Mercurius
Legend
One of the things that has struck me over the many years of D&D fandom is that a rather large portion--vast majority, really--of my "D&D time" is spent not actually playing the game, but engaged in other activities related to D&D/RPGs. In other words, there are "active" and "passive" modes relating to actual play, and the latter is much larger. I think the analogy of an iceberg works, at least for my experience.
Or to break it down further, I would split my own time spent on D&D in the following categories:
Actual play: Rolling dice and such, whether in meat- or cyber-space.
Campaign Preparation: Includes campaign design, reading adventures, and other prep work for actual play.
Reading/Thinking/Making: Reading for fun, thinking up ideas; also includes world-building and adventure brainstorming that aren't for a specific campaign.
Discussion and Commerce: Hanging out on ENWorld (mostly) and other online habitats for gamers, as well as the occasional in-person conversation. I'd also include browsing stores for new books to buy.
It would be impossible to quantify, but my guess is that since I started playing in the early 80s, far less than 10% of my D&D time has been actual play. It fluctuates over time, but that's been the overall trend. Again, I don't know the exactly figure, but the point is that actually playing is a small minority. And this was always the case; the ratio of time spent might change if I'm actively DMing, but even then most of my D&D time spent is prepping or researching, whether reading books or discussing online (starting in the 90s). My participation here and elsewhere online has waxed and waned over the years, but I've always come back. Even in truly fallow times--sometimes spans of years where I don't play and don't think about D&D too much--I've kept my eye on what's going on, and dipped into the waters every so often.
I was last in an active campaign a bit over a year ago. I stepped out due to various life circumstances, and have only played a bit with my daughters since. Chances are I'll probably play again at some point in the not-so-distant future, but I find myself somewhat ambivalent, for two reasons. One, the bulk of my creative juices are focused on my own fiction writing and world-building, which I'm even more passionate about than RPGs. For instance, right now I'm dabbling with colored pencils, preparing to draw/paint a full-color world map.
The second reason circles back on the theme of this post, and I'll phrase it differently: Most of my enjoyment of (and time spent on) D&D is spent in various non-play activities, and I'm OK with that. It is not that I don't want to play again, or that there aren't opportunities, it is that I'm satisfied with my current phase (of focusing on other creative work, yet also continuing my current "passive" non-playing approach).
So I'm curious about others, and have attached a poll. What is your relationship to D&D (and RPGs) in terms of enjoyment and time spent on non-play activities? It is a bit difficult to translate this to a poll, but pick the most applicable option and share in the comments. And of course the caveat: this is all relative; "a bit" could be many more hours for someone who plays twice a week, then for someone who hasn't played in awhile. But I think the ratio is what I'm most interested in.
Or to break it down further, I would split my own time spent on D&D in the following categories:
Actual play: Rolling dice and such, whether in meat- or cyber-space.
Campaign Preparation: Includes campaign design, reading adventures, and other prep work for actual play.
Reading/Thinking/Making: Reading for fun, thinking up ideas; also includes world-building and adventure brainstorming that aren't for a specific campaign.
Discussion and Commerce: Hanging out on ENWorld (mostly) and other online habitats for gamers, as well as the occasional in-person conversation. I'd also include browsing stores for new books to buy.
It would be impossible to quantify, but my guess is that since I started playing in the early 80s, far less than 10% of my D&D time has been actual play. It fluctuates over time, but that's been the overall trend. Again, I don't know the exactly figure, but the point is that actually playing is a small minority. And this was always the case; the ratio of time spent might change if I'm actively DMing, but even then most of my D&D time spent is prepping or researching, whether reading books or discussing online (starting in the 90s). My participation here and elsewhere online has waxed and waned over the years, but I've always come back. Even in truly fallow times--sometimes spans of years where I don't play and don't think about D&D too much--I've kept my eye on what's going on, and dipped into the waters every so often.
I was last in an active campaign a bit over a year ago. I stepped out due to various life circumstances, and have only played a bit with my daughters since. Chances are I'll probably play again at some point in the not-so-distant future, but I find myself somewhat ambivalent, for two reasons. One, the bulk of my creative juices are focused on my own fiction writing and world-building, which I'm even more passionate about than RPGs. For instance, right now I'm dabbling with colored pencils, preparing to draw/paint a full-color world map.
The second reason circles back on the theme of this post, and I'll phrase it differently: Most of my enjoyment of (and time spent on) D&D is spent in various non-play activities, and I'm OK with that. It is not that I don't want to play again, or that there aren't opportunities, it is that I'm satisfied with my current phase (of focusing on other creative work, yet also continuing my current "passive" non-playing approach).
So I'm curious about others, and have attached a poll. What is your relationship to D&D (and RPGs) in terms of enjoyment and time spent on non-play activities? It is a bit difficult to translate this to a poll, but pick the most applicable option and share in the comments. And of course the caveat: this is all relative; "a bit" could be many more hours for someone who plays twice a week, then for someone who hasn't played in awhile. But I think the ratio is what I'm most interested in.