Instead of a singular game, I am probably going to design a game setting, or series of settings that can be used by a number of RPG systems. I'll go into the details later, but for now, it's based on one of my older posts where I explain the fictional background of the story ideas behind my album, "Leprosia Doom."
Been reading a lot of different systems lately, and realize that I like and dislike various parts of each.
Barbarians of Lemuria - very simple and interesting, probably easy to run, but magic is wide open to interpretation, which could cause some trouble for GMs. But such a simple and elegant game system. Not to mention Barbarians of the Aftermath is also an interesting iteration of the game for a post-apocalyptic setting (which is where my Leprosia theme seems to fit...). I'm also considering doing a full Conan/Hyborian Age hack for BoL, using info from the Hyborian Age website (www.hyboria.xoth.net).
Microlite20 - I like this a lot - gets right to the major points of D&D (I'm an old AD&D player - 1979 AD&D books!) simple monsters and combat, magic is point based instead of 1 spell per level. I like the various "hacks" (Modern, Sword & Sorcery, ROBOTECH, more...).
Swords & Wizardry - Core Edition (and/or White Box Edition) - I like the incorporation of Ascending Armor Class, which make much more sense than those silly and convoluted charts from pre-3.0 ed. D&D. A lighter (but not "rules-lite) verision of the things that made D&D interesting, but not convoluted. No "feats" or skills BS.
Tunnels & Trolls (various versions) - another classic from the 1970's - I'm conflicted about this one - the combat system was frustrating, but had some interesting ideas. Just needs some refinement, without over-complication, like using some kind ofa saving roll to hit, then do damage.
Legends of the Ancient World - a simplification of another old classic (The Fantasy Trip), which I think works as well or better than the bloated mess that became TFT. Works very well as a "swords & sorcery" rules set (heroes and wizards - that's all, folks!) and is compatible with old TFT/Melee/Wizard Microquests. I've always liked the original Melee/Wizard for it's simplicity.
FATE / FUDGE - I'm new to this system, and am still reading through the new FATE Core book. Seems interesting, more story and character driven, probably where FU came from, which is even lighter (and I think I like better). Games derived from FATE seem to be well-reviewed (Dresden Files, Legends of Anglerre, etc.). It's supposedly a "lighter" system, but the FATE Core 3.0 book is 302 pages. Once you know what you're doing, it's probably easy (since there's only a few charts to cover the basic FUDGE/FATE Dice Rolls), but there's a lot to learn initially. High learning curve. I think I might favor FATE 2.0 better. It's only 91 pages long.
I've also discovered a bunch of other game systems that I probably won't focus on, but I will mention, just to pique your interests:
There's so many game systems out there right now - it's hard to keep track, and to be honest, I haven't really actually played any RPGs in 25 years. So much to do, and so little time ...
