Starting with the basics: attributes and traits

[Dementia Games]

I was thinking, actually, of doing away with the attributes.  They don't actually bring that much to the table, other than the bonuses.  Instead, characters can just have Psyche points which would allow a bonus here and there and fuel any supernatural effects such as precognition, etc.  I don't want to get rid of the Gift concept altogether, but I think what i'm going to do is let the player decide what sort of "gift" the character has (rather than choosing from a published list with statistics and all that rot), and when they want to use it they spend a Psyche point and roll.  The same points would be used for bonuses to actions, etc, which would simulate to some degree the effort that an attribute would normally deliver.  I just don't think that in the grand scheme of things it makes much difference who is stronger, faster or even smarter.  That can all be roleplayed rather than dictated by numbers.  I think the less to be a pain in the bum the better.  I'll keep the Profession and Hobby/Special Interest bonuses, simply because they add flavor and help players to distinguish their characters further by bringing certain advantages to the table without them being over the top.  Just my thoughts there.

I don't know why I started thinking about that today, but I realized that my need for attributes comes from previous experience with RPGs, but they aren't, strictly speaking, necessary in this case.  Along those lines, the damage system will change by default, so we'll see what I come back with.  I don't think the fear mechanism will change much, other than there is no bonus from Mind on the roll.

[Eero Tuovinen]

That all sounds sensible to me. Do play the game and keep a careful eye on what you and the other players are doing, and which activities are fruitful and capable of being formalized into rules. The opposite is also valuable information: where the rules encourage behaviors that do not add to the game, take a good hard look at the rules.

[Dementia Games]

I plan to do just that.  I suppose once that's done, I need to move the discussion to the playtest forum.  Thank you for your suggestions and sense of direction.  You really helped pull me out of a funk and get the ball rolling again.