Looking for a new system!!!

[Thunderfoot]

I am officially fed up with D&D and it's combat based system. I'm looking for something that is more skills based and with an emphasis on role-playing rather than combat. Preferably similar to the old Star Trek RPG by FASA.

I have a basic version written up myself based on it, but if it already exists, I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

What I am looking for:
Rules Light! - and I mean very light, less than 100 pages of material for all books combined wo9uld be super.
Skill based - where actions outside of combat require more than just a glossing over.
Combat variable - not the center of the stage, but easily integrated into the system.
Not GURPS - sorry I don't like GURPS, not elegant and too many rules (in the latest edition)
Other information: Does not have to be a generic system, but that would be a bonus. Monster design is quick and painless. Magic can be scaled to near non-existence without destroying the system. Not level based (but this isn't necessarily a deal breaker.).

I like running historically based anachronistic style games, where real world history can be altered slightly to make the world more believable. I don't like total reliance on magic (of any type) to make the system usable, but like having the option to make it available. Don't mind systems where classes are not "equal" just so everyone is the same (PC don't work for me). Can be modified to suit any unknowns, similar in make up to the original 1eAD&D, but with much less rule finagling.

Does this system even exist or should I start working on my generic translation of the old FASA system? Thanks for any help.

 

[Thanee]

Savage Worlds seems pretty much perfect for you.

Check out the Explorer's Edition (it's just $10 for a complete game system).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Have you taken a look at Basic Fantasy RPG?

 

[Aus_Snow]

Hm. BRP? I know, it's a little bit over 100 pages. . .

Haven't had a chance to pick it up, let alone try it, yet. Still, I've heard some good things, and based on your criteria, hey it might just work.

Actually, while I'm at it, something I have tried - and liked! - is EABA. Not sure if it's quite the thing for you, but well, it's a hell of a lot closer to 100 pages, and it works surprisingly well, IME. If you didn't mind adding page count, the supplement called 'Stuff' (IIRC) is pretty ingenious - you can build gazillions of things with it. Just thought I'd mention it.

 

[Inferno!]

Second for Savage Worlds. You can get the test drive rules free (see my sig). You could conceivably run a fantasy game with nothing but the test drive rules and their fantasy bundle, available for free at their website.

 

[timbannock]

Cortex System (by Margaret Weiss Productions) is pretty good. The generic version is on the way (I think they released some copies at GenCon) w/ magic, psionics and so on. You could also pick up Demon Hunters which has magic, but is not as generic, set in the modern day world (and some humor thrown in, which may not be your thing).

The system was pretty buggy back when it first appeared in Serenity RPG, but since Battlestar and Demon Hunters, I have high hopes for the generic version.

The main thing I like about it: very simple, and the Plot Points it uses promote roleplaying your character's flaws BIG TIME. It's possibly the best system I've ever used for a more social, roleplaying-as-opposed-to-rollplaying-but-the-system-isn't
-all-broke-during-combat game. I like it a lot.

Savage Worlds seems to have more support though, and can be had for cheaper.

 

[GlassJaw]

Another huge vote and thumbs up for Savage Worlds. It's my new addiction. I just started a modern horror campaign with my group using the Pinebox setting from 12 to Midnight.

Savage Worlds is awesome. Very easy to learn and make characters but the gameplay is still deep enough to provide a lot of customization. Can also be used with and without miniatures.

It also nails every other point you made: it's generic, creating monsters and NPC's is a piece of cake, magic and powers are very easy to integrate, and it's skill-based.

I'm pretty much ready to drop all d20 gaming right now.

 

[dm4hire]

I would love to see the Storyteller system done in a fantasy RPG that was just straight fantasy and not over the top fantasy like they have done with Exalted.

True 20 isn't too bad if you haven't taken a look at it yet. It tends more toward RP than D&D. Pathfinder is trying to hold onto the older D&D feel and is a possible. Song of Fire and Ice is due to come out soon from Green Ronin and is a skills\politics\intrigue based system; you can find the quick play rules to take a look at it on their website.

AEG's Legend of the Five Rings and Legend of the Burning Sands offer a different system although they are themed for orient and Arabian settings, but you could work out the differences I am sure. AEG's Seven Seas game used the same system and was more victorian era pirate theme.

Margaret Weis productions has or will be releasing a basic guide using their Cortex system that is pretty decent and used with the Battlestar Galactica and Serenity games. The system is definitely skill based.

Without doing some customization it will be hard to find a straight up system outside of D&D and what I've listed or has already been suggested that isn't conveluted to some extent.

 

[The_Gneech]

Yeah, if you like the old FASA Star Trek, you'd probably like BRP. As a bonus, you can steal neat stuff out of Call of Cthulhu.

-The Gneech

 

[Razuur]

Well, I am going to recommend True20.

It is a simpler, gentler, and more flexible OGL system.

The revised corebook is out.

While not under 100 pages, the revised rulebook has everything you would need to run in any genre.

Familiar to people who have played D20, but not bogged down in the crunch and rules.

Simple, flexible, and powerful.

True20 Adventure Roleplaying: True fun, true excitement, true adventure, True20! (and a great helpful community as well at the forums here)

Razuur