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<blockquote data-quote="RenleyRenfield" data-source="post: 9625442" data-attributes="member: 7044197">This is a great question.&nbsp; The answer almost always is = The GM had a bad adventure, with repetitive gameplay, and shallow tropes they were overusing; or they were not using the rules to full effect. To talk to that more... When the situation out-of-character knowledge is used, it's often something players could have shared in character anyway, or was not a valuable plot point/secret that needed new discovery every time. Bad scenario 1 = room with a trap that summons skeletons to fight PCs.&nbsp; Group A gets there first, fights skeletons, moves on.&nbsp; &nbsp; Group B saw the trap out of character, and so before they enter the room they equip bashing weapons and fire weapons.&nbsp; This is out of character knowledge used.&nbsp; And... who cares.&nbsp; Its a one-trick pony trap that is tedious to play out multiples times over and over.&nbsp; So let Group B power through it and get to the next good part.&nbsp; Bad scenario 2 = All of the PCs are in a giant castle with a NPC.&nbsp; The party splits to explore better, NPC goes with Group A.&nbsp; NPC betrays Group A, and they are stuck in a trap.&nbsp;&nbsp; The NPC then travels back to Group B and pretends they are still loyal to aid them.&nbsp; Group B attacks NPC knowing out of character the NPC is a betrayer.&nbsp;&nbsp; And... let the rules guide everyone.&nbsp; Sure, you all say you want to attack the NPC, but it is perfectly allowable to call for saving throws or wisdom checks or perception checks, or any other mechanic your chosen system has.&nbsp; Fail the roll = you can't attack the NPC, and there is something that halts your blade... maybe its a odd item the NPC has, maybe the NPC says something to give you pause, or maybe there is just no reason your character can think of to justify harm.&nbsp; Succeed at the roll and some bit of blood, fellow PC gear, or some other tell does in fact tip off Group B, let them deal with the NPC as they want.&nbsp;&nbsp; Or Let them attack the NPC and never learn where your friends are trapped... uh oh!&nbsp; Or, if you have muppet players (usually this is a response to a too-adversarial GM), then just offer them XP to not use out-of-character info and lean into the obvious plot they know awaits them.&nbsp;&nbsp; TL/DRI don't see this problem often.&nbsp; Usually when the party splits, they don't encounter things that they could utilize with out-of-character knowledge.&nbsp; Group A gets X plots and info and traps.&nbsp;&nbsp; And Group B gets Y plots, info and traps.&nbsp;&nbsp; And they converge after each goes through their own part of the overall problem/gauntlet and are free to exchange info in character.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="RenleyRenfield, post: 9625442, member: 7044197"] This is a great question. [B]The answer almost always is[/B] = [I]The GM had a bad adventure, with repetitive gameplay, and shallow tropes they were overusing;[/I] [I]or they were not using the rules to full effect. [/I] To talk to that more... When the situation out-of-character knowledge is used, it's often something players could have shared in character anyway, or was not a valuable plot point/secret that needed new discovery every time. Bad scenario 1 = room with a trap that summons skeletons to fight PCs. Group A gets there first, fights skeletons, moves on. Group B saw the trap out of character, and so before they enter the room they equip bashing weapons and fire weapons. This is out of character knowledge used. And... who cares. Its a one-trick pony trap that is tedious to play out multiples times over and over. So let Group B power through it and get to the next good part. Bad scenario 2 = All of the PCs are in a giant castle with a NPC. The party splits to explore better, NPC goes with Group A. NPC betrays Group A, and they are stuck in a trap. The NPC then travels back to Group B and pretends they are still loyal to aid them. Group B attacks NPC knowing out of character the NPC is a betrayer. And... let the rules guide everyone. Sure, you all say you want to attack the NPC, but it is perfectly allowable to call for saving throws or wisdom checks or perception checks, or any other mechanic your chosen system has. Fail the roll = you can't attack the NPC, and there is something that halts your blade... maybe its a odd item the NPC has, maybe the NPC says something to give you pause, or maybe there is just no reason your character can think of to justify harm. Succeed at the roll and some bit of blood, fellow PC gear, or some other tell does in fact tip off Group B, let them deal with the NPC as they want. Or Let them attack the NPC and never learn where your friends are trapped... uh oh! Or, if you have muppet players ([I]usually this is a response to a too-adversarial GM[/I]), then just offer them XP to not use out-of-character info and lean into the obvious plot they know awaits them. TL/DR I don't see this problem often. Usually when the party splits, they don't encounter things that they could utilize with out-of-character knowledge. Group A gets X plots and info and traps. And Group B gets Y plots, info and traps. And they converge after each goes through their own part of the overall problem/gauntlet and are free to exchange info in character. [/QUOTE]

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