Modern Campaign: Basic Questions

[doc*sk]

I am looking at starting a new campaign for my RPG group. We have played a lot of D&D and prefer 3.5 (it has its weaknesses, but we like it). Anyway, I would like to start a new campaign in a modern setting. However, we have tried this before but with very little success. I have tried to analyze the problems and have two questions for everyone:

1) How do you handle healing?
The style of healing in 3.5 works for us. You can get some healing during combat and last a little longer. But in a modern world without divine healing, this is difficult.

2) How do you handle the freedom loving nature of adventurers and give them plenty of room?
My players do best when they can roam about helping others from peasants to royalty. But most modern campaigns I can think of require some sort of organization; such as, rank and file leaders who give out missions and other responsibilities.

Perhaps this second question can be solved by genre, so I would appreciate any genre suggestions as well. I have already thought that a post-apocalyptic campaign might solve this problem. I am pretty flexible in my definition of modern. I'm really looking at any game that would fit in a world past something like the 1700s.

Thank you in advance for your insights.

[Siosilvar]

1) How do you handle healing?
The style of healing in 3.5 works for us. You can get some healing during combat and last a little longer. But in a modern world without divine healing, this is difficult.Honestly? The most effective healing in, say, 3.5 is healing after combat. Healing during combat is mostly to keep the others alive - since you're at full power until you're dropped, why bother healing past one round's health?


2) How do you handle the freedom loving nature of adventurers and give them plenty of room?
My players do best when they can roam about helping others from peasants to royalty. But most modern campaigns I can think of require some sort of organization; such as, rank and file leaders who give out missions and other responsibilities.Some sort of private investigator/hero-for-hire campaign may work; cities all surely have problems, many of which are best handled outside of the law.

If you're in the United States, there's a show called Burn Notice on USA. The basic premise is that Michael Westen is a former spy who got "burned" - equivalent to fired. He makes his living by helping people with problems, mostly involving fighting crime, getting shot at, and coming up with intelligent solutions to problems.

[DeltaEmil]

I think the D20-Modern books do have examples of plot-hooks and organisations who might employ the player characters, and how an adventure can look like in modern ages.
Combat does work slightly a little bit different there, and modern medicine can help with healing, but it's been a long time I've read in those books.