Concept for a System

[Maquise]

I have a concept for a D20-based fantasy system that I don't think has been expressed yet. Do note from the beginning that if anyone knows of a system that fulfills all of my objectives already, please let me know so I can save a lot of work.

Points:

• Why another fantasy system?
• Why D20?

Any other points that are addressed will be included as they are brought up.
[*]Why another fantasy system?
I feel that the 3.PF system does not play to its strengths as it is designed. It tries too hard to be something it isn't. Primarily, this can be seen in the disparity between magical and mundane classes.

This is where I address one of the main points of my new system. All characters possess, to a fairly equal degree, magical power. Rather than having classes, this system would give players a choice of what flavor of magical power their character possesses. In the beginning, I will try to avoid fluff, but one of the main points of the world I am building this system for is that all characters are born with a certain magical talent, based in a specific area. These areas, comparable to sorcerous bloodlines or divine domains, are determined at birth and cannot be changed. However, a character can then customize their abilities from a list based on the talent they select. These would include abilities similar to spells, or martial maneuver-type abilities.
[*]Why D20?

The reasons for this are two-fold; the first being that I am lazy, and there exists already a plethora of material for the D20 system. How much I use and how much I discard is yet to be determined, but it is there nonetheless.

The second reason is that D20 is probably one of if not the most popular system on the market. As a result, a lot of people are familiar with it already.

[Maquise]

Reserved for future use.

[Maquise]

I'm not entirely sure what my next step should be, to be perfectly honest.

[Maquise]

Here are a few ideas for races. I want to make them more diverse than usual.

Numan

Originally human, the numans were brought to this world in the ages past from a place they called the First World. As they remained in this world for generation after generation, they began to change. The magic of the world infused them, and they became better suited for the environment. Physically similar to humans in nearly every respect, with a a few exceptional characteristics. The first being that their hair and eye colors cover the entire spectrum, an indication of the magic that has infused their being. The other noticeable sign is that of the Mark which appears somewhere on their body, usually on either their wrists or foreheads. (I'll get into the Mark later; it is rather significant, replacing class levels in this system).

Psychologically, numans are almost identical to humans, with the same diversity, hopes, and fears.

Rockmen

[Cidolfas]

This sounds to me like essentially what 4e did: Give everyone magic of some form or another, make a ton of powers and not really a ton of differentiation between characters (which while not necessarily a goal of yours seemed to be the direction in which it was headed to me).

[Maquise]

I would assume that this would allow more variation in abilities. Any character could be built as a melee, ranged, caster, skirmisher, etc.

[bobthe6th]

I mean, you could just finish the collection of T3 casters, including the Duskblade. Also you could use a generic class system...

[Maquise]

The main point is the collection of abilities, and how they tie together. I'm thinking I might need to do some more work in order to fully conceptualize it; a lot of it is based on matching the fluff to my setting.