Back when I started this project, very close to 13 years ago now, I had no idea we'd ever have a style guide. We wouldn't, either, if Chi hadn't created it, and he did that by inferring my style from the various works of the project. I seem to remember him asking a few questions, but mostly it was just a result of his work in analyzing my work. He's done an amazing job, and should be commended.
He's also had to put up with me... which he should get a medal for, I'm sure.
I was actually against a style guide at one point. When the project was small, and I did most of the editing and all of the layout, I felt I should avoid prescribing a style for people to use for their submissions, for fear that they would not bother to submit materials. Instead I just silently hammered each submission into my standard format. And naturally, the format has evolved a bit over the years, so the older works look and work differently than the new ones.
But with Chi taking over a lot of the proofing/editing and some of the layout, yeah, there needed to be a document explaining how we do things and why. To a large extent, my rules are based on experience running games, and yes, they do result in books that may work better for me than for other people. How the monster stats are presented is just part of it... the fact that I keep all monster stats in a module at the ends of the descriptive keys is also a rule. But I still try not to tell people how their works should look when they are submitted; I don't want to discourage people. Those who care enough to ask, though, can now just download Chi's Style Guide and/or the Adventure Template and have all the info they need.
For the record, jmhimara, I do understand your position, and I hope I haven't come across too strongly. I don't consider the space issue a matter of heresy, for example. If you're into Basic Fantasy RPG, you're welcome here.
