I don't want to get fired...
Let me summarize what Monte has posted that I've seen for sure then(these are all copy and pasted or at least paraphrased from posts Monte has made in his blog):
The mechanics use a d20 roll to determine success for all types of actions. There aren't many modifiers, instead you use skills and other assets to lower the difficulty. You also use a limited resource called effort to choose when to focus on a specific task and lower its difficulty further.
On a 17 or 18, you get a Minor Effect. Basically, if this is a successful roll, you get to state something special that happens as a part of that action.
On a 19 or 20, you get a Major Effect. This is similar to the Minor Effect, but, you know, bigger in some way.
On a 1, a GM can use “GM Intrusion” without awarding any experience points for it. Basically, things just get more complicated.
The GM determines how hard the task will be, on a scale from 1 to 10. Each difficulty level (1-10) has a target number associated. It’s basically 3 times the level. That’s the number you need to roll on a d20 (or higher) to succeed. If you can reduce the difficulty of an action down to zero, no roll is needed at all.
This is how everything in the game works, whether its climbing a wall, sweet talking the guard, or fighting some bio-engineered horror. The players are always making the rolls, and the GM is moderating the task levels. So in combat, when the character attacks, the player rolls for the attack. When the NPC attacks the character, the player rolls for her character to dodge.
The focus of the game is on exploration and discovery. Which is what you get XP for in the game, not killing monsters. Also, the DM can intrude and make things more complicated by giving XP to the party. Also, the players can give each other XP.
XP can be spent for either short term benefits, modifying dice rolls, increasing character abilities, or going up levels.
Character creation is based on 3 features: class, descriptor, focus.
There are 3 classes: Glaives, Nanos, Jacks. Then you choose a descriptor such as clever, tough, strong-willed, or mystical. Third you choose a focus. These can vary from crafting illusions to becoming a master of a single weapon, from wielding magnetism to being a great leader.
