The classes are a also fun and setting-appropriate range. (Interestingly there are no John Carter-like outsiders here.) Each race has a preferred class (called “vocation” in the rules) and can only play a small handful of classes outside these. Given my own interest in respectfully exploring the public domain works of pulp fantasy I appreciated how he weaves in the right amount of flavor and setting information as a tribute to Burroughs' work without it feeling like a regurgitation.Ĭharacter generation is fun and simple with players selecting or rolling from the major sentient races of Mars: Red, Green, Thern, Black Pirate, Yellow, or Exotic. First of all, Clovis makes no bones about situating the game in not just some Mars but THE Barsoom of Edgar Rice Burroughs fame. It's with the crunch that the game has it's best moments, however. I liked the fact that I could read through it and feel like I could run a successful game with it in a few days time. Weighing in at less than 70 pages and with tried and true core features like archetypical classes, level advancement, similar attributes, familiar combat mechanics, etc. A stripped-down D&D platform with chrome and other tricked out bits bolted on top works for me far more often then not. I love innovation-especially when it tends to pare down complexity, help amplify a literary theme, or provide interesting game-play situations-but tend to be stubbornly conservative and, dare I say, lazy when it comes to new game mechanics. Like many old schoolers, I'm a perversely difficult audience when it comes to new rule sets. Thus I was very pleasantly surprised to receive a few weeks back a package containing a handy set of Barsoom-flavored RPG rules from my fellow Texan and old school blogger Clovis Cithog.
Paizo devoted an on-going series of re-released classics and one need only toss a virtual rock at many old school gaming blogs these days to hit some kind of exploration of these science fantasy themes (my own exploration of Tekumel is part and parcel of this trend).įor all that energy, I am frankly puzzled by the fact that we haven't seen a profusion of sword and planet-styled games (to date that is, there are some highly-inspired OD&D supplements and works in progress). “Sword and Planet” genre appears to be in a full-bloomed mini-revival these days.