Satanic Mars - Other games

In this last post of the series about Satanic Mars I will talk about games that, either by their ruleset or by their spirit, can be compatible with the game and I also will make a bit of ludic archaeology (if you want to read previous posts you can follow these links: Review of Satanic Mars and Satanic Mars - Influences and inspiration).

Warhammer 40,000 - Rogue Trader

Cover illustration of Warhammer 40,000 - Rogue Trader
John Sibbick (Wikipedia | Official website)

First of all I will go back walking down memory lanes to the year 1987, when the first edition of Warhammer 40,000, more known as Rogue Trader appeared. I had the chance of buying the Spanish edition by Alfil Juegos years ago.

Rogue Trader, created by Rick Priestley (Personal website | Wikipedia) with contributions of Bryan Ansell, designer of the game Laserburn (Official website | Wikipedia) among others, is a game of battles with figures of Citadel Miniatures that transplants fantasy games topics to a science fiction universe set in the very distant forty-first millennium, which in this first edition barely has a sketched background and is characterized by a critical and ironical humour sense clearly far from the grimdark tone adopted by later editions (actually there's the ninth already), as Priestley explains in this interview by Cardboard Sandwich (via Archive.org) collected in Wikipedia:

“To me the background to 40K was always intended to be ironic,” he said.

“The fact that the Space Marines were lauded as heroes within Games Workshop always amused me, because they’re brutal, but they’re also completely self-deceiving. The whole idea of the Emperor is that you don’t know whether he’s alive or dead. The whole Imperium might be running on superstition. There’s no guarantee that the Emperor is anything other than a corpse with a residual mental ability to direct spacecraft.”

“It’s got some parallels with religious beliefs and principles, and I think a lot of that got missed and overwritten.”

Likenesses of 1987's Games Workshop personnel,
represented as Empire of Man citizens
Illustration by Martin Mckenna (Wikipedia | Official website)

In the pages of Rogue Trader it`s possible to find many examples of this irony and sarcasm [tan propios] of the 1980's and the beginning of the 1990's decade, as demonstrates the previous illustration of Games Workshop personnel circa 1987 as Empire citizens, and some character examples like inquisitor Obiwan Sherlock Closseau or some of the plots appearing in the mission generation tables (do you remember Abdul Goldberg?) and this makes it perfectly compatible with the vision offered in Satanic Mars.

By the way, if you are not much of a purist I'm sure you will enjoy the parody web series If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device (Youtube | TV Tropes) and the redesigns of Warhammer 40,000 - Rogue Trader figures by the Swedish illustrator Arne (Android Arts) Which I discovered thanks to El Descanso del Escriba (yes, there are designs of female characters wearing space marines armour, but this is something that really shouldn't bother us, isn`t it?).

As for purely ludic questions Rogue Trader interested me for the possibilities of using it in other science fiction universes and by the role-playing games elements the ruleset has, because it allows to create characters which can evolve if they manage to survive the battles in which they are involved.

For all of this I offer below some ideas for all, like me, who like to recycle old materials, in this case allowing to use Rogue Trader gaming material with Satanic Mars (I have not test them, if you use them I encourage you to leave your comments in this post):


First of all I show you some game statistics of Space Marines with their equipment as displayed in the manual of Rogue Trader with some already classical illustrations.

+++ Space Marine (Adeptus Astartes) +++ Illustration by Martin Mckenna (Wikipedia | Official website) Original designs by Bob Naismith, Jes Goodwin (Lexicanum BoardGameGeek) and Aly Morrison (BoardGameGeek | Blog)
Fighting Characteristics								Personal Characteristics
M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	WP
4	4	4	4	4(*)	1	4	1	8	8	8	8
(*) Increased to 4 as specified in Warhammer 40,000 Compilation of 1991
Equipment: + Bolt gun + Bolt pistol + Frag grenade + Knife + Powered armour Helmet with auto-senses, communicator and respirator 4,5,6 saving throw in 1D6

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+++ Bolt gun +++ Cross section of a bolt gun, illustration by 'H' (1987) (Sci-Fi and Mecha Mk II)
Short Range		Long Range		Shooting to hit				Strength		Damage
				Short		Long
0-12''		12-24''		+1				4		1
				Save. Mod.		Type				Area
						C	H	S	F
				-1

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+++ Bolt pistol +++
Short Range		Long Range		Shooting to hit				Strength		Damage
				Short		Long
0-8''		8-16''		+2				4		1
				Save Mod.		Type				Area
						C	H	S	F
				-1

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+++ Frag grenade +++
Short Range		Long Range		Shooting to hit				Strength		Damage
				Short		Long
0-4''		4-8''				-1				1
				Save Mod.		Type				Area
						C	H	S	F
										1 ½''

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+++ Knife +++
Short Range		Long Range		Shooting to hit				Strength		Damage
				Short		Long
C								As user		1
				Save Mod.		Type				Area
						C	H	S	F

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+++ Land Raider +++ Original Land Raider model by Dave Andrews
LAND				AIR						TRR
Max. speed		Acc/ dec.		Max. speed.		Min. speed.		Acc/ Dec.
20		7								1
						Cp	T	D	Sv	Eq	W
						10	8	30	5,6	3	5
Equipment: + Weapons: 2 lascanons (mounted in ball turrets on either side of the vehicle) 1 bólter (forward firing) + Standard equipment: Targeters for lascannons Auto-drive

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My suggestions regarding conversion rules would be the following ones:

Character stats
Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader	Satanic Mars
++++++ Fighting Characteristics ++++++
Movement allowance (M)	Speed (*) Spanish edition: add 2 English edition: multiply by 2 and then add 2
Weapon Skill (WS)	Close combat bonus
Balistic Skill (BS)	Ranged combat bonus
Strength (S)	Strength (STR) Add 10 (or 1D10) Bonus calculated as in Satanic Mars
Toughness (T)	Constitution (CON) Add 10 (or 1D10) Bonus calculated as in Satanic Mars
Wounds (W)	Hit Points (HP) Multiply CON by the number of Wounds
Initiative (I)	Dexterity (DEX) Add 10 (or 1D10) Bonus calculated as in Satanic Mars
Attacks (A)	Number of attacks the character can do
(*) Here you must remember that the Spanish edition of Rogue Trader converts distances in inches to centimeters multiplying all mesurements by 2 (adding 2 to measurements to square up to character's movement in Satanic Mars)
++++++ Personal Characteristics ++++++
Leadership (Ld)	Charisma (CHA) Add 10 (or 1D10) Bonus calculated as in Satanic Mars
Intelligence (Int)	Intelligence (INT) Add 10 (or 1D10) Bonus calculated as in Satanic Mars
Cool (Cl)	Wisdom (WIS) Choose the highest value (or the average) and add 10 (or 1D10) Bonus calculated as in Satanic Mars
Will Power (WP)

Personal weapons, armour and vehicles
++++++ Personal weapons ++++++
Modifiers to impact can be used directly in the attack roll in Satanic Mars To calculate weapon's damage the following steps aer followed: + Number of damage dice depends on the type of weapon: Edged weapons: 1D damage Pistols: 2D damage Rifles and the like: from 3D to 4D damage + Dice type: multiply weapon's Strength (S) by 2 and choose the nearest + In the case of weapons like grnades and missiles: These have their own and varied rules the referee should adapt The referee can also consider that explosive grenades or similar have Strength (S) 6 when calculating the damage caused by them
++++++ Armour ++++++
To obtain the AC value of armour and other protections in Satanic Mars follow these steps: + Add the numbers of the saving thrown (Example: 4, 5 or 6 => 4 + 5 + 6 = 15) + Add 6 to the previous score (Example: 15 + 6 = 21 => 20) + DEX bonus can added to the following armour to calculate total CA: Chainmail Flak (if it isn't used with powered armour) Plate armour + It's advisable that AC not to be higher than 20 + AC can be reduced in 1 point by a critical hit (armour wear and tear)
++++++ Vehicles ++++++
In the case of vehicles the following considerations can be made: + Movement and acceleration can be calculated as in characters + Vehicle Toughness (T) can be converted like character's CON: Add 10 (or roll 1D10) and calculate the bonus as in Satanic Mars The corresponding saving throw can be used to check if there are breakdowns Breakdowns rules can be adapted from Rogue Trader manual + To calculate how many damage it can endure multiply Damage by 10 + Vehicle AC can be calculated as in armour

An equiped Space Marine will have the following characteristics once the conversion is carried out:

+++ Space Marine (Adeptus Astartes) +++ (Satanic Mars version) WH40K Corvus Space Marine by stalkerminsky (CC BY-SA 4.0)
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	18 (+4)	18 (+4)	18 (+4)

AC	HP	Speed
20	18	10
Actions: + Bolt gun +4 (Damage 3D8) + Bolt pistol +4 (Damage 3D8) + Fragmentation grenade +4 (Damage 1D12) + Knife +4 (Damage 1D6) (Other actions or skills are left to the discretion of the referee)

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What do you think? As I have said, if you have Rogue Trader and/or Satanic Mars and use these conversion rules I would appreciate that you comment on your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

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The segment devoted to Warhammer 40,000 of this post is completely unofficial and in no way endorsed by Games Workshop Limited.

GW, Games Workshop, Citadel, Black Library, Forge World, Warhammer, the Twin-tailed Comet logo, Warhammer 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo, Space Marine, 40K, 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Battletome, Stormcast Eternals, White Dwarf, Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Space Hulk, Battlefleet Gothic, Dreadfleet, Mordheim, Inquisitor, Warmaster, Epic, Gorkamorka, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world. All Rights Reserved.

Intellectual Property Policy | Games Workshop

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Doom

I'm sure that when you read the Satanic Mars title some of you also thught about the videogame Doom franchise (Wikipedia | TV Tropes | Fandom) by Id Software, inaugurated in 1993 and having offered 14 titles (including spin-offs) in many operative systems through a pair of reboots of the saga culminating in Doom Eternal, the last installment, published in 2020 (a warning: part of the videos offered below are somewhat gore, I suggest a certain degree of caution).

As with any successful franchise, Doom has gotten many derived products, like books, films (of debatable quality) and non-computer games. In this last case the boardgame by Fantasy Flight Games (Wikipedia | BoardGameGeek) and the module DOOM Eternal: Assault on Armaros Station by Critical Role, compatible with the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons (that basically should be playable with Satanic Mars) stand out.

Fans haven't hesitated to create their own Doom role-playing games making them available to all interested people as free downloads. Below I offer a list of these games which I'm sure that also can give you ideas for Satanic Mars:

• + John H. Kim (darkshire.net): Free RPG List: scifi - Doom: The Next Chapter, written by Richard D. Clark and available in English.
• + Leovaunt Game Design: Doom, available in English (needs the basic ruleset of Starcraft by the same creator to work).
• + Sinergia del juego de rol: Doom Fate, written by El guardián de los arcanos and available in Spanish.
• + Sinergia del juego de rol: Savage Doom, written by AOH/Rasczak and available in Spanish.
• + Doom: The Tabletop Role-Playing Game: Google Docs (alfa version), written by Christopher Ridge and available in English.

Games and recommended supplements

To finish this so long post I offer a list of games and supplements which can complement those mentioned before, like these I think that can be combined with Satanic Mars and can interest you (if these had been reviewed in the blog I also include the corresponding link).

Apes Victorious
	Free | From $5.99 Author(s): Daniel Proctor and Tim Snider Publisher: Goblinoid Games Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG | Lulu | Goblinoid Games (free download of the art-less version) It's the Old School version of the Planet of the Apes saga and may interest you to add an unexpected touch to you adventures (let's imagine, for instance, that the evolved apes have been able to expel demons from Earth and characters are leading an expedition to find out what happened on the planet, what a surprise they will have when seeing talking apes with firearms, right?).
Carcosa
	35€ Author(s): Geoffrey McKinney Editor: James Edward Raggi IV (Lamentations of the Flame Princess) Language: English Availability: LotFP online USA shop Review: Review of Carcosa If you need inspiration to describe the Luciferine hordes practices in Mars this is the book you will need without any doubt (as says in the cover it's a work for adult public, so it's advisable to use it with caution), it also offers descriptions and Old School statistics for very strange creatures as well as a magic rites system and a robot creation system.
Esper Genesis 5E Sci-fi
	Free | $24.95 Author(s): Rich Lescouflair Publisher: Alligator Alley Entertainment Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG (manual, paid pdf) | DriveThruRPG (basic rules, free pdf) | DriveThruRPG (basic referee rules, free pdf) If you need high tech and science fiction elements to fill your adventures this can ge a good option, because it offers information and rules about vehicles, space travel, equipment and weapons as well as psychic powers. All is directly compatible with 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, so it should be hif¡ghly compatible with Satanic Mars.
Estrellas Errantes
	Free Author(s): Carlos Julián del Cerro López «Variable» Publisher: Editorial Yipikayei Language: Spanish Availability: Sinergia del rol It's a science fiction and role-playing game of the space opera type based in The Black Hack ruleset allowing you to play characters like smugglers, cyborgs, errant mystics or psionics and also offers easy rules for creating aliens and spaceships.
La Marca Estelar
	Free | 14,95€ Author(s): Pablo Jaime “Zonk-PJ” Conill, Pedro “Steinkel” Gil and Cristobal “Khris- to” Sánchez. Publisher: Holocubierta Language: Spanish Availability: Holocubierta (physical, paid) | Holocubierta (pdf, free) Another interesting title of the creative team Aventureros Errantes de La Marca del Este with an updated Old School flavour allowing us to play space adventurers, pirates, psychics, mutants and robots which also offers a set of interesting rules regarding psychic powers and mutations.
Machinations of the Space Princess
	From $9.59 Author(s): James Desborough Publisher: Postmortem Studios Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG | Postmortem Studios | Lulu (B/N) | Lulu (Colour) Science fiction based in the rules of Lamentations of the Flame Princess with an erotic touch perhaps not suitable for all ages, but it could be adequate to render elements of some of the stories of adult comic magazines I commented in this post.
Mutant Future
	Free | From $14.99 Author(s): Daniel Proctor and Ryan Denison Publisher: Goblinoid Games Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG | Lulu (hard cover) | Lulu (soft cover) | Goblinoid Games (free art-less version download) Postapocalyptic fantasy with rules for mutations, the ideal book to populate with mutants your adventures of Satanic Mars.
Realms of Crawling Chaos
	From $6.99 Author(s): Daniel Proctor and Michael Curtis Publisher: Goblinoid Games Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG | Lulu Review: OSR week 2015: Realms of Crawling Chaos The part devoted to psychic powers and (potentially) dangerous magical artifacts for its discoverers and users is interesting enough to take it into account.
Starships &ersand; Spacemen 2e
	From $14.99 Author(s): Daniel Proctor, Leonard H. Kanterman, Colin Chapman, Robert Saint John, James Maliszewski and Mario Ries Publisher: Goblinoid Games Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG | Lulu (perfect bound) | Lulu (hard cover) The Old School Version of the Star Trek original series, offering information about crews, aliens and ships (some of you may ask yourselves why I recommend it, but if in one os the segments of the Heavy Metal 1981 movie appears part of the Enterprise you can also do it).
Ultramodern 5 (5th edition) | Ultramodern 5 REDUX (5th edition) | Ultramodern-SRD/OGL
	Free (PWYW $3.99) | From $12.99 Author(s): Chris Dias Publisher: Dias Ex Machina Language: English Availability: DriveThruRPG (Ultramodern 5 REDUX) | DriveThruRPG (Ultramoden 5) | DriveThruRPG (Ultramodern 5-SRD/OGL) A very comprehensive set of rules, options and equipment for any kind of modern, cyberpunk, steampunk and science fiction games based in the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons which I'm sure would perfectly complement Satanic Mars.
Vieja Escuela Cyberpunk
	Free | $2.35 Author(s): Ramon Balcells, Eneko Menica and Eneko Palencia Publisher: grapas y mapas Language: Spanish Availability: grapas y mapas (free download) | Sinergia del rol (free download) | Lulu (printing at cost) Cybernetic implants, designed drugs, incessant rain, hackers, weapons, megacorporations, flying cars, neon lights… All of this can be used to give a different touch to Satanic Mars adventures happening in the head of the Titan using this game taking as a basis the Vieja Escuela ruleset.
Vieja Escuela Zombies
	Free | $2.88 | $6.40 Author(s): Pablets De Avendanus Publisher: Frikadas & Mazmorras Language: Spanish Availability: Frikadas & Mazmorras (basic manual) | Frikadas & Mazmorras (Covid-Z) |Sinergia de Rol (basic manual) | Lulu (B/N, printing at cost) | Lulu (Colour, printing at cost) Information and rules of the Vieja Escuela system for creating a world in which an zombie apocalypse has occurred, which is ideal to end up creating chaos in the head of the Titan or any Martian settlement (and more so if using the supplement detailing COVID-Z).
Vieja Estrella
	Free | $4.04 Author(s): J. Pablo Mejía Publisher: grapas y mapas Language: Spanish Availability: grapas y mapas (free download) | Sinergia del rol (free download) | Lulu (printing at cost) The Vieja Escuela ruleset takes us to the stars with all kind of rules for aliens, vehicles and spaceships (something that could be very interesting for the adventures of Satanic Mars).

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