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<blockquote data-quote="Retreater" data-source="post: 9501554" data-attributes="member: 42040">Let's be honest. TTRPGs aren't 100% combat. But when we're looking at traditional RPGs, let's consider the following...1) Your character sheet is built for combat. 2) All your powers, abilities, magic items, etc., are largely focused on combat.3) The rules of the game are predominantly geared towards combat.4) Combat is the most structured part of the game, where actions and time matter the most.5) If you strike out &quot;B.S. time&quot; (telling jokes, bio breaks, etc.), combat takes the plurality of active gaming time.If your character whiffs in combat and doesn't contribute, you're missing out on probably 75% of the session time, 75% of the interaction of the game system design. Of course, I can &quot;roleplay&quot; as an intelligent piece of chewing gum that can quip one-liners each time the party's marksman chomps down on me, but that doesn't mean that I'm contributing in a meaningful way or having fun.If all my character's abilities are spelled out on a character sheet (and in the game rules), I have little variety in what I can conceivably do to change the world (or even a fight). Don't forget that even roleplaying and investigative skills are explicitly described in Pathfinder 2. For example, you MUST have at least 1 minute to talk to someone to &quot;Make an impression&quot; (like a Diplomacy check). You CANNOT attempt to talk to 10 people unless you take a feat. You CANNOT try to persuade a group of more than 10 unless you take bonus skill ranks. It's like - if you don't have this thing on your sheet, then get out of here. You can't try it. And I've had the same thing happen in basically every system I've played in the past 5 years. It doesn't matter how creative you want to be. The rules just stop you. That's part of what makes the whole experience so boring to me.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Retreater, post: 9501554, member: 42040"] Let's be honest. TTRPGs aren't 100% combat. But when we're looking at traditional RPGs, let's consider the following... 1) Your character sheet is built for combat. 2) All your powers, abilities, magic items, etc., are largely focused on combat. 3) The rules of the game are predominantly geared towards combat. 4) Combat is the most structured part of the game, where actions and time matter the most. 5) If you strike out "B.S. time" (telling jokes, bio breaks, etc.), combat takes the plurality of active gaming time. If your character whiffs in combat and doesn't contribute, you're missing out on probably 75% of the session time, 75% of the interaction of the game system design. Of course, I can "roleplay" as an intelligent piece of chewing gum that can quip one-liners each time the party's marksman chomps down on me, but that doesn't mean that I'm contributing in a meaningful way or having fun. If all my character's abilities are spelled out on a character sheet (and in the game rules), I have little variety in what I can conceivably do to change the world (or even a fight). Don't forget that even roleplaying and investigative skills are explicitly described in Pathfinder 2. For example, you MUST have at least 1 minute to talk to someone to "Make an impression" (like a Diplomacy check). You CANNOT attempt to talk to 10 people unless you take a feat. You CANNOT try to persuade a group of more than 10 unless you take bonus skill ranks. It's like - if you don't have this thing on your sheet, then get out of here. You can't try it. And I've had the same thing happen in basically every system I've played in the past 5 years. It doesn't matter how creative you want to be. The rules just stop you. That's part of what makes the whole experience so boring to me. [/QUOTE]

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