One of the coolest things about Battlelords is an abundance of cool gear. Armor is not five listings with different ratings. Armor comes in nearly a dozen different varieties, from body armor and ablative street clothes to mechanized armor and personal defense shields. In fact, there is so much optional gear that the gear supplement, entitled Lock-N-Load, is split into two books. This review covers book one - Armor, Equipment, & Cybernetics.

Chapter One: The Lay of the Land

One thing that the core Battlelords book doesn't dwell on very well is a setting. Sure, we understand that the galaxy is a mixed-up, crazy place, and we know that mercenaries are responsible for a huge amount of death, but we don't really get a good feel for the galaxy as a whole. History is largely a blank slate, and galactic sentiments are not explored in enough detail to make much of an impact on a game.

Fortunately, the first chapter of Lock-N-Load: Armor, Equipment, & Cybernetics remedies some of these problems. A timeline of galactic history allows the reader to understand where each starfaring race became part of the galaxy - and unlike many timelines, it's actually fairly interesting.

A short piece of fiction details how the Mutzachan, psionically-powerful but diminutive aliens, managed to protect Earth from the Eridani. Like most of the fiction in Battlelords, this is not bad, but it is not particularly great.

The invasion of the arachnid foes was the basis for the alliance that keeps the space-going races from destroying each other. Ironically, this desperately deadly foe is the element that has kept the galaxy from tearing itself apart. In the place of racial wars that would have destroyed millions of lives, the galaxy is steeped in a semi-cold war, with rival corporations competing in massive arms races and subterfuge. This information is brief, but welcome.

Chapter Two: Armor

More than 30 pages of armor are listed in this chapter. For those used to a short chart describing armor, or even a two-page spread, this is impressive. There are so many types of armor that a reader could be easily overwhelmed. If you are not the kind of gamer that wants to choose between 37 different types of body armor, you are in the wrong game in the first place. But if you like having six options for mechanized armor, you will love this book.

In addition to the huge list of armor, there is a stunning number of options available for customizing your favorite protective suit. You can add defensive options like ablative liners or electronic countermeasures, offensive options like arm rockets or auto lasers, or utilitarian options like jump pads and auto injectors. Every option is explained in just enough detail without becoming wordy.

With all this armor comes the need to expand on the armor rules in the core book. Since any armor technically has three stats - threshold, absorption and integrity - armor must have some explanation. Two pages of discussion expands on the rules in the core book, allowing for a greater understanding of the rules related to not getting your head blown off.

Chapter Three: Equipment

Just as with armor, equipment options are incredibly expansive. There are in-depth entries for communications gear, computers, detection equipment, medical gear, spy gear, even beverages and home improvement. Granted, not many mercenaries are going to have much use for grav beds or wet bars, but your high-earning killers need some way to relax and waste all their money.

The staggering amount of equipment makes this the most involved and detailed list of gear I have ever seen in a game. Generally, a single type of radio will do - unless you're playing Battlelords. Then you need to choose between the base radio, field radio, hand radio, and interplanetary radio. You may also want to invest in a wrist phone or ear transceiver, and you could still spend way too much just on other types of comm gear.

Computers are presented in great detail, and can be adapted in dozens of different ways. Nanoids are a very cool addition to a game - microscopic robots chewing through locks, spying on meetings, or mending broken limbs. Detection equipment runs the range from bug finders and infrared goggles to explosives detectors and sonic discriminators. Medical gear is lots more than a med-kit and a healing injection - there are body bags, pneumatic casts, and straight jackets.

The equipment goes on and on. There are so many options and possibilities that a player can always buy just the right item for the job.

Chapter Four: Cybernetics

Before the descriptions of cybernetics begin in earnest, this chapter spends several pages discussing some of the mitigating factors involved in using cyber-gear. Space allocation, electronic attacks, and repair costs are all expanded from the original rules.

The heaps of cybernetic options could make any power gamer want to cut off his arms and legs just to get metal replacements. You can get pepper spray or a laser welding torch in your finger. You can have computer interface joints that can lock into place and plug directly into computers. You can fire grenades from your wrist or cut holes with the powersaw that replaces your hand. And those are just a few of the arm/hand implants.

Chest implants vary from reinforced ribs to gills, mini-missile launchers and power converters. You might mount an amplifier in your belly or gills in your upper chest. Gas filtration is an option, as is a portable oxygen supply.

Dermal enhancements can perform a variety of tasks, from deflecting a blow to helping you hide, filtering chemicals or hiding from infrared. Foot implants like climbing claws and jump pads can make your feet good for more than just running places, and the plasma grenade shaped like an eyeball - which is plucked from your head and tossed - is simultaneously silly, gruesome and cool.

Destroig combat systems are more than simply augmented men - these are people for whom most of the body has been replaced with machine. The skeletal structure is completely removed and replaced with metal, and exoskeletons are available that prevent almost as much damage as the highest-cost power armor. These killing machines can mount snap-off arm cannons, missile launchers, and more. Unfortunately, all that metal in your body can make a man just a little crazy.

The cybernetics do not stop there. Artificial intelligence, chemical implants, and on-board computers can all make a cyborg even more effective. There is a lot here, and many ways to customize the future equivalent of Steve Austin.

Appendices

Several pages at the back of the book describe item availability and nanoid construction. Since all of the items in the core book are reprinted here, this information is very handy. The index is always a nice addition, too.

Presentation and Writing

Lawrence Sims is the author of both Battlelord of the 23rd Century and Lock-N-Load, and he is possibly one of the least mature game writers in recent history. However, those who are annoyed by the fart jokes and overpunctuation in the core book will be relieved to hear that the juvenile writing is seriously scaled back for this supplement. There are still a few needless capitalizations and oddly-placed exclamation marks, but this is a vast improvement.

SSDC spares no expense on its visual presentation. The cover art, both front and back, is great. The interior images are thoroughly descriptive, fully appropriate, and just plain fun to look at. The semi-technical equipment drawings let readers know just what their armor looks like, and every helmet looks cool (which is an achievement - there are tons of dorky helmets in RPGs). The layout does a fantastic job of guiding the reader through its pages, and looks great besides.

Summary

If you have a hankering for some powerfully customized armor, some very specific equipment, or a custom cyborg, this is the book for you. In fact, even if you don't play Battlelords of the 23rd Century, the gear in Lock-N-Load: Armor, Equipment, & Cybernetics could prove to be an invaluable asset in any game.

Style: 4 - The layout and art are awesome, and the writing is vastly improved.

Substance: 4 - A killer collection of gear that will leave only the most persnickety wanting for more.

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