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Martian, High
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Mountains, kraags
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Monarchy/clan
ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any
DIET: Omnivore
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-to Genius (218)
TREASURE: Varies
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil
NO. APPEARING: 2-8
ARMOR CLASS: 10
MOVEMENT: 12, Fl 18 (B)
HIT DICE: 1 + 1
THAC0: 19
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 or 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 or by weapon
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: M (6')
MORALE: Champion (15-16)
XP VALUE: 35
High Martians are the original stock from which the other two Martian races descended. High Martians are savage raiders who terrorize their world from their mountain fastnesses.
High Martians are upright bipeds that can grow to six feet in height. Their hands and feet are all three-toed, grasping appendages, and wing membranes extend from their backs to either arm. High Martians have thick, black hair that covers their head, back, and shoulders.
High Martians wear a simple loincloth and may decorate their bodies with other ornamentation.
High Martians have their own language. Many speak other martian languages, particularly Koline (the trade language) or the languages of the Earthmen. Every High Martian monarch has interpreters.
Combat: High Martians have a lifting gland that supports them in flight; their wings are used mostly for balance and maneuvering. When in flight, a high martian can attack twice with his hands, inflicting 1d6 points of damage each, or he may wield up to two weapons, attacking with each once per round. While standing, a high martian can only attack once per round, either with hands or weapons.
Habitat/Society: A number of High Martian families form clans, and a number of clans organize themselves behind a single monarch. The monarch is usually tested in personal combat by all comers-a High Martian king is often the most able warrior in the clans.
High Martians survive by raiding. They raid canal Martians and Earthmen at will, striking from the air whenever possible. They are also free to attack liftwood vessels in flight, swarming them to seize both ship and cargo.
High Martians have, on occasion, been known to trade, particularly in valuable liftwood and slaves taken in raids.
Ecology: When a High Martian dies, its lifting gland quickly loses its valuable properties.
Canal Martian: Canal Martians are taller and larger than High Martians, attaining seven feet in height. Canal Martians have no lifting gland or wings, so they cannot fly, and their feet have lost the ability to grasp objects, so they are limited to a single attack per round. The canal Martians have lighter coloration than their high Martian cousins. Canal martians dress in a style similar to that of ancient Egypt. There are a number ofvanal Martian languages, including High Oenotrian, Parhooni, Koline, and Umbran.
Canal Martians live in the canal cities of their own making. Their civilization, while once the most elaborate and successful on Mars, is most definitely in decline.
Hill Martian: A hill Martian is for the most part a wilderness version of a canal Martian; hill Martians cannot fly and don't have grasping feet. They are darker than canal martians, with brown, black, or even deep red hair that grows over most of their bodies. They dress mainly in the skins of animals and similar, primitive garb, though those in contact with canal Martians often adopt their dress. Hill Martians speak a variety of languages particular to their many cultures.
Hill Martians have a variety of cultures, all beyond the reach of the canal princes and their power. They are frontiersmen, living by various means in the wildernesses of their world.
From "A New Crystal Sphere: Combat, Planets, And The Aliens of Sol", an adaption of Space: 1889 to the Spelljammer setting, by Timothy B. Brown; Polyhedron #74
