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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good weapons source book for Spycraft,
By A Customer
This review is from: Spycraft: Modern Arms Guide (Paperback)
Spycraft's Modern Arms Guide (MAG) has been described as the equivalent of D20 Modern's "UltraModern Firearms" for Spycraft. However, MAG is a much more useful book for Spycraft - both because it is written specifically for Spycraft's mechanics, but also because of the greater variation in weapon statistics. The D20 Modern mechanics do not support a detailed weapons model and as such its weapons tend to all have similar game stastics. Spycraft's MAG however supports much more variables in the weapon descriptions, making the choice of weaponry more interesting and highlighting variations in different guns.The book itself is split into a number of chapters, covering a wide range of weaponry and/or adding new rules. Each chapter describing weapons has a sections with textual description, followed by tables detailing game statistics. Whilst this is generally works well, it sometimes means you have to look up both the description and the table to discover all features of a given weapon. Surely some of the properties (e.g. weapon firing modes) could have been included in note form on the tables? Make sure you get the Chapter 9 bonus material from the Alderac website. Whilst not strictly weapons related, it is something you'll want to print out and keep in the MAG book. (I'm not sure why they decided such gear would be associated with the Modern Arms Guide - but its a useful chapter to have). Chapter 1 covers new rules. Anyone expecting new feats or prestiege classes will have to look at the Soldier/Wheelman book instead. These new rules are mostly combat actions, black market rules etc. They do work quite well, but unfortunately, not all the rules within MAG are detailed here - for example, optional rules on recoil are detailed in Chapter 5. It is therefore quite hard to locate rules during gameplay - it would have been better had all new rules (optional or not) been included under this chapter. Chapter 2 covers Melee weapons - standard and improvised. Chapter 3 covers Hurled weapons. Strangely, this is not only throwing knives and grenades, but also crossbows ... Chapter 4 covers Exotic weapons. Much of these are familiar to any DnD player, but some additional treatment is also given to martial weapons (although you'll really want the excellent Blood and Fist for modern martial arts). Chapter 5 is the bulk of the book, covering firearms - from pistols through shotguns to assault rifles. There is an excellent selection of guns - over 15 pages of table entries alone (plus a significant amount of weapon descriptions). Unfortunately, whilst there is a section of different ammunition, it seems to have been added as an after thought - with no variation in ammunition features, cost or availability based on calibre - all dum-dum rounds cost the same and do the same damage bonus (making them relatively *less* effective as you go up in calibre). Unfortunately, almost all the non-pistol and non-shotguns are listed as restricted - meaning no actual costs are available - this is a main complaint of the book (see below). Chapter 6 introduces weapon accessories - scopes, suppressors, sights etc. Chapter 7 covers tactical weapons - from explosives to flame throwers and mortars. Unfortunately, almost all these items are listed as restricted. Chapter 8 covers protective equipment. It introduces some new armour rules for weakness of damage reduction against certain forms of attack. One main complaint is the absence of cost for a number of weapons. The book treats these as specialist weapons - only available via Budget Points (a unit of currency within Spycraft). But not every game situation or campaign will demand the purchase of weapons via Budget Points. And while there are rules for blackmarket weapon purchases, it's hard to reconcile the statements regarding Budget Points having no real-world currency conversion, with rules designed to give an actual cost based on Budget Points for items which do not have an actual cost. As a result, the usefulness of the book is slightly diminshed for those who want to obtain their weapons outside of Budget Points. This could have been overlooked if it was only for "difficult to obtain" weapons like the heavy weapons in Chapter 7 - but almost all the assault rifles, submachines and sniper rifles in Chapter 5 are restricted - so there's no price for the ever popular MP5 for example. Also, it can be hard to locate rules relating to the new game mechanics - they are not all detailed where you'd expect them to be. No one should have to know every rule in a role-playing game, but it is important to be able to find it quickly in order to speed up play - and the layout of mechanics descriptions in the book doesn't always help this. However, these are annoying issues rather than serious errors, and overall this is a very good book for anyone running a Spycraft campaign.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Ultimate weapon guide for d20 modern games,
This review is from: Spycraft: Modern Arms Guide (Paperback)
Spycraft: Modern Arms Guide is 144 pages of guns, rifles, explosives, bladed weapons, bows, and even rocket launchers. Smartly divided into simple, clear sections, the book is pure reference suitable for use with any D20 modern system.
One thing that helps this book bring more realism to a modern-era roleplaying game is that it acknowledges the skill and effort required to handle most modern weapons. All weapons have both a critical threat range AND an error (critical failure) range. The bigger the damage or more complex the equipment, the more likely it will malfunction. Instead of only a roll of 1 signifying a critical failure, some weapons have ranges of 1-3 or 1-4. Chapter one briefly offers new rules that provide greater realism for the game. The chapter reintroduces the idea of initiative modifiers (an old 2nd edition idea), adding and subtracting from initiative rolls based on a variety of factors from failing a save versus an explosion to becoming fatigued. There are also rules for creating masterwork arms, dealing with illegal arms brokers, and weapon malfunctions. There is also a new prestige class available called the Triggerman, fashioned after the gun-fighting style of the Hong Kong cinema. Chapter two focuses on melee weapons. Whether your character is beating a thug over the head with a police flashlight, engaging in a little swordplay, chasing down a helpless teenage with a chainsaw, or trying to poison a mark with a hypodermic needle, you will find the damage, weight, initiative modifiers, cost of just about everything you need. The Improvised Weapons feat allows you to get special bonuses to defense and damage for using barstools, potted plants, or even cell phones as weapons. If you can pick it up, you'll find the rule for hurting someone with it here. Chapter three focuses on hurled weapons. Besides the obvious weapons such as grenades, Molotov cocktails, javelins, and arrows, you can also find rules for using a nail gun (remember Lethal Weapon 2?). Chapter four offers more exotic weapons. Here you will find everything from chakrams and boomerangs to foot spikes and flutes. Chapter five is the largest part of the book and focuses on the various styles of firearms available to a would-be secret agent or terrorist. There are no less than 8 different styles of Glock listed, just to give you an idea of the detail involved in this chapter. Chapter six provides all the necessities to use your new toys, including different styles silencers and night vision sights. Planning an all-out assault on an enemy fortress? Then you'll need chapter seven for flamethrowers, grenade launchers, machineguns, mortars, and rocket launchers. Finally, chapter eight covers all the protective gear a special operative needs to survive. The Modern Arms Guide is an easy to follow collection of charts and simple illustrations designed to allow quick reference during game play. For modern-era gamers, it could easily become the most used book into your library.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The very best D20 Modern Weapons Guide,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Spycraft: Modern Arms Guide (Paperback)
This is a great asset to a D20 Modern game and much better than any of the other D20 weapons guides. Now the D20 Modern system wasn't designed to be realistic exactly, it was made to flow and be fun, more Hollywood blockbuster than Tom Clancy. This isn't Jane's, you will find some inaccuracies and errors, but for the none expert wanting to add some variety to their campaign it is great. I would say it is a bit more realistic than its competition. The chapters are well laid out and easy to understand. There is quite a variety of weapons, from firearms and knives to homemade bombs and crossbows and it is more than what is needed for most campaigns. The descriptions are well presented, and the art is accurate. Any of the weakness of this book, like the lack of in game prices of many of the weapons, can be compensated with by a DM with the D20 Modern RPG guide or the Spycrafter campaign setting.
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