Bard games Arcanum
Ah, Arcanum. Many good sagas using those rules. I have two copies, one of which was razored to make photocopies easier once Bards Games, etc., no longer published. It was so far advanced in many ways to AD&D of the day, without the problems of RoleMaster (ChartMaster), the point accounting of GURPS, or the "mangy dog killed my PC" of Chaosium (RuneQuest).
Things I liked that few games follow: fixed spells per day, reguardless of level. Higher level spells are more effcient, so cast them.
You can carry seven magic items. Want seven rings? Sure... but the eighth will cause all of them to not work.
Fighters added half their level to damage. He might swing the same long sword, but it just hits harder.
Great spell lists. Only the Magician can cast The Grand Conjuration, a 100 foot cube of ANYTHING. Castle of gold? Sure! But it's duration is permanant... not instant.
I always felt that the D&D 3 aquired much of its mechanics from Arcanum and Ars Magica, but kept a lot of D&D-isms.
Sigh... Vancian fire-and-forget spells. Works in Dying Earth, not so much other universes IMHO. At least they allowed cantrips.
Ah well. Just getting soggy with nostalgia.
--ZilWerks
