The Chimera Roleplaying Game

From: The Welsh Piper LLC
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
The Chimera Roleplaying Game is a new Role Playing Game Core Rules from The Welsh Piper LLC.
Using a technology I had not seen before, the Tree-Pad e-book program, this RPG core rule is a series of HTML and Java files. Contained within is a set of “Generic Rules for Elegant Gaming.” Diving into the e-book, I hoped to find out what was so elegant about it. First explained in the Preface and section called The Designer-less Format are the reasons why this group decided not to use PDFs. The primary reason they did this was to allow for frequent updates and ease in usability. I am sure the former is significantly improved with this format, but the second is highly subjective. As I browsed, the format was fairly easy to get around, however. It was not all that much different from a hyperlink and bookmarked PDF. There is quite a bit of information contained within this e-book.
From Preface page: “ ‘And at last our rules have reached stability, and we regard them now with the virtuous pride of men who have persisted in a great undertaking and arrived at precision after much tribulation. There is not a piece of constructive legislation in the world, not a solitary attempt to meet a complicated problem, that we do not now regard the more charitably for our efforts to get a right result from this apparently easy and puerile business…’ – H.G Wells, Little Wars, 1913.”
Chimera Core rules are a generic set of rules for any setting. It claims to be highly modular and adaptable. Included within was the OGL liscense from Wizards of the Coast, so this told me that d20 was going to be related to this in some way. I was not sure how, but it intrigued me further. The key areas this review will cover are: Core System, Character Generation, Combat, and Extras (Magic, Tech, etc).
Core Systems: The rules system base Action Roll is similar to d20. You have a Target Number (TN), similar to a DC. The basic die mechanic is a d20. It is open ended in that a roll equal to or higher succeeds. 20 is an automatic success and 1 is an automatic failure but there is not a critical success or failure mechanic. The system also has a Tech Level system that allows you to measure the level of tech in your campaign world – a la GURPS. This is all generic and simple enough, but nothing stood out to me as innovative or inspired. It all depends on how these mechanics are used. Combat to task resolution is all handled through some kind of Trait roll vs. a TN. Unlike d20, there is no separate roll for combat and skills. They are all together.
Character Generation: There are 4 ability scores – Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Will Power. Ability scores are generated via a 3 6-sided die roll (3d6). The value of the ability score is determined by converting the roll to a value in the ability score table. Ability score values range from -3 to +3. Again, nothing inspiring or original. This is simply taking the d20 ability score and dropping the actual value and just recording the bonus as the value of the ability score.
Next, one chooses a race. This is highly dependent on the genre one is playing in, but the game does supply a few sample races, most of which are basically your regular fantasy races (Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, and Half-Orc). The system also supplies a Race Builder to allow you to create a new race for your universe. This is where the first value of one’s Base XP is derived (used later to calculate Level Advancement costs). The race determines base hit die and base damage. 1
Then a character chooses a class, and there are several to choose from. Along with the 25+ classes to choose from, there is a Class Builder mechanic, which uses the same point allocation system that is present throughout the book (which speaks to its consistency). Classes span all genres, from magic users to different types of soldiers. There is no level table. Instead of class skills and class abilities, all classes merge everything into Traits. These represent the occupational skills, abilities, and talents possessed and practiced within the class. There are no saves or base attack. Each class is described with a blank NPC stat block displaying the basic class traits. This is handy for GMs to use the stat blocks to speed up the process of creating NPCs. The class has a cost that is also added to the base XP.
Traits (skills and feats) are purchased through a point system. Discretionary Traits are “other” skills and abilities the character will have, and Powers are supernatural abilities a character may have. They are all bought with discretionary points, calculated from a characters ability score. This is simple and pretty elegant. More on traits and powers later.
Other items for a character to determine are alignment (lawful, chaotic or neutral), wealth and equipment, calculated hit points and armor class (AC), and general information about the character. Much of this is d20-sounding. Hit points and AC are used much like in d20. Movement rate is in terms of inches, and can vary based on the characters Dex or other factors, instead of the static value in d20.
From Preface page: “The RPG had to be easy to learn. It had to be flexible enough to accommodate any setting imaginable. The mechanics had to be simple, streamlined, and intuitive, yet still produce acceptable outcomes. The RPG had to support gamers (smart and inventive folk, by nature) who wanted to tinker with and expand the game, if for no other reason than to handle whatever we, as designers, missed the first (or second, or third) time round.”
Aside from the Introduction and Character Generation, the e-book contains a Race section with the Race Builder and a Class section with the Class Builder, as mentioned before. Following this is the Trait section. Traits are like skills and feats combined. Some are associated to an ability score and some are not. Traits are divided up into families. These include Background traits, Clandestine traits and Supernatural traits. There are more than 10 families and each include several different traits associated to the particular family group. This is a pretty interesting way of doing it.
Combat: Combat is quintessential d20 in many ways, but simplified. Of course, there are no Attacks of Opportunity (probably everyone’s first candidate to be taken out of d20). It is more generic in that it gives as much treatment to ranged as it does to melee. I like the Rate of Fire rules because it treats an automatic weapon in terms of the number of targets that can be hit by a single attack. Although it does not have critical hits, it does have a rule that allows a character to add damage to his attack, based on how high he rolls. I have always liked that kind of rule and have worked that into my own game many times. Also, instead of one initiative for the entire combat round, this system asks you to role it each round.
Combat is actually not bad. It is a more elegant d20-style combat. It may be missing a few things that most people look for, but it has enough to be really attractive for those that are tied of attacks of opportunity and the like.
Extras: Powers are gained through spending points in the Power Trait. Chimera Powers are like a generic version of d20 Magic system. There are three types (Arcane, Divine, and Heathen), and they are divided out into schools (Abjuration, Conjuration, Contention, Dimensional, and 8 others). This is an area that I am not quite sure is generic enough because it appears up the face, to be a little more “magical” based than anything else. The ability to cast or use these powers is tied into a trait called Wield. The base target number is 16 but it is modified by a number of things. The power wielder can enhance his power (like increase range, increase duration, etc) by increasing his TN. This is called modulating a power. I like this. This lives up to the hype of their tag line. There are dozens upon dozens of powers. According to the web site, there are 192 Arcane powers, 164 Divine powers, and 128 Heathen powers and they are all duplicated in a handy MS Excel file.
Equipment and Tech is handled fairly simply. There is a whole section dedicated to equipment and it handles the basic stuff you would see in most any RPG – Weapons, Armor, and Vehicles. There is not anything like computers or robots for a sci-fi setting or anything like that. I assume that is planned for a genre-based expansion. This is the area a generic system could get way too bogged down in, and it is quite apparent the author recognized that. Instead, he supplies you with a very generic gear pack system. This is fairly inspired but probably would not satisfy some players. Some players like the “stuff” one can get and like it detailed. This was probably the most disappointing area of the game, but I think it is understandable. Listing all the possible gear would be a challenging task. There is a Magic Item system, however, which I kind-of find ironic. However, since it is part of the d20 core, I suppose it is easiest to convert that to his system than to merge it into a gear pack system like other equipment.
Other items included in the closing sections are all the “builders” which are just step by step instructions on to create a Race, Class, Monster, etc. There is a considerable amount of material given to help the prospective Chimera GM to not only run the game but also develop his game universe, adventures and campaigns. There is a good section on probabilities and target number assignment. Statistics was never my best subject and I like to have that sort of thing laid out me. The layout of this rulebook is bare-bones and simple. There is no art or special layout art. It’s like browsing a Help screen in your favorite application. It is pretty drab.
In conclusion, this system is basically a reworked d20 system made to be a generic system. It is detailed and very thorough. Is it “elegant”? I would say it was reasonably elegant… d20 elegant. The best way to describe it is d20 with a few GURPS characteristics thrown in. I came into this thinking I would find just another bad system by a person who is probably the only guy that thinks his ideas are cool, and was pleasantly surprised. If you are tired of the regular d20 thing and do not want to move too far outside your comfort zone, this is a good system to look at.
For more details on The Welsh Piper LLC and their new Role Playing Game Core Rules “The Chimera Roleplaying Game” check them out at their website http://www.welshpiper.com.
The Chimera Roleplaying Game
From: The Welsh Piper LLC
Type of Game: Role Playing Game Core Rules
Writtenby: Erin D. Smale
CreativeConsultant: Matthew L. Klinger
Editedby: William Littlefield
CoverArt: Dan Parry
Project Control: The Norns
Game Components Included: Traee-Pad E-book files
Retail Price: $ 14.95 (US)
Website: www.welshpiper.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung