I have been known to try new stuff now and again but I mainly tend to experiment within a rule set I already know. Mastering the rules of one game gives you a more enjoyable feel than if you know just a bit of everything and remain guessing if you're playing it correctly.
I've a different feeling. I prefer to learn and experiment with a large number of different games and systems. I enjoy seeing how different game mechanics change the emerging story. Sure, I can make mistakes, but that's just part of the learning process.
By then, rigorous adherence to the rules and system mastery has never been one of my primary gaming concerns.
Please don't think the rules don't matter. I think a game's rules matter a great deal, and I try my best to do justice to the difference rule sets. I just don't sweat the occasional mistake, or tweaking the rules to make the gaming experience more entertaining for my friends.
I see the game the same way. Rules bring a general order but they shouldn't be a means to stiffle healthy roleplay. A character that does something routine for his class should just be able to do it without worrying about dice rolls each time.
What kind of Role-playing Game experience am I looking for you bravely ask… I am looking for a reason for my character's existence. A good way to know if there is a reason for your character being in a game; just imagine if your character wasn't there, would there be anything lost or as if your character wasn't there in the first place.
I look for both narrative and combat in my games. I like chances to develop my characters and tell a story with other players. I don't wish for combat to be the end all but I like for it to be in there. I guess the best way to put it is I like games that help bring mine and the other player's characters to life. Not a game where they just stay numbers on a paper.
Edited: Kyrroeth on 12th Jan, 2017 - 11:39pm
I like a challenging campaign that isn't also murderous of characters. Don't get me wrong, if characters make bad decisions they should die, but I've been in campaigns where the Dungeon Master would kill a character just because the dice said your first level character just met an ancient red dragon. That isn't challenging. I also like the social aspect of it. The give and take between the gamers themselves and the give and take between characters. I'm not at all about a simple hack and slash campaign. Okay, occasionally for fun but for the long term I like campaigns where there is genuine interaction between characters.