People who read games but don't play...are there more than me...

[Voadam]

I think the number who read or collect but don't play would be numerous.

I think this would mostly be people who don't find time or compatible groups though. I think the number who actually don't like to play RPGs would be quite small.

At various times I was a reader and collector without being an active player, but I enjoy playing a lot and I'm happy I'm part of a regular game again.

 

[ppaladin123]

I do play d&d weekly and enjoy it very much. That said, I spend a lot of time building and optimizing characters that I will never play (nor have any desire to play). Constrained (mechanical) optimization within a particular rule set is fun in and of itself. If I ever moved somewhere where I couldn't find a regular game, I imagine that I'd still buy the books and peruse the message boards for this reason.

I suppose this is a bit different motivation to read than the one most people are offering (i.e. inspiring plot hooks, enjoyable as literature, etc.). I read for these reasons too (especially flavorful books like Tome of Magic in 3e and Underdark in 4e) but I thought I'd emphasize character optimization because it is like a game itself, and it doesn't require other players.

 

[jmucchiello]

I can't fathom reading but not playing. That's like collecting and hoarding rare guitars ... without listening to music, ever. To paraphrase Frank Zappa, reading about RPGs is like singing about architecture.

Zappa didn't originate it. No one knows the actual origin but the original is older than Zappa. The original quote is "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." And if you type that into Google you will find dozens of websites where the origin is discussed ad nauseum. Most discount Zappa as it's origin. Some of the possible attributions are quite odd.

In any case, I don't dance but I do read RPGs I'll never play.

 

[darkseraphim]

Escapism takes many forms. I believe a definitive distinction can be made between storytelling, gaming and world building. (Consider as a quick example the appendices in the Lord of the Rings.) I myself have only played D&D rarely since the 80s, but I still use modules in my creative writing.

When you’re writing fantasy fiction, world building is integral to the ground work, and quality role-playing materials are some of the best materials for world building in existence. So I’m actually “using” D&D without gaming.

It’s probably not too much of a stretch to assume that others like these pieces as fictional history, examples of rules design, art books or even just curiosities dignifying just how far the collective human imagination can go.

 

[Wombat]

Over the years I have read many games that I have not played -- Nobilis quickly springs to mind, but with a little thought I could probably come up with a couple dozen more.

And, yes, I have bought several games that I have never played, including a couple that I never intended to play, but wanted to read the material for one reason or another anyway.

 

[Henry]

I don't find it odd reading more than one plays -- real life gets in the way, sometimes. But I must say it's hard for me to fathom preferring reading RPGs to playing them. However, different strokes and all that.

Even harder for me to envision though is DESIGNING games that one doesn't play; I kinda feel similar to Monte Cook on these lines; he wrote a rant years ago about that very subject, and I had never heard of such until he brought it up. That is more analogous to designing workflow processes for a business where you haven't watched the way workers actually are performing the tasks -- there are a lot of things you pick up on when playtesting that aren't apparent in reading over them.

 

[pogre]

I read a lot of miniature game rules and almost never play. I really enjoy painting miniatures and planning to play, but almost never get around to it. I'm almost the opposite with RPGs - I jump in playing and worry about the rules later for the most part.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

As I've never had a weekly group or even a regular group with another GM, I've collected and read many games without a decent chance to play them, ever.

I guess there must be some 100-150 different game systems in my collection. I've actually played a tenth of that.

For years, reading roleplaying games was my main hobby. In the 3e era I still bought lots of books, many of which were never used in play. In this time, my buying habit changed to concentrate on D20. Also in this time, reading RPG books became less and less fun.

Because of this, I rely on DDI mostly for my 4e fix; reading hundreds of descriptions of Powers is not my idea of fun.

This should renew my interest in other systems, but I seem to be very reluctant to travel this road again. Of the last four games I'd considered (Song of Ice and Fire, Star Wars Saga Edition, Warhammer 3rd, Dragon Age) I've only bought Dragon Age as potential introductory game. For the others
there were reasons not to buy them (won't play them and price), and I did the reasonable thing: I didn't buy.

Here's waiting for the itch to return.

 

[The Shaman]

I'm 'between games' at the moment, but that's a temporary condition, not a permanent one. I buy games if I think they'll be useful for an actual game experience, for rules or flavor or just inspiration; this is why I own swashbuckling supplements for Rolemaster and GURPS, for example, even though I don't and won't use either system.

I can think of maybe three or four instances where I picked something up just 'cause it looked cool, with no intention of ever using them in play - two different Cities of Brass come to mind.

But this?

However, after a few times trying to game, I didn't care for the experience and mostly stuck with reading and (occasionally) writing for games. I found that I enjoyed how they stimulated my imagination, but I didn't care for the tabletop play experience, regardless of DM.

And this?

For me it's not a temporary thing but rather the whole tabletop experience I think "interferes" with my imagination.

Those I can't relate to at all.

My imagination is stimulated by actual play. The contributions of different people around the table and the variables represented by random resolution make roleplaying games a unique imaginative experience for me. I've never encountered anything quite like it.

 

[rogueattorney]

I find reading rpg books without playing to be much like playing my bass alone without being in a group. Reviewing rules, creating dungeons, preparing characters, etc. for a game, is like rehearsing on my bass. I'm alone, but I'm getting ready to play with others.

But just reading to read or playing to play. Diverting I suppose, but not really what I'd call fun. I find much funner ways to spend my alone time. The piano and guitar are much better solo instruments. Computer games or novels are much more entertaining by themselves.

Also, for what it's worth, I've found very little correlation between how an adventure reads and how it plays in practice.