as well as to a number of poor CanalMartian settlements. Inhabitants ofthe area typically dwell there for oneof three reasons: Some cultivatesaafel, a kelp-like plant with fleshypods that serve as a food staple;others fish or trap in the richbackwaters of the region; and manyare brigands.

Terrain FeaturesTHE FIRST THING that strikes a

visitor to the swamp is the prolifera-tion of wildlife. Perhaps nowhereelse on Mars is the foliage so thickor the creatures so numerous.

Next, the observer will note theextreme haziness of the atmosphere.Although Martian skies tend to bewonderfully clear elsewhere, overthis vast tract of steaming vegetationthe air is generally filled with watervapor, ranging from a light haze toa dense fog. For this reason, it is fair-ly easy to become lost when travel-ling off the main watercourse.

Over the centuries the canal itself

THE VAN WARREN ORCHIDTHE VAN WARREN orchid is a native flower that grows in select

locations in Mars' few swampy regions—perhaps only in the Mylome-roen Swamp. It is a bulbed plant with a beautiful bloom that beginswith a deep red color near the stem and fades to an ivory tone nearthe petals' edges. Inside this blossom stands a stamen that is a glossyblue-black.

The flower gives off a strong, sweet scent that is very relaxing tohumans, chasing away minor pains and fatigue, and lending a sensa-tion of general well-being. It is possible that the plant may be of someuse in human medicine, but that remains to be discovered.

has sunk out of sight into the soften-ing ground. The original canal cannow only be seen during the low flowseason. Traffic between Meroe andMylarkt follows the main water-course as it would a normal canal.

From the main watercourse stretchsecondary waterways that twist deepinto the body of the swamp. Like themain watercourse, these secondariesremain relatively constant in theirpaths over the years. It is along thesewaterways that the permanent farm-ing and fishing villages have sprungup, and some trade occurs betweenthese villages and the larger Martiancities outside the swamp.

Beyond these secondaries lie theregions typically called "the back-waters. " Here the terrain changesconstantly in response to the effectsof the current and plant growth.What is relatively solid ground withthick vegetation today may bewashed out completely tomorrow.On the other hand, what is a tertiarywatercourse today may be blockedby debris tomorrow. But the changesin terrain are especially dramaticwhen viewed over the course ofseveral seasons. Occasionally theruins of ancient sunken villages areeven brought to light during low flowas the water recedes.

Travelling in the SwampWHEN THE PLAYER characters

enter the Mylomeroen Swamp tobegin their search for the Van War-ren orchid, they will have to do soby boat. Their guide, Emilie VanWarren, is familiar with the land-marks only from the ground level,and in any case, the mists in the airprevent clear view of the landmarksfrom above.

The map shown on page 23 illus-


trates the layout of the swamp. Onit, the main watercourse, the second-aries, the permanent villages andpirate camps, and the location of theVan Warren orchid bed are all indi-cated. Blank hexes on the map (allhexes except major or secondary wa-terways) indicate backwater areasthat change often with the effects ofwater level and current. Also indi-cated on the map is the path of travelthat Dr. Van Warren's party took inexploring the swamp and discover-ing the orchid—it is the path thatMiss Van Warren will try to follow.

Movement is conducted as in theWater Travel and Explorations sec-tions of the Space: 1889 rules book(pages 116-17 and 122-23), with the

exception that as long as the PCs arefollowing a primary or secondarywatercourse, there is no chance ofbecoming lost. (Note that the refereewill be using Emilie Van Warren'sskill in Wilderness Travel (mapping)to attempt to retrace this route, notthe skill of any of the PCs. )

Each time the group encounters ablank hex, the referee should roll onthe Backwater Terrain Table belowto determine what type of terrain fillsthe hex. And if at any point the PCsleave the swamp entirely for morethan two weeks' time and then laterreenter a backwater hex that theyhave been in before, the terrain typeshould be rerolled. This is to repre-sent the constant changes that occur

in the swamp. (If the referee wishesto keep track of such things, he caneven reroll if the PCs have not leftthe swamp but have been away froma particular hex for more than twoweeks. )

Once per day, the referee shouldroll for a possible encounter, as inthe Space: 1889 rules, but the en-counter chart later in this adventureshould be used instead of the one inSpace: 1889. In addition, any per-manent villages or permanent piratecamps that the PCs run across shouldbe treated as planned, stationary en-counters, as should their discoveryof the Van Warren orchid bed. De-scriptions of these encounters arealso located later in this adventure.

BACKWATER TERRAIN1D6

Die Roll Terrain Type1 Dry Ground2 Moor3 Intermittent Water4 Mainly Water5 Mainly Water6 Completely Flooded

Explanations

Dry Ground: This hex may betraversed on foot in any direction.The ground is solid enough to sup-port men carrying heavy loads,with very few boggy tracts to workaround. Vegetation consists pri-marily of knee-high grass and lightbrush. Treat passage through thishex as 10 miles of foot travel.

Moor: This hex consists of verymarshy ground with occasionalsmall pools of water. The vegeta-

tion in this area is similar to that ofdry ground but often hides spots ofsoft mud or even quicksand. Travelthrough this hex must be by foot.And due to the need to search forfirm footing, passage through thishex should be counted as 20 miles offoot travel.

Intermittent Water: This hex isdivided about evenly between waterand marshy land. Copses of cypress-like trees dot the area, and watergrasses grow very tall. It is possibleto traverse the hex either complete-ly on foot or completely by water.To do so, a traveller should windback and forth across the hex, look-ing for the best pathway there. RolllD6 x 10 for the number of milesthis hex represents due to this wind-ing travel.

The other way to traverse this hexis straight across, travelling by boatwhen in water and on foot when land

is encountered. When travellingthis way, the hex should be treatedas 15 miles of travel, divided even-ly between water and land travel.

Mainly Water: This hex con-sists primarily of large pools andwatercourses, broken occasionallyby bars of ground and dotted withislands. Vegetation is similar to thatin intermittent water. When travel-ling by boat, it is fairly easy to finda way around any dry ground inthis hex; therefore, it should betreated as 15 miles of water travel.It is impossible to traverse this hexon foot.

Completely Flooded: This hexis completely covered by water. Insome places it may be shallowenough for grasses to protrudeabove the surface, but in generalthe hex can be treated as a lake.Travel must be by boat, and the hexcounts as 10 miles of water travel.

GDW

DEALING WITH BACKWATER TERRAIN


SWAMP ENCOUNTERSENCOUNTERS THAT the PCs

will have in their exploration of theMylomeroen Swamp will fall intotwo broad categories. The first con-sists of encounters indicated on themap on page 23—things such as per-manent villages, permanent piratecamps, and the location of the VanWarren orchid. The second includesrandom events that will occur to thePCs in the backwater regions of theswamp. Events in the first category,invented encounters, are explainedon this page; random encounters aredescribed on pages 24 and 25.

INVENTED ENCOUNTERSAS THE PCS RETRACE the path

of Dr. Van Warren's ill-fated expedi-tion, they will come across a numberof permanent villages, primarilyalong the secondary waterways. It isalso very possible that they mightstumble on a swamp pirate camp ifthey make a wrong turn. Finally, tocomplete the adventure, they willhave to discover the growinggrounds of the Van Warren orchid.Each of these invented encounters isdescribed in detail below.

Permanent Village: The PCscome upon a permanent settlement ofCanal Martians in the MylomeroenSwamp. These Canal Martians arevery poor in comparison to those liv-ing in or near the major cities. Theysubsist on fish and local plants, alongwith bread made from saafel. Thissaafel bread not only serves as thestaple of these villagers' diet, but itis also considered something of a del-icacy in the cities of the UmbranLeague and therefore serves as atrade item.

The homes of these villagers are

built upon poles sunk into the banksof a watercourse. During the twoflow seasons of the year, their floorsare about six feet above the bank'ssurface, right at the water's edge.During low flow, the water level inthe swamp can drop drastically, andthe water's edge may retreat as muchas 25 or 30 feet from the homes. Andduring flood, the waters often reachfloor level or slightly higher.

A typical village will consist of 10to 20 homes arranged along one bankof a watercourse, with perhaps halfa dozen canoes tethered to eachbuilding's legs. An extended familylives in each home. The family usual-ly consists of a male, his spouse, hissons, their spouses, and his grand-children. Often a widowed brotheror sister of the family leader will livethere as well. Female villagers tendto fish and harvest the ubiquitoussaafel, while males hunt wildlife andgather less accessible plants.

The inhabitants of swamp villagesare usually very suspicious of strang-ers at first because of their hatred forswamp pirates. But once they havedetermined that the strangers are notswamp pirates, however, the villag-ers are exceedingly hospitable. It isnot uncommon for visitors to leavefeeling humbled or shamed by thesepoor people's generosity.

Swamp Pirate Camp: Swamppirates are uniformly the most de-spicable creatures that Mars has everproduced. In general, they are es-caped convicts, renegades, and otheroutlaws so hated by other Martiansthat they have had nowhere else tohide but in the swamps. The cruelestof their numbers tend to become theirleaders, and swamp pirates are no-torious for ambushing merchant par-ties, then brutally slaughtering all the

captives they take who have no ran-som value.

Two things prevent these piratesfrom becoming a real threat to citiesoutside the swamp, however. Thefirst is that they are so universallyhated that it is not uncommon foreven cities that are traditional ene-mies to cooperate in hunting outthese bandits and executing them.The second is that as the dregs ofMartian society, swamp pirates rare-ly have better than mediocre fightingskills, and their ability to organize ispoor. Therefore, they remain littlemore than a nuisance to merchants,explorers, and swamp villagers.

If the PCs stumble across a swamppirate camp, they will notice that thecamp consists of a pitiful collectionof up to a dozen hovels and lean-tos,housing about 60 pirates. Severalcanoes will usually be close by, aboutone for every six pirates. And a quar-rel will often be in progress.

The best way to deal with a swamppirate camp is to avoid it. However,if a battle must be fought, it is bestto attack the pirates ferociously, inhope of breaking their morale.

Van Warren Orchid Bed: Theterrain in this hex falls under thecategory Intermittent Water, as wasdescribed previously. In this hex, thePCs will find a very small island witha thick copse of vine-covered trees.The Van Warren orchid flourishes inthe marshy ground in the shade ofthese trees.

It is fairly simple to dig up a fewof the plants and wrap them in burlapfor the return trip.

Just after the PCs find the orchids,however, the knoe shoshu will strike,dragging Emilie Van Warren off toits lair (see The Lurker section onpage 26).


GDW


RANDOM ENCOUNTERSAS THE PLAYER characters ex-

plore the Mylomeroen Swamp, theywill most likely have a number ofrandom encounters. At the beginningof each day, the referee should rollto determine if a random encounteroccurs. On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, anencounter occurs. On a roll of 4 or5, the party has a chance of becom-ing lost—make a Moderate rollagainst Emilie Van Warren's skill atWilderness Travel (mapping) to de-termine if they are lost. If the partyis lost, the referee should move themone hex in a random direction at theend of the day.

If an encounter is to occur, thereferee should roll on the RandomEncounter Table on this page todetermine what that encounter willbe. Once that is done, he can decidewhat time during the day the encoun-ter will be most appropriate. (For ex-ample, if "quicksand" is rolled, itwill not occur while the PCs are ina total water hex. )

Random EncounterDescriptions

THE DETAILS OF the possiblerandom encounters are explainedbelow.

Quicksand: One of the charactersin the party has discovered quick-sand—by falling into it. It is a For-midable task against Strength to getout. But up to two other characterscan roll as well, and the total of allthree characters' rolls can be addedtogether for the task. If a charactergoes for more than two rounds with-out succeeding at this task roll, he ispulled under and drowns.

Swamp Pirates: As in the basicSpace: 1889 rules, this is an en-

RANDOMENCOUNTERS

2D6Die Roll Encounter

2 Quicksand3 Swamp Pirates4 Green Koko5 Ruumet Breehr Herd6 Stinging Flies7 Lurker8 Native Hunters9 Cissawaan

10 Temporary Village11 Strangle Vine12 Ancient Ruins

counter with pirates in small boats.Roll one die to determine the numberof boats involved; six pirates will belocated in each. The pirates will tryto capture the characters to determineif they are ransomable, then plan tokill any who are not.

If the pirates lose half their numberin battling the PCs, the remainderwill flee.

Green Koko: While the PCs aretravelling along a waterway, a greenkoko darts out from nearby foliage,slips over the edge of their boat, andattacks one of their number, attempt-

ing to drag him over the side into thewater.

If the character is in a canoe, thecanoe will be capsized by the weightof the snake, and all its occupants andcargo will be tossed into the water.Characters without Swimming skillcan cling to the overturned canoe butare dependent upon others to rescuethem. Characters with Swimmingskill, however, can try to turn thecanoe upright. To do so requires aFormidable roll versus their skill.After combat with the green koko isresolved, the PCs can try to recoverlost cargo. Roll 1D6 x l0 for thepercentage of cargo recovered (thereferee chooses exactly which items).

Ruumet Breehr Herd: The PCsdiscover a small herd of wild ruumetbreehr. If the adventurers are in awater hex at the time, the beasts willbe wallowing in the shallows. If onland, the beasts will be grazing.

Ruumet breehr will not attackunless they perceive a threat, but thismay be as simple a thing as the PCsapproaching too close. If the groupwants to work its way around theherd, add five miles to the traveldistance for this hex (to representtime spent looking for an alternatecourse and cautiously watching theanimals to make sure they do notspook).

Stinging Flies: As the PCs pass astand of tall water grasses, a swarmof viciously biting insects attacks andpursues them for up to half a mile.The bites do no permanent damage,but they are extremely painful, forc-ing the PCs to flee almost blindly toget away from their tormentors. Roll1D6: On a 4, 5, or 6, the adventuregroup becomes lost and wanders onehex in a random direction beforecontinuing the day's travel.


Lurker: Any player character whorolls less than his Observation on1D6 will notice a dark shape in thesurrounding foliage. The dark shapehas been following the PCs through-out the day (except when they are ina dry ground hex). If they approachthe lurker, it will disappear into thesurrounding terrain, only to returnagain later.

This shape is a knoe shoshu; it hasbeen following the group to scavengewhatever it can from the PCs' leav-ings. The purpose of this encounteris to make the players edgy and toforeshadow the abduction of EmilieVan Warren after the Van Warrenorchids are found (see The Lurker onpage 26).

Native Hunters: The PCs comeacross a group of lD6 x 10 nativemen in a hunting party. If this eventoccurs on land, the natives are gath-ering food plants; if it occurs onwater, there will be one canoe perthree natives, and they will be hunt-ing water fowl with bows and a fewfirearms.

In any event, the natives will bevery suspicious of the PCs and willattack if approached too closely, un-less the PCs are obviously in direneed of help and have no intentionof fighting.

This event can be used by the ref-eree to restock the PCs' supplies orprovide medical aid.

Cissawaan: The PCs spot a swarmof cissawaans headed their waythrough the water. If the group actsquickly, it can avoid the voraciouslittle beasts, but the referee shouldroll for a chance of the PCs becom-ing lost afterward, as under StingingFlies.

Temporary Village: On the banksof a small watercourse, the PCs dis-cover a small village of swampdwellers (1D6 huts). If the PCs ap-proach cautiously, with a great dis-play of nonaggression, the villagerswill speak with them and give themany necessary aid.

gled in a long, tough vine. As heworks to extricate himself, the vineslowly twists itself about him andworms tiny rootlets into his skin! Ifhe is not freed from the vine, it willeventually drain him of all his vitalfluids.

To work free from a strangle vinerequires success at an Impossible rollagainst Strength, but up to four char-acters can roll and add their totals tothe victim's. Alternately, if the vinecan be severed from its roots, it willslowly relax its hold. But to do this,a character must make a successfulDifficult roll against his Observation,followed by a successful Moderateroll against his Edged Weapon skill.It is possible for one character to at-tempt this solution while severalothers struggle to pull the victimloose.

Strangle Vine: While the group ispassing through a section of dense fo-liage, one of the PCs becomes entan-

Ancient Ruins: A lifting of landin this area has brought to light theruins of an ancient canal village.There is a 10-percent chance that thePCs may find something of value inthe ruins, such as a small barrel ofgold or silver coins, for example.Other possible finds are left to thereferee's imagination.

GDW


THE LURKERONCE THE PLAYER characters

have discovered the location of theVan Warren orchid and have ob-tained a specimen of that plant, thereferee should run the next encoun-ter. To begin, he may wish to readaloud to his players the narrative sec-tion below.

The most difficult part of yourquest, it seems, is now over. Severalspecimens of the Van Warren orchidnow lie in the bottom of your boat,wrapped securely in damp burlap forprotection.

You brush your hands together toknock loose the dirt on them, andthen you toss your tools back into theboat.

Passing your gaze over the hum-mock to take stock of the other partymembers, you notice that Miss VanWarren has stepped through a gapbetween two trees and is bendingover to examine something at groundlevel. You are just about to call outto her not to wander too far when a

fleshy tentacle whips around her tor-so and drags her down. Her terrifiedscream tears through the normalswamp sounds, leaving a stunnedsilence behind.

As you run for her, she disappearsfrom your view. Her second screamis interrupted by a loud splash. Curs-ing, you reach the gap between thetrees just in time to see her draggedunder the surface of a waterway afew feet away. A large, dark shapetows her behind as it propels itselfthrough the water. Crying for theothers to follow with the boats, youshuck your boots and dive in afterMiss Van Warren, praying thatsomehow you can overtake whateverit is that has captured her.

THE CHASE IS ON

WHAT HAS GRABBED EmilieVan Warren is a knoe shoshu—alarge, deadly scavenger that hauntsthe backwaters of Mars' swamp-lands. It is, of course, this creaturethat the adventure party's membershave glimpsed lurking in the back-

Piled Bones

Knoe Shoshu

Hole in the roof

Cane growth

Water

Cave roofline

ground several times since they leftthe secondary watercourse. Thisbeast has injected Miss Van Warrenwith its poison, and she has lapsedinto unconsciousness.

Chasing the Knoe Shoshu: If anymember of the party has Swimmingskill, the referee can let him chasethe beast as it flees. The knoe shoshuhas a 15-yard head start and swimsanother 10 yards each turn. A swim-ming character, of course, rolls diceequal to his skill to determine howmany yards he covers per turn.

The referee should run this chaseas a tantalizing event; it should seemto the players that their charactershave some chance of catching thething, but actually this encounter isdesigned to ensure that the beast getsaway. (It is important to the next partof the adventure that the beast escapewith Miss Van Warren. )

The knoe shoshu should lead anyswimming characters on a merrychase for about 10 rounds beforethey catch it; it will then fight themfor about two rounds, then it willdive down deep, escaping from itspursuers and towing Miss Van War-ren behind.

To ensure that the characters donot lose the beast too early or over-take it too easily, the referee can usethe swamp terrain to good advantage.If the characters are quickly beingleft behind, the referee can explainthat the waterway is broken by fre-quent bars of land, forcing the knoeshoshu to slowly drag its prey oversuch places. Every time the beast hasto do this, the PCs can have a freeturn to roll their Swimming dice. Inother words, for that round, the knoeshoshu will not gain any distance atall, and the characters will be ableto close the gap somewhat. If the


characters are catching up too quick-ly, however, the referee can explainthat the water they are in is verydeep, and the beast keeps divingdown and changing direction. In eachsuch round, the beast gets its normal10 yards of movement, but the PCsmust waste the round peering aboutuntil the knoe shoshu surfaces. (Sinceit does not wish to drown its victim,it will not dive for more than a turnwithout resurfacing. )

Finally, the PCs catch up with thebeast—the referee should be carefulthat this happens in deep water. Itwill fight for about two rounds,without releasing Miss Van Warren,then it will dive away from its at-tackers and not resurface until it isout of sight behind some nearbyvegetation. At this point the PCs willhave to give up the chase and resortto tracking the beast (see below). Butthey will have learned an importantlesson about its fighting skill.

Tracking the Knoe Shoshu: Afterthe knoe shoshu escapes from anyswimming characters (or if nocharacters had that skill to beginwith), the PCs will try to track thebeast through the swamp and followit by boat if they wish to rescueEmilie Van Warren. They can beginby searching for signs in the direc-tion the beast was fleeing, making aDifficult level task roll once every 15minutes (game time). A successfulroll means that the tracking characterhas discovered signs of a body be-ing dragged overland.

Once the first successful roll ismade, further rolls can be madeevery five minutes (game time), atModerate difficulty, and will revealeither further signs of a draggedbody, a few drops of blood from thebeast or Miss Van Warren, or a torn

bit of the young lady's clothingsnagged on vegetation (referee's op-tion). After 12 successful rolls (notnecessarily in succession), the groupwill discover the knoe shoshu's lair.

THE LURKER'S LAIRWHEN THE PCs discover the lair

of the knoe shoshu, the referee canread them the following narrativedescription.

Pressing on along the trail of thebeast that carried Miss Van Warrenaway, you come to a thick screen oftall grasses similar to Terran bam-boo. A few strands of long, dark hairhang from the cracked joint of oneplant—the hair is obviously Miss VanWarren's. Poling your boat throughthe cane, you discover the dark,mossy mouth of a cave that stretchesback into the side of what is obviouslya permanent island. The archedmouth is nearly 10 feet across andis easily six feet from water level toits top. Measuring the water level,you find the floor to the cave mouthto be three feet below the surface.

A few yards inside, the light be-comes brighter, and you soon movethrough the bend in the passage. Ahole in the roof illuminates the in-terior of the cavern beyond, reveal-ing a space approximately 15 yardsin diameter. Toward the back, thecavern floor rises above water level,giving way to a sandy shelf.

As you peer closer, your bloodruns cold. Miss Van Warren lies un-conscious amid a pile of molderingbones and rotting clothing. Scatteredaround her on the sandy shelf lie overa dozen knoe shoshus, dozing in thecavern's coolness.

To get Emilie Van Warren out ofthe cavern safely, the PCs will eitherhave to slip stealthily to her side and

carry her out, or fight and kill all theknoe shoshus. Neither of these taskswill be easy.

If they decide to try to sneak in-side, they may either enter throughthe cave entrance or climb down arope dropped through the hole in theroof. The hole is eight yards abovethe cave floor. In one movement ac-tion, a character can descend a num-ber of feet (not yards) equal to theroll of his Strength dice or climb up-ward half that distance. For heavilyburdened characters (such as onecharacter carrying another char-acter), halve both those values again.

Once inside the cave, each time acharacter enters a new square, hemust make a Moderate level Stealthroll to avoid waking the knoe sho-shus. If a roll is failed, the knoeshoshus in the same square as thecharacter will wake and begin attack-ing in the next turn; the character hasthe rest of the turn in which he failedthe roll to conduct any action hedesires. Once the first knoe shoshubegins attacking, however, the com-bat will wake the remaining beasts,and they will begin attacking one turnlater.

If someone manages to sneak allthe way to Emilie Van Warren'sposition and lift her up, she will cryout in her unconscious state, wakingall the beasts in the cave.

Once the party members haveMiss Van Warren in their posses-sion, they can attempt to escape withher. They will first have to fight theirway back to their boat, then flee fromthe remaining knoe shoshus. Thebeasts will continue to pursue theparty until it has left the hex in whichthe Van Warren orchid was dis-covered. They will then give uppursuit.

GDW


LEAVING THE SWAMPNOW THAT THE player charac-

ters have the plant they came for andhave rescued the girl who broughtthem, it is time to leave the swamp-lands. The referee should not dwellon the events of the return journeyin as much detail as he did on theevents while coming in (to avoid atedious denouement after the excite-ment of the adventure's climax). But,he may wish to have the group takea mental step back from the situationand play the exit trip something likea board game, letting the players seeexactly where their party is on themap and playing out any encounterswithout the detail given to them onthe trip in.

The fact that the player charactersdo not have to rely on Miss VanWarren as a guide on the way out—since they all know the route theytook coming in—may help speedthings up. Finally, the referee canrevert to the Space: 1889 rule book'snormal 2 in 6 chance of an event in

a Martian swamp to make the exitplay faster. And he can even ignoreany Lurker events, since it is likelythat the players have had their fill ofknoe shoshus for a while.

But if even this level of detailbegins to bog things down, just skipthe exit from the backwaters and pickup with the PCs' arrival back at theswamp's primary watercourse.

Since time is of the essence in get-ting the Van Warren orchids back tocivilization in good shape, once theyreach the primary watercourse,Emilie Van Warren will suggest thatthe group take passage on a merchantship. It is easy enough to find onebound for the British Crown Colonywilling to take on a few passengers.Once passage has been purchased,the referee can skim over the tripback to Syrtis Major, picking up theaction when the group arrives in thattown.

IN SYRTIS MAJORWHEN THE adventurers arrive in

Syrtis Major, Emilie Van Warren

wastes no time in taking the VanWarren orchid specimens to an ac-quaintance who is skilled in cultivat-ing exotic plants. During the fewdays he is working with the speci-mens, the referee can guide the play-er characters through some minor ad-ventures in town.

Soon, however, Emilie Van War-ren will get back to them with thenews that seedlings have been startedfrom the plants and have beenshipped back to Earth. It appears thatthe Van Warren orchid will, withproper care, thrive in domesticationand several medical companies arevery interested in the possible use ofthe plant in manufacturing medicinaldrugs.

WHAT THE PCS GETBESIDES the experience and re-

nown you might hand out for theadventure, each of the PCs will alsoget an immediate payment of £100as their share of the down paymenton rights to market the plants. Eachyear thereafter, each PC will alsoreceive a royalty on the sale of theplants, determined in exactly thesame way as a royalty for an inven-tion (as explained on page 13 of theSpace: 1889 rule book).

In addition, of course, the PCs willhave made a knowledgeable, wealthyfriend to turn to when necessary—Emilie Van Warren—a friend whofeels that she owes them much morethan she can ever repay.

The PCs will also have first-handknowledge of the backwaters of theMylomeroen Swamp, as well as anexciting story concerning the ferocityof the knoe shoshu, a story whichshould at least get them a free drinknow and then at any pub they mightfrequent.


CONCERNING LATERADVENTURES

WHEN THE REFEREE preparesto run this adventure, he might wishto give some thought to planting theseeds of future adventures in theevents of this one. Several possibili-ties come to mind.

• Once the tale of their adventureis well publicized, the player char-acters might be hired by a museumto bring back the carcass of a knoeshoshu for public display. Theymight even be hired to capture onelive for a zoo.

• A coin brought back from theruins of a sunken village the PCs en-countered in the Mylomeroen Swampmight reveal that it was actually novillage at all, but was the highestpoint of an entire city. An archaeol-ogist might want to hire the PCs

to take him to the place they foundthe ruins. It is also possible that thoseruins might open into a vast, under-ground complex full of ancient arti-facts.

• The captain of a pirate band thePCs encountered might come look-ing for vengeance. This is especial-ly appropriate for a one- or two-session adventure.

• The aerial flyer that first at-tacked the PCs, precipitating the en-tire adventure in search of the VanWarren orchid, might have been car-rying captured papers from Oenotria,giving orders for the assassination ofa prominent statesman in the UmbranLeague. The PCs could undertake todeliver those papers to that statesmanin hope of gaining a reward. As anadded complication, they might getto him just as the assassin strikes, im-plicating them in his killing, especial-

ly since they are carrying the ordersto assassinate him.

• A member of a swamp villagethe PCs visited might find them totell of the swamp pirates unitingunder a charismatic leader. The pi-rates are attacking village aftervillage, wiping out all the in-habitants, and the PCs are the onlyhope the villagers could think of toaid them in mounting a war againstthe pirates.

If any of these possibilities soundinteresting to you, or if they give riseto any ideas of your own, just re-member that you do not have to fleshthem out yet. Instead, merely plantthe initial clues for each at the ap-propriate place in this adventure andwait to see if the players bite at anyof them. That will be soon enoughto begin developing them into full-fledged adventures.

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

Madness in the Moab

RAMPANT RUMORSTHE CHARACTERS are in the

Martian city of Sigeus Portus.Photocopy the following newspaperarticles (the first is dated 14 daysprior to the beginning of the adven-ture—the dates should be adjusted toreflect the chronology of the refer-ee's campaign), and give copies tothe players.

For every hour the charactersspend in a public place in Sigeus Por-tus (a pub, hotel lobby, marketplace,etc. ), give the characters one of therumors from the Rumor Table (de-termined randomly). If the charactersreceive the rumor by talking to a

citizen of Sigeus Portus, read therumor straight through. If, however,the characters eavesdrop on a con-versation in a noisy place (such as apub or marketplace), read only bitsand pieces of the rumor, to representthe haphazard nature of such infor-mation. They may, of course, hearthe same rumor (or parts of one)several times, and never hear someof the rumors at all—this is the natureof life.

Rumor Table1-2. I hear tell that a village out in

the middle of the Moab has been at-tacked by some human raiders. Theystrike only at night and have carried

off the queerest things: small piecesof wood, metal scraps, and emptywater skins. No one has been killedyet, but these Moabs claim that theraiders have stolen a ruumet breehras well.

3-4. That Dr. Fairbanks is mad asa hatter. I think the desert Sun boiledwhat was left of his brains and anypower of reason he had remaining.I wouldn't be at all surprised to findhim digging through some sand dunelike he was an ohnam reekh.

It's a pity about that young LillianDewitt woman. What a turn of fatefor her to strike off on an expeditionwith Fairbanks. That reminds me ofsomething a friend of mine told me.He's a student at the university whereFairbanks used to teach and saidsome older students told him Fair-banks was dismissed from the uni-versity after being absent for nearlythree months without prior notice.He finally showed up at the dean'soffice with a vest pocket full of sandand a cockamamie tale of being cap-tured by a band of Canal Martiansin the desert—said they had forcedhim to carry some heavy baggage,and he had to learn to find his ownfood and water.

These older students swear theysaw him drunk in an alleyway dur-ing the time he was allegedly aprisoner in the desert. Either way,Fairbanks is a loon.

5-6. Did you see that article in theTimes today? I mean, I feel sorry forthose two and everything, but onlya fool would mount a desert expedi-tion in this heat. And that map theyprinted in the newspaper doesn'teven have any water holes marked.If the survey team was depending onthat useless scrap of paper, then I'mafraid there's no hope.


Lady Swanscombe visits St. Barbara's Orphanage in Parhoon (story on page 2).

Moab Survey Team Long OverdueTimes Offers Reward

The survey team which embarked fromSigeus Portus on July 25 to examine the quakein the Moab Desert is missing.

On the expedition is geologist Dr. GregoryFairbanks and Times reporter Lillian Dewitt.The team was scheduled to report back fivedays ago.

This newspaper is offering a £50 reward for

information concerning the fate of Dr. Fair-banks and Miss Dewitt. A £300 reward is of-fered should the survey team be located andreturned to Sigeus Portus.

A reproduction of the survey team's mapis appended to this article. Rewards may becollected at the Times office in Sigeus Portus.

(continued on page 4)

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

OUTFITTINGTHE EXPEDITION

SIGEUS PORTUS is large enoughthat the characters may fully outfitthemselves for the expedition. Theymay buy weapons and campingequipment, and even rent gashantsruumet breehr, or horses (ifavailable)—it is highly recommend-ed this be a mounted expedition. Thecharacters will need at least oneanimal to carry water, and probablymore (roughly one animal per 10humans, plus one for every four bag-gage animals should be enough fora week's journey through the desert).

The MarketplaceAS SIGEUS PORTUS is a slight-

ly remote area of Mars, equipmentprices should be raised by at least 50percent, initially. Merchants in themarketplaces enjoy haggling—theyexpect their customers to argue andmake counteroffers. If the charactersdo not haggle, the merchants willassume they are very wealthy peo-ple and may increase all the pricesanother 50 percent for anything elsethe characters try to buy. All pur-chases should be role played, withcharacters making occasional throwsagainst their Bargaining skill for aModerate task.

A gashant (or a horse) can be

rented for 12 shillings a day, plustwo shillings a day for food—gashants (and horses) can travel 20miles per day. Ruumet breehr can berented for five shillings a day (in-cluding howdah), plus five shillingsa day for food—ruumet breehr arecapable of travelling only 10 milesper day. The characters may hagglewith these merchants as well.

DESERT TRAVELIT IS THREE days' travel (60

miles) by gashant from Sigeus Por-tus to the site of the survey team'sdestination. If the characters insist ontravelling by foot, consult page 114of Space: 1889 to determine theeffects.

Most of the travel can be accom-plished by following the low scruband patches of weeds which growabove the dead canal. The playersmay be able to intermittently huntvery small game, and an occasionaloasis may provide water and a littleshade.

Each day the characters travel inthe desert, roll a die: On a result of1-4, a tremor shakes the charactersand causes small sand slides; on aresult of 5, the characters have foundan oasis; on a result of 6, roll on theWeather Table below (reproducedfrom Space: 1889 for your conve-nience). Note: Generally, a roll of 5

during land expeditions indicates thatthe characters are lost, but since theyhave an established landmark to fol-low (the dead canal), the party (as awhole) will not have to worry aboutbeing lost in this adventure.

WEATHER TABLEDie Roll Result

1-45-6

CloudsWindstorm

A windstorm in the desert isnaturally a sandstorm. Travel duringa sandstorm is impossible. Further-more, roll a die for each animal (orperson on foot); on a 6, the animalor person is lost. The referee shoulddecide the exact effects—a personmay be separated from the group andfound later that day, etc. Basicallythe intention here is to create somedelay and cause minor problems, notdestroy the expedition.

Monotony and MadnessONCE THE characters are a few

miles outside Sigeus Portus, they willbe surrounded by nothing but the im-mense desert wasteland. The barrenexpanse of the sun-baked desert, therelentless Sun, and an occasionalsand dune will be the characters' on-ly sights. The one thing that keepsthem from being lost forever is thesparse trail of weeds and gnarled


shrubbery which grow above thedead canal.

As the days drag on, the extremeheat, the dry air, the blinding desertSun, and the monotony of the samescenery can begin to cause mentalfatigue. Heat waves rolling off thehard ground may appear to be thecooling waves of a pond. Harshwhite light reflecting off a sand dunemay take the shape of a strange whitebuilding.

Each day that the characters travelin the desert, have them roll Intellectattribute dice for a Moderate task toavoid mental fatigue. If the charac-ters are travelling by night, roll foran Easy task. Failure means that thecharacter gains one mental fatiguepoint and has one hallucination (the

referee may determine exactly whatform this hallucination takes: an oasisfilled with cold water surrounded bythe victim's family and friends, afleet of British aerial flyers crewedby High Martians, a tall spire, analien building, etc. ).

For every mental fatigue pointgained, the character temporarilyloses one Intellect point (it is possi-ble to have negative Intellect). If acharacter's Intellect drops to zero,the character has come completelyunhinged: He will babble incoherent-ly, stare straight ahead in a catatonicstate, and have at least two hallucina-tions per day. He will not be able towalk or ride a horse by himself, buthe can sit in a howdah. If the char-acter is left to himself, then he

will most likely wander off in a ran-dom direction.

The only way to lose mental fa-tigue points and regain Intellect is tosleep all night. In the morning, thecharacter may roll Intellect attributedice (using his original Intellectscore) for a Moderate task. Successmeans the loss of one mental fatiguepoint and the addition of one Intellectpoint. Failure means no measurablechange in the character's condition.In either case, the character must rollagain normally that day for mentalfatigue.

At the referee's discretion, a char-acter who recovers after having hadhis Intellect reduced to zero may notremember anything that happenedduring his madness.

THE MARTIAN desert has veryfew oases, and almost all these willbe found along dead canals. Shouldthe characters be fortunate enoughto find one, however, then they willbe able to obtain fresh, relativelycool water and the only shade to be

AN OCCASIONAL OASISfound for many miles around.

An oasis will always be in a small"valley" or extreme dip in the desertterrain. It is only at these locationsthat the desert's surface is closeenough to the underground water tablefor water to spring up and form a

pond. At the center of the oasis willbe a small pool of water with a fewshort trees surrounding it.

If the characters are desperate forfood, then they may be able tocatch a few small, leathery lizardshere.

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

MORE THAN A MIRAGENEARLY 60 MILES north of

Sigeus Portus is a small "village" ofMartian desert dwellers. Some 30Hill Martians live in this semiperma-nent encampment, which consistsmainly of tents and an earthbank cor-ral holding several ruumet breehrand gashants. The encampment issituated on top of the dead canal, ina small valley, and is built around apond of water no more than 10 feet

wide. Have each character make aquick roll against his Observationskill. A successful roll will revealthat this pond has formed very re-cently, as no trees or shrubs havegrown around it yet.

Referee: The recent earthquakebrought this pond of water to thesurface.

The Hill Martians speak Kolinefluently, and a smattering of Par-hooni (skill level 1) and English (skilllevel 1).

Arrival By DayIF THE CHARACTERS have

been travelling by day, they willreach the village in the late after-noon. If they take the time, the char-acters will observe that the village isvery busy. It appears as though theMartians are rearranging the layoutof the encampment, perhaps for bet-ter defense capability. (They are ac-tually tearing it down in order tomove on. )

If the characters attempt to avoidthe encampment by travelling aroundit, have each character roll Stealth at-tribute dice for a Moderate task. In-crease the difficulty by one level, ifthe character is riding in a howdah.

If any character fails his roll, oneof the Hill Martians from the villagewill raise an alarm. Six Martians willappear with bows and spears, andtake up defensive positions along theedge of the encampment.

If the characters are so brazen asto attack, the Hill Martians will fightto the death. If the characters wavethe white flag or approach peaceful-ly, the Hill Martians will allow theminto the village but will keep theirspears in hand and leveled at thecharacters.

Remember that these Hill Martiansbelieve humans have attacked themat night for nearly 10 days. So oncethey have come face-to-face with thehostile Hill Martians, the charactersmust earn the Martians' trust andfriendship.

The spokesman for the characters'party must present his story clearlyand roll Eloquence skill dice for aDifficult task. If he succeeds, theMartians will immediately relaxslightly and will allow the charactersto come into the village, albeit with


some lingering suspicions.If the spokesman fails his roll, the

Martians will chase the charactersoff, shouting at them, "Go backnorth, red devil brigands!"

If the characters proceed north,turn to the section entitled Beneaththe Shifting Sands. If they elect tohide outside the village untilnightfall, then go to the section en-titled Arrival By Night.

If the characters gain the trust ofthe Martians, Grahtorn Eilk, one ofthe elders of the tribe, will come talkto the characters in English.

"Please be forgiving to my people.For past 10 nights two human onesas yourselves come and steal ourpossessions. We not wish to kill. Wegive threatens, but still these devils,they return.

"They two come from north aftergreat shaking desert. My people, wehad been here only five nights whenthe shaking began. They come everynight, and much talk there is of badomens and the anger of the elderones.

"We wish to only live as we have.Our lives, we are proud of the many,many years we spend taming the des-ert. To kill is not our way, yet someone thing must be done.

"If you can get rid us of these redones as yourselves, we offer you ouralways lasting friendship. Our debtswe do not forget.

The characters will learn little elsefrom the Hill Martians before night-fall. If asked about the survey team,Grahtorn Eilk will say that the playercharacters and the two brigands arethe only humans the tribe has seenin months. If the characters stay un-til dark, go to the next section; other-wise, go to Beneath the ShiftingSands.

Arrival By NightIF THE CHARACTERS are trav-

elling by night, or if they stay nearthe Martian encampment until night-fall, they will witness the attack.Several hours after nightfall, twofigures will appear near the edge ofthe encampment. Read the followingdescription to the characters.

Far from the gaslamps and elec-tric lights of any city, the desert nightis incredibly deep and dark. As youstare across the valley, you can bare-ly discern two humanoid figures ap-proaching the camp; they are carry-ing some sort of spear and movingvery slowly. The Hill Martians shiftabout nervously.

As you concentrate on the figuresof the humans, you realize that some-thing here is amiss. Their dim shapesseem hunched, yet they move with asmooth, definitely alien, gait.

Suddenly, the entire scene is il-luminated as two of the Hill Martians

point crude carbide lanterns at theintruders. The short, thick stature,reddish skin, and pale hair of the twobrigands make them appear human,but their faces, their small webbedears, and their long tunics seem toindicate that they are Martian.

The light from the lanterns terrifiesthe intruders; they give a shrillscream and scurry quickly out ofsight to the north.

The characters will soon lose sightof the brigands but may be able totrack them. Roll Tracking skill dicefor a Difficult task the first hour oftracking; roll for a Formidable taskthe second hour; and roll for an Im-possible task the third hour. Suc-cessful Tracking rolls will lead thecharacters north, but after threehours, the tracks will disappear. Ifthe characters do not pursue the brig-ands immediately, they may eitherdecide to travel north at night alongthe dead canal or to wait until morn-ing.

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

BENEATHTHE SHIFTING SANDS

IN THE FIRST light of morning,the characters will come upon a tallspire rising out of the desert sand. Itsits 50 yards away from the deadcanal and is some 20 feet tall.

The referee may want to play thisas a hallucination—perhaps a fever-ish character spots it first. Even so,once it is pointed out, all the char-acters will see it.

The spire is a blinding white,pointed steeple made of stone; as thecharacters approach, they will finda small opening situated at the baseof the structure. A successful Obser-vation skill roll for a Moderate taskwill reveal that there is no mortar be-tween the stones of the spire. Eachstone was cut to exact size and fitsso tightly with the ones next to it thatno gaps are readily visible. The sur-face of the spire is smooth and in-credibly hard (nothing the characters

are carrying with them could possi-bly scratch it). The opening at thebase of the structure is four feet highand two feet wide, and has no per-ceptible door.

Looking into the spire from herewill reveal a floor of sand approx-imately one foot lower than the bot-tom edge of the opening; to enter thespire, the characters must jump downinto it. The inside of the spire is dark,so nothing else can be discerned fromoutside.

THE PLAYER characters havestumbled across an ancient CanalMartian city which was buriedthousands of years ago and hasbeen partially uncovered by the re-cent earthquake. This city datesback to the time of the naBrifa-noon, some 5000 years, when thedead canal was a vital waterway tothe north.

As the characters investigate,they will slowly realize that theyhave found an entire city (although

REFEREE'S NOTES99 percent of the city is inaccessiblebecause many of the buildings havecollapsed, and the streets have beenfilled with rock and sand). The maprepresents the one percent of the ci-ty which can be explored. In area 22of the map there is a six-foot-widepit; if you wish to add more levelsto the underground city, you mayfind this a convenient place to put theconnection.

There will be two earthquakeswhile the characters are still in the

underground city: One will happenwhen the characters reach area 9on the map; the other is up to youto trigger. The second quake,which takes place when the char-acters are in area 23, will begin tosink the city back into the depthsof the desert, burying it beneathcountless tons of sand. When youdecide it's time for the secondquake, give the PCs five minutesor so to get out (preferably afterthey've found the survey team).


ENCOUNTER TABLE2D6

Die Roll Encounter2

3-45-67-8

910-12

1 Moab2 MoabsBroken SpearNo EncounterSandMushrooms

ExplanationsThe following are encounter ex-

planations.

One Moab: Disregard this en-counter and roll again if the charac-ters have not reached area 11 yet.The characters stumble upon asolitary, sleeping Moab. At thesound of the characters' footfalls, theMoab will awaken, screech, and runaway. The characters may chase theMoab, but they will lose him.

Two Moabs: Disregard this en-counter and roll again if the charac-ters have not reached area 11 yet.The characters confront two Moabsarmed with spears. The Moabs wavetheir spears uncertainly and yell ina high-pitched voice. Any aggressionon the part of the characters will sendthe Moabs running away.

Broken Spear: A broken spear isfound lying on the floor. The woodenshaft of the spear has been snappedin half, making the spear unusable.The spearhead is gone. If a characterpicks up the spear to examine it, hewill find the shaft is incrediblysmooth and hard. A successful Biol-ogy skill roll for a Moderate task willidentify the spear as Martian iron-wood (a once plentiful resource)which has petrified. A successfulChemistry skill roll for a Moderatetask will reveal that the wood wastreated with some sort of preser-vative which bonded with the iron-wood to form a clear, durable sur-face.

Sand: Several cracks in the walls(formed from the vibrations of theearthquake) have allowed sand toslowly spill into the room. This en-counter should be used by the refereeto heighten the fear and sense of dan-ger in the adventure. Let the char-acters believe this area is unstable,and if there is an earthquake whilethey are down here exploring, theymay be buried (along with the city)forever.

Mushrooms: Moisture from thedead canal has seeped through thefloor, and enormous mushroomshave sprouted up. Each mushroomis approximately eight feet tall witha stem the size of a telegraph pole.The Moabs use the leathery, flexi-ble skin of these mushrooms forclothing, and the meaty stems forfood. The mushrooms are edible byhumans, but the characters must beallowed to determine this for them-selves—perhaps by looking for signsof harvest, etc.

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

THE MOABS"MOABS" IS THE name Miss

Dewitt has given the ancient CanalMartians who inhabit the under-ground city. The Moabs are descend-ed from ancient Canal Martians. Assuch, they have graceful limbs butmassive chests, small pointed earswhich are not webbed, and only threefingers and a thumb on each hand.But because they have lived under-ground for thousands of years, theMoabs are significantly different thanmodern Canal Martians. The Moabsare stooped so their hands alwaystouch their knees (making themshorter than humans). They haveruddy (nearly human) complexionsand pale white hair, and they speakin shrill voices. The Moabs can alsosee equally well in light or darkness;they prefer the dark, except whenmaking clothing.

The biggest difference between themodern Canal Martians and the Mo-abs is their language. The Moabsspeak Old Koline with strong ele-ments of Son-Gaaryani. To commun-icate with the Moabs, the PCs mustknow either Koline or Parhooni, orhave Linguistics skill. Characters

who successfully roll against theirKoline skill for a Moderate task,against their Parhooni skill for a Dif-ficult task, or against their Linguis-tics skill for a Difficult task will beable to communicate with the Moabs.

Each time a character wishes tospeak to a Moab or understand whata Moab has said, he must roll thedice. Failure at the task need not betotal failure: The character may saysomething offensive if he is speak-ing, or he may only understand partof the Moab's speech if he is listen-ing. (This is left up to the referee'sdiscretion. )

When playing the part of the Mo-abs, remember two things: They areboth curious and frightened of thehumans; and, when found in largegroups, the Moabs will cling to thecharacters, touching their hands andpicking at their clothes (especially atanything shiny and metal). The Mo-abs may even steal small things andplay with them.

Moabs only arm themselves whenhunting greiscon tous; they wouldnever think of committing violenceagainst each other.

The Moabs may be persuaded toshow the PCs where the other hu-mans are, but the Moabs will try tolock the PCs up, too.

THE CITY DESCRIBEDMOST AREAS on the map are

numbered. Descriptions of theserooms can be found below. Roll twodice on the Encounter Table anytimethe characters enter an area on themap which is not numbered (bothrooms and hallways). Unless other-wise noted here, the ceilings in allareas are 12 feet high, all doors areclosed, and all areas are dark. Thewalls are all made of a light brown

stone and, like the spire, are fittedtogether so well that there are noseams.

Each area has thin, dull tubes, ap-proximately one-half inch thick, run-ning along the ceiling.

Should the characters break these(by throwing something heavy atthem, firing at them, or pulling themoff the ceiling), the tubes will ex-plode and shower a glass-likematerial on the characters.

Have each of the characters makea quick roll against Agility: Failuremeans that the character takes onewound.

1. The spire is the tallest buildingin the city and is the only structure"above ground. " The opening hereis four feet tall and two feet wide (itis actually a window—the glass isgone).

The ceiling here is also 12 feethigh, but it is actually only eight feetabove because the floor is coveredwith four feet of sand.

A short, sloping passageway leadsto the west. This is actually a set ofstairs covered by sand. When thecharacters step into the passageway,the sand will slide and shift, and thecharacters will tumble down into area2.

2. A foot of sand covers the floorof this room, and a narrow, contin-uous frieze of hieroglyphics and pic-tures runs along the room's walls.The pictures show Canal Martians ineveryday life (sailing large canalships, looking out of windows ontolush gardens, etc. ).

A successful Observation skill rollby one of the characters for a Dif-ficult task will reveal that, given theproportions of the Martian figures inrelationship to the rooms in the hi-eroglyphics, and also considering the


rooms the characters have seen, theMartians pictured in the hieroglyph-ics must have been nearly eight feettall.

A successful Linguistics or Ar-chaeology roll for an Impossible taskwill reveal that the hieroglyphicsseem to be some ancient form of OldKoline, but the words are so differentas to be unreadable.

The stairs on the other side of thewest doorway have only a scatteringof sand and can be walked uponnormally.

Note: At this point, the charactersmay be led to believe they havediscovered an ancient burial site.

3. This room is empty, except forthe large window (four feet tall bytwo feet wide) on the south wall. The"glass" in the window is clear buthas a faint bluish tint. A successfulChemistry skill roll for a Moderatetask will reveal that the "glass" isactually a mixture of glass and min-eral. A successful quick roll againstIntelligence will reveal that the bluishtint was probably intended to cutdown on the harsh desert Sun's rays.

Since this room (and every roombelow it) is completely buried, allthat can be seen through the windowis a wall of sand.

4. A small amount of sand is scat-tered on the floor here. Althoughthere are no footprints, a successfulObservation skill roll for a Difficulttask will reveal that the sand has beenkicked and walked through.

5. The stone which forms the wallsof this room is a dull red. Thousandsof years ago this room was used bypriests as a retreat from the commo-tion and noise of the city. The sub-dued red stone had a soothing effecton the priests; the characters, too,will feel strangely relaxed here.

Characters who fail a quick Intel-ligence roll will not want to leave theroom; they will have to be either lefthere or physically dragged away.The effects last one hour or until thecharacters are removed from theroom.

A successful Observation skill rollfor a Moderate task will reveal a fewscratch marks on the wall and severalsmall red pebbles on the floor in thenorthwest corner of the room. (Dr.Fairbanks took a sample of thisrock. )

6. Only sand can be seen throughthe window here. A pale blue lightcomes through the west doorway.

7. Some squiggly tubes in the ceil-ing here are casting an eerie bluelight over the entire room. Thedesign the lights make on the ceilingis intricate and very beautiful, witheach tube being a slightly differentshade of blue. It is obvious this is notonly functional lighting but is analien, albeit breathtaking, form ofart.

8. This is another spire much likethe one that the characters original-ly entered, but obviously not as tall.

9. Like area 7, the squiggly tubeshere cast a blue light, but the designthey form on the ceiling is altogether

different. From the window, thecharacters may look down into thesunken garden (area 17) and seeeverything except the large metaldoor which leads to area 18.

Sometime while the characters arein this room, an earthquake willshake the entire city. Any characterwho fails a quick Agility roll will bethrown to the floor. The quake lastsapproximately 30 seconds. Two longnarrow cracks form in the southwestcorner of the room, and sand beginsto filter in slowly.

10. Scattered on the floor of thisroom are various-sized pieces ofmushroom hide. The larger pieceshave been cut into exact rectangles;the smaller pieces have no regularshape. (The Moabs have been usingthis room to make clothing from themushroom hides. )

The tubes on the ceiling of thisroom form another intricate, yetunique, pattern which casts a green-ish light.

10a. As soon as a character stepsinto this area, he will be able to seethe four Moabs assembled in area 11.

11. Four Moabs are sitting here ina circle. As soon as the charactersenter, the Moabs will jump to theirfeet and approach the characters.

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

THE SUBSURFACE CITY


12. Two Moabs stand here look-ing through the window in the doorat the prisoners in area 13; the dooris barred. Any character with aStrength greater than 2 can removethe bar and open the door.

13. Dr. Fairbanks and Miss Dewittare being held here. The tubes in theceiling of this room cast a greenishlight. When Miss Dewitt sees theplayer characters, she will immedi-ately jump to her feet; Fairbanks willtake a few moments to carefully packhis books into his knapsack and raisehimself to his feet in a somewhatmore dignified manner. Miss Dewittwill take out her pen and notebook,and begin asking the closest characterquestions. Although both Fairbanksand Miss Dewitt look tired, theyhave remained mentally alert.

14. On the floor along the westwall lies the obviously dead body ofa greiscon tou, a carnivorous lizard.The greiscon tou has eight legs, enor-mous clawed feet, a short tail, anda gray, scaly hide. Its eyes are set farapart, and its mouth is long and jag-ged like a crocodile's. It is approx-imately eight feet long from nose totail. Three spears hang in the nookon the south wall.

Characters who approach the liz-ard and actually move its headaround will find a puncture woundin the underside of the greiscon tou'sneck. A successful quick Intelligenceattribute roll reveals that the lizardhas been dead for only a matter ofhours (there is no smell, and thelimbs are still flexible).

15. This is the largest livingquarters for the Moabs. Roll 2D6 + 10to determine how many Moabs arehere—none of them will be armed,and one-third will be children. Largepieces of mushroom and small pieces

of meat are on a stone table in thenorthwest corner.

16. This smaller living quarterscontains 1D6 + 2 Moabs. TheseMoabs are not armed.

17. This is an enormous gardenwith a stream and a bridge in themiddle. Once 100 varieties of plantsgrew here, but all that grows herenow are the mushrooms. The flooris a soft, dark, rich soil. The wallsbordering the garden are 30-feet tall;the ceiling seems to be made of thesame clear material as the windows.If the characters have a strong lightsource (such as a carbide lamp), theymay be able to discern solid sand androck pressing against the ceiling.

The entire room is very warm andmoist. The clear stream in the mid-dle of the garden trickles out of anopening in the north wall. A success-ful quick Intelligence attribute rollwill reveal that this stream was oncemuch wider (the bridge spans agreater area than necessary). Thedoor on the west wall is closed. Forc-ing it open requires some sort ofsturdy metal tool (crowbar, pick,etc. ) and a successful Strength at-tribute roll for an Impossible task(two people may join their efforts).

Along the west wall is a metal door12 feet wide by 14 feet tall. Acrossthe door lies a heavy wooden bar ofthe same material and manufactureas the spear handles. Propped againstthe wall are 10 spears with good,sharp heads. Two people working to-gether can lift the bar off the doorand open it. (When the second earth-quake is triggered, this door will flyopen, and the greiscon tous on theother side will be set free. )

18. On this side of the door isanother bar which can be placedacross the door to lock it (this is to

keep the greiscon tous from escap-ing). The walls and ceiling are madeof irregular, broken pieces of rockwith sand and glass filling the holes;the floor here is sand. The ceilingdrops from 18 feet at the door to on-ly five feet where the passages split.The ceiling in all passages is onlyfive feet tall.

19-21. These are the three lairs ofthe greiscon tous. Roll 1D6. On aroll of 1-3, only one greiscon tou isthere; on a roll of 4-6, two greiscontous are present. The greiscon touswill attack once, then attempt toescape into the maze of debris andwait for the characters to pass.

22. A pit about six feet in diametertwists down into the darkness.

23. When the characters open thedoor leading into this area, a cloudof sand and dust will roll out, alongwith a soft humming sound and awave of heat. The dim shapes oflarge pipes and kettle-shaped boilerscan be seen. (This is all the charac-ters will be able to make out. )

Note: Inside this building is the an-cient workings of the water pumpwhich has been moving waterthrough this garden for thousands ofyears. Let the characters peer insidefor a moment, then trigger the earth-quake.

ANIMALCHART

Type: Greiscon Tou#App.: 1Size: 1 x 1Movement: L15Wounds: 3Save: 1Weight: 200 lbs.Weapons: Teeth (3, 2, 0, 1)

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

ENDING THE ADVENTUREONCE YOU HAVE triggered the

earthquake and let loose the greiscontous, the characters will have aboutfive minutes to make it back to thespire before the city slips back intothe sand. None of the Moabs willseem alarmed, and certainly none ofthem will follow the characters out.If the PCs insist on bringing a Moabwith them, both Dr. Fairbanks andMiss Dewitt will discourage thecharacters, saying that the Moabswould never survive in the society ofmodern Martians and humans.

Once outside the spire, the char-acters must quickly leave the area asthe sand begins flowing down intothe ground to fill the hole that thesinking city is leaving behind.

The characters will have a nice hotride in the desert and plenty of timeto discuss with Dr. Fairbanks andMiss Dewitt exactly how much ofthis story they want to tell (rememberhow Fairbank's name was muddiedby the desert kidnapping incident).Back at Sigeus Portus, the characterswill receive their £3000 reward fromthe Times and will be heralded in thepapers as the rescuers.

Dr. Gregory Fairbanks (Trained NPC)and although these were competent-ly written, they have not sold welland are not popular in academia. Thereason is that Gregory hypothesizedthe existence of small "self-con-tained ecosystems" beneath the des-ert. He believed that air and watercould be present in pockets, whichwould allow life to exist buried in thedesert.

His colleagues were very unsym-pathetic to his work, but the ancientCanal Martian city which he andMiss Dewitt have discovered provesthat his theories were correct.

Fairbanks has a knack for beingcaught in precarious situations andhas had his share of ill fortune. Whileon a short solo expedition some five

Attributes Skills

miles outside of Sigeus Portus,Gregory was captured by hostileHill Martians and forced to carrysupplies for them until he managedto escape three months afterward.As a result of his prolonged ab-sence, he lost his job at the univer-sity has been labeled a "crackpot"in Sigeus Portus.

Motives: Adventuresome, Curi-ous, Diligent.

Appearance: Dr. Gregory Fair-banks is slightly taller than av-erage, with square shoulders. Hewears glasses, has a beard and amustache, and wears rather nonde-script clothing. He always carriesa small leather knapsack with histools and several reference books.

DR. GREGORY Fairbanks is awell educated British scientistwhose specialty is desert geology.Gregory has published two books,

Str: 3 Fisticuffs 2, Throwing 1, Close Combat 2 (edged weapon)Agl: 1 Stealth 1End: 5 Wilderness Travel 4 (foraging), Swimming 2Int: 6 Observation 5, Science 5 (geology)Chr: 2 Eloquence 1Soc: 4 Riding 2 (horse)


Miss Lillian Dewitt (Green NPC)MISS LILLIAN DEWITT is a

young American reporter who hasbeen with the Times for only threemonths. When everyone else re-fused to take the assignment with"that crazy Fairbanks fellow, "Lillian volunteered because shethought it would be a good way tomake a name for herself. AlthoughLillian is new to the Times staff andis generally inexperienced as a re-porter, she is well liked by every-one she meets and is thought tohave a great future as a journalist.

Like Dr. Fairbanks, Lillian takesher work seriously and is verydiligent.

She has respect for Dr. Fair-banks and his work; no matter whatelse happens, if she gets back toSigeus Portus, she fully intends towrite an article which will clear Dr.Fairbanks and reinstate him as aknowledgeable and level-headedscientist.

Motives: Curious, Diligent, Pro-fessional.

Appearance: Miss Lillian De-witt is only 24 years old and ap-pears to be even younger. Her sim-ple dress, wide-brimmed hat, andlong hair make her very attractive,but she strives to remain profes-sional at all times. Lillian carriesa small bag with several notebooksand writing instruments. She isconstantly jotting down her obser-vations and anything that Dr. Fair-banks says.

Lillian has had time to study thespeech of the Moabs and has beenable to communicate somewhatwith them. To successfully talkwith the Moabs, roll her Linguis-tics skill for a Moderate task.

Attributes SkillsStr: 2

Agl: 5End: 1Int: 4Chr: 6

Soc: 3

Fisticuffs 1, Throwing 1, Close Combat (bashingweapon)Stealth 4, Marksmanship 1 (rifle)

Observation 4Eloquence 6, Linguistics 4 (French, German, Koline,Parhooni)Riding 2 (horse)

GDW

THE MYSTERY OF FORT DICKERSON

The Mystery ofFort Dickerson

THE BRITISH colony on Mars isin a constant state of growth fromeither internal population growth orimmigration. One of the results ofthis expansion has been the constantpolitical skirmishing that has recentlyerupted into war between the Oeno-trian Empire and the British colony.One reason for the problems betweenBritish and Oenotrian interests hasbeen the growing domination of Mar-tian trade by the British, particular-

ly mercantile companies such as theHesperian Basin Trading Company(HBTC).

FRONTIER OUTPOSTSIN AN EFFORT to solidify their

presence on Mars, the factors ofHBTC have constructed several out-posts on the outskirts of the exploredterritories. These outposts are builtnear or directly next to canals so theyhave an adequate supply of water

during the constant dry season thatprevails on Mars. Many are con-structed on the ruins of old Martiansettlements or outposts along one ofthe canals.

The HBTC forts/outposts alsoserve the purpose of protecting thecompany's employees in the region.While they are not heavily manned,they are equipped with adequate fire-power to threaten most light to medi-um sky galleons as well as anyground raids that might be launchedby hostile ground forces. The fortsprovide a haven for those local citi-zens who also face the constantthreats of living on the edge of thebold new frontier.

The outposts were primarily builtto serve as a hub for commercial ac-tivity, of course, and profitable traderemains their raison d'etre. The

THE HESPERIAN BASIN TRADING COMPANYTHE HBTC AND companies

like it have a long history in GreatBritain, stretching back to the mid-dle ages when merchant familiesformed cooperatives to exploit cer-tain regions and freeze out com-petition. One of the earliest formalcompanies was the Muscovy Com-pany, formed in Elizabethan timesto trade with the territories aroundthe Baltic. More recent examplesinclude the Hudson's Bay Com-pany, formed to exploit the NorthAmerican fur trade, and the mostfamous such firm, the British EastIndia Company (it is commonlyknown as "John Company"), whicheffectively ruled much of India un-til the company was closed downin the 1850s. At its height, JohnCompany had merchant ships, fac-

tories, plantations, trading stations,and warehouses throughout India. Italso had a small navy and a sizablearmy of both British and nativesoldiers to protect its interests. Manyhistorians believe that it was partlythe actions of the British East IndiaCompany that provoked the SepoyRebellion.

The HBTC, of course, is not aspowerful as John Company, but ithas only been around for a little overfour years and, like John Company,maintains an army. The soldiers ofthis force are humans, some withmilitary experience, others without.The company hires retired army ser-geants for the noncommissionedranks. Officers are largely companyexecutives with some military train-ing, with a smattering of former ar-

my officers. The equipment theyreceive is equal to that of the Brit-ish army, but their training and dis-cipline are considered substandardby professional military men. In itsdefense, however, HBTC never in-tended for its forces to be used asa full-strength offensive army, butmerely to defend its outposts. Atthis, they are remarkably good.

The soldiers of the HBTC are of-ficially organized into two regi-ments according to present-dayBritish regulations. But in practicethe regiments are split into com-pany-sized units and dispersedamong the various company out-posts. Assignments are rotated ona regular basis, and soldiers do notusually spend too much time in anyone place.


company trades British, Martian, andother manufactured goods for theraw materials of whatever region theoutpost is located in. Numerous trap-pers and explorers use these smallforts as a base of operations, explor-ing the wilds of the Martian terrainwith a place to return to for safety—ahaven in the wilderness.

While these outposts are ever-growing in number, they are usual-ly many days distance from a largergarrison or city-state. This isolationoften leaves these positions asdangerous targets for marauders whoare more than willing to risk thewrath of the British Empire for per-sonal gain. Communications between

such outlying forts and larger con-tingents of soldiers usually takesplace using periodic message run-ners, but some stations are equippedfor signaling within the local regionwith small heliographs, which arenot large enough to signal more than15 miles, but are adequate for warn-ing the nearby locals of any danger.

FORT DICKERSON& ENVIRONS

10 mi. per hex

GDW

KEY

Active Grand Canal

Abandoned FeederCanal

Hills

Steppe

Ft. Dickerson


FORT DICKERSONFORT DICKERSON is located

along a dead secondary canal some12 days southeast of the city-state ofGorklimsk (branching off of the liv-ing Gorklimsk/Syrtis Minor canal).The outpost was built on the foun-dations of an ancient Martian tower,which had long ago fallen into disar-ray and collapsed. And by the timethe British explorers had discoveredit, all that remained was a mound ofrubble.

An engineering specialist namedWilliam Poles designed the fort us-ing many of the massive stone blocksthat had once been part of the tower.The fortress stood four rods abovethe ground and had only one ap-proach, a winding pathway to aheavy stone gate. While tunnelingthrough the foundation to find water,Poles discovered several chambers ofwhat appeared to be rooms, althoughthere was not enough space in thehole for exploration. He noted theposition of the rooms and passed theinformation on to the Royal Archaeo-logical Society's representative inSyrtis Major. The rooms were sealedup again, awaiting proper investiga-tion, and were soon all but forgot-ten by the garrison.

The outpost was completed in June1887 and has been in use since then.Because the narrow stretch of thedead canal has proven to be widelytravelled by the Appolis and SeletiHill Martian clans, the trade at FortDickerson is heavy. Several ex-plorers use the post as a base ofoperations in exploring the regionsto the south. Other adventurers andfortune seekers use Fort Dickersonas a stopping-off point in theirtravels—a safe place to stop and rest.


William Poles' reported discoveryof antechambers in the foundation ofthe outpost has recently brought asmall group of archaeologists to ex-plore the secrets hidden deep underthe present outpost. For over a yearthe renowned Doctor Phillip White-house has been conducting a seriesof digs along the base of the present-day fort and has made several boastsof being close to uncovering a findthat "will shake the foundation ofwhat we know about the Martians. ''Dr. Whitehouse is known from timeto time to be a braggart, and most ofhis claims, while somewhat signifi-cant, have not altered many theories.

No raids against the fort have beenrecorded since its construction. Fur-thermore, the outpost is consideredto be a relatively safe place, especial-ly when it is compared to some otherplaces.

HBTC outposts usually have ap-proximately 65 personnel (whatwould be called a "short company"in the army) assigned as a garrison.This mix of personnel can be deceiv-ing since the number includes sup-plemental personnel such as clerks,cooks, etc. The actual number ofcombat soldiers assigned to defendthe fort is closer to 57.

In most outposts, because of theirisolated locations, about half of thegarrison will be trained in riding,usually gashants or ruumet breehr.This is not enough to give the com-pany any significant long-distancestriking power, but it is sufficient topatrol the near vicinity of the outpost.

Lookouts are posted at all times intall towers built from the nativestone. The towers are equipped withheliograph signaling apparatuses, butat Dickerson this equipment is rare-ly used except to communicate with

closeby patrols since no other outpostis within signaling range.

Each outpost is equipped with can-non weaponry for protection fromsky galleons. These weapons rangein size from a six-pounder on up andare usually mounted so they can fireat steep angles to attack incomingflyers. Such a fort will usually alsomaintain several smaller guns, suchas Nordenfelt or Maxim guns, forprotection as well. The guns aremanned at all times.

Aside from barracks and at leastone magazine, the interior of the out-posts is usually made up of a numberof small huts and buildings. Manyhave small hotels and bars run byHBTC subcontractors catering to theunique adventurers who travel theMartian sands. Shops and a marketsquare are also very common, al-though they are not permitted insome forts due to the forts' proximityto raiding Hill Martians.

The most guarded position in anyoutpost is the well. Without waterthere is no hope for survival underthe blazing Sun. Thus, wells areusually guarded and protectedaround-the-clock. Some forts havestockpiled water butts in variousother locations about the fort as aprecaution, in case the well goes dry.

TROUBLEIN THE WILDERNESS

THE HBTC DISTRICT managerhas reported that the first of therotating soldiers due back from thefort failed to arrive when expected.Indeed, they have been late by near-ly five days. The commander of FortDickerson, Lionel Perry, is wellknown for his precision operationsand leadership. Thus, it is assumedsomething has happened to FortDickerson.

The last caravan of traders com-ing in from the area two weeks agoreported that the fort appeared as italways had on previous visits. TheseHill Martians often travel the oldcanal route since it offers plant lifeand ample water for survival. Ac-cording to an interview with them,there was no indication of anythingwrong or of any difficulties of anysort at the fort. Only the usualcivilians and garrison soldiers werepresent.

HBTC has, therefore, decided thatan expedition must be mounted tofind out what has happened. Thecharacters are hired by HBTC fortheir local expertise, military skills,or other reason (to be determined bythe referee).

GDW


REFEREE'S SYNOPSISIN THIS ADVENTURE the play-

ers will undertake a mission todiscover the mysterious disappear-ance of the individuals who lived atFort Dickerson. The scenario isessentially divided into sections, eachone covering a portion of the adven-ture. The journey to the distant out-post covers one part of the adventure,and the investigation of what is foundat Fort Dickerson comprises a greatdeal of play. Here the players willtry to deduce what happened to theinhabitants.

The final portion of the adventurewill focus on the players acting onthe information they find at the fort.Will they make the right choice andtake the proper course of action? Orwill they make a fatal mistake?

As the leader of the expedition, thelocal director has chosen an ex-British officer, Lieutenant FrankBroadstone. Broadstone will be tak-ing the characters, some Martianteamsters for the expedition's ga-shants, and the contingent of HBTCsoldiers due to be rotated into FortDickerson. This group of soldierswill number no more than 10 andwill be armed with nothing more

powerful than Lee-Metford rifles.The characters can come from a

wide variety of backgrounds and stilltake part in this adventure. Anyscientists or explorers will be in-terested in going to meet with Dr.Phillip Whitehouse. Adventurercharacters may be hired to comealong because of their specific skills(knowledge of the area or Linguis-tics). Reporter player characters willfeel right off the bat that this mys-terious lack of communications hasthe ring of a good story. Anytime afrontier outpost falls out of com-munications, it makes good press.They may have a strong interest inthe works of Dr. Whitehouse, aswell.

Any player characters who areserving in the military may have beenassigned to inspect the HBTC postsin the region and will naturally be in-terested in what is going on at Dick-erson.

GETTING THERETHE JOURNEY to the fort will

take a total of 12 days. Some of thiswill be along the main canal, but thebulk of the trip is along a secondarycanal, long since silted up and nowclassified as dead. Occasionally some

pooled water will be found, but mostof the water flows under the surface.Green grass and trees will grow inabundance over the area where thewater flows, while only a few hun-dred yards away desert winds howl.Such dead canals are described morefully in Space: 1889.

The route of the dead canal is oftenladen with dangers. In many placesthe canal cannot be seen for miles,as it runs underground. On the sur-face it can still be followed since thisis the only source of life in the Mar-tian sands. This long strip of plantlife in the desert attracts some of thehostile animals. Also, this stretchserves as a navigational roadway forthe Martians in the region. ManyMartians have little love of theBritish or their outposts. Dangerlurks behind every tree and brush,and the journey is destined to be oneof high risks and dangerous dealingswith both the known and the un-known.

The players are assumed to be ongashants for the duration of the trip.Each day the dead canal is followedto the fort, use the following en-counters to provide the players withaction and activity.

DAYS ONE THROUGH THREEFOR THE FIRST two days of the

trip, the players are assumed to betravelling along the banks of the Syr-tis Minor canal. The normal canalencounter table should be used forthis journey. On the third day, theybegin travelling down the old canalbed and have no encounters of im-portance until the next day.

DAY FOURTHE PARTY meets a trading car-

avan at dusk, just as the caravan is


bedding down for the night. Thisgroup of Canal Martian traders hastravelled across the sands of the Mar-tian terrain and has only recentlybegun to follow the old canal that theplayers are on. A total of 21 differenttraders are all mounted upon massiveruumet breehr, and all of them arecarrying their wares and theirfamilies with them. They will be hap-py to see the British soldiers andother personnel, in hope of sellingmore of their goods.

That night the caravan leader,Mortorek, will be happy to discusswhat he knows of Fort Dickersonwith Lieutenant Broadstone (as wellas with the player characters). Hewill inform the players that his car-avan did not pass Fort Dickerson, buthe will tell tales of a tribe of HillMartians known as the Seleti that hasbeen raiding the trade routes (humanand Martian) in the outpost area.Otherwise, the traders will only beinterested in selling their goods.

The caravan will go on its way thenext morning, and the expedition willproceed along the trail. Use the nor-mal encounter tables until the eighthday.

DAY EIGHTTHE PARTY WILL encounter a

pair of bandits. Two human banditson gashants will shadow the playersfor several hours. If approached,they will always pull back, keepingtheir distance.

That night, they will attempt tosneak into the players' camp in an ef-fort to steal anything of value. Theywill be interested mostly in weapons.Even if sentries are posted, as theymost likely will be, the two banditswill make it into the camp before thealarm is sounded.

The two bandits, both trainedNPCs, are each armed with a lever-action carbine and a pair of large-bore pistols. These cowardly banditswould rather flee than fight astraight-up battle and will attempt todo so the moment 'the odds turnagainst them. They have tied theirmounts some 100 yards from thecampsite, in case they have to makea fast getaway.

If captured, they will admit to hav-ing been at Fort Dickerson over a

month ago. They will also freely tellthe players that a tribe of Hill Mar-tians has been "bothering" the out-post. Indeed, two of the Hill Mar-tians got into a confrontation with thelocal authorities that resulted in bothof them being killed. Since that time,the relations between the Hill Mar-tians and the outpost have been icy,at best.

If pressed for information concern-ing the tribe, they will only know itsname—the Seleti.

Lieutenant Franklin Broadstone (Trained NPC)daring he acts, Frank is often seenas a brash young upstart. Some-times he comes off as overlyfriendly, and that attitude does notsettle well with his superiors.

Att. Skills

FRANKLIN BROADSTONE wasborn in Kent and is the product ofyears of the finest training andmilitary education his parents couldbuy. After his initial training andhis successful graduation fromRMA Sandhurst, he was posted toIndia (which he found to be in-credibly dull) and retired frommilitary service at the first oppor-tunity. He was taken on by theHBTC very soon thereafter and hasserved with the company's militaryforces for several years.

Broadstone is a determined andchivalrous individual. His follow-ing of orders is on the edge ofblindness, and he rarely questionssuperiors. No matter how bold and

Str: 4 Fisticuffs 4, Throwing 1,Close Combat 2 (polearm)

Agl: 5 Stealth 4, Marksmanship(rifle 4, pistol 2)

End: 5 Wilderness Travel 5(foraging)

Int: 4 Observation 3Chr: 5 Eloquence 4, Linguistics

3 (French, Hindi)Soc: 5 Riding 5 (horse), Leader-

ship 5

Motives: Adventuresome, Curi-ous, Dutiful.

Appearance: Broadstone is talland dashing, with sandy blond hairand a neat handlebar mustache. Hiseyesight is failing, and he wearsglasses for reading and for detailedwork. Lieutenant Broadstone al-ways carries a large revolver andan infantry officer's sword.

GDW


DAY NINETHE PCS encounter a group of

Martian hunters at some point on theninth day (timing of the encounter isleft up to the referee). A small bandof eight Canal Martians will meet thecharacters. They are all armed withspears and initially are apprehensiveof the humans. It will take severaltense moments of negotiations be-tween Lieutenant Broadstone and thehunter leader, Miki, before they willrelax their posture and talk. Until thattime, they will hold their spearsready to throw, keeping all the char-acters edgy.

They will claim that two humantrappers have been working theirusual foraging areas and have killedmost of their food sources. One ofthese men was seen only two daysearlier heading northeast of the fort.Miki will seem to think that some-thing is peculiar—the trapper hasnever been seen without his com-panion. The two have been campingtwo days' ride from the fort (at thesouth on the edge of the canal zone)and have been there for a short time.

If the players press for informationon the Seleti tribe, Miki will state thatthe Seleti are only remotely known

to him. They are a band of nomadsthat are known for their violence andtheir dislike of the Earthmen on theirworld. The Seleti are no friends ofMiki's tribe either, and have raidedthe Canal Martians in the region forseveral decades.

When pressed for information con-cerning the fort, Miki will act afraid.Three days earlier he and his huntersapproached the fort—seeing no signsof life. The gun posts and watch-tower were unmanned. Miki led hismen away, saying an air of deathhangs over the outpost, and they haveavoided going near it. Use the nor-mal encounter tables until day 11.

DAY ELEVENWHEN THE PLAYERS are one

day's ride from the fort, they willcome across the rotted remains of aHill Martian body. The corpse isfound leaning near a small tree, al-most totally concealed by a clump ofscrub grass. The air smells of decay,but the body must be investigated.

The body has been dead for severalweeks and, if it is inspected careful-ly, bullet slugs will be found in thetorso. Lieutenant Broadstone will ex-amine the bullets closely and will an-nounce that they are standard army

issue. This Martian was killed by aBritish soldier or someone using aBritish weapon.

THE FORT PROPERON MIDMORNING of the 12th

day the players will spot Fort Dicker-son. An uneasy calm hangs over theoutpost. As the hunter, Miki, stated,none of the usual posts are staffed atthe fort, and there are no signs of ac-tivity. As the characters approach,they will see Martian carrion birdscircling above the fort—an unnerv-ing sight. The tall watchtowers areunmanned and eerily silent. Aboveeverything, a union jack and thecompany flag flap slightly in the lightbreeze.

The fort has a long ramped cause-way leading up to its only gate. It issituated along what was, at one time,the canal. The water surfaces severalhundred feet from the edge of theoutpost, runs past it on opposite sidesof the ramp leading into the fort, thenpools 200 yards away, sinking under-ground again.

The fort is tall and is visible forsome distance. Built on the founda-tions of an old Martian tower, thefort is covered with dry vines and asmall quantity of the gray-greenMartian moss found wherever thereis sufficient moisture. Along the sideof the fort that faces the remains ofthe canal is evidence of clearing; thepiles of stones here are a strong in-dication that this is the area whereDr. Whitehouse was conducting hisdig.

As the player characters approach,they will see that the main gate to thefort (the only way in) is cracked openslightly. Any yells to the fort will on-ly scare off the carrion birds from thecourtyard.


THE TESTIMONY OF CORPORAL OWENSERGEANT MASTERS and Pri-

vate Sternson pushed at the massivedoorway with all their might. De-spite its appearance, the door didnot seem to want to move at first.Then it slowly creaked open enoughfor one of them to look in. Stern-son stuck his head in for a moment,his pistol at the ready. Then we sawhis body begin to shake. His facewas blank, white as sailcloth. Helooked me in the eyes, and I sawhis knees begin to give way. Stern-son pulled back; Sergeant Mastersheld him as he began to vomit.Whatever it was that he had seen,it was something quite horrible, Iwas assured of that much. I didn'tknow what it was, but I was surethat I didn't want the same fate tobefall me and those near me.

The massive front gate requiresthe strength of two men to openenough for a person to pass. As

soon as it is opened, the players willbe nearly overpowered by. the stenchof death in the air. Looking into thecourtyard, the players will see the re-mains of the personnel of the fort.The corpses are almost unrecogniz-able after the carrion birds havefeasted. They obviously have beendead for some time, and it appearsthat they were killed and then stackedin the courtyard—perhaps as awarning.

In several areas around the court-yard and near the bodies are shat-tered remains of Hill Martian spears.Indeed it appears that a raid of somesort has taken place here, and theseare the victims of that attack.

At the corner of the courtyard, atthe base of the watchtower, is acrudely nailed piece of wood. Indried blood is the word "Seleti"written in English. No bodies arefound near the place where the word

is written, no evidence of who leftthis vital clue.

"Horrible, that's what it was,sir, horrible. I joined the army 10years ago. I've served in some pret-ty remote places and seen somethings that would turn a man's hairwhite as snow, but nothin' like theslaughter we found there. Bloodyspears layin' about, some stillstickin' in the bodies of the dead.And that word hangin' over us all,Seleti. If they was responsible fora doin' this, then they would pay,and pay dearly, that much you canbe sure of. "

We secured the fort and thenclosed the gate. Walters and Tor-rence manned the lookout, and webegan to dig through what was leftof it all. There had to be some sortof answer, something that wouldjustify or explain the slaughter thatwe found.

GDW


A SEARCH FOR ANSWERSONCE THE characters have got-

ten over the shock of finding thecorpses, they will begin trying to dis-cover exactly what became of the oc-cupants of the outpost. In order to dothis, they will have to conduct asearch of the fort and the surround-ing area. The referee has the task ofpresenting the information to themand allowing them to piece togetherthe clues needed to solve the mys-tery. To search for clues and othervital information, use the map pro-vided on page 54 and the descriptionsas written below. The referee shouldfeel free to add to the descriptions ashe feels necessary.

1. The Courtyard: A total of 32corpses are in the courtyard of FortDickerson. Most of these have beenstacked like logs. They are all in ad-vanced stages of decay, with little leftto examine in most cases.

Characters inspecting the fewbodies that are intact will find noevidence of any wounds or cuts. Infact, other than superficial damagedone by the carrion birds, there is novisible cause of death on the corpses.Furthermore, none of the bodieshave been looted, and all seem tohave been dragged from within thecompound to their location in thecourtyard.

In is important to note that all ofthe bodies found are those of theBritish garrison soldiers—none arethose of the civilians who lived in thefort.

The crude sign seems to have beenpainted with blood. Nearby is a towelthat is stained with what appears tobe blood and must have been used todraw the letters. No bodies are nearthe sign.

2. Atillison's Mercantile: Thisstore was the general store that sup-plied residents and visitors of the out-post. A thin layer of dust coverseverything, signifying that the storehas not been looted since the day ofthe massacre.

If a check is made of the receipts,the characters will find that the lastsales made were to two trappersnamed Wilson and Hobbes, almostfour weeks ago. They purchased am-munition for rifles, as well as typicalfoodstuffs and supplies. Both mentraded furs and skins for their goods.

An inventory of the store will takealmost a full day for one person tocomplete. It will show that all moneyin the building has been removed.Also taken was a large amount of ba-con, lard, flour, and oats, as if some-one were planning a long journey orknew that they could not come backto the fort for some time.

3. Livery: The stablemaster'snotes show that a total of 26 gashantswere quartered at the livery. As theplayers inspect the fort, they find thatall the gashants are gone. Whoeverraided the outpost and killed thedefenders took all the gashants, aswell as the riding tack, with them.Four large wagons listed on the in-ventory are missing as well.

4. Barracks: This two-storybuilding was built out of massivestone blocks were once part of thetower where the outpost now stands.As the barracks for the Fort Dicker-son garrison, it is well defended evenif the interior of the fort is under at-tack. This structure appears totallyundisturbed.

All the beds are made in perfectBritish military style. Four of thebeds even have gear laid out forinspection.

5. Officers' Quarters/CommandPost: The officers' quarters doubledas a command post and a battle in-firmary at Fort Dickerson. In thissingle-story building the players willfind more of the garrison forces, es-pecially in the area of the infirmary.None of the bodies show any sign ofcombat injuries. Indeed, despite theirdecay, they appear to have been inperfect condition. As the charactersmove through the building, they willfind the remains of the post physi-cian in the aisle. In his hands is ashattered jar of malt powder com-monly used to treat stomach ailmentsand cramps.

The command post itself revealsthe body of the garrison commander,Lionel Perry, seated at his desk.Next to him is an empty water glasswith the dried remains of maltpowder.

In the outpost's log, Perry notesthe arrival of two traders by the nameof John Wilson and Peter Hobbes,who arrived at the fort on the morn-ing of April 13 to purchase supplies.According to the log, the men lefttwo days later, on April 15, at mid-day, after taking on supplies. This isthe last entry in the log, apparentlymade on or near the day of themassacre.

If the previous two months of thelog are carefully scanned, several en-tries stand out that might lead to cluesas to motives or reasons for the mas-sacre at the fort. One dated March2 points to three men punished forstealing and sentenced to 30 days ex-tra duty.

Another entry, dated March 5, in-dicates that several nomads of theSeleti clan arrived at the outpost.They had an altercation with twosoldiers and, in a brief fist fight,


drew their weapons. A gunner on theNordenfelt saw the action in thecourtyard and discharged his weap-on, killing the Seleti. Several othersof the clan left, vowing revenge forthe loss of their fellow tribesmen indishonorable combat. The Seletiweapons were confiscated from thedead.

The only other entry of any impor-tance was on April 3 and concernsDr. Whitehouse and his work. Ac-cording to the sketchy notes byPerry, Dr. Whitehouse made somesort of discovery of "great value, "and the commander was sworn tosecrecy on the matter. On the side ofthe page is a small doodling of adiamond-shaped gem with a £ sym-bol next to it.

Another find that might be of in-terest is a recent inventory of the gar-rison armory and magazine.

A more detailed search of the com-mand post will show no signs of astruggle, but one door to a closet hasbeen forced open. Usually this closetwas used for holding confiscateditems and contraband. Missing, ac-cording to the roster sheet, areseveral Seleti spears.

6. Phillips' Boarding House: Thisstructure stands two stories tall andis the residence of the majority of thecivilians living at the fort. An inspec-tion of the rooms reveals little morethan personal objects and effects.Most of the rooms seem to show evi-dence of a hurried packing and de-parture.

The only item of interest is in Mrs.Phillips' registration book in the lob-by of the building. Listed as the lasttwo guests to stay are John Wilsonand Peter Hobbes.

7. Various Civilian Quarters:The company soldiers lived in the

barracks, but several other familiesalso lived in the outpost. Like theboarding house, most of these havebeen left rather messy, as if someonehastily packed his belongings and de-parted. There are no signs of strug-gle, however, adding to the air ofmystery.

8. Mess Hall: The mess hall ap-pears abandoned and left in disarray.Dirty dishes are piled, awaiting awashing they never received.

In the back of the hall (in the pan-try) are the bodies of the garrison'scook and his assistant. Like with theother corpses, there is no sign of astruggle here—only death.

The only significant clue can befound near the back door of thebuilding. It is a broken jar of somesort, shattered against the massiveblocks that make up the structure. In-side the broken glass bottom is asmall amount of some powdery,dried, green substance. On thebroken remains of the jar is a labelwith the Martian word termuaascrawled on the slightly torn paper.

9. Dr. Whitehouse's Laboratory/Residence: At first this building ap-pears to be a normal house for acivilian in the fort. However, it islaid out like a museum workroom.There are several stone artifacts,such as jars and tools, each with apiece of paper under it describingwhere it was found and what it maybe. Two five-foot, stone, grindingwheels with intricate carvings arepropped up against the wall. The on-ly evidence that this building wasused as a residence is a small cot inthe corner and a handful of personaleffects identifying this as Dr. PhillipWhitehouse's laboratory.

Like those of many doctors, Dr.Whitehouse's notes are difficult to

read, and the referee should makethis as difficult as possible for thecharacters. There are scant referenc-es that Dr. Whitehouse had foundsomething significant in his diggingsat the base of the outpost. He makesreference to the Lens of Torbash andthe Lens of Fibash. Other than that,nothing else of significance can begained from his scrawled notes.

10. Armory and Magazine: Thissmall structure is underground, builtinto the foundation of the outpost.The door to the armory has beenforced open, and the crowbar usedto do it still lies nearby. Many of therifles used by the garrison are stillin place on the racks, but nearly adozen are missing.

A close check of the inventoryfound in the command post will re-veal that eight cases of rifle ammuni-tion have been taken, along with alarge quantity of ammunition for theNordenfelt five-barrel gun. All am-munition for the fort's Hotchkisscannon is still in place.

11. Gun Position One: Thiselevated platform mounts a Hotch-kiss six-pounder rotating cannon.The gun is bolted into the massivestonework foundation of the outpost.The bolts show signs of having beentampered with recently, and severaltools are found nearby, supportingthat theory.

Apparently thieves or the murder-ers attempted to take the weapon butdid not because of the effort in-volved.

12. Gun Position Two: This posi-tion at one time mounted a Norden-felt five-barrel gun, but now it isgone.

Scar marks in the stone indicatethat it was lowered into the courtyardafter it was removed.

GDW


FORT DICKERSONKEY

Rubble

British Buildings

Martian Buildings

Dr. Whitehouse's Trenches

1. The Courtyard2. Atillison's Mercantile3. Livery4. Barracks5. Officer's Quarters/Command Post6. Phillip's Boarding House7. Various Civilian Quarters8. Mess Hall9. Doctor Whitehouse's

Laboratory/Residence10. Armory and Magazine11. Gun Position One12. Gun Position TwoScale is 6' Tactical Squares.


DR. WHITEHOUSE'S DIGFAR DOWN AT the base of the

fort is the area where Dr. White-house had been conducting his dig-gings. The exterior is marked withtall mounds of dirt, and numeroustrenches and trial excavations. Oneof the massive stone blocks used inthe foundation has been pulled outenough to allow a person passage in-side the unofficial basement of thefort.

Several lanterns and lights will berequired (even in broad daylight) tomake out the interior of the diggings.The removed block apparently con-cealed an antechamber left by theoriginal Martian builders. Oddwritings and runes cover one of thewalls, and in the dim light they seemto stand as some sort of warning.

Further investigation will showanother very small, narrow passageinto yet another antechamber. Herestone mosaics (in terrible condition)show Canal Martians holding staffsup to the Sun. Mounted on top ofthese staffs are large gems, almostthe size of a human hand.

In the center of the room is asmall, intricately carved, black,wooden box. Nothing is left insidebut the tattered remains of a once-ornate cloth. The contents are ap-parently missing.

A further investigation of the out-side of the dig will turn up only aseries of excavation holes, evident-ly dug in accordance to some pattern,since they are regulary spaced apart.

At the edge of the water canal thecharacters will find the body of Dr.Whitehouse. Unlike any of theothers, his body has been shot, andthe bullet fired was from a Britishmilitary rifle.

GATHERING THE CLUESTOGETHER

BROADSTONE IS more thanwilling to take his time in the in-vestigation. He will have the majori-ty of his soldiers manning the bat-tlements of the outpost while theothers sift through the remains andtry to determine what has happenedto the men and women who oncelived in the fort.

After several days of research, thelieutenant will call in the players todiscuss the clues that have beenfound. It will be up to the wholegroup to try to determine what hastaken place.

The clues are as follows.• All of the garrison soldiers'

bodies have been accounted for, withthe exception of three men. None ofthe civilians, nearly 20 in number,have been found, with the exceptionof Dr. Whitehouse. It is entirelypossible that the fort's civilians fledthe outpost or were taken as pris-oners, especially since it appears thatmany of them packed before theydeparted.

• The name of the Hill Martiantribe, Seleti, was found in the court-yard. Several days before the mas-sacre, Seleti tribesmen were killed inan altercation with the British. Also,Seleti spears were found in the debrisof the courtyard.

• Scant evidence points to the factthat Dr. Whitehouse made some sortof a significant discovery in hiswork, yet nothing of value has beenfound either at the site or in the fort.The items could have been stolen bythe individuals responsible for themassacre.

• Whoever or whatever per-formed this heinous act apparentlytook plenty of supplies, ammunition,and the outpost's five-barrel Norden-felt gun with them.

• With the exception of Dr.Whitehouse, all of the victims ap-parently show no signs of a struggle.The infirmary was filled, and thereis a possibility of a sudden infectionor sickness of some sort.

• The only other individuals inthe outpost were two fur trappers,named John Wilson and PeterHobbes, who lived nearby.

• A strange substance named ter-muaa was discovered at the back ofthe mess hall. This name is Martian,and the qualities of the substance areunknown.

Given the set of clues, the lieuten-ant feels that the only course of ac-tion left is to take a portion of hisforce and set out to find the fur trap-pers, Wilson and Hobbes, and inter-rogate them. If no answer is foundwith them, then he will attempt tofind out what he can from the no-madic Seleti.

GDW


SPLITTING FORCESTHE GARRISON FORCE will be

under the command of SergeantMasters, while Lieutenant Broad-stone leads the expedition. He willonly take six troops with him.Despite the fact he feels civilians aredifficult to handle and risky to havealong, he welcomes any who arearmed and willing to fight, if theneed arises.

Using the information provided byMiki, he will lead the group onhorseback to the south, searching forthe dwellings of the fur trappers,Wilson and Hobbes. The ride willtake two days, and eventually theplayers will find a small hut built ona hillside. Like at the fort, there isinitially no sign of life.

A DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERAS THE characters approach the

small hut, they will notice movementin the shade trees nearby. LieutenantBroadstone will hold his forces back,ordering two of his men to flank tothe far right to try to find out whois hiding there. Just as he gives hisorder, a tall Hill Martian will step outof hiding. He is dressed in a fur tunicand is very old. In his hand is a largespear, and he is holding it in a men-acing manner—apparently unafraidof the British officer and his men.

Eight Hill Martians step out ofhiding at a wave of their leader'sarm. Like their leader, they arearmed with spears and show littlefear at the sight of the more heavilyarmed British.

The Martian will make no effortto communicate first, since cus-tomarily this is a sign of weaknessamong his tribe. Eventually, he willtake several long strides forward un-til he is only 30 feet from the Britishparty. He will be followed closely byhis party, each appearing as menac-ing as possible.

It is important to note that any vio-lent or threatening action on the partof any player character will result ina similar stance by one of the HillMartians. Thus, if the player char-acters hold their weapons pointed atthe Martians, the Seleti will holdtheir spears up, ready to throw at thehumans. Any attack will be met witha counterattack.

If such a situation arises, all theSeleti have Strength 5 and Endurance4. Each is armed with a spear.

If a fight does break out, the lieu-tenant will do what he can to get bothsides to halt and talk. Finally, Lieu-tenant Broadstone will step forwardand address the Seleti leader directly.

THE SELETI SIDEOF THE STORY

THE HILL MARTIAN will iden-tify himself as Celet, leader of theSeleti clan. He will blatantly demandto know why the British party hascome here—to murder more of hispeople in cold blood? Was not theblood of his brother enough for theirtastes? (His use of the English lan-guage is fair but often difficult tounderstand. )

Once through with his initial de-mands, he will openly listen to thestory told by Lieutenant Broadstone.The lieutenant will go into all thedetails of the findings, even mention-ing the blood-written word "Seleti"in the courtyard. Celet will listen and


appear unshaken by the account.After several long seconds of si-

lence, he will sneer at the lieutenant.Yes, there was an altercation with thegarrison, and several of the Seletiwere killed, but massacre is not theway of his people. They only havea blood feud with the man who ac-tually killed his people, and from thesound of it, that feud is ended nowthat he is among the dead.

As for the sign that implicatedhim, Celet will claim that he, and healone, knows how to write in En-glish. His people would never havewasted the time to leave a clue as towho committed the crime. Neitherwould they have abandoned the fortwithout stripping it of everythinguseful to them.

When pressed as to why he wasnear the hut used by Wilson andHobbes, Celet will state that he hasa working agreement with the twomen and has not heard from them insome time. The Seleti found noevidence of wrongdoing or any signof either trapper. Celet and his mendo not find this bothersome, sinceboth humans also have a cave in anearby hill where they live from timeto time.

If one of the characters accom-panying the party asks about theword termuaa, they will see Celet'seyes narrow. He will state that it isa poison made from weeds foundalong the canal. His people soldsome to several of the British soldiersduring their last fateful visit to thefort. The officers in the outpostfound that when combined with alight oil, it was an effective leathercleaner and preservative.

Celet will claim that he does notknow what happened to the civilianswho lived at Fort Dickerson. He will

imply strongly, however, that someMartian tribes to the far south willpay handsomely for human slaves.

Celet will depart with his menwhen he is done speaking. He willmake no effort to follow or badgerthe expedition at all.

Any investigation of the hut willfind that, apparently, it is abandoned,with no weapons or signs of foodthere. Most of the personal effects,with the exception of some clothing,are gone.

From the look of everything, thehut has been abandoned for sometime, at least three weeks.

ANOTHER BODYACCORDING TO Celet, Hobbes

and Wilson's cave is two days'march to the southeast. LieutenantBroadstone will lead the players insetting off to find the trappers, feel-ing that they offer the greatestamount of information about whathappened at the fort.

After a day's ride, one of thescouts will come across the fallenform of John Wilson. Wilson hasbeen shot and is near death. Thewound is very old and badly infected,and there is little hope that he can besaved. As he lays near death, he willfinally fill the player characters in onwhat has happened to the outpost andits occupants, at least as far as heknows.

From his deathbed Wilson willstate that three of the soldiers of thefort found out that Dr. Whitehousehad discovered two gems of greatvalue. These men, privates namedShaugnessy, Wicks, and Holt, strucka deal with Wilson and his partnerPeter Hobbes to help them steal thegems. But the theft was foiled, andboth Wilson and Hobbes backed out

of the deal. Peter Hobbes, though,turned on his partner and sold out tothe soldiers. Hobbes then went backto the fort.

John Wilson knows that the fourmen were going to poison the gar-rison's food. Then they would takethe gems. Using whatever meanspossible, they would capture thecivilians and sell them off to the slavetraders to the south, which waswhere Peter Hobbes' skills were tocome into use. After that they wouldlay low for several months, then sellthe gems for a tidy sum.

Wilson believes that once the planwas underway, the three soldierskilled his partner. Wilson fled totheir cave retreat only to find it nowin the hands of the soldiers. He wasshot and left for dead, but he man-aged to crawl back this far.

Before he can give any details ofthe layout of the cave, he will warnthem of the Nordenfelt at the en-trance. Furthermore, the soldiers stillhave the women from the outpost ashostages and are willing to kill themif they have to.

Wilson obviously knows more, butin his weakened state slips into acoma. Within a matter of hours hedies, taking with him any hope of thePCs finding out the cave's secrets.

GDW


THE CAVE

CLIMAXIT WILL TAKE another full day

to reach the cave. A rather large rockoutcropping rises out of the sandyand rocky wastes. The cave is situ-ated at the base of the massive rockand is fortified by a number ofboulders forming a defensive ringaround it. In the opening of the cave,glittering in the light of day, are thefive steely fingers of the Nordenfelt'sbarrels.

Lieutenant Broadstone realizes thata direct assault would almost assur-edly take the lives of all his men.From a distance the expedition seesactivity—mostly the women millingabout under the ever-present guns oftheir captors.

Kidnappers have taken up firing positionsin the boulders near the mouth of the cave.

Nordenfelt

Boulders

Captives

KEY

= 6 ft.

AttributeStrengthAgilityEnduranceIntelligenceCharismaSocial Status

Shaugnessy433231

Wicks422332

Holt242332

KIDNAPPER ATTRIBUTES

SkillFisticuffsMarksmanship:

RiflePistol

Shaugnessy3

32

Wicks3

32

Holt4

23

SKILLS


Broadstone proposes that a smallgroup attempt to sneak up on thecave at night and free the prisoners.Then the matter of the treasonoussoldiers can be dealt with. Anyplayer characters who volunteer willbe accepted.

The cave itself is very shallow, on-ly going back some 40 feet into therock outcropping. All the gashantsstolen from the fort are tied to theeast in a small area of grass andweeds. A small well is located at thewestern edge of the rocks, barelyenough to supply the humans livingthere.

The Nordenfelt gun is manned atall times by one of the renegadesoldiers. Any person attempting tosneak into the cave in the middle ofthe night must roll a die. On a rollof 1 or 2, the sentry at the gun isasleep and does not notice. On anyother roll, he will spot the charactersand attempt to turn the gun on them.If the rescuers move fast enough(Agility greater than 4), they canoverpower the gunner and do sowithout raising an alarm.

The women from the outpost aretied up at night and are kept alongthe eastern edge of the cave wall. Sixtrip wires, rigged to cowbells, arestrung randomly in the area so any-one coming in or attempting to fleewill set them off. Each time one isencountered, the player crossing itmust roll a die. A roll of 4, 5, or 6indicates that the wire has been foundand can be avoided. Otherwise it istripped, warning the kidnappers.

If an alarm is raised, the two re-maining kidnappers will draw riflesand attempt to threaten one of thewomen if the players do notwithdraw.

They will hold the hostage in front

of them, warning the characters off.If the PCs leave, they will find the

Nordenfelt turned on them the mo-ment that they are clear of the cave.If they opt to rush the kidnappers,they will find that the killers will tossaside the women and fire at themdirectly.

Shaugnessy, Wicks, and Holt areall Trained NPCs.

The soldiers' last-ditch attempt tohold what they have will take placeonly when two of the three have beenkilled or knocked unconscious. Theremaining kidnapper will grab atorch and threaten to apply it to a kegof black powder, slightly open in therear of the cave. He will pick up thekeg and try to make his way out ofthe cave, if allowed to do so.

If threatened, he will drop thetorch and bolt for the exit, regardlessof where the player characters are.If the kidnapper is shot, roll a die.On a roll of 1 or 2 he will have fallendown and dropped the burning torchon the powder. The player characterswill have to roll their Agility ratingsor less to escape the cave before thepowder explodes. Treat the womenprisoner NPCs as if they have arating of 3 for Agility. Any explosionwill seal the cave and all of its con-tents forever.

If the adventure ends with bothsurvivors and cave intact, the playerswill find a total of 12 women whoare still alive. They will state that theremainder of the civilians, five men,were taken south five days ago by atrading caravan that purchased themen from the kidnappers. Apparent-ly there was a squabble over the pricefor the women, and they were notsold.

The story they tell will match JohnWilson's. All of them are suffering

FIVE OF the men taken fromthe fort have been sold intoslavery somewhere to the south.The PCs can follow the canal inan effort to find and free them.

There will likely be a companyinquiry into the incident at FortDickerson as well. The charac-ters are destined to be called backat a later date as witnesses, es-pecially if any of the kidnap-pers/killers are taken alive.

The referee should rememberthat the men who conducted themassacre at Fort Dickerson knowthey are facing the death sentencefor their crimes. They may suc-cessfully escape, hoping to killany potential witnesses or to fleeback to Earth (or another worldaltogether). The characters maybe called back into service to tryto track them down.

from the early signs of malnutrition,and several are ill.

In the cave (considered lost if thecavern is blown up) is a small leatherbag with the broken remains of thetwo large gems that were stolen fromDr. Whitehouse's find. The victimswill say that the gems were brokenduring a fight between two of thekidnappers. The contents of the bag,even though the gems were shat-tered, are worth nearly £26, 000. Thecompany will turn 10 percent of thisover to the characters.

If any of the kidnappers are takenalive, they will be shackled heavilyand guarded around-the-clock. Theywill be taken back to Fort Dickersonto await trial.

GDW

FURTHERADVENTURES

SHIP COMBAT

Ship CombatFROM TIME TO time there may

be fights between aquatic vessels,particularly ones travelling down thecanals of Mars or through theswamps of Venus. These brief rules

are intended to provide a frameworkwithin which the referee can resolvesuch battles. A modified form of theaerial combat rules is used, with theobvious difference that altitude is ig-

Vessel SpeedWar GalleyMerchantBargeSkiffSubmarineSteam LaunchHydrofoil R

211213x 2

Note: R x 2 means the

Ram Hull Crew ArmamentYesNoNoNoYesNoNospeed

203040

4101010

of the

201010

1633

vessel

1 heavy gun, 10 passengersNone, 10 passengersNone, 20 passengersNone, 5 passengers2 torpedoesNone, 10 passengers1 machinegun, 2 passengers

is twice its reliability number.

nored. In addition, the followingmodifications are made.

Damage: All boats have theirspeed halved (round down) once theyhave taken half their total allowedhull hits, and they sink once theyhave taken all their allowed hull hits.Irrelevant critical hits (such asmagazine or boiler hits) are rerolled.

A loss of trim critical hit becomes"uncontrolled flooding, " a new typeof damage result. Ships suffering anuncontrolled flooding result im-mediately take hull hits equal to thedamage value of the round whichcaused the hit. In each subsequentmovement phase the crewmembersmay attempt to stop the flooding byconducting a normal damage repairattempt. If they succeed, the hit hasno further effect. If they fail, the shiptakes additional hull hits equal to theoriginal damage value. This con-tinues every turn until either theflooding is stopped or the ship sinks.

Ramming: Normal rules for ram-ming and collisions are used, exceptthat any ship damaged by a success-ful ram (by a ram-equipped ship)automatically suffers an uncontrolledflooding critical hit.

Submarines: Submarines mustdeclare whether they are surfaced orsubmerged during the initiative phaseof each turn. They may not be firedat while submerged, but they maynot ram while submerged either. Assubmarines are completely enclosedand are difficult targets, all gun andcrew hits count as misses. Once asubmarine has taken half its hull hits,it may no longer dive. Lifter criticalhits against submarines are notrerolled, but instead prevent themfrom diving until repaired.

The statistics for several aquaticvessels are presented to the left.

AQUATIC VESSELS


Players and referees may photocopy this map for their personal use.GDW

SHIP COMBAT

Players and referees may photocopy this map for their personal use.


Players and referees may photocopy this blank grid map for the creation of their ownterrain maps.

GDW

CONKLIN'S ATLASJust where is Ruritania? How far does

the Grand Canal extend out of Syrtis Ma-jor? What parts of Venus have been ex-plored? Where is Kraag Barrovaar? Whatdoes it cost to travel by steamship fromLondon to Bombay? Where is PrincessChristiana Station?

Where else could you find the answersto any of these questions but in theworld famous Conklin's Atlas of theWorlds and Handy Compendium of Use-ful Information? Available now for the in-credibly low price of just $ 10. 00. Don'tdelay!

GDW: 1983. ISBN 1-55878-024-6. 96pages $10.

SKY GALLEONS OF MARS• The magic of liftwood.

The first game in the Space: 1889series, Sky Galleons of Mars places youin thrilling air battles high above the reddeserts. British aerial gunboats, armedwith sophisticated naval guns, duel thefinest cloudships the Martian princes canmuster. Rules cover movement and fir-ing, grappling, boarding actions, andmore. Sky Galleons of Mars is playedwith large plastic pieces depicting thegunboats and cloudships involved.

GDW: 1890. ISBN 0-943580-73-0.Boxed $28.

BEASTMEN OF MARS• The dreaded Cult of the Worm.

When a famous archaeologist thinks hecan find artifacts of ancient Martians inHigh Martian kraags, he is met withcriticism. "Artifacts among the beast-men! May as well be buried forever!" Butrumors encourage him to mount an ex-pedition which the marauding beastmensend into great peril. Only upon reachingtheir destination will the humans discoverthe hidden reality of the kraag, a conclu-sion more terrible than anyone couldimagine.

GDW: 1 902. ISBN 1 -55878-022-X. 64pages $8.

CLOUDSHIPS AND GUNBOATS• Detailed deck plans.• Exquisite card stock heroes.

Enhance your Space: 1889 adventureswith large deck plans for cloudships andgunboats, beautifully executed for im-mediate play. But Cloudships and Gun-boats is more than just a collection ofdeck plans. It has additional informationand construction rules for vessels, moreships for Space: 1889, and rules on howto use the deck plans with the card stockminiatures provided —25mm charactersin full color with plastic stands.

GDW: 1982. ISBN 1-55878-021-1.Boxed ... $15.

WATCH FOR THESENEW TITLES

1903 Caravans of Mars (Sept).1904 Steppelords of Mars (Dec. )1 984 Soldier's Companion (July)1892 Temple of the Beastmen (Nov. )1906 More Tales From the Ether (Aug. )

Everything Jules Verne should have written.Everything H. G. Wells could have written.

Everything A. Conan Doyle thought of, but never published—because it was too fantastic.

Everything you need for the adventures of the century!

Science-FictionAdventure In a

More Civilized Time• The newest role-playing con-

cept in years!Red-coated infantry stand back-to-

back on the sandy banks of a Martiancanal. Explorers brave the Venusianswamps, pursued by giant lizards and theagents of the German Kaiser. Adven-turers chart the jagged wastes of theMartian highlands and battle the fiercebeastmen while searching for the fabledliftwood groves, keys to the majestic skygalleons of Mars.

This 216-page hardbound rules book isthe heart of the Space: 1889 role-playinggame. It contains the complete role-play-

ing rules, plus the exciting background of Victorian science fiction: ether flyers andMartian cloudships, the canals and civilizations of the red planet, Venus' swampsand dinosaurs, the honeycombed interior of Luna, and the thrills of inventions andinventors —the driving force behind Victoria's multiworld empire!

From the canals of Mars to the steaming jungles of Venus to the subsurface cavernsof the Moon, Space: 1889 is the most exciting role-playing game in years.

GDW: 1889. ISBN 0-943580-80-3. 216 pages hardbound $30.

SPACE: 1889 TALES FROM THE ETHERREFEREE'S SCREEN • Mars.

• A must for every 1889 referee! • Venus.Just what every Space: 1889 referee

needs to speed play: a complete 34" by11" decorative screen with all the perti-nent charts and diagrams necessary forfaster play. Every chart, table, anddiagram required to play Space: 1889 isright at your fingertips. Also included isa complete additional set of game chartsfor distribution to players. The screenitself is in full color with beautiful illustra-tions, an ideal accessory for the adven-tures of the century!

GDW: 1981. ISBN 1-55878-015-7.Chart and booklet $10.

• Mercury.• Luna.• The Orbital Heliograph Station.

This anthology of adventures takesyou on a grand tour of the Solar System.Travel among the mountains and desertsof Mars, through the horrible swamps ofVenus, into the caverns of Luna, andacross the burnt face of Mercury. Eventhe Orbital Heliograph Station is a hotbedof anarchy with the aim of bringing downHer Majesty's government.

GDW: 1901. ISBN 1-55878-011-4. 64pages $8.

HERE'S HOW TO ORDER!For sale at your hobby or game store. Or order from GDW.By Mail. Write what you want on a piece of paper. Pay by

check, money order, or Visa/MasterCard information.By Phone. Call us at 309-452-3632 between 9 a. m. and

5 p. m. Central Time weekdays. You can pay by Visa orMasterCard.

By FAX. Write out your order (including Visa/MasterCardinformation) and fax us any time at 309-454-3127.

We are committed to prompt service; we fill orders withintwo working days. Ask for our free 16-page catalog.

THE STORY OF SPACE: 1889It was as a result of intense intellectual

conversations between Professor B.Etienne Moreau of the Sorbonne andAmerican, inventor Thomas A. Edison

I that the latter deviseda practical use for theluminiferous ether. Itsnature suggested toEdison a device whichcould "sail at speedsheretofore undreamedof through the lumini-ferous ether. " It was,in fact, a quirk of fatewhich forced his firstsuch invention to fail —

his prototype could not overcome theatmosphere —forcing Edison to set hissights toward the airless heavens. Thespace age had begun.

Edison himself made the first mannedvoyage in an ether flyer of his own inven-tion, accompanied by Jack Armstrong, aScottish soldier of fortune. The twomanaged to pilot their craft via hydrogenballoon high enough to allow their etherpropeller to take hold. Unfortunately,their landing on Mars was not as smooth,and the balloon was damaged. The ex-pedition would have been strandedforever were it not for the fact that theplanet was inhabited.

Edison and Armstrong were takenprisoner by a local Martian potentate,Amraamtaba IX. Armstrong learned the

language, and Edi-son impressed theruler with his tre-mendous knowl-edge. The pair weresoon freed, and Edi-son was providedwith the materialsnecessary to repair

his balloon. Within months the repairedflyer was ready to carry Edison, Arm-strong, and a curious Martian back toEarth. The expedition landed safely out-side Cincinnati on the 7th of August,1870.

Earth was electrified. Edison and Arm-strong received fame and fortune. Withina year, dozens of companies weremanufacturing Edison Flyers, and flyersof several nationalities were soon mak-ing regular trips to Mars. The Britishestablished a permanent quarter in theMartian city of Parhoon. Belgians andFrench quickly followed suit, establishingthemselves as colonial powers. The Ger-mans turned their attentions to Venus, aworld covered with harsh swamps andinhabited by ferocious dinosaurs. Edisonhad opened a cornucopia of worlds andmarkets for the colonial powers of theEarth, the backdrop for the adventures ofa lifetime —Space: 1889!

Cloudships of MarsWith liftwood for power, and enor-

mous sails or air screws for propulsion,the Martian sky galleons have become animportant part of Mars' worldwidecivilization. But these magnificent shipsare a fairly recent addition to the richMartian culture —a culture originated bybeings who had no need for flyingmachines.

S I N C E 1 9 7 3

PO Box 1646Bloomington, IL 61702-1646

FREE! Write for your free copy of our 16-page Space: 1889 overview.

EXCITEMENT, ACTION, and danger are instore in this second adventure anthology forSpace: 1889.

• Caught in the Mire. An expedition forH. M. government leads you to the city ofThalia, where a British delegation attempts tomediate a settlement to a local war. Whatstarts out as a routine trip becomes a night-mare, however, when swamp pirates decideto throw a monkey wrench into the negoti-ating machinery.

• The Lurker in the Moor. The botanist Dr. Van Warren lost hislife in the search for knowledge. His daughter needs your help to securehis everlasting fame by bringing back specimens of a rare and extremelybeautiful orchid from the depths of the Mylomeroen Swamp. The swampis filled with dangers, however: Hill Martian pirates, deadly animals,nearly impassible terrain, and—worst of all—the lurker.

• Madness in the Moab. Dr. Fairbanks and an assistant arelong overdue from their expedition into the trackless wastes of theMoab, and a reward of £500 has been offered for news of thedoctor's fate. The question is, is it worth £500 to travel into theMoab?• The Mystery of Fort Dickerson. The garrison of remote

Fort Dickerson has been massacred, and the fort's civilians aremissing. The main clue is an enigmatic message, the word "Seleti"painted on a wall—in blood.

Each adventure is completeand ready-to-run. This bookalso contains combat rulesmodifications for small boatactions, plus battle mapswhich are suitable for photo-copying and for individualmodification.

Copyright© 1989 GDW Inc.Space: 1889 is GDW's trademark for its role-playing game of Victorian Era space-faring.

1906

S i n c e 1973

Made in U. S. A.Printed in U. S. A.

ISBN 1-55878-028-9PO Box 1646

Bloomington, IL 61702-1646

Space 1889 More Tales From the Ether

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