diff --git a/pecan/commands/base.py b/pecan/commands/base.py
index 57c4115..b997d9f 100644
--- a/pecan/commands/base.py
+++ b/pecan/commands/base.py
@@ -9,11 +9,27 @@ from pecan import load_app
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+class HelpfulArgumentParser(argparse.ArgumentParser):
+
+    def error(self, message):
+        """error(message: string)
+
+        Prints a usage message incorporating the message to stderr and
+        exits.
+
+        If you override this in a subclass, it should not return -- it
+        should either exit or raise an exception.
+        """
+        self.print_help(sys.stderr)
+        self._print_message('\n')
+        self.exit(2, '%s: %s\n' % (self.prog, message))
+
+
 class CommandManager(object):
     """ Used to discover `pecan.command` entry points. """
 
     def __init__(self):
-        self.commands_ = {}
+        self.commands = {}
         self.load_commands()
 
     def load_commands(self):
@@ -28,11 +44,7 @@ class CommandManager(object):
             self.add({ep.name: cmd})
 
     def add(self, cmd):
-        self.commands_.update(cmd)
-
-    @property
-    def commands(self):
-        return self.commands_
+        self.commands.update(cmd)
 
 
 class CommandRunner(object):
@@ -40,13 +52,13 @@ class CommandRunner(object):
 
     def __init__(self):
         self.manager = CommandManager()
-        self.parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
+        self.parser = HelpfulArgumentParser(
             version='Pecan %s' % self.version,
             add_help=True
         )
-        self.parse_commands()
+        self.parse_sub_commands()
 
-    def parse_commands(self):
+    def parse_sub_commands(self):
         subparsers = self.parser.add_subparsers(
             dest='command_name',
             metavar='command'
@@ -67,8 +79,7 @@ class CommandRunner(object):
     @classmethod
     def handle_command_line(cls):
         runner = CommandRunner()
-        exit_code = runner.run(sys.argv[1:])
-        sys.exit(exit_code)
+        runner.run(sys.argv[1:])
 
     @property
     def version(self):
@@ -83,7 +94,7 @@ class CommandRunner(object):
 
     @property
     def commands(self):
-        return self.manager.commands_
+        return self.manager.commands
 
 
 class BaseCommand(object):
diff --git a/pecan/commands/create.py b/pecan/commands/create.py
index ade6301..b516e1f 100644
--- a/pecan/commands/create.py
+++ b/pecan/commands/create.py
@@ -2,29 +2,23 @@
 Create command for Pecan
 """
 from pecan.commands import BaseCommand
-from pecan.templates import DEFAULT_TEMPLATE
-
-import copy
-import sys
+from pecan.scaffolds import DEFAULT_SCAFFOLD, BaseScaffold
 
 
 class CreateCommand(BaseCommand):
     """
-    Creates the file layout for a new Pecan distribution.
-
-    For a template to show up when using this command, its name must begin
-    with "pecan-". Although not required, it should also include the "Pecan"
-    egg plugin for user convenience.
+    Creates the file layout for a new Pecan scaffolded project.
     """
 
     arguments = ({
         'command': 'template_name',
         'help': 'a registered Pecan template',
         'nargs': '?',
-        'default': DEFAULT_TEMPLATE
+        'default': DEFAULT_SCAFFOLD
     },)
 
     def run(self, args):
         super(CreateCommand, self).run(args)
         print "NOT IMPLEMENTED"
         print args.template_name
+        BaseScaffold().copy_to(args.template_name)
diff --git a/pecan/compat.py b/pecan/compat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0e0bdc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pecan/compat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import sys
+
+# True if we are running on Python 3.
+PY3 = sys.version_info[0] == 3
+
+if PY3:  # pragma: no cover
+    text_type = str
+else:
+    text_type = unicode
+
+
+def bytes_(s, encoding='latin-1', errors='strict'):
+    """ If ``s`` is an instance of ``text_type``, return
+    ``s.encode(encoding, errors)``, otherwise return ``s``"""
+    if isinstance(s, text_type):  # pragma: no cover
+        return s.encode(encoding, errors)
+    return s
+
+if PY3:  # pragma: no cover
+    def native_(s, encoding='latin-1', errors='strict'):
+        """ If ``s`` is an instance of ``text_type``, return
+        ``s``, otherwise return ``str(s, encoding, errors)``"""
+        if isinstance(s, text_type):
+            return s
+        return str(s, encoding, errors)
+else:
+    def native_(s, encoding='latin-1', errors='strict'): # noqa
+        """ If ``s`` is an instance of ``text_type``, return
+        ``s.encode(encoding, errors)``, otherwise return ``str(s)``"""
+        if isinstance(s, text_type):
+            return s.encode(encoding, errors)
+        return str(s)
+
+native_.__doc__ = """
+Python 3: If ``s`` is an instance of ``text_type``, return ``s``, otherwise
+return ``str(s, encoding, errors)``
+
+Python 2: If ``s`` is an instance of ``text_type``, return
+``s.encode(encoding, errors)``, otherwise return ``str(s)``
+"""
diff --git a/pecan/scaffolds/__init__.py b/pecan/scaffolds/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb3d1af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pecan/scaffolds/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import sys
+import os
+import re
+import pkg_resources
+from pecan.compat import native_, bytes_
+
+DEFAULT_SCAFFOLD = 'base'
+
+
+class PecanScaffold(object):
+
+    @property
+    def template_dir(self):
+        if isinstance(self._scaffold_dir, tuple):
+            return self._scaffold_dir
+        else:
+            return os.path.join(self.module_dir, self._scaffold_dir)
+
+    @property
+    def module_dir(self):
+        mod = sys.modules[self.__class__.__module__]
+        return os.path.dirname(mod.__file__)
+
+    @property
+    def variables(self):
+        return {}
+
+    def copy_to(self, dest, **kwargs):
+        copy_dir(self.template_dir, dest, self.variables)
+
+
+class BaseScaffold(PecanScaffold):
+    _scaffold_dir = 'base'
+
+
+def copy_dir(source, dest, variables, out_=sys.stdout):
+    """
+    Copies the ``source`` directory to the ``dest`` directory.
+
+    ``variables``: A dictionary of variables to use in any substitutions.
+
+    ``out_``: File object to write to
+    """
+    def out(msg):
+        out_.write(msg)
+        out_.write('\n')
+        out_.flush()
+
+    use_pkg_resources = isinstance(source, tuple)
+
+    if use_pkg_resources:
+        names = sorted(pkg_resources.resource_listdir(source[0], source[1]))
+    else:
+        names = sorted(os.listdir(source))
+    if not os.path.exists(dest):
+        out('Creating %s' % dest)
+        makedirs(dest)
+    else:
+        out('Directory %s already exists' % dest)
+        return
+
+    for name in names:
+
+        if use_pkg_resources:
+            full = '/'.join([source[1], name])
+        else:
+            full = os.path.join(source, name)
+
+        dest_full = os.path.join(dest, substitute_filename(name, variables))
+
+        sub_file = False
+        if dest_full.endswith('_tmpl'):
+            dest_full = dest_full[:-5]
+            sub_file = True
+
+        if use_pkg_resources and pkg_resources.resource_isdir(source[0], full):
+            out('Recursing into %s' % os.path.basename(full))
+            copy_dir((source[0], full), dest_full, variables, out_)
+            continue
+        elif not use_pkg_resources and os.path.isdir(full):
+            out('Recursing into %s' % os.path.basename(full))
+            copy_dir(full, dest_full, variables, out_)
+            continue
+        elif use_pkg_resources:
+            content = pkg_resources.resource_string(source[0], full)
+        else:
+            f = open(full, 'rb')
+            content = f.read()
+            f.close()
+
+        if sub_file:
+            content = render_template(content, variables)
+            if content is None:
+                continue  # pragma: no cover
+
+        if use_pkg_resources:
+            out('Copying %s to %s' % (full, dest_full))
+        else:
+            out('Copying %s to %s' % (
+                os.path.basename(full),
+                dest_full)
+            )
+
+
+def makedirs(directory):
+    parent = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(directory))
+    if not os.path.exists(parent):
+        makedirs(parent)
+    os.mkdir(directory)
+
+
+def substitute_filename(fn, variables):
+    for var, value in variables.items():
+        fn = fn.replace('+%s+' % var, str(value))
+    return fn
+
+
+def render_template(self, content, variables):
+    """ Return a bytestring representing a templated file based on the
+    input (content) and the variable names defined (vars)."""
+    fsenc = sys.getfilesystemencoding()
+    content = native_(content, fsenc)
+    return bytes_(
+        substitute_double_braces(content, variables), fsenc)
+
+
+def substitute_double_braces(content, values):
+    double_brace_pattern = re.compile(r'{{(?P<braced>.*?)}}')
+
+    def double_bracerepl(match):
+        value = match.group('braced').strip()
+        return values[value]
+    return double_brace_pattern.sub(double_bracerepl, content)
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/__init__.py b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/__init__.py
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/__init__.py
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/app.py_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/app.py_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/app.py_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/app.py_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/controllers/__init__.py b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/controllers/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/controllers/__init__.py
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/controllers/__init__.py
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/controllers/root.py b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/controllers/root.py
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/controllers/root.py
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/controllers/root.py
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/model/__init__.py b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/model/__init__.py
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/model/__init__.py
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/model/__init__.py
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/templates/error.html b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/templates/error.html
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/templates/error.html
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/templates/error.html
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/templates/index.html b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/templates/index.html
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/templates/index.html
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/templates/index.html
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/templates/layout.html b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/templates/layout.html
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/templates/layout.html
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/templates/layout.html
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/__init__.py_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/__init__.py_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/__init__.py_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/__init__.py_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/config.py_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/config.py_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/config.py_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/config.py_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/test_functional.py_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/test_functional.py_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/test_functional.py_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/test_functional.py_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/test_units.py b/pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/test_units.py
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/+package+/tests/test_units.py
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/+package+/tests/test_units.py
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/MANIFEST.in b/pecan/scaffolds/base/MANIFEST.in
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/MANIFEST.in
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/MANIFEST.in
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/config.py_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/config.py_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/config.py_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/config.py_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/public/css/style.css b/pecan/scaffolds/base/public/css/style.css
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/public/css/style.css
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/public/css/style.css
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/public/images/logo.png b/pecan/scaffolds/base/public/images/logo.png
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/public/images/logo.png
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/public/images/logo.png
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/setup.cfg_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/setup.cfg_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/setup.cfg_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/setup.cfg_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/project/setup.py_tmpl b/pecan/scaffolds/base/setup.py_tmpl
similarity index 100%
rename from pecan/templates/project/setup.py_tmpl
rename to pecan/scaffolds/base/setup.py_tmpl
diff --git a/pecan/templates/__init__.py b/pecan/templates/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e9034fa..0000000
--- a/pecan/templates/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-from paste.script.templates import Template
-
-DEFAULT_TEMPLATE = 'base'
-
-
-class BaseTemplate(Template):
-    summary = 'Template for creating a basic Pecan project'
-    _template_dir = 'project'
-    egg_plugins = ['Pecan']