Space 1889 - GDW1906 - More Tales From the Ether

MORE TALES FROM THE ETHER

CREDITS"Caught in the Mire": Timothy B. Brown"The Lurker in the Moor": Lester W. Smith"Madness in the Moab": Tim Ryan"The Mystery of Fort Dickerson": Elaine L. PardoeDeveloper: Loren K. WisemanArt Direction: Shea RyanInterior Art: Tim Bradstreet, Steve Bryant, Rick HarrisJames Holloway, Rick LowryText Manager: Michelle SturgeonText Processing: Julia Martin, Julie Amdor, David Stephens

Copyright1989 GDW, Inc.All Rights Reserved.Made in USA.Printed in USA.ISBN 1-55878-028-9.Space: 1889 is GDW's trademark

for its science-fiction role-playinggame of adventure in a more civi-lized time.

A catalog of Space: 1889 productsis available from GDW. Just writeand ask.

PO Box 1646Bloomington, IL 61702-1646 USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of ContentsCaught in the Mire 4

Background 4Referee's Synopsis 6Pirates of the Marshes 8The Impenetrable Swamp 10Return to the Pirate Camp 12Scenes of Battle 14

The Lurker in the Moor 16Referee's Synopsis 16The Hostage 18The Mylomeroen Swamp 20Swamp Encounters 22Invented Encounters 22Random Encounters 24The Lurker 26The Chase is On 26The Lurker's Lair 27Leaving the Swamp 28

In Syrtis Major 28What the PCs Get 28Later Adventures 29

Madness in the Moab 30Rampant Rumors 30Outfitting the Expedition 32Desert Travel 32More than a Mirage 34Beneath the Shifting Sands.... 36The Moabs 38The City Described 38Ending the Adventure 42

Mystery of Ft. Dickerson 44Frontier Outposts 44Fort Dickerson 46Trouble in the Wilderness 47Referee's Synopsis 48

Getting There 48Days One Through Three 48Day Four 48Day Eight 49Day Nine 50Day Eleven 50The Fort Proper 50A Search for Answers 52Dr. Whitehouse's Dig 55Gathering the Clues 55Splitting Forces 56A Dangerous Encounter 56The Seleti Side 56Another Body 57Climax 58

Ship Combat 60Aquatic Vessels 60Maps 61

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

Caught in the MireIN THIS ADVENTURE, most

characters will already be in the ser-vice of H. M. government, far fromthe center of British colonialism onMars. Those characters withoutbackgrounds in government servicemay pick their own reasons for be-ing involved with the MercantileLords of Thalia at a time when thelords are desperately seeking peace

with their neighboring canal city,Afirenz. For instance, a reportermight easily sell his story about anexotic Martian conflict to eagerpapers and readers back on Earth.Adventurers of many sorts can befound in the service of potentates allacross the red planetperhaps thisis why the characters are present. Inany case, one character should be the

representative of the British colonialoffice, helping to mediate a peacebetween these two warring cities.

BACKGROUNDTHE ANCIENT TRADE routes

through equatorial Mars are literal-ly carved in stone, hewn out by fan-tastic powers that today can only bedescribed as magical. The canalsserved not only to bring water to thethirsty lands and inhabitants of Mars,but also to tie them together in trade.For many cities, the coin and bargehave proven mightier than the swordand bow.

Tradition holds that Thalia hasbeen besieged and embattled dozensof times since the time of Seldon,hosting a large number of warlords,

Althar of Thalia (Veteran NPC)RENOWNED AS the greatest

warrior in the city, Althar has risenalongside Lord Braltar as his"right-hand man. " The two haveenjoyed a close personal friendshipsince before the assassination ofLord Shesh, as each commandedmerchant vessels along the canals.In this time of war, Althar hasproven himself a capable warriorand general, using the city's pa-thetic rabble army to hold off theenemy and even harry the walls ofAfirenz.

Althar has been entrusted by thelord with the peace mission toAfirenz. He is the only warrior thelord trusts to carry out this mission,and to carry out the secret missionof locating and destroying thepirates' swampy lair.

Althar is a private Martian whorarely lets his true feelings be seen

in public. He spends a great dealof time with his troopsinspectingtheir weapons, trading for betterones, and planning strategies withhis officers. However, he is enoughof a trader that he will certainlyfind his place again once generalsare no longer needed in Thalia.

Motives: Ambitious, Eccentric.Appearance: Althar is a tall,

proud Martian with deep, penetrat-ing eyes and stern, unwaveringfeatures. The warrior presents avery Lancelotian image, whichmakes people forever wonderwhere the chink is in his armor.

Attributes SkillsStr: 3 Fisticuffs 2, Throwing 2, Close Combat 4 (edged weapon)Agl: 4 Stealth 3, Marksmanship (bow 3, rifle 2)End: 4 Wilderness Travel 3 (foraging), Fieldcraft 3Int: 5 Observation 4Chr: 3 Eloquence 2Soc: 2 Riding 3 (gashant)


kings, and barbarian hordes in itstroubled history. But none have beenmore successful than the 300-year-old reign of the Mercantile Lords.The lords are a hereditary line ofrulers who have tempered theirmilitary adventures in favor of wide-ranging trade along the ever-presentcanals. Though in actuality the linehas been broken several times bymysterious death or outright assas-sination, the learned among the pop-ulace realize that becoming a lord ismore a function of ability and ruth-lessness than of direct lineage.

The present lord is the first son ofLord Shesh. However, during LordShesh's 17-year reign, Thalia man-aged to keep its trade lines open andprofitable, even in the face of in-creasing piratical activities on the

nearby canals. When Lord Sheshwas discovered to have been poi-soned in his sleep chamber, an in-vestigation turned up evidence link-ing the crime to the ruling family ofAfirenz. Public sentiment immedi-ately pushed the new lord, LordBraltar, into a war with Afirenz, awar neither city was prepared for.

Even though new evidence in themurder of Lord Shesh points in vir-tually every direction but Afirenz,the war has dragged on for three longyears. Conflict has been charac-terized by meager offensives oneither side of the large swamp areabetween the two cities. Neither ar-my is willing to enter the swamps,certain they would be no match forthe Hill Martian pirates hiding there.By treaty, the canal has been de-

clared neutral territory, but the ever-present pirates have still virtuallystamped out travel between the twowarring cities.

At the request of Lord Braltar, theBritish colonial office has agreed tomediate a peace between the tworeluctant combatants and has sent arepresentative to bring the two to-gether. In a gesture of goodwill, thelord will send his ceremonial barge(heavily guarded against pirates, ofcourse) down the canal as a gift tothe ruling family in Afirenz. Once ithas arrived, Afirenz will send agalley with three daughters of thefamily as brides to the lord and hishigh-ranking officers. The colonialoffice then hopes to arrange for thetwo cities to cooperate in an eridica-tion campaign against the pirates.

Orthir, Captain of the Ceremonial Barge (Veteran NPC)THE BARGE very rarely leaves

Thalia for other canal cities, so itscaptain could easily take up perma-nent residence on dry land. But Or-thir will have none of that; he keepshis quarters on the barge as his per-manent abode. He will exclaim thathe has had a canal beneath his feetfor most of his long life and can-not keep his footing otherwise.

Jovial and outgoing, Orthir alsohas a serious sidehe is patrioticto his lord and the traditions of thatoffice. The barge is an importantsymbol of the long line of merchantrulers in Thalia. It was once usedto ferry the lords in search of newmarkets and to maintain friendshipswith other rulers. Secretly, Orthiraspires to the days when Thaliantrading galleys plied canals in vir-tually every corner of Mars.

Att. Skills

Orthir runs a tight ship and hasbeen busy preparing for what couldbe the barge's most dangerous mis-sion in years. He believes in the no-tion that only the ceremonial guardmay ride on the bargea fightingforce more decorative than effective.Even Althar has argued this pointwith the aged captain, but he has heldfast to his interpretation of traditionand honor.

Str: 3 Fisticuffs 2, Throwing2, Close Combat 4(edged weapon)

Agl: 4 Stealth 3, Marksman-ship 2 (bow)

End: 4 Wilderness Travel 3(mapping)

Int: 3 Observation 3, Gun-nery 2 (muzzle-loadingcannon)

Chr: 2 Eloquence 1Soc: 3 Riding 2 (gashant)

Motives: Loyalty, Responsibil-ity.

Appearance: Orthir is an elderlyCanal Martian who prefers to beseen in public only in his dressuniform. The court tailors have hadto let it out a few times over theyears, as the captain has put onconsiderable weight.

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

REFEREE'S SYNOPSISALTHAR IS A hero to the people

of Thalia; as a warrior and a mer-chant captain, he has won the heartsand minds of Thalia's people. Hiscloseness to the lord has permittedhim to act outside normal procedureat times, with authority second onlyto his master. What the people do notrealize is that Althar and the lord areactually hoping for an ambush sothey can locate the base camp of theswamp pirates.

The human characters, for what-ever reason, will accompany Altharand the barge on the journey alongthe canal to Afirenz. Its course runsthrough the heart of the pirate-infested swamp, as everyone knows,so escorting soldiers and boats willbe plentiful. Althar has overseen theoutfitting and deployment of theexpedition.

When the barge is attacked, Altharis to make the best stand possible,and then escape the ambush with asmany men and boats as he can. Withthese he is supposed to track the vic-torious pirates, find their camp, andawait reinforcements.

The human characters will be cap-tured by the pirates, but they will beturned loose since they are of no ran-som value. In the swamp, hungryand exhausted, they will find Altharand his troops, and warn them thatthe pirates plan to move before rein-forcements arrive. The war againstthe swamp pirates will have to bewaged now, with the few materialsand men at hand.

The BargeTHE CEREMONIAL barge has

seldom been used in the last 10 years;but, under the direction of Orthir, it

has been kept in good condition. Of-fered now as a gift to help end a war,Orthir was, at first, somewhat tornbetween his wish to obey his lord andhis love for his craft. Seeing his loyalservant so divided on the issue, LordBraltar stepped in and personallyordered Orthir to remain captain ofthe vessel under its new owners. Or-thir is now consumed with joy, sincehe can remain with his barge and stillfollow the orders of his lord to theletter.

The ceremonial barge is an enor-mous craft of wood, reeds, stone,and gold leaf. The craft was original-ly built to be a diplomatic vessel andto impress future trading partnersatask which it serves magnificently.The forward and flanking battle-ments ride high off the water, and thecentral tower rises higher still, fully30 feet above the waterline. It hasmasts for sails, but travel by oar isconsidered more statelythe singlerowing deck requires 100 strongbacks to make headway against thecurrent.

The barge has several elaboratefeatures. The royal suites are re-served for the lord and his retinue,or his appointed representative on aparticular journey. This suite is com-prised of a dozen rooms, includingbedrooms and reception rooms, plusa swimming pool and kitchens-stocked with the finest delicacies.The three other suites are reservedfor guests, and although they aresomewhat smaller, they provideluxurious accommodations for theirfortunate occupants. The remainderof the barge is devoted to the opera-tions of the ship, from crew quartersto a rowing deck and steerage room.The barge is ornately decorated withgold and jewelstreasures from

across Marsfor the enjoyment ofits privileged passengers.

The TreasuresOf the Barge

THOUGH OF NO particular reli-gious significance, the ceremonialbarge is central to the theme of mer-cantile canal trading and the lineageof the great lords. As such, it hasbecome the repository of much of thewealth and glory of Thalia, the prideof its aristocracy, and a worthy giftto stop a long and troublesome war.

The suites are elaborately decorat-ed with such fineries as marblestatuary, washbasins, and pillars, andall the furnishings are emblazonedwith gold, silver, and gems of allshapes and sizes. There are rogowood tables crafted by the finest ar-tisans of distant Yaonis, scentedhangings from the witch people ofthe Duo Badlands, and even silk rugsand robes from Chinagifts fromBritish traders who have travelledbetween the worlds.

A small fortune is locked up in thebargeit's not enough to bankruptThalia once it is given away, but cer-tainly enough to tempt thieves andpirates. Many Martians have losttheir lives at the hands of the guards,their blood still not completelybleached out of the sandstonebattlements.

Mission of PeaceTHE FIRST THREE days out

from Thalia have been virtuallywithout incident. The grand bargewas ceremoniously launched on itstreacherous journey by the lord, whowas officiating at a festival in honorof the event. Now it is majesticallycruising through the swamplandalong the canal, as if challenging the


elements to impede its progress.Althar has positioned boats in front

of the barge and to its rear to pro-tect against the dangerous Hill Mar-tian pirates known to infest theswamps. From the cover of the densefoliage they can strike with theirsleek, fast boats to seize any prizethat ventures through their domain.Althar is convinced that the pirateswill not attempt to take such a wellprotected barge, but he is, nonethe-less, proceeding with caution.

The humans will be placed on thebarge. Those attached to the Britishcolonial office will be afforded ac-commodations in the luxury suites.Others will, no doubt, be put up inthe lower decks with the crew. Everyday Orthir will be seen tending theship, working the crew to prepare theship for its new owners. Underlyingall their activities, however, are thetension and fear associated with trav-elling through the swamp, knowingthat watchful eyes are following the

barge, coveting its riches.The humans' activities during

these first three days will be limited.Aside from observing the passingmarshlands and their beautiful wild-life, they might make friends withsome of the crew, become acquaint-ed with Althar or Orthir, or ask ques-tions about the journey. They willcertainly get a good idea of the layoutof the barge, so they may claim tobe familiar with the escape routesonce the pirate attack begins.

Side View

Top ViewBow

Stern

Bow Suites Deck

Stem THE BARGE

Watchtower

Quarters

Cross-section

Quarters Deck

Bridge Deck

KEY

1. Guards Quarters2. Secondary Passenger Suite

3. Servants for Main Suite4. Captain's Quarters

Sweeper Gun Position

Scale is 6' Tactical Squares.

Bridge

Cargo & Oarsmen

MainSuite

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

PIRATES OF THE MARSHESPRESENT THE OPENING scene

of the pirate attack to the players onthe morning of their fourth day oftravel.

The dew of the chilly morning isstill evident on the deck and battle-ments of the barge when you arise foryour morning meal. The Sun is justbreaking above the foliage level ofthe surrounding swamps, preparingto create another blistering equa-torial day.

Suddenly, you notice a commotion

up ahead among the militaryboatsthe advanced scouting boat isfloating down the canal back towardthe barge, and its two occupants areriddled with arrows! The barge sol-diers call Althar to the deck, and hearrives just as the pirates unleashtheir deadly ambush.

Dozens of nets fall from the talltrees onto the boats close to eithershore, while a flotilla of piratevessels emerges from the brush. Arain of flaming arrows hails downupon the military boats from an un-seen army of Hill Martians, their

WORTHLESS IN BARTER

barbarian howls terrifying many ofthe Canal Martian warriors. Thepirate vessels, crewed by savagesrowing hard against the canal,engage the forward boats, as a fewdetach to come toward the barge.

To the rear you turn to see a hugebarbarian pirate hack through thelast portions of a tree trunk, sendingits enormous weight crashing downon the leading boats there, smashingthem and cutting off the rest of theboats from the barge. Another swarmof arrows cuts through the air witha terrible hiss, cutting down many ofthe canal sailors before they canreact. Suddenly Althar is nowhere tobe seen, but the sergeant of the guardhas begun directing efforts as the firstof the savage pirates threaten toboard the barge.

The battle for the barge is goingto be won by the piratesthat muchis certain. You should allow yourcharacters to make a "final stand"on the suites deck with several of theCanal Martian guards (treat them ascaravan guard stock NPCs). Run thisfinal combat scene as you wish, butremember that two things will hap-pen: Althar will be nowhere on thebarge at this time, and the pirateleaders will not allow their soldiersto kill any humans. (You may wishto present a dramatic scene where,just as a pirate soldier is about todeliver a catastrophic blow againstone of the characters, his pirate cap-tain punches him square in the facebefore he can strike. )

In the end the characters will berounded up with a few other pris-oners, placed in a boat, and taken in-to the swamp under heavy guard.Only a few guards and soldiers fromthe barge flotilla are alive; they willbe rounded up into five boats, all

PROVIDED the characters donot escape on their own, or if theyare recaptured, they will bebrought before Tark, the leader ofthis pirate band. Only the humanswill be summoned to Tark's camp-fire; if Orthir is still with thecharacters, he will be separatedfrom them by the pirate guards.

Tark is a striking figure, with hismulticolored robes and his heavyjewelry, helping his favored piratesdevour a ferocious-looking animalturning on a spit above the fire. Theatmosphere is wildly exuberant asthe pirates celebrate the grand vic-tory they had earlier that day.

"Ah, the humans!" announcesthe great leader, and all eyes turnto the captives brought before him."Curious little things, aren'tthey?" He looks around him forapproval from his troops. "I shouldkeep at least one as a pet, don't youthink?" The rest of the piratesdutifully chuckle.

"But you see, '' he continues, ris-ing and tossing his dagger about as

he talks, "I have no quarrel withhumans, but, " sticking the daggerat one human's throat and lower-ing his voice, "I have no great lovefor them, either. "

"You present something of aproblem and a solution, so hear meout. I will spare your lives, thoughyou are worthless to me in barter.No one in Thalia would pay a cis-sawaan's bladder for you, but theymight for some of these others. Iam, therefore, going to set youloose, to travel through the swampsback to Thalia with news of our vic-tory. At least a few of you mightlive through the experience. "

He returns to his seat, turningfinally to the humans. "Of course,if you value your lives, never setfoot in my swamps again, humans.Away with them!"

At this the humans will be led tothe edge of the encampment and setloose to face the swamps withoutfood or weapons, and with perhaps100 miles between them and Thal-ia.


under the watchful eyes of heavilyarmed Hill Martian pirates. Thecharacters will realize that the HillMartians often take prisoners whomight be ransomed back to relativesor friends. Those who cannot be ran-somed are often killed, and thelikelihood of anyone in Thalia pay-ing ransom for humans is slim.

As the day progresses, more piratevessels from the ambush will catchup to the prisoner-laden boatssomecarrying wounded Hill Martians andothers carrying loot from the pillagedbarge. Many will boast that theyhave taken all the riches from thebarge and have set fire to its emptyhulk. Orthir, one of the prisoners inthe same boat with the characters,will have to be restrained at thisnewshis cries echoing ominouslythrough the dark swamplands.

EscapeTHE CHARACTERS WILL ar-

rive at the pirate encampment byevening, and they will be taken to theprisoner pens immediately. Facedwith the imminent possibility of ex-ecution, they will, no doubt, wish toescape and take their chances in theswamps.

The prisoner pens are locatedalong the northern edge of the en-campment, as shown on the mapabove. The camp is set on a verymuddy and soft area of high ground,which is easily excavated, if neces-sary. The area is covered in densetrees and foliage, and many of thebushes are of the lo-duc varietyvery tough and spiny, impenetrablewithout a machete. One thing is veryevident: All the pirates are packing

things up and are not planning to stayhere much longer.

Each of the five pens containsaround a dozen prisoners from thebarge ambush. The humans will bein one pen, along with Orthir andfive other Martian guards (caravanguard stock NPCs, without weapons,of course). The pens are constructedof a bamboo-like reed, and the doorsare tied shut with heavy rope.

The characters could attempt to digtheir way out (with the help of someof the guards), or they might trickone of the pirates into opening thedoor. Also, they might organize amass break, tearing apart the sturdybut manageable pens by sheerstrength of numbers, but not withoutbloodshedthe guards can call uponassistance from the nearby encamp-ment.

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

THE IMPENETRABLE SWAMPFORCED OUT OF the pirate en-

campment at the end of a bayonet,the characters are faced with the mostunpleasant prospect of survival in thesteaming swamps. They have nofood or weapons, and the only thingthey can be certain of is that theywon't freeze to death in the swelter-ing heat of the equatorial marshes.

Use the land travel rules fromSpace: 1889 for foot travel. Remem-ber that the characters will only beable to move 10 miles per day in theswamp, which is one hex on thissmall-scale map. The map covers thearea from the pirate encampment tothe main canal all the way back to

the city of Thalia. Several specialareas have been noted and will bedescribed later.

These swamps are particularly hotand steamy. Visibility in the daylighthours is minimal until midday, whenmuch of the mist is burned away. Of-ten in the morning the Sun is barelydefinable in the sky, so finding direc-tions is nearly impossible.

When checking for encounterseach day, rolls of 5 indicate the par-ty is lost, as in Space: 1889. For thisscenario, rolls of 3, 4, and 6 also in-dicate the party is lost. Ignoreweather as a possible result. If theparty is lost during the day, move theexpedition one hex closer to the arealabeled Althar on the map.

When rolling for specific en-counters, substitute Swamp Piratesfor Swamp Pirate Camp. There isonly one camp, and unless the char-acters are in that hex, they won't en-counter it. All pirate encounters willbe pirates on patrol from Tark's mainencampment.

Food: Characters who successful-ly kill animals they encounter mayeat them. If an encountered animalis not killed, or if there is no en-counter at all in a day, add 2 to thefatigue roll of everyone in the group.

As the referee, you can see that thecharacters will not be able to findtheir way through the swamp, norwill they locate enough food to keepthemselves alive. Only when theyrun into Althar and his soldiers willthey get nourishment and be able tocontinue.

Special LocationsSEVERAL special locations are

marked on the map. Each one isdescribed here.

Ambush Site: Very little is left ofthe barge. While it was once a thingof beauty and splendor, it is now aburnt hulk, half-sunk in shallows atthe edge of the growth encroachingon the canal. Several smaller boats,in similar condition, can be foundthe pirates were very thorough,cleaning everything from the bat-tlefield that was useful to them. Thecharacters may be able to scroungea couple of swords and bows, butneither food nor muskets are leftamong the dead.

Woodcutter's Village: A com-munity of Hill Martian woodcutterslives in the swamp near the canal.They are not associated with any par-ticular city, keeping pretty much tothemselves in the swamp. The com-


ONCE YOU FEEL the charac-ters are sufficiently hungry, tired,and lost, and they are within thearea marked Althar on the map,present this encounter to them.

Staggering lost through themarshes, splashing waist-deepthrough the stinking, filthy waters,you collapse from exhaustionagainst the tangled roots of a slimyblack tree. Half delirious with hun-ger, you hang onto those wicked-looking roots for what could beminutes or hoursyou just can'ttell. Suddenly you see soldiers allaround youCanal Martian sol-diers. You're convinced it's an il-lusion as you finally succumb toyour fatigue and lose conscious-ness.

When you awaken you are on amakeshift cot in a tent and are be-ing tended by a Martian soldier.You recognize him as one of theguards on the barge just as Altharcomes through the door. Althar!

ALTHAR IN HIDING"I thought you were killed!'' you

exclaim, still fighting for conscious-ness.

"I thought the same of you. Howdid you get here, human?"

Althar will go on to explain his ac-tions, how he and Lord Braltar de-vised a plan to draw the pirates intoan ambush so that Althar could fol-low them to their camp. He is nowawaiting reinforcements from Thaliaand hopes to strike in just a few days.

Here the characters should inter-rupt, interjecting their knowledgethat the camp is about to be moved.Any attack against the pirate campwill have to be made soon, in one dayat the latest!

Althar has a force of 25 soldiersarmed with rifles. He also hasenough rifles to arm the humans, butno more. The characters should pointout that at least 50 Martian prisonersare back in the pens; if they could befreed and armed, they could tripleAlthar's numbers!

munity collectively barters its woodwith canal boats that stop at adesignated spot once every fewweeks.

The community consists of 10families with 20 men (hill bravestock NPCs, armed with axes). Theyhave never seen a human before. Theleader is a strong Martian namedGrunth, who will be wary of thealiens but will also be sympathetic toanything starving in the swamp. Hewill gladly listen to what the humanshave to say.

The woodcutters have had severalskirmishes with the pirates. Pirateshave taken a few of their women and

have burnt their village once, sothere is no love lost between them.

Referee: If they can be acutely per-suasive, the characters might be ableto gain the woodcutters as alliesagainst the pirates.

Hermit: A mud hut can be seen ona small hillock jutting slightly abovethe surface of the water. The char-acters notice the warm glow of a fireand the welcome smell of roastingmeat coming from within the con-fines of the hut.

The characters have stumbledupon the abode of Wivin Scurch, avery old, extremely eccentric CanalMartian who gave up life in the city

40 years ago when his female lefthim for another Martian. Wivin hasgone quite mad since then. Nonethe-less, he still knows how to catch foodand keep himself comfortable in theswamp.

Wivin has never seen a human andwill act as if the characters are newmembers of the fantasy world he hascreated for himself. He will acknowl-edge the existence of the characters,but will slip in and out of his fantasyworldhe is useless as a source ofinformation. The characters will, atbest, be able to gain a couple of daysworth of food from poor Wivin'sstores.

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

RETURNTO THE PIRATE CAMP

TARK IS JUST about to move hisentire camp further back into theswamp, so everything is in a state ofchaos. The treasures from the bargehave been crated up for transport,and a herd of wild ruumet breehr hasbeen captured to be used as pack

PIRATE CAMP

animals, since there aren't enoughboats for the move. Such is thegeneral state of the camp when thecharacters and Althar arrive.

Specific locations within the campare described below, together withthe total number of Hill Martian pi-rates in that area at the time of anassault. Tark's entire command con-sists of 150 pirates.

Prisoner Pens: The same prison-ers are in these pens as when thecharacters left them. They areunderfed and demoralized, but theywill anxiously cooperate with anyplan to free and arm them against thepirates. Fifty Martian soldiers arehere, plus Orthir. There are alsothree pirate guards.

Armory Tent: This tent has been

Tent

Brush

Swamp

Boats

KEY

6 ft.


emptied, but the weapons are cratedup just outside it. Only 20 musketswith ammunition are here, but thereare plenty of sabers and great swordsfor the taking. The tent is guardedby two pirates, and five more piratesare working in the immediate area.

Tark's Tents: Tark and his gen-erals have constructed a perimeterwith their tents, holding council inthe center. Fifteen pirate guards sur-round these tents.

Main Encampment: The bulk ofthe swamp pirates reside here, eitherin tents or in shacks made of brush

and timber. Although the camp is notguarded, at least 60 of Tark's pirateswill be here at the start of the attack.

Mess: What food is available isprepared here. Twenty pirates willbe in the mess area.

The Herd: A great many piratesare now concerned with the handlingof the newly acquired ruumet breehr.Twenty of these pirates will belocated here.

Boat Dock: The boats are beingloaded down with booty and suppliesfrom the camp. Twenty-five piratesare presently at work here.

Attack By NightSHOULD ALTHAR deem it wis-

er to attack by dark of night, thenumber of pirates will be divided upinto the following groups in theselocations.

Prisoner Pens: 3 guards. Arsenal Tent: 2 guards. Tark's Tents: 5 guards, 5 sleeping. Main Encampment: 5 guards, 114

sleeping. Mess: 2 guards. The Herd: 5 guards. Boat Dock: 10 guards.

BORN OF HILL Mart ianparents on the Zephyrian Plain,Tark ventured forth at a very youngage in search of glory. He served,for a time, as a mercenary, first inAeolia and then in Sekoor, perfect-ing his mastery of the gashant andthe great sword. As an adventurerhe has travelled widely among theequatorial cities of Mars, makingfortunes and losing them just aseasily. He first teamed up with theswamp pirates while in desperateneed of gainful employment. Sincethen he has moved efficiently to aposition of leadership, so he figureshe'll stick around, at least for awhile.

His spies in Thalia alerted himto the barge expedition, and hisgreed would not let him pass up theopportunity. Quarrels among hispirate lieutenants broke out at thepresentation of the ambush plan(many feeling the losses would betoo heavy, no matter what theprize, and that such an ambushwould bring serious retribution

Tark (Veteran NPC)from the cities). Tark has had todemote several key officers becausethey would not be silent, and now heis in good graces with his men onlybecause the raid was a success.

Tark has no love of the swamppirates and sees this as merelyanother in a continuing series ofepisodes in his adventurous life.Once a battle begins going poorly forthe pirates, Tark will very quicklyslip into the swamp and make goodhis escape.

Motives: Adventure, Greed.Appearance: Tark's lean build

belies his tremendous strength. Heseldom wears more than his loinclothand breast jerkin, but occasionallyhe dons more "pirate-like" attire forthe benefit of his men. A good por-

Attributes Skills

tion of the brown hair on Tark'sback was permanently burnt awayin some previous adventure. He isshrewd and exudes confidence andstrength.

Str: 3 Fisticuffs 3, Throwing 3, Close Combat 4 (bashing weapon)Agl: 3 Stealth 2, Marksmanship 4 (bow)End: 3 Wilderness Travel 3 (foraging)Int: 4 Observation 3Chr: 3 Eloquence 2Soc: 5 Riding (gashant 3, ruumet breehr 2)

GDW

CAUGHT IN THE MIRE

SCENES OF BATTLEBASED ON information from the

human characters who have been in-side the pirate camp, Althar sees nochoice other than to initiate combatas quickly as possible. A reinforcingbattalion of soldiers is en route fromThalia, but it is not expected forseveral days. Althar is convinced thathe may not be able to destroy the pi-rates with the forces at hand, but hemay shake them up and dispersethem for the time being, bloodyingtheir noses on their own turf.

Althar's plan is a simple one. Ob-viously, he will need to penetrate the

Weapons RaidTHE TEAM must sneak into

the camp through the brush to ap-proach the weapons tent, thelocation of which can be pin-pointed by the human characters.Many of the weapons availableare already crated up. The guardsare awake and alert, but other-wise will present no surprises. Atotal of 20 muskets and about 100great swords and sabers are inand around the tent.

pirate camp in secret, avoiding thepatrols and guards at its perimeter.The prisoner pens are the key, in hisopinion. The Martians inside makea considerable fighting force, provid-ed they can be freed and armed.

Althar proposes to send in a selectforce to secure whatever weapons thepirates can provide, and then secretlyrelease the prisoners and distributethe arms. And additional raids areplanned to disrupt the pirates' boatsand their newfound herd of ruumetbreehr. Maintaining secrecy for aslong as possible is the keyonce thepirates are alerted, the real fightingbegins. Althar wants his men to be

in a commanding position before thepirates know what is going on!

Running the BattlesTHE INITIAL SCENES of the

battle are on a small enough scale tobe role-played. Each of the four in-itial raids is covered here. Humanswill most likely be involved in someof these raids, but the players maywish to play the Martian NPCs whenno humans are present. In effect,allow the players to be Althar, de-ciding how many soldiers are pres-ent at each scene, and running all thecharacters as necessary. All four ofthe raids take place simultaneously.

Prisoner Pen RaidTHE PCS approaching the

prisoner pens will have an addedcomplicationthey will arrive asthe guards are about to change, sothree additional pirate guards willarrive to mess things up. The prob-lem can be presented as follows.

The prisoners all appear to beasleep when you creep up to thepens. The three guards are inplace, just as they were when youwere held there several days ago.Quietly you sneak out from behindthe brush, dagger in hand, readyto dispatch one of the unsuspectingguards, when from down the path

you hear, "Look out!'' Three morepirates are on their way up thepath, and the guard you were aboutto take out whirls and knocks youdown with his musket. Cries forhelp stir the prisoners, and, nodoubt, the sleeping pirates.

The prisoners will be able toenter the fray, especially if Althar'smen hack through the ropes andbars of the pens. They are un-armed, but the sheer strength ofnumbers should bring the battle toa quick conclusion. It is certain thatmany of the pirates have been alert-ed after the ruckus at the pens.


Boat RaidTHE BOAT guards are all asleep

and can easily be taken prisoner, pro-vided the approach is made quietlyenough. Once the area is secured,Althar wants as many of the boatsdestroyed as possible. A Martianwith an ax will be able to destroy aboat in three turns. Those with torch-es can set a boat aflame in one turn.

After five turns, pirates from themain encampment will begin arriv-ing through the entry area at the rateof one-half of a die's worth per turn.The battle will be among the mostfierce, as the pirates struggle to es-cape and protect their livelihood.

YOU MAY JUDGE the out-come of the attack by the results ofthe four scenes described. For in-stance, if only one or two of themgo well, the battle will probably goto the pirates. If three or four gowell, the pirates will probably bedisbursed into the swamp, likelywithout their boats or weapons.

You may use the map of the en-tire camp to play out the battle.Althar himself will lead his main

RESOLUTIONforce. Tark will do the same, but willdisappear into the swamp if things gobadly for the pirates.

The humans will be congratulatedfor helping rid the swamp of pirates,and Thalia will, in turn, welcomemore British contact.

In more concrete terms, each char-acter will receive a gift of 50 value,with the leader and any heroic char-acters receiving more. This can takethe form of a unique gem, piece of

jewelry, or other artifact presentedwith great ceremony by the lordsof Thalia. The PCs now have val-uable contacts in the region. Re-wards from British officials will beless tangible, but no less valuable.The diplomatic service will be im-pressed with the PCs' performanceand more inclined to trust the groupwith sensitive missions. Likewise,contacts with governmental depart-ments will prove useful.

Ruumet Breehr RaidTHE RUUMET breehr are cor-

ralled near the main encampment,where many pirates lay sleeping atthe late hour of the attack. The ruu-met breehr are still half wild. Al-thar's Martians can easily disrupt theruumet breehr, forcing them to stam-pede through the main encampment.In the confusion, the Martians mayget into better position before thepirates realize an attack is on.

GDW

THE LURKER IN THE MOOR

The Lurker in the MoorMARS IS TYPICALLY thought

of as an arid planet, locked in thethroes of a slow death from want ofmoisture. But oddly enough, in a fewlocations on Mars, this image justdoes not hold true. One of thoseregions is the vast MylomeroenSwamp that lies to the northeast ofSyrtis Lapis, the British Crown Col-ony. In this adventure, your playercharacters will have the opportunityto brave the dangers of that vastmoor as they pursue the fame andfortune to be gained in the captureof a rare blossom.

REFEREE'S SYNOPSISWHILE TRAVELLING some-

where near the northern reaches ofSyrtis Lapis or the southern borderof the Umbran League (whicheversuits your campaign best), the playercharacters are attacked by a band ofaerial pirates. After defeating theirattackers, the PCs discover a youngwoman whom the pirates held as hos-tage, and an orchid-like flower ofunusual beauty and fragrance. Theplant is withering, but the girl con-vinces the PCs of its value and ex-plains that she can lead them to theone spot where more of them can befound.

Following the young woman'sguidance, the party members worktheir way deep into the MylomeroenSwamp, encountering strange people

and stranger creatures along the way.Eventually, just after discovering theblossoms' location, their beautifulyoung guide is carried off by a large,ferocious beastthe dreaded knoeshoshu.

The PCs track the knoe shoshu toits lair, where they find theirbeautiful young guide surrounded byover a dozen more beasts. In adesperate gamble, they burst into thecreatures' midst, grab the girl, andflee with her, pursued by the enragedcreatures.

Finally, they evade their pursuersand return to more civilized climes,gaining renown for their gallantry,as well as wealth for the blossom'sdiscovery.

A Fool's AmbushIT IS EASIEST to referee this por-

tion of the adventure if the playercharacters are travelling by some sortof aerial flyer. If the PCs do not ownsuch a vessel, you may wish to givethem some reason to purchasepassage on one before this adventurebegins. Also, the PCs will need somereason to be travelling near theMylomeroen Swamp. They might bevoyaging to or from the cities of theUmbran League, or they could bepatrolling the northern borders of theAstusapes Highlands, for example.Whatever the reason, it should takethem within a couple hundred miles

of the Mylomeroen Swamp. Oncethe group has reached this locale, theadventure proper can start. Thereferee can read the following nar-rative section to begin.

Your vessel is gliding smoothlythrough the chill upper air of Mars,far above the dry plains. Far to thesouth, the rocky Astusapes Moun-tains stretch across the horizon. Butto the west, north, and east you seeonly parched flatland, broken occa-sionally by ranges of sere hills.

From your high vantage point, youcan also view a network of canyonsthat lies just a few miles to the eastof your positionmute testimony tothe plentiful water that flowedthrough this region in ages past. Thecanyons cut through the rock of theplanet's surface, laying bare thestrata of red and brown stone be-neath.

As you watch the canyons slip bybeneath your vessel, the noonday Sunsuddenly winks from a shiny surfacelow on the wall of a particularlylarge crevasse. From the looks of theflash, the object must be either glassor some untarnished metal, neitherof which has any business lying in acanyon this far from civilization.Perhaps an aerial flyer has crashedrecently, leaving survivors to berescued or cargo to be salvaged! Ormaybe the flash marks the dwellingof some hitherto undiscovered raceof Martians!

Thoughts of treasure to be claimedand fame to be won fill your mind asyour ship begins to descend.

What the players do not know isthat the flash of reflected sunlightcame from a large bronze mirror onan adjustable pedestal, just recentlyplaced here by pirates to lure pass-ing ships into an ambush. As the


PCs' vessel descends into the canyonto investigate, a pirate vessel ascendsfrom its hiding place in a nearby cre-vasse. By the time the adventurersdiscover the mirror, the pirate vesselwill be hanging in the air abovethem, preparing to fire.

Whether the referee uses the basicSpace: 1889 rules or those in SkyGalleons of Mars, this portion of theadventure will involve ship-to-shipcombat. A map of the combat areais included on this page. The PCs'vessel begins the combat at pointAground level. The pirate vesselbegins at point Blow levelandgets one free turn to fire before thePCs can prepare their own weapons.From that point on, combat proceedsnormally.

In setting up the scenario, the ref-eree will have to decide on a vesselto use for the pirates (based upon the

capabilities of the PCs' ship). If youare using ships from the role-playingrules and the PCs have a Bloodrun-ner or Small Bird, give the pirates aSmall Bird. If the PCs have aHullcutter or Aphid, give the piratesa Hullcutter. If the PCs have aWhisperdeath, give the pirates one aswell. If the PCs have somethingother than one of the vessels men-tioned above, give the pirates avessel that is roughly equivalent.

At the onset of this combat, theplayers should be sweating. Not on-ly does their enemy have a ship thatnearly matches theirs in fightingcapability, he also has the drop onthem, as represented by his higheraltitude and his free turn of fire.

What the players should not knowis that the pirates have a Green crewand are also a little inept in theirhandling of the ship. As referee, you

should roll your dice out of theplayers' sight, and if the players arehaving a bad time of it, have thepirates take an extra round to reloada weapon or two now and then. Ifnecessary, you might even have to"fudge" a die roll once in a whileif the rolls are going against the PCs.Remember, the PCs need to shootthe pirates down and search their shipin order to begin the next part of theadventure.

Note: If it seems that the PCsmight decide to turn tail and run atthe very beginning, you might wishto have the pirates get a "lucky" hiton their ship's lifters, forcing themto follow the course of the canyonthey started in for a round or two.If you are careful to ensure that thepirates take some serious damage justafterward, thoughts of turning tailwill likely flee the players' minds.

KEYA. - PCs' ship

B. - Pirate's ship

- Low level

FOOL'S AMBUSH

- Very low level

- Ground level

The map scale is 200 yds per hex

GDW


THE HOSTAGEONCE THE PCs have shot the pi-

rates' vessel out of the sky, they willhave an opportunity to search it. Ifany of the pirate crewmembers werestill alive at the end of the ship-to-ship combat, they will be grabbingfood, water, and personal weapons,and fleeing into the rocky terrain asthe PCs land. As referee, you mightwish to have a few of the pirates stillon the wrecked ship when the PCsboard, to give them someone to com-bat.

In searching the ship, the PCs willfind 40 man-days of food and waterstores, 120 worth of coins andcheap jewelry, a few papers, a suit

of mail, a case with three Springfieldrifle-muskets (see Muzzle-LoadingRifle under Equipment in Space:1889) without powder or bullets, acarefully wrapped but slightly with-ered orchid-like flower of remarka-ble beauty and delicious aroma, anda young American woman gaggedand bound in the main cabin.

The lady is Emilie Van Warren,daughter of Dr. David Theodore VanWarren, an American botanist ofsome note. When the PCs first dis-cover her, they will find her uncon-scious from the buffeting she suf-fered during the crash of the vessel.Anyone who succeeds at an Easytask against Medicine will be able torouse the young woman and deter-

mine that she has taken no serious in-juries. In the absence of a successfulMedicine roll, Miss Van Warren willawake naturally the next morning,little the worse for wear.

Miss Van Warren's StoryONCE EMILIE Van Warren

awakens, her first reaction to thePCs' presence will be a cautious ex-pression of thanks for rescuing herfrom the pirates. She will then askwhat the group's plans are for her.As the PCs' heroic natures revealthemselves in their initial conversa-tions with her, she will relax into amore misty-eyed expression of grati-tude, but she will no break down in-to hysterical sobs of relief. The ref-

Emilie Van Warren (Green NPC)EMILIE VAN WARREN is the

daughter of an American botanist,Dr. David Theodore Van Warren,and is also a fairly knowledgeablebotanist in her own right. She is avery pleasant young woman who isdevoted to the advancement ofknowledge and who knows that thismakes her somewhat unusual forthe age in which she lives.

Miss Van Warren is quite capa-ble of suffering through whateverhardships might be necessary toachieve her goals (as is evidencedby her survival through the terrorsthat destroyed her father's last ex-pedition, in which he exploredmuch of the Mylomeroen Swampand discovered an orchid-like flow-er of unusual beauty). Miss VanWarren is completely determinedto mount a new expedition to col-lect living specimens of that plant,so that her father's name might

Att. SkillsStr: 1 Close Combat 1 (bashing

weapon)Agl: 3 Stealth 2, Marksmanship

2 (pistol)End: 2 Wilderness Travel 2

(mapping)Int: 5 Observation 4, Science 3

(biology), Linguistics 1(Koline)

Chr: 6 Eloquence 5Soc: 4 Riding 3 (horse 1, camel

1), Medicine 1

gain the fame that she believes itdeserves.

Motives: Adventuresome, Knowl-edge.

Appearance: Emilie Van War-ren is a slim young woman in hermid-twenties. She is of moderateheight, with dark hair that alwaysseems about to slip from the looseknot she keeps it pinned up in at theback of her head. She has darkbrown eyes that reveal a quick anddeep intelligence, as well as asteady determination.

Although she is generally quietrather than outgoing, and althoughshe does not spend the time primp-ing the way other young womenmight, she has an unconsciousgrace and a natural beauty whichmake themselves very evident tomost members of the opposite sex,often to Miss Van Warren's cha-grin.


eree should work to convey to theplayers the sense that Miss Van War-ren is a very self-controlled youngwoman who has recently beenthrough a hellish experience. Thestory that she then reveals to thegroup will substantiate that impres-sion.

The significant events of that storyfollow. Dr. Van Warren, her father,came to Mars to do comparativework on the relationship of Terranand Martian flora. A widower, hedid not want to be separated from hisonly living relative through the manymonths necessary for this study, sohe brought her along as a researchassistantshe is a well qualifiedbotanist. Shortly after their arrival atSyrtis Major, the doctor developeda fascination for the few majorswamplands of Mars, theorizing thatthey might yet hold plant life fromthe planet's earlier ages of develop-ment. So he put together an expedi-tion to the Mylomeroen Swamp, oneof the two major stretches of marshand bog within safe reach of theBritish Crown Colony. Emilie in-sisted on accompanying him, despiterumors of piracy in the region.

At first, the expedition went bet-ter than could have been hopedthedoctor quickly established friendlyrelations with a few local villages ofswamp dwellers, and he discoveredvarious types of exotic plants. Withina fortnight, the doctor cataloguedover 1000 different species for laterstudy. Then, in a remote location, hecame across a stand of orchids (oneof which the PCs found on thewrecked aerial flyer). He spent twodays studying them before taking asample and declaring his intent toreturn to Syrtis Major with it. Bothhe and his daughter agreed that the

bloom's beauty and perfume wouldmake it prized on Earth, and if itwere cultivated and marketed, theresulting funds could finance the doc-tor's continuing study indefinitely.With these high hopes, the expedi-tion prepared to leave the swamp.

During the night, however, disas-ter struck. Half the expedition wascarried off in the darkness by hideousshapes, and the other half (includingthe doctor and his daughter) escapedonly by fleeing blindly into the night.The next morning, these survivorsdiscovered that they were hopeless-ly lost. But casting out in what theybelieved to be a southerly direction,they began to work their way throughthe swamp.

For three days, they toiled alongwith no idea of their location. Then,in the evening of the third day, a sec-ond calamity occurred. Without anywarning, swamp pirates attacked theparty and slew everyone except thegirl, whom they held for sale intoslavery. As they took possession ofthe expedition's boats, the piratesunceremoniously dumped the bodiesof their victims over the sides into thewater, along with anything of no im-mediately apparent value.

Through it all, Emilie sat stunnedat her father's ignominious death.When the pirates prepared to toss herfather's orchid back into the swamp,however, her cries of outrage at thisdesecration of the doctor's finaldiscovery convinced the scoundrelsof the plant's potential worth, and itwas saved.

Over the next eight days, the brig-ands headed north through the fens,intent upon reaching Meroe withtheir newfound treasure. During thistime, Emilie learned a smattering ofthe Koline trade tongue from them,enough to instruct them in caring forthe plant her father had given his lifeto bring to light.

Then, as they neared the swamp'snorthern boundary, fate took anotherstrange turn as the swamp pirateswere attacked by pirates from the air.Again, Emilie watched the slaughterhelplessly, and again she and herfather's orchid were preserved. Shespent just two days as a captive ofthe aerial pirates before they weredestroyed in their attempt to ambushthe PCs.

Through it all, Miss Van Warrenhas held up pretty wellshe is madeof stern stuff. The flower, however,cannot recover. When Emilie dis-covers this, she will do everythingwithin her power to convince theplayer characters to mount anotherexpedition into the MylomeroenSwamp to retrieve more specimens.If the PCs wish to return to a city firstto outfit themselves, she will agree.Under no circumstances, however,will she tell the PCs how to locatethe plantshe insists upon comingalong as guide, explaining that sheremembers important landmarks toguide the party to the orchids' lo-cation.

GDW


THE MYLOMEROEN SWAMPAT SOME POINT in ages past,

the long stretch of canal between theFree City of Mylarkt (located ap-proximately 400 miles northeast ofGorovaan) and the Umbran League'scity-state of Meroe suffered exten-sive damage along much of itslength. Some scholars suggest thatthe area might have been the focalpoint of a severe earthquake, andthey point to a few toppled ruins innearby cities to support their conten-tion. Whatever the cause of the dam-age, however, neither Mylarkt norMeroe has ever had the resourcesnecessary to repair the breaches.

These breaches have allowed wa-ter to spill out freely into the terrainto either side of the canal. But unlikeother damaged canals that dried uponce their integrity was broken, theMylomeroen stretch remained a vi-able watercourse and turned the ter-ritory for hundreds of miles aroundinto a vast swamp. Water from therelatively nearby northern polar icecap joined with occasional run-offfrom the Astusapes Highlands andspilled from the canal into the naturalbasin between Mylarkt and Meroe,creating the Mylomeroen Swamp.

This vast marshland measuresroughly 400 miles from north tosouth and 250 miles from east towest, and it covers almost 90, 000square miles. It is home to numerousexotic species of plants and animals,as well as to a number of poor CanalMartian settlements. Inhabitants ofthe area typically dwell there for oneof three reasons: Some cultivatesaafel, a kelp-like plant with fleshypods that serve as a food staple;others fish or trap in the richbackwaters of the region; and manyare brigands.

Terrain FeaturesTHE FIRST THING that strikes a

visitor to the swamp is the prolifera-tion of wildlife. Perhaps nowhereelse on Mars is the foliage so thickor the creatures so numerous.

Next, the observer will note theextreme haziness of the atmosphere.Although Martian skies tend to bewonderfully clear elsewhere, overthis vast tract of steaming vegetationthe air is generally filled with watervapor, ranging from a light haze toa dense fog. For this reason, it is fair-ly easy to become lost when travel-ling off the main watercourse.

Over the centuries the canal itself

THE VAN WARREN ORCHIDTHE VAN WARREN orchid is a native flower that grows in select

locations in Mars' few swampy regionsperhaps only in the Mylome-roen Swamp. It is a bulbed plant with a beautiful bloom that beginswith a deep red color near the stem and fades to an ivory tone nearthe petals' edges. Inside this blossom stands a stamen that is a glossyblue-black.

The flower gives off a strong, sweet scent that is very relaxing tohumans, chasing away minor pains and fatigue, and lending a sensa-tion of general well-being. It is possible that the plant may be of someuse in human medicine, but that remains to be discovered.

has sunk out of sight into the soften-ing ground. The original canal cannow only be seen during the low flowseason. Traffic between Meroe andMylarkt follows the main water-course as it would a normal canal.

From the main watercourse stretchsecondary waterways that twist deepinto the body of the swamp. Like themain watercourse, these secondariesremain relatively constant in theirpaths over the years. It is along thesewaterways that the permanent farm-ing and fishing villages have sprungup, and some trade occurs betweenthese villages and the larger Martiancities outside the swamp.

Beyond these secondaries lie theregions typically called "the back-waters. " Here the terrain changesconstantly in response to the effectsof the current and plant growth.What is relatively solid ground withthick vegetation today may bewashed out completely tomorrow.On the other hand, what is a tertiarywatercourse today may be blockedby debris tomorrow. But the changesin terrain are especially dramaticwhen viewed over the course ofseveral seasons. Occasionally theruins of ancient sunken villages areeven brought to light during low flowas the water recedes.

Travelling in the SwampWHEN THE PLAYER characters

enter the Mylomeroen Swamp tobegin their search for the Van War-ren orchid, they will have to do soby boat. Their guide, Emilie VanWarren, is familiar with the land-marks only from the ground level,and in any case, the mists in the airprevent clear view of the landmarksfrom above.

The map shown on page 23 illus-


trates the layout of the swamp. Onit, the main watercourse, the second-aries, the permanent villages andpirate camps, and the location of theVan Warren orchid bed are all indi-cated. Blank hexes on the map (allhexes except major or secondary wa-terways) indicate backwater areasthat change often with the effects ofwater level and current. Also indi-cated on the map is the path of travelthat Dr. Van Warren's party took inexploring the swamp and discover-ing the orchidit is the path thatMiss Van Warren will try to follow.

Movement is conducted as in theWater Travel and Explorations sec-tions of the Space: 1889 rules book(pages 116-17 and 122-23), with the

exception that as long as the PCs arefollowing a primary or secondarywatercourse, there is no chance ofbecoming lost. (Note that the refereewill be using Emilie Van Warren'sskill in Wilderness Travel (mapping)to attempt to retrace this route, notthe skill of any of the PCs. )

Each time the group encounters ablank hex, the referee should roll onthe Backwater Terrain Table belowto determine what type of terrain fillsthe hex. And if at any point the PCsleave the swamp entirely for morethan two weeks' time and then laterreenter a backwater hex that theyhave been in before, the terrain typeshould be rerolled. This is to repre-sent the constant changes that occur

in the swamp. (If the referee wishesto keep track of such things, he caneven reroll if the PCs have not leftthe swamp but have been away froma particular hex for more than twoweeks. )

Once per day, the referee shouldroll for a possible encounter, as inthe Space: 1889 rules, but the en-counter chart later in this adventureshould be used instead of the one inSpace: 1889. In addition, any per-manent villages or permanent piratecamps that the PCs run across shouldbe treated as planned, stationary en-counters, as should their discoveryof the Van Warren orchid bed. De-scriptions of these encounters arealso located later in this adventure.

BACKWATER TERRAIN1D6

Die Roll Terrain Type1 Dry Ground2 Moor3 Intermittent Water4 Mainly Water5 Mainly Water6 Completely Flooded

ExplanationsDry Ground: This hex may be

traversed on foot in any direction.The ground is solid enough to sup-port men carrying heavy loads,with very few boggy tracts to workaround. Vegetation consists pri-marily of knee-high grass and lightbrush. Treat passage through thishex as 10 miles of foot travel.

Moor: This hex consists of verymarshy ground with occasionalsmall pools of water. The vegeta-

tion in this area is similar to that ofdry ground but often hides spots ofsoft mud or even quicksand. Travelthrough this hex must be by foot.And due to the need to search forfirm footing, passage through thishex should be counted as 20 miles offoot travel.

Intermittent Water: This hex isdivided about evenly between waterand marshy land. Copses of cypress-like trees dot the area, and watergrasses grow very tall. It is possibleto traverse the hex either complete-ly on foot or completely by water.To do so, a traveller should windback and forth across the hex, look-ing for the best pathway there. RolllD6 x 10 for the number of milesthis hex represents due to this wind-ing travel.

The other way to traverse this hexis straight across, travelling by boatwhen in water and on foot when land

is encountered. When travellingthis way, the hex should be treatedas 15 miles of travel, divided even-ly between water and land travel.

Mainly Water: This hex con-sists primarily of large pools andwatercourses, broken occasionallyby bars of ground and dotted withislands. Vegetation is similar to thatin intermittent water. When travel-ling by boat, it is fairly easy to finda way around any dry ground inthis hex; therefore, it should betreated as 15 miles of water travel.It is impossible to traverse this hexon foot.

Completely Flooded: This hexis completely covered by water. Insome places it may be shallowenough for grasses to protrudeabove the surface, but in generalthe hex can be treated as a lake.Travel must be by boat, and the hexcounts as 10 miles of water travel.

GDW

DEALING WITH BACKWATER TERRAIN


SWAMP ENCOUNTERSENCOUNTERS THAT the PCs

will have in their exploration of theMylomeroen Swamp will fall intotwo broad categories. The first con-sists of encounters indicated on themap on page 23things such as per-manent villages, permanent piratecamps, and the location of the VanWarren orchid. The second includesrandom events that will occur to thePCs in the backwater regions of theswamp. Events in the first category,invented encounters, are explainedon this page; random encounters aredescribed on pages 24 and 25.

INVENTED ENCOUNTERSAS THE PCS RETRACE the path

of Dr. Van Warren's ill-fated expedi-tion, they will come across a numberof permanent villages, primarilyalong the secondary waterways. It isalso very possible that they mightstumble on a swamp pirate camp ifthey make a wrong turn. Finally, tocomplete the adventure, they willhave to discover the growinggrounds of the Van Warren orchid.Each of these invented encounters isdescribed in detail below.

Permanent Village: The PCscome upon a permanent settlement ofCanal Martians in the MylomeroenSwamp. These Canal Martians arevery poor in comparison to those liv-ing in or near the major cities. Theysubsist on fish and local plants, alongwith bread made from saafel. Thissaafel bread not only serves as thestaple of these villagers' diet, but itis also considered something of a del-icacy in the cities of the UmbranLeague and therefore serves as atrade item.

The homes of these villagers are

built upon poles sunk into the banksof a watercourse. During the twoflow seasons of the year, their floorsare about six feet above the bank'ssurface, right at the water's edge.During low flow, the water level inthe swamp can drop drastically, andthe water's edge may retreat as muchas 25 or 30 feet from the homes. Andduring flood, the waters often reachfloor level or slightly higher.

A typical village will consist of 10to 20 homes arranged along one bankof a watercourse, with perhaps halfa dozen canoes tethered to eachbuilding's legs. An extended familylives in each home. The family usual-ly consists of a male, his spouse, hissons, their spouses, and his grand-children. Often a widowed brotheror sister of the family leader will livethere as well. Female villagers tendto fish and harvest the ubiquitoussaafel, while males hunt wildlife andgather less accessible plants.

The inhabitants of swamp villagesare usually very suspicious of strang-ers at first because of their hatred forswamp pirates. But once they havedetermined that the strangers are notswamp pirates, however, the villag-ers are exceedingly hospitable. It isnot uncommon for visitors to leavefeeling humbled or shamed by thesepoor people's generosity.

Swamp Pirate Camp: Swamppirates are uniformly the most de-spicable creatures that Mars has everproduced. In general, they are es-caped convicts, renegades, and otheroutlaws so hated by other Martiansthat they have had nowhere else tohide but in the swamps. The cruelestof their numbers tend to become theirleaders, and swamp pirates are no-torious for ambushing merchant par-ties, then brutally slaughtering all the

captives they take who have no ran-som value.

Two things prevent these piratesfrom becoming a real threat to citiesoutside the swamp, however. Thefirst is that they are so universallyhated that it is not uncommon foreven cities that are traditional ene-mies to cooperate in hunting outthese bandits and executing them.The second is that as the dregs ofMartian society, swamp pirates rare-ly have better than mediocre fightingskills, and their ability to organize ispoor. Therefore, they remain littlemore than a nuisance to merchants,explorers, and swamp villagers.

If the PCs stumble across a swamppirate camp, they will notice that thecamp consists of a pitiful collectionof up to a dozen hovels and lean-tos,housing about 60 pirates. Severalcanoes will usually be close by, aboutone for every six pirates. And a quar-rel will often be in progress.

The best way to deal with a swamppirate camp is to avoid it. However,if a battle must be fought, it is bestto attack the pirates ferociously, inhope of breaking their morale.

Van Warren Orchid Bed: Theterrain in this hex falls under thecategory Intermittent Water, as wasdescribed previously. In this hex, thePCs will find a very small island witha thick copse of vine-covered trees.The Van Warren orchid flourishes inthe marshy ground in the shade ofthese trees.

It is fairly simple to dig up a fewof the plants and wrap them in burlapfor the return trip.

Just after the PCs find the orchids,however, the knoe shoshu will strike,dragging Emilie Van Warren off toits lair (see The Lurker section onpage 26).


GDW


RANDOM ENCOUNTERSAS THE PLAYER characters ex-

plore the Mylomeroen Swamp, theywill most likely have a number ofrandom encounters. At the beginningof each day, the referee should rollto determine if a random encounteroccurs. On a roll of 1, 2, or 3, anencounter occurs. On a roll of 4 or5, the party has a chance of becom-ing lostmake a Moderate rollagainst Emilie Van Warren's skill atWilderness Travel (mapping) to de-termine if they are lost. If the partyis lost, the referee should move themone hex in a random direction at theend of the day.

If an encounter is to occur, thereferee should roll on the RandomEncounter Table on this page todetermine what that encounter willbe. Once that is done, he can decidewhat time during the day the encoun-ter will be most appropriate. (For ex-ample, if "quicksand" is rolled, itwill not occur while the PCs are ina total water hex. )

Random EncounterDescriptions

THE DETAILS OF the possiblerandom encounters are explainedbelow.

Quicksand: One of the charactersin the party has discovered quick-sandby falling into it. It is a For-midable task against Strength to getout. But up to two other characterscan roll as well, and the total of allthree characters' rolls can be addedtogether for the task. If a charactergoes for more than two rounds with-out succeeding at this task roll, he ispulled under and drowns.

Swamp Pirates: As in the basicSpace: 1889 rules, this is an en-

RANDOMENCOUNTERS

2D6Die Roll Encounter

2 Quicksand3 Swamp Pirates4 Green Koko5 Ruumet Breehr Herd6 Stinging Flies7 Lurker8 Native Hunters9 Cissawaan

10 Temporary Village11 Strangle Vine12 Ancient Ruins

counter with pirates in small boats.Roll one die to determine the numberof boats involved; six pirates will belocated in each. The pirates will tryto capture the characters to determineif they are ransomable, then plan tokill any who are not.

If the pirates lose half their numberin battling the PCs, the remainderwill flee.

Green Koko: While the PCs aretravelling along a waterway, a greenkoko darts out from nearby foliage,slips over the edge of their boat, andattacks one of their number, attempt-

ing to drag him over the side into thewater.

If the character is in a canoe, thecanoe will be capsized by the weightof the snake, and all its occupants andcargo will be tossed into the water.Characters without Swimming skillcan cling to the overturned canoe butare dependent upon others to rescuethem. Characters with Swimmingskill, however, can try to turn thecanoe upright. To do so requires aFormidable roll versus their skill.After combat with the green koko isresolved, the PCs can try to recoverlost cargo. Roll 1D6 x l0 for thepercentage of cargo recovered (thereferee chooses exactly which items).

Ruumet Breehr Herd: The PCsdiscover a small herd of wild ruumetbreehr. If the adventurers are in awater hex at the time, the beasts willbe wallowing in the shallows. If onland, the beasts will be grazing.

Ruumet breehr will not attackunless they perceive a threat, but thismay be as simple a thing as the PCsapproaching too close. If the groupwants to work its way around theherd, add five miles to the traveldistance for this hex (to representtime spent looking for an alternatecourse and cautiously watching theanimals to make sure they do notspook).

Stinging Flies: As the PCs pass astand of tall water grasses, a swarmof viciously biting insects attacks andpursues them for up to half a mile.The bites do no permanent damage,but they are extremely painful, forc-ing the PCs to flee almost blindly toget away from their tormentors. Roll1D6: On a 4, 5, or 6, the adventuregroup becomes lost and wanders onehex in a random direction beforecontinuing the day's travel.


Lurker: Any player character whorolls less than his Observation on1D6 will notice a dark shape in thesurrounding foliage. The dark shapehas been following the PCs through-out the day (except when they are ina dry ground hex). If they approachthe lurker, it will disappear into thesurrounding terrain, only to returnagain later.

This shape is a knoe shoshu; it hasbeen following the group to scavengewhatever it can from the PCs' leav-ings. The purpose of this encounteris to make the players edgy and toforeshadow the abduction of EmilieVan Warren after the Van Warrenorchids are found (see The Lurker onpage 26).

Native Hunters: The PCs comeacross a group of lD6 x 10 nativemen in a hunting party. If this eventoccurs on land, the natives are gath-ering food plants; if it occurs onwater, there will be one canoe perthree natives, and they will be hunt-ing water fowl with bows and a fewfirearms.

In any event, the natives will bevery suspicious of the PCs and willattack if approached too closely, un-less the PCs are obviously in direneed of help and have no intentionof fighting.

This event can be used by the ref-eree to restock the PCs' supplies orprovide medical aid.

Cissawaan: The PCs spot a swarmof cissawaans headed their waythrough the water. If the group actsquickly, it can avoid the voraciouslittle beasts, but the referee shouldroll for a chance of the PCs becom-ing lost afterward, as under StingingFlies.

Temporary Village: On the banksof a small watercourse, the PCs dis-cover a small village of swampdwellers (1D6 huts). If the PCs ap-proach cautiously, with a great dis-play of nonaggression, the villagerswill speak with them and give themany necessary aid.

gled in a long, tough vine. As heworks to extricate himself, the vineslowly twists itself about him andworms tiny rootlets into his skin! Ifhe is not freed from the vine, it willeventually drain him of all his vitalfluids.

To work free from a strangle vinerequires success at an Impossible rollagainst Strength, but up to four char-acters can roll and add their totals tothe victim's. Alternately, if the vinecan be severed from its roots, it willslowly relax its hold. But to do this,a character must make a successfulDifficult roll against his Observation,followed by a successful Moderateroll against his Edged Weapon skill.It is possible for one character to at-tempt this solution while severalothers struggle to pull the victimloose.

Strangle Vine: While the group ispassing through a section of dense fo-liage, one of the PCs becomes entan-

Ancient Ruins: A lifting of landin this area has brought to light theruins of an ancient canal village.There is a 10-percent chance that thePCs may find something of value inthe ruins, such as a small barrel ofgold or silver coins, for example.Other possible finds are left to thereferee's imagination.

GDW


THE LURKERONCE THE PLAYER characters

have discovered the location of theVan Warren orchid and have ob-tained a specimen of that plant, thereferee should run the next encoun-ter. To begin, he may wish to readaloud to his players the narrative sec-tion below.

The most difficult part of yourquest, it seems, is now over. Severalspecimens of the Van Warren orchidnow lie in the bottom of your boat,wrapped securely in damp burlap forprotection.

You brush your hands together toknock loose the dirt on them, andthen you toss your tools back into theboat.

Passing your gaze over the hum-mock to take stock of the other partymembers, you notice that Miss VanWarren has stepped through a gapbetween two trees and is bendingover to examine something at groundlevel. You are just about to call outto her not to wander too far when a

fleshy tentacle whips around her tor-so and drags her down. Her terrifiedscream tears through the normalswamp sounds, leaving a stunnedsilence behind.

As you run for her, she disappearsfrom your view. Her second screamis interrupted by a loud splash. Curs-ing, you reach the gap between thetrees just in time to see her draggedunder the surface of a waterway afew feet away. A large, dark shapetows her behind as it propels itselfthrough the water. Crying for theothers to follow with the boats, youshuck your boots and dive in afterMiss Van Warren, praying thatsomehow you can overtake whateverit is that has captured her.

THE CHASE IS ONWHAT HAS GRABBED Emilie

Van Warren is a knoe shoshualarge, deadly scavenger that hauntsthe backwaters of Mars' swamp-lands. It is, of course, this creaturethat the adventure party's membershave glimpsed lurking in the back-

Piled Bones

Knoe Shoshu

Hole in the roof

Cane growth

Water

Cave roofline

ground several times since they leftthe secondary watercourse. Thisbeast has injected Miss Van Warrenwith its poison, and she has lapsedinto unconsciousness.

Chasing the Knoe Shoshu: If anymember of the party has Swimmingskill, the referee can let him chasethe beast as it flees. The knoe shoshuhas a 15-yard head start and swimsanother 10 yards each turn. A swim-ming character, of course, rolls diceequal to his skill to determine howmany yards he covers per turn.

The referee should run this chaseas a tantalizing event; it should seemto the players that their charactershave some chance of catching thething, but actually this encounter isdesigned to ensure that the beast getsaway. (It is important to the next partof the adventure that the beast escapewith Miss Van Warren. )

The knoe shoshu should lead anyswimming characters on a merrychase for about 10 rounds beforethey catch it; it will then fight themfor about two rounds, then it willdive down deep, escaping from itspursuers and towing Miss Van War-ren behind.

To ensure that the characters donot lose the beast too early or over-take it too easily, the referee can usethe swamp terrain to good advantage.If the characters are quickly beingleft behind, the referee can explainthat the waterway is broken by fre-quent bars of land, forcing the knoeshoshu to slowly drag its prey oversuch places. Every time the beast hasto do this, the PCs can have a freeturn to roll their Swimming dice. Inother words, for that round, the knoeshoshu will not gain any distance atall, and the characters will be ableto close the gap somewhat. If the


characters are catching up too quick-ly, however, the referee can explainthat the water they are in is verydeep, and the beast keeps divingdown and changing direction. In eachsuch round, the beast gets its normal10 yards of movement, but the PCsmust waste the round peering aboutuntil the knoe shoshu surfaces. (Sinceit does not wish to drown its victim,it will not dive for more than a turnwithout resurfacing. )

Finally, the PCs catch up with thebeastthe referee should be carefulthat this happens in deep water. Itwill fight for about two rounds,without releasing Miss Van Warren,then it will dive away from its at-tackers and not resurface until it isout of sight behind some nearbyvegetation. At this point the PCs willhave to give up the chase and resortto tracking the beast (see below). Butthey will have learned an importantlesson about its fighting skill.

Tracking the Knoe Shoshu: Afterthe knoe shoshu escapes from anyswimming characters (or if nocharacters had that skill to beginwith), the PCs will try to track thebeast through the swamp and followit by boat if they wish to rescueEmilie Van Warren. They can beginby searching for signs in the direc-tion the beast was fleeing, making aDifficult level task roll once every 15minutes (game time). A successfulroll means that the tracking characterhas discovered signs of a body be-ing dragged overland.

Once the first successful roll ismade, further rolls can be madeevery five minutes (game time), atModerate difficulty, and will revealeither further signs of a draggedbody, a few drops of blood from thebeast or Miss Van Warren, or a torn

bit of the young lady's clothingsnagged on vegetation (referee's op-tion). After 12 successful rolls (notnecessarily in succession), the groupwill discover the knoe shoshu's lair.

THE LURKER'S LAIRWHEN THE PCs discover the lair

of the knoe shoshu, the referee canread them the following narrativedescription.

Pressing on along the trail of thebeast that carried Miss Van Warrenaway, you come to a thick screen oftall grasses similar to Terran bam-boo. A few strands of long, dark hairhang from the cracked joint of oneplantthe hair is obviously Miss VanWarren's. Poling your boat throughthe cane, you discover the dark,mossy mouth of a cave that stretchesback into the side of what is obviouslya permanent island. The archedmouth is nearly 10 feet across andis easily six feet from water level toits top. Measuring the water level,you find the floor to the cave mouthto be three feet below the surface.

A few yards inside, the light be-comes brighter, and you soon movethrough the bend in the passage. Ahole in the roof illuminates the in-terior of the cavern beyond, reveal-ing a space approximately 15 yardsin diameter. Toward the back, thecavern floor rises above water level,giving way to a sandy shelf.

As you peer closer, your bloodruns cold. Miss Van Warren lies un-conscious amid a pile of molderingbones and rotting clothing. Scatteredaround her on the sandy shelf lie overa dozen knoe shoshus, dozing in thecavern's coolness.

To get Emilie Van Warren out ofthe cavern safely, the PCs will eitherhave to slip stealthily to her side and

carry her out, or fight and kill all theknoe shoshus. Neither of these taskswill be easy.

If they decide to try to sneak in-side, they may either enter throughthe cave entrance or climb down arope dropped through the hole in theroof. The hole is eight yards abovethe cave floor. In one movement ac-tion, a character can descend a num-ber of feet (not yards) equal to theroll of his Strength dice or climb up-ward half that distance. For heavilyburdened characters (such as onecharacter carrying another char-acter), halve both those values again.

Once inside the cave, each time acharacter enters a new square, hemust make a Moderate level Stealthroll to avoid waking the knoe sho-shus. If a roll is failed, the knoeshoshus in the same square as thecharacter will wake and begin attack-ing in the next turn; the character hasthe rest of the turn in which he failedthe roll to conduct any action hedesires. Once the first knoe shoshubegins attacking, however, the com-bat will wake the remaining beasts,and they will begin attacking one turnlater.

If someone manages to sneak allthe way to Emilie Van Warren'sposition and lift her up, she will cryout in her unconscious state, wakingall the beasts in the cave.

Once the party members haveMiss Van Warren in their posses-sion, they can attempt to escape withher. They will first have to fight theirway back to their boat, then flee fromthe remaining knoe shoshus. Thebeasts will continue to pursue theparty until it has left the hex in whichthe Van Warren orchid was dis-covered. They will then give uppursuit.

GDW


LEAVING THE SWAMPNOW THAT THE player charac-

ters have the plant they came for andhave rescued the girl who broughtthem, it is time to leave the swamp-lands. The referee should not dwellon the events of the return journeyin as much detail as he did on theevents while coming in (to avoid atedious denouement after the excite-ment of the adventure's climax). But,he may wish to have the group takea mental step back from the situationand play the exit trip something likea board game, letting the players seeexactly where their party is on themap and playing out any encounterswithout the detail given to them onthe trip in.

The fact that the player charactersdo not have to rely on Miss VanWarren as a guide on the way outsince they all know the route theytook coming inmay help speedthings up. Finally, the referee canrevert to the Space: 1889 rule book'snormal 2 in 6 chance of an event in

a Martian swamp to make the exitplay faster. And he can even ignoreany Lurker events, since it is likelythat the players have had their fill ofknoe shoshus for a while.

But if even this level of detailbegins to bog things down, just skipthe exit from the backwaters and pickup with the PCs' arrival back at theswamp's primary watercourse.

Since time is of the essence in get-ting the Van Warren orchids back tocivilization in good shape, once theyreach the primary watercourse,Emilie Van Warren will suggest thatthe group take passage on a merchantship. It is easy enough to find onebound for the British Crown Colonywilling to take on a few passengers.Once passage has been purchased,the referee can skim over the tripback to Syrtis Major, picking up theaction when the group arrives in thattown.

IN SYRTIS MAJORWHEN THE adventurers arrive in

Syrtis Major, Emilie Van Warren

wastes no time in taking the VanWarren orchid specimens to an ac-quaintance who is skilled in cultivat-ing exotic plants. During the fewdays he is working with the speci-mens, the referee can guide the play-er characters through some minor ad-ventures in town.

Soon, however, Emilie Van War-ren will get back to them with thenews that seedlings have been startedfrom the plants and have beenshipped back to Earth. It appears thatthe Van Warren orchid will, withproper care, thrive in domesticationand several medical companies arevery interested in the possible use ofthe plant in manufacturing medicinaldrugs.

WHAT THE PCS GETBESIDES the experience and re-

nown you might hand out for theadventure, each of the PCs will alsoget an immediate payment of 100as their share of the down paymenton rights to market the plants. Eachyear thereafter, each PC will alsoreceive a royalty on the sale of theplants, determined in exactly thesame way as a royalty for an inven-tion (as explained on page 13 of theSpace: 1889 rule book).

In addition, of course, the PCs willhave made a knowledgeable, wealthyfriend to turn to when necessaryEmilie Van Warrena friend whofeels that she owes them much morethan she can ever repay.

The PCs will also have first-handknowledge of the backwaters of theMylomeroen Swamp, as well as anexciting story concerning the ferocityof the knoe shoshu, a story whichshould at least get them a free drinknow and then at any pub they mightfrequent.


CONCERNING LATERADVENTURES

WHEN THE REFEREE preparesto run this adventure, he might wishto give some thought to planting theseeds of future adventures in theevents of this one. Several possibili-ties come to mind.

Once the tale of their adventureis well publicized, the player char-acters might be hired by a museumto bring back the carcass of a knoeshoshu for public display. Theymight even be hired to capture onelive for a zoo.

A coin brought back from theruins of a sunken village the PCs en-countered in the Mylomeroen Swampmight reveal that it was actually novillage at all, but was the highestpoint of an entire city. An archaeol-ogist might want to hire the PCs

to take him to the place they foundthe ruins. It is also possible that thoseruins might open into a vast, under-ground complex full of ancient arti-facts.

The captain of a pirate band thePCs encountered might come look-ing for vengeance. This is especial-ly appropriate for a one- or two-session adventure.

The aerial flyer that first at-tacked the PCs, precipitating the en-tire adventure in search of the VanWarren orchid, might have been car-rying captured papers from Oenotria,giving orders for the assassination ofa prominent statesman in the UmbranLeague. The PCs could undertake todeliver those papers to that statesmanin hope of gaining a reward. As anadded complication, they might getto him just as the assassin strikes, im-plicating them in his killing, especial-

ly since they are carrying the ordersto assassinate him.

A member of a swamp villagethe PCs visited might find them totell of the swamp pirates unitingunder a charismatic leader. The pi-rates are attacking village aftervillage, wiping out all the in-habitants, and the PCs are the onlyhope the villagers could think of toaid them in mounting a war againstthe pirates.

If any of these possibilities soundinteresting to you, or if they give riseto any ideas of your own, just re-member that you do not have to fleshthem out yet. Instead, merely plantthe initial clues for each at the ap-propriate place in this adventure andwait to see if the players bite at anyof them. That will be soon enoughto begin developing them into full-fledged adventures.

GDW

MADNESS IN THE MOAB

Madness in the MoabRAMPANT RUMORS

THE CHARACTERS are in theMartian city of Sigeus Portus.Photocopy the following newspaperarticles (the first is dated 14 daysprior to the beginning of the adven-turethe dates should be adjusted toreflect the chronology of the refer-ee's campaign), and give copies tothe players.

For every hour the charactersspend in a public place in Sigeus Por-tus (a pub, hotel lobby, marketplace,etc. ), give the characters one of therumors from the Rumor Table (de-termined randomly). If the charactersreceive the rumor by talking to a

citizen of Sigeus Portus, read therumor straight through. If, however,the characters eavesdrop on a con-versation in a noisy place (such as apub or marketplace), read only bitsand pieces of the rumor, to representthe haphazard nature of such infor-mation. They may, of course, hearthe same rumor (or parts of one)several times, and never hear someof the rumors at allthis is the natureof life.

Rumor Table1-2. I hear tell that a village out in

the middle of the Moab has been at-tacked by some human raiders. Theystrike only at night and have carried

off the queerest things: small piecesof wood, metal scraps, and emptywater skins. No one has been killedyet, but these Moabs claim that theraiders have stolen a ruumet breehras well.

3-4. That Dr. Fairbanks is mad asa hatter. I think the desert Sun boiledwhat was left of his brains and anypower of reason he had remaining.I wouldn't be at all surprised to findhim digging through some sand dunelike he was an ohnam reekh.

It's a pity about that young LillianDewitt woman. What a turn of fatefor her to strike off on an expeditionwith Fairbanks. That reminds me ofsomething a friend of mine told me.He's a student at the university whereFairbanks used to teach and saidsome older students told him Fair-banks was dismissed from the uni-versity after being absent for nearlythree months without prior notice.He finally showed up at the dean'soffice with a vest pocket full of sandand a cockamamie tale of being cap-tured by a band of Canal Martiansin the desertsaid they had forcedhim to carry some heavy baggage,and he had to learn to find his ownfood and water.

These older students swear theysaw him drunk in an alleyway dur-ing the time he was allegedly aprisoner in the desert. Either way,Fairbanks is a loon.

5-6. Did you see that article in theTimes today? I mean, I feel sorry forthose two and everything, but onlya fool would mount a desert expedi-tion in this heat. And that map theyprinted in the newspaper doesn'teven have any water holes marked.If the survey team was depending onthat useless scrap of paper, then I'mafraid ther

Space 1889 - GDW1906 - More Tales From the Ether

Documents

swamp encounters

referees synopsis

mylomeroen swamp

impenetrable swamp

invented encounters

random encounters

thalia hasbeen

fort proper