@paoloredaelli If you're (very) good at GURPS you make it a lot sleeker for whatever genre/setting you're playing, but that in itself is a lot of work. If it's only a matter of degrees for you, you might want to check out the #DungeonFantasyRPG line powered by GURPS. It's about as sleek as they come when SJGames is involved.

I had also looked enviously at #FateRPG to maybe replace part of my GURPS campaign, but had the same problem of it being too freeform and fuzzy. By the same token #PoweredByTheApocalypse will probably not be your cup of tea and #HeroRPG makes GURPS look accessible like heck, IMHO. If it doesn't need to be generic, take a look at #Ironsworn. It's not exactly what you're looking for, but it's the only thing I've seen that does strike a bit of a balance between sleek/freeform and rules-based.

If you find a good replacement, let me know. I'm fine with GURPS, but something in this vein would definitely scratch an itch.

@ruralgloom @onan @cynical13 If you like GURPS Lite and want to only add a little complexity (and magic) for your fantasy adventures, the #DungeonFantasyRPG is a great way to sidestep the option overkill that's the death of many a first-time #GURPS GM. It's still loads more flexible than D&D and many other systems, but it keeps the choices manageable.

Transitioning to GURPS from DFRPG is quite easy too if you want to go Expedition to the Barrier Peaks or beyond 😆​

Edit: Sorry, missed the "free" in your question DFRPG is not free. #TheFantasyTrip Melee is free, but it's quite different and frankly pretty 1980ies.

@benni @Morgunin

Wenn's #GURPS sein soll und dann Fantasy kann ich #DungeonFantasyRPG nur empfehlen. Das speckt das auf den ersten Blick doch sehr umfangreiche generische System auf eine Dungeon-Crawl-Variante ab. Erinnert teilweise intentional etwas an D&D und Diablo, aber erlaubt doch freiere Charakterschaffung und -entwicklung bei gleichzeitiger Sicherstellung von Nischen für die einzelnen Professionen.

Gibt's halt nur auf Englisch, falls das ein Problem darstellen sollte. Kann auch als Einstieg zu GURPS allgemein genutzt werden.

https://warehouse23.com/products/dungeon-fantasy-roleplaying-game

@LizardSF @dmtales @armoredkitten If you're looking for something in that vein SJGames' GURPS-clone #DungeonFantasyRPG is probably as close as you can get to D&D with a no-levels, no-Vancian-Magic, skill-based system.

Also it is in print

http://www.warehouse23.com/products/dungeon-fantasy-roleplaying-game

and has nice, modern production values (okay, the Monsters book leaves something to be desired, but there are some great 3rd party replacements).