Alternity 2nd Edition

Alternity 2nd Edition
RPG published by Sasquatch Game Studio
Authors	Richard Baker David Noonan Stephen Schubert
First Publication	1998 (1st Edition) 2018 (2nd Edition)

Richard Baker was able to relaunch the Alternity name but all the legacy races were dumped. A few parts were ported largely unchanged such as the dice step system (which was merely reversed +/-). But most of the changes did not improve the system.

Skill rolling has been reversed so that your target roll is to be higher than 20-(ability+rank). This necessarily means that skills are limited to 10 ranks so that your target roll can't go negative. Compared to 1st edition this is extra math for the sake of cheering for a big roll instead of a small roll.

The gradient damage system of ordinary/good/amazing + stun/wound/mortal damage system that conveniently scaled from individuals up to starships is gone, as is the distinction between Low and High impact physical damage. In its place, players have a wound pool and armor has fixed values.

The perks and flaws system of 1st edition is gone, although these were pretty tangential even in the original system so it's no great loss. But so are the rank benefits of skills, and in their place is a talents system. In place of the VERY loose professions are archetypes which have mandatory and discretionary talents and skills. While this system isn't as bad as it COULD be (there are only 24 talents, it's not as bad as Starfinder where every class needs a chapter to explain its specific flavor of hit-with-stick), but it's still not as clean as the old system.

Mutations are gone, suggesting they weren't part of Baker's vision for the game and just shoehorned in for Gamma World. Psionics are back; the broad skills are fundamentally the same but like skills they've got some talents tacked on.