Dungeons and Dragons players are going through the metaphorical wringer right now among tabletop fans thanks to their controversial OGL 1.1 update. These new documents, in summary, are seemingly limiting the number of third-party kits that other companies can create using the classic d20 system.
As expected, this has caused some exoduses to happen. One bright side is that other tabletops outside the fantasy setting are getting more traction. A modern setting doesn’t have to remove fantasy from the equation. If anything, urban fantasy needs more love among tabletop fans.
Delta Green
Originally a sourcebook for the beloved Call of Cthulhu tabletop game, Delta Green has since evolved into its own game. It tells the story of the titular organization Delta Green, a secret United States organization dedicated to protecting the country from paranormal threats.
Unlike most tabletop games, mental health is just as important as physical health in Delta Green. Since they are an organization combating evil factions, there’s also more combat than is typically seen in the Call of Cthulhu setting. Saving the world takes a toll, and the game is great at making the player feel like it almost isn’t worth saving.
Cthulhu Now
For those that prefer a more grounded experience as far as the Cthulhu mythos goes, Cthulhu Now is the answer. It plays more similarly to the base game of Call of Cthulhu, being a supplement and all. The key difference is instead of being set in the past, it pits modern people against ancient evils.
A modern setting means investigative technology and research has advanced too. Adventures such as The City in the Sea bring to mind games like BioShock while The Killer Out of Space tackles a mysterious space shuttle crashing into the earth. All of them promise horrifying scenarios for the so-called “modern” investigators.
Masks: A New Generation
These days, cinemas, streaming and TV screens are being dominated by superheroes from Marvel and DC. While they’re fun for the action scenes, some people follow these stories for the interpersonal drama. This is the kind of vibe that Masks: A New Generation is attuned to.
Taking place in a typical metropolis-style setting, Halcyon City is the nexus of this universe’s superhero adventures. Instead of classes, Masks are based on archetypes. The gutsy but “normal” Beacon, the troublemaking Delinquent, or the Peter-Parker-like Janus are only some of the kinds of heroes that one can play in Masks.
GURPS
GURPS (Great Unnamed Role Playing System) is the tabletop community’s go-to system for pretty much any setting that doesn’t have something specific to it yet. There’s no inherent story or even characters to the game. All of it relies on the ingenuity and creativity of the community around it.
That means, of course, that there are dozens of modern-day settings to choose from with GURPS. Cyberpunk, spy thriller, or any genre that one can think of, GURPS probably has a rulebook for it. The downside here is, of course, quite a bit more research for intrepid Game Masters to find what they want.
Night’s Black Agents
Vampires are a staple of the fantasy tabletop genre, as Vampire: The Masquerade can attest to. Its combat is specifically tailored in two styles. One is the investigation segments, where player characters must figure out what conspiracy is being carried out in their campaign.
The second is a specialized “chase” style of combat, to better evoke the techno-horror thriller vibe that Night’s Black Agents wants to go for. Thanks to the barebones premise, Game Masters have plenty of freedom in modifying the setting to their liking. Of course, almost all the core books are set in the modern day.
Shadowrun
The a staple of the Cyberpunk Fantasy genre. In this universe, fantasy races all evolved from humans. After ancient mythical creatures awoke from their magical slumber, it also caused humans to start developing innate magical abilities of their own.
The future isn’t so bright, however. It’s a nightmarish capitalist hellscape dominated by megacorporations, all using magic and technology to their own nefarious ends. The players are the titular Shadowrunners, freelancers who will take any job from any entity, so long as they pay up.
Savage Worlds
Savage Worlds is a system based around exciting, fast-paced encounters and spontaneous situations. It’s a generic rules system, much like GURPS, but is far more streamlined as far as the core gameplay goes (at the cost of being “lighter” than most tactical RPGs). That said, this streamlining makes it easy to adapt to settings.
The core rules can be used for pretty much any custom modern setting. For those who want the work done for them, however, settings such as Agents of Oblivion and East Texas University offer some fun urban fantasy settings. That being said, it’s actively encouraged for Game Masters to just reflavor the core rules with their own flavor.
GUMSHOE
Another popular generic tabletop system, GUMSHOE, as the name implies, is a ruleset based on detective work. With the sheer popularity of police procedural shows, this system enables tabletop fans to create their own cases to solve and criminals to bust.
The storytelling is geared towards storytelling more than anything else, and so, many of the systems that use said system are narrative-based. Horror TTRPGs such as The Esoterrorists and Fear Itself work fantastically with this system. For something lighter, Achtung! Cthulhu is much sillier while still retaining horror elements.
Chronicles of Darkness
Back in the 90s and early 2000s, World of Darkness dominated the conversation as far as “modern” settings went. Vampire: The Masquerade in particular was very popular. Humanity was at the whims of the supernatural, and they didn't even know it. Of course, while still fun, the old system had plenty of flaws that made it rather frustrating to play at times.
Chronicles of Darkness (or New World of Darkness) is essentially a reboot of the setting. The new storytelling system was more modular, and each of the iconic game lines has been updated to the 2010s. Despite that, the charmingly bleak vibes of being an outcast remain at the center of its narrative gameplay.