 Goto [ Index ] |
On a high note, UMF D20 stays on track with the D20 modern weapons data. One can even consider UMF D20 to be essentially D20 Modern Canon, as author Charles Ryan also co-authored the D20 Modern Roleplaying Game Core Rules. The book is well illustrated as well. The details on each weapon are kept brief, allowing them to squeeze at least two weapons per page. Overall, the design is crisp and clean, a plus for any book.
UMF D20 also expands the weapon system of D20 Modern, providing more flexibility and weapons options without breaking the system or introducing the uber gun disease prevalent in other modern ers gaming systems from Twilight 2K to Cyberpunk 2020 to Cyberpunk.
On the downside, UMF D20 really is little more than a rules revision of the old Millenium's End version of the book. As many as 1 in 5 guns in the book represent the product lines of weapons manufacturers that have been out of business for at least half a decade. For example, Astra went out of business in 1997, and Calico went out of business in 1991 (2 years before the original UMF D20 was published, I might add!). And new guns in the book are few and far between, with the noteworthy exception of the OICW. Unfortunately, the two pages dedicated to the OICW are based on information some two years out of date; the rifle isn't even called OICW anymore; last fall the army redesignated it as the XM29 SABR, and it was plenty early enough to have made it to copy before the book went to the printers.
The second downside is hardcover-induced sticker shock. At $27.95, UMF D20 costs a whopping 40% more than the next most expensive RPG gun resources available.
The third downside is that weapon descriptions are kept brief. A lot of interesting information is omitted. Including things like dates of manufacture, which would have helped you to determine which weapons are more available, less available, or completely unavailable depending upon when your D20 modern game happens to be set. If you're playing a game of the mean streets of L.A. in the year 2010, the Calico weapons would be very rare since the manufacturer went under 15 years prior to the setting date. Conversely, if you're playing an 80's cop campaign set in the 80's in Miami, there won't be anyone running around with a FN's P90 personal defense weapon, since those weapons would still be as much as a decade away from being shown to the public for the first time within the setting timeline.There has been talk of a web enhancement designed to address these issues, but it has been quite some time since it was last mentions on the WotC D20 Modern message boards.
In the end, while Ultramodern Firearms D20 is currently be the best consolidated gun resource for D20, providing some 300+ new weapons to add to your D20 campaigns. If you're looking for a one-stop shop, to buy one book and be done with guns, Ultramodern Firearms D20 is a good choice, if you can swallow the price.
Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.
