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The Physical Thing
This 215 page black and white hardcover showcases above average production values. Frequent and appropriate use of good art calls attention to the equipment being discussed in a very atmospheric manner. The formatting is good, with weapons and equipment being logically arranged so that they are easy to find. An index of all weapons tables make it particularly easy for players who want to pick out one neat new weapon on the fly.The Ideas
Media helicopters, biological weapons, anti tank missiles, automatic shotguns, plate armor, single action revolvers, infrared sniper sights – this book presents a wide range of equipment covering everything a campaign could hope to encounter. Need to use a belt sander to stop that vampire? Want to have a silver katana built to slay that werewolf? This book tells you how to do it, but always pulls the reader back to real world concerns and the limits of modern equipment.This isn’t a book just for the gun enthusiasts among us. The discussions throughout the book assume the reader is completely unfamiliar with how weapons (especially firearms) and equipment work, which is extremely helpful for some Storytellers who want to insert more realism into their World of Darkness games. Those who do enjoy a moderate variety of firearms, melee weapons, and other such gear will find a lot of love here. Finally, those groups that contain a mix of players who either love gun stats or hate them can get along well with this product. Most of the gun and weapon stats are very similar (almost identical) to core World of Darkness game stats and likely wont result in a power disparity between those combing through this book for a power increase and those just using standard World of Darkness.
Under the Cover
As with other White Wolf products, Armory opens up with an appropriate piece of setting fiction and a general Introduction that explains the product and the contents of each chapter.Chapter 1 Melee Weaponry 32 pages.
This chapter begins with a presentation of various construction methods and types of weapons a person may encounter in the modern day. Decorative weapons, for example, are discussed because a lot of the “replica katanas” and other such items purchased off eBay and other places are not meant to hold an edge and otherwise make poor weapons (at least compared to an authentic version). Different material types as a part of a weapon’s composition, such as silver or bronze weapons, are also presented with a moderate degree of detail.
Weapons training is briefly discussed. That is, the chapter presents several reasons why a World of Darkness character would have dots in Weaponry. All the standard reasons, such as being a police officer, are presented along with some that many folk might not initially think of (such as the hand eye coordination Crafts represents).
Knives, swords, tonfa, kusari gama, waraxes, whips, belt sanders, chainsaws, screwdrivers, and the classic board-with-a-nail-in-it are all presented here along with many other weapon choices. Most of these vary little from the general stats listed in World of Darkness. However, these entries have two excellent things going for them. First, they stimulate the imagination. A person portraying a martial arts instructor might find just the right thing, and another player who portrays an auto mechanic may view the character’s tools with a new eye. Second, small rules here and there for various weapons and a discussion of those weapons really helps to flesh them out without burdening the game with complex rules.
Chapter 2 Firearms and Ranged Weaponry 52 pages.
This chapter begins with a lengthy discussion of firearms – everything the layman doesn’t know about them. Proper stances, functionality, parts, how bullets do damage, and other similar information is included. If you’re a firearms enthusiast there may not be a lot of information here for you, it does seem to be pretty basic stuff, but for me (a guy who knows little to nothing about guns) it was very informative and would assist me in better portraying firearms in a game if I wanted to strive for accuracy.
Peacemakers, desert eagles, sniper rifles, assault rifles, shotguns, and variant ammunition of all types are presented. Along with the specific weapons the authors present a discussion of who uses different types of firearms and what role they typically fulfill. Myths about some types of ammunition and a discussion of the effects of the ammunition (including its availability and legality, which is discussed with many weapons) is also presented.
Overall this chapter could be great fun for any game, but will be especially helpful for games that involve special forces characters or others that are given the opportunity to pick and choose their weapon of choice.
Chapter 3 Tactical and Heavy Weaponry 32 pages.
Grenades, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, mortar launchers, and other similar weapons are presented in this chapter. Demolitions methods are also discussed. Many (perhaps all) of these weapons are highly lethal, and deal automatic levels of lethal damage as long as the target is struck with them. This means that many of them cause instant death, or at least extreme injury, which is appropriate. If anything I would imagine some of these weapons as being not quite lethal enough at times, but then I know nothing about weapons.
In addition to presenting a wide variety of heavy weapons the chapter does a good job of describing the weapons. At times the language is a little overly technical for an audience that is presumed to know nothing about weapons (especially heavy weapons), but in general the writers provide a good discussion of these destructive weapons.
Chapter 4 Vehicles 30 pages.
New helicopters, fighter jets, steamrollers, yachts, motorcycles, 18 wheelers – this chapter presents a wide range of vehicles that characters may somehow come into contact with during their games. Most folk don’t need a discussion of what an SUV or limousine is, so the functionality for most of this chapter is found in the slightly varied stats. It’s particularly nice if the characters are engaged in some sort of races or vehicle combat. This product allows your tour bus full of vampires vs. werewolves in a limousine battles have greater realism than ever before! For extra fun, add a jet fighter piloted by a Promethean in Torment. I jest, but the simple rules of normal World of Darkness combined with the extra detail provided by this product would make such an encounter simple (at least in vehicle terms).
The combat vehicles (such as military helicopters) would be especially nice in a military focused campaign, perhaps World of Darkness: Vietnam or something of that sort.
Brief sections on upgrading vehicles, horror stories involving vehicles, and how people are trained to operate various vehicles are also presented.
Chapter 5 Equipment and Accessories 28 pages.
Sights, speed loaders, NBC suits, voice disguisers, armor, shields, security systems, and traps are all examples of material presented in this chapter. Overall Chapter 5 presents a hodge podge of gear, from portable Meals Ready to Eat to rules involving pit traps. The material presented is likely to arise in many World of Darkness games, and can provide inspiration for Storytellers and players who want to have forethought and intelligent equipment choices go up against cutting edge security systems.
Chapter 6 Weaponry and the World of Darkness 20 pages.
This chapter focuses on the legality of firearms across the world, with a focus on the United States. How self defense and brandishing a firearm works, in terms of the legal system, is discussed and the authors did an excellent job of presenting accurate information. Information on concealed carry laws, along with a discussion of where such weapons are concealed, is also presented.
Appendix Merits 6 pages.
Archery, fencing, sniping, staff fighting, and other new combat styles are introduced in this chapter. All told there are 10 new merits, 8 of which are fighting styles. The fighting styles tend to be neat, if at times powerful, and provide many more weapons options especially for those characters interested in one of the classic techniques (fencing, sniping, etc).
My Take
We’re already using this book in my current World of Darkness game, and I’m very happy with it. I’m happy because I am not particularly concerned with different stats for different types of guns, but some of my players are, and they can have their gun porn without requiring me to learn any new rules or otherwise give it much mind. The discussion of firearms, in particular, may be helpful for many readers who are not well acquainted with these weapons. On the whole the book does a great job of giving the players and Storytellers new toys and options without bogging them down with excessively detailed rules.Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
