Dealing With Metagaming
What Is Metagaming?
Metagaming is simply when someone uses information from outside of the game to influence their decisions within the game. Anyone can be guilty of metagaming, both as a player or as a GM, and to varying degrees of offense. Metagaming often comes at a cost to the enjoyment of the hobby, as it brings with it a general loss of immersion and a subversion of the challenges that come with a game that actually make it a game.
Metagaming as a Player
Metagaming as a player is common. Very common. It varies group-to-group, person-to-person, but it’s very hard as humans to have a complete disconnect from the library of knowledge in our head and the information that our character(s) would have in a tabletop game. Playing as a character who’s never ventured outside of their little hamlet wouldn’t know much of anything about monsters, their abilities, their weaknesses, or even their names, but the player could easily know all of this information. Whether it’s remembered from their last campaign or if a player looked up the monster entry, players will often know SOMETHING that their character doesn’t. Not all player metagaming is so obvious as understanding a monster the character’s never seen, though. In fact, it can more often than not manifest through verbal queues that the GM lets slip without realizing. Maybe a description of a book seems ominous, causing the player to approach it cautiously, or even something blatant where the GM accidentally mentions something looking inherently dangerous without there being an obvious tell for the characters.
The Player’s Responsibility
I think, as a player, it’s a duty to always try to ground yourself in the mind of the character before making decisions. Think, “What do I know? Why do I know that? How would I proceed?” That internal checklist is what separates a barbarian from a wizard when it comes to roleplaying. A barbarian might not know, or care, what a beholder is, but that shouldn’t matter so long as it can bleed. A wizard, on the other hand, may note things like an antimagic cone or disintegration ray as a possibility, preparing to hide behind cover to maintain access to their spells and avoid becoming a formerly intelligent pile of dust. When it comes to situations in which my GM says something a little too descriptive, I will always ask, “How do I know that?” If the answer is that I wouldn’t, then I try to act as though they never said anything. One time I was told that there was a bottle of poison on the shelf of the apothecary I was looting. I asked if there was a label or something telling me it was poison, GM said no, so I did what I would’ve done as the big dumb thug I was playing: gave it a taste. It’s small things like this that add up to a truly immersive and fun time when playing these games. If every decision was fully optimal, we’d be bored to tears, because a computer could just play the game for us. The fun part is making a choice that doesn’t feel quite right because it’s right for your character.
Handling Player Metagaming as a GM
As a GM, it’s partly your responsibility to call out metagaming when a player doesn’t take accountability for it. This is especially important when it becomes clear that a player is abusing metagame knowledge for an advantage over their own party. See, it can be fine to look the other way on metagaming when they’re getting one over on you, because maybe you see it as just playing smart and gaining a tactical advantage. It’s a whole new ball game when they’re using that information to make the other players’ experience worse. This can manifest through a handful of ways, but the worst are intentionally misguiding new players into making poor choices that they wouldn’t have made otherwise and disclosing secrets/backstory information in game without the consent of the respective party member. As the GM you’ve gotta be on top of these situations. Tell the player that that’s not actually something they would know off-hand, maybe ask them to do a roll to gather that information in-game. Tell the player that they need to chill, that you’re all playing a game and that it needs to be played collaboratively or not at all.
Metagaming as a GM
Metagaming as a GM is a bit less common than as a player, but still happens and is nonetheless negative to the experience of the group. Often, GM metagaming manifests in a manner that can feel toxic as a player, which is abusing an understanding of a player’s character to rig encounters against them. Knowing that a character can’t accomplish a task and then requiring the player to do that task can either be a great roleplaying moment or a terribly toxic metagaming moment, depending on how the GM approaches it. If the GM offers the player an out opportunity, then it serves as a chance to explore the depth of the character, such as incapacitating a bounty target rather than slaying them outright if your player is portraying a good alignment. If the GM doesn’t provide any opportunity for alternative solutions, then the end result is the player feeling trapped into a situation that they didn’t choose and their only option can end up being cheating or breaking their immersion in the character. Both of those outcomes can completely ruin a session, campaign, or even a player’s entire taste for the hobby, especially if they’re newer.
Addressing GM Metagaming
As a player, it’s partly your responsibility to call a GM out on metagaming, just as it’s theirs to call you out as well. Communication at a table is key to actually enjoying a session, so tell them clearly what is wrong and why, and ideally as soon as possible. It’s important to be clear that it’s not a personal problem, it’s an action problem. If it’s the case, emphasize that their actions are impacting your enjoyment of the game, that you want to play the game with them, and acting the way they are is stopping you from playing.
Communication Is Key
At the end of the day, everyone is responsible for their own enjoyment of the hobby, and ideally everyone will try their best to ensure others can enjoy their time too. Ours is a hobby that relies on connection and clear communication, an understanding of what everyone at the table wants and how to get there. If metagaming is getting in the way of that goal, say something. Say it ASAP. Say it for the whole group, because it’s as simple as saying you just want to have fun.