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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6629306" data-attributes="member: 6696971">In RPGs, the GM is constantly metagaming.  This is because their job is to constantly keep in mind (among a great many other things) (1) what each player is interested in, (2) what would fill each of their lives with excitement/adventure, (3) what would be challenging to the player characters, (4) what is within the bounds of genre expectations, (5) what observes established continuity of prior play.  That doesn't even touch upon system, which is entirely a metagame conduit which works (hopefully!) with the tables' participants to transform player declarations from mechanical artifice into "stuff that happens/is" in the fiction.I prefer my players to always be locked in on 1-5 above.  It helps them be more than just a passenger or a tourist.  They know (a) when and how to defer to other players, (b) how to engage/provoke the other participants' interests via their PCs, (c) they have an idea on how far they can push something to create some tension/excitement or amp up the danger (with some personal return on their "provoke danger investment" if the system affords it...which the games that I run do), and (d) they're of a mind to maintain coherence (genre and already  established backstory).I like players who are always conscientious of the above and are empowered by system to realize that conscientiousness in a "unit-moving" fashion.  Not only does a transparent metagame component flat out make games that I run a much more enjoyable experience (just in terms of the emergent aspect of play at the table), but the candor and offloading the responsibility of a congenial/enjoyable experience for all onto all that it promotes makes the social side easier to manage.</blockquote>

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