Jamie Chambers (born January 25, 1975) 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, from 2007 until 2016, when he chose not to seek re-election. 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. While there, he created the Cortex System, a role-playing game ruleset that has been used by MWP since that time.

Career

Jamie Chambers wrote short stories which added to the Sovereign Stone world mythos, and also ran the Sovereign Stone website. 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. Chambers designed Serenity Role Playing Game (2005) using the Cortex System, the first release from Margaret Weis Productions.

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.

Cortex System

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. 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, building on the move away from systems constrained by rules and allowing further differentiation from computerized role playing games.

Awards and nominations

  • 2003 - Lucca Comics Games Awards Best Translated Game for Dragonlance
  • 2005 - Origins Award Gamer's Choice Best Role Playing Game of the Year For Serenity
  • 2007 - I-CON Shared Worlds Award for his various supplements in the Firefly (TV series) and Serenity (2005 film) universe.
  • 2008 - Origins Award Finalist in the Role Playing Games Category for Battlestar Galactica RPG.

Bibliography

Roleplaying Supplements

  • Sovereign Stone - Roleplaying books for the Sovereign Stone fiction novel world and the concepts and artwork of artist Larry Elmore. . 2001. ISBN 9781931567015. . 2002. ISBN 9781931567053. . 2002. ISBN 1931567042.
  • Dragonlance - Roleplaying books for the popular Dragonlance fiction novel world and Tabletop role-playing game setting. Dragonlance campaign setting. 2003. ISBN 0786930861. OCLC . - Peregrine, Andrew; Weis, Margaret; Chambers, Jamie; Weiland, Rob; Coyle, Christopher (2003). Age of Mortals : Dragonlance Campaign Setting Companion. ISBN 1931567107. OCLC . . 2004. ISBN 9781931567176. Hickman, Tracy; Weis, Margaret; Chambers, Jamie (2004). War of the Lance. ISBN 193156714X. OCLC . Banks, Cam; Chambers, Jamie; MacDonald, Sean; Dragonlance; Valentine, Clark; Whiteman, Trampas (2007). Races of Ansalon. ISBN 9781931567350. OCLC .
  • Serenity/Firefly Universe - Roleplaying books tied into the Firefly (TV series), and associated Serenity (2005 film). Chambers, Jamie; Serenity (2005). Serenity : Role Playing Game. ISBN 1931567506. OCLC . Blackson, Lynn; Durall, Jason (2010). Serenity six-Shooters & spaceships. ISBN 9781931567817. OCLC .
  • Other Works Chambers, Jamie (2002). . ISBN 9780972246811. . 2003. ISBN 9781932201314. . 2007. ISBN 9781931567541. OCLC 144523355. Chambers, Jamie; Davenport, James; Everette, Sean; Kapera, Patrick; Rockwood, Nathan; Wesel, Floyd C. (2007). Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game. ISBN 9781931567558. OCLC . - Tie-in for the Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series). . 2008. ISBN 9781931567794. OCLC 294887717. Chambers, Jamie (2008). Demon Hunters Role Playing Game. ISBN 9781931567473. OCLC . Chambers, Jamie; Banks, Cam; McMichael, Jimmy; Rosenberg, Aaron (2009). Supernatural : role playing game. ISBN 9781931567497. OCLC . Studios, Signal Fire (2016). . ISBN 9780989410700.

Short Fiction

  • "At The Water's Edge," published in . Weis, Margaret. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast. 2004. ISBN 0786931930. OCLC .{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • "Reflections," published in (collection). Popcorn Press. 2009. ISBN 9781449582968.
  • "The Ultharian," published in . Popcorn Press. 2012. ISBN 9781480136168.
  • "Restless," published in . Popcorn Press. 2013. ISBN 9781494342401.

Short Nonfiction

  • "Growing Up Dragonlance," published in (anthology). 2004. ISBN 9780786936694. OCLC .
  • "Blue Collar Ghost Hunters," published in (essay anthology). 2005. ISBN 9781933771632. OCLC .
  • "Getting Out There: Tips For Creating Your Own Vocal Group," published in . 2011. ISBN 9781935618003. OCLC .

External links

  • on LinkedIn
  • . Archived from on 19 May 2007.