Quinn Alej
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About Quinn Alej
Since it's Native American Heritage month, I'm inviting any Indigenous players interested in one of my games to contact me please. Let's make sure you get to play. Thanks! ----- Tau, taiguey, and hello! I'm Quinn! Taino Daka. I'm a reconnecting Taino with Cuban roots and a love for my community. I have spent my life studying the history and evolution of story and storytelling and want to carry on the traditions I have been taught and have learned. 🪶 - Taino (reconnecting Native) 🏳️⚧️ - Trans femme ⚢ - Transbian ☯️ - Taoist & Wing Chun practitioner 🧑🧑🧒 - Stay-at-home parent I have not done voice training. I'm not sure I am going to. My voice is the same it was before I began transit n. This has no impact on the quality of the games I run. I have spent most of my life studying story. Why we tell them, how we started and why, how they travel, how they change, their effects on us... It all fascinates me. Running RPGs lets me put my education and field to work in fun ways!
At a glance
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Inclusive, Creativity
Featured Prompts
I got started GMing...
..when I was in middle school in Greece. My friend and I found some D&D books someone left behind when they moved back to the U.S. and we dove right in. I started with a Beholder. When I got back to the U.S. in '97, my junior year of H.S., I found World of Darkness. I count that as my real start.
My 3 systems I'd bring to a desert island would be
Not that I like being a rules lawyer, but you said "systems" and not "game lines," so I'm going to go with World of Darkness, Chronicles of Darkness, and Dungeon Crawl Classics. I don't think we'd be using books for gaming, but the paper and resources would be useful. Plus, I like reading WoD & CoD.
The three words my players would use to describe me are...
Players who've known me 20+ years: "Adaptable. Engaging. Immersive." New players: "Inclusive, creative, visionary." One of my favorite answers was "story-forward."
How Quinn Alej runs games
📖 - story forward 🗪 - role play focus 🧠 - mystery and puzzles ⚔️ - combat, but for the sake of story. 🤯 - encourages creative and unexpected solutions 🥳 - wants everyone to be involved and have fun I am here to tell stories. I want to do it with friendly people and their friends. I need it to be collaborative. The mechanics are the tools we agree to use, but the story is what we make it. It isn't "my game," it's our game.
Featured Prompts
I deal with rules issues by...
Assuming it is not something I can simply clarify and then move in, I prefer allowing the player to explain their understanding of the situation and the rule, followed by a short pause. I ask players to get a drink or take a bio break so I can check materials and make a call. Then we play on.
My games focus on...
Story. Story. I am telling stories just as much as I am adjudicating games. More so, in fact. When players make characters, they bring them to the table to tell their stories. The rules help us figure out what happens when we don't know an outcome, or disagree on the direction of story. Story.
Rules are...
...the tools we agree to use to resolve game related, fictional conflict. We are telling stories, and we only use rules when we aren't sure which direction the story will go, or when we disagree on that direction. Knowing when to use a tool is important.
Quinn Alej's ideal table
🏳️🌈 - Queer host, queer safe space ✊🏽 - Latinx host, BIPOC safe space 😎 - chill environment, keep it casual 🚠 - we lift each other up ⏳ - we're patient with each other Out of game boundaries: ⛔ - Ai. I don't use it, I don't want it at my tables. Thank you. ⛔ - Ableism, Racism, Sexism ⛔ - Homophobia, Transphobia ⛔ - Anything that includes children in an inappropriate manner At my table, we keep the extra intensity in the game. We go for enthusiasm, but still prefer to keep a relaxed atmosphere in the real world. It's make believe! Let's keep sight of that.
Featured Prompts
I am for a vibe that's...
...inclusive and fun. Whatever might be happening in the game world, whatever evils we are fighting or tragedies we are preventing, our table will be a safe place where we enjoy telling stories together. Keeping it pretty chill is vital, so come casual and have some fun!
I love it when a player
...smiles. If our time together can make people smile, I'm doing one of the things I set out to do. I also love it when players contribute elements to the scene and the world. Little things here and there make it theirs.
I think metagaming...
...comes in two forms. The most well known is negative metagaming, where a player uses out of game knowledge to their advantage, often at the expense of others. I have also observed positive metagaming, in which players use their out of game knowledge to uplift and help fellow players.
Quinn Alej's Preferences
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