Weirdest RPG (system) concepts?

[The Final Door]

I was reading through GURPS Powers to do some work on my GURPS 2.0 (yes, still looking for a better name), when it suddenly struck me: When GURPS first came out, the idea of a system that could handle any genre, including yet non-existent ones, must have been completely insane! I would expect that hardcore gamers looked at it and thought "my GOD that's a bizarre idea!". Even today, "generic" systems are slightly odd concepts. But what other weird system concepts are out there? Which do you people know of, or what weird system concepts could you imagine someone actually making into a system?

For clarification, I am not talking about weird settings; we'll let Toon and Paranoia slug that one out in a padded cell. I am talking about systems that had, for their time or even today, an odd idea behind the actual system of rules built. A few real-life examples off the top of my head:

Generic: As mentioned, the idea of making a single system for any kind of genre imaginable must have been weird. Even today, it gives some odd results, and paves the way for some really strange uses!
Diceless: I am thinking Amber, no dice at all, not the "alternate dice" games that use cards or other methods. Games that are designed to not use any actual randomizers. I have seen some odd alternatives to randomness, and they always intrigue me...
"Academic": I really do not know any other phrase to use for Aria. Big, hulking books discussing minutia about socio-realistic details of a pseudo-fantasy village and how weather affects a character's childhood. Just... strange!
Ignorant Players: No, not an insult, but games that have at their core the idea that the players have no idea what is actually going on with their characters. Psychosis had characters hallucinating, shrouding the real story. SmurfQuest uses Smurfish to shroud everything in nonsense ("you enter the smurftastic cave, smurfing the walls for smurf. Then, a smurf jumps out and smurfs at you with a giant smurf!!").
Simplicity: I'm talking the seriously simplistic ones here! TWERPS, Risus, the kind of games that you would be able to play after eight sleepless nights, drunk and with a head injury. And still laugh yourself silly with!
Player GMs: I recently learned of Universalis, which apparently has players actually controlling the story, not the GM, with some rather innovative point systems.

Our GURPS 2.0 is based around the idea of nearly autistic levels of detail, from gun maintenance skills to individual brand specialization on starship engines (and familiarity modifiers for types and brands of tools used to fix them, and staff, and work conditions, and....), with the idea that any one regular skill could be expanded into a book of details, options and twists.

What other weird game system concepts do you know, or have you heard of, whether fully developed or just given some serious thought? How do people (you and those you know/hear of) react to concepts like these? I regularly browse The Forge, and some interesting stuff crops up there, but how people out there in general see all this, think about it or even play it (buy it??), I have no idea. I would really like to know :)

[ladyarcana55]

The one I remember that made me think "Huh?" was the Reverse Dungeon where the players were the monsters in the dungeon and the heroes exploring the dungeon were the bad guys. It was weird for me because, other than the obvious, some of the creatures allowed were usually described as non sentient and, in this case, they were sentient.

An interesting premise, to be sure, but weird all around.

[Irish Wolf]

I'd like to be the first to mention FATAL.

And now that it has been mentioned, let us burn the books, erase our memories, and never speak of it again.

[knarf]

I am soon to release an RPG designed from the ground up to model the Oz stories of L. Frank Baum. It's got a Monty Python style injury system (remember the Black Knight?), rules for playing animal characters like Toto and the Cowardly Lion, and a drama point system that encourages making friends.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by The Final Door

When GURPS first came out, the idea of a system that could handle any genre, including yet non-existent ones, must have been completely insane!

Not much, no. Basic Role Playing had been out for six years, and players were widely familiar with the idea that buying Champions, Justice, Iinc., Danger International, etc. as separate stand-alone products was not the way to go. The name "Fantasy HERO" already suggested the way Hero Games were thinking.

GURPS was the first general-purpose RPG to see print, but the idea didn't seem strange at the time.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by knarf

I am soon to release an RPG designed from the ground up to model the Oz stories of L. Frank Baum. It's got a Monty Python style injury system (remember the Black Knight?), rules for playing animal characters like Toto and the Cowardly Lion, and a drama point system that encourages making friends.

Good for you! I vaguely remembered your thread from last year when you mentioned the idea. Hope it works out for ya *thumbup*

[Rocket Man]

And don't forget Pendragon, probably the first "generational" roleplaying game, where you had a legitimate chance of playing your character's descendants.

I also remember the first time I saw Hero Points (in James Bond 007). The idea of being able to legitimately alter a dice roll really rocked my adolescent world.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by The Final Door

it suddenly struck me: When GURPS first came out, the idea of a system that could handle any genre, including yet non-existent ones, must have been completely insane!

Nope, back in the day (c. 1980) we struggled so mightily with such an array of spastic game mechanics that we eagerly begged for, borrowed and stole _anything_ we thought worked decently.

The idea of using Champions for a fantasy game I first heard 2 weeks after I first saw the book. The idea of shifting it to a 1 meter(yard) hex and crossbreeding it with Melee came from a guy I knew a week after that.

So, no Gurps was not really a very crazy idea.

[The Final Door]

Originally Posted by Irish Wolf

I'd like to be the first to mention F*T*L.

And now that it has been mentioned, let us burn the books, erase our memories, and never speak of it again.

My books started burning as I read the Forbidden Name you wrote. There is weird, and there is just [CENSORED]...

Originally Posted by knarf

I am soon to release an RPG designed from the ground up to model the Oz stories of L. Frank Baum. It's got a Monty Python style injury system (remember the Black Knight?), rules for playing animal characters like Toto and the Cowardly Lion, and a drama point system that encourages making friends.

The injury system made me smile, and wonder! Also, I have to ask, is this release a market release or a free (or near-free) web release? Are you hoping to sell your system, and if so, are you basing the pitch in any part on its weirdness, and if so, how?? Nosy minds want to know :)

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by Irish Wolf

I'd like to be the first to mention FATAL.

Was there actually an RPG system under all that crap?