best way to approach someone about meta-gaming or god modding?

synthetic aesthetic

synthetic aesthetic

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I think we've all been in that situation where someone is just averse to anything bad happening to their character and doesn't ever wanna acknowledge their character is flawed (in some cases a trainwreck cause I think everyone that cheats like this just puts 0 effort into everything) and never wants them to be anything shy of perfect. What's a good way to approach it in a productive way?
 
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Even if they get defensive, it doesn't make it completely fruitless. Defensive is not equal to completely dismissive. Perhaps they need to have a discussion to help them see that. Or, perhaps you could treat the character as thinking they are perfect as their inherent flaw. Narcissistic, self-righteous, etc. There are many ways to go about it. My suggestion is to attempt to have a civil discussion with them. If that fails, approach the DM/GM of the rp to see if they can do anything about it. A good DM/GMs will immediately put a stop to it if it's a legitimate grievance. Good luck!
 
At least for me, the main reason for metagaming is a feeling of control. When you feel like you can't decide what happens to your character, you might make them overly powerful or instill them with knowledge that they shouldn't have.
I, personally, have had problems with this and I feel that letting the person in question have a clearly defined 'bubble' that they get to work in helps a lot.
You also need to understand that sometimes this comes from people being enthusiastic about their characters and wanting to show them off, or simply from a place of inexperience. Sometimes they just want to show something off, or they have unrealistic plans for building the world, or their character, that the GM is not okay with.
Sometimes, they're trying to be unique and stand out. Especially with bigger roleplays, this is hard to do because everyone wants their characters or backstory to be unique and special, and often end up one-upping each other over and over again because they are trying to stand out. Inexperienced roleplayers make this mistake a lot, I feel, and end up creating a character that is really powerful because they feel a pressure to be as good as everyone else.

In conclusion, I feel gentle reminders are a good way to deal with a situation, and, by all means, have the boot ready, but if they're still learning, give them a chance to. I think with any problem you need to peel back the proverbial curtain and see the root, instead of dealing with the symptoms.
 
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synthetic aesthetic said:
I think we've all been in that situation where someone is just averse to anything bad happening to their character and doesn't ever wanna acknowledge their character is flawed (in some cases a trainwreck cause I think everyone that cheats like this just puts 0 effort into everything) and never wants them to be anything shy of perfect. What's a good way to approach it in a productive way?
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Have a universal rule-set and enforce it, easiest thing. And simply avoid people whose ocs are mary sues, if you cannot, call them out on the annoying behavior.

But this is too wide of a question, metagaming, mary sueness and god-modding can manifest in a number of ways and there is no single perfect answer unless you give a specific situation that needs dissecting.
 
synthetic aesthetic said:
I think we've all been in that situation where someone is just averse to anything bad happening to their character and doesn't ever wanna acknowledge their character is flawed (in some cases a trainwreck cause I think everyone that cheats like this just puts 0 effort into everything) and never wants them to be anything shy of perfect. What's a good way to approach it in a productive way?
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The natural behavior of pretty much everyone when you accuse them of something is to be defensive. Accusing someone from the start is a bad way to start out any conversation you want to come to a resolution with so it doesn't just apply to god-modding and meta-gaming. If you don't care that may not like you or continue roleplaying in your game sure you can go direct and just accuse them. But it'd burn a bridge with that person that will be difficult to repair.

The better approach will be to start out with what you like about their roleplaying/writing/concepts/ideas etc. In other words you tell them I like what you are doing here first. Then you tell them what issues and concerns you have, i.e. the godmodding and metagaming and be sure to point out where they are doing it, etc. After which you once again mention something else you like or reemphasize what you liked to begin with. By taking this approach you stating to them you want to give them feedback that'll help them improve and you want them to be a part and you aren't trying to alienate them instead.

Then again if you have nothing good to say about them then alienating them just might be for the best in the end.
 
i always do it differently depending on my mood. if its a tiny way and im in a good mood, i don't mention it, im in a good mood and they've been doing it a few times a bit more majorly, i point it out nicely. if they keep doing it, i can be really blunt lol (but i do my best to not be mean)
 
I put up with it for to long so I developed a tried and true method.

First step I warn them and I tell them exactly what will happen if they continue.
Second step I permanently fuck up their character(s)/faction. I.e. permanent limps, amputations, etc.
Third step I kill off their character(s)/faction and ban them from the game.
If at any time they become belligerent during steps 1 & 2 I immediately proceed to step 3.
 
I would say take it easy if you know they’re an ok person. Just send them a reminder or two, and if they continue to persist, just mini-ban em.

If they are REALLY, REALLY awful, and keeping being toxic, just kick em. Just kick em.
 
I believe in taking an assertive, but empathetic approach. Ask yourself (and them) where this metagaming and godmodding coming from. Talk to them to gauge whether this is coming from a place of ignorance/inexperience or ego. The former is much easier to deal with than the latter and naturally, requires a different response.

From there, I have a three strike rule. Strike 1 is a reminder, Strike 2 is a warning, and Strike 3 is a ban. If they show reform I would be willing to let them into a different RP, but if they're still being toxic then I'm not opposed to permanently banning them from all future activities.
 
I agree with the above. But most importantly, don't wait on telling someone if they have a godmodding problem.

I have this friend. Fine, FINE writer and fiercely loyal friend. But she has a very serious issue with powerplaying. I never spoke directly to her about it because after the first time she tried to end my plot by having her Inkling army come and nuke everybody, she would have come to understand that she can't just solve everything.

Well, I invited her to a server where we were having a plot about dragons waging war on outworlders. Again, I assumed she grew past godmodding. Not only did she immediately arrive to save one of my characters from being taken prisoner even though I was letting her be captured, after I allowed two more of mine and a couple other peoples' to get imprisoned, she had her character come into the prison, massacre the dragon guards, and portal my prisoners out of there while we were planning the rescue. (This isn't even my server, mind you...) The other RPers were pissed, and she ended up leaving the server in the resulting argument while her impact was retconned.

So, yeah. Be firm but empathetic, explain what is going on and the rules of the RP, but also never wait to talk to the offender about this kind of thing.
 
Here's an idea. If you are running a game and your players' characters are as powerful as gods, don't put your players against mortals. Give your players with godlike powers a real challenge. If your players have characters with power levels equivalent to a god, the gods would perceive them as a threat. If your players are going go make overpowered characters, facing the gods should be a fair fight.

If your players don't like their characters receiving attention from the gods and being perceived as potential threats, tell them not to make overpowered characters.
 
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