Every good adventurer needs a trusty weapon. Not only for killing things and taking their stuff - a good weapon is an essential fashion accessory for all dungeon crawlers. Armed and Dangerous presents a selection of enhancements that you can use to spice up your favorite orc sticker.

The enhancements found in this product come in both mundane and magical varieties; there are seven mundane options, and 11 magical options. There are some interesting options presented such as mundane collapsible weapons, or the magical diseased property.

There are some problems with this product. The first of these is relatively minor: the flavor text runs right up to the end of a description, with no clear separation between it and rules text. This makes it a bit difficult to note the properties of an enhancement at a glance.

Of potentially greater concern are issues of balance ? particularly of the magical enhancements. Several of these feature a pricey +2 bonus, but provide very little actual effect, while others just don't seem to fit as weapon enhancements. Brilliant weapons would seem to require you to focus most of your attention on your weapon, and not the battle; while the Reflective property is more traditionally found on shields. These problems particularly stand out when compared to options like the mundane Weighted enhancement ? which increases a weapon's damage die type, and for the bargain price of only four times the weapon's base cost; there's also the magical Concealment property, which grants a +8 skill bonus, and is only a +1 enhancement.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: New options for weapons.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Repeated spelling and grammatical errors.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

?Armed and Dangerous? is a tightly focused product that should be easily identifiable as noteworthy by those with an interest in bringing more robust variations to the equipping of characters. The Open Game License requires one page of text. When the half page image on the front cover is taken into account, this product has just over six full pages of content. You can view the image on this products main page.

Mundane Weapon Special Property Descriptions Each special property is described with three paragraphs of text which is followed by a statement of the additional cost for adding the special property during item creation. At least one paragraph provides the default historical flavor text. This includes what race is renowned for crafting this property and some of the history behind its development. The second paragraph builds more of the history or describes the uniqueness of a weapon with the special property. The third paragraph identifies the property?s impact on game mechanics.

Each of the seven special properties are interesting and can make item creation and equipment selection more interesting. A devious dungeon master might also use some of these properties for the benefit of the players? adversaries.

Magical Weapon Special Ability Descriptions Each special ability is described with three paragraphs of text which is followed by the magic item creation notations in the format followed in the Dungeon Master?s Guide. This format consists of aura, caster level, prerequisites, and the weapon bonus equivalent used to ascertain the cost. The substance of the three paragraphs are divided similarly to the special properties descriptions.

The development of these eleven special abilities further expands the options available to the enterprising craftsperson. Some may find that not all of the special abilities are right for them. For example, rather than rely on the ?unbreakable? special ability, I would prefer to enhance the currently available item statistics, such as hardness. However, even the ?unbreakable? ability had me wondering about different ways to incorporate the destruction of items into a game session. Each of these concepts generates these thoughts and will likely result in some brainstorming of new scenarios.

Buyers should note that the heading for the ?Horrific? weapon special ability is not correctly formatted. At first glance you may assume it is missing, but it is contained in the product.

Overall, if you have an interest in expanding weapon features, this product is a shot in the arm. Given its brevity, it greatest benefit might be providing the impetus for developing your own lists of properties and abilities.

To rousing gaming and ample rewards, I. Perez <br><br> <b>LIKED</b>:

1. Very focused on weapons.
2. Delivers exactly what is promised.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>:
3. Some of the special abilities have the feel of feats, such as weapon stealing. <br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>