Aldarc
Legend
I don't think that "metagaming" is a helpful or accurate term for TTRPGs. If we were talking about the "metagame" of League of Legends, for example, then we are talking about tier lists of characters, strategies, counters, etc. Likewise, if we were talking about the "metagame" of Magic the Gathering, then we would likewise be talking about deck builds, strategies, counters, etc. If we are talking about the "metagame" of a sport, then we are talking about winning strategies, fouling, clock management, etc.
If one had no knowledge of D&D, then one would probably believe that the "metagame" refers to effective character builds (i.e., optimization), dungeon navigation/combat strategies and tactics (e.g., 10-ft. pole, retainers hauling loot, attacks of opportunity, gaming advantage, etc.), resource management (e.g., 15-minute adventuring day, etc.), reward systems (e.g., gold = XP), and the culture surrounding play. In fact, such a player would likely even assume that having knowledge of troll counters would be encouraged, since knowing the meta is typically regarded as a sign of system awareness and player skill/mastery. TTRPGs is really the only medium that uses "metagame" as a pejorative used for DMs to shout at players for "ruining" what they planned. And yes, this use does foster in the players a "DM decides" approach that is at least comparable to MMI. Because implicit in this is the player having to constantly play with the question "Is it permissible, DM, that my character knows this?"
And some metagaming seems inherently impossible. Let us imagine that we were running the Caves of Chaos in the Keep on the Borderlands. There is a Total Party Kill. The party rolls up new characters. The reality is that these player characters will play things differently albeit with knowledge of the prior scenario. Party 1 cared about talking to the different NPCs. This time Party 2 doesn't give a flying duck about it, because they just want to get back to the CoC. Per (TTRPG) definition, that's metagaming. But the DM forcing them through those hoops again would also be largely performative, if not a punitive.
They arrive at the CoC. Which cave will they pick? Is it metagaming if they pick the cave they knew they experienced the TPK? (Probably.) The players know that the cave likely has less monsters in it now. The players know that their old loot is there on the bodies of the corpses or looted by the orcs. So they pick Cave no. 4 and resume orc-killing.
I think it is as much as [MENTION=6785785]hawkeyefan[/MENTION] said: this basically informs the DM what the players want to engage. They don't care about playing through the red tape again; they want to resume what they had previously been doing prior to the TPK.
If one had no knowledge of D&D, then one would probably believe that the "metagame" refers to effective character builds (i.e., optimization), dungeon navigation/combat strategies and tactics (e.g., 10-ft. pole, retainers hauling loot, attacks of opportunity, gaming advantage, etc.), resource management (e.g., 15-minute adventuring day, etc.), reward systems (e.g., gold = XP), and the culture surrounding play. In fact, such a player would likely even assume that having knowledge of troll counters would be encouraged, since knowing the meta is typically regarded as a sign of system awareness and player skill/mastery. TTRPGs is really the only medium that uses "metagame" as a pejorative used for DMs to shout at players for "ruining" what they planned. And yes, this use does foster in the players a "DM decides" approach that is at least comparable to MMI. Because implicit in this is the player having to constantly play with the question "Is it permissible, DM, that my character knows this?"
And some metagaming seems inherently impossible. Let us imagine that we were running the Caves of Chaos in the Keep on the Borderlands. There is a Total Party Kill. The party rolls up new characters. The reality is that these player characters will play things differently albeit with knowledge of the prior scenario. Party 1 cared about talking to the different NPCs. This time Party 2 doesn't give a flying duck about it, because they just want to get back to the CoC. Per (TTRPG) definition, that's metagaming. But the DM forcing them through those hoops again would also be largely performative, if not a punitive.
They arrive at the CoC. Which cave will they pick? Is it metagaming if they pick the cave they knew they experienced the TPK? (Probably.) The players know that the cave likely has less monsters in it now. The players know that their old loot is there on the bodies of the corpses or looted by the orcs. So they pick Cave no. 4 and resume orc-killing.
I think it is as much as [MENTION=6785785]hawkeyefan[/MENTION] said: this basically informs the DM what the players want to engage. They don't care about playing through the red tape again; they want to resume what they had previously been doing prior to the TPK.
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