In people's opinion, what is a very good skill based system? Is GURPS still considered a good skill based system? Open to suggestions!

Basic Role Playing(Runequest) is skill based, and rewards skills used directly. You only learn it if you use it or train it.

Gurps is skill based but it has a LOT of skills, and some folks don't like that. However, it gives a bit of discretion in advancement the BRP doesn't.

Frankly, I'm not too familiar with any other skill based games, anymore. Those two both lend themselves to pretty much any setting from fantasy to sci-fi to areas in between, so I've not  needed to learn more.

In reply to AuntieMandi (msg # 1):

As tmagann noted, BRP is good.

I've always found the Rolemaster system to particularly adept with and focused on Skills.  Personally, I enjoy the 3-tier approach of RMSS (RoleMaster Standard System), but that is probably the pinnacle of skill acquisition complexity, and might not be everyone's cup 'o tea.

But Skill-Based systems, it's hard to beat for comprehension.

And although not skill-**focused**, the Hero System does a nice of comprehensive skill access as well.

I don't really consider Rolemaster skill based. It's classed based, it just has a whole lot of skills. And skill acquisition very much varies based on class.

Gurps is in my opinion, the best skill based system out there.  It has supplements covering practically any genre you could want.  BRP is not a bad choice, but I'm not as happy with the % system.  Another possibility is BTRC's EABA v.2.  The difficulty is finding people who have even heard of it, much less played it.

R.Talsorian’s systems are generally skill based. Cyberpunk 2020 and Red are both pretty good examples of this, and they allow for flexibility in advancement. (You can award general advancement points, and points for skills that see a lot of use or training.)

There are two games out there that I've found are truly "skill-based," meaning no actual attributes. Unfortunately, both are also pretty niche with regards to their settings.

One is Elite: Dangerous, an adaptation of the fourth Elite open-ended spaceflight simulator game (d10 + Skill Mod + mods from enhancements/abilities vs. a TN). The other is The Troubleshooters!, from the Swedish company Helmgast, an althist-60s-era spy-adventure game inspired by that genre of Franco-Belgian comics (d%, roll under skill + mods, with some interesting gameplay mechanics added in). The former system is...sufficient on its merits; the latter fits its genre well, and the mechanics lend themselves to creative gameplay. (I've ditched the less-realistic aspects of the setting for my campaigns. :) )

Traveller is the granddaddy of skill-based systems. There are 'classes' of a sort, but no levels and each 'class' just allows access to a different set of skills, many of which overlap.