Over the holidays I ran a one-shot game set on Mars - a BoL Barsoom game using the Savage World’s Mars book by Adamant Entertainment for setting, with the visual look of the recent film (I’ve never read the ERB books).

As this was a break from our current Ancient Egyptian game and would not necessarily be played again, I just adapted the adventure in the back of the Mars book. However, in the Adamant book the Green Martians are more like Red Martians – about the same size and just two arms. I wanted to have bigger four armed Martians, like in the film that my players (and I) were familiar with.

I confess that I’m not much of a rules guy, even with a simple system like BoL. Crunch just isn’t my thing, which is one reason the elegant simplicity of BoL appeals to me. Therefore I’m not confident at working up figures and abilities for new creature creations.

So I steal.

The Venomous Pao wrote a series of fun posts on his Strange Stones blog where he reviewed fictitious fantasy and sci-fi films and wrote up the characters as BoL PCs/Monsters.  A Bollywood fantasy epic featured Bulusu Sunita Kal, a four armed nasty out to kill the hero of the film that never existed.

http://www.strangestones.com/bol-lywood-prince-rajinders-adventures-ii/

​So I adapted this monster to my...Green Martian

+2 Lifeblood: Add 2 to your final Lifeblood.

+1 Agility: Add 1 to your final Agility, and your maximum Agility is now 6 instead of 5

Four Arms-Defence: add +1 to Defence for each hand carrying a weapon/shield not used to attack.

Four Arms-Attack:
Attack with one light/medium weapons – as normal
Attack with two light/medium weapons – at -1 with damage as Two-Weapon fighting option
Attack with three light/medium weapons – one attack as Two-Weapon fighting option
                                                                                     plus one single attack, all attacks at -2
Attack with four light/medium weapons – two attacks as Two-Weapon fighting option,
                                                                                   both attacks at -4Attack with one large weapon – as normal


Attack with one large weapon, plus one single attack – all attacks at -3


Attack with pistol in melee – 1 pistol at -2, 2 pistols at -3, 3 pistols at – 4, 4 pistols at -5

Boons: Alert, Born in the Saddle, Brawler, Fearsome Looks, Hard-To-Kill, Waste Born

Flaws: Arrogant, Country Bumpkin, Distinctive Appearance, Fear of Flying, Hot-Headed, Unsettling


The above was for Villains and Toughs. Rabble Did D3+1 damage and had 4 LB.


What do more skilled constructors of new creatures think? Too tough? (I think it may be too tough.)

(My players are sneaky swine, so managed to free Red Martian captives by cutting down Green Martian rabble sentries using stealth and a good run of luck with the dice. They never went toe-to-toe with them.)


Critical comment appreciated.


Has anyone else run a BoL Barsoom game?

Last edited by Gruntfuttock (1/02/2017 11:02 am)