lutentime

By lutentime

• March 5
Rules: Yes
Referral: minecraftservers.org
Discord: saberchild
In your own words, what is powergaming, and why should it be avoided in roleplay?: I honestly don't run into the issue that often because to me, seeing my character "lose" in a situation is often as or more interesting than seeing them "win."
For example, even when I play a character with strong magic powers, I may have her take on challenges above her station, fail, and face serious consequences such as a permanent injury (I did this recently ha).
That said, I do make my best effort to try and intuit the other player's expectations from a scene. I also make it a rule to never say that the other character does or feels something - how my character's action effects them is for them to decide.
For example saying "When Jana pleads with you, she puts on her most perfect and practiced heartbreaking expression" rather than "Her anguished look pireces your heart and makes you want to give in to her pleas." Basically, focus on what the character can do and why it might work, rather than just saying it does.
In your own words, what is metagaming, and why should it be avoided in roleplay?: It breaks the logic of the story. If a character isn't making decisions based on what they know, then they start to look quite irrational - even if the outcome for them is "good." A character who just magically knows stuff is a less interesting character. It's also unfair if everyone else is trying to play grounded characters and you're like, omniscient.
Status: Accepted