But .... it seems reductive, because the way you play, to others, does come off like that.
Wow. So, you’re just going to demean my play style, and when I point out that what you said is demeaning, your response is “yeah, because that’s what the way you play is like”?... just... Wow, is all I can say to that.
Don’t ask for empathy for your play style if you’re unwilling to extend that same courtesy to others.
Dude, it's not bad. I mean, to you, the things other people find fun, aren't fun. THAT'S OKAY! Seriously. You can say that you find "decision points" interesting, and that this is "up time" and use whatever other language you want, but .... and I mean this nicely, you don't play the same way everyone else does.
I understand that I don’t play the same way everyone else does, and I am fine with that. It seems to be you who refuses to accept that someone else’s referred play style be a little more nuanced than “killing monsters and collecting loot.”
You can't comprehend how "choices you made during donwtime had an impact during uptime." To me ... that doesn't make any sense at all. It is the equivalent of nonsensical word salad. Because that's not the style of game I have played for so many years now.
Downtime is a very explicitly defined part of the game. If the stuff that happens during that part of the game doesn’t have an effect on the rest of the game, then it doesn’t interest me personally. You don’t have to agree with me about that, but to pretend you don’t understand it is just being obtuse.
I can hire people to accompany the party.
Actually, that’s a pretty good point. That’s a use for gold that is relevant while adventuring. Of course, if it’s the only use for it, then those of us who find adventuring to be the most engaging part of the game don’t really have much in the way of a decision to make.
I can hire specialists. I can hire sages to research areas I am going into. I can build a keep so that I can keep an eye on disputed border territory I am adventuring in.
You sure can. And when you’re in dungeons fighting dragons (or wherever else you like to do your adventuring), how do those things affect your decision-making in dramatically tense moments?
It's all the same, in my games.
For you ... you get your fun in a different way. That's cool. So I will reiterate what I ended with and you ignored:
"Work with your DM and come up with a system to spend your money (magic items, "training" for skills or abilities, that sort of thing) that lets you just do what you want to do."
I mean, I generally
am the DM, so “work with your DM” isn’t really useful advice to me. But that aside, it’s not really advice, so much as an obvious platitude. Yes, I know that DMs and players working together to make the game work in a way that is most satisfying for the group is the solution to every problem that might occur in D&D. That doesn’t mean the problem doesn’t exist (read: for some people. I know it isn’t a problem for everyone). Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to express something like “the rules are not well-suited to my play style in this area, any advice on how to deal with it?” to be met with “lol, silly munchkin, D&D is a role playing game, not a roll playing game! Your problems don’t matter, not everyone plays the same way you do, go talk to your DM about it.”??? If you don’t see a problem, that’s great! Go enjoy the game the way you enjoy it, and leave those of us who do see a problem to come up with solutions on our own. Stop butting in yo the conversation to make fun of the way we play. You’re not helping, you’re just detailing what could have been a productive conversation so we can have another 300 page argument about whether or not a roleplaying game should have rules.
Go have fun. Enjoy yourself. Figure it out. You'll have more fun playing the game the way you like, than trying to convince me that I will agree with you (protip: I won't).
I’m not trying to convince you to agree with me. I don’t care that you play the game differently than I do. YOU go have fun and enjoy yourself, WE’RE here trying to figure it out together, and all you’re doing is distracting us with reductive and demeaning mischaracterizations of the reasons we feel the need to figure it out. You’re making fun of us and then when we defend ourselves, you’re reprimanding is for not respecting that other people have different play styles.