Imperial Mars

Wargames Rules for late Nineteenth Century on Mars

by Tony Cullen (c)Copyright 2002

INTRODUCTION
Whilst I appreciate that there have been several other sets of rules dealing with the "Steam Punk" ideas of late nineteenth century Earth nations reaching out, by some means, onto the Planets of our solar system, I have not yet found a set which provided the level and style of play I wanted. Therefore these rules were born, generally by plagarising the ideas of other excellent rule systems; "I stand on the shoulders of giants" (either Isaac Newton or the edge of the two pound coin, take your pick)

Okay, so enough of justification, what are these rules all about. Well they were initially designed to provide a fun system for fighting actions on Mars between the gallant British colonial forces and the strange alien creatures of the Red Planet. The rules were originally intended to focus on the late 1870's, the height of the colonial period, before automatic machine guns grew to dominate the battle field, and close enough to the Franco-Prussian and Zulu wars to provide a goodly quantity of figures.

I don't want to impose my views of Martian life on anyone and so I hope that the rules will allow you to develop your own alien races and their weapons. From the outset the limiting factor in gaming this "period" has been the limited selection of figures, particularly Martians. I had decided to use the 10mm scale as it provides that nice interface between 15mm and 6mm, giving enough detail for small actions without requiring vast detail in painting. However there is no reason that 15mm figures could not be used though the Tray size would probably need to be increased.

The concept of "Steam Science Fiction" is not new. The basic premise is that the British, swiftly followed by several other nations, have found their way to Mars. The method of transport is not dealt with by these rules, but I envisage something like Cavourite from Wells' "First Men in the Moon".
Once on Mars the earthmen quickly come into contact with native Martians. The historical analogy that we use in our games is somewhat like early to mid eighteenth century India. A network of small Princedoms and aging Empires.
Thus the scene is set for a series of engagements between earthmen and Martians, with sepoys and mercenary units abounding.

These rules have been developed by plagarising the work of many other excellent rule writers to whom I can only offer my apologies and thanks. They have been playtested and expanded with the invaluable help of Adrien, Chris, Spence, Sharon and the members of Staines Wargamers.

The level we have set for these actions is fairly small scale, the idea being that the transportation of large armies to the red planet is far too expensive to consider. A company of earthling infantry works out to about 24 figures, which gives a good level of playability. The Martians we use, and thus those used in the body of the rules, are either humanoid or reptilian, this is due to the selection of figures available. For simplicity I will refer to them as regular and large Martians (with or without fries!).

Whilst we cannot claim that these rules are "generic", how could they be? We like to think that the system is so simple and open ended that any "new" races or weapons can be quickly slotted in. This seems to be so simple that most of our games involve some rule modification for the scenario. Anyway I hope that you enjoy them and at least find something in them of use.

These rules were developed initially for 10mm figures though I can see no reason why they cannot be used for other scales. The figures used at Staines are mainly those produced by Pendraken Figures; Using the colonial, ACW, Fantasy and just about every other range. Our grateful thanks go to Dave and Lynne Pengilley for all the help and support in getting this project off the ground (no pun intended).

General Principles:
"There is no human affair which stands so constantly and so generally in close connection with chance as War." Clausewitz
"You Lucky, Lucky Bastard!" Life of Brian

Throughout these rules only 20 sided dice (d20) are used with scores running from 1 to 20.

Scales:
"The advantage of time and place in all martial action is half a victory, which being lost is irrecoverable" Sir Francis Drake
"No Dougal, these are small, those are far away!" Father Ted

1 Figure	=	1 Figure
1 Move Tray	=	1" x 1"
1"	=	20 yards
1 turn	=	5 minutes-ish

Move Trays form the basic entities of these rules. They may contain a varying and variable number of figures. We use magnetised Trays to make adjustment and casualty removal simpler.

Visibility:
"You can never do too much reconnaissance." George S Patton
"Watch out for the Weasel pit!" Blackadder

Open	=	900 yards	=	45"
Dense Cover / Built up Areas	=	40 yards	=	2"
Light Cover	=	120 yards	=	6"

Troops may hide, depending upon the scenario, usually in wadis or dry valleys. Nothing scares the overconfident colonial officer than twenty or so stands of Martians erupting from an unknown position within 100 yards. Hidden figures may be spotted when they move or shoot or by observers within 40 yards (2") if the terrain allows.

Troop Classification:
"It is not big armies that win battles; it is the good ones" Maurice de Saxe
"The Host of Albion can't make it today, I've brought the Sick Note." Hordes of the Things, BBC Radio 4

All troops are classified by the following criteria:

• i. Training:
• Drilled   = 5 Action Points
• Trained = 4
• Irregular = 3
• ii. Morale:
• A = Guards/ Elite
• B = Veteran
• C = Average
• D = Poor
• E = Levy
• iii. Combat Strength: (for use in melee.)

	Men or	Large Martians
	regular Martians
Rifle & Bayonet	4	-
Mounted Lance	6	-
Mounted Sabre	5	-
Spear/Halberd	5	6
Sword	3	4
Fire Stick	-	6
Mounted Fire Stick	-	7
Improvised	1	2

Organisation and Basing:
"I detest war. It spoils armies" Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, 1820
"Who gets out of the Wooden Rabbit?" Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Troops are formed into Companies/Troops and may vary their formation by altering the number of Figures on each Movement Tray as follows:-

4 Figures per Tray	= Close Order Infantry
3	= Open Order Infantry
2	= Extended Order Infantry/ Open Order Horse
1	= Extended Order Horse

Each movement Tray is 1" square. We use magnetised Trays, or steel trays with magnetised figures to make formation adjustment easier.

Experience has shown that about 24 figures in a Colonial Company is about right; believe me volley firing drilled troops are VERY deadly.
Therefore melee weapon armed Martians should have bigger units, 30 or more strong.

Officers:
"It is in the minds of the commanders that the issue of battle is really decided" B.H. Liddell Hart
"What's needed at this stage of the war is a futile gesture, and you're just the man to do it." Beyond the Fringe

Officer figures represent Captains and above. Their principle functions are to issue orders to troops under their command, assist in maintaining Morale and Rallying Troops and make suitably pompous and "stiff-upper-lipped" comments at appropriate times.
Officers and Runners have 5 Action Points.

Turn Sequence:
"It is even better to act quickly, and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past" Clausewitz
"Then count thou to three, let three be the number of the counting.." Monty Python and the Holy Grail

• 1. Orders and responses
• 2. Charge Declarations
• 3. Movement
• 4. Shooting
• 5. Melee
• 6. Morale
• 7. Rallying and UnJamming

Orders:
"The British soldier can stand up to anything except the British War Office" George Bernard Shaw
"Frow him to the floor wuffly Centurion!" Life of Brian

Orders are issued to Officers by the Commander in Chief. Officers should then use the Units under their command to accomplish these orders. Orders should only be influenced by the knowledge of the issuing officer. Runners may be used to dispatch orders. There is no formal Command and control system in these rules, it is assumed that each unit will have its own junior officer to control it throughout the action.

Charges:
"Hard pressed on my right. My centre is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking." General Foch, battle of the Marne, 1914
"Oh-ya, Oh-ya, Wiggi Wiggi Wiggi, Plun-jarrr Plun-jarr!" Chelmsford 123

Units must declare any charges at the beginning of the Turn. Charged Units should then test their Morale, if they are still Steady they may counter-charge if they are Horse or Foot against Foot, or they may stand and shoot, or shoot and charge, if Action points and time (segments) allow.
Alternatively, following a bad morale check they may flee into the red desert screaming "we're all going to die!".

Movement:
Formations:
"Troops who march in an irregular and disorderly manner are always in great danger of being defeated." Vegetius
"In a Bunch! In a Bunch!" Monty Python

The following formations are possible:

• Single Line
• Double Line
• Square - Allowed to Close Ordered , Drilled Infantry only.
• March Column

Once a unit is in a defensive position each stand may be positioned as required.

Terrain:
"A general should possess a perfect knowledge of the localities where he is carrying on a war." Niccolo Machiavelli
"Incidentally my Lord that is how we now know the Earth to be banana shaped." Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Specific Terrain types may be designated as affecting movement and/or providing cover. Movement may be affected by either a fractional reduction in movement distances or an increase in Action point requirements.

Movement and Manoeuvre:
"It is better to be on hand with ten men than to be absent with ten thousand." Tamerlane
"Straight is great! Curvy is Purvey!" Chelmsford 123

All movement and manoeuvre is done in segments, which are paid for each turn by Action Points. Each unit has a number of action points available to it each turn determined by its training. The unit may carry out as many actions as it wishes provided it has the points to pay for them.
A unit with the available action points may perform the same action more than once. Note that second or third movement segments in a turn cost differing numbers of action points and that the third movement segment is only available to march columns, Officers and Runners.

Action	Points Cost
1st Movement Segment	1
2nd Movement Segment or square	2
3rd Movement Segment *	1
Retiring (facing enemy)	1
Wheeling at Full Speed (1 segment)	4
Wheeling at Full Speed (1 segment)	3
Wheeling in March Column	01
Shooting	2
Going Prone	1
Standing Up	2
About Face	0
Interpenetrating Friends **	2
Reacting to being charged	1
Rallying	3
Issuing an Order	2
Split Unit	3
Join Units	3
Formation Changes:-
To Line	3
To Double Line	3
To Square (or to maintain Square)	2
To Column	3
Change Organisation by 1 per Tray	2
Artillery:-
Limbering/Unlimbering	2
Firing Breech Loading Artillery / MGs	2
Firing Muzzle Loading Artillery	3
Assembling Pack Artillery	4

* March Column, Officers & Runners only
** both units involved

Movement Distances:
"Movement is the safety valve of fear." B.H.Liddell Hart
"Run Away!" Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Troop Type	Move Segment Distances	Charge Bonus
Infantry	4"	1"
Infantry - Armoured	3"	1"
Horse	6"	2"
Riding Lizards etc.	5"	1"
Horse Limbered Artillery	4"	-
Manhandled Artillery (Light & MG)	2"	-
Manhandled Artillery (Medium & Heavy)	1"	-
Wagons etc.	3"	-

The Charge Bonus is only available on the Move segment which would bring a unit into contact with the enemy.
Units may exceed their Action points in a turn , but collect 1 Disruption Marker for each extra Action Point used.

Shooting:
A few Words about Martians;
Here I'd better make a few more comments about Martians and their equipment. Martians have available to them three types of missile weapons.
a. Bows: used by all Martian types.
b. Firearms: Of all types obtained by theft, looting, capture, gifts from unscrupulous earth governments or gun runners.
c. Fire sticks: A native chemical combustion weapon with a restricted range but devastating effect, these are generally only available to Large Martians as personal weapons, but used as heavy weapons, "Fire Launchers" by regular Martians.

Martians also make use of a form of ceramic based armour. This is of little use against firearms, but may turn the tide in Melee.
These are just a few ideas which we use for our Martians, and are generally incorporated into these rules. Please feel free to ignore them and make up your own characteristics.

Small Arms:
"Nothing is more exhilarating than to be shot at without result." Winston Churchill
"Lets not argue about who killed who." Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Units may shoot as many times as they have action points to pay for it.
Units shooting are restricted as to their target by the following priorities:-

• 1. Any Unit charging the Shooters.
• 2. Any Unit shooting at the Shooters.
• 3. The Nearest Unit.

An Officer attached to the Unit may Overrule these priorities.

Shooting is done by the movement tray, with one d20 being thrown for each Tray shooting. The Shooters accumulate factors (Weapon and Tactical), then cross-reference against the Small arms Shooting Table to determine what dice scores are required to inflict casualties. The Target unit will lose figures for the casualties inflicted all casualties should be removed from one tray at a time, the remaining trays retaining their Organisation.
Note: Infantry trays with only one figure may not shoot.

Weapons Factors	Short Range		Medium Range		Long Range
	Dist	Factor	Dist	Factor	Dist	Factor
BL rifle	5"	6	12"	4	30"	2
BL Carbine	5"	6	10"	4	20"	2
ML rifle	5"	5	10"	4	24"	2
ML Carbine	5"	5	8"	4	16"	2
Musket	3"	4	8"	3	14"	1
Large Martian Fire Stick	2"	8	6"	7	12"	4
Large Martian Bow	5"	4	10"	3	20"	2
Regular Martian Bow	4"	3	8"	2	18"	1

Tactical Factors:-
Target		Firer
In light cover	-2	Mounted	-2
In hard cover	-4	In Extended Order	-2
Is Artillery/ MG	-3	In Close Order	+2
Is Officer/Runner	-6	Volley Firing *	+2
In Extended Order	-2
Prone	-2	Non Firearms
In Close Order	+1	Light Armour	-1
Large Martians	-1	Heavy Armour	-2
*Only Stationary Standing Steady Drilled Troops may Volley Fire.

Small Arms Shooting Table (a roll of 20 always hits)
Factor	1 Hit	2 Hits
-5, -4	19	-
-3, -2	18	-
-1, 0, 1	17	-
2, 3	16	-
4, 5	15	20
6, 7	14	19
8, 9	13	18
10+	12	17

Machine Guns and Volley Guns.
"Whatever happens, we have got the Maxim gun and they have not." Hilaire Belloc

These are treated in the same manner as Small Arms with the addition that they fire as an equivalent number of Infantry Trays, that is the number of dice to throw.

MG Factors	Short Range		Medium Range		Long Range		No of Trays	Jam Number
	Dist	Factor	Dist	Factor	Dist	Factor
Hand Cranked MG	5"	6	12"	4	26"	2	3	3/8
Automatic MG	5"	6	14"	4	36"	2	4	2/5

Each turn in which an MG fires it must roll an additional 1d20 to determine if it jams, if the Jam Number or less is rolled the MG is jammed until cleared. The second number after the slash applies to a second round of shooting in the same turn. UnJamming is attempted at the end of the turn by rolling 1d20, a score of 8 or more being required.

Artillery Fire.
"Artillery without targets is in a fair way to become a target itself." Major General Orlando Ward, USA, 1965
"Sir, they've fired a field gun at us. What did they hit?. A field!" I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again

Artillery may be Breech or Muzzle Loading, Rifled or Smooth Bore. As only Field guns are considered, these are divided into 3 types:

Light	1 - 2 Pounders
Medium	3 - 6 Pdrs
Heavy	6 Pdrs or bigger

And may fire Shell, Solid Shot or Canister. Normally only Smooth Bores can fire Canister.

There are three types of target:

Formations;	Troops and limbered Artillery
Objects;	Unlimbered Artillery, deployed MGs, Special Weapons
Armour;	Armoured Vehicles, Specified Buildings or Terrain Features

First you must find out if the gun has hit its target. To do this roll 1d20 to equal or beat the sum of the factors (Weapon & Tactical). The Weapons factors are shown in the table below. The figure before the slash is for Smoothbores, that after the slash for Rifles.

Artillery Factors
Smoothbore/Rifle	Range
	120 yds	300 yds	500 yds	1000 yds	1500 yds	2000 yds
Type	6"	15"	25"	50"	75"	100"
Light	5/5	11/9	18/15	-/-	-/-	-/-
Medium	6/6	12/9	15/13	19/17	-/-	-/-
Heavy	7/7	11/9	14/11	16/13	18/15	20/17

Tactical Factors
FIRER		TARGET
Firing Close Range Shell (6" or less)	+4	Moved 2 or more segments	+2
Under fire last turn	+2	Stationary	-2
Irregular	+1	Formations v solid shot	-2
Moved this turn	+4
Drilled	-1
Canister at close range (6" or less)	-1

Effect:
Against Formations: Roll 1d20 and modify as follows:

Target in Close Order	+2
Target in Extended Order	-2
Target in cover	-2/-4 *
* The level of cover should be determined before the start of the battle.

Then consult the following table requiring to equal or beat the indicated value to cause the number of casualties shown by the column.

Gun Type		1 Hit	2 Hits	3 Hits
Canister	All	2	10	18
Shot	Light	8	20	-
	Medium	6	18	-
	Heavy	4	16	-
Shell	Light	6	18	-
	Medium	4	16	22
	Heavy	2	12	20

Against Objects: Roll 1d20 and consult the following table

	1 Hit	2 Hits	Destroyed
Shot	8	17	18
Shell	6	12	16

Against Armour: Armour is defined as being one of four levels, either Weak, Protective, Strong or Citadel.
To penetrate the Armour roll 1d20 and equal or beat the following score:

Gun Type		Weak	Protective	Strong	Citadel
Shot	Light	8	12	18	-
	Medium	4	8	14	20
	Heavy	0	4	10	16
Shell	Light	4	8	16	20
	Medium	2	6	12	18
	Heavy	0	3	8	14

A non-penetrating hit is treated as a Small Arms hit.
If a vehicle is penetrated, then roll 1d20 against the Significant Damage Level, if it is equaled or beaten then the vehicle is Out of Action.

The Crew can normally be ignored as either killed or dispersed. Any transported troops must roll 1d20 to determine the percentage of their number to escape the destroyed vehicle.

1-2	0%
3-5	25%
6-10	50%
11-19	75%
20	100%

Melee.
"Thrice armed is he that hath his quarrel just; And four times he who gets his fist in fust." Artemus Ward
"What are you going to do, bleed on me?" Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Melees are fought between units which are in base to base contact, they are fought Tray to Tray. Unengaged Rear ranks and Flanking Trays may provide support if they have up to one less figures than the fighting Tray they are supporting. One dice is rolled for each Tray to determine how many casualties it inflicts on the Tray against which it is fighting. The casualties are removed immediately from the target Tray. The result of a melee is determined by how many casualties each Unit receives.

After each round of Melee Rear Ranks may feed forward one figure on to the Tray to their front they were supporting. No Tray may ever contain more than four foot figures or two Mounted figures.

For Each Tray roll 1d20 and add/subtract the following Factors:-

+?	Combat Strength
+2	Mounted
+1	Drilled
+2	Charging Foot / following up
+4	Charging Horse
+2	Uphill
+2	Per Figure more than opponent
+1	Per Supporting Tray*
+2	Defending cover
+4	Defending Works
-2	Irregular
-4	Per Disruption Marker
-6	If Prone

* one to each flank and one to the rear.
Trays may receive support from other, unengaged, Trays which are in contact with them and not in contact with the enemy. Trays may receive support from one Tray to either flank and one to the Rear. Supporting Trays may only support one fighting Tray a turn.

Once both sides have calculated their respective melee totals compare them. One Casualty is inflicted on the lower scoring Tray for every Five full points difference.
The Overall result (Win/Lose) is calculated at Unit Level by summing the casualties for all Trays involved. The Side with the fewest Casualties Wins.
The losing Unit must immediately take a Morale Test.

Prone figures are assumed to be standing after a round of melee

Risk To Officers.
"The Gattling's jammed and the Colonels dead;" Henry Newbolt
"The first decent battle since puberty, and I'm going to miss it!" Blackadder

If an Officer is attached to a unit which suffers any casualties from either shooting or melee roll 1d20:

1	Dead
2-3	Wounded; must leave the field if possible.
4-5	Scratch; Carry on valiantly, it will look good in the papers.
6+	no effect.

Morale
"The morale of the soldier is the greatest single factor in war and the best way to achieve a high morale in wartime is by success in battle." Montgomery of Alamein
"I'm so Happy!, I'm so Happy! I think I'll go for a walk.. You're not fooling anyone you know." Monty Python and the Holy Grail

A Unit's Morale condition is represented by the number of Disruption Markers (DMs) it has.

0	Steady	The Unit will continue to carry out orders.
1	Disorganised	The Unit may not advance on known enemy, but may shoot.
2	Dismayed	The Unit may not advance, and it may not shoot unless shot
3	Disrupted	The Unit must retire (at least 1 Segment) and may only shoot if shot at.
4	Dispersed	The Unit will Rout 3 move segments each move.

Morale Tests will be taken when:-

• 1. Each 20% Casualties taken
• 2. On Being Charged
• 3. On Seeing Friends Rout
• 4. When Interpenetrated by Routers
• 5. If Surprised

To take the test roll 1d20 then add/subtract the following factors:-

	Men	Regular Martians	Large Martians
A Class	+3	+3	+3
B Class	+1	+1	+1
D Class	-1	-1	-1
E Class	-3	-3	-3
Per 20% Lost	-2	-2	-3
Under MG/Artillery Fire	-2	-3	-3
Per DM	-2	-2	-1
Routed Enemy This move	+2	+3	+2
In Works/Defences	+2	+2	+1
Officer with Unit	+2	+3	+2
Charged In Extended Order by other than Extended Order troops	-2	-2	-1
Charged in Flank/Rear	-2	-2	-2
Per casualty more than enemy lost in Melee	-1	-1	0
Vehicle morale effect	?	?	?

Results:

10+	No Effect
5 - 9	1 DM
1 - 4	2 DMs
-5 - 0	3 DMs
less than -5	4 DMs

Routers:
"The winner is asked no questions - the loser has to answer for everything" Sir Ian Hamilton, 1920
"Suddenly and dramatically Sir Robin Changed his tactics; 'He's Buggered off!'" Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Routers Immediately Rout 1 Move Segment, and will continue to rout until either leaving the table or having at least 1 DM rallied off.

Rallying:
"If I advance, follow me! If I retreat, kill me! If I die, avenge me!" Comte de la Rochejaquelin, 1793

In order to rally off DMs a unit must be over 200 yards (10") from the enemy.
Roll 1d20 and modify as follows:-

Class A	+4
Class B	+1
Class D	-1
Class E	-4
Officer with unit	+3

Results:

14 or less	No Effect
14-18	Lose 1 DM and Rally Back - Retire 1 Segment immediately
19 or more	Lose 1 DM and Rally on the spot

If a 'Natural' 20 is rolled then 2 DMs are lost.

Pursuers:
"Next to victory, the act of pursuit is the most important in war." Clausewitz

All Units may pursue any enemy broken in melee. Victorious troops should roll as for Rallying immediately on routing their opponents and before movement each turn until rallied, with these additional modifiers:-

Mounted	-3
In Works	+3

Results:-

10 or less	will pursue
10-15	will pursue 1 segment then rally
16 or more	will rally immediately

Special Weapons.
"Nothing's too good for the Army, and that's what they usually get" Military saying
"We could build a wooden badger!" Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Vehicles:
The advent of interplanetary transport has acted as a great boost to the inventive nature of the military mind and many divers, generally steam powered, vehicles have found their way onto the battle field from steam tanks to steam lorries.

All vehicles should have the following characteristics defined for them:-

a.	Movement segment distance	As per all troops.
b.	Armour Level	This may be Weak, Protective, Strong or Citadel.
c.	Morale effect	This value is the effect on morale the vehicle causes if operating within 200 yds (10") and within sight; it acts as a plus to friends morale and a minus to foes.
d.	Significant Damage Level	If the vehicle is penetrated by artillery; Roll 1d20, if the SDL is equaled or beaten the vehicle is out of action.
e.	Threshold hits level	Small arms hits on a vehicle can cause it to breakdown. The Threshold hits Level is the number of hits by small arms or non-penetrating artillery required to force a breakdown roll.
f.	Breakdown level	Once a Breakdown test is required, roll 1d20, if the throw is equal or less than the BDL the vehicle breaks down and is abandoned.
g.	Additional Notes	Other pertinent information such as number of troops carried.

Vehicle examples:

Walker	The Watt-Rippon Ambulatory Redoubt
Movement	4"
Armour	Strong
Morale	2
SDL	5
THL	4
BDL	5
Weapons	MG or Light Artillery

Landcruiser	The Partington Armoured Caisson
Movement	3"
Armour	Citadel
Morale	1
SDL	7
THL	8
BDL	4
Weapons	MG & Light Artillery piece

Transport	The Royal Ordinance Military Carriage
Movement	5"
Armour	Weak
Morale	0
SDL	2
THL	3
BDL	4
Weapons	none

Fire Launchers:
These Weapons are the regular Martians Heavy Weapon version of the Fire Stick. It has a Range of 20". to hit roll 1d20 and equal or beat the distance to the target in inches. For effect treat as canister against troops and light shell against others.

Old Ones Weapons
These weapons are those available, usually to the Martians, from ransacking the burial mounds of the ancient Martians who "walked among the stars when man was still wearing skins and living in caves". These weapons are devastating and dangerous, but also delicate and decayed. They are equally as deadly to shooter and target.
Old Ones weapons are usually abbreviated, quite significantly, to OOW!

a. Combat Strength: in melee the Old Ones Weapons provide the following combat factors:

	Men/Regular Martians	Large Martians
Foot	3	4
Mounted	4	5

b. Shooting.
Old Ones Weapons may be fired at one of three settings increasing in severity and danger. The owning player must determine which setting he/she is firing at before rolling.

Weapons Factors:-
Setting	Short Range		Medium Range		Long Range
	Distance	Factor	Distance	Factor	Distance	Factor
Setting 1	5"	6	10"	5	16"	4
Setting 2	6"	8	12"	6	18"	4
Setting 3	7"	10	14"	7	20"	5

c. Radioactive Overload
The Old Ones weapons are very unstable, thus when firing if the setting number or less is rolled on the "to hit" dice for a Tray a weapon on that Tray has overloaded and vapourised, taking all the figures on the Tray with it. If The weapons are fired twice in the same turn the chance of Overload is doubled for the second shot.

d. Morale: The following factors are deducted from units taking Morale tests whilst being shot at by Old Ones Weapons.

	Men	Regular Martians	Large Martians
Under Old Ones Fire	-3	-4	-4

e. Vehicles
Each hit on an armoured vehicle caused by an Old Ones Weapon is counted as two normal Small arms hits.

Flying Things
Alexander Graham Bell

Things that fly on Mars come in two forms; Living Creatures and Machines. The means by which these airbourne units achieve flight is not discussed here other than to say it may be by wings, gas or some other method of defying gravity. Each different entity should be defined as detailed below. We have not choosen to integrate a standard method of providing lift, as other rule sets have. This is principly because we believe that and "easy" method of gaining flight would fundementally change the form of combat on the Red Planet and we didn't want that.
However, as with all things in these rules, don't let our vision block yours. If you want fleets of flying Barsoomian warships then by all means have them.

Generally flyers will be on single bases, as vehicles.

Movement:
The following factors need to be defined:

a. Speed	The distance each segment of movement will carry the flyer. Here too can be defined the ability of the flyer to hover by specifying a minimum movement distance (stalling speed).
b. Altitude	There are five height bands;
	1. Very Low
	2. Low
	3. Medium
	4. High
	5. Very High.
	Each flyer will need its maximum height band defined along with the maximum number of bands it may climb and dive in a move and any lost of speed due to climbing a band.
Taking off and landing	Any speed and high gain/loss restrictions which apply to the flyer when taking off or landing will need to be defined.

Action Point Examples:

Action	Points Cost
1st Movement Segment*	1
2nd Movement Segment	1
3rd Movement Segment	1
Wheeling at Full Speed (1 segment)	2
Wheeling at Full Speed (1 segment)	1
Shooting	2
Rallying	3
Issuing an Order	2
Split Unit	3
Join Units	3
Formation Changes:-
To Line	3
To Double Line	3
To Column	3

*flyer must move at least 1 segment, unless are capable of hovering.

Move Segment Distances
Very Fast flyers	6"
Fast Flyers	4"
Slow Flyers	3"

Protection
Flyers may have levels of protection, similar but not as strong as Vehicle armour. The levels are:
1. None
2. Light
3. Partial
4. Armoured

Shooting Firing from the air at ground targets is done in the same manner as normal shooting. No additional bonus is gained from firing from above, indeed each level which the flyer is shooting down adds 1 to the required To Hit number.
Flyers may need restrictions defined for them as to available angles of downward fire.

Air to Air Combat
This is a pretty basic method. Shooting is carried out as usual. Each height band higher which the target flyer is increases the range by 6". Each height band lower which the target is increases the required To Hit number by 1.

Effect of Hits
To penetrate the Armour and force the target down roll 1d20 and equal or beat the following score:

Gun Type		None	Light	Partial	Armoured
shot	light	8	12	18	20
	Medium	4	8	14	18
	Heavy	0	4	10	16
Shell		4	8	12	16
Rifle Fire		16	18	20	-
Other		18	20	-	-

Bombing
Bringing them down
Shooting at flyers is done in the same manner as against vehicles. However each level of height the flyer has adds 6" to the range.
Artillery with restricted elevation (i.e. most field guns) cannot fire at a flying target that is at a closer range band than the number of height levels it.
E.g. a rifled heavy gun firing at a High (4) flying target at a range of 750 yards (about 36") has the targeting range adjusted to (36 + [4 x 6"] = 60") 1200 yards. Thus requiring 15 to hit.
Note if the flyer had been closer than 500 yards - 25" (unadjusted range) then the gun would not have been able to target the flyer.

Models
This section contains a few ideas about figure availability and as such is pretty much an advert for Pendraken Miniatures. The gamers of Staines Wargamers have devised a system of Martian races which, to an extent, are echoed in these rules. However, that said it seems that every time we play the game new Martian races appear to threaten out gallant British Boys (or French, or Prussian, or ??.)

Regular Martians:
We now have three races of regular Martians, blue, yellow and red. Regular Martians are basically humanoid, but different colours. This allows us to use historic and fantasy figures from pretty much any period, armed with virtually any weapon. From the Pendraken ranges we have used English Civil War, Marlburian, Spanish Civil War, Mediaeval and American Civil war figures.
The one difficulty we have is cavalry. Clearly Martians cannot ride horses, but we have managed to get round this in several ways. A good example is using Chariot Miniature's 15mm Sabre Tooth Tigers as mounts. The joy of collecting Martians is that it forces you to look at each new release of 10mm figures with a more "lateral" view.

Large Martians:
Large Martians only exist in these rules because of the excellent Pendraken Fantasy ranges. My Large Martians are green (naturally) and I use Dave's Lizardmen and Orc ranges. I cannot recommend these highly enough.

Vehicles:
Well, here you can go wild. All "Imperial Mars" vehicles are going to require a certain amount of modeling, but not too much. The examples given in the rules are based on models we use. The Walker was created simply by taking the Larger Pendraken SF range Walker, discarding the arms and fitting a gun at the front and a Funnel to the top (don't forget to add that wisp of smoke from the funnel for that perfect effect). The Landcruiser and Steam Transport were built from vehicles from Pendraken's Spanish Civil War range, with a few bits from an ironmongery shop stuck on. Let your imagination run wild.

One warning, We have found from experience that the excellence of the figures, their cheapness and ease of painting has led us to collect far too many. The temptation to get these all on the table at the same time is hard to resist, as is an arms race more energetic than any in history.

Modifying the Rules
The intention with these rules, whilst not being truly generic was to provide a simple framework within which new races and weapons could be quickly slotted. Here are a few suggestions on how to approach this task.

Troop Classification:
i. Training: Action point allocation may be amended, but be very wary of allowing more than 5 or at the most 6 points to a unit.
ii. Morale: You may wish to include extra morale modifiers, or change when morale should be tested for certain races or types, but beware of "invincible" units.
iii. Combat Strength: This is an obvious target for manipulation. Use the basic table as a guide.

Organisation and Basing:
The size of models is a guide as to whether you need to restrict a race's organisation.

Movement and Actions:
i. Formations: You may wish to restrict the formations available to a new race, but this should generally be left to the players to mess up.
ii. Movement Distances: Clearly a non-humanoid, non-large Martian race may need its speed defined.
iii. Actions: If a race or piece of equipment has some strange or unique function or method of operation you may need to define additional actions and their associated action point cost.

Shooting:
Any new weapons will need to be defined, either by comparison with other small arms, or if completely off the wall, in their own right.

Melee:
The changes to Combat strength should take care of this, unless you can think of anything else.

Return to Rules

Home Page