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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 6631827" data-attributes="member: 8835">As you've restated here, the term MetaGaming is complicated, possibly misused or has different meanings.  The key thing is to recognize the kinds of ways we should or should not use out of character knowledge in the game.  And by knowledge, that can mean secret info the player overheard, that the PC wouldn't know, or knowing that player 1 doesn't like certain situations in-game and avoiding them.To make a list (off the top of my head):acting on stuff your PC couldn't know : like knowing that another PC found some loot, and having your PC dig in his pack to find it, even though your PC doesn't actually have a reason to suspect anything.  This is usually bad role-playing.choosing your PC to best support/fit in with the existing party: this is usually considered a good thing, as the players are generally expected to accept a new PC into the party (where they might otherwise interview job candidates if it was an NPC).  It is the players making the choice to accomodate each other, not the PCs.Having your PC be a jerk to another PC because it's in character:  This is usually a bad thing, and it's sort of not meta-gaming.  The inverse of applying some meta-gaming and using your player judgement that you should not upset your fellow player, you're improving player relations outside of the game.Having your character act out of character in order to gain in-game benefit: The example of a cavalier who never rides a horse and uses his lance on foot because some rules quirk (made up example) results in more damage than being on horseback.  This is considered bad (IMO) because the PC is acting distinctly out of character in a way that defeats the point of playing a Role Playing Game, instead of a Tactics Game.I think each one of those is a limited example, and the idea behind them has to be held in context with an actual situation.  There are times the game is better, players are happier when I use my outside the game knowledge to make my PC act in character, or sometimes out of character in order to facilitate something.</blockquote>

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