Witty and sharp, and everything it purports to be. QAGS is for those who don't want to be bogged down with complex mechanics, endless tables, charts, or lists, or any of that other impedimentia.

If you want straight-ahead gaming at a fast pace without all that unnecessary detail, give QAGS a try.

QAGS is a simple and flexible game system. As the authors put it, it is aimed at modeling fiction, so the focus is on character interaction and narrative, rather than simulation. This puts it apart from some other generic RPG systems.

The first four book chapters (28 pages) contain all of the game rules. The rest of the book contains player and GM advice, which is a necessity to make a generic game system accessible to those with less experience with RPGs. There are also useful chapters on modeling different game settings with the rules. The text is written in a conversational, humorous style that is easy to read.

Characters are defined by three fixed, catch-all attributes and at least three freeform ones. This gives a lot of flexibility to create different character concepts. On the other hand, it may require some discussion between players and game master.

There is a uniform resolution mechanic for all actions in the game, with only a slight variation for opposed and unopposed actions. This helps making the rules simple and easy to learn and is coherent with the focus on story instead of number-crunching.

Although there are rules for character advancement, I feel that the game system is better suited for one-shots or short campaigns, where it won't really matter. Still, I'd have to play more to be sure.

All things considered, it was a good purchase.

It is the acronym for Quick Ass Game System, and that is pretty accurate. What is QAGS or more to the point why is there a QAGS?

Well QAGS grew out of the same need that gave us Fudge, Fate and GURPS and even d20.

QAGS though is a little looser than GURPS, but not quite as loose and Fudge or FATE. QAGS is nice because it works well as an entry to Role-playing that is not a kids game (by no means is this one for kids!) and it can be used by the old pros out there. Yums-Yums aside of course!

Chapter 1 then is all about Character Creation. What I like about QAGS are such things as the descriptors of your character. In fact they are not even called abilities but "Words". So there is much more of a author feel to this than say character creation. You describe your character in terms of these Words, such as Body, Brain, and Nerve as the base ones, and others like Job, Gimmick and Weakness. I also like the tacit nod to "Who Will Play the Character in the Movie" which is something everyone does anyway. I snarkily always say "Gary Oldman" cause he can play anything and anyone. Like with other games I have played, there is something to learn here. This chapter could help you define who your character is regardless of what game you play.

Chapter 2 is Doing Stuff or how to play. The system is pretty simple really. Words are given a value of 6 to 16 and skills can add up to 5 to these. These numbers then become the target numbers. Chapter 3 expands on this with Combat.

Chapter 4 is the most entertaining, Yum-Yums. What are Yum-Yums? They are pieces of candy that are character rewards. They are points on your sheet, but they are also a pile of M&Ms or other candy in front of you. They are used like Drama or Hero points in other games, but if you eat them all well then your are literally out of luck.

Chapter 5 is a bit about role-playing your character. Making them more than a concept and stats on a page of paper.

After this we have the GM (Game Master's) section. Chapter 6 covers the basics of being a GM along with the rules and what you can do with your new found power over life and death. Chapter 8 goes into the Fine Art of GMing.

Chapter 7 deals with the story you are trying to create.

The Appendices are rather nice. The first one is a Big List of Words used to describe your character. Which seems to me would have utility in a Fate or Fudge game as well.

Appendix 2 is the quick start rules. 1/2 a page. They got the Quick part right. So quick in fact it is "Qik" start. Appendix 3 is the section of Genres. Each one gets a page and covers the basics. Appendix 4 is a collection of sample characters. Appendix 5 is a list of creatures Appendix 6 includes some equipment Appendices 7 & 8 are sample adventures Appendices 9 & 10 are dumb maps and dumb tables respectively And 11 is a conversion from QAGS 1st Ed. Finally ending with a character sheet. The first I have seen that lists Social Security Number.

QAGS is fun, but it might be too silly for groups. Or it might be perfect if the GM opts to play it straight.

QAGS (kwags) is likable and easy to learn. The cartoony artwork fits the friendly style of the text; it's as if one of your buddys is explaining the game to you, rather than reading dry text.

The downside of this product is the language. The warning is for "mature" readers only, as if people who think profanity is unnecessary are "immature". On the contrary, I cannot introduce this game to kids because the game has curse words in the text.

This is a shame, because otherwise this would be a good introductory game for beginners.

RATINGS: x out of 5

GAME PLAY: 4 BOOK LAYOUT: 4 CONTENT: 1 / without curse words? 5

First off, a word of warning – QAGS pulls no punches and handles some material in a very Adult manner. The rules read at PG-13. Although the system is an ideal one for children, I highly suggest that the rules information be disseminated by a responsible adult. We are not talking porn here folks but there are a few off color remarks and enough adult language that parents should be advised.

Okay, enough of that.

Right off the top, QAGS takes the unusual step of really preparing potential players by going over the fundamentals of roleplaying and the importance of character concept and archetypes before even touching the mechanics of character creation (kudos!).

I just wish they organized their presentation better. They have so much to say and all of it is good- it’s just that they present it in such an annoying way. You try to read the main text, and suddenly there is a big ass box text on the next page talking about something totally different.

It’s like all the folks at Hex games are surrounding you as you read it saying “Oo, Oo, look at this, look at this.” “No, no look at this, at this.” “Hey, hey over here, over here, look at this!”- Frankly, it was damned annoying. The good thing is that what they had to say was interesting, otherwise I would have closed the PDF right there (and don’t even get me started on the three column text).

I’m not sure if chapter 2 was any better or I just learned how to mind shield myself from the sidebars that aren’t sidebars. But it seemed to go much smoother for me. Basically it’s all about task resolution. It’s a rather nifty system with degrees of success worked in.

The Damage system in chapter 3 is very cool. It’s quick and easy to grasp and I would think makes combat in QAGS move at a very brisk pace. The mechanics are very basic and friendly. An additional touch that helps is that each chapter has a little example of play tacked on at the end.

Chapter 4 is where they explain their systems use of Hero points, Bennies, Action points etc. In QAGS they are called Yum-Yum’s and are basically pieces of candy- M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, raisins-whatever you want. I’ll give the folks at Hex points for originality. They definitely know their audience.

Chapter 5 goes into the fine art of roleplaying. Something that all of us experienced hands SHOULD know by now. But it never hurts to be reminded. As in the chapters before there is plenty of good advice dispensed here and worth reading, even for RPG veterans.

Chapter 6-8 turn the tables to help the GM with the thankless job of running the game. One of the many wonderful quotes I took away was:

“The first thing to realize when preparing a con game is that there’s a good chance you’re not going to know most of the players. More importantly, at least 25% of con-goers are card-carrying, USDA-approved morons. Understand going in that the odds of you having a good time are not good.”

Tell it like it is brothers!

Chapters 6-8 are fluff, but they are important and entertaining fluff. Here again stuff that most of the experienced hands should know but at times forget (campaigns, plots, themes, mood, tone, PC Death, difficult players). QAGS takes the time to go over much of it and do so in an entertaining manner.

Appendices follow with a plethora (yes, I know what a plethora is) of charts, tables, setting overviews, character write ups, equipment lists, and even an outline of Joseph Campbell’s Heroes Journey. This is a ton of stuff, most of it useful, all of it amusing.

At the end I have to say it was a fun read. It could have gone smoother at the beginning. But by the time I was done I was eager to play. I’m going to try it out on my minions (heavily edited for content of course).

Good read? Yes.

Easy read? No.

Good system? Yes.

Good value? Yes.

Would you play it? Yes.

As an overview, on a scale of 1-10 the Evil DM gives it an 8.

Go buy it!

If you're looking for a fun, easy to use, rules lite game for telling pretty much any kind of story then this would be it. I came upon QAGS while searching for a game system for a friend of mine whose a very good storyteller, but not so good rules lawyer. His 3E games were always a bit more rules flexable than most people would be used to as he frequently didn't know what the rules were & refused to stop the game to look them up. So I went looking for a game simple enough even he could remember the rules and yet still provide a little bit of crunch and after the smoke cleared QAGS stood alone atop the mountain. Well, not entirely alone - d4-d4 stood behind it and slightly to the left, but none the less QAGS emerged victorious. Good system for task resolution without too much complication or sub-systems and the flexablity to fit almost any genre you can come up with. Plus there's candy, and I like candy ...