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Mutants & Masterminds - [Review] Gadget Guides: Energy Weapons


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Gadget Guide: Energy Weapons
Vitals: Published By Green Ronin • 6(5) pages • $1.29 • full color PDF
Pew! Pew pew pew!
What's in it?
So you want to build a blaster, eh? This Guide isn't going to give you any fancy new effect extras, nor will it show you how to use something in new and different way. What it will do is give you four pages of descriptors, with suggestions on possible effects other than damage when appropriate. More than just covering the basic descriptors of fire, ice, electricity, etc, this dives deeper and looks at variations on those descriptors. Ice versus Freezing, Flame versus Plasma, Force vs Gravity, and more.
A short sidebar details the idea of energy weapons as equipment instead of removable powers/devices. It's valuable to note that in some games these items might be as common as a blaster in a Star Wars game, or as rare and unique as a Taser in a 70's era crime game (the Taser was invented between 1969 and 1974). The former is most surely equipment, while the latter would likely be a device, but ultimately the Gamemaster is recommended to use their own judgement for the good of their game.
The final page the Guide is a discussion of energy weapon "configurations", e.g. weapon classes, pistols, rifles, gauntlets, swords, and more. What makes this especially valuable is that beyond simply describing the various configurations it also suggests an acceptable effect range for each ranged weapon style. An energy pistol with a rank range of 4 to 6 differs from a rifle configuration with ranks between 8 and 10 for instance. Melee weapon damage ranges are left out however, which is an issue in my mind, but each also gains suggested modifiers based on the style of the weapon. A short list of generic modifiers for all of these weapons is also included.
Closing Thoughts
Gadget Guide: Energy Weapons doesn't bring us any new, expanded, or revised game mechanics, but it does bring five solid pages of discussion on the topic. Diving deeply into the descriptors of various types of energy weapons as well as the various forms those weapons can take, this Guide provides the tools needed to build a wide variety of energy weapons. It's strength in this regard is the quality of the descriptor discussions, and weapons configurations. If this Guide has a weakness it is its lack of new or expanded rules content, but as it stands that weakness is a minor one buoyed by the strength of the remainder of the product.
Rating: 85% - A good guide to energy weapons in various forms and types.
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