[Will]

Depends how interesting the reading is. I'm an avid role-player but I also like interesting mechanics and good gameplay. I'm not inclined to read dozens of pages of world history, in any case.

Again, it depends how interesting the stuff is. I can't see myself wading through 30 pages of documentation before diving in.

I need to know enough about the world narrative to play a character that fits, but I don't need to memorize every detail before I roll a character.

Enough understanding of game lore is important in the beginning for fitting characters into the context of a fantasy world, but learning quickly how skill and advancement mechanics work usually takes priority with me.

Some of both, but I rely on documentation a good bit if it's well-written.

Top five?

1. Poor writing.
2. Poor writing.
3. Poor writing.
4. Poor writing.
5. Reams of background text.

Bottom line: I like well-written documentation that gets to the point sooner rather than later. If a game requires that I read three dozen pages of stuff before I can play, I probably won't.