| From: | Tzeentch tzeentch666@*********.net |
|---|---|
| Subject: | -REVIEW- Cannon Companion |
| Date: | Mon, 10 Apr 2000 18:22:39 -0700 |
Distilled: The "Cannon" part of this SR3 sourcebook ranges from the dull to
the ill-thought out while the "Companion" part contains the best rules
expansions to the game I've seen so far.
Rating: 5/10 (without the lame "gunz" material it would have been a 7/10)
The Cannon Companion is the newest sourcebook for FASA Corporations
burgeoning Shadowrun, Third Edition line. It attempts to compile and update
every weapon from previous sourcebooks in the First and Second Edition as
well as provide additional gear and rules for a variety of other subjects.
The title Cannon Companion is actually somewhat misleading, since
comparatively little of the book actually deals with firearms specifically.
In fact, only about half of the book deals with weapons at all. This lack of
focus is clearly evident in the overall usefulness of several sections (see
below). Although something in CC will appeal to almost every player -
everyone is bound to feel disappointed about the lack of information, depth,
or research on any one particular section.
I will cover the book from front to back, starting from the cover and
working to the back blurb. I will mainly be looking at:
1. Content: What does the section cover?
2. Art: How does the art look? Is it relevant to the section? Does the
artist display any strange breast fetish (*cough* Steve Prescott *cough*)?
3. Usefulness: How applicable is this to a game? Are the rules simple enough
to be easily integrated? Do the rules even make sense? Do they contradict
previous material from other SR3 books?
4. Technical accuracy: Shadowrun has a well-known problem with coherency and
even basic research. This is well known (or should be) so I'll try not to
point out problems that are a result of the Shadowrun system itself. But I
will try to point out basic flaws in research or even simple logic.
5. Other: Any other pearls of wisdom I throw into this will show up here.
THE COVER
Content
The cover appears to be by the same guy who does the VOR covers (Paul
Bonner). It might as well be a VOR cover. Same over-the-top comic styling.
It
depicts a troll (a very SHORT troll with a HUGE head) followed by some
ghoul-looking human who appears to have some intestinal problem. The troll
is firing some obscenely large belt-fed weapon into what appears to be a
sewer entrance. There are also several gears in the picture with no apparent
purpose.
Art
I covered this in the "content" section. Suffice to say it's even more
cartoonish then the Shadowrun, Third Edition cover. If you don't like the
new direction with Shadowrun covers you definitely won't like this one
either. If I had to assign a label to it, I'd place the new direction in
cover art as distinctly Warhammer 40,000-like.
Usefulness
A troll wearing tiger striped pants carrying an huge "gunz". I guess it fits
the title. Hmm, I notice the human in the background appears to have no
teeth - that might be symbolic of something - dunno.
Technical Accuracy
The trolls head is VASTLY out of proportion to the rest of his body. He
appears to be a midget of his metatype. His legs don't appear capable of
carrying even his upper body, much less the cannon he is holding.
Other
What is UP with the move to "four-color" style covers and art? It just looks
goofy and usually has less then nothing to do with anything in the Shadowrun
world.
TABLE OF CONTENTS AND CREDITS
Content
The table of contents are well laid out and intelligently organized.
Art
What art?
Usefulness
Very useful.
Technical Accuracy
As far as I can tell the page references are accurate.
Other
The usual cast of characters makes its appearance here. I've been told very
little of the playtest feedback was actually incorporated into this book -
so don't blame the playtesters if you don't like stuff from the book.
INTRODUCTION
Content
Brief overview of the sections in the book. Mike Mulvihill's "Developer's
Say" section.
Art
None
Usefulness
Not very enlightening.
Technical Accuracy
No bogus technical reasoning this time. Brief overview of why there are not
more guns in the book. That's about it.
Other
Read it once, you'll never look at it again.
MELEE WEAPONS
Content
Edged weapons, clubs, pole arms, and improvised weapons.
Art
One full-page piece that has nothing to do with the section (other then one
guy has a katana and the other has a mace). the other picture is a cropped
version of another piece in the book. No pictures of ANY of the weapons.
Usefulness
Mainly reprints of previously existing material. Some of the stuff (like the
macauitl) are more for "fluff" interest then actual usefulness.
Technical Accuracy
Well, we still have the infamous Centurion laser axe from SSC and now we
have vibro blades. Dunno if the authors are big fans of Rifts or what.
Other
Ugh. Well, other then the laser axe and vibro-blades I did not see anything
too far outside the realm of possibility. The macauitl seems a bit
overpowered given its purpose in real life (it was not designed to kill
necessarily).
PROJECTILE AND THROWING WEAPONS
Content
Covers arrowheads and bow accessories, slingshots, caltrops, and even
bodies.
Art
One little tiny piece of art that looks like they scanned it right off a
SRCCG card. It's very dark. Nothing special anyways - just a guy holding a
bow.
Usefulness
Well, I've never played a game with bow-users. Nor have I ever had the urge
to break out a slingshot or go dwarf-tossing so this section had no
usefulness for me other then a brief chuckle at the entry for using
metahuman bodies as improvised weapons. Once that wore off I note I'll
probably never use this section again.
Technical Accuracy
Explosive warheads on an arrow... I'm sure it's technically possible (if
VERY unlikely) but it just smacks of someone watching too much Rambo and
thinking "dem' dere explodin' arrows are cool!"
Other
Why no notes on tire damage from caltrops?
FIREARMS
Content
Pretty much every weapon from previous books and a few new ones. All updated
to SR3 stats. Format is a really short blurb with actual stats at the bottom
of the page (usually).
Art
There are 10 small single-gun illustrations and two larger illustrations (1
full page, 1 half-page). Only one looks like it belongs in Shadowrun. None
of the gun pictures bear any resemblance to how guns look in real life. And
one in particular looks like two different pictures cut and pasted together
(p. 21). The full page pic on p. 17 (the gunshop) is amusing but has little
to do with Shadowrun (unless gun stores in SR sell vindicators and grenades
to everyone).
In short, I'm glad there is not more of this stuff.
Usefulness
Well, if you like how SR models its weapon damages you'll love this stuff.
It has a few new toys, most of which add nothing new. I noted a new fetish
for polymer/resin construction and flechettes though. A high number of the
weapons in here are one or both.
One VERY annoying passage was the description for the Ruger Thunderbolt.
Now, why Lone Star would harass someone for owning one (it can be bought
with a permit) absolutely boggles me. Do cops now harass those who own their
model of service weapon? It's yet another cheap blow at Lone Star to make
them cookie-cutter adversaries.
Technical Accuracy
Nobody at FASA has yet figured out how their damage modeling is messed up.
High power weapons penetrate armor better - its a function of how the system
works. But we still have pistols that can penetrate armor easier then
assault rifles.
Still absolutely no plausible reason the "same" gun is available as both
caseless and cased versions. The technologies used are quite different, and
will result in weapons having VERY little in common except maybe name.
And the final problem is weapons like LMGs. There is no reason why their
damage code should be higher then that of an assault rifle. You can't even
apply the "barrel length" argument to this. Even games like Rifts get this
right.
Nothing wrong with the taser rules, but there are "phasers" out now that are
more high-tech and interesting.
The M24A3 water carbine... I'll cut and paste Raygun's comment here since he
summed it up better then me:
-->BEGIN QUOTE
"This is definitely a contestant for the FASA We Don't Know Jack Squat, But
This Sure Does Sound Cool award.
Here come the dissection... Okay we're firing regular ammunition under
water.
Not a problem, really. It can be done rather easily. Does it need some fancy
and unnecessarily complex pressurized chamber which draws air from the
DIVER'S FREAKING AIR SUPPLY? No. It does not. Not if the weapon uses cased
ammunition.
In this case, the only thing you need to be sure of is that the firing pin
hits the ass end of the primer cap with enough force to cause it to ignite
the powder charge. The explosion is contained within the sealed case. Once
the bullet starts moving forward, it pushed water out of its way. Behind the
bullet is a definite area of overpressure pushing the bullet. That will keep
water out of the barrel until the pressure drops, which will be long after
the bullet has left the muzzle.
"But I want my caseless ammunition!" Great. Then use the unnecessarily
complicated and expensive piece of garbage some FASA writer **** out. (How
much does it cost, BTW? I'll wager that it's stupid-cheap.) [Ed. It costs
1,000 nuyen]
Basically, if you seal off the section of the receiver where the hammer
strikes the firing pin (so its forward momentum isn't interrupted by water
in its path), you could use an M-16 under water without problems. It ain't
really that big a deal.
If they didn't rework ranges for this wonderful contraption, they missed out
on the big problem with firing conventional ammunition underwater. With
5.56mm NATO (Which is what I'm going to assume this weapon fires), you'll
get about 15-20 meters before the bullet starts yawing and losing energy due
to the added drag of water, which will cause accuracy to drop substantially.
That's plenty of range though, considering visibility is probably going to
be far less than that."
-->END QUOTE
Other
Adds very little to Shadowrun. Most of the weapons are cookie-cutters with
no redeeming differences.
HEAVY WEAPONS
Content
Has machineguns and cannons, grenades and mortars, missile and rocket
launchers, and then specialized launchers.
Art
There is one, count it one original picture in this chapter (which is quite
good btw). The other is a...full page black and white version of the cover!
The one new picture is an action scene.
Usefulness
If you were expecting Cannon Companion to "fix" the group munchkins favorite
weapon you are out of luck. Essentially these are updates of gear from
Fields of Fire.
Technical Accuracy
Still have the Whacky Panther Assault Cannon (tm) (now with anti-vehicle
ammo!). And the ever-wierd Ballista backpack rocket launcher and the new
(?) Vogeljager backpack SAM launcher. Still no reason for these to exist,
but
hey, at least the art in FoF was nice.
Other
The M79B1 LAW is based (obviously!) on the old M72 LAW
(http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m72.htm). Nice touch, too bad the
M72 was actually ineffective in its actual intended role.
Two of the charts are screwed up (the one on p. 27 and the one on
p. 28).
SPECIAL WEAPONS
Content
Flame-throwers, laser weapons, "miscellaneous."
Art
What's that? Not a single illustration.
Usefulness
As much as people were enthusing over the flame-thrower rules I did not
think
they were anything people could not have came up with on their own. Still,
it's nice to see. Also has gyrojets, which I'm not glad to see.
Technical Accuracy
I can't see a big problem with the laser part, except they really go
overboard on laser capabilities. The ignore Ballistic armor, 1/2 Impact
armor is pretty bogus and overpowering - especially considering they are not
treated as AV weapons.
Other
The gyrojet...ugh. nice to see someone read about them (they were dumped in
the 1970s). But someone was watching too much "Runaway" when designing this.
A few minor spelling errors (laser sentence of the Laser Weapons
sentence on p. 30).
FIREARM ACCESSORIES
Content
Bayonets to target designators.
Art
Two pics. one that looks like another SRCCG scan, and a REALLY goofy one on
p. 34 that appears to show some sort of external arm holding the top of a
Panther (another note that noone has drawn that weapon the same).
Usefulness
Pretty useful actually.
Technical Accuracy
The Safe Target System sounds badly written and with worse
science handwaving then is usual. Let me get this straight, somehow this
system (based on location via GPS) can know when you aim at someone...uhh.
Pass that by me again, anyone else see the problem with that? It's just
plain handwaving, and saying it does it via GPS is pretty ridiculous when
you think about it. A system similar to this could probably be constructed
but what's the point?
Look before you shoot, don't point your weapon at anything you do not intend
to shoot: #1 rule of firearms safety.
Other
The extended range laser site.. Wow that aimpoint has to be pretty big to be
noticeable over 500 meters away (at night).
AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES
Content
Ammunition types and explosives.
Art
One full-page and two smaller pieces. All three are pretty good.
Usefulness
Your groups munchkins will be all over this chapter. Oddly enough you can't
actually "build" claymores. The directional mine option does not really jive
with how claymores work.
Technical Accuracy
Where to begin? The Anti-Vehicle rounds are not well thought-out ("solid
bronze core" eh?) and seemingly only exist as a band-aid to the problems
with
the vehicle combat rules. They appear to be based on SLAP (Saboted Light
Armor Piercing) ammo but unlike SLAP this is based on nothing but an idea
that was "k00l".
Glazers. Wow, hope Glaser does not hear about this. I THINK its supposed to
be based on Glaser Safety Rounds, but these don't work anything like real
glasers. Essentially these are "exploding bullets".
Hi-C. Egads, what were they thinking! A densiplast round (case too I guess)
with a more powerful propellant charge so that is "almost as damaging as
regular rounds". This doubles the recoil penalty. Now, how the weapon can
handle that is beyond me, this in addition to the fact that plastic cases
are not normally seen as an possibility. Even so, this round would shatter
FAR easier then a metal projectile. I'd use the highest of either Ballistic
or Impact armor and DOUBLE the value.
Mercury rounds. Uhm, these apparently explode like the "glazers". Only thing
I've seen on the net about this is using mercury fulminate. And that reacts
with lead and becomes inert. But you can get around that obviously. Still
have problems believing its powerful enough to matter though. In real life,
exploding rounds of this type are designed to increase round fragmentation -
not blow up in a freakin' fireball.
Tracker rounds. Make up your mind! There are far better ways to plant a
tracker then by shooting at them. Not even very useful against game animals.
Assuming the tracking device even survives the impact! And pray tell how
long is the battery life on the little monster? Or even what its Flux Rating
is?!
Bola rounds for shotguns. These are a gimmick (I've actually used these and
Dragonsbreath ammo (which the "Temper" rounds are based on). Don't believe
the hype.
Shock Lock rounds. Frangible ammunition. This is new?
AV assault cannon round. Gee, now the Panther gets AV capability!
Gyrojet rounds. Seeking 6mm rockets that do 12M or 12M AV/APDS. Fun.
Other
Some of these ammo types did not have much thought applied to them. Others,
like the mines are actually pretty cool.
ARMOR AND GEAR
Content
"Fashionable" armor, military armor, battletac, tactical communications,
parachutes, diving gear.
Art
One full-age and two smaller pics. The full page pic shows a business man
burnt to a crisp but his suit is still wrinkle free. One shows a
cyberzombie(?) catching an explosion full-brunt and the last shows a guy who
pulls the ripcord on his parachute and it breaks.
Usefulness
Very useful actually. I quite enjoyed the armor fashions, and parachutes
were cool.
Technical Accuracy
Military-grade armor STILL is written so that no military would ever use it!
They should just have ditched it like they did the Stonewall. But nope,
still stuck with body armor that has better armor then some armored
vehicles. AV
ammo reduces its effectiveness, but that's a whole other can of worms.
Satellite links. Still stuck in the 80's (they just used the text from
Fields of Fire). Nobody there heard of Iridium? And yet *another* bogus
reference to
"hacking" satellites.
Other
Other then the so-called "military" grade armor this section is actually
VERY nice.
APPLIED SIMSENSE
Content
Skillsofts, BTLs, and PAB.
Art
Some of the best art in the book. Prescott shines here. From the first
picture on page. 58 to the chick being "reprogrammed" on p. 70. I liked
every piece (especially the hopped up dwarf on p. 62). There is one
full-page, one large half-page and and one smaller pic (hopped-up dwarf).
Usefulness
Wow. Some of the options verge on munchkin but there is enough here to
really flesh out people who are heavy users/abusers of skillsofts at the
very least. BTLs are handled nicely (if a bit too on the numbers side), and
PABs are the same as they were in Shadowbeat.
Technical Accuracy
Who knows?! The only note is that in base VR2 psychotropic black IC is
VASTLY more effective then PAB - which is yet another one of Shadowruns
incongruities.
Other
The PAB section is right out of Shadowbeat. Come on guys, you could at least
have changed the example so it did not look QUITE so much like a cut and
paste.
FIREARM DESIGN AND CUSTOMIZATION
Content
Building and modifying firearms.
Art
One full page picture (ork guy with a head in a bag), and other half-page of
a guy modifying a SMG.
Usefulness
Hmm. Well don't expect to be able to build any of the canon firearms using
these rules - you probably won't be able to. And that's part of the problem.
It's like this system exists in a vacuum. It's NOT a "Rigger 2" for weapons
by any stretch.
Technical Accuracy
Nothing overtly wrong from a consistency standpoint. Some of the base times
for weapon mods seem WAY too long. A bipod takes 8 hours to install? Geeze,
just get one that clips on! Why do extended clips take a modification time?
It's just a longer clip..Geeze. The desire to give extensive base times and
target numbers for even the most banal task was a bit too much, but use some
common sense (in short supply I know).
There are also the (now well known) problems with building tasers with the
rules and the whacked DP costs for items such as gas vents (which are FAR
cheaper bought after design). And then there is weapon weights and
Concealability - which can range from WAY too high to WAY too low.
Other
Despite some warnings at the beginning, I don't see this system as being too
much like Spud's Firearm Creation Guide or even Diamants Gun Production
Line. I'd go so far as to say its not even competition since they focus on
different aspects and the Cannon Companion version does even pretend to be
realistic or even self-consistent.
I won't be using this stuff except in a general way (and even then its a BIG
maybe). This chapter is probably the one that most groups will decide right
off if they will use it or not.
ADVANCED MELEE COMBAT
Content
Martial arts rules and advanced melee rules.
Art
One full page of a John Woo style kickfest (looks like wire-fu time!), a
smaller pic of a cyber-ninja (of course), and a small pic of a guy who looks
like he wire-fu'd some guy off a building with an open hand strike.
Usefulness
Uhm. Well if you dislike the attitude that "martial arts is just
better...well....because its COOL!" then you won't like this section much.
Martial arts are superior to normal brawling and boxing in pretty much every
way. If you have groups with lots of twinks I suggest thinking really hard
about whether you want to introduce this.
Technical Accuracy
It's been pointed out that the martial arts categories listed are incorrect.
I'm not a martial arts buff so I cannot comment.
Other
The system is generic and easy enough to modify to be easily used with your
own house system - expect to see a lot of house rule martial arts systems
that are based on these guidelines. Is it realistic or detailed? Not in the
least - but it does have enough good ideas to spark a gamemasters own ideas.
ADVANCED COMBAT RULES
Content
Ambidexterity, armor degradation, athletics and dodging, camouflage, cover
modifiers, fire and incendiaries, holding weapons, indirect fire, rates of
fire, missile combat, parachuting, recoil and strength, and more!
Art
One full page picture and two half page illustrations. All three are very
nice, although I thought the third one (two divers) looked a bit twonky for
some reason. The first illustration points out that Prescott REALLY has an
fascination with womens breasts ;) Laura Croft move over. I'm assuming the
chick in the first picture has some sort of spinal reinforcement.
Usefulness
Wow. If there is not at least two things in this section you cannot
immediately apply to an ongoing game I will be VERY surprised. At the very
least all gamemasters should look over the new "Searching Fire" and
"Suppressive Fire" rules.
The diving section reprints and expands the material from Cyberpirates to a
great deal. Some of the way they handled weapons and the like is a
bit...strange. But its fairly simplistic (probably the point).
I don't know where to begin, about the only things I personally have ZERO
use for are the Ambidexterity rules (which are pretty useless) and the
Signature Weapon rules.
Technical Accuracy
Supermachineguns are still pretty lame from a realism standpoint, but its a
lot better then their previous incarnation in Fields of Fire.
Other
I like this section a lot. I'm especially enamoured with the revamped Small
Unit Tactics and Missile rules. The new suppressive and searching fire rules
fill in some glaring holes in the combat system, and the new parachuting and
underwater rules are a nice touch.
EQUIPMENT TABLES
Nice. What else can you say?
BACK
Wow, another reprinted art piece, this time from the SR3 rulebook.
Ken
---------------------------
There's a war out there, old friend, a world war. And it's not about who's
got the most bullets, it's about who controls the information. What we see
and hear, how we work, what we think, it's all about the information!
Cosmo, 'Sneakers'
