Edit:  Can you recommend an OSR  NON-FANTASY generic rules light to moderate system that's pretty easy to use?  Like GURPS, but not GURPS.

I'm looking at broadening out my home brew fantasy rules system to also include other eras/genres like sci fi or modern.  I like to tinker with systems.

Ideally the system you recommend is both d20 based and class based, but I'll look at whatever you think is worth my time.  Thanks

d20 based and class based that is also generic? True 20 is only one I can think of that fits those categories and is actually a good game. And by good game, I literally mean something I would not mind playing at all. I really like the rules for the most part, and they're easily adaptable to a ton of genres.

d20 without classes, I've heard Perfect20 is really good but I have never played it.

Almost all the other generic RPGs are going to be skills-based, or at least open concepts, and none are strictly d20. d6, Basic RP, Savage Worlds, GURPS, HERO, etc. Out of all of them, if I had to pick, I'd go with EABA, but I am an outlier here most likely. EABA is one of the best DESIGNED games I've ever played. Whether or not it's fun is a different story, but it certainly is a good game. Out of all of those, GURPS is probably going to be the one to pick if you need resources, and after that maybe Savage Worlds because it does GURPS better than GURPS. I dunno, I guess it just depends on what sort of fantasy your homebrew is, if it's cinematic, gritty, heroic, whatever, and what other genres you want to include.

Never heard of True 20 or Perfect 20 or EABA.  Will check them out.  Thanks!

https://www.btrc.net/images/stories/freedownloads/eaba/btr6101_sample.pdf

https://freeronin.com/gr_files/True20_quickstart.pdf
https://freeronin.com/

https://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/srd/perfect20/Perfect20_2006.pdf

That'll get you started.

Quote from: Brad on June 08, 2023, 02:17:23 PM
https://www.btrc.net/images/stories/freedownloads/eaba/btr6101_sample.pdf

https://freeronin.com/gr_files/True20_quickstart.pdf
https://freeronin.com/

https://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/srd/perfect20/Perfect20_2006.pdf

Besides the quickstart, I also have an SRD of the full True20 rules here:

https://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/srd/srd_true_generic/index.html

I tried True20 for a while, but it never really clicked for me. I found I prefer skill-based like Savage Worlds for my generic system.

Quote from: Vic99 on June 08, 2023, 01:32:28 PM
Edit:  Can you recommend an OSR  NON-FANTASY generic rules light to moderate system that's pretty easy to use?  Like GURPS, but not GURPS.

I'm looking at broadening out my home brew fantasy rules system to also include other eras/genres like sci fi or modern.  I like to tinker with systems.

Ideally the system you recommend is both d20 based and class based, but I'll look at whatever you think is worth my time.  Thanks

D100 based systems are largely cross-compatible and that makes them very easy to tinker with. If you want it to be d20 based, just divide everything by 5 (in several variants that's easy because they do a lot of multiplying by 5).

Combining Stars Without Number, Worlds Without Number and Cities Without Number (currently being KickStarted) would cover the vast majority of bases and the games are designed to work together if you want.

Quote from: Vic99 on June 08, 2023, 01:32:28 PM
Edit:  Can you recommend an OSR  NON-FANTASY generic rules light to moderate system that's pretty easy to use?  Like GURPS, but not GURPS.

I'm looking at broadening out my home brew fantasy rules system to also include other eras/genres like sci fi or modern.  I like to tinker with systems.

Ideally the system you recommend is both d20 based and class based, but I'll look at whatever you think is worth my time.  Thanks

By non-fantasy, do you mean no magic, or no elves and dwarves in a pseudo-medeival setting? (I'm assuming the latter.)

True 20 is incredibly robust, but it's not OSR since it has skills and feats. It strips out alot of the 3E extra baggage (but unfortunately adds some of it's own.) There are three generic classes: Adept, Expert, and Warrior. The skill system hits the sweet spot of not too many and not too few. The best feature is that there are no dead levels-- every level, each class gets a feat. The drawback is the Damage Save, which is too convoluted. They streamlined it later in Mutants and Masterminds 3E. By the way, you may want to check that game out. There's a free SRD online.

Stars Without Number is deifnitely OSR. It has three generic classes: Warrior, Expert, and Psychic. You could easily use this for a game set in the 2020's by stripping out the high tech. It uses a D20 for combat and 2d6 for skills. It has a high mortality rate, especially at 1st level.

Perfect 20, by Levi, is a neat expreiment, but it's definitely fantasy. You create your own class by assigning a point budget to the different class progressions (BAB, skills, saves, etc.) It doesn't use HP but a very intetesting wound box idea. The feats follow a universal schema of an "opening feat" and four "advanced feats" which you can take next.

Microlite 81 is rules lite, D20 core stripped down to emulate B/X. There are hundreds of Microlite variants. You can find one for just about any setting and any system. There's a ML Pathfinder, a ML 5th edition, etc. True to it's name, it is very lite. I think the core rules are four pages, but some variants are quite long. If you like to tinker, you will love ML.

While there isn't a genericised Swords & Wizardry AFAIK, it's been used to create huge numbers of other genre games, especially the White Box version (I recommend White Box Fantasy Medieval Adventure Game). One of my favourites is White Star which does SF, the Galaxy Edition covers a wide variety of genres. You can do WW2 with Operation White Box, and so on.

The Red Room's "Wretched" series covers a wide variety of genres and there are now also alternative rules for using virtues for experience instead of just vices.

Does Everywhen by Garnett Elliott qualify? It's based on the 2d6 Barbarians of Lemuria.

Stellagama has some awesome 2d6 systems which are well written and you can pick from complexity Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light, and Cepheus Quantum. The Quantum Engine SRD is generic and PWYW. (Don't judge the writing and formatting of their pay work by the SRD. The SRD, being free, has significantly less work in it.)

The Quantum games have simple but fun rules with the Conan-like Barbaric (Barbaric, which is having a v2 out next month), Cepheus Atom being post-apocalyptic, Quantum Sorcery (one page, I know, no magic), Quantum Starfarer, and Superpowered. If you want the traditional 6 attributes, look at Light or Deluxe.

Quote from: Tod13 on June 09, 2023, 09:24:38 AM
Does Everywhen by Garnett Elliott qualify? It's based on the 2d6 Barbarians of Lemuria.

Stellagama has some awesome 2d6 systems which are well written and you can pick from complexity Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light, and Cepheus Quantum. The Quantum Engine SRD is generic and PWYW. (Don't judge the writing and formatting of their pay work by the SRD. The SRD, being free, has significantly less work in it.)

The Quantum games have simple but fun rules with the Conan-like Barbaric (Barbaric, which is having a v2 out next month), Cepheus Atom being post-apocalyptic, Quantum Sorcery (one page, I know, no magic), Quantum Starfarer, and Superpowered. If you want the traditional 6 attributes, look at Light or Deluxe.

Thanks for pointing out the Traveller-based 2d6 system, which I had forgotten about. For fantasy settings, there is also the Sword of Cepheus.

Quote from: Rhymer88 on June 09, 2023, 10:33:45 AM

Quote from: Tod13 on June 09, 2023, 09:24:38 AM
Does Everywhen by Garnett Elliott qualify? It's based on the 2d6 Barbarians of Lemuria.

Stellagama has some awesome 2d6 systems which are well written and you can pick from complexity Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light, and Cepheus Quantum. The Quantum Engine SRD is generic and PWYW. (Don't judge the writing and formatting of their pay work by the SRD. The SRD, being free, has significantly less work in it.)

The Quantum games have simple but fun rules with the Conan-like Barbaric (Barbaric, which is having a v2 out next month), Cepheus Atom being post-apocalyptic, Quantum Sorcery (one page, I know, no magic), Quantum Starfarer, and Superpowered. If you want the traditional 6 attributes, look at Light or Deluxe.

Thanks for pointing out the Traveller-based 2d6 system, which I had forgotten about. For fantasy settings, there is also the Sword of Cepheus.

Sword is part of the Cepheus Light line. I need to write up the divisions. At some point, the Stellagama folk are supposed to have a write up classifying and describing the three groups.

We play tested Barbaric! 2nd Edition and it was a lot of fun. Very traditional Conan feel. (Combat is fun with criticals doing fun stuff. And magic is slow and dangerous.)