Generic Systems

Generic Systems are a term used by players and publishers of roleplaying games for systems that are designed to be independent of setting and genre and can, in theory, work the same way for any setting or genre that one would want to play.

There is some dispute among roleplaying enthusiasts on when the concept of a ganeric system originated and which was the first one published. It is clear that the development of the HERO System from the superhero RPG Champions was a prfoound influence in popularizing the concept. The publication of GURPS as a completely setting-independent game and its commercial and creative success added credence to the movement. What is not questioned is that it truly became a dominant subject in RPG design with the release of the Third Edition of Dungeons and Dragons and the creation of the Open Gaming License and the d20 System.

It is frequetly disputed whether d20, which requires massive alteration with each new genre because of its class and level system, really qualifies as a generic system. There is also a long-standing dispute among RPG professionals over whether any system can be truly generic and whether it produces better games to use them or to build the system around the desired setting and genre.

Other influential generic systems include Guardians of Order's Tri-Stat System, Steffan O'Sullivan's influential toolkit FUDGE, R. Talsorian Games's Fuzion, [{Eden Studios]]' Unisystem and Gold Rush Games's [[Action! System]].