Chimera

Chimera is a puzzle-platformer simulation hosted on Verdana, permitting default avatars.

Jump Rule

Citizens can jump/leap twice as far as normally, and fall approximately the same amount before hurting themselves. In all other ways gravity functions as normal.

Description

A loose ring of six islands in a roughly hexagonal arrangement, with a seventh (rather smaller) isle set between and somewhat inward of the southernmost two. At the center of the ring mist rises and condenses into an inverse funnel much like a very slow tornado; it never reaches great force, but at the height of the tallest mountain peaks has become a dense swirling mass of fog. The shadows of an eighth 'island' or structure are visible within it and the unpredictable movements of the clouds allow an occasional direct glimpse.

Islands

Sacellum

See also: #369, #370, #373, #384 and #409

See also: Arachnophobia

The hub island of Chimera is a small mountain with steep cliffs rendering it inaccessible from anywhere but the south, where there is a sheltered beach cove. A path leads upwards first to a grassy meadow and then further up to the island's peak. At the summit is a stone circle with each pair of menhirs supporting a portal to one of the islands.

Atelier

See also: #376, #377, #378, #379, #380, #381, #382 and #383

An island of underground caves with the surface inaccessible. Floating blue crystals and luminescent fungi provide lighting. Within the heart of the cave system is a huge lake of ferrofluid partially filling many of the tunnels.

Cerrado

See also: #386, #387, #388, #389 and #404

A mostly flat savannah covered in tall yellowish grass. Trees are mostly solitary or scattered small clumps. Large canyons cut through the north-east of the island.

Tlaloc

See also: #390, #391, #392, #394, #396, #397, #398, #400 and #408

See also: Kinship, Accidental Aristocracy and Responsibility

Tlaloc is an ellipsoid jungle island with an extinguished volcano's crater called Yahualtepetl in one focal point. The inside of the crater has long since been overgrown with foliage like the rest of the island, thus making the landmark a simple circle of mountains.

In the centre of the crater, however, is a gaping hole where the earth seems to be folding downwards into a funnel. Instead of a funnel, though, an empty, spherical chamber that may once have been a magma reservoir has been taken over by the island's vegetation, the interior walls covered in foliage of all sorts. Hovering in the centre of this massive cavern is an orb that looks like a piece of the sky. At the bottom of the spherical cavern is the base of a tower reaching up into the centre of that supposed sky, into its clouded centre.

It stands to reason Tleaz lives there - and he does, in a disc-shaped loft oozing decadence.

Echoh

See also: Myrrn

See also: #401 and #402

Ignia

See also: #403

Scheol

See also: #405, #406, #407, #410, #411 and #442

Creatures

Atelier's spiders

See also: Spiderling

Farah's 'children', the spiderlings vary in size from thumbnail to dinner plate. The smaller spiders are often used by the Rahjin to help build and reinforce their homes while the larger ones produce webbing strong and thick enough to be turned into cord or rope. The spiders are dark grey to black with thin limbs and a glowing blue stripe on their bulbous abdomen. Their silk is slightly electrostatically charged and can be used to move the floating crystals of the island.

The Rahjin

See also: Alshain, Atris, Chorrol, Dahaaka, Lowgal, Lucern, Masec, Nacreah, Sarabi, Tabaqui, Tahnee, Teilayh and Xandu; also: Rahjin gatherers and various Rahjin

Skyrays

See also: Tallulah

Flying creatures resembling manta rays, trained skyrays are used as mounts by the Rahjin of Atelier. Their bodies are black and fade out towards dark crimson wing tips and less vividly towards the end of their tail. In place of the fleshy fins either side of a manta's mouth skyrays possess ivory horns. While the ferrofluid is attracted to all other living matter, skyray skin repels it and allows them to fly over it's surface; the tanned hide retains this property.

Striders

See also: Striders

The primary herbivore of Cerrado, striders are two legged creatures with long necks and tails and lacking forelimbs. Their skin is a mottled green and males have an extendible orange frill beneath their throats while females distinct dark green rings around their tail. Striders are slightly taller than a human while standing upright, live in herds and run swiftly making them difficult to catch.

NPCs

Angwe

See also: Angwe's session history

The mini-boss of Cerrado. Angwe is an tawny coloured andrewsarchus with slightly darker brown speckling down the centre of his back and flanks. Unlike some of his fellow Guardians Angwe will sometimes don light leather armour and leave his lair to stalk the island's savannah.

Farah

See also: Farah's session history

The mini-boss of Atelier. Farah is a giant spider with electric blue markings over a dark grey and black mottled body, and deep blue faceted eyes.

Lycia

See also: Lycia's session history

The Chimera end boss. Reaching her sanctum is the main goal of the sim.

Mafic

See also: Mafic's dragonets

Rache

See also: Rache's session history

See also: Rache's hellhounds

The mini-boss of the Scheol. Rache is an incorporeal skeletal serpentine creature approximately 10m long. He is cruelly calculating but willing to consider negotiations if correctly approached.

Tavus

See also: Tavus' session history

The mini-boss of Echoh. Tavus is a peacock with a silver tipped crest and animated eyes on his tail feathers. Unlike normal peacocks he has a melodious singing voice.

Tavus' gatekeeper is a crow by the name of Myrrn.

Tleaz

See also: Tleaz' session history

Tleaz is the revered ruler of the island of Tlaloc; a wiry, Utahraptor-like creature with a sweeping plume, decorative tail feathers and the staff of a druid. He maintains a charismatic, helpful air, but is intensely elitist and arrogant when it comes down to it, viewing himself not only as superior to the Rahjin, but to anything the Citizens may come to him in avatars with. His helpful nature stems from his fundamental pity for those he deems inferior, though he has a low tolerance for any scathing remarks. By proxy, Thylis and him don't get along even for a second.

Unfortunately, the druid is not only hot air - combat with him should be avoided at all costs, since he comes triply armed: Magic, an ethereal pet he wears as a necklace around his neck, and finally his physical body. If one seeks to murder him, one would be best advised to do it the 'coward's' way: Poison him, or kill him in his sleep.

Thylis

See also: Thylis' session history

A thylacine Puppet that was emigrated to Chimera several years ago and now firmly considers it home. He is familiar with the win conditions and many of the puzzles from having interacted with other parties have passed through, and is often willing to share tidbits of help.

Before being relocated to the Wildcard network Thylis was a quest giver for the now closed MMO Aurelius Rising. His experiences have given him a significant distrust of the motives and morals of Citizens and a sympathy for the treatment of Puppets.

People

Lucy Taren // Kaliya entered on 2054-12-10, dropping into Cerrado, narrowly escaping a close encounter with Angwe.

Ezra Merkelson // Ephraim meanwhile connected on 2055-01-02, appearing on Tlaloc in Yahualtepetl's caldera near Liska, who was scouting at the time.

Kamala Tenzin // Nymphaea connected on 2055-02-01, dropped into Scheol near where the group was camping.

Name knowledge

Both the name of the world as a whole and the names of visited islands so far have been named by Thylis, with both snippets of information wide-spread.

Node

After the end of Closed Circle, the two teams half willingly entered (Red Team), half were dumped into (Blue Team) this sim. On completion, everyone linked out to Pandiamonium.

Activity

Newsletters and recaps

• newsletter // #368 to #400 // (30 OCT to 08 JAN)
• newsletter // #401 to #438 // (08 JAN to 18 MAR)
• newsletter // #439 to #457 // (18 MAR to 09 APR) — out of sequence only
• newsletter // #478 to #543 // (07 JUN to 09 APR) — out of sequence only

Interludes

• Arachnophobia
• Kinship
• Accidental Aristocracy
• Responsibility

Sessions

• main group's first visit category: #369, #370, #373, #376, #377, #378, #379, #380, #381, #382, #383, #384, #386, #387, #388, #389, #390, #391, #392, #393, #396, #397, #398, #400, #401, #402, #403, #404, #405, #406, #407, #408, #409, #410, #411, #442 and #490