Are you a gamer or a reader?

[Aaron L]

I am a gamer. I went through a period of about 2 years where I had a falling out of sorts with my group where I became a reader instead, but as I've recently patched things up I am happily now a gamer again.

I still read my books all the time for pleasure, because I find them interesting, and like to imagine things, dream up new character possibilities, and work out how new and different game elements will fit into my (seldom actually run anymore ) homebrew setting.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

Defintiely, without a doubt, "reader" for me.

Readability is the first thing I look at: "Will this be fun to read?" is the first thing I ask myself, followed distantly by "Will this actaually be useful to me?" (The third thing I look at is the price/value for my dollar.)

That's why I've always tended to invest in settings books (Dark Sun, Planescape, Al Qadim and Ravenloft for 2E, Eberron, Midnight, and some literatry settings for 3E.), theme books (Draconomicon, Lords of Madness, Koboldinomicon, etc.), and modules/ ADventure Paths (WLD, WLC, Rappan Athuk, Drow War, Shacked City, et al.) rather than crunchy "Splat" books.

 

[was]

gamer.......

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think there should be a "both" option, as it depends on whether I have players (or a DM) or not.

It would defeat the purpose of the poll, since almost everyone would call themselves both. If you're not playing currently, you're a reader.

 

[TroyXavier]

While I game when I get a chance, primarily, I'm a reader. I've got several rpgs I'll never play or play again but I still break the books out from time to time to read them.

 

[Night Watchman]

As of right now, I'm a gamer. However, until about a year ago I had a two and a half year stretch where I was a reader. I simply couldn't find a group of people I would actually want to play with. As one of my good friends would say (more or less), "If you wouldn't hang out with them apart from the game, you shouldn't game with them."

 

[Nightfall]

Nightfall the sage is ALWAYS a gamer. Just some things I read more than play/run.

 

[Shroomy]

I marked "Reader," but that is just because my group disbanded long ago and I haven't had time to find a new one. However, when I read game supplements, I think about them in terms of how they would work in-game, even flavor text.

 

[Faraer]

I don't see why people buy game books just to read, but that's just me.

A good secondary-world sourcebook, with or without game rules, is a denser work of story and ideas than almost any novel (or campaign), with the seeds of many, many stories in it. It's a big shame that so many people prefer fully manifested stories that the world sourcebook is, mostly, an uncommercial medium.

 

[William drake]

Now I wish I hadn't voted...I thought it meant "gamer* video games, and *reader* books overall...

Yes, I'm a gamer. I dont read most of the D&D *money pit stuff* ever