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<blockquote data-quote="jonrog1" data-source="post: 1934539" data-attributes="member: 189">Actually I was recommending Alternity not for its dice grit -- you foul mechanics, you <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":P" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :P"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":P" /> -- but for its character design ideas, which was the question I believe originally began this thread.Combat, Freelance, Expert and Diplomat, if I remember correctly.&nbsp; The characters were built up by HOW THEY SOLVED PROBLEMS.&nbsp; Neat.&nbsp; &quot;Classes&quot; as you'd think of them were built up as templates, almost like classes in M&amp;M.And I have to respectfully disagree with you on the whole &quot;you can pound any square peg into a round whole&quot; idea. Unknown Armies for Sailor Moon doesn't work not just because of the mechanics, but because of the tone.&nbsp; It's built for horror.&nbsp; Alternity's core mechanic was purely generic.&nbsp; There was absolutely nothing in there which precluded it from being just as effective for fantasy as it was for modern or sci-fi&nbsp; other than a lack of imagination.The best example of a similar system which works like a charm is SAVAGE WORLDS.&nbsp; I once mixed five genres in a Savage Worlds game, and it worked flawlessly.This is not to apologize for Alternity's shortcoming's by the way.&nbsp; I too thought the dice mechanic itself was brutal, and those variable armor ratings ... ech.&nbsp; It is perhaps the best example of some genius design philosophy hamstrung by bad game mechanic.&nbsp; As opposed to, in my humble opinion, D20, which is a super game mechanic burdened with some impressively clunky design.But that's just my opinion.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="jonrog1, post: 1934539, member: 189"] Actually I was recommending Alternity not for its dice grit -- you foul mechanics, you :P -- but for its character design ideas, which was the question I believe originally began this thread. Combat, Freelance, Expert and Diplomat, if I remember correctly. The characters were built up by HOW THEY SOLVED PROBLEMS. Neat. "Classes" as you'd think of them were built up as templates, almost like classes in M&M. And I have to respectfully disagree with you on the whole "you can pound any square peg into a round whole" idea. Unknown Armies for Sailor Moon doesn't work not just because of the mechanics, but because of the tone. It's built for horror. Alternity's core mechanic was purely generic. There was absolutely nothing in there which precluded it from being just as effective for fantasy as it was for modern or sci-fi other than a lack of imagination. The best example of a similar system which works like a charm is SAVAGE WORLDS. I once mixed five genres in a Savage Worlds game, and it worked flawlessly. This is not to apologize for Alternity's shortcoming's by the way. I too thought the dice mechanic itself was brutal, and those variable armor ratings ... ech. It is perhaps the best example of some genius design philosophy hamstrung by bad game mechanic. As opposed to, in my humble opinion, D20, which is a super game mechanic burdened with some impressively clunky design. But that's just my opinion. [/QUOTE]

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