Newbie's Guide: Avoiding metagaming

Griven

"The first step towards knowledge is to know that we are ignorant." - Richard Cecil

Metagaming. This is a word whose simple utterance can bring a good roleplayer's blood to a boil. It is a word that can dry your crops, curdle your milk, and demagnetize your credit card.

Alright, maybe not. However, metagaming is quite a serious offense in the world of roleplay. Some might consider it a cardinal sin, even. More than any other action (or inaction), metagaming is the sign of bad roleplay. But just what is this metagaming, anyway?

Metagaming is the act of roleplaying based on knowledge that you yourself have, but your character does not. OOC knowledge versus IC knowledge. Let's illustrate this using an example.

Suzie is someone else's character who has undertaken a solitary journey, in which she discovered a hidden crystal. This journey is detailed in a story written on a forum by Suzie's mun (the human player). When you read this forum post, you are gaining OOC knowledge. Your character, however, has gained absolutely no IC knowledge from this, as they were not involved in this journey.

If you were to read this story, then direct your character to ask Suzie about this crystal, your character would be acting upon the OOC knowledge that you possess. This is metagaming, and can be very annoying to others and even detrimental to the roleplaying environment.

The key to avoiding metagaming is to separate your OOC knowledge from the IC knowledge that your character possesses. It may be tricky at first, but all you have to do is be careful about what your character says and does. Before you interact with someone based on some bit of knowledge, be sure to ask yourself whether or not your character possesses that knowledge. If not, then pursue a different course of action.

Once you are able to seperate OOC knowledge from IC knowledge, you'll be well on your way to becoming a great roleplayer.
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I like my coffee like I like my women. Ground up and in the freezer.

"I don't do this because I enjoy it, I do this because I'm addicted to it." - Earl Brooks on killing