What are some other good non-d20 fantasy systems

[scourger]

Here's another nod to Savage Worlds.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

Based on your post, I'd say Savage Worlds sounds like it would be up your alley.

Other non-d20 fantasy systems I like:
Lejendary Adventure
BRP (Stormbringer, Hawkmoon, RuneQuest)
Basic Fantasy Role Playing
Castles & Crusades
Lejendary Adventure
older versions of D&D (OD&D, B/X, OAD&D, etc)

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Warhammer FRP.

Oh wait you already said that one.

 

[jdrakeh]

I like playing lower magic fantasy with d20 modern and with a good bit of modification, it makes me happy. I like the career paths of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I have probably been the most excited about d20 microlite though I have not played it yet.

I really like systems that have interesting ability score generation or ability mechanics, armor as damage reduction, and combat options that truly allow you to parry, or feint and actually use a little strategy.

It might just be me but it seems that many of the recommendations on this thread do none of these things (e.g., low magic, diverse career paths, interesting ability score generation, armor as damage reduction, mechanical support for combat maneuvers, etc) out of the box.

 

[Aus_Snow]

It might just be me but it seems that many of the recommendations on this thread do none of these things (e.g., low magic, diverse career paths, interesting ability score generation, armor as damage reduction, mechanical support for combat maneuvers, etc) out of the box.

It *is* a bit of an ask, all up, to be fair.

WFRP is close (but the OP mentioned this one, so that's out). Um. . .

In the world of d20, I can think of a couple of good alternatives. But beyond that, not so much.

 

[jdrakeh]

It *is* a bit of an ask, all up, to be fair.

Not really. Many games do some of that stuff. I meant that there are, literally, some suggestions on this thread that do none of it.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Not really. Many games do some of that stuff. I meant that there are, literally, some suggestions on this thread that do none of it.

Hm. Fair enough then. I somehow misread your other post there. My mistake.

Any non-d20 systems that do all those things, in your opinion?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I really like systems that have interesting ability score generation or ability mechanics, armor as damage reduction, and combat options that truly allow you to parry, or feint and actually use a little strategy.

I'd say the only criterion that HERO fails is the first one.

 

[jdrakeh]

Any non-d20 systems that do all those things, in your opinion?

HarnMaster comes close and fulfills all of the requirements except an "interesting method of generating attributes" (at least it wasn't interesting for me). It is inherently low-magic, defaults to ablative armour, and provides mechanics for specific combat maneuvers. The social caste breakdowns also arguably mirror the fundamental end goals of Warhammer's career paths. Hmmm. . .

Also, Exalted does most of this, as odd as that might sound -- it's inherently high-power, though not really high-magic (until you start to get into the supplements). The skill and charm trees, as well as the different Exalted castes, work much as WHFRP career paths do. All White Wolf games utilize ablative armour by default (and also make allowances for damage soak based on physique). Exalted in particular is all about combat options (its charm trees absolutely dwarf the list of D&D PHB feats).

Bones, that I mentioned earlier, does almost all of these things -- unfortunately, it's also a logistical nightmare, which makes trying to play it more of a chore than any kind of fun It is low-magic, provides (loose) rules for creating career packages, utilizes ablative armor, defines character using only dice (no character sheets), and allows you to customize those dice, thus manipulating proababilities in combat. The only thing that it lacks are rules for specific combat maneuvers.

Burning Wheel does all of these things out of the box, providing Lifepath character generation, ablative armor, rules for specific combat maneuvers, and an implied low-magic setting (backed up by a lack of detailed rules for magic) in addition to very interesting attribute generation. I liked a lot of the ideas individually, though the whole game left me cold for reasons that I haven't quite nailed down yet. Seems like it would be right up the OP's alley, though.

[Edit: I'll echo Danny's response above. Hero can do most of this, as well. Of course, it has no default 'magic' being a tool-kit, so that might be a bit of a cop-out. That said, it still technically conforms to the OP's criteria.]