Things we get out of roleplaying

[RogerBW]

I enjoy a lot of different things about RPGs -- which I think is probably one of the reasons I'm still playing them, thirty-plus years on. There's always something different and enjoyable available. But off the top of my head, some of the specifics:

• Being somebody else for a bit. This is the big one.
• Meeting a competent character who does things well (whether mine or someone else's).
• Out-thinking and/or out-manoeuvreing the opposition so that the actual fight becomes more or less irrelevant, and may not even happen.
• Occasionally, a relaxing fight.