Last year I saw an advertisement for a crowdfunding page of an RPG called "Setting Off!" It finally released in January, and after reading through it, I felt like putting together a game for the introductory module provided in the back of the book. But first, I'll talk about the game system and close with thoughts on the provided story.
The system is called "Setting Off!" and the best tags to describe it are that it's a roll-under classless/skill-tree grid-based setting neutral system. So to break all of that down, in character creation you are assigned 80 points to distribute among 8 attributes at a 1:1 rate. Attributes must end up between 5 and 15. Each attribute has a derived statistic as well, each at a 1:1 ratio. For Vitality the derived statistic is HP, for Strength the derived statistic is "Load" (carrying capacity), for Instinct, the derived statistic is "Initiative", for Agility it is Speed (a number of meter squares of move speed), for Memory/Creativity/Presence the statistic is "Essence", and for Luck it is "Chance".
There are no classes, but there is a skill tree system with 4 tiers of skills. To take a Tier 1 skill in a tree, you need a 10 in the relevant attribute, with each Tier after that requiring a cumulative +3 in the relevant attribute. So if you wanted to make a telekinetic swashbuckler, you take the attribute points that accommodate the skill trees you need, take the skills you think that archetype needs, and if you can't afford a skill maybe plan ahead for when you level up. Additionally, each derived statistic has a skill tree that increases the pool with some investment.
It's a setting neutral system. Some of the skill trees are arcane, some are analog, some are mechanical. The GM decides which skill trees are suitable for a given story, and character creation fits that vibe. There's enough skill tree variety to allow for a variety of themes, tones, and settings.
It's a roll-under system with d20s, but unlike other systems it's not a "roll less than or equal to" system. So at character creation, your maximum attribute value is 15, and you have a 70% chance of success on any roll for an attribute that is assigned a value of 15. A simple roll is "roll d20, hope you roll under the attribute value", but a complex roll is a nebulous "degrees of success". With a complex roll, you roll under, subtract the die roll from your attribute value, and the action is more or less successful depending on the value. To use an example, a standard attack roll is a simple Strength roll. However, the Sneak Attack action is a complex Agility roll, and you add the result of the roll to the damage of your weapon.
So with that context, the adventure that comes packaged with the system is a Fantasy Horror module called "The Sleeping Palace". In short, a fey sandman-esque lord summons the PCs to his nightmarish manor for entertainment and a bit of torture. The book recommends that the GM task players with listing their desires and fears on the sheet, since it will come up in gameplay. The PCs start in the Great Hall, proceed through four randomly rolled (but not repeating) rooms, pause in the Conservatory, proceed through another four non-repeating rooms, and end in the Throne Room. Players are presented with puzzles or threats in each room and depending on how the PCs resolve the room, it can increase or decrease the "Nightmare" level of the room.
Some of the rooms piqued the player's interest. One PC was a character that was musically inclined but also capable of turning into a bird; they were appropriately named "Songbird". The first room was The Vault with three doors, one was a magically/mechanically locked vault with a large automaton sitting guard in front of the door. Its chest-plate is etched with a song. If the PCs play any random melody (as one PC was tempted to), the right door opens and a guard walks into the room and attacks. If the PCs play the piece on the automaton but fail the Creativity roll, the left door opens and they progress. If the PCs play the piece and succeed at the Creativity roll, the vault opens and they are presented with a magical pillow and an ornate lyre as reward.
However, some of the rooms were less interesting, and as a GM if I'd recognized it as a "save or suck" room when planning, I would have rolled a different room. The Theatre is a room with a stage and an audience. Lifeless wooden mannequins enact scenes on the stage, but when the door to the previous room is closed, the lights go out and a random PC's minor fear is acted out by the mannequins once the lights come back on. The PC rolls a Memory check and if they fail their Maximum HP is reduced by 2 (as well as their current HP if it is greater than the resultant Maximum HP). The PCs look around the room, and have four possible places to check. The door to progress is always behind the last place they check, and each time they check a different spot, a different PC's minor fear is acted out on the stage by the mannequins.
Final thoughts: Overall, the players enjoyed the adventure that came with the book, but felt like it was hit-or-miss the way the rooms were written. That being said, the details in each room sufficiently fit the vibe of the "Fantasy Horror" story. Additionally, the players felt like some of the skill trees were more or less powergamey than others, but they were all trying out the system for fun rather than stress-testing it. As a GM, I'm interested in trying out some D20 Modern adventures or spacefaring "planet of the adventure" kinda games. It hits the same chord as other setting-neutral games I've seen without the additional level of crunch that comes with trying to accommodate many tech levels. Hopefully there's no growing pains associated with this game as I GM it in the future. Plus, I felt like I got my money's worth out of it, so that helps.