History Main / UniversalSystem

* ''UsefulNotes/BasicRoleplaying'' (''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' and its associated works, ''TabletopGame/RuneQuest'')

** Pros: Uses percentile UsefulNotes/{{dice}}, meaning you can easily tell what percent chance you have of success for any given roll; easy to learn. Simple advancement mechanics that improve the skills that characters actually use, quickly at first but then more slowly as the character advances - it's easy to get good but becoming great takes time and effort.

* ''TabletopGame/CypherSystem'' (''TabletopGame/GodsOfTheFall, TabletopGame/{{Numenera}}, TabletopGame/{{Predation}}, TabletopGame/TheStrange, TabletopGame/{{Unmasked}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Vurt}}'')

* ''UsefulNotes/BEEREngine''

* ''TabletopGame/{{GUMSHOE}}'' (''TabletopGame/TrailOfCthulhu'', ''TabletopGame/TheEsoterrorists'', ''TabletopGame/FearItself'', ''TabletopGame/TheDraculaDossier'', ''TabletopGame/MutantCityBlues'', ''TabletopGame/AshenStars'', ''TabletopGame/NightsBlackAgents'', ''TabletopGame/TimeWatch'', ''TabletopGame/TheYellowKing'') by Creator/RobinLaws

* ''TabletopGame/SavageWorlds''

* ''[[UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse Apocalypse Engine]]'' (''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'', ''TabletopGame/CityOfMist'', ''TabletopGame/DungeonWorld'', ''TabletopGame/{{Masks|ANewGeneration}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterhearts}}'', ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'', ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven'', etc)

* ''UsefulNotes/{{Fate}}'' (''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'', ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'', ''TabletopGame/{{Mindjammer}}'', ''ComicBook/{{AtomicRobo}}'', ''Strands of Fate'', ''Fate Core'', ''Fate Accelerated Edition'', ''Fate Condensed Edition'')
** A more-structured SpiritualSuccessor to UsefulNotes/{{FUDGE}}, while remaining relatively rules-light.

* ''UsefulNotes/ForgedInTheDark'' (''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'', ''TabletopGame/ScumAndVillainy'', ''TabletopGame/BandOfBlades'')

* ''UsefulNotes/{{Fudge}}''

The distinction between a HouseSystem and a Universal System is that a Universal System is made available in a version that is independent of genre and setting, or is used extensively by multiple creators for multiple genres and settings, while a HouseSystem is tightly tied to a given company and is not available outside of their specific genre-based and/or setting-based games.[[note]]For example, while there isn't an official ''UsefulNotes/D20System'' generic rulebook, its extensive use by multiple companies for multiple genres marks it as universal. On the other hand, the ''2d20 System'' by Creator/ModiphiusEntertainment has no generic rulebook and is exclusively used by Modiphius, making it a HouseSystem.[[/note]]

!Examples:

* ''UsefulNotes/D20System'' (''TabletopGame/{{d20 Modern}}'', ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeons & Dragons]]'', etc.)

* ''TabletopGame/BasicRoleplaying'' (''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' and its associated works, ''TabletopGame/RuneQuest'')

* ''Storypath'' system (White Wolf/Onyx Path Publishing's ''TabletopGame/TrinityUniverse 2E'' ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}} 2E'')

* ''Basic Roleplaying'' (''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' and its associated works, ''TabletopGame/RuneQuest'')

** Cons: As a d20 game, it's not well suited to low powered campaigns at all.

* ''[[TabletopGame/PoweredByTheApocalypse Apocalypse Engine]]'' (''TabletopGame/ApocalypseWorld'', ''TabletopGame/CityOfMist'', ''TabletopGame/DungeonWorld'', ''TabletopGame/{{Masks|ANewGeneration}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Monsterhearts}}'', ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'', ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfSeventySeven'', etc)

** A more-structured SpiritualSuccessor to TabletopGame/{{FUDGE}}, while remaining relatively rules-light.

* ''TabletopGame/BEEREngine''

* ''UsefulNotes/ForgedInTheDark'' (''TabletopGame/BladesInTheDark'', ''TabletopGame/ScumAndVillainy'', ''Band of Blades'')

* ''TabletopGame/{{EABA}}''

* ''TabletopGame/WhatsOldIsNew''

* ''Kingdom'', made by the same designer as Microscope below, is a game designed around power struggles within any body of power, everything from a high school to imperial galactic government

** Cons: Designed for games that are epic in time and space, does not play as well for smaller-scale stories.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Fate}}'' (''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'', ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'', ''TabletopGame/{{Mindjammer}}'', ''ComicBook/{{AtomicRobo}}'', ''Strands of Fate'', ''Fate Core'', ''Fate Accelerated Edition'', ''Fate Condensed Edition'')

* ''TabletopGame/{{Fudge}}''

* ''Fate'' (''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'', ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'', ''TabletopGame/{{Mindjammer}}'', ''ComicBook/{{AtomicRobo}}'', ''TabletopGame/StrandsOfFATE'', ''TabletopGame/FateCore'')
** A more-structured spin-off of Fudge, while remaining relatively rules-light.
** Pros: More structured than ''TabletopGame/{{Fudge}}'' (on which it's based) while retaining freeform elements and adding some fundamental new concepts (notably aspects and the fate point economy); several commercial derivatives covering popular genres available.
** Cons: No two releases share ''quite'' the same system due to evolution, genre-specific additions, and/or licensed publishers' individual takes (a dedicated universal "core" rulebook finally came out in 2013, revising the rules again in a number of ways); fairly elegant system hasn't prevented commercial products from turning into well-intentioned comprehensive doorstoppers; game inherently relies on some "metagame" mechanics (fate points et al.) that may not be to everyone's taste. Many -- though not all -- versions retain the use of Fudge dice (see below).

** The Cortex System is a series of systems originally published by [[Creator/MargaretWeis Margaret Weis Productions]] and primarily used for games based on licensed properties. There are three major editions, now called Cortex Classic, Cortex Plus, and Cortex Prime. Its primary mechanic is dice pools created from traits that are rated by the size of die one rolls for them.