Player of the Week: Korromprok Gnomechewer

(Date Posted: June 2, 2006)

Real Name: Thomas
Character Name: Korromprok Gnomechewer
Character Race: Ogre
Character Class: Beastlord
Deity: Rallos Zek
Server: Xegony (created on Zebuxoruk)
Guild: Storm of the Gods, a family-style guild (and very nice people!)
Guild Rank: Member
Guild Website: http://omnia.guildportal.com/Guild.aspx?GuildID=42183
Length of Time in Guild: 6 months (applied Nov. 18th, 2005)
Real World Location: Vienna, Austria
Career / Employment Industry / Current Level of School: Working for a major European automotive manufacturer (Renault), Marketing-department
Hobbies: Too many... Music (I am the drummer of a metal-/rock-band), sports (climbing, running, sailing), mountains, books, journeys, EverQuest
Family? relationship (4 years now, and very happy) - we are still DINKs
Allakhazam Name: bbot
Allakhazam Profile: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/profile.html?467830
Your Website: will be making a new one soon

Besides EverQuest, what other MMORPGs have you played?
None, EverQuest is the one and only! Never considered buying WoW or EQ2, one MMORPG is more than enough...

How did you find out about EverQuest, and when did you begin playing?
I created my first character in March 2001. Some friends of mine had already played for some months, and they showed the world of EverQuest to me when we had coffee at their flat. Some days later I bought EQ+Kunark expansion - addicted ever since. I started with a Half Elf Warrior and a female Gnome Mage on Innoruuk (now The Nameless). Couldn't play for more than a year in 2003/2004, the hardware was too old :-)

Do you know anyone in real life who plays EverQuest?
There was a whole bunch of people who played EQ back in the days when I still was a student in Innsbruck; all of them were Olymp BBS-users (anyone still knows what a bulletin board system is?). Still grouping every week with four of them, good friends of mine! :-)

How did you come up with your main character's name?
Trial and error. I was looking for a strange-sounding Ogre name, and the EQ name system didn't accept the first two or three tries, so I ended up calling him Korromprok. The surname Gnomechewer seemed fitting for a cooking Ogre... :-)

What factors affected your choice of race / class for your main character?
Our group decided to start all over, so we created fresh characters and levelled them from the beginning. My friends made a Warrior, a Necro, a Cleric and a Druid, and I decided to give the Beastlord a try. I didn't like the kittie BL's too much, and the Ogre looked cooler than the Troll...

About how often do you play EverQuest, and how long is a typical playing session for you?
I normally play once a week (every Thursday at 7pm for about 3-4 hours), sometimes a second time during the weekend.

How do you spend your time in game?
99% experience group. As I don't play that often, I have lots of plans/unfinished quests/goals to reach, but most of the time we meet to do LDoN's, monster missions or normal hunting. I haven't raided yet as my highest character is still lvl 51. When I have a bit of additional time, I try to get my tradeskills up.

What other class/race combinations have you levelled past 35?
Sad but true, I have no other toon past 35... Korromprok is the highest at lvl 51, and I got several toons in their 20ies (Half Elf Warrior, Gnome Magician, Froglok Paladin). There's not enough time to play all of my characters, so I'm concentrating on the Beastlord.

Approximately what percentage of the EverQuest world have you experienced?
Less than 30%. There are still original zones I haven't been to, and although I got all the expansions, I have seen only a bit of Kunark, Velious, Luclin and Ykesha, just beginning with the Planes, and never set a foot into GoD, OoW, DoN or PoR. This might change as I am approaching the 60ies...

What is your favourite expansion?
Velious so far, although I liked LDoN a lot in Korromprok's 20ies and 30ies.

What is your least favourite expansion?
Can't say as I haven't seen enough of them. It might be Luclin. EverQuest should host good old fantasy races and beasts (dragons, lots of dragons!), but no aliens.

What is your favourite zone?
I like wide, open zones. There's nothing I hate more than a narrow dungeon with a mob around the corner... Anyway, this vote goes to Steamfont, as I spent lots of time there with my little gnome mage Zylinder, and it always feels like coming home when I enter the zone.

What is your favourite NPC?
Fippy Darkpaw (the original one, not the instanced one).

If there was a least appreciated NPC, it would be Equestrielle (the uncorrupted version). That beast once jumped my poor little gnome from behind and killed her in seconds!

What is your favourite raid encounter (if different from NPC)?
No raids yet.

If the war between Firiona Vie and Lanys T`Vyl erupted again, which side would you take?
I got an evil ogre. Lanys T`Vyl ftw!

Describe your most memorable moment or proudest accomplishment in game.
The most memorable moments are the first run across Antonica from Qeynos to Freeport with my first character Eldoron (renamed to Shavriz during the server merges), the fishing sessions at the Freeport docks waiting on the boat, killing my first Frost Giant (= first successful kiting) and killing my first Hill Giant. The proudest accomplishment are small ones, but I haven't accomplished anything big yet: Getting the Earring of the Solstice (difficult if you don't have lots of plat), getting the Fabled Treant Staff, finally getting the Worker Sledgemallet in The Overthere (I hate faction work!!!).

What is the largest amount of platinum you have ever had at one time, and how did you go about accumulating it?
I never had much plat, always spent it in Bazaar and on tradeskills as soon as I got it. The largest amount I ever had was about 5k which I got by selling one of the anniversary Festive Dolls. I don't have the time to farm, and my trader is on very seldomly...

What are some things you would change or implement in order to improve EverQuest?
Actually I think that the EQ team is doing a good job. I'm not one of the "leave EQ as it is" guys, but I think that playing is still fun, from the beginning to the higher content (which I am slowly approaching). There's only one thing: I would fix all broken quests, because those really annoy me. Ever tried to get Marr's Ring of Piety?

If you were GM for a day, what would you do?
I would make myself a dragon and start a GM event. Everybody would have to create a lvl 1 warrior and chase me through several zones. The one that finally kills me gets an "Illusion: Dragon" item. :-)

Have you ever attended a Fan Faire or another gaming event? If yes, what was it and how was the experience? If no, would you like to?
I haven't, but I would really like to (especially if there was a Fan Faire not too far from my country). How about Munich for example?

If you had to start over from scratch, what race/class combination would you choose?
I like to melee, and I like to cast. Beastlord wasn't a bad choice, but maybe it would be a Necro next time. There's one sitting in my account, waiting to be played... (Circulus, Erudite Necromacer, lvl 11).

How do you describe EverQuest to your coworkers or computer-illiterate friends?
Tried that several times, but most people just close their ears when they hear words like "Dwarves", "Orcs" or "Role Playing"... My closest friends know what EverQuest is and why it is important to me (and some of them even play it by themselves).

What is next for you in the world of EverQuest?
I'll get the Beastlord Epic 1.0 as fast as I can (which means several months) and start the PoP progression. And after that, who knows? If any of you is playing (or is thinking of playing) on Xegony, feel free to contact me here on Allakhazam!

** Pick the winner in a battle between... (feel free to add comments or pass on those you don't wish to answer)

Mayor Gubbin vs King Ak'Anon - King Ak'Anon. I don't like Halflings.
Emperor Ssraeshza vs The Avatar of War - The Avatar of War
Tradeskilling vs Questing - Questing, because there aren't many people that do it anymore (except for me).
Instance Zones vs Static Zones - Instance Zones, although it feels a bit lonely in there...
Monster Missions vs Project M (PvP as Monsters) - Project M; I hate it when a monster mission is a failure and you get absolutely nothing for the time you spent in it (especially as I don't play that often...)
Soloing vs Pick-Up Groups - Pick-Up Groups, as I met many nice people by grouping.
Guild Raiding vs Grouping With Friends - Grouping With Friends, but I am looking forward to my first raid though!
GM (real people) Events vs Scripted (computerized) Events - GM Events; It's the fun that counts, not the reward.
Arena Royal Rumble vs 1-on-1 Duel - 1-on-1 Duel
Faydwer vs Odus - Faydwer
Kunark vs Velious - Velious; just let me finish the Coldain Prayer Shawl quest, and then I'll kill all those Dwarves...
Planes of Power vs Gates of Discord - PoP, because that's the next content I hope to see
Bard vs Enchanter - Bard (another baby toon waiting for me)!
Monk vs Rogue - Rogue :-)
Paladin vs Warrior - Warrior, although (or because?) he's more difficult to play imho.
Allakhazam vs Illia - Allakhazam (sorry Illia!)

Korromprok's Gallery

-

Ding!

-

Norrath

-

Nightfall in The Overthere

-

Our Group
 

-

Quiet Night in the Plane of Knowledge

-

Warder's Nose
 

-

Something's Wrong in the Plane of Knowledge

-

MGB KEI
 

-

Fabled Grizzleknot's Corpse
 

-

Ding! (Again)

-

Welcome the Spider

-

What's Cooking?