ie Characters & CombatEvery manager works hard for the day when he too will be able to live in the glittering pyramids of the executives. Very few of them live to see that day. Back in the deep tunnels behind the chasm walls live the Workers—unintelligent slaves who take care of the real grunt work of harvesting, planting, mining, and waste disposal. The Martians have crafted other types of gennies, mostly variants of the Worker that are designed for specific purposes. The most feared of all Martian gennies are the Terrines, elite soldiers man- ufactured by RAM. Also formidable in their own way are the Desert Runners who prowl the wide-open ex- panses of the planet. (All three of these genie types are described in detail later in this chapter.) Far out on the high, chilly Martian deserts are the various anarchists, lowlifes, and desert rats who refuse to toady and won't fit into the corporate struc- ture. They are tolerated by RAM only because they can do some of the dirty jobs that require more intelli- gence than Workers have. Whether tending the food farms of the shallow Boreal Sea, maintaining the obsolete and run-down spaceport on the ground, at Pavonis, or monitoring the weather stations and surveillance outposts sprinkled throughout the wil- derness, these independents eke out 2 meager exist- ence far removed from their corporate relations. ‘Advantages: Slightly more nimble and more char- {smatic than normal humans; slightly less vulnerable to radiation poisoning, cold, and suffocation. Able to hear faint sounds that escape the notice of humans, which makes them more difficult to sneak up on. ‘Able to make out images in dim light, which makes them better at hitting a target in combat under that condition. Aside from all of the above, the biggest advantage of being a Martian is... being a Martian A character who is backed by RAM could have ac- cess to great amounts of technology and manpower (specifically, gennie-power) that would enable him to succeed where a non-Martian would fail Disadvantages: Generally weaker and more frail than humans because of their affinity for lower grav- ity, which also makes them more susceptible to dam- age from falls and other physical trauma. Vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat. Sensitive ears cause them to be hampered by loud noises, and sensitive eyes give them problems in bright light. Last but far from least, the disadvantage of being a Martian is that most of the rest of the solar system identifies you with RAM and thus sees you as an adversary. Itcan be very hard for a Martian to make friends with non- Martians, but a Martian in a player character group that also includes members of other races might be looked upon more favorably. 7 Role-playing Notes: A Martian player character is not a RAM-type “bad guy.” (Characters of that sort, such as the evil Simund Holzerhein, are NPCs whose actions ave controlled by the referee.) There are plenty of Martians—even some highly placed in the organizaton—who don’t agree with everything that RAM is doing, and it is from this group that a Martian PC will come, Of course, this means that you'll have to conceal your true feelings whenever you're on Mars or in the company of RAM loyalists— but that’s part of what makes role-playing a Martian fun and challenging. Lunarians “Next to Power Deck Engineers, Lunarians may be the toughest, stubbornest humans In the solar system. And when a Lunarian becomes a Power Deck Engineer . —Badinger Physical Size: 4 to 5 feet tall, 120-180 Ibs. External Covering: Smooth, hairless skin, usually white, tan or beige. Eyes: Human-based, larger and more sensitive. Ears: Human normal Mouth Human normal. ‘Nose: Human normal Genotype: Mildly altered human. Lunarians are somewhat shorter than Terrans, with compact, sien . Originally gene-altered to make their sensitive, Lunarians have evolved further ina few short centuries, to the point where their vis ual ability exceeds even that of Martians. Cultural Descended from a combination of Swiss, French, German, British and Central European colonists, the Lunarians are a fascinating series of contradictions. They are famed as fearless mercenaries, known for their coo competence in battle. Yet they are are also rabid isolationists who scrupulously avoid interplan- etary conflicts on their own behalf. They will handle the business transactions of any intersolar govern- ‘ment, but will allow no military ships to land on their planet. Lunar cities are mostly built beneath the Lunar sur- face, around and under huge domes that cover some Cf the moon's craters. Spaceports are always built under domes {with retractable panels that allow ships to enter and exit), since these are the principal places where Lunarians must deal with traffic fromCharacters & Combat Rules for Adventuring in the 25th Century fee i ar Credits Game design: Mike Pondsmith Development: Kim Mohan Design consultants: Flint Dille, Jon Pickens, Scott Haring, James M. Ward Editing: Kim Mohan Cover paintings: Jerry Bingham Interior art: Continuity Studios, Bur- bank, Calif., and Rob Caswell Maps and graphics: Dennis Kauth, Diesel, John Knecht ‘Typography: Gaye O'Keefe, Kim Mohan Graphic design: Stephanie Tabat, Paul Hanchette, Dee Barnette Playtesters: David Schnur, Robert Bell, Chuck Jen- nings, Josh Johnson, Kurt Rauchenberger, Jim Shaw, Wayne Stewart, Ed Wilbert William and Claire Brierton, Nate Ab- ott, Rick Emrich, D.B. Hunt, Dan and Linda Schnick Norm Ritchie, Don and Linda Bingle, Dewey Frech, Lou and Terry Wright, Mary Zaiapi Wayne Stratton, William Burger Jr., Jon Machnicz, Michael Shea Scott Buchignani, Mike Caldwell, Ray Greer, Mike Hernandez, Paul Lidberg, Greg Minter, Leon Ng, Dave Okamura, ‘Wayne Rasmussen, Steve Taylor