The Technology of Barsoom
On Barsoom, there is no magic—only science so advanced it might seem magical to the uninitiated. The ancient Martians developed technologies that modern civilizations struggle to fully understand or replicate. These devices, powered by radium and other exotic energy sources, are the legacy of a civilization millions of years old.
In the Barsoom MUD, what other games call "spells" and "magic" are here represented as technologies and devices. Scientists don't "cast spells"—they activate technologies. Nobles don't wield divine power—they command advanced equipment.
Core Technology Categories
Defensive Technologies
Martian defensive tech focuses on personal protection through energy fields and advanced materials:
- Personal Shield: Creates a protective energy field around the user, deflecting blows and projectiles
- Sanctuary Field: Advanced shielding that renders the user nearly invulnerable for short periods
- Evil Ward: Specialized field that repels malevolent entities and dark influences
- Performance Optimizer: Enhances combat reflexes and defensive capabilities
Medical Technologies
Barsoomian medical science is incredibly advanced, capable of feats impossible on Earth:
- First Aid Injector: Rapid healing serum for minor wounds
- Critical Trauma Kit: Advanced surgical tools and medications for serious injuries
- Regeneration Chamber: Complete cellular restoration, healing even mortal wounds
- Optical Restoration: Repairs damage to eyes and visual cortex
- Antitoxin Injector: Neutralizes poisons and toxins
- Neural Harmonizer: Corrects mental afflictions and neural damage
Offensive Weaponry
Martian weapons harness exotic energy forms for devastating effect:
- Radium Pistol/Rifle: Standard ranged weapons firing explosive radium projectiles
- Thermal Projector: Emits intense focused heat, burning enemies
- Thermal Sphere: Explosive device creating a sphere of devastating fire
- Force Projector: Fires bolts of concentrated kinetic energy
- Arc Projector: Lightning-based weapon channeling electrical death
- Frost Ray: Freezing weapon that saps heat and vitality
- Shock Touch: Contact weapon delivering electrical shock
- Disruption Ray: Powerful energy weapon causing cellular breakdown
- Disintegrator Ray: The ultimate weapon—molecular dissolution
Detection & Analysis
Information is power, and Martian detection tech provides crucial intelligence:
- Technology Scanner: Detects nearby active devices and power sources
- Alignment Scanner: Determines the moral character of individuals
- Invisibility Detector: Reveals hidden or cloaked subjects
- Toxin Analyzer: Identifies poisons and dangerous substances
- Life Detector: Senses living beings in the vicinity
- Object Locator: Tracks specific items across distances
- Item Analyzer: Complete analysis of object properties and history
Exotic Technologies
Transportation
Martian civilization conquered distance through several revolutionary technologies:
- Airships: Buoyancy tanks and radium-powered propellers enable flight across Barsoom
- Matter Transmitter: Instant teleportation through molecular disassembly and reassembly
- Remote Summoner: Recalls individuals from across vast distances to a designated point
- Home Recall: Emergency device that returns user to pre-set safe location
Stealth & Deception
The most prized technologies are often those that hide the user:
- Invisibility Cloak: Bends light around the user, rendering them unseeable (invented by Phor Tak)
- Voice Projector: Throws sound to distant locations, creating convincing audio illusions
- Prismatic Disruptor: Creates dazzling light patterns that blind and confuse
Mental Technologies
Some devices interact directly with the nervous system and brain:
- Neural Controller: Influences subject's thoughts and loyalties
- Neural Inhibitor: Reduces cognitive function and capability
- Soporific Gas: Induces instant unconsciousness
- Strength Amplifier: Enhances muscular output through neural stimulation
Environmental Control
Mastery over the environment itself:
- Weather Control: Manipulates atmospheric conditions (rare and powerful)
- Seismic Generator: Induces earthquakes through tectonic manipulation
- Lightning Rod: Calls down natural lightning strikes on targets
- Atmosphere Factories: The grandest technology—massive plants that maintain Barsoom's air supply
Notable Inventions & Inventors
Ras Thavas - The Master Mind
The greatest scientist of Barsoom, Ras Thavas perfected brain transplantation, allowing consciousness to be transferred between bodies. His work in Toonol represents the pinnacle of Martian medical science, though his ethics are questionable at best.
Phor Tak - The Mad Genius
Inventor of the invisibility device and disintegration ray, Phor Tak's brilliance is matched only by his madness. His laboratory in Jhama contains wonders and horrors in equal measure.
Carthoris - The Inventor Prince
Son of John Carter, Carthoris invented the directional compass for airships, revolutionizing navigation across Barsoom. His device allows pilots to set a destination and have the ship automatically maintain course.
The Atmosphere Factories
Created by ancient Martians now lost to history, these colossal machines maintain the planet's breathable air. Understanding them fully is beyond modern science—they are maintained but not truly comprehended. Control of an atmosphere factory means control over life itself on Barsoom.
Technology in Gameplay
In the Barsoom MUD, technologies work exactly like spells in traditional fantasy MUDs, but with thematic differences:
Activating Technologies
Instead of "casting spells," you activate technologies. Scientists learn to operate more advanced devices as they progress, while Warriors and Nobles have access to simpler equipment.
Power Requirements
Technologies require energy to function. More powerful devices drain more power. Scientists are most efficient with technology, while Warriors must rely on simpler, more stable devices.
Learning Technologies
You learn to operate technologies through practice and training. Visit scientific facilities and laboratories to expand your technological repertoire. Each technology has prerequisites—you must master simpler devices before attempting complex ones.
Technological Failures
When a device malfunctions (fails), it may have unpredictable effects. Poorly maintained equipment is dangerous—which is why Scientists are so valued.
The Philosophy of Barsoomian Science
On Barsoom, there are no gods, no divine intervention, no mystical forces. The "gods" were exposed as frauds; the "afterlife" revealed as a cruel deception. What remains is science—cold, rational, and powerful.
Yet Martian science is not purely mechanistic. It deals with forces and phenomena that seem magical: matter transmutation, consciousness transfer, molecular dissolution. The line between sufficiently advanced technology and magic blurs—but Martians insist it remains a line of science, not mysticism.
This creates a unique setting where:
- Honor and science coexist—Warriors respect Scientists, and Scientists train in swordplay
- Ancient devices work perfectly despite being millennia old
- New inventions are rare but revolutionary
- Technology serves culture, not replaces it
- Understanding is valued, but so is courage and honor