13 More Mecha Devices is more of the same, but also a little extra. It is visually identical to it's predecessor; clean and functional. There are some pretty uninspired devices among it's repetoire, as is to be expected from a typical Phil Reed "workhorse" product. These devices (like the "Fire-Fighting Gear" or "Stabilization Spikes") are pretty obvious designs or ones that already exist in the mecha genre. However, it is always useful to have such items statted up in d20 Future format, and it is especially nice to have such gear as open gaming content.
13 More Mecha Devices offers more than just "workhorse" gear, however... it contains a number of innovative new features that sets it above 13 Mecha Devices. The first of these are the two new types of Mechs... Six-Legged and Armless. I had trouble understanding the "armless" concept at first, but I eventually came to understand that one sacrificed a mech's arms and hands and replaced them with a dedicated weapon. I think the rules text could use some work on this one, perhaps by changing the name of the slots granted by the hardpoints (but stating they are "compatible" with arm slots). Still, this mech type brings to mind the old Mad Cat mech from Mechwarrior... my favourite walking war machine. These two new mech types make 13 More Mecha Devices worth the price of admission. Another innovation of note is the Quake missile... something that should also be statted up for vehicles.
13 More Mecha Devices once again references the "Medium-sized Mecha" introduced in Future: Datastream 06.2005 and Future: 13 Starship Cargos. I think Phil really missed out on a decent cross-marketing opportunity by not mentioning these sources for the Medium-sized Mecha. The concept alone makes me interested enough to want to buy either PDF, but I only know about where it comes from because I asked. Not every customer will think to do so.
On the whole, 13 More Mecha Devices is a very decent PDF for fans of d20 Future's mech rules.
How it earned the 3: Interesting new ideas, overall useful devices, low price.
What kept it from earning a 5: Occasional unoriginal design, slightly unclear rules text for Armless Mecha.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Usefulness<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Occasional unoriginal design<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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