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Doomsought wrote:

But it actually works out elegantly in layers:
First you can hide and get the surprise round, good planning and smart use of skills pays off. I think I might do away with the initiative Roll anyway.

It is never a good idea to make survival in a system to matter entirely on a skill check. This means that every character has to take hide, and anyone who doesn't have hide as a skill list is assumed to be be dead. Also anyone without a sufficiently high Dex, will die.

I'm sorry, they lose 1 level of defense.

Second is terrain, concealment and cover; when I get to it concealment will give a static bonus to targeting class rather than miss chance, but still more tactics and clever skill use keeps you alive.

And places huge amounts of work on the DM, and players complaining like crazy if there is ever a fight without ample terrain.

Any assault on a defensible position, entrance into a dungeon, or meeting on a road, result in losing a level of defense. This happens all of the time. In fact, an unexpected bar fight, against someone throwing a beer bottle at your head, is more deadly than being ambushed.

In fact if cover is that important, you can rename the system D20 cower.

Third you can up your targeting class with magic and feats.

Because dodge was a great feat. Once more you have an either or situation here, either you have a feat that is mandatory (thusly making low feat classes suck) or you have a feat that offers only a nominal bonus (thusly it is no longer a layer of defense).

Fourth, while in melee, you can parry or even counter.

I'm actually pretty sure you system isn't too bad in melee, with only a few bugs to be worked out. I also know that your system is broken as can be with ranged attacks.

Fifth you have armor granting hardness and softening which will drop the blow by much.

What? It's a layer of defense b/c it degrades? Getting easier to hit doesn't really improve your case here.

Sixth your HP is based of either your Constitution or Strength Score, meaning any body-part's HP can range from 10 to 20.

10-20 HP??!? My 1st level rogue, who was hiding (as per your suggestion), can throw a dagger at your head catch you flat footed, and kill a someone with a Con of say, 26, on good roll and really min-maxed stats.

So unless everyone always has a helmet on, you will die from 1st level rogues who hid and throw daggers.

It will take only a few hits to kill some one, but a few rounds is all you need in combat anyways. The rouge can one hit someone with his sneak attack. But you never send snipers against players before epic anyways.

This is bad design, assuming that DMs won't do something because of a convention you have is not the way to balance a system.

And parries. I must remind you, are the basis for truly epic battles. The fighter has counters which he can exchange back and forth until some one gets a strait miss or wants to save his opportunities for later. Now counter spells are more reactive (and possible), its a simple roll of and I may add some more feats to act like a fighter's counter.
Psions will have their own thing when I get to them.

Sorry for the wall of text.

This is why I want a system like this to work, but right now it doesn't. Do some play testing. Play the most obnoxious stuff you can. Make a party of all sniper rogues, make a party without hide. Try to break the system. If you can find a broken combo, or something that should be "held off until later levels" your system has a flaw.

The other problem right now is one of thematics. A brutal system should involve lots of epic fights, that are all very close. Loss of limb shouldn't be uncommon, but shouldn't be insurmountable. When I hear D20 Brutal, I think one eyed barbarians missing 3 fingers, charging into a line of spear men. What your systems ultimate combo is a goblin rogue who hides behind a barrel, throws a dagger and runs away.

Try making the system reward "heroic action" instead of focusing on "ease of death". Loss of limb can be fun, but the called shot system just doesn't work.