Customer Reviews

d20 Weapons Locker: A d20 Modern Supplement

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There's a fact : if you even think of buying this, it's because modern weaponry will have a major importance in your game. Another fact is that, even to the detail minded, the weapons described in the basic D20 Modern book should be enough for most campaigns : the variations ins statistics between similar weapons are just not that great in D20 system.

If you insist on getting a book just for weapons, you still have a choice between this one ant the Ultramodern Firearms published by Green Ronin, which I deem the better choice.

The good points of this book are these : the sheer number of weapons covered which range from ther very old (pistols dating from the early 1900s and wwII machineguns) to th so new they are described as still in development. Also, unlike the other offering, this book covers grenade launchers, a weapon system or accessory which I deem rather important.

The bad points now : a) disorganization : the weapons are listed by type in alphabetical order, and you'd better know how it's organized, because there is no index or recapitulative table to help you find it . (a real bother when you are looking up a british weapon; and while the Uzi SMGs are listed under their maker, IMI, this is far from systematic). b) repetitions : a number of weapon systems, which exist under variable denominations but with little variation are listed more than one. c) poor graphics : the weapons are illustrated with line drawings which go from barely fair to downright bad. it seems that they suffered from unsufficient resolution when being digitized, if they weren't bad to start with. d) incoherence : funny enough, the same cartridge does not do the same damage according that it's fired from a machinegun or another weapon system, and weapons described as quality and expensive have their price listed as cheaper than cheap, mass produced versions... d) close to no attention given to ammunition ... well, there ARE rules for special ammo types, but no study of the myriad cartridge types (i.e. wha't the fragging difference between the 9x18 Makarov used in classical pistols and SMGs, and the one unsed in the newer PMM; why does the 7.62R do less damage than 7.62NATO?)

well, you see the overall picture... frankly, unless you need a fairly comprehensive, if disorganized catalog of weaponry, or give a great importance to greanade launchers, you'll be better off with the smaller, but better made Ultramodern Firearms, or even, unless you are a compulsive collector, contenting yourself with the basic list in D20 Modern.

Weapons Locker is a very nice addition to d20 Modern. The sheer amount of weapons is nice, allowing you to make more unique characters. The book also has more ammo types and a helpful explaination of the surpressed/silenced rules. The only glaring flaw of the book is the lack of a table of gun stats at the beginning of each chapter, leaving you to leaf through the book to find the stats you want. However I am still quite happy with the book and I have found a lot of use for it in my campaign.

In this book you can find most of the weapons you're likely to come across in everyday life. The additional section at the end of the book explaining which weapons are typically carried by different law enforcement agencies around the world is quite useful, but I would have liked to see it expanded, and made a little less US-centric.

If you're after a specific weapon not listed in the book (one of my NPCs carries a South African pistol that isn't listed) you can always compare the weapon to one of those that is available and use those stats.

Altogether a handy compendium, but as always more detail would be better.

Look at it this way -- I don't even play D20 Modern and I bought this book. There's a wealth of information on numerous guns, presented not only in a graphically neat and enjoyable way, but easily accessible. This is an excellent supplement for any modern-era RPG, D20 or no. A good investment.

Oh yeah. Guns. Guns. More Guns.

You gotta love it!

What I liked most about this book is the fact that it provided context for the guns. Need to know what type of rifle a Chinese army regular carries? How 'bout an FBI special agent's sidearm? And what does a Serbian anti-tank specialst lug around? Sidearms, rifles, sniper rilfes, submachine guns, machine guns, anti-materiel rifles and grenade launchers (I think I got it all).

This book has everything you need and context for all of it.

It will add a dose of realism and flavor to your campaign.

I highly recommended you purchase this product.

I own this book only because someone had bought it for me as a gift because I'm a huge fan of the d20 Modern line. Now I'm a more story geared GM meaning I have the players try to find solutions instead of fighting all the time. So obviously when my players saw this all this went out the window... I can admire all the guns and in fact being a gun nut irl I found alot of favorites. Considering all the games I like running or X-files/Conspiracy games.

I am rather surprised at the quality of this supplement, especially when compared to the other books in the series. This book is well presented and attractive when it comes to the actual book, layout and art. But is also full of errors and repeats, you could just as easily buy a copy of Janes and use comparable stats from the campaign book. If you simply must have a D20 weapons guide Ultramodern Firearms is much better. And The Modern Arms Guide for Spycraft is also very good, with statistics that are a big more on the realistic side and it covers more weapon types than Weapons Locker or Ultramodern Firearms.

Good selection, same issue as stated before with the same-caliber weapons doing different damage... This issue has popped up in many video games to date; it's more of a balance thing than anything else.

I would like to note that on page 73 of this book an AK74SU is pictured in the stead of the correct image, that of an M16A4.

More or less worth it if you want the weapons in your campaign, especially so since it denotes 'Who would carry what?' in the back of the book.

I have to agree with most of the other reviews I've read. It's alot of useful stuff but not in any useable order. It really looks like a sub-standard product from wizards. I bought it mostly for inspiration for creating stuff for other games but was still kinda dissapointed with it.

From what I see this book has a lot of listings of guns, but is hard to find what you are looking for. There are about 750 different guns and accessories (including all the different versions of some guns, and gernade launchers), compaired to the Ultramodern Firearms at 250.

This book lacks tables of any type, except for a few where they show the different versions of certain weapons. Trying to find a weapon can prove to be a challenge with the large number of guns from all generations.

Overall, too much info, not enough use...