Just Bought the D20 Modern Core Rulebook: Guardian Earth Concept!

[Vigilance]

There's always Blood and Fists for martial arts and Blood and Guts for military.

Since you asked for 3rd party product and all.

Chuck

 

[The Shaman]

As for 3rd party books: The Modern Players Companion by The Game Mechanics & Green Ronin is essential, it feels almost like missing sections from the core book that should have been there all along.

I can't echo this strongly enough - MPC is core in my games.

One thing that UMF has that Weapons Locker lacks, and that make UMF worth the money IMHO, are some nifty feats - I'm fond of Fast heroes with Reactive Shooter for example.

I don't regret buying d20 Future but I don't know that I'll ever use 95% of what's in the book, so I can't really recommend it.

Don't forget to download the free web enhancements for Modern at the WotC site and on The Game Mechanics' website.

 

[HeapThaumaturgist]

I've got the Modern Player's Companions ... don't know as I've USED them that much. I've never found anything particularly broken about them, either. One of them DOES add a much-needed talent-tree to the Smart class ... but it's not a particularly stunning talent.

I'm still looking for a third starting talent for Smart. The class has alot going for it, but it seems like most of the time people take Savant "just to be taking it", and it actually becomes broken after a few levels ... but that's a grumble for another thread.

If you liked Alternity, you'll like the Menace Manual. It's got quite a few of the Dark*Matter creatures in there ... the Elohim, Sandmen, etc etc. It makes it much easier to run a Dark*Matter game, but you'll still need to have the D*M book for all the tastey tastey setting details. I've got that book in PDF and Hardcover, just because I use it so often. It would be wonderful if WotC would revisit that setting. Instead we get Urban Arcana.

Though over time Urban Arcana has grown on me. Sort of like mold. But if you've ever seen "The Life And Times of Juniper Lee" on Cartoon Network, you might understand how the setting can be cool. It's still D&D with the serial number filed off, but if you inject more real-world mythology and turn it up to 11 ... it's alot more fun than it seems at first blush.

--fje

 

[Roudi]

If you are looking for free, you should check out MODERNIZED, the free e-zine dedicated to Modern gaming.

Also, a great location / adventure resource is Modern Backdrops. It contains details for five fictional towns, complete with NPCs, plots, maps... plenty to inspire the Modern GM. Plus, it's available in print.

Just my Wealth Bonus +0.2.

 

[GlassJaw]

- Grim Tales isn't really a d20 Modern product, but it's a really interesting deconstruction of the d20 Modern rules. If you're interested in expanding d20 Modern to grim adventure in any time period it's a pretty good choice.

I like GT over d20 Modern as a whole. Does everything d20 Modern does, only better. The action point system is FAR superior than d20 Modern.

 

[Justin D. Jacobson]

I'll second the Game Mechanic's excellent Modern Player's Companion, and I'll also pimp my own book, Dawning Star: Operation Quick Launch. Even if you're planning on using your own campaign, OQL has more yoinkable crunch than most straight sourcebooks out there: feats, talent trees, advanced/prestige classes, gear, xenomorphs, etc. And, per your parameters, it's available in hardcover through Indie Press Revolution, with free shipping in the U.S. At $29.95 for a 208-page hardcover, it's a bargain.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

I like Grim Tales, too, but that's less of a d20 Modern supplement and more of an "Alternate PHB" sort of thing for d20 Modern. The magic system is just plain good.

 

[Wraith Form]

Another "vote" for Menace Manual (MenMan as I like to call it), and a big thumbs up for Darwins' World v2.

 

[The_Universe]

Don't buy a book full of guns. They're all 2d4, 2d6, 2d8, or 2d10 with range increments drastically lower than their actual ranges because of battlemat limitations. Just eyeball it, and buy a book about guns if you're interested in the subject.

The Modern Player's Companions are very good, as others have mentioned, and I can't recommend Darwin's World 2 enough - it's one of the best gaming purchases I've ever made. It's HUGE, and has lots of stuff that can be used in games that aren't post-apocalyptic.

 

[Mokona]

I love monster books, so I'll probably get it. I have the Modern SRD material for the Menace Manual (as well as the rest of the SRD material) but I prefer to have the book.

You get my respect for putting your money where your mouth is. A lot of people suggest using the MSRD but we all shouldn't forget that if we don't buy D20 Modern books then sooner or later WotC won't make them anymore.