It does, however, eliminate the ability to bake in the various special results in one roll unless you're willing to strongly round them up.
The only special result truly missing is the impale result. Doubling a hit's damage but losing your next attack or two pulling the weapon free is, while not unrealistic, excessively common. And it becomes more common as skill increases, which is a verisimilitude issue.
Crits get more common - both ends - but that's not a huge difference. It's a bit more vague.
The personality traits are a difference of note - but the processes of them are firmly grounded in the processes of BRP - opposed rolls resolved in 5% increments, most flavors use starting values for abilities in 5% increments. Use it to raise it.
Proceduraly, the only novelties of Pendragon are
- making the experience check resolution annual instead of per session or adventure.
- Note that BRP 1e was per session
- RQ3 is per adventure.
- using traits/passions to limit or enable specific actions
- using passions to boost skills.
- the switch to figured personal damage modified by weapon from weapon damage modified by character.
- High-but-not-over rolling.
The use of up to ±50% modifier increments for difficulty is not novel; Elfquest has mods to -50 for perception and stealth, all in 5% increments, It also has a skill vs skill procedure.
RQ3 uses attribute × 5% chances for some resistance rolls, rather than the resistance table. Most modifiers are in 5% increments.
Coming back onto topic...
RuneQuest 3rd Ed - my introduction to use it to raise it. (A week later, I found ElfQuest used. I have run more EQ than RQ...) Currently referencing the GW version. Pages 19-21.
Training in RQ3 takes considerable time - hours equal to current experience %ile. Maximum of 50 hours per week. Maximum of 75%. Provides a 1d-2 increase, and this can be negative.
Not all RQ3 skills are raisable by use - mostly academic; these remove the training cap.
Research/Self-training/Practice - takes 1 hour per current percent, requires rolling over the current %, and then grants the choice of 1d6-2 or 1 point.
Experience checks, on those skills which allow them, require a success in a "stressful situation," then end of the adventure, roll over current % to raise by choice of 1d6 or 3 points.
King Arthur Pendragon 4th Ed
Note: the High-but-not-over is used a lot, since most rolls in KAP are opposed.
- Skills are ticked when a critical success is scored. That's when the d20 rolls exactly the target number.
- Skills can be ticked when the GM allows on a successful check in "time of crisis" or "significant use" (different pages use different wording)
- Skills can also be ticked for use in one of the "solo" activities.
- Once characters have a manor, the Your Own Land solo is nigh-obligatory; it's run as the first step in Winter Phase.
- the solos generally tick a skill that would be used often but in low stress.
- During the winter phase, roll over any ticked skill to raise it by 1.
- Any skill of 20+ is still raised on a roll of a nat 20.
- Winter Phase one option from...
- add 1d6 points to one skill, raising it no further than 15; excess go to another skill of choice also capped at 15, recursive while points remain.
- add one point to a skill to a maximum of 20
- add one point to an attribute not to exceed maximum cultural rollable value
- add one point to a Personality Trait, not to exceed 19.
- add one point to a Passion, not to exceed 20.
- Winterphase, when new glory is finally applied, each 1000 pt threshold crossed gives 1 point to anything but size; it can be size if under age 24. Glory gains can exceed all the above limits.