Mars Invades The Future

Legends tells that it was the foolishness and hubris of Mankind that destroyed the world which became Terra A.D. Yet, what if it was neither, but a barrage of nuclear-tipped rockets and weapons of mass destruction unleashed in order to defeat a worse foe? A foe that came unseen and invaded the Earth, befouling the planet’s ecosphere with a strange creeping red weed and roiling clouds of choking black smoke? Strode over the landscape in great machines on three legs, unleashing devastating beams of heat that burned and melted all that stood before them? And for all that destruction and damage, what if the efforts of mankind to defend its planet, was to nought, because the invaders fell not to nuclear energy, chemical reagents, and biological agents, but the unseen defender? If so, then the invaders were defeated and the damage to planet that would result in Terra A.D. was self-inflicted.

This is the set-up for Martian Crawl Classics, a supplement that brings an enemy from classic Science Fiction into the post-apocalyptic future of Goodman Games’ Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic. That enemy consists of the invaders of Mars, as depicted in The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. This is not the first supplement to bring the classic work of Science Fiction to roleplaying. Previous titles include Action! Classics: The War of the Worlds for both the d20 System and the Action! System from Gold Rush Games, War of the Worlds: Game Resources for Cepheus Universal from Zozer Games, and H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, a 1PG from Deep7. However, it is one of the few gaming treatments of the source material that develops it beyond the original setting of the late nineteenth century.

Since the Great Disaster, the Martians have been lurking, looking for an opportunity to take advantage of the destruction wrought by the Earth’s original defenders. They retain a loathing of the Pure Strain Humans of Terra A.D., regarding them as descendants of those that prevented their original invasion. They will attack them on sight, and there is anyone accompanying them, then they will just get caught in the crossfire. They actively cultivate Terrans as ‘livestock’ before liquifying them so that the plasma can consumed by the Martians on Earth, whilst the remaining slurry is used as fertiliser for the continued growth of the Red Weed.

Martian Crawl Classics details the known species of the Martian invaders. They are led by Martian Overmind, who command Martian Centurions, their foot soldiers, Martian Hounds, and worst of all, the Martian Infiltrators. Not as strong as the Centurions, when they kill someone, they can merge with the victim’s dead body and so appear as perfectly normal as the victim did. However, they cannot speak or communicate like any Terran, so they feel just a little like the Martians of Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! Also detailed are the various elements of the Martian war machine. Of course, this includes the Martian Death Rays typically mounted atop the Exterminator model of their infamous Martian Tripods. Also described is the Martian Avion, a flying wing whose inclusion is nod to the version of the Martian invaders seen in The War of the Worlds, the George Pal film of 1953. The trilobed nature of Martian biology means that their technology is difficult to use by Terrans of any type. Consequently, Martian technology has a Complexity Modifier when it comes to anyone attempting to work out how it functions and use it.

The Martians and their technology are not the only threat that the Player Characters might have to face. ‘The Triad Allies’ is a new Archaic Alignment. Its adherents, consisting of bitter Mutants, Manimals, and Plantients, believe that humanity has had its chance, being responsible for the current state of the world. They cooperate with the secret Martian enclaves to destroy any remaining Pure Strain Humans and ensure that when the Martians win—which they will—they will ruling the new world with them. The Martians know otherwise and ‘The Triad Allies’ will be pulped along with the rest of Earth’s species.

Martian Crawl Classics also adds a new Class. Open only to Pure Strain Humans, the Scholar is a self-proclaimed ‘expert’ on Ancient Lore and languages. Its Translate Text ability gives the Class the ability to read Ancient languages, and it is also good at deducing the workings of artefacts found. As Pure Strain Humans, the Scholar Class regenerates Luck spent and is more readily recognised by A.I.s.

Martian Crawl Classics finishes with ‘The Martian Invasion Continues’, a short scenario for Second Level Player Characters. It begins with a strange red vine encroaching on the Player Characters’ village. Tracking the increasing thickness of the vine leads to a strange cylinder which protrudes from the ground and is guarded by two machines standing on three legs. It is short, mostly combat-focused affair that should be playable in a single session, two at most.

Physically, Martian Crawl Classics is neatly, tidily laid out, and easy to read. The artwork is decent and the cartography serviceable. Overall, Martian Crawl Classics is very easy to use.

There is the potential to add Martian Crawl Classics to any Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic and with it a dangerous faction that could begin by infiltrating settlements and sabotaging Terran activities, the Terrans—and thus the Player Characters—only beginning to become aware of something worse is behind it all. Unfortunately, right now, the Judge will need to write that herself, that is until the author of Martian Crawl Classics writes it—and he really should. Overall, Martian Crawl Classics is a charming treatment of a classic Science Fiction novel.