Ultimate Equipment Guide vs. Arms & Equipment Guide: Which one to buy?
Sirius_Black
First Post
I have Mongoose's "Ultimate Equipment Guide" and am quite happy to have purchased the product even with the steep price tag. Based upon WOTC's Preview of Arms and Equipment Guide, I have no desire to purchase that product.
Mouseferatu
Hero
Neither. Wait another month, and go for MonkeyGod's "From Stone to Steel."
And no, I didn't work on the book; that's not why I'm hyping it. I've seen pages. It's got everything. It's got weapons, and armor from just about every historical and cultural period you can imagine, including Polynesian shark-tooth weapons. And it talks about their use and history, rather than just giving a bunch of stats.
Trust me, it'll be worth it.
And no, I didn't work on the book; that's not why I'm hyping it. I've seen pages. It's got everything. It's got weapons, and armor from just about every historical and cultural period you can imagine, including Polynesian shark-tooth weapons. And it talks about their use and history, rather than just giving a bunch of stats.
Trust me, it'll be worth it.
Gothmog
First Post
I have the Mongoose book, and have flipped through the Arms & Equipment Guide, and I can say hands down the Mongoose book is FAR superior. The A&EG is very pricey for the page count, and many of the items are too outlandish for use in most games. In addition, the vehicle rules seem to be of very limited use- I don't think once since 3E came out have I needed such rules.
On the other hand, the Mongoose book draws from over 30 OGL sources, as well as having a bunch of new items. The items are grouped by class: arcane sorcery, temple items, armory, dwarf's forge, rogue's tools, wilderness gear, food drugs and herbs, psychic mastery, fighter's gear, tools, and items of the orient, as well as several other chapters I don't remember off the top of my head. There are also master equipment tables in the index. There are not a lot of magical items, but tons of mundane gear that would be really useful in actual gameplay.
On the other hand, the Mongoose book draws from over 30 OGL sources, as well as having a bunch of new items. The items are grouped by class: arcane sorcery, temple items, armory, dwarf's forge, rogue's tools, wilderness gear, food drugs and herbs, psychic mastery, fighter's gear, tools, and items of the orient, as well as several other chapters I don't remember off the top of my head. There are also master equipment tables in the index. There are not a lot of magical items, but tons of mundane gear that would be really useful in actual gameplay.
Iron_Chef
First Post
I got the Mongoose one before anyone could respond, LOL, and I'm glad you guys agree that that is the book to get. I concur; I just read through it (well, most of it) and found dozens of cool items for my character. The rest of the group will doubtless find about as many each for themselves as well. Very descriptive and informative, giving reasons and uses for the item... and almost all the items are illustrated!
Great book and a much better value than WoTC's A&EG even if it is $10 more (but it does have way more pages and much more mundane, all-around useful items, including typical dungeon dressing goodies to answer pesky players questions about "what can we steal?").
Great book and a much better value than WoTC's A&EG even if it is $10 more (but it does have way more pages and much more mundane, all-around useful items, including typical dungeon dressing goodies to answer pesky players questions about "what can we steal?").
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haiiro
First Post
I own A&EG but not UE, but based on my memory of skimming through UE in the store, A&EG has a lot more magic items (not sure if UE has any) and UE is a lot more like the old Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog. From a pagecount standpoint, UE is probably a better value, although it contains more reprinted material.
I bought A&EG first because it looked to be more my style, and I've always noticed balance issues with Mongoose's stuff. I think I'll wind up picking up UE at some point, but I'm also waiting to see if Kenzer ever puts out their equipment book, and to take a look at Monkey God's From Stone to Steel (which looks very cool).
Edit: ...but you already made your decision, and posted while I was writing my post. Ah well.
I bought A&EG first because it looked to be more my style, and I've always noticed balance issues with Mongoose's stuff. I think I'll wind up picking up UE at some point, but I'm also waiting to see if Kenzer ever puts out their equipment book, and to take a look at Monkey God's From Stone to Steel (which looks very cool).
Edit: ...but you already made your decision, and posted while I was writing my post. Ah well.
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