As opposed to 'lord of the dance'.
ATTENTION: If you voted 'YES' then voted for 'EDIT' please message me. I do not know how to use the spoilers hider function on the board.
Some years ago I decided I didn't really care for where the D&D games were heading with regard to rules and dice.
So I greatly simplified virtually everything and re-wrote the system to suit my needs.
It uses the same (or very similar) settings, but its dice rolling dynamic is different and more streamlined. All the settings I'm open to use here use the same combat systems and the same dice.
You need 2 d20s and 10 d6s, 1 d20 for you, 1 for me, 5 d6s for you, 5 for me.
Differences in Combat - Many rolls are resolved by rolling the d20s against each other, all damages regardless of type (with a few very rare exceptions), are handled by rolling X number of D6s Y number of times. Combat uses the follow different dynamics.
Intercept - Blocks an attack with your own attack.
Projectile Intercept - Blocks a projectile with your own projectile.
Lockup - 2 targets are engaged in such intense combat that they cannot do anything but hit each other for up to 3 turns, rolling damage at the end of those three turns. (three turns at the most). Collapsing from stamina consumption possible but usually not fainting or death.
Intense Lockup - 2 targets are engaged in such intense combat that they cannot do anything but hit each other for up to 2 turns, death possible, fainting possible.
Mystic Might - Spell hits way harder than you intended.
Power Hit - Melee / Ranged hits way harder than you intended.
Lethal hit - Kills the target outright for some reason without rolling damage. I.E. unexpected decapitation, strain of being hit by magic causes heart attack, etc etc.
About exceptions.
Getting hit by certain things kills you outright without a roll. Examples include getting sucked through a portal into outer space, getting hit dead on the head by a lightning bolt in metal armor, getting hit outright by a catapult projectile / ballista projectile, falling into magma, getting crushed by a giant dragons foot, etc.
Other changes
Hit points now govern whether or not your conscious, not whether or not your alive.
Vitality points govern whether or not your alive. If you run out of these you die.
Children - If you meet the opposite sex and get busy with that person, there's a chance a child will result. If it does and you later die, you assume control of the child you created earlier, effective immediate. Children have the male parents physical scores and the female parents mental scores if a boy, and the female parents physical scores and the male parents mental scores if a girl.
Deities - In their home palaces Deities are not only totally invincible, they can manipulate reality any way they chose. This doesn't mean the DM is going to be a dick, it simply means you shouldn't try to fight them there, because no matter what their portfolio is, no matter what you hit them with, and no matter what you roll, it does absolutely zero damage to them. However Deities can be killed outside of their home dimensions. Note that killing a deity has a very strong chance of immediately ending the game, so do it sparingly. The only exception to the 'home palace' rule is if a deity empowers you with his or her magic to be a champion. A champion is specially selected and story-line specific, empowered by a deity to do that deities immediate desires. All non-deities (Even angels and demons), burn their bodies out if their a champion more than once or twice. By 'burn their bodies out', I mean to say they age rapidly afterward, or in the case of semi-mortal beings (again such as angels and demons), they become stupefied and must sleep for a period ranging from a few days to thousands of years. Time doesn't exist in a deities home palace and even if you sleep for thousands of years, you will arrive at the same moment you exited in.
Regarding magic
Anyone can use magic regardless of class. However, only magic user classes may -learn- NEW magic. A warrior, rogue, or etc may have one or two very basic spells (no higher than level 4 at the most), but only a magician may add spells to their list. Upon reaching a certain level, discretionary to the DM, a magic user may attempt to write their own spells with four possible results.
Success - Spell created and functions as intended.
Fluke - Spell created but functions differently than intended.
Backfire - Spell not created, items destroyed.
Failure - Spell goes haywire and does any number of possible things.
Regarding gates
Gates are mysterious and dangerous, and inter-system travel is possible (though rare). You might start out in forgotten realms and go through a gate as an emergency escape, only to find yourself stranded in Dying Suns or Dragon-lance. Or worse, Raven-Loft. (or... perhaps for the better, DF!)
Ranks and Getting them
Ranks function exactly like the normal 'leveling' dynamic, however, the maximum possible rank anyone can get is four stars, which means they've reached level 20 four times. All deities are between 3 and 4 stars in rank. At four stars its suggested you retire the character. After reaching level 20, all levels going up to the next 20 cost twice as much, then three times as much.
Settings.
Dark Ages Fantasy
Bronze Age Fantasy
Medieval Fantasy
Greek Mythology Fantasy
Nordic Mythology fantasy
Yggdrasil: Tree of Legends (the whole world is in a giant tree's branches, trunk, roots, etc, land biomes exist throughout the tree)
Final Fantasy (after dissidia occurs, all lands, towns, castles, dungeons, etc from 1 through 7 have fused into a single gigantic world)
Dragon Warrior (sourced from DW 1 through 3.)
Magic: The joined realm (5 different mono-colored realms, each three continents in size, have fused into a single, sealed off realm)
Castlevania: Legacy (mixes elements of fallout, CV, and vampire hunter D.)
Fallout: We're F*cked, aren't we? - More player options, different skills and locations, different classes, different races, but a world essentially the same or very similar to the fallout games.
Space Ranger: The RPG - Similar stats and dice dynamics but set in a collection of worlds which use humor as a prominent game dynamic. Zork, most anime, Semi-parodic settings, etc.
Zelda: Dark Age of Chaos - Set in or around the time of the first and second games, differs from canon to some degree.
WoD Re-writes
Note that these are significantly different from the original source material. WAY different. So different that they could be considered less 're-interpretations' and more 'this covers the same or similar themes but is vastly different'.
Vampire: Thirst
Ghost: Echo
Specter: Dungeon
Demon: Rebellion
Note that hunters have been replaced by a CIA/DIA/NSA-etc like group of professional government elite supernatural killers and that werewolves are all but extinct and therefore not playable. Specters are much like ghosts, but have returned to earth from paradise or inferno rather than lingering on earth for ghostly reasons.
Eclipse of the Soul
A borderline WoD-ish in nature and themes re-write of Raven-loft.
Hokuten: Final Warriors
Set in the world of Fist of the North Star, though cannonical events and people don't exist and will never exist. (this doesn't mean you can't use the same abilities as cannon characters though). This setting mixes in elements of many different fighting games including Ninja Gaiden, Tekken, Street Fighter, and others. (but not mortal kombat, sorry you guys).
Kaiju: Battle for the Shattered earth
Set in the world of Gojira, but set after the germ warfare apocolypse. Play as a giant monster! Or a human! Or a human that can transform into a giant monster! Wheee!
Beyond the stars
An interesting what if, basically it combines elements of Dr. Who, Star Wars, Star Trek, Predator / Alien and Battlestar Galactica.
On a good month I come up with between 1 and 3 more settings.
Note that these settings are not free-form in the sense that I spontaniously make the rules, every single one of these has a set of documents which contain the rules, some of which are on this computer.
Talk to me if your interested.
All systems are free-source. All names, characters, and trademarks are copyright their initial owners.
I'm fine with giving you the documentation, but this is absolutely imperative that you understand it and this is non-negotiable.
Unless you discuss in detail, using paperwork, and up front, with me, regarding making it into a business product, I do not give permission for such to be done and will not do so without compensation. (except where games are using already copyrighted stuff, in which case their not eligible).