Things we get out of roleplaying

[whswhs]

Speaking as a player, not as a GM, the biggest payoff of an rpg for me is having other players quote my characters' dialogue, and more broadly tell stories about them. I don't play primarily for immersion; I'm wearing the actor head more than the audience head.

I also like it when my characters can pull off impressive feats at something they're good at. La Gata Encantada was tremendous fun to play for that reason. I think imagined competence is one of the payoffs of rpgs.

I like it when the GM is able to create an emotionally compelling scene for my character. My current Call of Cthulhu GM is really good at coming up with intense dreams, for example.

I enjoy watching interaction between other characters, especially when it very clearly defines what sort of people they are.

Bill Stoddard

[Peter Knutsen]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I also like it when my characters can pull off impressive feats at something they're good at. La Gata Encantada was tremendous fun to play for that reason. I think imagined competence is one of the payoffs of rpgs.

Escapism is clearly a goal for many who hve replied to John's question. Not always the same flavour of escapism, or even the same category, but often there's escapism somewhere in people's replies.