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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ledded" data-source="post: 1398762" data-attributes="member: 12744">Interesting, I'll have to check it out. I just recently finished a book called the Bielski Partisans, which was a very good account of a group of Belorussian Jewish partisans that successfully evaded annihilation by the Nazis and saved quite a few Jewish people from the ghettos. It's worth a read, particularly to those who would like to hear true stories about European Jewry being portrayed as something other than somewhat passive victims. Also, I finished looking over WW2H and while I found it to be a very lucid and well organized work, there were a few things I had issue with. First, their class system just seemed a bit unnecessary and a little confusing to me. Not that it isnt good, and I understand their reasoning behind it, but I dont think I'll be using it. Some of their feats and additional mechanics (Leadership, Discipline, etc) seemed to be a bit unnecessary or a bit over-extended from stats, skills, or features already in d20 Modern, but that is more of a personal issue; I didnt like the way it worked but I'm biased because I have ways of taking those concepts into effect that I already like that don't extend the base d20 Modern system that much. Second, while I've heard good things about their weapons section, there were quite a few things I was a bit confused by. It was well written and well researched, but some of the stats just seemed a bit incongruous to me, but then again I am not an expert in firearms. Here are a few examples: The BAR, 1903 Springfield, and M1 Garand all have different base damage die (d8, d12, and d10) but their ammunition is the same caliber (and seemed to be quite similar in the descriptive detail also as far as firing characteristics). I really dont know the basis for giving a Springfield the same damage as a .50 cal M2, or for shorting the BAR when compared to the M1. It may have been a flavor/game balance issue, but I didnt really get it, as I was under the impression that their ammunition was reasonably similar, however I may be wrong. The M1911 .45 and the Thompson had different damage die also, but there was nothing I could see that would lend me to see what distinguished the difference between them. I'm not saying it was wrong, only that I didnt understand it. And my real stickler... the 'commando knife' and bayonet does a d6 instead over a d4 for a  knife or dagger. I thought maybe they intended it to be a K-Bar, long bayonet or some kind of 'big knife', but they specifically give the Sykes-Fairbain as a reference, which while a fine knife is still relatively the same size as most weapons that are looped into the small knife/dagger category in d20 games, and the bayonet is a very generic description of all bayonets (maybe it was intended to reflect a rifle-mounted bayonet damage, but it wasnt clear).  So they assigned higher damage to bayonets and commando knives while also scaling down rifle butt damage from d20 Modern; not that it isnt realistic or right, but deviates yet again from d20 Modern for reasons unbeknownst to me. There was no mention of flamethrowers that I could find besides seeing them in one of the very nice pictures; possibly they intended that you use the d20 Modern flamethrower as is, but I'm not sure. There were a few other items whose stats contradicted what I've read from various sources, though the flaws there may admittedly be mine to begin with. Like I said, I'm not a total firearms expert, but I had the same issue with their small arms section as I've had in several other works portraying this approximate time period. Dana, if you read this and can shed some light on it for me, I'd appreciate your input. But there are a ton of positives about this work, and I will be drawing from it quite a bit in my campaigns in the future. It was very lucid and well written, very well researched, and had a good bit of VERY nice background information. The vehicles section was well done (yea Penetration!) and their overall treatment of firearms is very good and workable for a WWII game, even though they deviate from the d20 Modern system a good bit. The sections on gamemastering and squad tactics are very good and darn near indespensible for someone just getting into a WWII game; they would have saved me some time on the front end. The rank and awards system is very good and reflective of a WWII environment. The mundane equipment lists are a very good reference also. The author seemed to have a very good background and understanding of the subject matter, and a genuine love for the material shines through on nearly every page; all in all I very much liked it other than the few points I listed above.</blockquote>

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