Pyramid Review
Van Richten's Arsenal (for d20)
Published by White Wolf Game Studio (Sword & Sorcery Studios)
Edited by Joseph D. Carriker, Jr.
160 b&w pages; $24.95
A long time ago in an edition far away, there was a sourcebook for Ravenloft that provided the players options to customize their characters. That book, Champions of the Mist, has the best elements updated to 3rd edition in Van Richten's Arsenal.
Broken up into six chapters with an Appendix, Van Richten's Arsenal provides new mundane and magical items and equipment, rules for alchemy, feats, prestige classes, spells, and methods for hunting the different types of monsters that inhabit Ravenloft. In short, it provides an arsenal. Each chapter has fiction separate from the game terminology, which allows gamers who don't like the d20 system to at least get a good read.
Chapter 1, "Stakes and Silver," provides the mundane items useful in hunting the creatures of the night. This section includes new weapons like the retractable blade, the cane dagger and cane rapier, as well as a return of the old blunderbuss and the exotic dragon pack. The dragon pack is similar in concept to a squirt gun but instead fires acid, alchemist's fire, holy water, or other potent liquid. One of the innovations here though is the weapon modifications. These changes, like barbs and heating weapons, can be used on multiple types of weapons, and represent a different thinking in terms of making unique items. More variety in unusual materials would . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 28, 2002
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