Interview: Chris Pramas

Graveyard Greg: Hey! You there! Drop what you're doing, and tell me this: Who are you?

Unknown Stranger: I am Chris Pramas, writer, game designer, and punk. I survived a boxcutter to the neck in NYC, so I'm pretty sure I can make it through this interview.

GG: Why should I care? This interview could be monitored for the reader's protection!

CP: Because there's more to life than Deadlands, chump!

GG: Well, since you put it like THAT...

What did you currently finish, and what are you currently working on?

CP: The last book I finished was the Final Church sourcebook (for Dark Matter), which I co-wrote with JD Wiker. If you like demons and conspiracies you'll love the Final Church.

I just launched Dragon Fist, my new RPG, on the WotC website November 19. Dragon Fist is a high flyin' martial arts game based on HK flicks of the wuxia genre. You can download it for free at www.wizards.com/dragonfist. The game will be supported with new material every month (starting with and adventure, Dragon and Phoenix, in December) and a message board at the web site.

In addition to Dragon Fist, I'm also working on a super secret miniatures game. You'll hear more about this later. I'm also tinkering with the first Dragon Fist adventure, which will appear on the web site in December.

GG: As long as FINAL CHURCH has Occult Nazis for me to beat up, I'm a happy camper!

Name your past writing credits--all of them!

CP: I'll do your readers a favor and skip all the magazine credits. Let's just say I've written articles for Dragon, Pyramid, Valkyrie, the Familiar, MARS, Shadis, and Arcane.

Alrighty then. I contributed to the following books over the years: Underground Player's Handbook and Gamemaster's Guide (Mayfair), Dangerous Prey for the Whispering Vault (Pariah), A Medieval Tapestry for Ars Magica (Atlas), and the Star Trek: Next Gen RPG (LUG).

I've also written lots of adventures: the Jackboot Stomp for Over the Edge (Atlas), The Place of Testing for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (Hogshead), No Dinero for In Nomine (SJG), Pai Lai for Feng Shui (Daedalus), and the Five Pillars for Whispering Vault (Ronin). AEG has been sitting on an L5R adventure I wrote for TWO FREAKIN' YEARS. Maybe they'd like to tell me if they ever plan to do anything with it.

At the moment, I'm probably best known as the author of Blood of the Valiant, the Guiding Hand sourcebook for Feng Shui. However, a year and a half of slaving away at TSR is finally starting to pay off. In addition to Dragon Fist, November also sees the release of the AD&D Guide to Hell. Then in 2000 you'll see the Vortex of Madness, Slavers (with Sean Reynolds), the Apocalypse Stone (with Jason Carl), and the aforementioned Final Church.

And of course, what game designer hasn't flirted with fiction? I wrote three short stories for the Games Workshop magazine Inferno. Two of these, including the title story, have just been reprinted in an anthology called Into the Maelstrom.

GG: Nice credits, Chirs!

Everquest, or Asheron's Call--which would you play?

CP: Neither. I know I'd end up addicted and then I'd never get anything done. I had enough trouble with Rites of War, thank you.

GG: I don't know WHAT you're talking about. (looks at watch) We have to hurry up this interview, I'm going to play an Everquest Marathon tonight!

What do you think of the upcoming D&D 3rd Edition? Be nice!

CP: I've got to hand it Jonathan, Skip, and Monte. Those guys have redefined rigorous in their updating of the rules. A lot of people lately have bitched that new RPGs are not complete when released. Believe me, no one will say that about 3E. And it did pass my "can I play a kick ass archer" test admirably (Feng Shui failed this badly, which is why I created the Guiding Hand Archer archetype in Blood of the Valiant).

GG: I said BE NICE! Don't dis the Feng Shui, buster! Ki-YAAAAAH!

Seriously, though--What about the D&D Movie? Think it's going to rock?

CP: I'm reserving judgement. It's got one strike against it in that it has a Wayans in the cast, but I'm hoping Jeremy Irons makes up for that.

GG: Jeremy Irons alone makes it worth the price of admission.

OK, tough guy, what did you think about the old D&D Cartoon?

CP: Let me tell ya, I was the target audience for that cartoon when it came out (early teens, avid D&D player) and I thought it blew. Uni the unicorn? A six year old barbarian? Puh-lease. If you want to see the best D&D cartoon ever, go check out Record of Lodoss War. It's not official, of course, but it was all based on the creator's old D&D campaign.

GG: Record of Lodoss War looks good, but I LIKED the D&D cartoon. Yer askin' fer trouble, boyo! Nobody mocks Uni! (laughs)

Did you ever read the D&D Comics (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and Spelljammer) published by DC?

CP: Nope. I used to read DC stuff like Swamp Thing (Alan Moore; still the man), Hellblazer, and later Sandman (though I eventually got disenchanted with Gaiman and dropped it before it finished). I don't read comics regularly anymore, but I have been totally grooving to Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

GG: Boxers, or briefs?

CP: Briefs. My boys need support, baby.

GG: Is Pokemon the beginning of the end, or the beginning of something wonderful?

CP: It would have been more wonderful if I had had any stock in WotC, but what can you do? I'm hoping it has a positive effect on the gaming industry. If the TCG can bring in new card players and the upcoming RPG can bring in a new generation of roleplayers, that'll benefit the industry at large.

GG: Would you buy a CCG based on the Final Fantasy series?

CP: A CCG has to be pretty special to make me care about it any more. I've just got too many damn cards in my house already, and I still enjoy my Shadowfist. Big media licenses don't do much for me, so I'd have to say no.

GG: Why do they call it FINAL Fantasy, if it has 8 installments (and soon to have a 9th!)--what's up with that?

CP: It's a subtle message from the Great Old Ones. The End Times are here, the stars are right, Cthulhu f'tagn! Iiiiaaaahhhhhh!

GG: What's your favorite RPG?

CP: Good question, monkey boy, and hard to answer. It's difficult to single out one as having everything I want (perhaps why my current campaign uses Feng Shui rules with a blend of its background and those of Deadlands, Underground, and CoC). I used to say that Ars Magica was my favorite, but I spent too much time on the development list for the game and that kind of ruined it for me.

There are games I have great fondness for, like Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Call of Cthulhu, but even these old chestnuts are showing their age. What I really look for in a game is a skillful blending of background and mechanics. So if I had to choose, I'd say the game that still does this best is Pendragon. Honorable mentions to Castle Falkenstein and Over the Edge.

GG: Who you calling a monkey boy?

Favorite beverage of choice?

CP: Coffee in the morning, sake in the evening.

GG: What would you do to change the Gaming Industry to make it better?

CP: I think I'd create a new set of awards, selected by a jury of game designers, to recognize excellence in the field. Then I'd try to work with retailers to showcase the award winners, so they don't become just another pat on the back from your gaming buddies.

GG: Hey, how DID you get into this crazy business, anyway?

CP: Back when I was in college, I used to live with a guy named Aaron Loeb (who's now the editor of Next Generation online). Aaron and I both wanted to break into the biz, so we made a "dark pact" to help each other. Aaron knew Doug Tabb from Mayfair, and Doug had a writing emergency on Underground. I was a lot more familiar with Underground than Aaron was, so he pulled me in and said we could do the work. The writing we did ended up in two Underground books. Once published, I was able to use those credits to get more work via networking at cons and online. Once you establish a good reputation, it's a lot easier to get work.

GG: OK, it's Celebrity Deathmatch Time! In the TSR 3rd Edition corner, we've got Ryan Dancey--with no THAC0 to speak of! He goes up against the reigning king of D&D--the one, the only-- Gary Gygax, who has a THAC0 of unspeakable numbers! Who would win, and how does he manage the victory?

CP: Ryan Dancey is sitting in his office at Wizards of the Coast, planning the cruel destruction of the gaming industry with his super weapon, the dreaded 3E. "Once 3E is fully operational, no power in the galaxy can stand against us," cackles the TSR Brand Manager.

"3E, meet TriGee!" utters the dark shadow at the door. Staring down at the desk bound Dancey is the fearsome Libertarian hero, Gary Gygax. Dancey can only gibber as Gygax unsheathes Blumebane, a long sword +3, +6 vs. Corporate Wags.

"Get out from behind your quadrilateral discus of polished oakwood, doggerel," puffs Gygax. "I want to take you on a Lejendary Adventure--to Hell!"

Dancey slowly stands up. He knows he has only one chance. It's never been done, but the experts all tell him that it should work. He vaults over the desk and attempts the Rolling Thunder Attack!

Gygax is ready for him, catching the over extended Dancey in his left hand and hurling him back across the desk. Swinging his sword wildly about his head, Gygax aims a blow at the prone Dancey. "I'll flatten your rarity, scoundrel!" he screams.

Just then the forlorn figure of John Wick appears in the door, resume in hand. "Gary, stop it! Isn't there enough hate and negativity in the world? If you strike Dancey down, you'll be killing a part of yourself too!"

"Spare me your college freshmen philosophizing," spits Gygax. "We all know for AD&D there can be only one edition: the first!"

"Gary, listen to me," says Wick, as Dancey slowly picks himself up off the floor.

"I'm going to to say something that is going to shock you.

"Yes, that's right. Shock you.

"There's one thing that brings all editions of AD&D together and that's story. Search your heart, you know it's true.

"Surely my short paragraphs have telegraphed their monumental meaning.

"Yes, that's right. Meaning. My words are pregnant with it.

"What was I saying again?"

"To the Nine Hells with you, you poseur. Your amateur thespianism is best left to the dregs of this hobby: the LARPers." Gygax's voice oozes with derisi on for his new foe.

"By the way," Gygax cooes softly, hand running up and down his blade, "did I mention that Blumebane is also a Sword of Sharpness?"

Before Wick can defend himself with purple prose or more anecdotes from college, Gygax's blade snicker snacks and hacks off both of Wick's arms. As Wick falls backwards, lifeblood spilling onto his discarded resume, Gygax sheaths his sticky blade. Smiling wickedly, he picks up Wick's severed arms.

"You may have gotten rid of THAC0, Dancey, but that can't save you now." With the kinetic grace of a Grand Master of Flowers, Gygax rains blows on Dancey with the arms of the deceased Wick. No corporate buyout or Big Announcement can save the forlorn Brand Manager. His last sight is the cackling Gygax, standing over him in blood soaked glory.

"There can be only one!"

Three thousand miles away Dave Arneson awakes with a start. Looking over at his dusty regalia of decades past, his eyes settle on the bejeweled pommel of his Dagger of Venom.

"Yes, Gary," he whispers. "In the end, there will be only one..."

GG: I smell a sequel on the way...

What kind advice would you give to someone wanting to break into the Gaming Industry?

CP: Go to GenCon and talk to people. It's the biggest con of the year, and just about everyone in the biz is there. You can talk to Line Developers and find out what they are looking for, and what their process is for submissions. Making contacts is key.

Magazines are a good place to start, especially when you have ezines like Pyramid and Visions, who need content regularly. Not to mention Gaming Outpost. :)

When you do get your first assignment, be sure and hit the deadline. If you can establish a reputation for quality work in a timely fashion, you can have as much work as you want in this biz.

GG: What CRUEL advice would you give to someone wanting to break into the Gaming Industry?

CP: Don't quit your day job. Marry a rich spouse. Get used to paying your rent with a credit card and eating rice and beans. Also, DO NOT send your "ground breaking" RPG off to every company under the sun. I don't care if you and friends have been loving it for five years. People start companies to publish their own games, and only rarely will they even consider a new RPG from an outside source, never mind an unknown designer. And if you start your own company and show up at GenCon with a new RPG that is a warmed over collection of house rules from your 1st edition AD&D campaign, prepare to pay warehousing fees on those books for a long, long time.

GG: Well, that's about all the time we have today--GET BACK TO WORK, and thanks for all the dice!

CP: We don't work at Wizards, we just play with action figures all day! Or so I was once told.