Godmodding and Metagaming.

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Godmodding is a term used for those that create a character that is portrayed as skilled sometimes to the point that they are virtually indestructible and incredibly good at everything they do despite their skillset listed on their character sheet. Anyone who utilizes skills that are not listed on their character's information is considered a Godmodder. While Godmodding has a whole host of definitions, but is distinctly different from Metagaming.

Godmodding is also a term used to refer to a character that describes an outcome of their own actions against another character, without said character knowing that the opposition is doing the aformentioned post. As an example, If Sladelius swings his katana to cleave off Blair's head, he cannot just connect a blow to sever;, it's perfectly acceptable for Sladelius to swing to kill, so long as Blair is given a post to respond and at least try to dodge. In a situation where it is impossible for Blair to dodge, such as sitting in a chair or he is laying prone on the ground unconscious, it can also be considered Godmodding for Blair to miraculously get away in a convenient and out of context way, without using the correct power or means.

A further use of Godmodding is when a character takes too many actions in one round of combat. Some people love to write great detailed in-depth posts, but one has to remember that doing actions takes time. This is especially true with magic and powers. So if it's our badboy character Sladelius' turn to post again, and he casts two fireballs, throws up a forcefield, and creates a sword from thin air all out of his awesome Kinesis Manipulation, odds are he’s not going to have time for all of that at once. A fireball or two is fine, but some things take concentration and preperation posts have a tendency to take long periods of time, depending on the technique utilised.


Metagaming is simply defined as the use of out of character knowledge in an in character situation. A character played by a metagamer does not act in a way that reflects the character's experiences and back-story.

Metagaming most commonly occurs when a person utilizes knowledge, usually a skill or some news relevant to the scenario, in which they do not have in blogs or other displayed source. Sladelius knows how to tie a killer knot thus Blair can too! Where’d he learn how to tie knots? When? Show me the lore or skill? If you don’t have it, you don’t know it unless its considered in-character common knowledge. Now this is a mild example, a tiny whoops, but the use of Metagaming gets vast and ridiculous fast.
 
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Godmodding is also a term used to refer to a character that describes an outcome of their own actions against another character, without said character knowing that the opposition is doing the aformentioned post. As an example, If Sladelius swings his katana to cleave off Blair's head, he cannot just connect a blow to sever;, it's perfectly acceptable for Sladelius to swing to kill, so long as Blair is given a post to respond and at least try to dodge.
I would like to add that this particular type of godmodding has a more specific name. Powerplay. Powerplay, as sladelius talked about above, is when a character controls or ignores the actions or potential actions of another character. In the case above, Sladelius is ignoring the fact that Blair could still potentially interact with the swing of the katana.
 
Indeed, but Blair is not armed, therefore he has no ability to protect himself.
 
Indeed, but Blair is not armed, therefore he has no ability to protect himself.
True, but perhaps Blair has a hidden weapon, ally, item. Even in the most hopeless situations, it is considered powerplay to assume the character cannot avoid an attack.
 
I would know, since I fought him. He doesn't use weapons, and I don't powerplay. I used a logical, simple ezplanation. Merely a misconception.
 
explanation*

I'll just copy/paste what I wrote up in Roleplay Help.
There are three major mistakes/nuisances to look out for while RPing: Godmodding, Powerplaying, and Metagaming. Godmodding and Powerplaying tend to be confused for one another across various sites, but both of them tend to be used as abuse of power. Whether it's over your own character or controlling someone else's character without permission is another matter.

Due to confusion of terms, I had to scour around a bit to see how the majority of other boards describe these RP taboos. Don't be surprised if you see people arguing over what means what. Either way, it's still bad for story development.


- Godmodding tends to be used as a blanket term to cover all three terms, meaning this is the word you'll most often see once people start accusing others of misconduct. The most common definition I've found for Godmodding is flipping the "God Mode" switch for your character in order to make him/her perform impossible actions for the sake of making your character come out on top. This can include ridiculously high dexterity and reflexes to allow someone to catch six bullets shot at them at once, a sudden burst of speed that would put The Flash to shame, super strength that goes well beyond an adrenaline rush, invulnerability, being irresistibly sexy and attracting everyone's attention regardless of sexual preference, the list goes on.

Characters that are infallible in these ways quickly become Mary Sues/Gary Stus: Perfect peaches that can do anything and can avoid all consequence. Above all, they're simply not fun for others to play with.

The ones who are most guilty of doing these things are often new/inexperienced players. Jumping into a roleplay for the first time often makes a new player want to be the biggest, fastest, strongest badass in town. They often do not give their characters any drawbacks or weaknesses simply due to the fact that a roleplay isn't the real world. Thus, to a new player, simple things like being damaged from taking a hit from a weapon are often thrown out the window. The world isn't real, thus it's their oyster... right?

I'm afraid that's not the case, grasshoppah.
So how do we avoid godmodding? The simplest way is to remember one very important aspect of character creation: It's okay to have flawed characters. For every yin, there is a yang. For each skill your character performs well, have a flaw at the other end of the spectrum.

Some typical examples are: intelligent characters tend to be physically weak, fast characters take more damage when it lands, strong characters may not necessarily be the smartest, characters with the highest defense are often slow.

A rule of thumb I've personally adopted is: For every three Traits, have two Flaws. If your character is intelligent, great with machinery, and has high reflexes, give him/her a couple of flaws to make up for it. Even if it's a missing limb (or two) and having a bad habit of jumping onto another project before completing their current one. Or being easily sick yet unable to put down the bottle. You'll find yourself with far more interesting characters by incorporating such flaws. Your partners may even get a kick out of how your character struggles with his/her flaws on a daily basis.

Magic is a completely different animal when it comes to Godmodding. Obviously, we don't want someone endlessly casting a chain lightning with no expense on their end. Every spell has its cost and drawback. The stronger the spell, the greater the cost. The more frequently a spell is cast, the greater the drawback will be on the caster. Someone who uses fire spells on a semi-regular basis may find themselves freezing cold and in danger of hypothermia should too many spells be cast in succession. Ice spells might do the opposite and risk hyperthermia/heat stroke. Water spells may dehydrate a caster. Electric spells may be electrical discharges from the caster's very cells, causing numbness or partial paralysis. Healing spells might even put the caster's health at risk for the sake of helping another.

Granted, not every spell requires mana or the caster's life force in order to cast it. Sometimes, a spell is sealed within a scroll, a crystal, or an accessory. From here, you must decide how many times X item can unleash Y spell before becoming cracked/broken/completely obliterated. Again; the stronger the spell, the greater the cost. Balancing magic is, indeed, difficult. But there is no shame in asking for assistance! If you have a doubt; ask someone for their opinion.



- Powerplaying takes control of another character away from the player s/he belongs to. This is the equivalent to snatching a toy away from a kid who's obviously playing with it and dictating what that you think that toy should do instead. No one likes their characters taken away from them.

A common place to find powerplay is during a fight. In combat situations, you'll find yourself wanting to just win the fight and move along instead of typing up six to ten posts just to decide the victor. As such, you may feel inclined to simply decide whether or not your strikes hit and if it's lethal by manipulating the other character. Not only is this a pain in the rear for the other player, but you do not decide what damage the other character sustains. Personally, I think of RP combat as a game of tennis or volleyball. You perform your action in your post and leave the reaction in the other player's court. Let them figure out if they will strike back or take the hit. Keep the outcome of your actions open when you are dealing with player-controlled opponents. If there is no logical way to dodge your attack, they will have no other choice but to take the damage.

Example: An archer aims his/her bow at their opponent's stomach before releasing the arrow. This not only tells your opponent where the arrow is flying, but by leaving out whether or not it actually hits the target, it gives their character the opportunity to react. Of course, they may wind up with an arrow in the rump instead, but that's up to them.

The ONLY exception to this rule is if you have asked the other player via PM, OOC, profile notes, etc. for permission before posting. You'll run into instances where you find yourself waiting for a response from the other character, but the player using that character feels that it's not enough to actually warrant a post. This is where you two can either conduct a Combo Post (two or more people pitching in to create one big post) or you ask what that character's reaction would be and type it out for them AFTER receiving a response.

Simply put; if you don't have permission to use a character in the next post, simply don't type out their actions. Your characters are yours to play with: don't take other players' characters.



- Metagaming describes your character instantly gaining knowledge they would have no way of knowing at that point in the RP. This often occurs when a reader forgets that the Player and the Character are two separate entities. More often than not, a player's first character is a self-insertion of sorts. As such, they relate their character to themselves so much that they forget to disconnect themselves from their character.

Say we have two separate groups of people. They are in two separate rooms, one across the hall from another. Group A won't know what Group B is planning unless it's stated that someone's character is being very loud in their conversation. Any information Group A would learn would only come from snippets of conversation once both groups walk out into the hallway. Even then, that also depends on whether or not the characters from either group would care to listen in.

Your character should only know what s/he has witnessed or what his/her friend shares with him/her. If there is no feasible way for your character to learn certain information, it's safe to say they don't know it.