The Storyteller system is a skill based
RPG published by
White Wolf.
Very Simplified Guide to the Storyteller System
Characters are created by spending points (no dice rolling). The core stats (strength, dexterity etc.) run from 1 (bad) to 5 (very good). A Character also spends points on key abilities/skills such as Melee, Science, Athletics and the all important Dodge.
To test a skill the Storyteller (the DM/GM/Referee) states the dificulty of the action from usually from 6 (tricky) to 10 (virtualy imposible). The player adds his core stat (eg. Dexterity) to the relevant ability (eg. Athletics) and rolls that many ten sided dice (d10). Every d10 equal to or over the dificulty counts as a success. The more successes the better the action was achived. A d10 turning up a 1 is bad and deducts a success
Note: In some versions dificulty is set at a specific number (eg. 7 or 8). In this case Storytellers request minimum numbers of successes eg. 2 (very easy) 7 (very difficult)
There are no Hit Points. Instead pretty much everything has 7 Health Levels. Armour and your Stamina (Constitution) allow you to roll to 'soak' damage (prevent it reducing your health levels).
Storyteller Settings
At the time of writing there are a number of settings published for the system:
World of Darkness: By far the most popular Storyteller setting. This is based in the modern world. Players can take on the role of anything from Joe Blogs the mortal, through members of a globe spanning conspiracy (the Technocracy) to the reality warping Mages and ancient Vampires or even have a go at being dead.
Abberant: A superhero genre setting with a strong SF base. The X-men-esque premise is that certain sections of humanity are begining to develop staggering powers. Some of these mutants are going mad as their powers increase. The PCs are good mutants. Can they save the world from the bad ones?
Aeon/Trinity: This is a rich and complex SF setting in which the Abberants, now all mad, were forced to leave the planet (long story). After a long time the Aberants returned, now twisted and warped. After destroying an orbital city and dropping it on Paris they were faced down by a hither-to secret society of Psionicists. Now Earth and the Aberants are in a stalemate. The PCs by default take the role of members of the now public Psionicist organisation. This setting includes Post Holocaust, Cyberpunk and Deep Space settings, you can even get your hands on Battlemechs (under a different name of (c)ourse).
Exalted: A new setting due out in 2001. Looks like an interesting fantasy setting a la Earthdawn+Michael Moorcock