Pangenre RPG Core Rules (Revised 1st Edition) (2011)

From publisher blurb:

The Pangenre RPG Core Rules are the centerpiece of the Pangenre RPG System, a true multi-genre role-playing game. If you are yearning for a system that feels more realistic than existing designs, yet is still as playable as the easiest in-depth RPG system, Pangenre is for you!

Pangenre is built from Open Game Content as defined in the Open Game License (OGL). This makes it easier for experienced players to assimilate sweeping changes to the character and combat systems. But Pangenre is not just another d20 clone or spin-off. It's a brand-new game system.

The Open Game "core mechanic" remains intact. Decide on your action, roll dice, add modifiers, and compare to the target DC. So if you know how to play Open Game rules, you're already halfway to learning Pangenre!

Pangenre allows you to place your game in almost any setting you can imagine. It includes equipment for archaic, modern, and futuristic scenarios. Additional supplements will address, among other things, magic and supernatural phenomena and related skills.

Archaic Scenarios
Anything set prior to the 20th Century can be played with Pangenre, from Homeric epics to Renaissance swordplay to Victorian era imperial adventures to Old West shootouts.

Modern Scenarios
The 20th and 21st Centuries are your playground with Pangenre. Weapons and armor spanning the centuries are presented for your use. Kevlar works as Kevlar should. (And frankly, don't get in a gunfight without it!)

Future Scenarios
From the coming Mayan apocalypse to Humankind's eventual forays into the depths of space, the Core Rules have enough material to allow you play most science-fiction scenarios you can conceive. The Core Rules include equipment for futuristic scenarios such as envisioned by Niven and Whedon, along with such standards as laser weapons, gauss weapons, EMP weapons, as well as futuristic armor and force fields to protect you from them. Futuristic skills are easy because most are extensions of modern skills, and we have integrated ideas such as direct computer interfaces and EVA.

Mixed Scenarios
Time travel and multi-dimension scenarios are a snap with Pangenre. The Core rules give you archaic, modern, and future equipment and weapons to adventure across the far reaches of time and space without having to change your rules with each dimension jump.

Converting from d20/Open Game Rules
The Core Rules contains a chapter on how to convert your existing d20 games to Pangenre. (The chapter is a free download on our website.)

Supernatural Elements
The Core Rules do not include rules for magic or supernatural powers. They are published separately in the Pangenre RPG Magic supplement, which will be available presently (est. Late October 2010).

Pangenre has many unique features, including:

• A simple hit location system that does not bog down the flow of combat, making combat more realistic without sacrificing fun.
• Consistent mechanics. Combat, skills, and other checks use the same basic procedure and terminology, making it easier to learn.
• Simple, yet realistic, language rules that use standardized skill concepts, are very simple to use, and fit as easily with scenarios where literacy is rare as with modern scenarios where you can learn to type and to read Braille.
• A skill system in which you can specialize in areas of knowledge or gain competencies in esoteric equipment with ease. Playable, pregenerated characters from different genres show you how to craft characters for any setting.

The Pangenre RPG has many enhancements to the Open Game rules, such as:

• A brand-new character system completely replaces the Open Game concepts of levels and classes with skill-based mechanics.
• Revised Ability scores that add new dimensions to characters such as Perception. Old geezers will no longer hear a pin drop by virtue of their high Wisdom.
• Reducing the gaminess of other systems by eliminating hit points entirely. Instead, when you are struck by an attack, you make a wound check that is influenced by factors such as your overall strength and your armor. There is a limit to how many wounds you can take, and there is always the possibility that powerful blow can take down a mighty character. No more, "Have the high hit point warrior run through the minefield," cheese!
• Replacing the attack-of-opportunity mechanic with a reaction rule that fits much better in scenarios where firearms, especially modern or futuristic firearms, are in play.
• The relationship between weapons and armor is much more realistic. Rather than prevent you from being struck by attacks, armor mitigates damage.