A Collection of Fantastic Weapons
From: 3AM Games
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
A Collection of Fantastic Weapons is a new d20 Equipment Supplement from 3AM Games.
I appreciate honesty in writing. One thing that casually annoyed me at the beginning of the d20 craze was that EVERYONE was releasing their own Ultimate or Complete weapons and/or equipment guide. In reality, none of them were ultimate or complete. This book is honest from the beginning. As the title states, it is A Collection. Not THE Collection. Just one of probably many. Honesty is good.
While I was reading through the first two adventure books by 3A Games, I found myself impressed most especially by the weapons art. I said to myself that this person should do a book of weapons. Than, low and behold, here it is in all its glory and honesty.
From the website:
“Have magical weapons lost their magic? Rediscover the thrill of finding an enchanted weapon among the pages of this amazingly useful gaming reference!”
Chapter 1 starts the book out with all the rules and information the reader needs to use the items presented in the rest of the book as well as a means to quickly create magical weapons. Included are over thirty new magic weapon special abilities like Disheartening, Gibbering, and Life Stealing. It also contains updated random magical weapon special ability tables that incorporate the new abilities with the ones in the core d20 rules.
The remainder of the book contains the detailed descriptions of 150 weapons – all unique and magical. From daggers to swords, axes to hammers and picks, arrows to sling bullets, many of the standard fantasy weapons as well as some non-standard weapons are covered. Shaded tabs along the edges of the pages make finding specific weapon types easy. Every single weapon includes stats for low, mid and high power level versions as well as a detailed history, a description of the weapon, its powers, and its construction. Most importantly is the detailed illustration that accompanies every weapon. As in past 3AM Games books, the weapons art is exceptional. Each weapon is printed out on one full page which makes it easy for a DM to copy them for use as handouts.
From the website:
“A Collection of Fantastic Weapons is your single resource for magical weapons in your fantasy campaign.”
One of the true values in this tome are the stories behind the weapons. They are intended to inspire your imagination. There are a wide variety of tales ranging many cultures, places and beings. What amazed me beyond the detail in each illustration was the variety of cultural inspiration for each weapon. Of course you have your standard European-style weapons, but you also have eastern style as well as other cultures. There are also the more weird weapons, obviously drawn from the far reaches of the authors mind. One can create just about any kind of one-nighter or campaign and take their characters to any corner of their world based on the hooks presented here. Some of my favorites are The Oculus, the club once owned by a renowned bounty huntress, or the vile Gûl, an unholy morningstar with sinister power, or Nala whip, a whip with the amazing ability to extract the truth from a victim.
There are a few samples of weapons from this book on their web site in PDF form (see below).
In conclusion, I have seen many of the ultimate and complete guides in my time. This one has many of the same kind of things the others have, but it also has more. It is intelligently written. The authors are passionate about making the most value out of a book. They are gamers at heart and write for gamers. The art makes this book stand out in many ways. It is inspiring in its detail. The multiple power levels for each weapon gives this book even more value.
For more details on 3AM Games and their new d20 Equipment Supplement “A Collection of Fantastic Weapons” check them out at their website http://www.3amg.com and at all of your local game stores.
A Collection of Fantastic Weapons
From: 3AM Games
Type of Game: d20 Equipment Supplement
Written by: Don Bessinger
Contributing Authors: Jonathan Rex Pollom, Bradly Robins, Pieter van Hiel, Paul Miller, Tabitha Miller
Cover Art by: Charlie Schultz
Additional Art by: Kirk Kugel, Alex McVey, Charlie Schultz
Number of Pages: 175
Game Components Included: Hard back book
Game Components Not Included: d20 Core rule books
Retail Price: $ 24.95
Item Number: 3AM10500
ISBN: 1-59516-002-7
Website: www.3amg.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung