Ultramodern5: Modern and Futuristic Action for 5e
Here is a question that has haunted 5th Edition D&D since its release in 2014: what if you want to play in a world with guns? Not a fantasy world where someone has invented a musket. A world with assault rifles, body armor, cybernetics, drones, helicopters, and plasma cannons. A world where the threat is not a dragon but a rival PMC, and the dungeon is not a cave but a corporate skyscraper.
The standard 5e answer is: buy a different game. Ultramodern5, from Dias Ex Machina, has a different answer: no, you don't have to.
First published in 2016 by designer Chris Dias and revised in a substantially expanded REDUX edition in 2019, Ultramodern5 is the most comprehensive non-fantasy ruleset ever published for 5th Edition. It takes the 5e engine — d20 rolls, proficiency bonuses, class levels, the whole chassis — and transplants it into pre-modern, contemporary, and futuristic settings with no fantasy elements required. If you want to run a game set in World War II, modern-day espionage, cyberpunk dystopia, or far-future space warfare, Ultramodern5 gives you the mechanical tools to do it without learning a new system.
Chris Dias and Dias Ex Machina
Chris Dias has been working on the problem of modern and futuristic 5e-compatible gaming longer than almost anyone. His company, Dias Ex Machina, previously published Ultramodern4 (for 4th Edition D&D) and Amethyst, a setting that blended modern technology with traditional fantasy. Dias's design philosophy centers on a conviction that the d20 system is flexible enough to support any genre, provided you are willing to replace enough moving parts.
Ultramodern5 REDUX — the version most people encounter today — represents years of iteration on that philosophy. The REDUX edition doubled the content of the original, adding revised rules, new mechanics, additional classes, expanded equipment lists, and full-color art throughout. It is, by any measure, a mature product that has been through enough playtesting and revision to iron out the rough edges.
The Ladder System
The most distinctive mechanical innovation in Ultramodern5 is the Ladder system, which replaces the role that race and background play in standard 5e character creation. A Ladder is a collection of thematically linked abilities that define a character's general outlook, temperament, and aptitudes — the lens through which they approach the world.
The seven Ladders are: Born Leader (command and authority), Juggernaut (raw physical power and endurance), Runner (speed, agility, and mobility), Savant (intelligence and technical expertise), Survivor (resilience and adaptability), Veteran (military experience and discipline), and Warrior (combat focus and martial tradition).
When selected at 1st level, a Ladder grants additional benefits beyond the feats it contains. The Survivor, for instance, can substitute Wisdom for Dexterity on ranged attacks and Constitution for Dexterity when calculating AC. These are not minor bonuses — they fundamentally change how a character functions, and the interaction between a character's Ladder and their class creates a combinatorial design space that standard 5e's race-class pairing does not reach.
A character in Ultramodern5 is defined by two things: their Ladder (who they are) and their class (what they do). This clean separation allows the system to support wildly different character concepts within a single party — a Savant Sniper, a Juggernaut Heavy, a Runner Infiltrator — without requiring the kind of freeform classless design that makes other universal systems harder to learn.
Ten Classes for the Modern World
Ultramodern5 REDUX provides ten classes, each designed for non-fantasy gameplay:
The Face specializes in social manipulation and deception — the party's negotiator, con artist, or undercover agent. The Grounder is a grounded, pragmatic combatant who excels at holding positions and controlling the battlefield. The Gunslinger is exactly what it sounds like — a specialist in ranged combat with firearms. The Heavy is the big-weapons specialist, the character who carries the squad automatic weapon or the rocket launcher. The Infiltrator focuses on stealth, bypassing security, and covert operations. The Marshal is the tactical leader, buffing allies and coordinating squad actions. The Martial Artist brings hand-to-hand combat expertise, modified from the Monk framework for modern contexts. The Medic is the combat healer and field surgeon. The Sniper is the long-range precision specialist. The Techie handles technology, hacking, drones, and electronic warfare.
Each class supports multiple archetypes and progression paths, and the classes are designed to interlock — a squad of Ultramodern5 characters functions like a military unit, with roles that complement and depend on each other.
Firearms, Vehicles, and Mecha
The equipment chapter is where Ultramodern5 earns its "comprehensive" label. Over 130 firearms are statted, from historical pistols and rifles to futuristic plasma artillery. The weapon design reflects genuine attention to how firearms work in tabletop combat — range, rate of fire, reload mechanics, and the interaction between cover and penetration.
Armor has been completely reworked for modern contexts, with over 40 options including ballistic vests, exoskeletons, powered armor, and full mechs. Vehicle rules cover everything from motorcycles to tanks to aircraft, with enough mechanical detail to support vehicle-based encounters without overwhelming the 5e action economy.
The mecha construction system deserves special attention. It provides rules for building, customizing, and piloting mechs, which can range from lightly powered exoskeletons to full-scale giant robots. For groups that want to run an anime-inspired mecha campaign using 5e rules, this is one of the only products that provides the tools to do it.
Techno-Magic and the Question of Spells
One of the most interesting design decisions in Ultramodern5 is its approach to magic. The system is designed to function without magic entirely — the Ladder system and the non-spellcasting classes provide a complete game experience with no supernatural elements. However, the REDUX edition includes a techno-magic system for groups that want to incorporate supernatural or pseudoscientific abilities into their modern or futuristic games.
Techno-magic reframes spellcasting as technological or psionic effects, allowing DMs to include the mechanical framework of 5e spellcasting without the fantasy trappings. This flexibility means that Ultramodern5 can support a hard-military campaign with no magic at all, a cyberpunk game where "spells" are hacking programs, or a science-fantasy game where psionics and technology coexist.
Compatible Settings
Dias Ex Machina has published several settings designed for use with Ultramodern5. Amethyst is a genre-blending setting where modern technology and high fantasy exist in uneasy tension. NeuroSpasta is a cyberpunk/transhumanist setting centered on the autonomous city-state of Archon, built as a future UN headquarters. Each setting demonstrates a different application of the Ultramodern5 rules, and the system's modularity means that DMs can mix and match elements from multiple settings or build their own.
Where Ultramodern5 Fits in the Ecosystem
Ultramodern5 occupies a distinct niche from other sci-fi and modern 5e supplements. Dark Matter is a space-fantasy setting where magic and technology coexist. Esper Genesis is a complete sci-fi RPG with its own setting and classes. Ultramodern5 is neither of these — it is a universal toolkit for running any non-fantasy game using the 5e engine. It does not provide a setting (though compatible settings exist). It provides a rules framework.
This makes Ultramodern5 both the most flexible and the most demanding of the non-fantasy 5e options. It gives you the tools, but it expects you to build the world. For DMs who enjoy worldbuilding, this is a feature. For those who prefer a setting out of the box, the compatible settings help, but the core product is fundamentally a toolkit.
For groups running Ultramodern5 alongside standard 5e campaigns, the organizational challenge of managing two different class systems, equipment lists, and design philosophies within the same gaming group is real. Lorekeeper's campaign management tools can help compartmentalize these different games, keeping your cyberpunk infiltration campaign separate from your sword-and-sorcery dungeon crawl while managing both from the same dashboard.
Ultramodern5 is proof that the 5e chassis can carry far more weight than its designers intended. It is the most ambitious genre translation in the 5e ecosystem — not because it goes the farthest from fantasy, but because it provides the tools to go anywhere at all.