Mars (Sourcebook)
Ever since telescopes have allowed it¸ mankind has observed the surface of Mars with its massive canal structures. But only when Thomas Edison set foot on the Red Planet was the truth revealed: Mars is home to a culture whose ancestors built the canals. They used them to distribute the water of the polar caps and thus saved the dying planet from the inevitable. Their deeds have enabled the Martians to live on for tens of thousands of years. Edison brought news from this world where many new civilizations waited to be discovered¸ all with their own customs¸ rites¸ beliefs¸ and world views. The British¸ the Germans¸ the French Commune¸ Belgian corporations¸ the Japanese and the Russians all landed on Mars to found their own colonies. What brought economic boons and technological progress to the cooperating city-states¸ instead brought exploitation¸ oppression¸ and war to the rest. In this source book¸ we offer you an overview of the planet¸ divided into eight great regions¸ and its people: Join the British colonial efforts and the war against the militaristic Oenotrian Empire in the Central Basin¸ compete for allies or fight for resources! Experience the Eastern Basin (almost) as it once was before the human colonists arrived: Full of intrigue and border skirmishes between the strange city-states. See for yourself the inhuman practices of the Earth invaders in the Western Basin¸ where Martian rebels unify against the exploitation and the tradition-bound Tossian Empire slowly rouses from its slumber. Travel with the Caravans across the Eastern Desert¸ the region marked strongest by the great fall¸ and search for ancient relics and secrets. Rejuvenate trade in the Western Desert along the Tea Road¸ the source of all cultural and goods exchanges between the people of this region¸ which is not unlike the Silk Road on Earth. Travel the Northern Polar region and bring order to this lawless desert with nothing but your honor and your trusted muzzle loader. Or end up in the Southern Polar Region¸ where one man¸ alone with a blade¸ some technology worshipped as magic and an iron will¸ can rise all the way to warlord. Many canal cities are described in detail¸ as well as the backgrounds of the Martian culture¸ travels and history. You will receive an overview of Martian technology with numerous pieces of equipment to enrich your game with. Dozens of creatures and eight sample archetypes (with a focus on Martians) are presented ready to play. And finally¸ an entire chapter is dedicated to the many secrets of the Red Planet... The dying Red Planet is waiting for your footprints in the dust! This book is written for the Ubiquity version of the Space:1889 RPG. Some chapters in this book are based on information from the earlier booklet Marvels of Mars (Flora and Fauna of Mars¸ 21 pages; and Martian Technology¸ 6 pages).