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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009802" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.The Star Wars Arms & Equipment Guide (SWAAEG) is a sourcebook on weapons, armour, droids, vehicles, and equipment for Star Wars d20.SWAAEG is a 96-page softcover mono book costing $21.95. Whilst margins are slightly large, font is good and there is very little wasted space. The artwork is very technical in style, bland but clear, though the front and back covers (showing a scene from the invasion of Hoth and a bacta tank repectively) are stylish and vibrant. The writing style is much the same. Editing seems good.The introductory chapter discusses differing levels of equipment availability, from prevalent to rare, and from licensed to illegal. It also discusses availability of the equipment in different eras, with a symbolic representation in the stat blocks for each piece of equipment. It also gives a brief overview of the workings of the black market.Chapter 1: WeaponsThis chapter begins with an explanation of the stat blocks used for each weapon, which covers weapon type, proficiency group, cost, damage, critical threat range, range increment, weight, Fort DC, type of damage dealt, multifire/autofire, size, hardness, wound points, break DC, availability, era, and any special rules. There are also rules for modifying and personalising weapons, and some detail on concealing weapons, with a moification table for varying circumstances. Categories of weapons cover ranged energy weapons (various blaster pistols, blaster rifles and carbines, ion guns, and disruptor weapons), ranged projectile weapons (slugthrower pistols, dart pistols, flechette launchers, crossbows and magna casters, and wrist weapons), melee weapons (standard, vibro, and stun), grenades and other explosives, and miscellaneous weapons (flame projectors, sonic weapons, species-specific ranged weapons, and weaon attachments and accessories).Chapter 2: Protective GearThe chapter begins with an explanation of the stat blocks which describe armour type, proficiency group, cost, damage reduction, maximum dex bonus, armor check penalty, speed, weight, era, and any special information relating to the armour. After more information on customising and personalising armour, various light, medium, heavy, and powered armour are described, as well as a few other items of protective gear such as a sonic dampening helmet.Chapter 3: DroidsCovers astromech droids, repair droids, protocol and commercial droids, medical droids, military droids, security and guard droids, surveillance and probe droids, messenger droids, labour droids, and some miscellaneous droids (such as assassin droids). There is a page-long sidebar giving advice on using the various droids as heroes (or not, as the case may be).Chapter 4: VehiclesThe chapter again begins with an explanation of the stat block for vehicles, which covers vehicle class, size, passengers, cargo capacity, cost, availability, era, crew, initiative, manoeuvre modifier, defence, shield points, hull points, speed or atmospheric speed, max velocity or altitude, and weapon. There are some rules for customising vehicles. The types of vehicle covered are airspeders and cloud cars, gliders, jetpacks, and rocket packs, speeder bikes and swoops, civilian groundspeeders, military groundspeeders, walkers, seacraft, and other vehicles.Chapter 5: EquipmentStat blocks cover cost, weight, availability, and era. Equipment types include breathing devices, communication devices, detection devices, sensor jammers and detection countermeasures, medical equipment, security devices, survival gear, and tools and other sundries. There are some useful sidebars spread throughout this chapter with titles such as 'What's In My Toolkit?', 'Whats In My Escape Pod?', and 'Whats In My Medical Kit?'.Conclusion:One of my weaknesses as a Star Wars GM was not really having a clue what all the technology was called or what it did - I got about as far as a light sabre in my interest in the SW technology. So I bought this book with the hope that I could cram into my head some terms and rules regarding some of the tech stuff you see in the movies. I did this with some dread and the book more or less succeeded in both meeting my needs and living up to my fears. Firstly, as someone ignorant of the technology it gave me all the information I could want (and more) on the subjects covered - I just need to dare to get the Starships book now! But I have to say the book bored me to tears. I keep flipping through it, reading snippets, in the hope of getting excited by the subject matter. But it fails spectacularly.Here are some questions to test your interest - do you want to know the stats of a binary lifter or scrubber droid? The difference between a Drearian Defense Conglomerate "Light Sport" and a Merr-Sonn LD-1 Target Blaster Rifle? Which is faster, an Aratech 74-Z Military Speeder Bike or an Ikas-Adno R-2000 Raptor Speeder Bike? If you're interested in the answers to these questions, this book is definitely for you. There are, of course, aspects of more general interest. Players will want to use the customising and personalising rules for vehicles and weapons. The GM will be interested in such things as security equipment and assassin droids. But you need to sort the wheat from the chaff. A good reference book, bedtime reading for technophiles, but ultimately bland and of questionable usefulness if your group concentrates on story and setting over technical detail.</blockquote>

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