Cryedl (Crunchy, yet diceless)
If Universalis is the SGML of RPGs, Cryedl is the XML. :-)

Introduction:
Cryedl is a universal, diceless RPG that takes a slightly strange approach to character -- instead of defining the character's abilities at the outset, and then forcing the player to stick to that mold, Cryedl allows the player to formulate a character during play, and enforces character continuity by encouraging them to stick to already defined traits. Unlike a lot of RPGs with strange mechanics, you won't see a lot of explanations about why Cryedl's mechanics are better than standard RPGs -- they aren't better, just different. If you like the sorts of things that Cryedl's system can do, you'll use it, and if you don't, you won't.

Basic Concepts: Potentials, Reserves, and Statics
Statics are a reasonably simple concept -- each static is a description of the character or some ability of the character, with a number attached to determine the skill of the character in that particular task. "Magician - 5," "Strike from Behind - 2" and "... in smoke - 57" are all examples of Statics. A character can have any number of statics and, as the name suggests, they do not often change. There are three different types of statics -- "Attributes," which are high-level definitions of the character, "Knacks" which are defined more specifically, and "Specialties" which really only apply to specific instances.
Potentials are pools of points that can be spent to increase your Statics or create new ones. Such increases, at least for the duration of the story, are permanent. There are four types of Potentials -- "Attribute Potentials," "Knack Potentials," "Speciality Potentials" and "Flaw Potentials."
Reserves are a pool of points that may add to Statics for one particular challenge, but do not increase the static as they are spent -- they are lost. Reserves are measured by two numbers -- Vitality and Stamina.

Setting Restrictions:
A group may decide that certain abilities are simply impossible, given the setting (in a modern day setting, it would be reasonable to say that no human character could fly under his own power without mechanical aid.) Certain abilities may also be limited in that they require specific attributes at higher level (it may be impossible to take a knack in "throwing fireballs" without the "magician" attribute) and, likewise, certain specialties may require attributes or knacks.
Likewise, some traits may require justification before sprouting -- a character who in previous scenes was clearly not a lizard would not be able to purchase the "lizard" trait without some in-game change or explanation (perhaps he was a lizard in disguise.)

Challenges:
All challenges in Cryedl are opposed -- either one player versus another player, or one player versus the GM. The are handled in the following steps.
1) Announce Intention "I want to clock him in the jaw" or "I want to make him look like an idiot," or "I vault off the chandelier and out the window."
2) Decide what Statics apply to the challenge -- the group decides what statics could be used in the challenge. If both sides could reasonably invoke a setting static, no one gets to use it (so two elves fighting each other don't get to invoke "elves just kick more ass -- 31337").
3) Fair Retreat -- the initiator of the challenge may "back down" now and the challenge never happened -- the character does not fail, they just never tried.
4) Buy statics. The initiator and the defender take turns buying or increasing whatever statics they wish to buy -- alternating back and forth until both sides are happy. They may only purchase statics that apply to the challenge. Further, they may only apply three personal statics to the challenge -- one attribute, one knack, and one specialty. Furthermore, only three setting statics may be applied to the challenge -- one universal, one specific, and one set-dressing. Flaws are also purchased now.
5) Spend Reserves. The amount is noted privately, and revealed simultaneously.
6) Compare final numbers. Reserves + Statics. Higher total wins.
7) Narrate effect.
8) Apply effects of margin of success.
9) Note Experience

Note: Some gamers like to distinguish between "conflict resolution" and "task resolution." Cryedl handles both of these, and can move between them with ease, depending on the demands of the scene.

Optional Rule: Zen and the Art of Conflict Resolution. The GM spends any Stamina first, publically, and then the player responds with a stamina bid.

Optional Rule: Diceable Diceless. GM has no Stamina, and instead rolls a dice of premeditated size to add to his statics.

Optional Rule: Swash the Buckles, Lads! Any number of set dressing Statics can apply to the challenge, because more use of set dressing is cool.

Initiative and Turns:
Players take turns in order of their Stamina ratings, further resolves by the alphabetical order of their first names. During a player's turn, they may initiate any number of challenges, as long as all those challenges are all happening *simultaneously* If there is an "and then..." anywhere, stop. You can't do that. In general, players should take one challenge per turn, the exception being the GM, who can initiate challenges for all the NPCs. That said, there is nothing wrong for taking, say, a challenge on seducing the princess with witty banter while you duel with her suitors.

Expiration:
At the end of each scene, each player may decide to "expire" any number of Statics that were not used in that scene -- these move back into the pools from whence they came -- adding back the total number of points that have been spent on them.

Optional Rule: Pulp Fiction. Statics may be expired at any time.
Optional Rule: "Realism." Only one static may be expired between scenes.
Optional Rule: No Refunds. Personal Statics, like Setting Statics, lose effectiveness if unused. You can only expire traits that have dropped beneath their initial effectiveness.

Experience:
Any Statics which were not expired now take experience. If the Static was used in this scene, add one point to its effective value (keep track of the number of points spent on it, because it will give you that many if you expire it.) If the Static was not used in this scene, do nothing to it.

Optional Rule: Slow Learners. If a static was used in the scene, it gains an "experience mark." One experience mark adds one to its effective value, three marks adds two, six marks add three, ten marks add four, and so on.

Margin of Success and Effects:
If you win a test, you can choose to have a negative effect on whatever you defeated in the test. This takes the form of any number of Flaws, totaling to your margin of success. These flaws are "free," in that no one pays points for them -- when they expire, no one gets any points back from them. (does it matter what level? It should be established before conflict.)
At times, especially when regarding the traits of scenes, it might be appropriate to add this effect rather than subtract it. This is largely at the discretion of the group.

Optional Rule: Narration Costs. You can pay a certain margin of success to narrate the effects of the challenge, which is usually the GM's responsibility. (could be expanded into a pretender-like options list. Which I like.)

Flaws:
The flaw pool is a very special sort of potential -- the statics that it generates can be of any type, but subtract from challenge values, rather than add to them. Every time that a Flaw applies in a challenge of significant value, subtract one from its value, until it's effective value reaches zero, at which point it expires back into the Flaw pool.
When you spend points from the flaw pool, you gain points of Reserves. If you have a flaw at the speciality level, it gives you Reserves at a 1-1 exchange (a 3 point flaw gives back three points of stamina.) If you have a flaw at the knack level, it gives two points per level of the flaw, and if you have a flaw at the level of Attributes it gives you five points per level of the flaw.

Reserves -- Stamina and Vitality
Reserves function very different from Potentials and Statics, and even from each other, and deserve some special consideration.
All players have, at all times, a fluctuating pool of reserves, although that pool may be equal to zero. This pool works similarly to a Potential -- it is spent to increase the character's value for a particular challenge. However, unlike a Potential, it does not leave behind a Static as it is spent -- once spent, Reserves are lost.
However, also unlike Potentials, Reserves refresh at a constant rate.
The character's Vitality score represents the general ability of the character to "push himself" to a higher level of performance. Add the character's Vitality to his Reserves at the beginning of every scene, as long as he participated in a conflict in his last scene.
The character's Stamina is the absolute maximum that his Reserves can be at any time. If, in adding Vitality, the character's Reserves would raise above his Stamina, just set his Reserves equal to his stamina and ignore the rest.
As a general rule, characters start at zero reserves.

Optional Rule: Destiny Boyz. At your option, players may start with reserves set equal to Stamina.

Subsetting --
When you define a Static, you may choose to define it as a "subset" of a static of a higher level (a specialty is a subset of a knack is a subset of an attribute). If this is the case, it can only apply if that higher level static applies but, conversely if it applies the higher level static automatically also applies. Multiple statics may be subsets of the same higher level static. (So you can have Sword-fighting : Lunge and Sword-Fighting : Riposte.)
Subsetting is great for martial arts, magic, and racial characteristics.

(Optional rule: OCD Subsetting. All statics must be defined with full subsets. In this case, you may consider allowing players to have certain statics set at zero.)

A note of Scale--
The problem of scale is a concern to many gamers, and Cryedl has its own solution to the problem -- namely, it doesn't need one. A Cryedl game about bunny rabbits can have a scale that rates in the 1000s, and a game about gods can have most of its numbers safely in the single digits. If a game has both gods and bunny rabbits, simply "scale the gods up--" make sure that they are considerably larger than the bunny rabbits, and you're done. The only difference between numerical scales in Cryedl is that larger scales "move slower" in terms of gathering experience on Statics and losing Flaws. The designer, at least, does not see this as a problem.
Another scale problem is, say, bunny rabbits and humans. Humans are much larger and stronger than rabbits, and rabbits are much faster than humans. This is handled by the establishment of the attribute-level setting statics “humans are strong” and “rabbits are fast.” (see setting statics, below.) It is important to note that there is no need to establish these scaling statics until they come up in play, because they cancel out if they apply to both sides of a challenge.

(Optional rule: Scaling In Motion. If you like, apply a "scale multiplier" to higher scale creatures, and multiply their experience and flaw expiration by that amount. So Gods vs. Gods is then identical to Bunny Rabbit vs. Bunny Rabbit. In this case, you can "drop the multiple" when working with lower scale things. Powers of ten work well here.)

Setting Statics:
Points from Potentials can also be used to establish Statics that do not, specifically, apply to the character, but rather to setting at large. These are treated rather differently from other Statics, and are worthy of special consideration.
At the Attribute scale, setting Statics are considered major points about the setting -- things which are true in a large area or throughout the setting entirely.
At the Knack scale, these represent specific facts about the setting (most people carry swords, there are dueling traditions, etc), scenes or NPC characters (a bar or a friend of yours) or an organization which does not span the setting (that would be Attribute.)
At the Speciality scale, this is the creation of unimportant, one use NPCs, set dressing in the scene, or particular objects that are not carried around.

At any time, anyone may upgrade the status of a Setting Static buy paying its present effective value from the appropriate Potential. The previous Static then expires, returning the original creator's Potential.
Settting Statics gain experience like character statics. However, they can also lose effective value. If a setting static is not used for two scenes, it loses one from its effective value. If its effective value falls below its original value, it expires. (This needs work -- if it is not used for turns equal to its effective value?)
In additional to the normal "three statics" that apply to each challenge, up to three setting Statics may also be used. (hmm... can you only apply one set-dressing? That would be sad, but perhaps necessary.)

In challenges, setting statics can be invoked by anyone who makes reasonable use of them, pending the decision of the group.

Optional Rule: Game Operations Director. Only the GM gets to spend for setting statics.

Optional Rule: Meta segregation. All players have separate potentials for setting statics and character statics.

Optional Rule: Sharing is Caring. Players (including the GM) may spend points collaboratively on Setting Statics.

Optional Rule: Sharing Really is Caring. Players may collaborate on personal attributes, as well, or spend points for each other. In this case, the trait expires at the option of whomever spent the points -- if two players spent the points, either player may expire the trait.

GM Points:
The GM has his own pool of points, which may only be used on setting statics. He also has a pool of Stamina, which is used to boost NPCs and other Challenges in the appropriate manner.

Optional Rule: GM as Symbol of Divine Power. The GM has infinite Potentials but, importantly, not infinite Stamina.

Released into the Public Domain 2004, by Ben Lehman. Distribute, modify, and integrate freely into other systems although, if you do so, I request to you credit me and the system in some manner.