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Quiddle
2015-01-08, 12:41 AM
Tell us about your favorite parts of RPGs!

Personally I enjoy coming up with solutions for problems, optimizing, and speaking in character.

Comet
2015-01-08, 03:15 AM
When I GM I enjoy being a part of cool stories, using systems that naturally and unpredictably create a part of those stories and having to react to what other people at the table come up with.

As a player I enjoy coming up with solutions to problems, exploring the world or story and having to react to what other people at the table come up with.

zinycor
2015-01-08, 10:01 AM
exploring the world, being in character, talking to friends, joking with my friends, being an ******* to important NPCs, getting killed because i was an ******* xD

Beta Centauri
2015-01-08, 11:28 AM
I like improvising, and being surprised by the things the other players and I come up with.

BWR
2015-01-08, 11:45 AM
Hanging out with friends and those moments that lead to "remember when X happened? Man, that was fun" in the future.

(Un)Inspired
2015-01-08, 12:30 PM
I like pretending to be someone else.

veti
2015-01-08, 03:19 PM
I enjoy exploring alternative worlds. Not particularly "with magic and pointy ears", although that's fine as far as it goes, but much more interesting is "with medieval (or ancient, or renaissance, depending on the specific campaign) knowledge, morals and attitudes".

(Historians make the best GMs.)

If you come from a conventional RPG background, the first time you see a paladin laughing as his friends torch the village - it's disconcerting, to say the least. But once you understand how these people think (and believe me, if you think the answer to that is simple, you don't know anything), so much about history (and modernity for that matter) starts to make so much more sense.

Delwugor
2015-01-08, 03:20 PM
Do things and resolving issues that I would never get to do in real life.

DigoDragon
2015-01-08, 03:31 PM
Hanging out with friends and those moments that lead to "remember when X happened? Man, that was fun" in the future.

The socializing part is my favorite too.

Jay R
2015-01-08, 10:23 PM
1. Pretending to do things I can't really do.

I had a friend who was a top level fighter in the SCA. Once, when he was playing a first-level fighter, an ogre appeared. Lloyd thought for a second, and said, "I quit. Why should I try to have fun pretending to be somebody who is right now quivering in his boots wishing he were me?" He then started playing Champions, so he could pretend to throw cars, fly, grow to 25 feet tall, etc.

2. Pretending to be part of a culture that interests me, and that I can't really be part of.

One of my favorite games is Flashing Blades, set in the 17th century France of the Musketeers. My current characters are a northern Ranger names Gustav, and an Egyptian prince in the Middle Kingdom.

3. Believing in things I don't believe in.

I want elves and fairies and ogres and giants and magicians and knights and ... all of it. This is the closest I can get to Never-Never-Land.

4. Playing with rules to understand the simulation.

I have a Ph.D. in Operations Research (mathematics of decision making and optimization). In my first Game Theory course, I did my semester project on the D&D combat system. I want to play with the rules and find a competent approach that fulfills my persona requirement in a mathematically efficient way.

5. Playing the role.

Once I have the optimal build I can manage, I want to immerse myself into the role, and be the noble knight, or the explorer of the arcane world, or the clever little sneak thief. This, and the SCA, is the stage I now perform on. (It's been ten years or more since I did any theater.)

6. Spending time with my friends.

I've played at conventions and game shops, and it doesn't really appeal to me. I want to get together with people who love to be with each other. Let's practice defending each other and trusting each other and working together to achieve a worthy goal.

Sajiri
2015-01-08, 10:44 PM
Coming up with a creative resolution to a problem that stumps the DM (ie recruiting what's meant to be a boss instead of fighting it). I don't mean that as I like making things difficult for the DM, not at all, but I tend to be pretty shy even in RPGs and need a lot of hinting or encouragement before I do something. So even when I do something he doesnt expect, the DM even is happy with me for it.

Also getting to play the badass. My DM is pretty good with making the players feel like epic heroes

valadil
2015-01-08, 11:05 PM
RPGs satisfy all my creative outlets at the same time.

Lemmy
2015-01-09, 03:02 AM
First and foremost... I enjoy the freedom of choice.

I can (try to) do literally anything I can imagine! Have a character with any personality and back-story I want! Role-play reactions and guide character development however I see fit!

All of that in the same game!

This complete freedom of choice is the one thing electronic games can never give me. The tactics aspects are great too, but many video-games do it even better. That's why I get annoyed with pointless restrictions. Because they sap the greatest strength of tabletop RPGs, the one thing that gives them a real edge over electronic games: unlimited freedom of choice.

Peebles
2015-01-09, 04:40 AM
They're a nice way to relax, hang out with friends, and enjoy a well crafted world and story, carved out my own little personality and niche within it.

For GMing RPG's, there's nothing like genuinely exciting, scaring, or just plain impressing your players. There's nothing like watching a bunch of your friends enjoy themselves because of something you've created for them. Yes, I'm sure there's an innuendo that can be made out of that somewhere, but shame on you. :smalltongue:

prufock
2015-01-09, 07:18 AM
All of the above.

But more specifically, I like the psychology of it. I really enjoy building characters, both mechanically and thematically. I like playing a role with different values, viewpoints, likes, dislikes, philosophies, and quirks. I try to have all my characters based around a core set of beliefs and actions as defining qualities. I like toying with how these beliefs affect behaviour, particularly as it applies to interacting with other PCs, NPCs, and solving problems. The fact that the character has powers and options I don't have in real life adds to the fun.

I also like telling a story as part of a group, and I like the basic social gathering.

aGuyWhoTypes
2015-01-11, 09:48 AM
because there is just no other game like an rpg.

The ability to play a game with potentially no boundaries.

the exploration of the world I'm in..

I like open sandbox style stuff.

Jormengand
2015-01-11, 10:58 AM
I get to pretend to be someone less incompetent than me for a while.

Freelance GM
2015-01-11, 11:10 AM
I enjoy RPG's as an outlet for my creativity. My mind is constantly churning with ideas for stories, characters, places, and cultures. When I DM, I get to share those ideas with other people in way where they can interact with them as if they were real.

Nothing quite feels like the pride a DM gets when you find your players discussing your game, or telling their friends about your game, on the days between sessions.