Are you a gamer or a reader?

[Schmoe]

drats! i accidently chose reader!

You did not read correctly.

 

[Schmoe]

Of course, this somewhat colors how any given person will view any given aspect of the game, IMO. (This was most obvious to me with the oWoD books from White Wolf.) People looking at a product or aspect of the game to use in their game tend to be more utilitarian than the folks who, really, that doesn't affect, since they mostly just read the books for pleasure.

OTOH, there are people who get incredibly passionate and will fight to the death over subtle rule issues that, in play, simply aren't that big of a deal, but since D&D is mostly theoretical to them, by choice or by circumstance, they follow their passions where they wish.

I call BS. At least as many people complain about aspects of the game that did not appear awkward on the surface, but in play revealed themselves to be a morass of confusing or unbalanced rules. There's just as much passion on both sides.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

I'm both, I enjoy the game and I enjoy reading about it.

 

[TerraDave]

Gamer. I actually want to read more gaming books, and related fantasy, but it doesn't happen.

OTOH, there are people who get incredibly passionate and will fight to the death over subtle rule issues that, in play, simply aren't that big of a deal, but since D&D is mostly theoretical to them, by choice or by circumstance, they follow their passions where they wish.

And then there is this. And yes, when I had only played an edition a bit 'cause of real life disruption, I would find myself concerned by what would turn out to be the wrong rules, in the sense that maybe they didn't turn out to be that important, or I interpreted their implications in the wrong way.

So you mean I am not the only one??

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Currently a reader, but not by choice. I love both gaming and reading.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Of course, this somewhat colors how any given person will view any given aspect of the game, IMO. (This was most obvious to me with the oWoD books from White Wolf.) People looking at a product or aspect of the game to use in their game tend to be more utilitarian than the folks who, really, that doesn't affect, since they mostly just read the books for pleasure.

Exactly. I feel the same way and have mentioned this recently on a few other threads. I'm more likely to listen to someone who posts here who actually uses stuff from thier books and plays the game than someone who is just reading and sees something that might not mesh. Actually play is important to me, theorizing (is that even a word?) about "broken" rules is not.

So, the question to you, dear reader: Are you a D20/D&D gamer, or are you mostly a D20/D&D reader? (Optional essay question: Are my feelings about what this means accurate, or am I full of crap? )

I'm a gamer.

I think that your feelings are pretty acurate in this matter and that alot of people should differentiate between something that works or doesnt work and thier own personal tastes. There are plenty of things that I see in books that I dont particularly care for but if theyre mechanically sound, theyre sound especially if they've been tested in play. I saw a few people here go on about Book of the Nine Swords and Tome of Magic, about how they didnt like the new rules and such and a few comments about things looked overpowered and broken, but very few of the people talking even used anything from the books. After a while when people began using stuff from the Tome of Magic it seemed that we actually got some real criticism of the material that was worth something.

I'd even go as few to suggest that instead of a single category of reviews we should have two. The first being the pre-play review just bascially telling people what's in the book and then later on a review of how several elements work in actual play and the circumstances that they were used.

 

[carmachu]

I don't see why people buy game books just to read, but that's just me. My sister does it to a degree, but apparently she does some kind of free form WW netchat roleplay stuff so I guess it does get used in some manner.

Why do people buy books or go to movies? For enjoyment. I use to buy all the shadowrun sourcebooks simply for reading pleasure, becuase they had a distinct "story" feel to them, when you read them.

 

[Stormborn]

When it comes to d20 I am a primarilly a gamer, and most - but not all - of the d20 books I have bought were with the thought that I would use some aspect of it in game. Whether I ever did or not is another story. However, I have a lot of other systems that I have either never played, or played once, or never really suspected I would get a chance to play but wanted to. For those I guess I am a "reader"

 

[Thad Enouf]

Both for me. I run a small game and I read a lot. However, most of the reading is done for the purpose of inspiration for a novel I'm writing.

 

[Wombat]

From the introduction of 3e until about a year ago, I was more of a D20 player, but now I am strictly a reader.

1975-1977 -- D&D
1977-2001 -- other rpgs
2001-2005 -- D20
2005-present -- other rpgs

I'd say D&D is a small, but important part of my rpg heritage.