I'm actually going to say the "OSR" in general has become sort broad enough you can tool-box together anything and all the mechanics are almost entirely pick-and-mix, core resolution can be anything from a 2d6 mechanic, to a roll under attribute, or D20 + MOD Vs DC.

I've got a lot of mileage just mixing and matching rules from different games in that fashion for 1-shots.

A concise all in one system:

If my prior answer isn't exactly what you're looking for, my recommendations then would be WEG D6 generic system, or the Heroic D6 system,both are very suitable for just about anything.

I like QAGS, Wushu, and Fate Accelerated Edition for quick hacks with lots of narrative control.

Quote from: S'mon on November 16, 2024, 04:27:03 AMMini Six Bare Bones Edition, simplified version of WEG D6, and it's very good.  I keep a half dozen print copies to give out to people! No game is truly generic, but Mini Six covers a broad range of pulp action/adventure gaming, including a bunch of sample settings in the book, and there are a lot of setting-specific variants like Breachworld on Drivethru, some also very good. You can do pretty well any pulpy/cinematic setting with it; I used it for Primeval Thule swords & sorcery.

Mini Six does sound interesting.

When brainstorming a little, about how to start with a generic template; I thought about asking:

(Within reasonable power levels / ability levels)

What is your primary ability?
What is your secondary ability?
What is your background?

Then assign some bonuses to that stuff, and use something simple; like 1d6 or 2d6.

Tiny Dungeon is a simple generic RPG. It even comes with several settings.

And then there is Outgunned which I am looking forward to try out

Quote from: Coffeecup on November 17, 2024, 07:23:13 AMTiny Dungeon is a simple generic RPG. It even comes with several settings.

And then there is Outgunned which I am looking forward to try out

Tiny Dungeon has a fun Dice Mechanic.  Really simple.

Quote from: tenbones on November 16, 2024, 01:06:47 PM

Quote from: Man at Arms on November 15, 2024, 11:33:00 PMAre Simple and Generic, capable of describing one RPG?

Savage Worlds Corerules are literally that.

I would not consider Savage Worlds simple at all by 2020s standards. It may have qualified as simple in the 2000s, when its main competitors were D&D 3.5, GURPS, HERO System, Shadowrun, etc.

But there has been a definite trend toward simplification since then, and I would call Savage Worlds medium-to-heavy these days. It has fairly involved wound and death-and-dying rules, several different types of actions (one of which was added to the Adventure Edition years after publication!), many pages of edges, hindrances, and different combat options. It has quite a few very specific persnickety rules, like rules for stacking different kinds of armor. It's not uncommon to have five or six different static modifiers to any given combat roll, given all the different combat options and rules. Hell, just keeping track of the many pages of errata they've put out feels like a full-time job in itself, which puts me off even as someone who likes the system.

When I think of simple and generic these days, I think of stuff like

• Risus
• Free Universal
• Tricube Tales

Savage Worlds is universal, but I also agree it's not simplistic.  It is worth a look, but it's not my first choice.

For me it's either Mini-Six Bare Bones, or Tiny D6.  Unfortunately, both also have drawbacks. 

Mini-Six Bare Bones is free to download, easy to do a lot of things with it, it's the same rules as Star Wars D6, and that's a huge plus, but it suffers when trying to run supernatural powers.  The built in magic system is a bit rigid.  Ray Nolan was re-writing it to use suggested changes from the fanbase, but he never finished it.

Tiny D6 is the game system I currently run because I play with my young kid.  He can easily handle it.  I say it's universal because there are versions of the game for every genre.  The downside is that they're not free.  If you want to play pirates, cool. They have it.  Super Heroes?  There is a game for that genre, but you're buying the game again.  Each genre is sold separately, so it's not exactly a universal game.  It's also a bit too simple because it was made for kids.

I would go with them anyways, because they're better than you think.  Mini-Six in particular since it is a single book that is fully free.  You can't say it wasn't available or that you want to try it before you buy it. 

@weirdguy
Although I also use the Tiny D6 system for my kids group it is not written for children but for people who don't like rules. It is a solid system which can be easily made more complex.

I have the second edition of Tiny Dungeon and the provided settings are not meant for children.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on November 17, 2024, 04:19:02 PMMini-Six Bare Bones is free to download, easy to do a lot of things with it, it's the same rules as Star Wars D6, and that's a huge plus, but it suffers when trying to run supernatural powers.  The built in magic system is a bit rigid.

I must be the only person who likes the Mini Six magic system! It worked great in my Primeval Thule game. The only problem I had with D6 System is that high BODY PCs can end up immune to weak attacks. And doing huge number of attack rolls is impractical, though using the D6 system combined attacks rule (not in M6, I think it first appeared in the Star Wars Companion) helps.  I ran The Licheway in D6 and ended up declaring the skeleton horde was difficult terrain with a chance of injury.

I'm working on my own universal system that mixes a number of designs. It has die plus stat resolution, fixed attributes, freeform backgrounds instead of skills, advantages and disadvantages, and abstract simplified combat.

Quote from: S'mon on November 18, 2024, 03:03:20 AM

Quote from: weirdguy564 on November 17, 2024, 04:19:02 PMMini-Six Bare Bones is free to download, easy to do a lot of things with it, it's the same rules as Star Wars D6, and that's a huge plus, but it suffers when trying to run supernatural powers.  The built in magic system is a bit rigid.

I must be the only person who likes the Mini Six magic system! It worked great in my Primeval Thule game. The only problem I had with D6 System is that high BODY PCs can end up immune to weak attacks. And doing huge number of attack rolls is impractical, though using the D6 system combined attacks rule (not in M6, I think it first appeared in the Star Wars Companion) helps.  I ran The Licheway in D6 and ended up declaring the skeleton horde was difficult terrain with a chance of injury.

We house rule it a bit.

For powers we let the GM set the difficulty number based on the size of the effect.  You want to use telekinesis to bend a spoon you're holding, that's easy.  You want to lift an army tank out of the mud from a mile away, that's very hard.  Rules as written the power is a fixed difficulty number and weight/range limits. 

The bigger one is how to run super heroes.  The game suggests buying super powers using character creation points similar to buying Perks like Attractive" or "Lucky".  But, that's it.  There is no more info or advice beyond that. 

It's the price you pay for getting a rules lite game meant for all genres.  It doesn't cover everything you need.  You must house rule it.

Quote from: weirdguy564 on November 18, 2024, 09:02:17 AMThe bigger one is how to run super heroes.  The game suggests buying super powers using character creation points similar to buying Perks like Attractive" or "Lucky".  But, that's it.  There is no more info or advice beyond that. 

It's the price you pay for getting a rules lite game meant for all genres.  It doesn't cover everything you need.  You must house rule it.

I have a Mini Six superhero game, I should give it a good read. It seems perfect for street-level super heroes.

Quote from: S'mon on November 18, 2024, 09:42:07 AMI have a Mini Six superhero game, I should give it a good read. It seems perfect for street-level super heroes.

Try D-list supers ala Mystery Men.  I was in a game like that, powered by FAE and had a blast.

GURPS: Generic Universal Role-Playing System.

I remember running "D&D" for my brother and cousins when I was in junior high, only having read the Red Box during science class. I sort of understood the concept, so just ran with it. No dice, no character sheets, we played for HOURS with nothing more than a running narrative and the understanding it was, in fact, a game. Probably the most fun I've ever had, and as simple and generic as it gets.

Amber is my second favorite RPG, even though I like ASL and SFB (maybe a rejection of complexity while embracing it?). Wujcik makes it pretty clear that pure roleplaying has no actual rules beyond the social contract between the DM and the players. He was probably right.