Chimera's here — now what?

There's been a great deal of thought devoted to the Chimera RPG product line. When we first started, the priority was simply to get the system finished and available, then (oh, yes) publish an adventure module to give people something to play with.

On the surface, this probably wasn't too daunting a task. But when one gets down to it, one is amazed by how much work is actually involved. So, provided Chimera doesn't afford me the opportunity to quit my full-time (read: bill-paying) job, I'm throttling back to a more realistic production schedule. Here's the current slate of Chimera RPG goodies I'm considering (in no particular order):

• The World of Trid Atlas - Really just a sub-continent of a fantasy world called Ammonkis. For those who've been around the RPG block a few times, Trid is to Ammonkis what Greyhawk is to Oerth. Some of you might be a teensy-bit familiar with Trid, having seen some material surface on my OD&D website. In my head (and on various sectors of my hard drive) that place is pretty well-established as a "middle-fantasy" setting, and it's only natural to expand on it for Chimera. I'd like to start with an overview gazetteer, outlining the sub-continent, the kingdoms, populations, and terrain, then step it up a bit with a smattering of Chimera-specific stuff like spells, monsters, magic items, NPCs, classes, gear, etc., etc. Our goal is to make Trid so interesting that people will want to play Chimera just to experience the full effect.
• The Theocracy of Ard Gazetteer - A major kingdom on Trid, responsible for setting the tone for much of what goes on across the sub-continent. Ard is very close to 10th-century England, but bigger, since (unlike England) it's not surrounded by water. The format would follow that of the Trid Atlas.
• Nepes Frontier Gazetteer - A small section of Ard, and the larger setting for the module Swords of Telm. There's a lot going on here, and if the material in Swords of Telm is enough to launch a Chimera fantasy campaign, the Nepes Frontier piece is more than enough to sustain it.

All of the Setting material for Trid/Ammonkis is going to follow an "glossography" format, where content is categorised by location instead of entry, so GMs should have an easier time referencing what they need when planning adventures, creating encounters, or just settling down for what we hope will be an interesting read.

Outside of developing Trid, there are some other Chimera items in store:

• Foes & Fortunes - A book of monsters and treasure, ostensibly essential to any new RPG. Initially, I was very keen on giving this top priority, but I'm no longer convinced that it needs to be next on our list. The Core Rules volume contains over 50 monsters already, as well as a set of guidelines for creating just about any magic item a campaign might need...On the other hand, it might be nice to have a central location to store all the information that would otherwise appear in individual supplements. In the end, my jury is still out on this—what do you think?
• Roles Gallery - I'm big on NPCs—characters make or break a campaign world, and I find it easier to write better adventures with NPCs and their motivations in mind. This supplement would include all sorts of non-player characters, arranged by Tech Level, for use in any campaign. Enemies, allies, henchmen, hirelings, patrons, xenophobes, whatever. The goal isn't only to save GM time with prepared NPCs stats, but also to spark ideas and encourage GMs to develop more character-oriented campaigns.
• Chimera Software - My geek heart pulses with 1s and 0s, so I've been playing with some software tools to support Chimera: a character generator; a campaign manager; datasets for spells/powers, monsters, magic items; and mapping tools. Some of these are based on software you may already use (Bruce Gulke's excellent TableSmith and ProFantasy's Campaign Cartographer, off the top of my head). Other tools are home-brew, C# concoctions. We'll see how those go...

There were some other items under consideration, but poll feedback suggests that they be tabled (at least for now). For instance, I'm a WWII-history buff, and 1944 Europe was the backdrop for a majority of Chimera playtesting in so-called Modern or Historical genres. I wanted to do a series of WWII adventure modules, though conventional wisdom tells me that most gamers are after Fantasy or Sci-fi, so we'll definitely prioritise those areas. Not that I mind sticking to Axis and Allies miniatures to satisfy my WWII gaming needs...

Of course, your feedback is most welcome. What would you like to see developed for Chimera? More fantasy settings? Sci-fi equipment? A spaceship combat system? Maybe something we already have on tap?

Let us know. Help us craft a production schedule that makes you happy. Tell us what to think of next (or not—we may have already thought of it anyway, but it just won't come out in the order you want it to).