Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated...

tl;dr version: Real Life has cut significantly into my gaming time, but I'm still doing gaming stuff.

Interested human version: Assume that every week I don't post is a silent apology to you folks, who continue to support Chimera, wait for me to finish projects, and comment on the forums. I do appreciate the momentum, and in the interest of full disclosure, this summer may see sparse postings. Kim and I are in the process of selling a house, I'm leading a major effort at work, and we're gearing up for a two-week visit to the Motherland in early September.

But that all sounds like excuses. Let's move onto gaming stuff.

Chimerapedia Core

Using an "encyclopedia" format for Chimera is exciting, because instead of making a single huge rulebook that contains everything I want (and every tweak I conceive), I can break up topics into more modular bits. The Chimerapedia Core contains the Basic rules as well as some new, foundational material. Currently, it's formatted for NBOS' The Keep campaign management tool, but I've received a few requests to provide a more print-friendly format.

Fair enough. I love a dead-tree version with margins to scribble in as much as the next guy (or gal). So tell ya what I'm gonna do: I'll update Chimerapedia Core with:

• An RTF version of each topic that you can edit in your favourite typing software,
• A PDF of all topics you can just print out
• A database file you can use with NBOS' The Keep

Existing customers will get the update free of charge.

Chimerapedia Volumes

I love, love, love the idea of making each chapter of an RPG rulebook its own encyclopedia entry.

Why? The game grows incrementally. It's easy to add tweaks and house rules. I can write and release material faster. You can organise the material however you like. The price point for each volume is low. You can integrate the pieces you want and ignore the rest. To paraphrase a wise man named Egg, "It's like a salad bar: you take what you want and leave the rest."

Each volume of Chimerapedia will be one or more topics that you can include in your game as you see fit. Like the Core, each volume includes RTF, PDF, and THE KEEP formats. It's like RPG a la carte.

Now, the brilliant part (for me, at least) is that this format can also work for settings. You see, I'm no longer interested in writing pages and pages about campaign worlds, histories, and set-piece adventure modules. Too much for me to write and too much for you to read. More importantly, why should I? Why cleave to the old ways? You're gonna tweak the setting to make it yours anyway (1) to suit your personal preferences, (2) to include your creative thoughts, and (3) to evolve the setting as a result of your player's input through adventures.

So, actually, I mis-spoke--not only does the Chimerapedia format work for settings, I actually prefer it. I'd rather release some hex maps, encounter seeds, NPCs, some (scant) setting specific details, a few mechanical bits to give it that Chimera shine, and call it a day. Basically, give you a foundation you can build upon. 

Final Words

Let's summarise:

• Erin: not dead
• Chimerapedia Core: soon to include RTF and PDF formats; free to existing peeps
• Future volumes: will be cool