I'm basically taking bits and pieces from other systems and tacking them on like Orks and looted vehicles. And yes, I know that this is going to require me to pretty much rebuild all monsters and spells and that it's going to be a lot of work. I think it's worth it.
The foundation mechanic is d20: stats, levels, skills, feats, talents and the condition track all in pretty much the Saga meaning of those terms.
Skill ranks are either entirely gone or swollen, depending on how you want to look at it - your skill level can be described by one of 5 terms: untrained, dabbler, apprentice, journeyman, master. When making opposed checks, your skill modifier is determined by how many steps of training above your opponent you have, using the modifiers from the condition track: +0 if you have the same skill, +1 if you are one step better, +2/+5/+10 for successive steps (maximum of 5 steps better). The roll itself is d20 + character level (1-20) + stat mod + skill step bonus. Magic items, buffs, and other types of conditional mod will add to or subtract from your skill steps; with a +1 sword, your Melee (Sword) skill would gain 1 step. Above master level, you'd simply note a +X from buffs and such (master +1 in this case). Same thing with armor. For static checks (like picking a lock) your step bonus is the same as if your opponent was entirely untrained (unless it's an intelligent, magical lock or something else weird).
In that vein, Saga RAW has something of a scaling issue with using skills vs defenses/armor/whatever, so we sidestep that be making everything that affects the RNG directly into skills. Magic has a number of different schools, each of which is a separate skill. Combat I haven't got pinned down precisely yet, but probably will have about 4-5 weapon group skills and 4 armor skills. Which you use will depend on the weapon or armor you're equipped with. Fort/Ref/Will are skills.
Iterative attacks, by default, gone. Possibly will be accessible via feat or so (like Saga), more likely simply replaced with scaling damage. One of the things I like most about Saga is how Force powers are handled. The better your roll over and above the DC, the bigger effect you get from the power (for example, DC 15 to activate the power, base of 2d6 damage; for every 5 points by which you beat the DC you get another 2d6 damage up to a cap of 8d6). I think weapon attacks should work the same way (fighters CAN have nice things).
Haven't pinned down the armor system entirely, but the skeleton I'm looking at right now works like this: armor has 3 stats and a type. DR, Coverage, Encumbrance, and light/medium/heavy. heavier armor will typically have more DR and Coverage (bonus to defense), but higher encumbrance (penalty to Ref). Armor skills are slightly different from the rest of the system: armor use feats basically enable the use of those types, but the skill level is basically entirely due to the armor itself. There's also an Unarmored skill, which is available by default and is used by anyone who doesn't have "Armor" equipped, typically monks/ninja/wizards/etc.
DR base is +3 per armor type (3/6/9), which means an even challenge opponent wearing light armor should be able to shrug off most dagger attacks, one in heavy armor should be able to shrug off most longsword attacks but not a greataxe, etc. Better armor materials can add a few points to that; max of +3 from materials or so. Permanent enchantment I'm leaning towards no DR gain, but temporary buffs might add another 1 or 2. There will be abilities/talents available that can reduce or bypass DR.
I want to make all different weapon styles viable, so I'm leaning towards this type of structure:
Sword and Board
Your classic knight/armored warrior. Shields grant cover/defense/something, not certain yet.
+wis mod to hit (waiting for an opening)
1H Weapon
Free offhand to use potions/wands/etc. versatility with not weapons. Maybe favored by spellcasters or hybrids.
+int mod to hit (finding weak points)
2H Weapon / Polearm
Higher damage potential, can bring more strength to bear on a hit, slower (possible parry/defense penalties depending on weight of weapon)
+str mod to hit (not caring about finesse but just smash)
Two Weapon / Double Weapon
Knife fighter with two daggers, duelist with rapier and main-gauche. Can be used to add an attack or to parry (add defense). Versatility but only with weapons.
+dex mod to hit (feinting, attacking too quickly for opponent to defend against)
Initial: second attack as part of standard at -0/-5 or gain defense of +1. 2nd tier: second attack at +0/-2 or gain defense of +2. 3rd tier: second attack at -0/-1 or gain +5 defense.
Unarmed
Monk/martial artist, faster, less (or not) effective against armor. Probably can use either TWF, 1H weapon optionally.
Thrown
Ninja with shuriken, carnies with daggers, alchemist with splash weapons
would like to get +cha mod but can't find even a flimsy justification for it. either dex or str. Also might use Dex for this and use Cha for TWF.
Ranged
Archer, primitive tribal with blowgun
+con mod to hit (holding the weapon steady for long enough to get a solid aim)
For magic, I like the D&D spell flavor but I utterly loathe Vancian casting mechanics. Something similar to the PF word of power system is what I'm planning to use for a baseline (I've actually been going through the spells themselves to generate the component words). Effect/target/area/duration/powerlevel, all of which will modify the casting DC. Beating the cast DC will cast the spell, beating it by 5/10/15 etc will give better effect or duration. Some spell effects will have bonus effects when cast on a target that is X steps down the (A) condition track. Failing a casting check, or casting certain spells, will push you down the fatigue track, making it more difficult to cast the next spell(s). Fatigue recovers based on how far down you are (and only one step at a time), if you hit unconscious on the track only a full night's sleep will restore you. At 4 steps down (-10), you need 4 hours rest, 3 steps 1 hour rest, 2 steps 10 minutes, 1 step 1 minute. (Subject to adjustment, these are rough values.)
There are 3 condition tracks: Physical/Morale/Fatigue. Physical handles things like critical hits, most standard status conditions like stunned/blinded/sickened etc. An attack against this would be something like: attack roll vs Fort, if attack beats Fort push one step down on Physical condition track, if opponent is now at 2 or more steps down they gain the Stunned condition for 1 round. Morale handles things like fear, morale bonuses, bard/marshal abilities, and turning attempts. Fatigue handles spellcasting, endurance type stuff (long marches, sleeping in armor, prolonged extreme environments like desert). These condition tracks are somewhat different from the standard Saga version in that they also have one or more steps (this might be increased/unlocked with talents/feats) in the positive direction. This is where buffs like bard songs, regen magic, vigor and such come in, they give bonuses that must be knocked off before the target can start taking penalties on that track.
Leveling up is a bit unusual. Basically you don't level up in a class per se, at least not the base classes. You gain levels in an archetype (Fighter/Rogue/Mage/Cleric/Expert), and the actual class features (Rage, Sneak Attack, etc) are given by talents you choose. So, in effect, you can freely multiclass all you want. Stuff like paladin, assassin, archmage, necromancer, inquisitor... basically anything that's more of a title will be a PrC. PrC will give benefits the base classes don't have access to, but reduce versatility/options. Maybe also limit skill levels outside the core competency (archmage armor/weapon skills other than staff/unarmored are suppressed down to dabbler, or similar). This will have to be worth the tradeoff, maybe some sort of gain in direct proportion to what's lost - if archmage loses 3 levels of armor skill, they gain 3 levels of knowledge(magic) or something. Can't just take things away that players have paid for.
So, yeah, long. I hope worth reading, though. Any comments/criticism are welcomed (go easy on the ridicule though
