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I like Hard Choices. I used it when I ran a Cthulhu game. It helped make the game less pulpy.

No Power Points is great for grim fantasy settings and the like. Although it also requires backlash/crit-fail results for the spell casting in order to capture the dark and dangerous magic vibe. Good for that kind of risk versus reward sword & sorcery style which I generally prefer. It keeps the spellcaster types from spamming stuff when they know each roll has the chance of doing something terrible. The Hellfrost SW setting has this kind of magic, with some definite negatives for failing too hard, and it was a big plus for me.

The No Power Points setting rule feels like it best fits a story where the character's powers don't always work. The assumption with a standard power is that you cast a spell, you pay the points, and so long as you can pass a baseline skill check, the assumption is that the power will work and the main limitation is how many points you have. With No Power Points, where the points total results in a penalty to your skill roll, doing a bigger power makes it more of a risk that your power doesn't work and even smaller spells have more of a chance to fizzle out, but as a trade-off since you don't have a power point total you'll be able to keep trying different powers for the whole session. I think it's an interesting alternative if you're more interested in balancing penalties and bonuses versus tracking a point total and tells a bit of a different story. I think my favorite Setting Rule and the one I want to use in almost any game is Creative Combat. I feel like it really rewards players who make Test-focused characters to serve as support who want to Test opponents in combat, and it's one of those rules that doesn't take anything away because the most common roll you get on the table is the baseline effect of a Test; it just adds a bunch of new effects you might be able to get instead. I think it really helps support the idea of "hey, you don't have to only attack, there's a bunch of other ways you can support the team during combat".

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Fanatics: I sometimes use this as a special ability for my bad guys if it fits their character. I also sometimes let the players do it if they wish to save someone squishy, like their pets... ("NOT BOO! MINSC WILL SAVE YOU BOO!") More skill points: I usually make a "culture package" for human characters, to give their background some flavor. These are usually tangentially useful skills like Survival, Boating, Repair, etc. or situational bonuses to skills ("Those Kauds are so amazing at foraging for food!") Multiple languages: ... yeah... Americans be speaking 'Merican... 😜 I really like multiple languages, because, again, it adds flavor to characters, and it can force players to be creative in situations that would be no challenge if everyone could communicate flawlessly. ("OK, is Minsc really the ONLY one who speaks Marklandish?" "No no, I don't speak Marklandish... BOO speaks it... FLUENTLY!")

Gritty Damage lets me run the old TSR games - Top Secret, Boot Hill, Gangbusters by keeping the lethality high. The heroes are still very tough with 4 Wounds to kill. But each wound is very problematic. Healing is very slow. The key is to make sure your players are informed!

I use Dumb Luck any time I'm running a more comedic game. Combined with Heroes Never Die, you get an almost cartoonish feel if things go right. And a favorite of mine from Fear Agent is Catching a Break, which gives a Bennie to a player any time they roll a Critical Failure. It takes some of the sting away, and gives a feeling that things will go right sooner or later.

Any setting rule that has a table roll (Creative Combat, Dynamic Backlash, etc) I prefer to forgo and instead arbitrate what happens. That's what DMs are for, and a judgment call is always going to be more dynamic than a table roll. For instance, your player may want to talk a younger bandit down during a gunfight. That's a Persuasion test, all day. Instead of distracted/vulnerable/shaken or a table roll, just arbitrate. On a success, this kid is going to hesitate. On a raise, he's going to see reason and surrender. Heroes Never Die is great for two reasons. 1: It gives the DM the freedom to really beat the heck out of their players, knowing that there is a safety net and a player doesn't have to fear an unsatisfying character death. You can make extremely challenging encounters and your players will still feel somewhat safe engaging with them. 2: Finishing up a scene with a beloved character dying is often way less fun than transitioning to a follow up scene where the party is desperately trying to find a way to save that beloved character from the outcome of the previous scene. A mad dash to the hospital, a desperate search for alchemical herbs, or even a frantic emergency surgery done via dramatic task.

Good video. I always fight with Specialisation, want to use it but just don't know how to make it simple. Like Climbing/swimming and throwing put in athletics but feeling like they should be their own skills. Or Navigation... I always ask my players to roll Navigation so they don't get lost or travel in a circle but that is off Common Knowledge I believe or is it Survivor?

Why in the world would you create entirely new skills with zero edges to support them instead of just using the simple and straightforward skill specialization setting rule?

How well would Swade be for a Grimdark Middle Earth Campaign?