If you can take a step back for a moment and break it down to its basic elements - what is that you / we find most fun about Pathfinder? What elements must be there for a session to be satisfying for you?
Some things to maybe consider -
1 - your character does a lot of damage or is effective in combat
2 - you have to ponder interesting decisions during the game - such as moral delemas
3 - you like the sense of gaining loot and leveling up.
4 - you like to feel like you have an effect on the world (sandbox vs linear type gameplay)
5 - you like seeing the story develop and follow the plot twists
What else? I am missing a lot here. What are your top 3 most important attributes about RPG that makes it enjoyable for you?
The thing I find most enjoyable, about any RPG, is the ability to have a fun evening with my friends doing something we all enjoy doing. Everything else comes in at a far second place.
Pathfinder/3.5-specific: I like the (most of time) clear ruleset, since that means I can spend more time developing the story, and less time figuring out how something works.
The thing I find most enjoyable, about any RPG, is the ability to have a fun evening with my friends doing something we all enjoy doing. Everything else comes in at a far second place.
QFT
+1
The thing I find most enjoyable, about any RPG, is the ability to have a fun evening with my friends doing something we all enjoy doing. Everything else comes in at a far second place.
+2
1 - I love GMing, but I tend to be too perfectionist when running a homebrew. Adventure Paths give me a playground and a plot to customize without being concerned with the nuts and bolts of setting and adventure design.
2 - I play via MapTool, so the full-color art and maps in PDF form are crucial.
3 - I don't care too much for the "deckbuilding" aspect of Pathfinder characters, but my players love it. It is really rewarding being the enabler who gives them a venue to experiment with characters.
I can create almost any concept that I can think of.
I get to be someone other than myself.
I like the challenge of being a DM and a player.
If you can take a step back for a moment and break it down to its basic elements - what is that you / we find most fun about Pathfinder? What elements must be there for a session to be satisfying for you?
Some things to maybe consider -
I'm a bit confused. I'd not really consider any of that list Pathfinder-specific. Are you asking the question in general, or as in terms of "why does Pathfinder work for you"?
+1 to Are and Alexander's posts. I like the excuse to get together and have fun with good friends. I like pretending to be someone else for a while to escape reality. I like all the OP's points, period.
Beyond the obvious, getting together with friends and escapism, for me, Its being able to figure out the the game.
I enjoy making characters, and put a lot of thought into them. (Perhaps too much, I've changed how my alchemist is about 15 times or more during the past 2 weeks.)
I'm an improvisationalist. While not great at roleplaying my characters (makes me feel a bit uncomfortable since I'd be the only one who is..) I tend to put even more thought in using stuff in a weird way.
For example, my map-case "pipe" bomb constructed out of a map-case, alchemist fire, a few marbles, a strip of canvas soaked in something very flammable (dwarven beer for example.) , a couple of caltrops, and some wax.
This is one thing that will probably draw some ire, but I personally enjoy doing the theorycraft. Also I like how PF offers a unique set of challenges that cannot be done in any other style of game. A lot of games offer the challenge of dishing out damage while staying alive, however, I struggle to think of any that can challenge outside of combat; none can bridge the gulf between combat and noncombat like PF. Sure there's Fable-esque interactions out there, but they don't touch what a well played diplomatic encounter achieve.
1 - I love GMing, but I tend to be too perfectionist when running a homebrew. Adventure Paths give me a playground and a plot to customize without being concerned with the nuts and bolts of setting and adventure design.
2 - I play via MapTool, so the full-color art and maps in PDF form are crucial.
3 - I don't care too much for the "deckbuilding" aspect of Pathfinder characters, but my players love it. It is really rewarding being the enabler who gives them a venue to experiment with characters.
Regarding deck building. I think building a cool character is fun, but unlike a ccg, there really is no challenge for that character. Also, I really don't get to appreciate the thought my friends put into their characters. We battle and I see glimpses, but we just don't share enough.
So with a ccg, I like deck building because I want to win or see how a concept will perform. But with rpg, this seems to be missing a bit.
Just a bump -
I would love to hear from more people - what are the core elements that make you most love RPG in general and especially pathfinder.
The rules - the feeling of gaining levels - the plot twists - the friends - something else?
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The loose women and cheap beers.
What are your top 3 most important attributes about RPG that makes it enjoyable for you?
I like Pathfinder because...
1. As with its predecessor, 3.5, it is a complex enough game system to provide a lot of codified options to make it interesting as a tactical game, while being loose enough in format and provides the GM enough inspiration that it is also a good game for storytelling. While there are heavy-storytelling, rules light game that do the role playing aspect a little better, and there are heavy mechanics, tactical games that do the game aspect a little better, this is my favorite "best of both worlds" type of RPG (in fact I can't think of another that does better). (And I like it better than 3.5 because I love CMB/CMD and skill consolidation and other rules revisions.)2. There are a lot of character creation options, just with core (let alone with anything else), that many fantasy archetypes can be created--even if you run with the kind of GM who says, "You can't do it if it's not on your character sheet." It will be on your character sheet. (If you need something simpler, I enjoy character creation.)
3. While not perfect, all official Pathfinder products are high quality, and supported by an extremely responsive staff.
I like RPGs in general because...
1. I like to play pretendy-funtime games because I get to play hero. (I.e., what I find most satisfying is the stepping into a role of a heroic, righteous (or not so righteous) individual and save the day and find cool macguffins, etc.)
2. I like the mixture of storytelling with the game elements--it suits both the writerly aspects of my personality and the analytical aspects.
3. It's a fun way to spend an afternoon with some of my best friends.
3. While not perfect, all official Pathfinder products are high quality, and supported by an extremely responsive staff.
Yes, they're responsive enough to ninja people.
Having fun with friends, with a "splash" of advancing a story.
The biggest reason is the same reason I love football and other sports, drinking, board games, dinners, and co-op video games. They all provide an excuse to gather together with like-minded people and have a good time.
Also, creating a story and the characters in it is fun. 3.5 and, by extension, Pathfinder are amazing for creating unique characters suited to an ever increasing number of visions.
In today's society, it's nice to get a group of people together and work toward something TOGETHER...even if it's just a fantasy story. I may be alone in this or a weirdo, but even making the world a better place for pretend makes me view the real world and its problems in a different light, and encourages me to TRY and be a different kind of do-gooder for reals.
I explain Roleplaying to people as "getting together with a group of friends and having fun with the occassional rolling of dice". That said I really enjoy playing my characters and getting immersed in the world. Even if the Dm gets frustrated.
Some things to maybe consider -
1 - your character does a lot of damage or is effective in combat
2 - you have to ponder interesting decisions during the game - such as moral delemas
3 - you like the sense of gaining loot and leveling up.
4 - you like to feel like you have an effect on the world (sandbox vs linear type gameplay)
5 - you like seeing the story develop and follow the plot twists
What else? I am missing a lot here. What are your top 3 most important attributes about RPG that makes it enjoyable for you?
The top three elements I like about RPGs, and specifically Pathfinder:
1. Being able to cooperatively enjoy a story with elements of depth, creativity and interactivity that is simply not available in other media today. At least, not all at once.
2. Having a system flexible enough to accommodate many different styles of play (potentially at once, if the group is mature enough), as well as handle many different themes of story.
3. Being able to create nearly anything one's mind can come up with and being able to represent it somewhat sensibly to others- as well as seeing that same concept echoed differently from the perceptions of others (re-flavored normal material, homebrew material and 3rd party published material).
I will note that if any of the material you listed is missing, though, it is a good way to subtract from the individual enjoyment of that game session- but the question you asked was a great deal more general than any individual session.
What I like most about individual sessions is progress of some sort. Story progress (that we caused) is very good. Character progress (resolving a personal quest stage, or just gaining XP) is good. Getting posed an interesting problem (not a riddle, I personally hate those), but something intriguing that generally spawns a story of its own is good too. Fights are okay, and do lead to XP (usually), but if nothing else happens it can feel empty. Sessions that are nothing but "empty" fights or fights I have to sit out because I died/sucked are bad.
Gives me an outlet so I stop thinking about my bunions...oh the humanity...
Oh and I enjoy the stories. Discovering new places and fighting new and interesting creatures.