System

Here's my homebrew.

Three basic attributes, each divided into two categories: Body, Mind, and Spirit. The first sub-category represents your full strength in the category, and the second your control or what you can use spur of the moment. For example, a roll to punch someone in the face would be based on your body control, while the damage you did would be as much of your body strength as you wanted to use. A role to figure something out (if I ever required you to make such a roll) while sitting at your leisure would be based on your mind strength, while a roll to notice something would be based on your mind control (I think I need a different term for that). All of these values range from 0 to 10, with 3 being average.

Body represents everything physical. The strength bit represents things like how hard you can hit, how much you can lift, and even how good you look. Body control represents things like how coordinated you are and how many balls you can juggle at a time. Someone with a 8/1 will be very unlikely to connect with a punch, but will break something if he does. Someone with a 1/8 will nearly always hit, but they'll barely bruise.

Mind represents everything mental. The strength bit represents how smart you are, how well you do research, and how convincingly you can give a prepared speech. The control bit represents how likely you are to notice that your shirt is on inside out, how well you can lie extemporaneously, and how likely you are to remember all the instructions you just read on how to dismantle a bomb. Someone with a 8/1 will be the too smart to walk and chew gum type, except that the walking bit is body. He'd be able to understand cold fusion, but wouldn't notice the masked man with the knife standing next to his favorite chair. Someone with a 2/8 would be of slightly below average intelligence, but he'd be so clever he could con you out of your false teeth.

Spirit represents everything supernatural. The strength bit represents how powerful your spells can be, how well you resist spells, and how likely you are to know that something unnatural is going on nearby. The control bit represents how likely you are to know exactly what that unnatural thing is, how complicated your spell can be, or how quickly you can cast it. Someone with a 8/1 would be able to cast very powerful spells, but only from the comfort of their own library. Someone with a 1/9 could only cast very weak and superficial effects, like lighting a candle or floating pieces of paper around, but could cast them constantly and without thought.

You make up your own skills. You might choose Magic+1, or Pickpocketing+2, or Ballroom Dancing+5. How broad the skill is will determine how expensive I make it, or whether I allow it at all. Those three would probably all cost the same, dependant on the setting, while I would not allow a Good at Everything+4. Skills range from +1 to +5. Weaknesses work the same way in reverse. Music-3 means you shouldn't pick up a guitar or try to sing.

Rolls are 1d10, + attribute, + or - any applicable skills or weaknesses, + or - any difficulty modifiers, versus 8 or an opponent's roll.

Hitpoints are your body total. Armor adds to hitpoints and subtracts from body control. Weapons add to damage.

If scores are uneven in a category you will have limitations. If you have a body of 1/8 you'll probably be able to consistently punch someone, but can only do 1 damage. If you have a body of 8/1, hitting will be hard and if you connect you will have no choice but to do at least 7 points of damage. If you're using a knife that adds 3 to damage you will have to do at least 3 damage on a hit unless you have a difference of at least 3 in favor of control (Body strength + any weapon damage - body control = minimum damage, though nothing negative).

Further variations, including how many points you get to build a character, will depend on which setting we use. Keep in mind that most of the time I'll just make up results that seem right to me without any reference to the system at all. Feel free to complain if I make something up that you think was unfair, then we'll resort to the system.

Does this seem too complicated, tragically flawed in some way I've missed, or just pointless? Are we willing to use this, or is there something we'd prefer? Have I wasted my time, or come up with something that can work and still fit on an index card? I'd like to try this out, although I'm open to other ideas within limits. I won't do d20, and it'll be hard for me to do anything I don't have access to or know really well. That means that anything freely available online is fair game, as well as the old storyteller system. Vote.