Alternity Arms & Equipment Guide is an accessory for Alternity and Star*Drive that may be used with or without the Star*Drive Campaign Setting.. This book requires both the Alternity Player's Handbook and Alternity Gamemaster Guide for play. 0786912154

What could have a rather boring list of item game statistics is rather humorously written as if it were a set of catalogs from the 26th century, all your planet-busting, alien-bursting needs in one-stop shopping. Campaign tips for equipment use begin each "catalog." Compact tables of armor, weapons, vehicle, and cybernetic gear are in the back of the book, but the sections with their creative item names and descriptions are fun too.

First up we have the Rigunmor Star Consortium Merchant Exchange, specializing in clothes, medical supplies, professional equipment, and miscellaneous gear. The "Merchant Exchange" runs a little toward sales hype, and the species-oriented language advertising various alien-tailored garments is a hoot. VoidCorp's Compucatalog is a limited guide to your communications, sensor, computer, and personal cybernetic implantation needs (for an in-depth treatment of computers, robots, and cyber gear, try Alternity's Dataware book). If you're looking for that Sirocco 100 Stutter Rifle or simply a HeadBuster Power Cestus, you'll find it in the wide array of personal mayhem and armors in the Merrick's Personal Security Report--by far the largest portion of the book. Finally, all other "outdoor gear," including spacesuits, vehicles, and temporary shelters, is in the EdgeTech Outfitter's Catalog.

Sure, you could make up all your own item statistics--or you could get on with your game. With 96 pages of ready-to-go equipment stats, this book lets you do exactly that. A worthwhile purchase.

--Sharon Daugherty