The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Ultramodern Firearms By Charles Ryan www.Greenronin.com $29.95 A free sample is availible for download in PDF format from the Green Ronin website.

What you get: The book is 160 pages (with the last two being ads) and hardbound. The cover has a photo of some weapons on a table. My first impression was 'Very slick'.

The rules: The book is divided into seven chapters. The introduction includes a brief forward by Charles Ryan, and several new rules covering Silenced, and Suppressed weapons, Weapon Reliability, some new feats (My personal favorite is 'Guns Akimbo'), and an explanation of the weapon tables. It also includes a Features Index, which I will address in a moment.

Six of the chapters covers different type of weapon such as pistols, submachine guns, or shotguns. The final chapter is ammunition. The layout of the book is very professional. A paragraph or two describes each weapon. Any special features are covered (Such as the MP53 is a cut down version of a G33 rifle). Any rules needed for the weapon are included here. All most all the weapons are accompanied by an illustration, those without pictures are visually identical to other weapons listed and noted as such. The pictures are drawn and of very high quality. All of the weapons in the book are firearms, no stats for heavy weapons such as rocket launchers or missiles are included.

One of this book's strong points is the simple manner it is written. It was designed for use by people that don’t know anything about guns. All the terminology used is explained in a simple fashion. At the beginning of each chapter is 2-3 pages explaining how that class of weapons is different from others, and a history. For example most people don't understand the difference between a submachine gun, and an assault rifle. They look very much alike but are used for different tasks. Not only is this explained, but you understand WHY the weapons developed, and how they work. The firearms themselves are listed alphabeticaly by manufacturer

The seventh chapter deals with ammo. An illustration shows the real sizes of various rounds, so you can compare them. Rules cover exotic ammo such as hollow point, tracer, and armor piercing.

The list of weapons is quite extensive. The list includes the usual suspects in addition to a few I had never heard of before, and at least one (the Army's prototype OICW rifle) that is not yet in service. A few weapons such as the M-14, and SKS I would have liked to have seen but were omitted. This is understandable when you look at over 200 guns that are listed. However these weapons were very common in the Vietnam era, I could see players needing those stats. Enough data is provided that using rough info (caliber, magazine size, and weapon weight) on a missing weapon, and a bit of brainpower you should be able to generate stats.

This book contains a lot of information, I mean a lot. It could very easily overwhelm someone not familiar with the subject matter. However the “Feature Index” is here to save the day. It is a chart that lists all the weapons in the book, and gives them such traits as 'Silenced', 'Concealable', or 'Common'. Any weapon that fits that category is given a check mark; a cross indicates it is very good in that area.

For example, say you are creating a character who is an ex-mobster turned international hitman, and you don’t know anything about guns. You want him to have a rifle. A quick look at the rifles index tells me that the VSS Silent Sniping rifle is not only silent (and quite silent, as it is listed with a cross), but is automatic, and a has a folding stock (easier to hide). It can be found on page 111. Opening to that page I find the weapon is Russian, requires special ammo, and can mount a scope. Perfect just what the doctor ordered.

Another chart in the back tells what weapons are used by various nations, police forces and militaries. Are your players a merc unit going on a black op into South Africa? Make sure you equip the army guards with Galil rifles. The Recon Commandos that will hunt your players down after they botch the mission should have AR70s however. Are your players Italian Special Forces running counter terror missions? Grab some M12S SMGs from the armory. Expecting a shoot out with US Customs agents, prepare to see SIG P225s.

The best part is I did not need to memorize any of that info; the book puts all that data at your fingertips. It took me less then 3 seconds to find the above information. It gives your game great amounts of detail, with minimal work on the player's part.

This book is very well researched. I compared several of the firearms listed with other source books (such as Janes Guns Recognition Guide) and it matched up nicely. In fact I liked the layout of Ultramodern better.

If you are thinking about running any modern based RPG I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Ultra Modern Firearms
Ultra Modern Firearms Capsule Review by ryan peck on 02/01/03 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) "Guns, alot of guns." Neo the Matrix Product: Ultra Modern Firearms Author: Charles Ryan Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Green Ronin Line: D20 Modern Cost: $29.95 Page count: 160 Year published: 2002 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by ryan peck on 02/01/03 Genre tags: Modern day Historical Espionage	Ultramodern Firearms By Charles Ryan www.Greenronin.com $29.95 A free sample is availible for download in PDF format from the Green Ronin website. What you get: The book is 160 pages (with the last two being ads) and hardbound. The cover has a photo of some weapons on a table. My first impression was 'Very slick'. The rules: The book is divided into seven chapters. The introduction includes a brief forward by Charles Ryan, and several new rules covering Silenced, and Suppressed weapons, Weapon Reliability, some new feats (My personal favorite is 'Guns Akimbo'), and an explanation of the weapon tables. It also includes a Features Index, which I will address in a moment. Six of the chapters covers different type of weapon such as pistols, submachine guns, or shotguns. The final chapter is ammunition. The layout of the book is very professional. A paragraph or two describes each weapon. Any special features are covered (Such as the MP53 is a cut down version of a G33 rifle). Any rules needed for the weapon are included here. All most all the weapons are accompanied by an illustration, those without pictures are visually identical to other weapons listed and noted as such. The pictures are drawn and of very high quality. All of the weapons in the book are firearms, no stats for heavy weapons such as rocket launchers or missiles are included. One of this book's strong points is the simple manner it is written. It was designed for use by people that don’t know anything about guns. All the terminology used is explained in a simple fashion. At the beginning of each chapter is 2-3 pages explaining how that class of weapons is different from others, and a history. For example most people don't understand the difference between a submachine gun, and an assault rifle. They look very much alike but are used for different tasks. Not only is this explained, but you understand WHY the weapons developed, and how they work. The firearms themselves are listed alphabeticaly by manufacturer The seventh chapter deals with ammo. An illustration shows the real sizes of various rounds, so you can compare them. Rules cover exotic ammo such as hollow point, tracer, and armor piercing. The list of weapons is quite extensive. The list includes the usual suspects in addition to a few I had never heard of before, and at least one (the Army's prototype OICW rifle) that is not yet in service. A few weapons such as the M-14, and SKS I would have liked to have seen but were omitted. This is understandable when you look at over 200 guns that are listed. However these weapons were very common in the Vietnam era, I could see players needing those stats. Enough data is provided that using rough info (caliber, magazine size, and weapon weight) on a missing weapon, and a bit of brainpower you should be able to generate stats. This book contains a lot of information, I mean a lot. It could very easily overwhelm someone not familiar with the subject matter. However the “Feature Index” is here to save the day. It is a chart that lists all the weapons in the book, and gives them such traits as 'Silenced', 'Concealable', or 'Common'. Any weapon that fits that category is given a check mark; a cross indicates it is very good in that area. For example, say you are creating a character who is an ex-mobster turned international hitman, and you don’t know anything about guns. You want him to have a rifle. A quick look at the rifles index tells me that the VSS Silent Sniping rifle is not only silent (and quite silent, as it is listed with a cross), but is automatic, and a has a folding stock (easier to hide). It can be found on page 111. Opening to that page I find the weapon is Russian, requires special ammo, and can mount a scope. Perfect just what the doctor ordered. Another chart in the back tells what weapons are used by various nations, police forces and militaries. Are your players a merc unit going on a black op into South Africa? Make sure you equip the army guards with Galil rifles. The Recon Commandos that will hunt your players down after they botch the mission should have AR70s however. Are your players Italian Special Forces running counter terror missions? Grab some M12S SMGs from the armory. Expecting a shoot out with US Customs agents, prepare to see SIG P225s. The best part is I did not need to memorize any of that info; the book puts all that data at your fingertips. It took me less then 3 seconds to find the above information. It gives your game great amounts of detail, with minimal work on the player's part. This book is very well researched. I compared several of the firearms listed with other source books (such as Janes Guns Recognition Guide) and it matched up nicely. In fact I liked the layout of Ultramodern better. If you are thinking about running any modern based RPG I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Ultra Modern Firearms