Party Spotlight: Rob Hammel

Happy Friday and happy Party Spotlight! For this week’s Party Spotlight, we’re highlighting Rob Hammel who played a number of tabletops before joining Alex Zubarev’s playtesting group! Do you have a favorite tabletop system you’ve played? We’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment about it below!

Q1: As a tabletop veteran, what tabletop systems have you explored before playing War and Aether (W&A)?

Rob Hamel (RH): The other tabletop systems that I’ve played are the 5e and 3.5e of Dungeons and Dragons, as well as a little bit of Pathfinder.

Q2) What do you like about War and Aether (W&A) over other Tabletop Role-Playing Games?

RH: I definitely enjoy the low-fantasy setting, versus the high-fantasy setting that most of the other TTRPGs I’ve played. I also enjoy the crafting systems that are in place.

Q3: How easy was it to get started in W&A compared to other tabletop systems you’ve played?

RH: It was a little bumpier for me at first getting used to the skill point system, versus the flat abilities you get as a player class in Dungeons and Dragons.

Q4: What’s a mechanic from W&A that you wish more tabletop systems would implement?

RH: Definitely the skill point system, and the customization of spells.

Q5: Do you have a preference on what type of characters you like to build, and why?

RH: I generally like to have more tankier melee builds with higher armor, rather than a higher defense. I generally like to have characters with more survivability than anything.

Q6: As a tabletop veteran, you’ve lost a number of characters over the years. What’s the most tragic way one of your characters went out?

RH: The most tragic way that one went out was the one that lasted only about 5 minutes from being introduced. He was being chased by a group of Inquisitors, which are an anti-magic faction that hunts down any spellcasters, and begged the rest of the party to save him. The rest of the party promptly decided not to get involved in the affairs of the Inquisitors. They promptly left my character to try and get out of the situation by himself to no avail.

Q7: What’s your favorite tabletop story from any campaign you’ve played?

RH: My favorite tabletop story would have to be facing down a horde of demons with the rest of the party in one of Zubie’s other tabletops that I’ve playtested.

Q8: What brings you back to continue playtesting Zubie’s tabletop systems?

RH: I always enjoy the different systems and campaigns that he comes up with.

Q9: Have you ever considered Game-Mastering a campaign of W&A?

RH: I have considered it because it is a fairly easy game to pick up.

Q10: As a veteran player, what was the most unique tabletop experience you’ve ever had?

RH: The most unique experience was being part of a religion that was created from the phrase “figure of speech”.

Thank you, Rob, for taking time out of your schedule to answer these questions! Do you have a favorite tabletop system you’ve played? We’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment about it below! And make sure you check back here for all things regarding War & Aether!