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Jamie Chambers

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Jamie Chambers
Felicia Day (Left) and Jamie Chambers (Right)
Born
James Edwin Vartanian Chambers

January 25, 1975
Atlanta, GA
NationalityAmerican
OccupationGame designer

Jamie Chambers (born January 25, 1975)[1] is an American game designer who works primarily on role-playing games, contributing in a variety of genres. He served as Vice President of the non-profit Game Manufacturers Association, a trade association for the hobby games industry,[2] from 2007 until 2016, when he chose not to seek re-election.[3] He succeeded Marcus King for the post. Chambers worked with Margaret Weis at Sovereign Press in 1988, then transitioned with her to Margaret Weis Productions (MWP) where he served as Vice President and Lead Designer.[4] While there, he created the Cortex System,[5] a role-playing game ruleset that has been used by MWP since that time.

Career

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Jamie Chambers wrote short stories which added to the Sovereign Stone world mythos,[6]: 352  and also ran the Sovereign Stone website.[4] Margaret Weis and Don Perrin, with Chambers and Christopher Coyle, authored the Dragonlance Campaign Setting (2003) through the d20 license with by Wizards of the Coast who published the book, with the license also allowing Sovereign Press to continue to expand and supplement that book.[6]: 353  Chambers designed Serenity Role Playing Game (2005) using the Cortex System, the first release from Margaret Weis Productions.[6]: 353 

Through Margaret Weis Productions, Chambers also created and published the role playing games Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. At the time, Serenity RPG was the most popular role playing game since the original Dungeons and Dragons, requiring four print runs in the first year of publishing.[7]

Cortex System

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Chambers created the Cortex System for the Serenity Role Playing Game during his time at Margaret Weis Productions. He then used it for additional licensed game supplements, several of which were based on television shows and movies, including Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. The Cortex System shifted away from gameplay determined by the rules toward a gaming experience guided by them, which was considered a necessary step to counterbalance the computerization of role playing games. The system allows the game to evolve throughout a game session, providing the players with ways to create and modify the rules to meet their needs.[8] The system was later adapted into Cortex Plus and Cortex "Prime" by Cam Banks when he took over for Chambers at Margaret Weis Productions as lead designer. Banks later founded Magic Vacuum, a production studio that has licensed the original Cortex System and the revised Cortex Plus, which is considered more narrative than the original Cortex system,[9] building on the move away from systems constrained by rules and allowing further differentiation from computerized role playing games.

Awards and nominations

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Bibliography

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Roleplaying Supplements

  • Sovereign Stone - Roleplaying books for the Sovereign Stone fiction novel world and the concepts and artwork of artist Larry Elmore.
    • Sovereign Stone Campaign Sourcebook. 2001. ISBN 9781931567015.
    • Bestiary of Loerem. 2002. ISBN 9781931567053.
    • Escape Into Darkness. 2002. ISBN 1931567042.
  • Dragonlance - Roleplaying books for the popular Dragonlance fiction novel world and Tabletop role-playing game setting.
  • Serenity/Firefly Universe - Roleplaying books tied into the Firefly (TV series), and associated Serenity (2005 film).
  • Other Works

Short Fiction

Short Nonfiction

References

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  1. ^ "Jamie Chambers | Board Game Designer | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  2. ^ "GAMA About Us page". Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "GAMA Elects Two New Board Members". June 30, 2016. Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "The Guild Companion: An Interview with Jamie Chambers". www.guildcompanion.com. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  5. ^ a b "Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game". Sci Fi Weekly. Sep 11, 2007. Archived from the original on September 15, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  7. ^ "'Serenity RPG' Back to Press - With New Material". Jun 13, 2006. Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "View of "Supernatural role playing game," by J. Chambers | Transformative Works and Cultures". journal.transformativeworks.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  9. ^ "Cortex Plus | System | RPGGeek". rpggeek.com. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  10. ^ "Lucca Games Best of Show Awards". Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  11. ^ "Lucca Comics and Games Awards List". Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  12. ^ "2005 Origin Awards". Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "The 32nd Annual Origins Awards - Origins International Game Expo". 2006-08-10. Archived from the original on 2006-08-10. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  14. ^ "I-CON Shared Worlds Award Winner profile". Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  15. ^ "Origins Awards Finalists Announced". Apr 28, 2008. Retrieved Feb 27, 2019.
  16. ^ Chambers, Jamie; Davenport, James; Rockwood, Nathaniel C. J. S. (2007). Battlestar Galactica Quickstart Guide. ISBN 9781931567541.
  17. ^ Chambers, Jamie (2008). Cortex System Role Playing Game. ISBN 9781931567794.
  18. ^ Dragons in the Archives: The Best of Weis & Hickman. 2004.
  19. ^ Tv, Supernatural (2004). In the Hunt : Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural. ISBN 9781933771632.
  20. ^ Wilson, Leah (2011). Filled With Glee: The Unauthorized Glee Companion. ISBN 9781935618003.
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