Here goes my fantasy RPG wish list:
1. My favorite kind of fantasy is Sword & Sorcery (Howard, Lieber, etc.), so I want a game that is quick, gritty, and deadly. Life is cheap and the PCs are not neccessarily the biggest sharks in the tank. Social connections and conflict should be a big emphasis. No world-saving heroics, just ass-saving ones.
2. A magic system that treats magic as a strange, unnatural force rather than as technology (ala D&D). It should be vast in power, unreliable, terrible in cost, and largely out of the hands of the PCs. In the end, the main baddie (a wizard, natch) should be vulnerable to being run through with a PC's sword during the complicated ritual that is required for the terrible doom to be unleashed.
3. I like very light rule systems. I don't want or need a crunchy tactical emphasis in combat resolution. I play a lot of wargames, so I get my fix there. I just want something dramatic and cool to happen. Preferably sooner rather than later.
What game fits all these requirements? Fucked if I know...
Of the D20 line of games the best fit I've found so far is Conan. In the past I have used whatever system I liked at the time, including some fun games using the Matrix rules by Chris Engels. I am certainly open to other suggestions.
TGA