Review of Vehicle Sourcebook

I'm in the habit of buying Millennium's End supplements from Chameleon Eclectic simply because they make great resources for any modern game, particularly if one's campaign is oriented towards action. Alas, the Vehicle Sourcebook is the first one that's disappointed me. While the information it contains is detailed and accurate, it's not comprehensive and the focus is not what I'd have wanted.

There are entries for almost 300 vehicles of various sorts. Each entry discusses the vehicle in question, with notes on when it was introduced and its history; there's also information on the capacity, top speed, and other important details. Finally, most entries include a detailed sketch. The vehicles are divided into ten types (civilian cars, civilian watercraft, military helicopters, military armored vehicles, and so on); each chapter begins with a short essay on the general characteristics of the type of vehicle it covers.

I can't complain about the form of the book. It's easy to read, there are convenient tables summarizing the characteristics of each vehicle described and referring back into the main book, and the art is very good. Chameleon Eclectic has high standards for Millennium's End work.

However, I dislike the way the book was divided and the amount of attention which was given to civilian vehicles. There are 30 pages of cars (out of 130 pages of vehicle total); add in off-road vehicles and motorcycles and you have 45 pages of information that could be researched fairly easily. Further, it's information that will go out of date sooner than not, given the constant churn dictated by style.

I wouldn't mind if everything else had gotten the same comprehensive treatment. Unfortunately, many vehicle types didn't; there are only three military watercraft listed, only three military aircraft, and the civilian watercraft section lists several yachts and jetskis but no cigarette boats or commercial cargo carriers.

In all fairness, I was happy with the section on military armored vehicles and military helicopters. I also understand that one can't be really comprehensive in this sort of task; there's simply not room. Still, I'd rather have seen one example of a large container cargo ship than the entry for the Mercury Sable, especially since said entry begins with the comment "The Mercury Sable is virtually identical to the Ford Taurus (see page 29)."

I should note, finally, that the Vehicle Sourcebook includes an appendix with vehicle rules for Millennium's End; it's short but useful for Millennium's End players.

Overall, I can't recommend this book; the information is too readily available to be worth buying in this form, particularly when it's incomplete and patchy. Try a library, and don't forget the Consumer Reports book on cars for the current year.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)