Foiling The Metagamer
You've seen it done. A player used out-of-character knowledge in an in-character situation.
Metagamers fall into the same group as Munchkins and Rules Lawyers. These are players that can kill the fun for everyone--but only if you let them.
Metagaming breaks our suspension of disbelief, that wonderful concept that allows us to be pulled into the fantasy world and forget we're sitting around a table playing a game.
So why do people metagame? When it's done intentionally, it's generally to gain an in-game advantage.
The best way to deal with a metagamer is to take him aside
after your session and politely explain why his behaviour is detrimental to
everyone's fun.
But sometimes, players metagame covertly. You suspect they are using out-of-character knowledge, but there's enough doubt that you cannot directly accuse them.
What to do in cases like this? Case 1: Mr. Genre-Savvy. A player is acting on his experiences playing games, watching movies, and reading books. Upon entering a dungeon room filled with statues, Mr. Genre-Savvy immediately stands on high guard, expecting the statues to come to life and attack, or for a basilisk or medusa to appear. When holed up in an inn with a horde of zombies pounding at the doors, he tries to deduce which NPC will be the traitor, and in what order you will kill them off. If confronted with a locked or barred door in a dungeon, he'll refuse to leave until he finds a way through the door. How do you foil a player who is familiar with the genre? Use that familiarity against him. Maybe those statues are just statues. Maybe none of the NPCs die. Maybe the door simply can't be opened. If you deliberately subvert the common tropes of the genre, Mr. Genre-Savvy's first instinct will always be wrong. Page 1/2 - Next Page |  |
