I am currently designing a modern RPG and I am having trouble coming up with Weapons and Items. What would you suggest to help me get ideas?

Try and associate the type of game you are designing with a movie, book or comic. Then read or watch it closely, taking notes. Even if it doesnt have what you want, sometimes it can spawn an idea from doing it.

We''''ve got the sausage but we haven''''t got the sizzle.

You might get a weapons sourcebook for some of the modern tabletop rpgs out there... more than you´ll ever need in there.

Here´s a few ideas (starting at the bottom)

1) Melee weapons:

blunt weapons: clubs of all sorts, crowbars, table legs, chairs, tonfas, a brick maybe

sharp weapons: knives, swords, a broken bottle

and a few other things such as stunners, brass knuckles.....

2) Ranged weapons

Bows, Crossbows, throwing knives, darts, rocks.... a chair

handguns: a variety of pistols and revolvers rangeing from little one-shot purse guns to biggie magnums...

rifles: hunting rifles, assault rifles, shotguns.....

smgs/machine guns: i suggest you check out a few gun nut sites for inspiration (a good starting point is the nra homepage )

exotic stuff: rocket or grenade launchers, maybe some sci-fi stuff (lasers, microwave guns, your average death-ray maybe?), flamers.....

What choice of items you include is dependent on the style of game youre making. What i´d find a good idea would be to make every item usable as a weapon (throw chairs around, use broken bottles.... think barroom brawl).
What you absolutely need is the "standard" stuff: armor and clothing, medical equipment (bandages, 1st aid kits, drugs), everything past that depends on how much story there will be... if you like it realistic you can have hundreds of different items, everything from a box of matches to an aquarium...

Do some searches for Cyberpunk and Writing for Cyberpunk resources on the net, they have quite alot of weapons and equipment lists out there. The writing site talk about technologies too (like transport, communication, medicine...)

- Ezekiel Knight

That is it... you just sold me on the idea to allow chair and table throwing in my game... I am already amused from the barroom brawls

-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - The future of RPGs
Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche

Seriously, RPGs are all about choices... and that can start with the inventory. Sure it´s a hell of a lot of work to make this, but if you go for tile-based anyway you might just as well give your table-tile a few more tags.

The other thing that would have to follow is that your characters can´t carry around all their weapons all the time.. especially in a modern RPG this would not be so hard to do. (I´m heavily influenced by shadowrun on this, so please forgive if you´ve already heard this)

"Playing field" is one city. And trust me, a whole city (an maybe a few suburbs) is more than enough to house an rpg-plot. So, naturally the characters have a place to stay (lets face it, going to a hotel every night is just too damn expensive in the long run, and nobody likes camping under the bridge). So, conveniently, the characters have a place to stash all their hoarded treasures and leave their miniguns, if they want to go shopping, or meet someone instead of taking on a whole army.

Then there would be metal detectors on most public buildings, and maybe even on the subway, so no guns there either. If you want to get into a bar to meet your contact the doorman would certainly frisk you.... hence the use of whats there in case a fight starts... It could also be a special challenge to smuggle a gun into a no-gun zone (maybe someone needs to be shot? it happens)

And please place a realistic limit on inventory items, in most other rpgs my character could carry around a crossbow, half a dozen swords, sleeping bag, kettle, five volumes of ancient lore and a whole case of healing potions AND jump over a 20foot chasm without breaking a sweat.

In a city a backpack would look suspicious. So you´re limited to what you can carry on your body = number of pockets. (or maybe tape a gun to your back).
So you wouldn´t only have a max number of items, but also a size limitation on the various places to put an item.

maybe like this:
in your average trenchcoat there are 4 pockets, two inside two outside. The inside hold 2 units each (nothing bigger than a wallet), the outside hold 5 each (big pockets).
now, if you put an item that is <= big as the container it´s concealed completely, BUT every container can hold up to double it´s value, i.e. you can put a Whisky bottle (7) or a gun (8) into your trenchcoat pocket, but it will be visible to various degrees.
of course you might just shove the gun into your belt, or get one of those neat underarm holsters....

so basically what i´m saying is that no character has a "fixed" inventory, but that everything he wears gives him inventory options. A coat some pockets, a belt to fix somethings to, duct tape to glue something to your ass, carrier bags, rucksacks, briefcases.....cool military trousers with extra pockets.....

If that it implemented right i think you wouldn´t even need a weight limitation.