Saturday, August 31, 2013

Review & Commentary On ' A Wretched Catalogue of Gear' From Thomas Weigel A Free OSR Resource For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaigns


Get It For Free Right Over HERE
There are times when a group of mutants, space adventurers, and other PC types need more then the average equipment found in the various rule books. This is where this great little book comes in.
This book has a literal metric tonnage of equipment.
This is a very  cool little PDF that can be used with mostly any OSR game.
According to the Description: 
A free resource in the style of the Wretched Menagerie series.
Four-cubit pole, 1/2" rope, braziers, concealed vest pockets for a thief, bucket, hourglass, small hatchet . . . bits and bobs of gear useful to dungeoneers (and short wilderness jaunts) of all sorts, and more than you can reasonably carry.
Contains over 100 general types of gear, and lots of sub-types, arranged for ease of discovery and use. Note that most core rule books for OSR games have some portion of this list already (although there are extremly useful items like charcoal, flour, wheelbarrows, stools, umbrellas, and similar that have been foolishly ignored elsewhere). This manuscript is more useful for its brief descriptions and "all in one place" quality than gonzo equipment.
About a Wretched Miscellany: Written in a compact (some would say cramped) style with minimal fuss and no art, each manuscript in this series follows the basic style of the a Wretched Menagerie series, but for some other sort of item, such as spells, gear, or magic items. Unlike the menagerie, these are more often one-off dishes, offered to complete offerings found elsewhere.

 Using '
A Wretched Catalogue of Gear From Thomas Weigel' In Your Space Based OSR Campaigns 
A Wretched Catalogue of Gear
 This is a great resources to use with all of the retroclones on the market as well as an equipment resource for those 'failed colonies that seem to make appearances throughout science fiction. This is a perfect index of such items for a game like Mutant Future as well.
With the rerelease of the original Traveler this isn't a bad resource to have in your back pocket when players want to go from OD&D to Traveler. A DM should always have a back up for monsters and equipment. The variety of items also indicates the variety of cultures among the stars of the universe.
These items are also useful for showing adventurers who have come before the PCs. Grab this one and get to peppering your expediations in various locals with more then the average 'ten foot pole
'.
This is a very nicely thought out book of  equipment that has a variety of uses in game. Best of all is the price tag.
Free 

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