TopazTheMagi

By TopazTheMagi

• December 18, 2022
Rules: Yes
Referral: minecraftservers.org
Discord: TopazTheMagi#7159
How do you avoid powergaming in roleplay?: Do not state that your character succeeds an interaction with another player unless that player says so first; state that your character attempts that interaction (especially violent actions or ones with consequences). Do not make your character capable of something that does not make sense (ie. a human that can fly with no prerequisite, a 10 yr old who has mastered a form of martial arts better than his peers, a character from a foreign region knowing things about the one they are in that they have not read or been told, etc). Do not say that your character knows something they have not prior learnt or makes sense for their backstory; make sure their backstory is not far-fetched or ridiculous. Do not look something up on the wiki and say your character knows how to do it despite not learning. Do not assume that because you know something, your character also will. Do not use player to player communications to act through your character over them (i.e. if a rival character's player messages to you- not your character- that they will take an action, do not have your character retaliate as if they knew).
Personally- I would write a list of what the character knows already, what the character is capable of, and limitations that follow reason due to their race, age or other factors. Do not act outside of those limitations, and don't set the bar so high that they would outperform the majority of other player's characters or no longer fit the setting.
How does metagaming disrupt fair roleplay?: In short, because it is a form of cheating, which is disruptive to all forms of interpersonal play, even more so when in a medium where everyone shares a story. Your character doesn't know the same things you do- assuming so gives that character an unfair advantage over other characters in the setting, which is obviously discouraged in a shared storytelling experience.
Status: Accepted