Command the Skies of Barsoom
The dying sun of Mars sets on a world of steel and honor.
Blood of the Dead Sea
Honor is the only currency in the wastes of Barsoom.
You kneel on the cracked, ochre floor of the dead sea bed. The wind howls, carrying the abrasive sting of iron-rich sand against your skin. Above, the twin moons of Barsoom loom like watching eyes, indifferent to your survival. Your pulse thrums in your ears, matching the rhythmic thud of distant machinery hidden deep beneath the rock.
“Why does the soft-skinned crawler linger so close to the hatcheries?”
The sound of the spear-butt striking stone vibrates through your chest, a warning you cannot ignore. You feel the heat of the Thark’s four eyes burning into your skull, their tusks protruding like jagged ivory daggers. The air smells of musk and old, dried blood, and every muscle in your body screams for you to move before the strike comes.
“I seek only the path to the northern canal, not the eggs of your kin.”
The giant looms over you, his skin the color of a bruised olive. He shifts his weight, the massive blade at his hip clattering against his harness. He does not believe your words, and the heavy silence from the surrounding camp suggests the warriors are waiting for a signal to see your head severed from your shoulders. You have seconds to act.
The Thark warrior raises his spear to signal the others. How do you respond to the threat?
Join thousands of players crafting their own stories
The sands of Barsoom await your command.
The Thark chieftain raises his spear, waiting for your answer. Will you declare a blood feud, or seek an alliance that could save the dying planet? The red sky darkens as the fleets of Helium prepare for war. Your choice determines which house falls and which rises to rule the desert.
Command the Red PlanetYour Story, Your Way
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Design your appearance, personality, backstory — every detail
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Fantasy kingdoms, sci-fi stations, modern cities — you choose
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Negotiate tribal alliances with the six-limbed Tharks to secure the desert trade routes.
Command a fleet of Heliumite airships through a treacherous, high-altitude siege against rivals.
Navigate the rigid honor codes of Martian nobility to survive a lethal political trial.
The thin air of Barsoom bites at your lungs, but the sound of six-limbed warriors charging across the dry sea beds is what makes your blood go cold. You stand before Tars Tarkas, his tusks gleaming under the pale moonlight, waiting for a sign of alliance or a swift execution. In this landscape, your next word dictates whether you are shackled as a slave or crowned a prince of Helium. Every decision ripples through the shifting sands, turning forgotten ruins into battlegrounds. Your choices define the future of a planet that is slowly losing its atmosphere and its sanity.
What is John Carter's Martians (Barsoom) in Alien Fiction?
Edgar Rice Burroughs introduced the world to Barsoom in the 1912 novel A Princess of Mars. It is a Mars that never was, filled with canal cities, green-skinned giants, and red-skinned humans locked in perpetual conflict. Tharks are the hulking, nomadic warriors of the desert, bound by strict codes of combat and cold indifference to emotion. Heliumites, by contrast, represent the height of Martian civilization, possessing advanced airship technology and a rigid sense of chivalry. This setting is defined by its brutal hierarchy and the constant threat of extinction as the planet’s atmosphere fails. From the 2012 Disney film John Carter to the original All-Story magazine serialization, this version of Mars remains a pillar of planetary romance and sword-and-planet fiction. It is a place where honor is the only currency that matters.
Why play John Carter's Martians (Barsoom) as an interactive story?
You decide the fate of the dying red planet. Will you honor the ancient blood-feud between the green tribes and the desert cities, or will you force a fragile peace at the edge of a blade? You might find yourself negotiating with a Thark chieftain, managing airship logistics during a siege, or uncovering the secrets of the dreaded Therns. The tension lies in the clash between your human morality and the harsh reality of a world that values strength above all else. Every choice carries weight; betraying a rival house might grant you temporary safety, but it could invite a war that wipes out your only allies. You act, and the planet responds to your influence.
The literary legacy of John Carter's Martians (Barsoom)
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars sparked an entire subgenre. Published in 1912, it transformed Mars from a scientific curiosity into a stage for swashbuckling adventure. The cultural footprint of Barsoom is immense, influencing everything from the creative foundations of Star Wars to the gritty, tech-heavy Mars of modern cinema. Whether you look at the 1912 All-Story magazine serialization or the later Gods of Mars, the core appeal remains the clash of cultures on a dying world. Modern adaptations have struggled to capture the specific mix of pulp action and archaic romance, but the setting continues to inspire. It works because it presents a stark, unforgiving mirror to human society—a place where the thin atmosphere makes every breath, and every choice, feel like a final stand. By stripping away the comfort of modern technology, the Barsoom stories force characters to rely on wit, steel, and tactical brilliance.
FAQ
Can I change the outcome of the war between Helium and Zodanga?
Yes. Your strategic decisions and alliances directly dictate which city-state dominates the landscape. Every diplomatic choice shifts the balance of power.
How do Thark social structures impact my choices?
Tharks value martial prowess and cold indifference. Showing weakness or excessive empathy can lead to exile or mandatory combat trials.
Is this set in the exact timeline of the books?
The stories adapt the aesthetic and political structure of the Barsoom universe, allowing you to influence key historical turning points within that framework.
What defines an alien encounter on Barsoom?
It involves navigating non-human psychologies, such as the egg-laying, emotion-suppressing culture of the green Martians, which challenges human perceptions of family and loyalty.
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