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There are seven chapters in the book (Pistols,
Submachineguns, Assault Rifles, Rifles, Shotguns,
Machineguns, and Ammunition) along with a glossary
(great for us not in the know), a table of where weapons
are in use (supremely helpful if you are running an
adventure in Iran and want to know what the local army
would be armed with), and tables of all of the guns
presented in the book. You also get nine new feats (gun
related, imagine that) and conversion rules for using the
Vitality/Wound damage rules presented in other d20
games.
BASICS
Ultramodern Firearms is a 158-page hardcover
sourcebook from Green Ronin Publishing that covers
guns, guns, and more guns for the d20 Modern
Roleplaying Game. It has a full cover and black & white
interior art with a retail price of $27.95 USD.
BETWEEN THE COVERS
Ultramodern Firearms for d20 Modern is written by
Charles Ryan, the author of Ultramodern Firearms for
the Millenium’s End rpg. His book was widely regarded
as THE book of guns. If you had that, you had what
you needed. It didn’t matter if you were playing another
rpg, you could make it work, it was that good.
Before getting to the heart of the matter, which in this
case is lots of guns, I have to say that I learned quite a
bit just from reading the introduction to each section of
the book. I’m not a gun collector or historian and pretty
much what I know about guns really comes from the
movies, but after just a couple of paragraphs from Mr.
Ryan I feel much more informed and it was done is a
way that will not confuse the reader, but inform them.
Each chapter starts off with a page or two of
introductory information which is long enough to get you
familiar with each type of gun, but smartly keeps away
from the minutia that could make your eyes cross. Want
a pistol that will be easier to get past security guards in
the evil government embassy that you’ll be infiltrating
while posing as diplomats? You’ll find it here. A gun in
this book is not just a set of numbers. It’s a short
information session about the firearm, stats, and if
applicable extra rules such as the Colt Agent giving you
a +2 bonus to Sleight of Hand checks to conceal it.
Weapons are accompanied by a very clear line drawing
of the gun so your players can know what they’re totting
around without you needing to pick up a copy of ‘Soldier
of Fortune’ magazine. The chapter on Ammunition was
really informative, especially from a lay person’s point of
view.
One especially excellent portion of the book was the
Features Index. It lists which features (like being
Concealable, its Ease of Use, being Common, etc…) are
native to which guns and which guns are great in
respect to these features. Glocks are great on Reliability
(and good on almost everything else) and while the Colt
M1911A1 may be Common and Inexpensive, it’s
otherwise fairly unremarkable.
VALUE
This is a great sourcebook, one whose use I would easily
recommend even outside of the d20 Modern Roleplaying
Game. If you’re playing in a d20 modern campaign
where you’re trying to figure out ‘why’ the bad guys hate
us and see if you can placate them into leaving us alone
then this is not your book. If you want to see what the
bad guy’s insides look once they are on the outside then
you are on the right track with Ultramodern Firearms.
Lock and load!
WWW.GREENRONIN.COM