The turn undead mechanic from OD&D (and early editions) is the lead face on Mt. Rushmore for me.

I have home-brewed a lot over the years based on that mechanic.

I like the one-sentence character creation from Cypher System, it's predecessors Numenera and The Strange, plus it's half-cousin Invisible Sun.

Each character is "Name is an {adjective} {noun} who {verbs}."

The descriptor (adjective) is generally a one-word personality descriptor such as "clam" or "tough". They provide a handful of benefits such as skill training, stat benefits, or roll bonuses. These are all available at character creation and don't increase with level.

The type (class) provides what you'd expect in a character class. In addition to abilities as you level, chosen from a list instead of prescribed, they provide initial stat baselines.

The focus (verb) is a mechanically meaningful epitaph such "bears a halo of fire" or "lives in the wilderness". They provide specific powers per level.

This isn't that different from the traditional race/class of D&D or the 5x5 method of nWoD/CoD games. What I like about it is you can select just a handful of each (most Cypher games have 3-4 types at most) and provide a lot of potential mechanically different characters and be done by picking one item from each column. It is as good, maybe better, for new players as OD&D/BX/BECMI lines. Even someone who doesn't know much about RPGs can get playing a "Brave Warrior who Throves with Deadly Accuracy".

Quote from: FingerRod on December 30, 2022, 10:11:37 AM
The turn undead mechanic from OD&D (and early editions) is the lead face on Mt. Rushmore for me.

I have home-brewed a lot over the years based on that mechanic.

It is pretty straightforward forward, and the number of uses of it, including Dune Bene Gesserit powers, is extensive. It is arguably the system to use for new class powers if you are starting from OD&D base

1990s Alternity I like for its entire system more than the setting, which isn't a bad setting but just isn't great either.  It has:

Several degrees of success.
Damage from attacks tied to the success degree.
Single-roll resolution where resistance from an opponent is factored in as a penalty rather than a need for an opposing roll.
Ablative armor that reduces incoming damage rather than making one harder to hit.
Health pools that do not automatically increase with levels.

I really, really like the rule mechanics.  Shame it tanked super hard like it did.

I love the funky dice and the dice chain mechanic from DCC where you can just move up and down it.  Fighting two-hamded?  Roll d14 to hit rather than d20.  So easy to use for all kinds of situations.  I was mildy off-put by the idea of more dice at first, but now I use those DCC dice in just about every other RPG I play.

Choice #2 would be the Siege Engine from Castles & Crusades.  Another super easy, intuitive mechanic.

Quote from: PulpHerb on December 30, 2022, 10:52:01 AM

Quote from: FingerRod on December 30, 2022, 10:11:37 AM
The turn undead mechanic from OD&D (and early editions) is the lead face on Mt. Rushmore for me.

I have home-brewed a lot over the years based on that mechanic.

It is pretty straightforward forward, and the number of uses of it, including Dune Bene Gesserit powers, is extensive. It is arguably the system to use for new class powers if you are starting from OD&D base

Absolutely. Not familiar with Dune Gesserit Powers but I have used it extensively with OD&D base. Assassins, thieves, etc.

Another little free game I like is called Pocket Fantasy. 

It's schtick is the entire game uses just 1D6.  At least it tries.  In reality there are lots of times you roll advantage, aka 2D6 and take the better result.  Example; climbing a wall for a rogue vs any other class. 

However, the game has two more neat features. 

Out of combat vs in combat magic.  In combat a wizard has only six spells to pick from, and can do so twice per fight.  Out of combat the wizard has no spell list.  You just tell the GM what you want to do, and the GM can set a difficulty number of 2-6, or just not allow it.  Like a spell to summon a brick bridge to cross a river.  The GM could even change difficulty as the GM needs it to work, or not work.   This can be done so the story plot is not derailed by the wizard who can just magic away every problem. 

The other is how combat rolls work.  The game doesn't bother with hit rolls.  Each combatant just rolls their combat skill dice, and that is the damage they could do, but the defender likewise rolls their own combat skill, and that is the damage they block.  It's simple, but effective. 

I've watched a lot of vids by the author of Pocket Fantasy reviewing other games, but not a lot on his game.

Now I want to try it.

Quote from: FingerRod on December 31, 2022, 05:58:45 PM

Quote from: PulpHerb on December 30, 2022, 10:52:01 AM

Quote from: FingerRod on December 30, 2022, 10:11:37 AM
The turn undead mechanic from OD&D (and early editions) is the lead face on Mt. Rushmore for me.

I have home-brewed a lot over the years based on that mechanic.

It is pretty straightforward forward, and the number of uses of it, including Dune Bene Gesserit powers, is extensive. It is arguably the system to use for new class powers if you are starting from OD&D base

Absolutely. Not familiar with Dune Gesserit Powers but I have used it extensively with OD&D base. Assassins, thieves, etc.

They are the witchy women from the Dune series.

Here's one example, where the T and D are used to control humans: http://strangemagic.robertsongames.com/2012/09/bene-gesserit-for-bx-d.html

I've been reading Index Card RPG lately, and it has a couple of ideas I really like in it.

One is playing everything, including downtime, out in turns. I know that exploration turns have been in D&D since the original edition, but they've kind of sloughed off as the game has developed. The idea of parsing even what would otherwise be free-form roleplay into dedicated time sections and calling on all the players in turn appeals to me.  As someone who largely plays through VTT/voice-chat these days, I'm entirely too familiar with the problem of people getting talked over or moving their tokens around while the GM is focused on something else.

The one I like better though is ICRPG's "effort" system, and the way it essentially assigns hit points to tasks like lock-picking or dispelling magic. This strikes me as an excellent way to add tension to routine tasks when time is of the essence, and I particularly like its potential for wizard duels. One thing D&D has always struggled with is its magic-vs-magic rules. Picture the bit in Moria where Gandalf tries to use magic to hold a doorway against the Balrog. In D&D terms, Gandalf casts Hold Portal, the Balrog either casts Knock, or if it doesn't have Knock it casts Dispel Magic and rolls once for instant success. In ICRPG, that Could be Gandalf and the Balrog making a series of opposed rolls, one adding HP to the Hold spell, and the other one knocking them off.

EDIT: It also has some ideas I'm iffy about. The notion of tying class-progression to items seems profoundly suspect to me.