Barsoomian Army Lists

This is me saving some more great gaming stuff from obscurity. In this case it's Alan Saunders' Barsoomian Army Lists for WRG's now free wargame Hordes of the Things. I've edited them a little, removing the details about the models he used and adding the sample Barsoomian armies he had on a separate page. Here's an archive of the original page from The Stronghold for comparison. As a bonus, here's the map from SPI's Barsoom game. Now, "Cry havoc and let slip the calots of war!"

Map of Barsoom by Scott Bizar via ERBzine

Barsoomian Army Lists for Hordes of the Things by Alan Saunders

Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the eleven books that make up the Martian series between 1912 and 1950. Although the writing is up to his usual standard, the plots are repetitive and the 'science' is laughable, the series is a rollicking good read and also provides scope for a series of 'Hordes of the Things' army lists. Two lists for these books are presented in the original rules book, but they are incomplete and, in my opinion, slightly inaccurate. 'Barsoom' is the name given by Martians to their own world; Earth is called 'Jasoom'. Each of the following lists is designed to give a standard 24AP army and no more than half of the points can be spent on elements costing 3AP or more.

The eleven books in the series are: A Princess of Mars, Gods of Mars, Warlord of Mars, Thuvia, Maid of Mars, Chessmen of Mars, Mastermind of Mars, Fighting Man of Mars, Swords of Mars, Synthetic Men of Mars, Llana of Gathol and John Carter of Mars.

Peter Pig do very nice ready made Green and Red Martian armies in 15mm.

Red Martian, Yellow Martian and Black Pirate
Jed or Jeddak and Retinue Blade General @ 2AP 1
Warriors Blades @ 2AP 4-11
Assassin Sneakers @ 3AP 0-1

Helium and Allies only:
Upgrade Jed or Jeddak to John Carter or similar mighty swordsman
Hero General @ 4AP 1
Lesser Heroes Hero @ 4AP 0-1

Any but Manator and Yellow Martians:
Scout Fliers Fliers @ 2AP 0-2
Fliers Airboats @ 3AP
if Black Pirate 0-4
if others 0-2

Any but Black Pirates and Yellow Martians:
Thoat Riders Riders @ 2AP
if Gathol 0-6
if others 0-2

Only if Yellow Martians:
Apts Beasts @ 2AP 0-1
Solon of Okar Hero @ 4AP 0-1

Only if Jahar:
Phor Tak Magician @ 4AP 0-1
Cannibals Hordes @ 1AP 0-10

This list covers the majority humanoid race on Barsoom, the Red Martians, and covers all of their city states, including Helium, Ptarth, Kaol, Jahar, Dusar and so on. It also includes the less common but still humanoid Yellow Martians of the North Polar regions and the Black Pirates of the South Pole and Rift Valley. Other humanoid races either have their own lists or are not considered numerous enough to field an army. Red Martians and Black Pirates had radium rifles but preferred to fight at close quarters, hence their grading as Blades. Only the Twin Cities of Helium and their allies such as Ptarth, Kaol and Gathol seemed to produce men sufficiently super-human enough to be classed as Heroes. In the case of John Carter the element need not even have a retinue as he seems to have been virtually undefeatable even when on his own! Manator lacked the technology to produce fliers, but the Black Pirates used them extensively in their raids. The Yellow Martians protected their lands from aerial attack by use of a gigantic magnet which prevented use of fliers by them as well. Accordingly, no army opposing Yellow Martians may use fliers. Most Red Martian cities made use of Thoats for patrols and scouting; Gathol was famous for its Thoat herds and is therefore assumed to have more available for military purposes. Apts are fearsome creatures of the North Polar regions and there is some evidence for their domestication. Solon of Okar was an extremely old (even by Barsoomian standards) Yellow Martian rated by John Carter as the finest swordsman he ever faced. The city of Jahar tried to create a huge army to defeat Helium by a forced breeding program. This produced over-population in some areas and resulted in the inhabitants resorting to cannibalism to survive. Phor Tak was a master scientist who developed a number of weapons to aid Jahar against Helium, chief amongst them being a disintegration ray. Rating him as a Magician best reflects his abilities and those of his weapons.


Red Martian (Helium)

List
   Type..........................Troops......................................Cost
1 Hero General @ 4AP...John Carter, Warlord of Mars......4
6 Blades @ 2AP.............Swordsmen of Mars.................12
2 Airboats @ 3AP..........Fliers........................................6
1 Flyer @ 2AP...............Scout Flier................................2
Stronghold: None as yet.



Black Pirates

List
    Troops...........................Type.............................Cost
1 Airboat General @ 3AP...Battleship.........................3
3 Airboats @ 3AP..............Lesser Battleships.............9
2 Flyers @ 2AP.................One-man Flyers................4
4 Blades @ 2AP................Black Pirate Swordsmen...8


Red Martian (Jahar)

List
   Troops.........................Type..................................................Cost
1 Blade General @ 2AP...Tul Axtar with bodyguard.......................2
3 Blades @ 2AP..............Warriors...............................................6
2 Airboats @ 3AP............Large fliers coated in ghastly blue paint...6
1 Flier @ 2AP..................One man fliers......................................2
5 Hordes @ 1AP..............Cannibals of U-Gor...............................5
1 Artillery @ 3AP.............Phor Tak.............................................2

Notes

My fifth Martian army, and my first 'repeat' in terms of race. Jahar is a city state that goes to war with Helium in the seventh book in the series A Fighting Man of Mars. It's ruler, Tul Axtar, has two weapons at his disposal. Firstly he has instituted a forced-breeding program to boost his empire's population and supply of fighting men. This has lead to cannibalism breaking out in some provinces as the population outstrips the food supply. Secondly he has the disintigrator ray invented by Phor Tak fitted to all of his ships. This is represented in the army by giving them a fleet equal in size to that of Helium (assume it is fewer ships but armed with the secret weapon) and by fielding Phor Tak as an artillery element to provide extra firepower. Needless to say in the book his plans come to naught, but on the wargames table? Who knows?


Green Martian
Jeddak on Thoat Knight General @ 2AP 1

Warriors:
Up to 1/2 on foot as Blades @ 2AP
Rest on Thoats as Knights @ 2AP 6-11
Outriders and Scouts Riders @ 2AP 0-2
Calots Beasts @ 2AP 0-1
Warriors with Radium Rifles Shooters @ 2AP 0-4

Only if Thark:
Upgrade Jeddak to Tars Tarkas Hero General @ 4AP 1

This list covers all of the Green Martian nomad hordes that roamed the dead-sea bottoms of Barsoom. Most were hostile not only to other Barsoomian races but to other Green Martian hordes as well. Thark was an exception in that it was allied to Helium due to the friendship between their leader Tars Tarkas and John Carter. Green Martians generally fought mounted but were capable of fighting on foot if need be. Their impetuous desire to close to hand-to-hand combat whilst mounted along with their large size almost requires their classification as Knights. They were capable of shooting their radium rifles with almost legendary skill, but only tended to use them against enemy fliers. Some form of anti-aircraft artillery was also available, but since it was fairly static and used to protect a horde's current base it can be considered to be part of the Stronghold's defences. Calots are the Barsoomian equivalent of the dog, although they have more legs and teeth than an Earth canine and are the size of a Shetland pony! Although they domesticated a mastodon like creature called a Zitidar there is no evidence of Green Martians using them in war.


Green Martian

List
   Type..............................Troops............................Cost
1 Knight General @ 2AP...Jeddak on Thoat..................2
7 Knights @ 2AP..............Thoat-Mounted Warriors.....14
4 Shooters @ 2AP...........Warriors with Radium Rifles...8
Stronghold: None as yet.



Holy Thern
Holy Hekkador Blade General @ 2AP 1
Warriors Blades @ 2AP 6-11
Banths Beasts @ 2AP 0-1
White Apes Warbands @ 2AP 0-1
Plant Men Hordes @ 1AP 0-4

The White Martian Holy Therns made up a priest caste in Barsoomian society until exposed a frauds by John Carter. The vast majority of them lived near the South Pole in the Valley Dor, the Martian ‘Heaven’ where they enslaved other Barsoomians who made the pilgrimage there. The Valley Dor also contained many fearsome creatures which were used to destroy those Barsoomians not enslaved. For the purposes of this list it is assumed that the Therns had some measure of control over these creatures. Banths are the fearsome Barsoomian lion. White Apes are gigantic four-armed hairless gorilla-like creatures. The Plant Men are mindless, mobile, humanoid plant creatures with a taste for human flesh.

Lothar
Tario of Lothar Magician General @ 4AP 1
Illusionary Bowmen Shooters @ 2AP 6-8
Regrade Bowmen as Hordes @ 1AP
(2 such Hordes replace 1 element of Shooters) Up to 3/4
Banths Beasts @ 2AP 2-4

The hidden city of Lothar contained a small population of the almost extinct White Martians. Possessing amazing mental powers the inhabitants created an illusionary army of bowmen to fight their mortal enemies, the Green Martian horde of Torquas. These illusions could kill as long as the viewer believed in their reality. Tario is the Jeddak (or leader ) of Lothar, and the most powerful illusionist. The list allows Lothar to field small numbers of competent bowmen or larger numbers of lesser men or a mixture. Illusionary Banths fought alongside the troops, but a few real ones were mixed in with them as a nasty surprise and to clean up the battlefield afterwards.

Lothar

List
   Troops..............................Type............................................Cost
1 Magician General @ 4AP...Powerful Mentalist with Bodyguard...4
4 Shooters @ 2AP................Illusionary Bowmen........................8
6 Hordes @ 1AP..................Illusionary Bowmen.........................6
3 Beasts @ 2AP....................Banths.........................................6

Notes

This is the fourth of my Barsoomian armies, based on the Orovars encountered by Carthoris in 'Thuvia, Maid of Mars'. Powerful mentalists were able to create illusions of vast armies of bowmen from their distant past. The army is a mix of shooters (to reflect the effectivness of the bowmen) and hordes (to reflect their limitless numbers). The banths were a mixture of real ones and illusions.


Hormad
Jed and Retinue Blade General @ 2AP 1
Hormads in ‘Human’ Bodies Blades @ 2AP 1-3
Hormad Warriors Warband @ 2AP 4-8
Poorly Proportioned Hormads Hordes @ 1AP 4-10
Hormads on Giant Birds Flyers @ 2AP 0-3
Out of Control Growth Vat Behemoth @ 4AP 0-1

Hormad were synthetic humanoids created by the master scientist Ras Thavas in the deserted city of Morbus. Grown from huge vats of undifferentiated organic material they tended to lack symmetry and in many cases intelligence. However they were virtually indestructible; severed limbs would carry on moving, severed heads could still carry on conversations. Only fire could completely destroy a Hormad. They captured humanoid Martians and transferred the brains of the more intelligent Hormads into their bodies. Lacking fliers they traveled on genetically engineered giant birds. A growth vat once went out of control and threatened to engulf not only Morbus but the whole of Barsoom. It is assumed here that a more controlled form of this accident could be used to create a fearsome opponent.