[GR PR] Ultramodern Firearms D20

[Cergorach]

Swipped this from the GR site:

Ultramodern Firearms d20 (pre-order)
October 2002!

Ultramodern Firearms d20
Written by Charles Ryan
GRR1016
ISBN: 0-9723599-3-1
MSRP: $27.95
160 pages, hardback

The best ever RPG gun resource is back! Chameleon Eclectic's original Ultramodern Firearms was a marvel of research and illustration. Now author Charles Ryan, fresh from his work on the Wheel of Time RPG and d20 Modern for Wizards of the Coast, has revisited Ultramodern Firearms and updated it for the d20 System. The text is written for gamers, not gun enthusiasts, so it is clear, well-organized, and easy to use, focusing on the features, advantages, and uses of over 300 weapons and sights. Over 200 precise illustrations complete the package. Ultramodern Firearms is an indispensable resource for any contemporary d20 game.

 

[Leopold]

god i am so psyched...guns..guns..GUNS!!!

 

[CharlesRyan]

I just got my hands on the UF from 1993, it's superb! It reads a way as a gun catalog for the uninitiated, which is a very good thing (not all gamers are gun nuts, i am though ;-) The drawings are extremely well done, are you folks going to use the same illustrations and let the same artist do the new ones (say yes please!)?

Thanks for the great comments. Yes, all the existing illos will appear, and new ones will be by the same artists.

The book is almost ten years old, thus i think it will need a massive update (but i would hate to see entries removed), what can we expect? Like i said above i really like the fact that it reads like a gun catalog, especially that the game statistics and mechanics are sperate from the gun entries themselves, will the new version continue this trend?

The 1993 UF is 176 pages long and with the new entries it would become a lot bigger. Now i do find that that the old version had an extreme amount of white space, strangely enough i din't really find it that annoying (i often do). But by reformatting you could paste a lot more text into the same amount of space. If it's 176+ pages, would you consider making it a hardcover? Similar to the HCs by Fantasy Flight Games? I personally think it's very classy and think would sell the book better. I also suspect that if you keep the rules seperate in the back (and they don't take up half the book), the art perfect, it probably would sell to a non D20 crowd as well (SR, cyberpunk, CoC, etc.).

The d20 version will be 160 pages, hardcover. Despite the page count drop, it'll contain a fair number of new weapons (and none of the old ones are being dropped). The only thing that is being dropped is the chapter on sighting devices and night-vision equipment, mainly because the technology changes so quickly that whatever we print will be out of date very soon (the 1993 edition material was almost completely out of date).

The OICW is covered, but of course it's still a prototype so the info is tentative.

There's a lot more game mechanics than the original edition, including special rules for specific weapons where called for.

I think you'll like it!

 

[Cergorach]

Thanks for the great comments. Yes, all the existing illos will appear, and new ones will be by the same artists.

Oh yeah!

The d20 version will be 160 pages, hardcover. Despite the page count drop, it'll contain a fair number of new weapons (and none of the old ones are being dropped). The only thing that is being dropped is the chapter on sighting devices and night-vision equipment, mainly because the technology changes so quickly that whatever we print will be out of date very soon (the 1993 edition material was almost completely out of date).

Maybe it could be done as a web enhancement... *grin*

There's a lot more game mechanics than the original edition, including special rules for specific weapons where called for.

Good, i'm curious how everything will be implemented. Are the rules and the descriptions still seperated from each other?

I think you'll like it!

I most certainly will!

 

[CharlesRyan]

Are the rules and the descriptions still seperated from each other?

No, it's more integrated.

The descriptive material is still clearly separate from the rules, so anyone wanting to use it as a general sourcebook without having to sift out rules will be able to do so easily. However, whenever any special rules apply to a specific weapon, they follow the description in the weapon entry. And the stats, as well as being collected at the back, also appear with the weapon entry.

 

[Jaws]

When will it be out?

October 2002!

Will Ultramodern Firearms d20 be out on time?

Peace and smiles

j.

edit: my 66th post. Only 600 to go!

 

[Pramas]

Re: When will it be out?

Will Ultramodern Firearms d20 be out on time?

It will be, but it's announced date is November (as it says in the press release). I must go whip my webmaster now!

 

[mythusmage]

From punk band manager to game company president, how the mighty have fallen.

 

[Bagpuss]

Ultramodern Firearms has to be my most used book for any modern setting. Although I've never even play Milleniums end, it was simple to convert to Cyberpunk, Call of Cthulhu and pretty much any other modern setting.

The level of information and detailed drawing of the weapons was enough to keep any gun-nut happy, and is probably only bettered by JANE's for real-world info all in one place.

I hope they add in things like OICW that have appeared since the original book.

I'll be looking forward to this although I personally think D20 is not well suited to modern day 'realistic' games which the old Ultramodem Firearms was ideally suited for. I'll probably check it out to see whats changed and convert it to Uni-System.

 

[Unseelie]

Charles, have you considered doing, or letting someone do a d20 Millenium's End? Clearly it would best to wait for d20 Modern... but I'd buy it.