Variant Alternate Realities is a pen & paper game system I am working on. The goal of the system is to be representative, flexible, standard, and simple. I have taken inspiration from several systems, both positive (the ability to take deficites as well as strengths), to negative (what does a level really mean?).
For games, there have been many terms to designate the person(s) running the game. These include DM or Dungeon Master (Dungeons and Dragons origin), GM or Game Master, Storyteller (Primarily in White Wolf games), and MC (Master of Cerimonies). Here we will try to stick to GM, as it seems to be the most generic term that isn't overly austentatious.
This game by default has a species system by default, where you can pick a species for your character. This determines some strengths and weaknesses, though in the long run, these will only provide minor differences. The class system in this game is a 'tack-on' class system to make things easier for people who would want to play in such a system - this is not necessary, and a game can be played where some characters use the class system, and other's don't. All advancement actually comes through placing gained experience points into skills and vital statistics. Optionally, when a character levels up, his or her hit points (life), and mind points (mental reserves) may go up based on species (not class), both of which may be improved by skill and vital statistic improvements as well.
VAR is designed to be able to represent as many situations as possible, easily. If you want to run a game on your favorite book, movie, historical event, or story - this system is designed for that. It may need modifications to fit the setting, but that's where the flexible comes in.
VAR primarily uses a 100 sided dice [100] for determining success/failure, to allow a more smooth gradient between skill levels. It takes a long time to gain strength and skill, and this helps show that. For fairness, there are also mechanisms to prevent certain situations in the game, namely the following can never occur: (a) a situation where there is no chance for success, (b) a situation where there is no chance for failure, (c) a situation where no matter how much more skilled you are, your chances for success/failure will not change (you can always get better), (d) a situation where no matter how much skill you lose, your chances for succes/failure will not change (you can always get worse).
VAR is flexible for balance. Balance is partially ignored in the actual design VAR. While balance is nice, a storyline can kill balance. A game system is only balanced in storylines and settings where suited to it, and even then it may be lacking. Thus, to make balance, a GM should tweak the system for the setting. Thus, rather than focusing on balance, which is not achievable globally, this system strives to make it easier for a GM to make a game balanced.
VAR is flexible, first and foremost, because it is easily modular. The system is skill and vital statistic based. If you want remove something, like any system, chopping it out is usually simple - just don't allow anything that uses it. To add something in a way that aligns with the game's design may be less trivial. In this system, add a few skills, determine which vital statistics they use, and what they are used for.
This system is extremely standardized. The only system I've seen that is more standardized. There are more standardized systems available (White Wolf's systems definetly come to mind). However, while everything is standardized, it is also very well defined.
Anything with a chance of success and failure is based on a [100] roll. Success comes from getting a higher roll than the opponent, or the target skill value, and failure from a lower roll. Any roll comes from either the application of a vital statistic, or a skill (modified by vital statistics and synergistic skills).
Sometimes an effect cannot be determined simply by success/failure, and an even gradient may not be relevant. In these cases other dice rolls can be used. For example, while 3[4] and [6]+2[3] have the same possible range (values from 3 to 12), the distributions of the possible values are different. A 'dice point' system has been designed to allow for customising the range and distribution of such random rolls in a very standard manner. This is then used withings like items and spells to help ensure that their uses have the appropriate relative strengths.
Creating of species, items, and spells, beyond just dice used for affects, is also very standardized. Various effects are given certain price modifiers, to which they can alter the price of items and magics, providing for a mix-and-match creation system. To keep in with the flexibility, more values can always be added. Species and items actually use the same system, with different starting points and options, and spells work off of a very similar system.
This system is set up to be simple by making everything easily referenceable on a character sheet. By making everything based on skills and vital statistics only, less manual references will be necessary during gameplay.