Pathfinder 1E OGL Successor Games: What's worth bringing into Pathfinder?

[Sylrae]

I'm familiar with Trailblazer, and I know what I'd like to take from it and add to my PFRPG Games.

Can sum up the strengths of some other d20 games, and mechanics from them that could be useful/interesting additions/modifications to the pathfinder system?

Widesweeping changes you can't implement mid-campaign are okay.

I'm okay with having to take the time to mesh things together so long as I'm gaining something from it.

So can someone tell me what these games do well that PFRPG doesn't do as well?

Everstone
Fantasycraft
Iron Heroes

The core of my game is still going to be PFRPG, but I'm okay with liberally making rules changes inspired by these other supposedly fantastic games.

Can someone give suggestions on which have things worth appropriating and tell me what they are?

 

[Voadam]

Everstone is based on BESMd20 which is basically a point buy system for d20 stuff. It also has a really neat campaign setting of dark post apocalyptic stuff with high magic things like size large magical golems with rune guns, a couple different magic systems, etc.

Iron Heroes is low PC magic high action 3e D&D. Tons of warrior classes that are designed to be as tough with no magic as a standard D&D player with magical gear and as much mechanical complexity and options as vancian casters. They use a lot of token pool mechanics, do something appropriate for your class (get hit as the tank/defender, aim your archer's bow, dodge a blow as the skirmisher type, etc.) and you build up tokens which you can then spend to do powerful actions of various kinds. Also a lot of combat feat chains. It uses reserve hit points similar to Unearthed Arcana for nonmagical healing and keeping the adventure going instead of resting after a single fight. The supplements also introduce quick and mechanically simple NPC classes whose powers are based on CR instead of levels and lots of dynamic terrain features to challenge heroes.

Fantasycraft I have little experience with but I know it has a fantastic quick minion generation system based on CR/Party level. Adamant Entertainment made some D&D/d20 Modern versions of minion generators based on the earlier Spycraft versions of them and they are pretty good and worth checking out.

 

[Voadam]

I'd also highly recommend considering using things like Unearthed Arcana (I like the spontaneous divine casters and recharge magic) and the PHII druid wildshape variant.

 

[pawsplay]

FC has Prudence (wealth retention) rules and Prizes (limits on contacts, permanent magic items, and holdings). I really like the concept, since the ultimate result is to scale down the bookkeeping and the accumulation of doodads. It's not very hard to rebalance encounters for less junk since ultimately all those thousands of coins and half dozens of spare magic items add little in the way of raw power. It also means you can keep throwing orcs at the players at 10th level, and the orcs can still wield normal weapons or whatever because gold piece accumulation is a less engrossing goal across the board. Similarly, Reputation is kind of nice. I'm not crazy about the fiddly favors system, but I like the idea of building and maintaining contacts, and replacing diamonds or XP costs or whatever in powerful spells with a permanent but replenishable resource.

True20 can be pillaged for Conviction, a somewhat different take on action points, as well as multiple skill and spell systems that may be interesting.

 

[NotZenon]

*deleted*