Thinking about starting up a streamlined, better-explained Staggered Magi II. If you've got any comments, including just about that type of game in general (Arcanum Octet, Westlands), I'd love to hear them.
Intended changes from the original:
-Quickstart explanations, with more in-depth versions below. There's a ton of stuff that might be relevant or of interest in some situation or another, that simply isn't important just for making a character or doing anything except some specific circumstance.
-All custom schools of magic. Obviously I'd be making sure everyone's schools were appropriate, but I'm not sure there's any actual point to describing premade ones.
-Simplified items, including various rock-paper-scissors armor and weapon classifications.
-Limited spells known, or perhaps concepts mastered. I'd like to allow (and to some extent force) specialization within schools. I'm not entirely certain how to go about this, but the goal is to mechanically differentiate between, say, a necromancer who usually raises undead minions and one who usually afflicts enemies with weakening curses. Some sort of bonus to spells or concepts known, with the number limited by skill in that particular school, might work.
-Traits earnable through play. Ideally this would help distinguish players from each other, and perhaps provide a bonus the players can consciously choose at certain points. I might also assign traits- positive or negative- based on... well, if you follow these sorts of games you know what sometimes happens.
-Potentially, bonuses for different clusters of skills or schools, so if two people have equal hammer skill, but one combatant is also familiar with swords, axes, and polearms, he might be a better fighter in some way. Still considering if this is viable.