Core Races | Other Races


Green Martians

Source Pathfinder: Worldscape #2 pg. 24
Among the hardiest and longest-lived of Barsoom’s savage races, the green men of Mars rove the planet’s wastelands in brutal tribes of thousands of warriors, seeking their fortunes as nomads amid the crumbling ruins of ancient cities and the vast barren wildlands between them. The green Martians have ever been at war with the red. black, yellow, and white inhabitants of Barsoom. Legends speak that once, long, long ago, the races of Mars shared a common ancestor, but today most civilized red Martians of city-states like Helium and Zodanga consider green Martians dangerous. subhuman raiders. Their tall frames, four arms. and battle ferocity nonetheless make the green Martians among the most respected denizens of Barsoom.

Physical Description: Green Martians stand 12 to 15 feet tall. with imposing features accentuated by their four agile arms, their mighty tusks, and the red hue of their perceptive eyes. They dress simply in leather harnesses and jewels, each carrying at least one weapon at all times from a very young age. Skin ranges from olive hues to deep forest green, with heavy scarring common among more savage tribes such as the much-feared Warhoon.

Each adult green Martian female gives birth annually to about 13 eggs, which the tribes deposit in subterranean vaults near their settlements. Every year, tribal chieftains visit the vaults to examine the eggs. All but about 100 of the most perfect are destroyed out of each year's supply, lest the tribe grow to a size the meager resources of Mars cannot support. Those that survive 5 years of cullings are transported to incubators hidden in the dried seabeds of Barsoom's ancient oceans, where they are nurtured by the sun's rays before hatching 5 years later. Green Martians reach maturity at age 40. A green Martian’s natural life span might last as long as a thousand years. but most are killed in tribal squabbles, honor duels, arena battles, and wars long before they are considered “old."

 Society: Green Martians gather in tribes under the leadership of a chieften counseled by a gaggle of elder warlords. Their tribes usually take the names of the abandoned ruined cities of Martian ancients along the dried seabeds of Barsoom that they inhabit, though few tribes remain stationary for long, preferring a nomadic existence centered on the hardscrabble hunt for the precious resources of the Martian desert. All green folk maintain their status within the tribe through constant examples of skill, strength, and courage. Prone to shocking displays of violence, green Martians possess dark humors; they are more likely to laugh at the gruesome beheading of an enemy than at a simple irony or turn of phrase. Apart from their weapons and harnesses, green Martians tend toward communal ownership of property, even raising children collectively. leaving them with little sense of friendship or family. Their limited telepathic abilities ensure that green Martians speak with few words. preferring hrutish action to academic conversation.

 Relations: Green Martians tend to keep to their own, and are. inherently distrustful of Barsoom's other barbaric races. The more civilized green Martian tribes—such as the Tharks under the leadership of Jeddak Tars Tarkas—make common cause with the red Martians of Helium. Despite the shared religion of Issus, green Martians as a rule interact infrequently with the white-skinned Therns or black-skinned First Born. Green Martians hold particular antipathy toward the Red Planet’s cannibalistic four-armed apes, whom they attack upon sight.

 Alignment and Religion: Green Martians are brutish and devoid of sentiments of friendship or love, worshiping only physical prowess and bravery. Most green Martians are chaotic neutral and worship Issus, Goddess ofDeath and Life Eternal.

 Adventurers: Before a green Martian kills his first enemy and takes his victim’s name, he is "o mad,” a warrior with a single name. Many green Martian adventurers begin their careers as o mads with something to prove, delving abandoned ancient cities, baiting the much-hated Barsoomian White Ape denizens of these crumbling ruins into hard-fought battles to the death to prove their bravery and achieve status within the tribe. Others sell themselves as mercenaries, arena fighters, or bounty hunters aflcr being exiled from their tribes. forced away from lack of resources, or defeated in war. Green Martians eschew spellcasting classes (magic is almost completely unknown on Barsoom), preferring instead martial occupations like fighter, brawler. or swashbuckler. With its focus on providing a boost to Armor Class when unarmored, the warlord fighter archetype (forthcoming in a future issue of Pathfinder Worldscape) is a particularly popular choice for many green Martians.

 APL Adjustment: Green Martian characters are more powerful than members of the standard Pathfinder RPG races presented in the Core Rulebook.When creating encounters to challenge a party of green Martians, the Game Master should add +2 to the party's Average Party Level (APL) for levels 1-5 and +1 for levels 6-10. Fnr groups containing a mixture ofraces, GMs should carefully watch the party’s relative power and adjust APL on an  ad hoc basis

Green Martian Racial Traits

+2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Green Martians are keen-sighted and agile, but they understand little of social graces and are prone to brutishness.
Large: Green Martians are Large creatures and take a -1 size penalty to their AC, a -1 size penalty on attack rolls, a +1 bonus on combat maneuver checks and to their CMD, and a -4 size penalty on Stealth checks. A Green Martian takes up a space that is 10 Feet by 10 feet, and has a reach of 5 feet.
Normal Speed: Green Martians have a base speed at 30 feet.
Detect Thoughts: Green Martians possess limited telepathy. allowing them to read the surface thoughts at those around them. they can use detect thoughts as a constant spell-like ability. The caster level of the spell-like ability is equal to the user's character level.
Fearless: Green Martians gain a +2 racial bonus on all saving throws against fear eftects.
Ferocity: If the hit points of a green Martian fall below 0 but it is not yet dead, it can continue to fight. It it does, it is staggered, and loses 1 hit point each round. It still dies when its hit points reach a negative amount equal to its Constitution score.
Multi-Armed: A green Martian has four arms. One hand is considered its primary hand; all others are considered off hands. It can use any of its hands for other purposes that require free hands.
Weapon Familiarity: Green Martians are proficient with longswords and spears.
Skill Training: Ride and Survival are always considered class skills for green Martians.
Languages: Green Martians begin play speaking Common. Green Martians with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).