to begin, we have character creation.
depending on the GM's preference, either stat determination or concept creation can go first.
if concept creation goes first, the players are briefed on the game setting parameters, as a way of narrowing down or conceiving of ideas.
once a character has been conceived, the player decides on stat values (10 scale)and skills.
if stat determination comes first, roll d10 for each of the following stats. from them, arrive at a concept that seems suitable, based on pre-information of the game setting. for each skill you think your character should have (as per the concept), roll a d10. for physical skills, roll against coordination. for mental skills, roll against aptitude. for social skills, roll against cooperation. a successful check means that you gain the skill at a level that the GM finds appropriate.
stats
might - applying force with the body
coordination - getting your body to do what you want it to do(motion related)
toughness - how physically resistant to damage you are, as well as how tolerant you are of pain and discomfort
aptitude - absorption of information
sensation - how well you take notice of the world around you
sharpness - how quickly you can respond to information that you absorb
cooperation - how easily others can interact with you
command - how good you are at getting people to do what you want
skill checks
for a contested skill check, roll a die, then add the appropriate skill and stat. whoever gets the higher total wins. for each situation, the gamemaster should determine the size of the die to be rolled. situations with a greater emphasis on skill and training should use smaller dice, while situations relying on luck to a strong degree should use bigger dice. d20's should only be used in situations that are so haphazard and random that one would likely say "it's up to chance, now". as a situational bonus or penalty due to environmental conditions, the calm or chaos of a task can be affected and the die type can be changed. finally, don't bother rolling if one person's total +1 is greater than the other person's total + the maximum possible roll. only a change in the die size can change the outcome.
note: i wanted to make luck a force in the game, but one that could change based on the situation. not all pursuits leave it up to luck as much as others.
for example:
a professional fencing match has rules, borders, and a surrounding environment relatively free of distraction. as such, a d6 or d8 would be appropriate. a difference of 4 or 5 points (depending on die size) should be enough to decide right away who wins.
however, a knife fight on a dimly lit dance floor, with loud music playing and lots of people screaming, might merit a d10 or even a d12. several more participants could well increase the die size to d20, but only if things were especially chaotic. a difference of 6 or 7 or even 11 points should be enough to automatically decide the winner, on average.

rolling against one's own ability - if the character is attempting a task whose random elements do not originate from a conscious opponent, determine the complexity, speed, or strength of the obstacle to be overcome. if a skill is appropriate, choose a number (1-30) that can serve as the equivalent of skill+stat. if it is purely a stat test, choose a rating from 1-20 to serve as the effective stat for the situation or task. roll the appropriate die along with it. the difference determines the degree of effect, and always note beforehand what the "maximum" effect could be (death, dinner party resulting in a federal grant, the robot returning to base immediately, etc.)
note: i realized that not all tasks would be worth having a skill for, but that luck should work both ways. a poor roll for one side and a good one for the other could be the equivalent of a nasty screwup or "getting lucky", depending on whether the static or fluid force being the owner of the higher roll.
for example:
a technician needs to break into a security system at night, with no one around. if he fails, he'll be trapped in the lobby. he's a bit nervous. he adds sensation+systems and rolls a d10. the GM considers the complexity of the system and decides it's 15, well protected. the technician rolls a 4 and adds 13, totalling 17. the system rolls a 2, and the technician succeeds. he realizes he almost made a crucial error, but caught himself before misstepping. he has gained partial control of the system, but must work at it some more if he wishes to turn off the sprinklers as WELL as the firefighting robot response signal.
another example:
a warrior has found the well of knowledge. the fairy spirit that appears before him tells him that he will gain insight if he can survive the effects of the water that was not meant for mortal digestion. he rolls d3+toughness of 6, since the water's poisonous component is fairly evenly distributed throughout. the water rolls d3+its potency, which is 8. strong stuff! the water gets a 10, and the warrior gets a 9. since the difference is only 2 points, the water does not fully kill the man. he collapses in a spasming heap, crying out, but he suddenly realizes the location of the dragon's lair.
advancement
whenever a character succeeds at a task, make note of the difficulty the character managed to beat. write this next to the skill and/or stat used if it is greater than the previously beaten difficulty AND the value of the stat or skill. it is the maximum the character can reach in that value.
every session of play, roll coordination for physical improvement, aptitude for mental improvement, and cooperation for social improvement. a success indicates that one point may be added to that skill or stat value with a "beaten" value next to it. failure does nothing. when/if the value reaches the "beaten" value, erase it. for each play session that goes by without rolling against at least an equal difficulty, roll coordination, aptitude, or cooperation. success does nothing, but failure indicates the loss of one point in the "lazy" stat or skill. you cannot go below the level of the most recent difficulty you have rolled against in this manner.
note: to improve, you have to challenge yourself. if you get lazy and exert yourself below your ability, you slowly lose your talents.
thoughts?

um, for the rolling against one's own ability, it should be as follows instead:
stat+skill should be 1-20, while stat alone should be 1-10. i had stats range from 1-20 for a while, and i forgot to change it back for everything.

Good morning. Welcome to the Forge.

I like your tag line. I'm going to apply it here.

1) What purpose is your generic system trying to accomplish?
2) How do the mechanics you've offered fufill that goal?
2) What can this new system offer that existing generic systems cannot?


Laurel

Hmmm.
As for your first question, I'd say that I'm trying to design a gaming system that can have both simplicity and realism.
It will have simplicity in that there will be no grand lists of skills, spells, or other bothersome things. I want to save time and money for Game Masters by providing a core system without wasting text and materials filling it out. That way, the system is readily available for play, regardless of the mood the players and GM are in.
As for your second question, I have only included three elements in my system: character creation, conflict resolution, and character advancement. This streamlines it and maintains freedom to include anything in the setting that the gaming group wishes.
And for the third question, I think that I'm making two innovations here. First, I've struck a balance between dice- and non-dice systems, with a method of varying the randomness of the situation.
Second, I am taking into account the ability to lose proficiency. Below is a revised system of advancement and regression.
skill and stat augmentation
Whenever you make a skill+stat roll, note the skill+stat total of your opponent. If you win the contest, write the opponent's skill level next to the skill you just used, and the same goes for stats.
For stat rolls only, note merely the stat of the opponent next to your own.
At the end of every session, or adventure, or whatever amount of time the Game Master decides is appropriate, check your skills and stats for such noted values. Take a given value and roll a test of the appropriate stat, listed below. Success indicates that you may increase your stat or skill by one point, to a maximum of the written value. This only applies if the value is greater than your current value in the stat or skill.
If the noted value is lower than your stat or skill, you must still make a roll against the appropriate stat. However, there is no effet unless you fail. If you do fail, make another roll against the appropriate stat. If you fail again, then you lose a point in that skill or stat. You cannot go below the marked stat in this way.
For physical skills, roll a coordination test. For mental skills, roll an aptitude test. For social skills, roll a cooperation test.

As I did in another thread, lets see how well I'm able to follow your chargen and action resolution based just on what you posted. Let's assume stat determination come first.

1. Roll d10 for following stats
might - 3
coordination - 7
toughness - 5
aptitude - 5
sensation - 6
sharpness -1
cooperation - 8
command - 6


Great. My character is as dumb as a brick. What if I don't want to play a character that dumb. What are my options under this system to "fix" a really low stat? If the answer is "none" or "re-roll everything", I'm not likely to have the patience to go much farther.

2. Arrange a concept

Let's say my GM has given the group the premise (little p) that we're all thieves in a High Fantasy thieves guild, in the city of Shoshoganal. My character seems pretty agile/charming/influencial but not very strong and ugh there's that dumb as a brick problem creeping up again. I whine and whine to my GM, and finally he tells me to roll my sharpness again. I get a 7! I'm overjoyed, give him a cookie and create the following concept:

Ajax Bloodshade is a 16 year old pickpocket, son of one the Guildmaster.

3. Skills
I give myself the following skills

Pickpocketing- (coordination) (roll- 5)
Gambling- (cooperation) (roll-2)
Throwing Dagger (coordination) (roll-9)
Fencing (coordination) (roll-9)
Sprint Running (coordination) (roll-3)

... about this time I'm eyeing other game systems on the shelf, debating if I should just go grab one and look at the kewl skill lists. What if I think of skills after char gen that make sense for character? Can I add them as the game goes along?

** re-reads the text **

The part about getting skills is a little confusing, especially at first glance. Given that I rolled higher at throwing dagger and fencing than my Stat, does that mean my character doesn't have them? At all? Not even a little bit? And what if the GM isn't sure what "fair" is, based just on my stats & concept. Is there some kind of chart he can use to guage what good starting skill levels are?


4. Contested Skill Test

Let's say Ajax gets all the skills I want him to have, at 5.
He spies a very wealthy merchant, surrounded by bodyguards and fancies the gold pocketwatch the merchant just put into his pocket.

The GM decides that its half luck, half skill and says to use a d10 (assuming d4 as almost all skill, d6 as mostly skill, d10 as half-half, d12 as mostly luck, d20 as almost all luck).

I roll my d10 and get an 8 which gives me a total of 8(roll)+5(skill)+7(coordination)= 20. Not bad.

The GM sits and ponders what appropriate skill & stat to use for the NPCs. He is a little at a loss for the difference between Sharpness and Sensation and ultimately decides on Sharpness + Sense Thieves (Sensation) and gives the merchant and four guards a Sharpness of 5, Sense Thieves of 5. Does he roll for each of them? Does he make a single roll? GM decides ultimately on a roll for each of them...

Merchant- 3+5+5= 13
Guard1- 4+5+5= 14
Guard2- 7+5+5= 17
Guard3- 8+5+5= 18
Guard4- 8+5+5= 18

Ajax succeeds on pickpocketing, then.


5. Advancement
Since Ajax was successful, I write down the difficulty he needed to beat next to his pickpocketing skill. But what was the difficulty? The highest roll one of the antagonists got as 18- so is that my difficulty? Or was my difficulty the d10?


Any way, that's my interpretation of the rules. Let me know what I missed.