Bonus points for any non-D&D or D&D derivative systems.
My first RPG was Palladium Fantasy way back when my grognard uncle invited me to his groups table. I still don’t really grok it, but it was pretty formative of my ideas of what an RPG could be. The lack of balance and extreme existential threats as part of ordinary encounters included.
Needless to say, I haven’t found a group for this system in a looong while, eheh.
Oh God, Palladium. That was… A way to do things.
I fucking love G.U.R.P.S. Is it ground breaking? No. Is it fun to smash 6 different flavors together, hash out what survives, and run a short adventure or a few one-shots? Hell yeah! It’s not often I run into anyone who has a fondness for the system. Hell, I get kinda excited if someones even heard of it, even if they didn’t have a great experience.
Also rather enjoyed Ironclaw. I see it written off as “That Furry TT”, but I had a good time with it. Would happily play more.
I was explaining to an acquaintance the reasons why I was transitioning my group to GURPS from DnD, and she said she learned GURPS first and they’re the same. And I was just kinda gobsmacked that 1. she’d heard of it at all and 2. she learned it first.
I find in practice that I prefer d20hero/mutants and masterminds over GURPS. It has all the same flexibility but WILDLY less math.