Spycraft:  Modern Arms Guide

Format: B &W Cover, B & W Interior, soft cover Page Count: 144 Genre: reference Campaign Setting: Spycraft Developer: AEG Publisher: AEG Authors: Chad Brunner, Tim D'Alliard, et al  Product Code: AEG1802

Overall rating:  4/5.

Ahhhhh...everything a homicidal maniac like me needs to decimate a party.

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.

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Originally reviewed for Gaming Frontiers Magazine

This review can be seen at epinions.com

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