Yags is Another Game System

Yags is Another Game System. It is a set of moderately crunchy tabletop RPG rules.

Yags is Flexible. It can be used with a wide range of settings, genres and playing styles.

Yags is Free. It can be modified and distributed under the GPL.

There are probably thousands of homebrewed game systems available, though fewer are released under Free open source licenses, and fewer still have seen real use in hundreds of actual game sessions. Yags meets both criteria.

Yags aims for a moderate amount of crunch - rules designed to provide detail to characters and actions rather than assuming players will simply roleplay correctly. For example, it uses an advantages/disadvantages system and relatively detailed skills to allow characters to differentiate themselves. However, implementation aims to keep this within a core set of simple rules.

The playing style of Yags tends towards Cinematic Realism - skilled characters can be awesome, but aren't super heroes. A bullet or sword thrust can kill you, but if you have the right skills and play intelligently, then you can make sure that such dangerous things are happening to other people rather than you.