So, I've been thinking about it for a while, and since 4E seems so dissatisfying to so many people, and since Planewalker has such a dedicated base, how do people feel about just creating our own, entirely new Game Mechanics? This would give Planewalker the freedom to adapt mechanically, without feeling beholden to the developments of D&D.
The upside is that Planescape is such a rich setting, and is so conceptually broad in scope, that it can effectively act as a standalone RPG, with really almost no input needed from the actual D&D world. This would give the site unlimited creativity (And there seems to be a surplus of that kind of talent here), a dynamic campaign setting (we could make our own canon material), and if done right, a genuing on-profit RPG product to offer the world.
The catch (and there are many) is that we would be put in a situation where we would be potentially stepping on WotC's toes, which means we would either a) need to release everything 100% for free or b) would need to create a setting sufficiently "alternate" that WotC couldn't claim copyright infringement. There are certain concepts embedded in Planescape that are generic enough (The center of all, real world pantheons, real world monsters, etc) that you could take the essence of Planescape and rework it into an entirely independent setting that would'nt be under any threat of copyright infringement.
The freedom to implement a new mechanics gives us a couple advantages. For one, we can create a mechanical system that is more attuned to the nature of adventuring in the planes. For two, a new game mechanics really frees us up from most of the copyright problems that come with D&D (even if D&D is open source in 3.X, you still had to accept d20 branding and all that comes with it, and we dont yet know how 4e will affect these things).
Basically, as I see it, a lot of effort is being expended here by a bunch of talented people in order to build up a mythos around an unsupported system whose audience is largely limited to those who actually frequent this website. What has been created is amazing. The only thing that has limited it in my view is the scope of the audience. I envision utilizing that talent to create a full on open source RPG that aims for a broader audience, and whose only market motive is to propagate the site itself.
I myself have game mechanics I've developed over the years that I would happily lend to the project, though I would be just as happy to see anything better being used, and the site obviously has a ton of user created material that could be readily adapted to the new RPG with just a few changes. Plus, with a blank slate, we can help work out the kinks and other issues that come with the setting.
I realize this is insanely ambitious, but it is something I have long dreamed of, and I am sure many other people here on the site have had similar visions, and is something I truly believe people here are capable of making it happen. We have all dreamed of being involved in some RPG company or another at some point in our gaming, so what the hell, why not do it ourselves? Right here there is the talent, the knowledge, and the capability. So why not give it a shot? What do you think?
I don't think I will be much help mechanics-wise, but I definitely support you.
However, designing a completely new game system from ground up would take too much time and effort, and plus, it will probably be reinventing what somebody invented years ago. There are thousands of game systems out there. I think we should have check them out and see if they could be implemented to PSCS. All systems have pros and cons, some offer good versatility, some high realism, some nice social interaction mechanics. What is it that we want from our system? Do we want to keep classes and spellbook magic system or not? Things like this should be decided first and I think even this will take a lot of time.
Considering this stage is over, I think the best way to go about with the new mechanic is to convert the old rules, spells, powers, monsters, skills, etc.
For example, I like how cyberpunk2020 deals with dice rolling and combat, but it is way too deadly for PS. On the other hand, I like how WoD keeps up with a character having many different skills, but I hate having to roll a bunch of dice for every damn action. I also like to see my dnd mage casting arcane spells from his spellbook, but when a psychic character is involved the system completely breaks down.
It is a hard thing to balance between these things. I wish you luck and patience.