More low-fantasy than high-fantasy, grittier, a bit complex but not totally rules-heavy.
Getting away from hit points of any kind, but more a system with soaking damage. Spells would revolve resisting the effects of channeling the magic instead of just "you can cast X number of spells per day" or something.
More heroic than superheroic.
EDIT: I also like the versatility of Vampire with making dice pool rolls a combination of attribute + skill/knowledge/talent because it encourages all sorts of combinations.
Does that help?
I'll look into SW and SJG DF (I played GURPS back in the 80's, but it might fit).
Okay, with the added criteria, I'll pitch The Fantasy Trip (TFT) again. Disclaimer: I played this when it first came out in the late 70's, and still play the latest version, so I have a certain nostalgic soft spot for the game.
A bit of background first: TFT was sort of the predecessor to GURPS, as it was also written by Steve Jackson, but he didn't have the rights to it when he left Metagaming to form his own company, and so he created GURPS instead.
TFT started off as a pair of "arena duel" games,
Melee and
Wizard, which were part of Metagaming's Microgames line. Then
In The Labyrinth was published as a full RPG, combining the two microgames' rules and adding more non-combat magic, monsters and items, plus setting material. Not entirely dissimilar to D&D's original white box sets getting the full Advanced D&D books.
Steve Jackson just got the rights back to the TFT material a couple years ago, and have not only published a revised edition of all the TFT games - Melee, Wizard and In The Labyrinth - but have already put out a ton of
TFT isn't nearly as rules heavy as GURPS, but it's got some crunch to it. Melee was originally written as a response to AD&D's combat system, which Jackson found to be static and not terribly realistic. So Melee (and TFT overall) has a bit more strategic element to it.
The system is a simple roll 3d6 under a target number. Very low and high rolls can result in critical success or misses. Difficult tasks might require rolling 4 or 5d6.
Characters have only 3 attributes:
- STR: basically hit points and fatigue reserve for casting spells. Also determines what weapons you can wield and armor you can wear.
- DEX: your chance to hit with weapons, or successfully cast a spell.
- INT: determines both the number and complexity of the Spells and Talents you can know.
Given average STR is around 10 for humans, and an median weapon like a broadsword does 2d6 damage, combat can get fairly deadly. Especially since it's pretty old school and anything below zero STR = dead. Armor does absorb some damage, and as PCs progress, magic can tilt the odds in their favor, but still, characters have to be cautious. A normal wolf can still be dangerous to even an experienced PC, so the game definitely falls more on the heroic side of the heroic vs super-heroic scale.
There is no healing magic (other than expensive potions that only heal a STR point at a time.)
(In my own game, I've adapted the 5E Death Save rules to TFT, to mitigate character death somewhat.)
Talents are somewhere between skills and feats, and help define characters. There are no classes in TFT, beyond you're either a wizard or not, but certain talents let you assume a role similar to D&D classes. Non-wizards can still learn spells, but it costs more to do so. It costs Wizards more to learn non-wizardy talents, but they can do that as well.
For example, you can learn the Knife and Sword talents to effectively wield them in combat, and you can also learn the Woodsman talent, which gives you a few basic abilities you might associate with a "realistic" ranger. As you progress, you could learn a dual-weapon talent, and even pick up a spell, and you're even closer to a D&D ranger. Or you could go a completely different route and learn Alchemy.
If you want to check out the core combat mechanics, the PDF for Melee
is available for free on the SJG site. If nothing else, Melee and Wizard can be fun for just playing arena duels when not everyone can show up for the regular campaign, whatever you're running.
