d20 Modern Questions

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I am hoping to start a campaign with a total bend towards realism. Thus, no magic, no magical beasts, or psionics. Basically it will be "hollywood" realism (think roleplaying through the "Die Hard" movie). With that in mind, which books would be worth my time?

I appreciate the help. Nothing is more frustrating than plunking down a lot of cash, then reading through the book and realizing that you will use nothing at all from it.

-Dross

I might suggest Black Light, Hot Springs (red neck Mafia!), Pale Horse Coming and Havana (spooks, interrogator/machine gun wielding maniac, mafiosi ... all teaming up to get you!) by Stephen Hunter.

Absolute Rage (by I don't know who) was also great. On the one side, organized crime hicks. On the other side, Vietnamese mobsters. Freaking brilliant.

Or the Crime Trade ... I forget who the author is, but he's freaking good!

Almost anything by Elmore Leonard. I particularly liked Tishomingo Blues or (for less combat) Get Shorty and Be Cool. Chili Palmer is a master manipulator.

Amazonia (by James Rollins) - I literally turned that book into an adventure. The whole time I was reading it, I was assigning class levels to the characters A lot of the villains die after only a short time "on-screen" but I just re-wrote the plot to have unnamed villains die instead and have all the named villains present for the battle royale. Six named villains vs four PCs ... heh heh heh. This one is a tad realistic, but Rollins actually goes to pains to explain how the unrealistic things come about. Ice Hunt (or whatever) also has some sweet combat scenes at the beginning.

Or, really, pretty much any fiction book you like. Read the inside cover. It'll be pretty obvious if there's going to be lots of action.

 

[Ranger REG]

I am hoping to start a campaign with a total bend towards realism. Thus, no magic, no magical beasts, or psionics. Basically it will be "hollywood" realism (think roleplaying through the "Die Hard" movie). With that in mind, which books would be worth my time?

I appreciate the help. Nothing is more frustrating than plunking down a lot of cash, then reading through the book and realizing that you will use nothing at all from it.

You mean "in addition to the Core Rulebook?"

Ultramodern Firearms d20 (Charles Ryan/Green Ronin Publishing)
d20 Military Vehicles (Maj. Rich Spainhour/Guardians of Oder)

 

[arscott]

The Menace Manual is a good choice. Though a third of it is dedicated to Monsters, the remaining two thirds (covering NPCs and Organizations) are great for Non FX campaigns.