Review: Crawl! No. 8: Firearms!

I received my copy of issue 8 of Crawl! last week and I was very impressed.  First off, people were showing pictures of the cover, but this is a wraparound cover.  +Jason Sholtis is credited for this fantastic cover.  You have to see it in all its glory.

Being a zine man myself I really appreciate how this issue is put together.  The cardstock quality, the paper quality is all excellent.  The print and pictures are crisp and defined.  Font is a good size, easy on the eye.  Inside there is 15 pieces of line drawn art that reflect the topics well.  The layout is simple and easy to read. 

Content by article:
Firepower!  by Reverend Dak aka +Dak Ultimak
I found this article to be the center piece of the zine.  Dak provides a lot of interest rules/options when introducing firearms into your fantasy campaign.  He plays with the DCC ruleset to his advantage.  His critical hit rule could be a game changer.  I like it enough to add it as a critical hit option for my own game.   This is a fantastic article that provides the GM with the information to add firearms without unbalancing the game.

From Gold to Guns by +Mike Evans and that Dak dude
In this article you get more into the crunch of that stats of the guns.   Mike provides a little flavor/history for the firearms.  They are broken down into four eras.  The first era has black powder weapons, the second is old west style guns, third era takes on modern weaponry and the fourth era is the future of guns.  Each weapon is stated out, damage, rate of fire, range and cost.  Excellent and complete article.

Invasion by the Dak dude again.
This is an article where Dak provides you a toolkit introduce firearms into a DCC campaign.  Any fantasy campaign really.  He provides you five tables to use your weird Zocchi dice.
1. Who they are!
2. Where they come from!
3. What they want!
4.Who they brought with them!
5. What they brought with them!
Five dice rolls and you've got all sorts of new trouble and tech to introduce to your players.

Appendix I: Invaders! by Mike Evans
Mike provides you with five types of invaders stated out that you can plug in to your DCC campaign and he did the work.

Appendix R: References
A list of RPG references to check out if you want further inspiration for firearms in your game.  Boothill is one I've never played, but one I always wanted to try.

Appendix S: Submissions
The Six Shooter by +Austin Schaefer
A magic revolver with random bullet effects.  There is a random table to determine what occurs when the trigger is pulled.  I would not want to be on the receiving end of that puppy.  It's a good example of how to meld the technology of firearms with the realm of magic and whimsy.

Explosives and Bombs by  +Christian Sturke  "Rorschachhamster"
This needed to be in here.  Gunpower without explosions is like pizza without cheese.  My players would cry if I didn't let them blow up things...and people.  Chris provides very simple and playable options to introducing bombs and powder kegs into your game.  Add some nails into your keg and have a party.

Appendix T: Firearms Critical Table & Firearms Fumble Table by +SA Mathis
A critical hit and miss tables for DCC.   Lots of inventive nastiness in these tables.  One of my favorites is 'Target is shot in the face.  Jaw is dislocated.  Add +1d10 damage and the target takes 1d4 Personality damage."  Ouch.

This issue of Crawl! is amazingly packed with a ton of information.  I could easily get guns into my campaign with this issue alone.  Most of you already have a copy, but those who don't please head on over CRAWL! and grab a copy for $3.99 for US, $4.99 Canada and $5.99 for the rest of the world.  Print is always best, but if you are one of those tablet, PDF reading monkeys you can grab a copy at, RPGNow.