History Main / GameSystem

Most Game Systems involve using numerical statistics to mathematically chart a character's abilities, though the exact stats and the nature of their use varies widely between systems. In addition, most systems generally involve some randomness, so that there's an element of chance in most actions -- you can't be 100% certain beforehand whether your attempt will succeed or fail. In TabletopGames, this typically takes the form of UsefulNotes/{{dice}}-rolling, while VideoGames use random number generators instead. In addition, there's typically one person who takes the role of "referee", controlling {{NPC}}'s actions and deciding how rules apply in specific situations. The computer AI does this in VideoGame {{RPG}}s, but it falls to a human GameMaster to do this in TabletopGames -- this, unsurprisingly, means that tabletop {{RPG}}s tend to be much more flexible and fluid than computer-based ones; a program can only handle what it's been programmed to, while a person is much more capable of improvisation.

* ''UsefulNotes/{{Unisystem}}''

* ''UsefulNotes/BEEREngine''

* ''UsefulNotes/ForgedInTheDark'' was originally designed for ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'', but has since been released as a free SRD and used to run games in entirely different genres (''TabletopGame/ScumAndVillainy'', ''TabletopGame/BandOfBlades'', etc.).
* ''UsefulNotes/{{Fudge}}''
** ''UsefulNotes/{{Fate}}''

* ''UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse'': Originally developed for ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'', it has since been adapted to a number of other [=RPGs=], e.g. ''TabletopGame/DungeonWorld'', ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'', ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterhearts}}'', ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven'', etc. While not a UniversalSystem ''per se'', it is designed to be lightweight and easily hackable, making it uniquely easy to adapt to any setting and narrative genre.

* TabletopGame/SavageWorlds from Pinnacle Entertainment Group.

* The UsefulNotes/D20System, originally used by ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' since 3rd Edition. Available under a free license, it has a huge number of settings and spinoff systems related to it.

** ''TabletopGame/TrinityUniverse''

Originally a Game System and its setting were tightly integrated -- if you wanted to play in a certain setting, or genre, you bought a book or boxed set that described both the system and the setting, and/or an 'adventure pack' that detailed a pre-made storyline for the players to follow. However, over the years the concepts of {{House System}}s and {{Universal System}}s have emerged. {{House System}}s, as the name implies, are HouseRules taken to their logical extreme -- home-brewed systems consisting ''entirely'' (or at least largely) of HouseRules. {{Universal System}}s, on the other hand, are deliberately designed ''without'' a specific setting or storyline -- they usually consist of the basic framework (such as dice-rolling and combat mechanics), but also have rules that allow a player to adapt his favorite novel or computer game for use as a setting.

* ''TabletopGame/BEEREngine''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Fudge}}''
** ''TabletopGame/{{Fate}}''

* ''TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse'': Originally developed for ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'', it has since been adapted to a number of other [=RPGs=], e.g. ''TabletopGame/DungeonWorld'', ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'', ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterhearts}}'', ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven'', etc. While not a UniversalSystem ''per se'', it is designed to be lightweight and easily hackable, making it uniquely easy to adapt to any setting and narrative genre.

* ''UsefulNotes/ForgedInTheDark'' was originally designed for ''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'', but has since been released as a free SRD and used to run games in entirely different genres.

* ''TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse'': Originally developed for ''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'', it has since been adapted to a number of other [=RPGs=], e.g. ''Dungeon World'', ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'', ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterhearts}}'', ''Sagas of the Icelanders'', etc. While not a UniversalSystem ''per se'', it is designed to be lightweight and easily hackable, making it uniquely easy to adapt to any setting and narrative genre.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Fudge}}'' (including ''FATE'' and its ''FATE Accelerated'' variant).