A few random thoughts.
--Must say I'm surprised by the numbers of Runequest fans out there--never knew anyone when I was in Columbus who played outside me and mine. Ran a civilization vs. chaos campaign for a long while that ended when Dorastor came out and I discovered what chaos could be.
I've always been a big fan of the Chaosium system for gaming, regardless of the genre, and played Cthulhu (still the best role-playing game ever made), Runequest, Stormbringer, Elfquest and Pendragon (which are all, in a way, fantasy games), as well as a home-brewed sci-fi/survival game based on the same rules. Percentile-based systems seem (arbitrarily, I'll admit) to me more intuitive than target-number based systems, and I like that experience is gained through using skills instead of killing monsters (or using skills to kill monsters). I also found it an easier system for introducing role-playing games to people who had never played before.
--Flipping through my new 3.5 books (yes, I'm behind the times), I was struck by how Dungeons & Dragons has come to resemble Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. what with characters taking class levels to get access to specific feats or abilities, and prestige classes reminding me oh so much of advanced careers.
--For me, the big issue is transparency. The best games are those where the rules don't interfere with the story. One of the best things about D & D is that every group can have their own way of doing things, and no one seems to mind. It is, of almost all the games I've played, the one people are most willing to forsake the rules of for the sake of drama and excitement.
Enough said. I'm afraid I'm about to stop making sense.
Greyline