Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Gothmog" data-source="post: 882509" data-attributes="member: 317">1. What is meta-gaming to you?Using OOC or player knowledge in game to gain an advantage or overcome a problem the character otherwise wouldn't have.&nbsp; I think it does encompass OOC knowledge as well as assumptions about the game world as a whole.&nbsp; The troll example isn't a really good one since trolls are fairly common in most game worlds, and fire is probably the only way a commoner could drive one off if he was threatened.&nbsp; A better example might be the old &quot;I found a ring?&nbsp; What does it do?&nbsp; I put it on- am I invisible? Ok, I try to jump. No? I go over to the wall and try to climb it.&quot;&nbsp; Or if a fighter takes a critical that inflicts a lot of damage but says &quot;Its ok, I'm only down to 23 hp.&nbsp; I can take three more swings from the gnoll before I'll go down.&nbsp; Go heal the rogue first.&quot;&nbsp; That is meta-gaming at its worst- actions that lead to behaviors that the character otherwise wouldn't have engaged in.2. Is it all that bad? It depends.&nbsp; In most cases, yes- its one of the most destructive things that can happen when other people at the table are trying to stay in character and role-play.&nbsp; On the other hand, if the DM and other players in the group are all comfortable with a certain level of meta-gaming, then no- for them it would probably be fine.&nbsp; From having played in settings with extreme amounts of meta-gaming vs nearly no meta-gaming, I can say that meta-gaming is jarring and obnoxious in most cases.3. Should we try to stop using it as an insult?Its not an insult, at least not in the same way munchkin is.&nbsp; Everyone with experience in the game system will meta-game to some degree, its simply unavoidable.&nbsp; The key to it is to decide how much your group is comfortable with, then try to keep it to that minimum.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gothmog, post: 882509, member: 317"] 1. What is meta-gaming to you? Using OOC or player knowledge in game to gain an advantage or overcome a problem the character otherwise wouldn't have. I think it does encompass OOC knowledge as well as assumptions about the game world as a whole. The troll example isn't a really good one since trolls are fairly common in most game worlds, and fire is probably the only way a commoner could drive one off if he was threatened. A better example might be the old "I found a ring? What does it do? I put it on- am I invisible? Ok, I try to jump. No? I go over to the wall and try to climb it." Or if a fighter takes a critical that inflicts a lot of damage but says "Its ok, I'm only down to 23 hp. I can take three more swings from the gnoll before I'll go down. Go heal the rogue first." That is meta-gaming at its worst- actions that lead to behaviors that the character otherwise wouldn't have engaged in. 2. Is it all that bad? It depends. In most cases, yes- its one of the most destructive things that can happen when other people at the table are trying to stay in character and role-play. On the other hand, if the DM and other players in the group are all comfortable with a certain level of meta-gaming, then no- for them it would probably be fine. From having played in settings with extreme amounts of meta-gaming vs nearly no meta-gaming, I can say that meta-gaming is jarring and obnoxious in most cases. 3. Should we try to stop using it as an insult? Its not an insult, at least not in the same way munchkin is. Everyone with experience in the game system will meta-game to some degree, its simply unavoidable. The key to it is to decide how much your group is comfortable with, then try to keep it to that minimum. [/QUOTE]

Verification