Posting on behalf of Charles Ryan, who is having trouble posting to the boards himself.
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[I've asked Chris or Nicole to post this for me--although I visit ENworld every day and read these boards, I have a lot of trouble posting. I'm happy to answer questions about Ultramodern Firearms or d20 Modern, but the best way to get a quick answer out of me is to catch me on the WotC d20 Modern boards.]
Thanks for all the great comments on the Ultramodern Firearms preview. Wait until you see the entire book!
Dave McAlister pointed out a couple errors in the L85 entry. (I haven't had a chance to go back into my research and check these out, but for now I'll take Dave's word for it that these errors are real.) Specifically, he found a misprint in the name and a misstatement about the presence of backup iron sights. While I don't want to downplay the importance of
any error in a book that is supposed to be well-researched, I hope Dave and others will keep them in perspective. The preview contains 18 weapons, fully detailed, accurately statted, and beautifully illustrated. Given all this great information--and the hundreds of other weapons, game rules, feats, and features in the whole book--I'd hate for anyone to make their buying decision over the question of whether or not the L85 has auxiliary sights.
[As an aside, I went back and looked at the original edition. Although the new edition was heavily revised, the descriptive text for the L85 contained the same errors in the original edition. It was in print for nearly 10 years and sold thousands and thousands of copies--but the errors in question have never before been brought to my attention and don't appear to have dampened the praise the book has received.]
As for the game stats, the couple of complaints that have been voiced are really concerns about d20 Modern in general, rather than Ultramodern Firearms in particular. I've posted a few thoughts on this topic over on the WotC boards (in
this thread). The short version is that given the lethality of d20 Modern's massive damage system, and the importance of other factors besides damage value (range increment, masterwork bonuses, concealability, and magazine capacity, to name a few), I think you'll find in play that the d20 Modern statting conventions do a great job of highlighting the relative strengths and weaknesses of various weapons. And that makes for a much more interesting game than one where a given weapon is clearly superior to others because it deals the most damage. Anyway, if you're interested in a broader discussion of that topic, I invite to you come check it out.
Thanks again for all the great comments! Sorry I can't post myself, or I'd be here more often!
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Charles Ryan
Editor, RPG R&D
Wizards of the Coast
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