A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #24: Weapon Modifications

Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #24: Weapon Modifications is a role playing game supplement published by Skirmisher Publishing for use with the Mutant Future system. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. The Wisdom from the Wastelands series introduces new options for the Mutant Future game; in this case optional modifications for weapons.

The PDF is available from RPGNow for $0.99 and is also included in the Wisdom from the Wastelands Issues 1-52 Bundle for $27.74. It was purchased as part of a special bundle for only $0.01. This is a seven page PDF of which one page is the Open Game License and front matter and one page an ad for other supplements.

The first section of the supplement is Ammunition. There are some standard types, such as armour piercing, bean bag, hollow points etc, but a few more unusual ones, namely cold, electrical and toxic.

Next is arrows and bolts, for more primitive weapons. Again, these are mostly standard, but there are some unusual ones of the same type as in ammunition, as well as incendiary and explosive, which are not really standard for such either.

A substantial table of weapon modifications follows. There are different types, suitable for different weapon types, with different effects, such as increased damage, range, rate of fire and accuracy.

Optional firearm ammunition types has different weights for firearm ammunition, which do different amounts of damage. These aren’t really modifications as such; they are alterations to existing firearms that make a .50 cal. weapon do a lot more damage than a .22.

Sights and scopes can be fitted to weapons to increase aiming ability; this is not just an improvement to hit rolls, but also includes scopes such as laser, infrared and X-ray, as well as more standard alterations.

A new drug improves aiming ability and there are two new accessories, a power holster that launches a handgun into the wielder’s hand and a more simple fast draw holster.

Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #24: Weapon Modifications in Review

The PDF is bookmarked and has a hyperlinked table of contents as well, making navigation above average for a short supplement.

The text maintains a two column format, outside of the tables, and no errors were noticed. The illustrations are Skirmisher’s common stock images tweaked to look more like illustrations. Presentation is as a result okay but not special.

There are references to other supplements in the range, with several for #1: Artifacts, Manuals, and Toolkits, and the modifications are stated as being suitable for the core rulebook weapons as well as for #3: High-Tech Weapons and #9: High-Tech Weapons 2 (and probably #46: High-Tech Weapons 4, although that had not been published at this point).

There are a wide range of different adjustments that can be used to make the wasteland warrior’s weapons more lethal; the Mutant Lord should perhaps be a bit cautious about just how many of these modifications a character can get their hands on (and remember giving them to an NPC is often just a slow way of handing such out to a player).

Still, this is a nice supplement that enhances the options available for weaponry in both the core rulebook and in this series of supplements. Wisdom from the Wastelands Issue #24: Weapon Modifications can be found by clicking here.