Ask Me Anything: Qralloq

I loved the books, devoured them, buying two and three when they were released. But I often say that Suzanne Collins knows less about how human societies function than the Tiger King did. The capital takes coal from one district, and fish from another, and clay from a third and voila! howercrafts! "I said, pardon?" It all could have been saved by having Snow tell Katniss. "You know what's the best part of our system? We take all of that coal, the food produced, and we just dump it in a pit. You're slaves, slaves who produce nothing of value." But nothing like that is ever said, and it seems that the capital thrives because of how they squeeze the districts.

---

Qralloq was an alien NPC in an AD&D 2e game I ran in the mid-90s. He was a visitor from another universe where magic did not exist. I thought up the name Qralloq as what is more alien than two q's, no u's!! Later, when I discovered World of Warcraft, Qralloq became my main (a belf paladin), and I started using it more and more.

---

I'm mainly on GP to try new things. So when a crew of people I enjoyed gaming with suggested it, I happily went along (Jabes, BedzoneII, others). Turned out to be a great game. Because the RP was so tight, the system didn't really matter.

I've played a bunch of rules light games, and as long as they don't try and mimic old school D&D, then I'm pretty happy with all of them. microRPG, Tiny D6, OneDice, Into the Odd, 2400, TriCube for a few examples, are all crunchier than L&F, but still really lightweight, and I've had some great games with all of them.

.....so when are we playing Mage?

Oooo, we should form an exploratory committee to investigate the viability.

So many questions already answered!

What was your primary paladin spec? I also ran a belf paladin as my main (protection spec since TBC)

I went holy as the one and only spec (also TBC) -- I loved the shockadin build, stacking spellpower to improbable levels and then using Holy Shock as a punch in the teeth, but also serving as primary healer for dungeons (with alt gear). Eventually dual-speccing came out and Holy Shock had been nerfed, so I added retribution as the second one.

Any system that really lends itself to fully fleshed out characters at creation?

Any system that does the opposite?

I immediately think of Legend of the Five Rings, 5th edition. Character creation follows "Twenty questions". It starts with what clan do you belong to, then what family, and school. Then it gets personal. How does your character stand out? What is their duty to their lord? What holds your character back in life? Most of the questions have mechanical affects, as well as story ones, so you can't really skip the questions. At the end of it, there is a real sense of who they are and how they fit into Rokugan society.

As much as I like simple, light OSR games, that's simply not a focus of them. In Maze Rats, you might roll that you've got a sturdy hat, and that lack of focus on your character really lends them to being little more than complicated board games. You're no more attached to them than to your shoe token in Monopoly.

Taking the third chair at this table :)

No matter how nicie what kind of game experience would you love to have, but seldom achieve?

I'm reminded of a stand-up comic who said, "Why do they advertise for Preparation H? You could hide that under a mountain and people that need it will tunnel through rock to get it."
Nice or niche? English gets the word niche from French, and France is a lot closer to you than to me. But the city Nice is also in France. Difficult. Probably niche as that makes an easier question to nail down.

I think that being a player in a World of Darkness game that lasts long enough to resolve even a single mini-plot has been challenging. If I go back fifteen years, I was in a live Vampire: The Masquerade game that lasted for a mid-length campaign (and got to play a Tzimisce, wheee!). But each time I've joined a WoD game on GP, they have all bogged down and died really early. I've run a few that have lasted long enough, but never played in one.

Not to get stuck on the "how do you play so many games?" thread, but playing/running so many games requires a lot of inspiration for characters and plots. Do you have some go to sources for such inspiration?

I tried to address this a bit in Fair Ones, which is a generally "rules light" 24XX hack that nonetheless implicates a character's affect, motive, and relationship to a key NPC.

Role master or MERP?

I really don't. I've spent my time with random generators but find the results hard to latch onto. Whatever characters I play, I tend to take a couple overriding characteristics, and then explain that. In an Old School Essentials game, I randomly rolled a fighter and rolled low on starting wealth, and low charisma. So I thought farmboy. Then, maybe I had heard Don't Take Your Guns To Town recently, so I imagined he started as a fighter as that, a tough guy. Maybe got in a lot of fights because his low charisma meant he talked himself into trouble. A character was born:

Del Marsh was a farm boy, and has always had a problem: his mouth gets him into more trouble that he is likely ready for. He had two options, shut up, or swing back. He chose the latter.

It isn't that Del is mean, but he is terrible with people, never finding the right words, and relies too much on that hard right hand to make his arguments for him. Don't cross him and he's a friendly guy, but if your words hurt, he only know one response.

---

I've never played MERP and I consider this to be a tragedy. I have played Rolemaster, and GM'd Space Master (the Sci Fi variant) and absolutely loved the system. I've been hanging onto the playtest material for RMU (Role Master United) for so long that the PDFs probably require specialized software to open. So... RM?

What is RoleMaster United?

From their website:

There are a number of versions of Iron Crown Enterprise’s flagship Rolemaster system available. Each offers gamers a slightly different gaming experience. To review the differences between the various systems, please visit our Rolemaster versions page. In addition to previous versions, the brand new Unified Rolemaster is currently in the Beta Testing phase. If you are interested in taking part in the playtesting visit our New Rolemaster Playtest FAQ page.

Unified Rolemaster
Looking forward, the multiple variations of Rolemaster will be unified into a single Rolemaster system. This new edition of Rolemaster will include the best of all versions of Rolemaster as well as new enhancements and improvements to the Rolemaster system for the 21st-century.

What is the most complicate and long character creation (crunch-wise) that you still found rewarding in play?

I've mentioned Legend of the Five Rings (5th edition) already, which fits the bill, so I'll add that I'm a fan of creating characters in Shadowrun (4th and 5th editions). The choices you can make are plentiful and meaningful, and really shape/focus your character.

I've been meaning to ask this of every AMA respondent. I may go back to the others but I'll start with you. Where do you feel you lie on this spectrum?

https://theangrygm.com/gaming-for-fun-part-1-eight-kinds-of-fun/

I may have read that before, and I used to follow TheAngryGM, so could be that's where. Because I like to hear myself talk (Expression), I'll sidebar.

I've said in some of my videos that one of the big appeals of D&D in particular to me is that it includes a bunch of what I call mini-games within the game itself. Maybe those mini-games and The Angry GMs 'types of fun'. Rolling dice and looking at your book (Sensory). Leveling your character is a mini-game (much declined in scope in 5e from prior editions but still there), where you seek out new choices to grow your character. Tactical grid combat is a mini-game. Flipping through thick books for a rule or piece of info you once read. The shared imagination space (Fantasy) and acting like your character (Expression). As a DM, Expression also comes from creating your own world, or presenting the adventure to the players so it comes alive. Uncovering what's behind the next door and knowing how to react (Discovery). Overcoming narrow odds or a powerful foe (Challenge). The gathering of your friends or fellow gamers (Fellowship). Accepting that you'll be playing D&D and not another game (Submission) (just kidding).

All of those have their place and the whole is lessened missing any one. But which of those is most me? It's got to be more Expression and Discovery.

As the most prolific GPer you've been asked to organise the first GP convention. You have to make decisions and delegate tasks to GPers.

Where do we meet? Which GPer does the catering? Who designs the invites? Who chooses the music? Who decorates the venue? Etc.

(It's a fantasy convention so real life constraints like money don't apply).