[Guide] An In Depth Guide To The Metagaming And Powergaming Definitions

[Demotheus 651]

An In Depth Guide to Metagaming and powergaming Definitions

 

A ton of applicants and accepted players alike seem to not be aware of what metagaming and powergaming is exactly. They look it up online, try several times to find the right definition, and are often times not completely correct even if accepted. While this may be fault of the application team being too loose on these incredibly important definitions or simply assumptions that someone who spews out a definition knows exactly what it means, new or old I suggest reading this!

 

What is Metagaming?

 

Metagaming is when you use any OOC information IC. Meaning if your character wouldn't know something, do something, or feel something normally then don't let that character do it.

 

Metagaming, contrary to what seems to be popular belief, isn't simply calling for help while you're being attacked OOCly to your buddies or somehow magically knowing with no real reason the identity of a killer or something. I'll break it down in more detail.

 

Physical Knowledge Metagaming

 

This form of metagaming is fairly simple and incredibly obvious to point out in most cases. It's what I've listed above. It's when your character knows something about the role play/"in character" world that they shouldn't or have no way of knowing, at least at the moment! Examples for this subtype of metagaming are fairly cliche. Things like helping out a friend who's being attacked when your character would have no knowledge of the events happening to your friend by any stretch of the imagination, or pointing out someone in an illusionary disguise that you would be unlikely to know, even if you know OOC because of the name plate or some other reason.

 

A slightly more subtle version is "investigating" a player In character that your character has no real reason to investigate. If someone is disguised, don't just go up to them because of their nameplate. You have to have an actual reason other to go up to that well disguised character other than "I'm a really good judge of character" or whatever. So is everyone and their grandmother in LotC, it seems. If they do something to draw attention to themselves, then you'll probably have reason to investigate, especially if you're a guard or something.

 

Personal Bias Metagaming

 

Hey, see that guy over there? He stole my cookies...let's ruin his fun today by metagaming his location, identity, or coming up with some bogus accusation/reason to kill him or something for no real reason, just because I don't like that guy in particular! 

 

This is harder to prove, but still a horrible thing to do all the same. If you don't like someone, try to steer clear of them - not piss them off or otherwise ruin their time on LotC by subtly attacking them via various means ICly repeatedly for seemingly no reason. 

 

If your character wouldn't do that sort of thing to that person then don't do it. Simple. this also can fall under harassment after a while, and can get you banned for longer than metagaming can at times, depending on the severity.

 

What is Powergaming?

 

Powergaming has two basic forms that are the most common, like metagaming. You can find plenty of examples for each.

 

Force Emoting

 

Force emoting is when you emote the outcome of an action your character does on another character. Never will you have this right. You control what happens to your character and what they do only. You don't control another player's character or what happens to them directly. You can have your character TRY to do something to them, such as 

 

Bill attempts to stab Joe in the chest.

 

and that would be fine and dandy. But if you do something such as

 

Bill stabs Joe in the heart, killing him instantly.

 

or

 

Bill cuts off Joe's [insert body part here] and [insert severity of injury or declaration of besting opponent here].

 

then you're forcing your will on their character's. There is no situation where you are allowed to do this. Not even if you win a /roll 20. You don't emote for other players. Other players emote for themselves and decide ultimately what happens to their character...that being said, that brings me to the other form of power gaming.

 

God Moding

 

No, this isn't the /god command OP's of servers have. This refers to when your character is far too strong to be reasonable. Are there always going to be people who are more powerful than each other by leaps and bounds? Of course. Will they have an actual reason that doesn't break rules or lore? Most certainly. 

 

It's when it breaks lore or you don't have approval to play something overpowered or "godly" that it becomes a problem. If you get into an even matched fight, and you don't' take a single hit...you're doing it wrong. You're powergaming, unless you both agree to go on a /roll 20 whoever rolls highest basis and you get really freaking lucky with your rolls or there's some other reason that the character who's fighting you can't hit you. If you assume your character can deftly and easily dodge every attack thrown at them, you're mistaken.

 

This isn't a single player RPG. You are not the hero, or the anti-hero, or whatever. You aren't going to be the most powerful man in the realm. You aren't going to single handedly slay all the orcs (who don't even deserve to be killed anyway why would you do that!? D: ) or single handedly slay the massive dragon. And you aren't going to jump, leap, backflip, and dodge every attack one or more people are throwing at you without a damn good reason.

 

Nor are you going to be able to do incredibly strong and powerful things with ease. Your human can't punch that 9 foot tall armored orc so hard that he flies back into the wall twenty feet away. You can't, save for the use of claws or something, punch your hand into someone's chest and rip out their still beating heart like it's mortal combat. You can't karate chop someone's head off, or instantly take out, draw back, aim and fire your bow through someone's forehead with pinpoint accuracy in half a second. You can't make a spirit bomb like in dragon ball Z and crush all your enemies in one fell swoop.

 

Get the picture yet? Good.

 

If your character is unable to do something, then don't have them be able to do that the next day, or spontaneously. 

 

 

 

I hope this guide was helpful and if you have any suggestions please feel free to post them,. Same goes with questions. Or corrections, even.

[Terafir 90]

A well done guide, and I think you covered most of everything. +1 to you.

[Lanader - Richard Tarus 197]

Very nice, very informing guide, useful to new players. +1 for you!

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

+1.

[A Spooky Witch 156]

They should really pin this under the application section for new players

[Demotheus 651]

They should really pin this under the application section for new players

Thanks for that compliment :D

 

I feel like new applicants should have to read at least a few of these guides on the most important aspects of their application and what not, but alas it's not to be :c

[ACanadianCraft (Nate) 682]

If an in depth guide need be written about such a thing,
then I'm afraid the application team have failed us.

Nice guide and all.
It covers one of the most basic elements of RP
that everyone should understand, but hey.
You contributed.

[Demotheus 651]

 

If an in depth guide need be written about such a thing,

then I'm afraid the application team have failed us.

Nice guide and all.

It covers one of the most basic elements of RP

that everyone should understand, but hey.

You contributed.

 

I've seen so many applications that give a halfassed answer to metagame/powergaming, and get accepted. Often times it's not even the right kind and they end up being accepted anyway. 

 

While by no means would I expect someone to write out the definitions like I have, a simple one-two lines for each thing and an example they come up with themselves should be mandatory in my opinion. That way they will at least have a decent understanding of what it is.

 

And yes, it covers one of the most basic parts of role play that everybody should understand - however everybody doesn't, it seems. This guide is to help those! Most of the time they get harped at (mostly referring to new players) for metagaming/powergaming when it's not even intentional on their part. Few people help them personally, so this should help them where the majority of our community (as far as I've seen) seems to be failing.

[A Spooky Witch 156]

The problem with the application is that asking for the definition is such a long shot. I googled that stuff when I was first joining the server and I gave the 'wrong' definition. What I didn't understand was, what was the 'right' definition.

 

It just ended with me looking at accepted player applications to get the jist of the right ones.

[Demotheus 651]

The problem with the application is that asking for the definition is such a long shot. I googled that stuff when I was first joining the server and I gave the 'wrong' definition. What I didn't understand was, what was the 'right' definition.

 

It just ended with me looking at accepted player applications to get the jist of the right ones.

Exactly. I already knew, at the time, because I had previous experience with a strict RP server.

 

I honestly think these definitions should be put in the rules.

[DelaneyG 1279]

Not a bad guide. I approve!

[jamesb 218]

Is it bad that at first I thought this was a guide on HOW to powergame and metagame...

And I still clicked on it?

[TheBareSheet 194]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.