JOHN CARTER RPG Coming From Modiphius

Some RPG companies score awesome license after awesome license. Green Ronin is one such company, and Margaret Weis Productions is another. Modiphius Entertainment has product lines for Thunderbirds, Conan, and more, and now Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter has a roleplaying game coming Christmas 2015, based on the 2d20 Lite system, a stremalined version of the system which powers their Mutant Chronicles and Conan games. Also lined up are miniatures in Spring 2016, and a board game in Summer 2016.

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"Explore the wonders of Barsoom from the vast deserts to the ancient cities. Discover the forgotten secrets of a world that was old when life first spawned in the oceans of Earth. Play as pilots, warriors, scientists, or one of the terrifying green Tharks. Create you own Barsoom adventures or take on the great journeys as John Carter himself along side Dejah Thoris, Kantos Kan, Xodar, Tars Tarkas, Thuvia of Ptarth, Carthoris of Helium or any of the other major heroes and heroines of Barsoom."

Modiphius says the the RPG will draw directly from Burroughs' original texts, and that they are "committed to a faithful adaptation".

John Carter: Swords of Mars-Miniatures- Due for release: Spring 2016

A line of collectible miniatures for use with the roleplaying game brings your adventures to the battlefield. Play small skirmishes or fight a war for the dying planet-scalable rules provide for both. Defend ruins against a horde of Tharks, raid the city of Helium to capture the Princess or take your battle airborne with the Red Martian navies.

John Carter: Warlord of Mars-The Board Game-Due for release: Summer 2016

Enact the greatest adventures across the ancient world of Barsoom as you lead your heroes through crumbling ruins and take to the skies in the beautiful ships of the Helium Navy. Can you save Barsoom from ruin at the hands of dastardly scientists or ancient forces?

 

[mserabian]

Awesome news! I've always dreamed of a series of RPGs: John Carter's Mars, Tarzan's Africa, Carson's Venus, and Davis Innes' Pellucidar! This book is part one of that dream... Hopefully Mophidius will do the rest!

 

[Wraith Form]

Massive Mars/JC fan and was excited to see this until I read what system it's using. The Conan playtest has totally turned me off.

Agreed. The 2d20 system is....I'll be politic and say "not for me".

 

[turkeygiant]

Pretty sure this isn't a "awesome license", aren't the John Carter books public domain now so anybody can use them? I know Rose Bailey is making a rpg called Cavaliers of Mars over at Onyx Path, and I am almost certain it is pulling from the Mars stories as well.

 

[turkeygiant]

I know the Burroughs estate holds a trademark on John Carter, but it is doubtful that they could even legally enforce it/should even have it in the first place.

 

[CapnZapp]

How does the 2d20 system of Mophidius work?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=2d20+system+Mophidius

The in-house roleplaying game system of Modiphius Games, future publisher of the Conan rpg, seems to have the following characteristics, according to the informations I wa able to gather thus far:

- The characters have 8 attributes: Agility, Awareness, Co-ordination, Intelligence, Mental Strength, Personality, Physique, Strength

- Under each attribute are the skills, défined by 2 numbers, Expertise and Focus.

- The system works as follow: we roll 2 twenty-sided dice. We have to get a result under a target number, which is the sum of Attribute+Expertise.

- Each result under the target number is a success. Each result under the Focus count as an extra success.

- We can roll more than 2D20. If we do it, the Game Master gains as many dice as Dark Symmetry dice, that he can use to activate the adversaries' special abilities, activate equipment malfunctions and other goodies for the player's characters. They also apparently allow the Game Master to act before the player's characters, who otherwise have by default the initiative in each round.

- If one of the dice is a natural 20, a complication happens. If one of the dice is a 20 and the other indicates a failure, a critical failure happens.

- The damages are localized on the character's body (which generally has the drawback of slowing the pace of the game). Only "serious" and "critical" wounds aren't localized.

- There is a Mental Wounds system.

http://normantrayeng.canalblog.com/archives/2015/02/13/31517215.html

 

[Queer Venger]

Are we gonna get Thundarr the Barbarian too??

 

[modiphius]

I know the Burroughs estate holds a trademark on John Carter, but it is doubtful that they could even legally enforce it/should even have it in the first place.

They do regularly enforce it - it's why they waited until the rights had returned to them from Disney to proceed with licensing a new line of products. So yes it has and continues to be legally enforced.

 

[Grimstaff]

Ahem Warriors of the Red Planet ahem.

 

[LegendaryGames]

Sword and planet adventure with Pathfinder/5E system

If you're interested in a sword and planet adventure saga that is definitely inspired by the style and tropes of ERB's Barsoom and the sword-and-planet genre but for the Pathfinder and 5th Edition rules, I might point you in the direction of the Legendary Planet Kickstarter, going on right now.

 

[Steven Winter]

There's also "Under the Moons of Zoon" by Luigi Castellani. The PDF can be had for free -- just Google it and it'll show up via DriveThru or direct from Sig. Castellani's website. It's not exactly Barsoom, but it's outstanding sword-and-planet romance.