Before I get started, I'd like to ask a quick question about the way you guys do things here. Do you prefer everything a user posts about the same game be in the same thread, or do you prefer different subjects be in separate threads?

Now, since this is my first post about this game, I'd like to cover the basics so I can refer people to this post later if they don't understand something. This game is intended to be a universal RPG system, kinda like GURPS except not unplayable garbage. It comes with a single built-in universe comprised of 18 settings that will get added one at a time over a goal period of three years. (The first of these should be available about two months after the ruleset is released sometime next month.) It has a LOT of mechanics that come directly from the universe it's associated with, all of which can be freely dropped or altered at will to fit any other setting they are applied to. (Although, as always, changing the rules is a really easy way to break the game's balance, so be careful.)

The game's combat is more tactical than in other systems. It's important to have a good build, be well equipped and fight smart. You're more likely to die from doing something stupid than a single botched roll. The game also puts emphasis on long-term concerns, such as your biological needs (food, water and sleep), your mental health, fatigue and strain, equipment condition and conservation of resources.

The game's combat uses an action point system, with separate movement. You get a number of action points (equal to your agility). Every action takes a number of action points, for example a standard melee attack takes 4 AP and spells usually take 2-8, and any action that takes more action points than you have left carries over to the next round. Moving consumes action points as well, but you can move while acting at no AP cost if you're willing to take a penalty to your action dependent on your movement rate.

You can end your turn prematurely to keep your action points for out of turn reactionary actions, such as attacks of opportunity and dodging. These always have some advantage over standard actions, but it's harder to use them and frequently you can end up losing what you don't use because no reactionary actions were provoked. For example, an attack of opportunity only consumes 1/2 the normal AP, and the enemy loses some defensive options against it. (IE: Grappling provokes an AoO that ignores active defence, power attacking provokes an AoO that you can't guard against with the weapon used and casting provokes an AoO that both ignores active defence and you can't guard against in any way.) As another example, moving out of turn allows you to move outside the affected area of an attack before it hits, or farther from the epicentre of an explosion before it goes off, but this can also only be done if you have enough warning.

Important to all of the above is something called "stance". There are five stances. Click the spoiler tags for more information. These stances are chosen at the beginning of each round, in reverse order of initiative, and cannot be changed until the next round.

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These are total offence, offence, standard, defence and total defence. Total offence doubles your agility bonus to attack and allows you twice as many AP but removes your agility bonus to defence and prevents you from making any saving throws during this time. Offence doubles your agility bonus to attack and removes your agility bonus to defence, nothing more. Standard is standard. Defence doubles your agility bonus to defence but removes it from attack. Total defence removes all your action points, preventing you from acting at all, but doubles your agility bonus to defence and all your bonuses to your saving throws.

Now for attacks. In this system, when attacking, you have a few steps to an attack. They're simple, don't worry. First you select an attack type, the part of the target you're aiming for, and then if you're using any special attack options (IE: Power attack, critical strike). If you have enough action points, you attack. If not, the attack will carry over into the next turn. (IE: If you make an 8 AP power attack when you only have 4 AP remaining, it'll have to wait until your next round and consume 4 AP from that round.) Once all this is decided, roll and add your attack modifier. If it's higher than your opponent's defence, you hit. If it is equal to or lower than your opponent's defence, you miss. Information in the spoiler tags. There's a feature called armour rating, that results in a reduced hit if you exceed the opponent's defence by an amount equal to or lesser than its value. There's also damage reduction and damage immunity to consider. The opponent may also choose to make a guard save against the attack (which means they try to block or parry it), but that's detailed further down with other saving throws.

Spoiler

Armour rating removes all penetration from an attack, and has an additional penalty for each damage type. Bludgeon, force and corrosive damage are not affected any further. Concussive and slashing are converted into shallow damage, which is vastly inferior. Heat, cold and electric damage are halved. Piercing and puncture are halved and converted into inferior shallow damage. Shallow damage, unless it's a different damage type converted into shallow damage by armour rating, is completely removed.

Damage reduction is exactly how you probably already know it to work from other games. It takes that many points off of the damage types listed in parenthesis, unless the attack has the conditions found after the slash. However, here there's an effect called penetration that some attacks have, which allows them to ignore damage reduction equal to the value of the attack.

Damage immunity is a percentage resistance that comes after everything else, has the same syntax as damage reduction for what it does and doesn't impact, and penetration does not reduce it. Immunity is always a multiple of 5%. Immunity is not a common effect.

You have ten standard attack types. These are thrust, jab, swing, swipe, bash, throw, projectile/beam, automatic/shot, blast and area of effect. Click the spoiler tags to get more information about each.

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Thrust: Deals a high, fixed amount of its native damage type. (IE: 10) Strength adds an effect called "penetration", which allows these attacks to ignore an amount of damage reduction equal to their value. These attacks are more likely to critically hit than swings. However, they get standard attack modifiers and face higher defence than swings. Takes 4 AP.
Jab: A lighter variant on the thrust. Deals a moderate, randomized amount of its native damage type. (IE: 1d10) Strength adds penetration, but only half as much as it did for a thrust. These attacks can either get a higher attack bonus and take 4 AP, or get the same attack bonus and take 2 AP. They can be used in attacks of opportunity.
Swing: Deals a moderate, randomized amount of its native damage. (IE: 1d10) Strength adds extra damage of the "shallow" damage type, which is the weakest damage type in the game. Less likely to crit than a thrust, but more accurate as it gets a thrust's attack bonus and faces lower defence. Takes 4 AP.
Swipe: A lighter variant on the swing. Deals a low, fixed amount of its native damage type. (IE: 1) Strength adds shallow damage, but only half as much as it did for a swing. These attacks can either get a higher attack bonus and take 4 AP, or they can get the same attack bonus and take 2 AP. They can be used in attacks of opportunity.
Bash: Deals a strength-based amount of shallow damage. Penalizes the enemy's next action by the damage dealt. Faces the same defence as a thrust. Can either get the same attack as a thrust and take 4 AP, or half as much and take 2 AP. Can be used in attacks of opportunity, where they penalize the action that provoked them.
Projectile/beam: Deals a listed damage, gets no contribution from strength unless it says so. (If it does, it's a bow or sling, because those totally do get a strength bonus.) Faces the same defence as a thrust, gets less attack. At a certain distance specified on the weapon, the attack becomes "arcing", and faces higher defence. Unless no range is specified, of course. At that same range, reactionary actions are allowed. Unless, once again, no range is specified. Projectiles and beams also need to deal with range increments, which come in a form that lowers attack every increment (and is increased by skill) and a much larger form that lowers penetration (followed by damage when penetration runs out) every increment.
Automatic/shot: Similar to projectile in most ways, but comes in bursts. Has an increment called "recoil" (this exists for some projectile weapons as well, but it serves a different purpose for them) that effectively results in a lower roll for each shot in the burst. For example, a three-round burst with -2 recoil with a roll of 18+10 and a critical threat of 15-20 against a defence of 22 would result in two hits (at 26 and 24) and a miss (22), and the first shot would be a critical hit (at 16) where the next two would not be (at 14 and 12).
Blast: Deals damage either around a point, in a cone forward of a point, or in a straight line starting from a point. Has an increment called a blast increment, which it deals less damage for every... You basically know how this works, right? It's not rocket science. Has no attack, ignores defence and armour rating, can't be guarded against. Only reflex saves and cover impact it.
Area of effect: Deals damage within a set area. Does not diminish with range, deals the same damage to everything in that area. Tends to be weaker than a blast, but it dealing consistent damage makes it better for defeating groups of enemies with DR. Has no attack, ignores defence and armour rating, can't be guarded against. Only reflex saves and cover impact it.

There's also two special attack types that can be applied to the first five attack types.
Power attack: Makes the attack take double AP, inflict double fatigue, have double strain DC and provoke an attack of opportunity (not sounding like a good deal, is it?) but get double your normal strength bonuses. An emergency option for when you just can't hurt an enemy otherwise. There's a perk, "Improved Power Attack", that makes it not provoke attacks of opportunity anymore.
Critical strike: Increase your critical threat as much as you want, at the expense of 10x as many points of attack. Good for quickly dispatching easy to hit enemies. There's a perk, "Improved Critical Strike", that makes it only cost 5 attack per point of critical threat instead of 10.
Aim: Take 2 AP to aim your weapon at your target, allowing you to add an additional bonus to your attack dependent on your perception. Alternatively, take 4 AP and add a larger bonus. Projectile/beam and automatic/shot attacks tend to have some special qualities to make them better at this. IE: Bows can be aimed up to the 2 AP mark for free when being drawn, and a perk can make that the 4 AP mark. Having the weapon aimed allows a ranged weapon to perform attacks of opportunity on a target up to a limited range. This range is much longer if aimed up to the 4 AP mark. Aiming always allows reactionary actions, but only to the aiming itself. You must re-aim if you want to aim at a different target or a different part of the same target. A bash penalty to your aim action penalizes any attacks that aim action applies to, not just the first one.

There's also supposed to be other attack types, like ramming, but the rules aren't written yet.

You can attack any part of an opponent on their character sheet. For most enemies, this amounts to their torso, head, right or left arm/foreleg and right or left leg/hindleg. These parts have their own integrity scores. Damaging them to 50% cripples them and causes a penalty, 0% maims them and causes a much harsher penalty. -100% severs them, which prevents them from healing and may have other implications (a severed head or torso means instant death). -200% destroys, which prevents them from being re-attached. -400% leaves too little of them for the pieces to be worth tracking, largely a waste of time but against some enemies it matters. Parts that aren't the torso usually have less integrity than the torso. Additionally, critical hits are different on each body part, detailed further down but for now suffice to say that critical head wounds are much worse than critical body wounds and those in turn are much worse than critical limb wounds.

Then there's the character's health. This is determined by their size, creature type and constitution. A medium humanoid with 10 constitution has a maximum health of 200. (Note: This is actually written as 10*1d10+10, but it's maximised. But they're dice for a reason. There's an optional rule to start NPCs at less than perfect condition, where you actually roll those dice.) You encounter increasingly severe penalties as your health falls, start taking additional health damage when you fall below 0 and die at -100%. Click the spoiler tags for more information. Health is not lost all at once. A very small amount is lost immediately when hit, but that is followed by steady bleeding for ten minutes after the hit occurs. It's quite possible that a hit may not even slow you down right away, but will kill you later on down the road.

Spoiler

75%: -5 to initiative, active defence, attack, saves and checks, cannot use more than 3/4 of your AP.
50%: -10 penalty, cannot use more than 1/2 of your AP.
25%: -20 penalty, cannot use more than 1/4 of your AP.
0%: Cannot act. 1 shock damage per day.
-25%: Cannot act. 1 shock damage per hour.
-50%: Cannot act. 1 shock damage per minute.
-75%: Cannot act. 1 shock damage per round.
-100%: Dead.
It's worth noting that the perks "Made of Iron", "Hot Blooded" and "Diehard" dramatically alter this. "Made of Iron" allows you to sacrifice health (1HP/AP) to ignore the AP limit imposed by low health as long as your health is positive. "Hot blooded" trades the -5, -10 and -20 penalties for +1, +2 and +4 bonuses. "Diehard" makes you immune to shock damage.

Critical hits are hugely important in this game. Unlike other games, they do not deal increased damage. Instead, they have a special effect and deal attribute damage. The first comes from the damage type and is different for each, with only force damage lacking such an effect. (Though corrosive and shallow damage don't have any either, that's only because they don't count towards critical hits at all.) The damage types are listed in the spoiler tags below, with information on this and the amount of bleed they normally inflict. The attribute damage is based on hit location. Critical hits to the limbs cause no attribute damage, critical hits to the torso/body cause damage to strength, agility and constitution scaled to size (1/2 damage for a medium creature, less for larger and more for smaller), critical hits to the head cause more damage (1x damage for a medium creature, scaled to size) to strength, agility, constitution, perception, charisma and resolve. Additional effects may be gained from the "Better Criticals" perk, which adds limb, torso and head critical hit tables.

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Bludgeon: Bleed 1x/5 rounds, critical hits deal 1x extra body damage.
Concussive: Bleed 1x/5 rounds, critical hits deal 1x extra health damage and 1x/5 rounds extra bleed for 100 rounds.
Slashing: Bleed 1x/round, critical hits deal 1d12x/round extra bleed for 1 round.
Piercing: Bleed 1x/2 rounds, critical hits deal 1d3x/round extra bleed for 10 rounds.
Puncture: Bleed 1x/2 rounds, critical hits deal 1d6x/round extra bleed for 10 rounds.
Shallow: Bleed 1x/10 rounds, cannot critically hit.
Heat: No bleed, critical hits cause ignition for 1/2 value. (Causes additional non-critical heat damage over time, gets weaker each round.)
Cold: No bleed, critical hits cause freezing for twice value. (Temporary extra body damage, dissipates over time.)
Electric: No bleed, critical hits cause spasms for half value, full value if it hits the torso. (Lowers the target's attributes by the listed value, from the beginning of their next turn to the beginning of their turn after that.)
Force: 1x/2 rounds bleed, no special effect on crit.
Corrosive: No bleed, cannot critically hit. However, corrosive damage is doubled (before DR) against non-biological substances and doubled again against synthetic substances.

To protect them, high level characters frequently have a form of magical defence called a soul barrier. This provides extra DR equal to either their level or half their level (though not all classes have it) that doesn't work against natural weapons, light or sonic attacks, only works if they see the attack coming and vanishes if they take damage.

However, there's another thing that even high level characters with impenetrable soul barriers need to keep track of, and that's fatigue. Every action causes a small amount of fatigue and has a chance of causing strain to the involved body parts. Every 100 points gives a -1 to strength, agility, constitution, perception, charisma and resolve. Strain is much worse. If you get 100 strain, the part in question is treated as crippled if it's healthy, and maimed if it's crippled. At 200, it's treated as maimed no matter what. Remember that a maimed torso or head is potentially fatal (though straining your torso or head is difficult).

Last thing I want to cover is exactly what levels do. Simply put, you take levels in classes as you level up, which gives class features as you progress, an amount of skill points and a point to invest in your attributes. Every even level lets you take a perk. (Note: You do NOT start with any perks.) That's all it does.

Since I mentioned it, I should go into the skill system. You get anywhere from 5+PER to 20+PER skill points per level. These are invested into skills of your choice. Every 25 points invested in a skill yields a benefit that varies heavily from skill to skill. That's all skills do, so adding less than 25 will yield no benefit. As a quick example, investing in a ranged weapon skill lengthens its accuracy range increments, allowing you to hit targets at greater and greater ranges. As another example, investing in lockpicking allows you to get higher modifiers (you start off with no modifiers at all) from agility and perception when making lockpicking checks. Each skill is different, and I am not even going to try to cover all of them here.

In fact, this is getting a bit long for covering the basics, isn't it? I'm going to cut it off here. There's more mechanics that are integral to the game, such as heal rate, mental damage and needs, but those are a bit more advanced and I'll leave them for another time.