Dramatis Personae

The Humans

The ARTILLERYMAN

He was one of the very few survivors of the fighting on Horsell Common, saved by his horse tripping in a rabbit hole. He witnessed the destruction of Weybridge, and escaped by hiding in a drain until they left, then escaping towards Walton. He has laid claim to Putney Hill and the surrounding area as his personal territory, and challenges all those who trespass upon it. He has been making plans, and has a vision of rebuilding society underground, out of the way of the Martians. However, he lacks discipline, and his grandiose plans have not come to much just yet.

Character Notes: The Artilleryman is full of fire and enthusiasm for his planned reconstruction of society. However he secretly maintains a resentment towards those who could be regarded as socially "superior" to himself, and all their trappings of the middle and upper classes. He is intolerant of anything he regards as "weak or silly", and there is no place in his brave new world for anyone who cannot make an active contribution. Despite his inspirational talk, he is really something of a dreamer, and lacks the ability or discipline to put his ideas to work. He is amiable towards those who he deems worthy of respect - people who show a practical ability, such as scientists, engineers, that sort of thing. To others his reactions range from disdain to outright hostility, depending on how they approach him.

THE ARTILLERYMAN, Age 29, Driver in the Horse Artillery

Damage Bonus: 1D4

Weapons: Cutlass 40%, damage 1D8+1+db

Skills: Artillery 67%, Dodge 33%, Fast Talk 75%, Hide 49%, Machine Gun 33%, Make Grandiose Plans 85%, Mechanical Repair 57%, Persuade 67%, Ride Horse 43%, Rifle 40%, Sneak 48%,

MARVIN, Brigadier-General Richard

On the Sunday following the arrival of the Martian cylinders, military forces have gathered in the Martians' path in defence of London. Commanding the operations about the town is Brigadier-General Marvin, a brusque, efficient officer who served for a time in Africa, and is a veteran of the Zulu Wars. Greying and stern, he has his hands full organising both the placement of artillery in defence of the town and the evacuation of civilians before the fighting begins.

Character Notes: The Brigadier-General is a stern, competent officer, a model member of the British Army in Victorian times. He has little patience for time-wasters, as he will be busy organising the defences around Weybridge. He will, however, make time to receive whatever information is available regarding the Martian invaders, as long as the reporter keeps it to the point. Brusque, though infallibly polite - an officer and a gentleman.

Brigadier-General RICHARD MARVIN, Age 49, Commander of Military Forces Around Weybridge

Damage Bonus: none

Weapons: .41 Revolver 75%, damage 1D10

Skills: Command Military 78%, Conceal 50%, Credit Rating 73%, Dodge 28%, History 33%, Navigate 43%, Persuade 47%, Psychology 39%, Military Tactics 67%,

PEARCE, Marcus

A stockbroker before the Martians arrived, Mr. Pearce was recently captured by the Martians and implanted with one of their mind-control probes. He is subject to fits in which the Martian takes control of his body, or issues commands which the poor Mr. Pearce cannot resist.

Character Notes: The repeated strain of Martian possession has taken its toll on Pearce's mind, until by the time the party reach him he is something of a wreck. He has a slight stutter, and is continually nervous and jumpy. Of course this could just as easily be interpreted at first glance as a reaction to the horrors of the Martian invasion.

MARCUS PEARCE, Age 41, Former Stockbroker

Damage Bonus: +1D4

Weapons: Fist/Punch 60%, damage 1D3+db

Skills: Accounting %, Bargain %, Be Nervous %,

SEVEN RAGGED SURVIVORS

Weapons: Bite (children) 25%, damage 1D2

Fist/Punch (adults) 56% (children) 30%, damage 1D3+db

Small Club (adults) 28%, damage 1D6+db

* Children; Jack is about 11 years old, Eliza and Vicky are 7 and 5 years old respectively.

OGILVY

The astronomer named Ogilvy works at an observatory near Ottershaw in Surrey. He was intensely interested in the jets of gas spurting out from Mars several months ago, but was convinced at the time that they were natural phenomena, such as meteor impacts or volcanic eruptions. However, through his association with the American astronomer Percival Lowell, a prominent proponent of the theory of an inhabited Mars, he became persuaded that they were the products of Martian intelligence. Ogilvy was the first to discover the first Martian cylinder when it landed on Horsell Common early on Friday morning, and quickly realised its artificial origins. He had a part in organising the excavation of the cylinder and keeping the crowds at a safe distance. On the evening following the arrival of the cylinder, he was a member of the ill-fated Deputation sent to try to communicate with the extra-terrestrial visitors, of which he is the only survivor.

Character Notes: Ogilvy is a typical academic type, slightly sheltered, not terribly practical, but he knows a lot about his field, and will enthuse at great length about it. When the party encounter him he is not terribly well, being badly injured and in shock. He will go along with whatever is suggested to him as long as it gets him away from the Martians.

OGILVY, Age 58, Well-Known Astronomer

Damage Bonus: none

Weapons: none

Skills: Accounting 17%%, Astronomy 79%, Credit Rating 71%, Hide 16%, Library Use 56%, Mechanical Repair 23%, Operate Telescope 73%, Photography 24%, Physics 18%, Sneak 14%, Spot Hidden 63%,

PHILLIPS, Corporal Henry

The scout assigned to guide the party onto Horsell Common, a Corporal in the Horse Artillery by the name of Henry Phillips, is one of the best scouts stationed in Weybridge, and has seen a fair degree of action.

Character Notes: Corporal Phillips is a down-to-earth soldier in the British Army, a stout Yorkshireman who has no qualms with saying what he thinks. He knows better than to endanger his life unnecessarily, and it is apparent that he has a good, if unremarkable career in Her Majesty's Armed Forces ahead of him. Blunt, to the point, and reliable. Polite to his social (and military) superiors.

Cpl. HENRY PHILLIPS, Age 27, Artillery Scout

Damage Bonus: none

Weapons: .303 Lee-Enfield Rifle 67%, damage 2D6+4

Skills: Climb 53%, Conceal 48%, Dodge 33%, First Aid 36%, Hide 76%, Listen 43%, Make Maps 52%, Navigate 67%, Operate Heliograph 74%, Ride 43%, Sneak 81%, Spot Hidden 56%, Track 48%,

TWO WOULD-BE CART THIEVES

Weapons: Fist/Punch 67%, damage 1D3+db

Grapple 33%, damage special

.32 Revolver 25%, damage 1D8

Scavengers

In the labyrinthine tunnels beneath London lurk warped, filthy creatures. These pale, staring beings that scuttle in the darkness were once human. The Martian invasion drove them below ground, where they have been scratching out a living among the dead, dressed in filthy rags that once might have been respectable clothing. Starving in the darkness, they have gone slowly insane, their civilised veneer crumbling until they are little more than animals. Now they feed on anything they can find - rats, dogs, human flesh. They have taken to feeding on the rotting carrion of those killed by the Black Smoke, whose bodies litter the streets of the capital. However, increasingly of late they have started preying upon the few remaining survivors in London, the drunken creatures of despair making easy pickings. They roam the streets during the hours of darkness, swarming over anyone who looks too weak to hold them off.

Statistics are those of normal humans, apart from a sanity rating of zero, and an INT of 2D6, representing their degraded mental condition.

The Martians

The CONTROLLER

The Controller of the Martians is the commanding officer of the Martian forces, the most powerful of the Overlords sent to Earth. In this role it is the Controller who sends the message to Mars confirming the victory over the pathetic humans. The other Overlords follow the Controller's orders without question. Should the party come face-to-face with the Controller, they have done something very wrong. They may have been captured and taken to the Pit on Primrose Hill, or they may encounter the psychic projection of the Controller as he observes them.

Character Notes: The Controller shares with the other Overlords a complete lack of emotion, a profoundly calculating intelligence, and a high degree of arrogance towards the humans that he has been sent to conquer. He sees them as hopelessly primitive, as cattle, or as an annoyance when they fight back. Party members who "converse" with him will only do so because he wants to find out something from them. Once they have served their purpose they will be discarded, disregarded. They may be placed back into captivity, or he may allow his underlings to feed on them.

THE CONTROLLER, Orchestrator of the Invasion

Damage Bonus: +1D4

Weapons: Tentacle 77%, damage grapple

Feeding Pipette 50%, 1D4, 1D3 STR

Armour: 7 points of skin and cartilage

Spells: Read Mind, Mesmerise, Dominate, Telepathy, Cloud Memory

GALNIR

Galnir is a member of the Martian slave race who survived the journey to Earth, and escaped before he could be used to feed the monstrous Overlords. The strong gravity has taken its toll, and he is extremely weak, close to death. On Mars he was an apprentice to the wordkeeper of his group, roughly equivalent to a historian or shaman. He was taught the oral traditions and few spells known and handed down among the slave race, telling of the days before the Overlords came to power, and the prophecies of the release of his race from bondage.

Character Notes: Galnir is a wealth of information on conditions on Mars, and of the Overlords' plans. He is initially nervous towards humans, strange, squat creatures that they are, but soon becomes friendly, seeing them as fellow subjects under Martian rule. He will sympathise with their plight, and do all he can to prevent their world from suffering the same fate as his own. He is open and somewhat naive, being quite young - he will inform them that he is eleven years old, although characters with knowledge of astronomy will realise that a Martian year is the same as two terrestrial years.

GALNIR, The Man from Mars

Damage Bonus: none

Weapons: none

Skills: Old Martian History 50%, Speak Old Martian 99%,

Spells: Telepathy

Please report any errors in this document to its creator;
last updated and validated May 1, 1999. SHD