I would tend to go with pathfinder or something that is not DnD fate looks like it will be good if you have players willing to buy into the story
what do you want from the system

All systems are good if the Master is good.

Marvel or DC? :D

Yea, I was just being snarky. I see all versions of D&D as combat simulators with non-combat role playing having to take place outside of the framework of the rules. Can still be fun as long as your DM/GM is good.

Can't say I've actually tried the Hero system, but if it's massive D6's you're looking for, might I introduce you to Shadowrun. ;)

While I agree with avoiding it as far as a rule system goes, those AD&D 2nd edition handbooks (the brown faux leather covers) can't be beat for background and setting information. All the flavor text they put into those make them worth owning on their own.

I've been looking over a brand new RPG named Broken Rooms btw, it looks really cool and has that kinda 'SCP'-ish vibe to it. Might pick that up next week!

I played Broken Rooms at a convention last summer and it was fantastic. I'm currently reading through the book and it's quite good, though obviously lacking some professional polish of big game companies. Trying to get a group together to play it because it's such a cool setting.

I'm afraid you'd be a bit late, as I was introduced to Shadowrun in 1991 :) And, alas, HERO has it beat for number of d6 used - especially at the higher-powered end of things like 'Champions', where rolling 25 or more d6 at a time is quite possible :D

Shadowrun 5th is due soon, though, and cycle of supplements is gonna be repeated for the 3rd time.... I might just leave it at 4th. Plus, I've got the majesty of 'Shadowrun Returns' to look forwards to!!

Depending what youre looking for, either the very first edition or 3.5 + Pathfinder.

Cheers!

I was always a 2nd edition AD&D guy and felt it captured the essence of class-based D&D the most (cleaning up some of the roughness of AD&D 1 Ed) while allowing for a lot of individualizing and accessorizing with the use of its legion of rulebooks and campaign settings. It could be as esoteric as you wanted it to be; you could get by with just the core rulebooks of Player's Handbook, DM Guide, and Monstrous Manual or you could use all sorts of class/race rulebooks and campaign box settings (Ravenloft for the win!). I used a lot of custom house rules myself, like allowing each demi-human race to be a specialist mage (Dwarves could be Invokers, Halflings Abjurers, Gnomes could be Diviners as well as Illusionists). I also never found concepts like THACO or negative AC to be the burden that other people did. Though admittedly AD&D 2nd is out of step with the D20 times, I'd argue that D&D in general sort of is. It's a nearly forty-year-old role-playing system.

I understand Castles & Crusades is an alternative RPG out there for old-school AD&D people who mostly abandoned the game after WotSC took over and needed a currently supported system. On the other hand, I don't think a classic RPG needs current "support" to continue to run or be played by a willing group of people, the same way an old computer game or OS doesn't need it either. I still know people who play the original Vampire: Masquerade even after White Wolf severed their support and ended the world in the official timeline.

Somehow, from someone with your nick, I was expecting a vote for one of the Cyberpunk systems. ;)

You got me beat on your introduction to SR... I didn't know about it until 1992.

One thing I will say about a new edition is that they always expand the story, and it's not just a rehash of the rules. Major changes take place and they seem to overall keep the continuity in mind.

Get the Rules Cyclopedia, it has ALL you need to play in one book, it is easy to start with and adds plenty of juicy options later on (some of them never seen again in any other edition, like a complete weapon specialization system).

About 20 years ago or so, Talsorian did a Cyberpunk sourcebook for the Effinger books, also titled 'When Gravity Fails'. It's not huge - about 100 pages or so - but fascinating reading for fans of that series.

I played with the 2nd Edition rules a lot and loved them. I like tabletop games that focus more on roleplaying than the combat and dungeon crawling.