The level of Meta is high with this one.
We had fun at SmiteCon over the weekend, with lots of games and friends to be made alike. However, there was something extremely prevalent at this SmiteCon that we didn't see happening too often previously - clear instances of players reading ahead and spoiling the story for others. No matter how much you deny it, when your character opens a door, sees an empty room and then before the GM has finished reading the boxed text, casts a targeted spell on the exact square the invisible enemy is hiding... something is obviously not right.
Metagaming is using a strategy or action that transcends the specified ruleset. In Pathfinder, this would mean using Player knowledge instead of what your character knows. Reading ahead (i.e. Downloading the scenario and reading it prior to playing) not only spoils the fun for other players, it is also not allowed under PFS rules - which is why they do not allow scenarios to be replayed normally.
Some players might not know what exactly constitutes metagaming, so we'll be tackling some of the more common issues.
Similarly, if you as a player, is a loremaster of Golarion, and you know everything there is to know about everything, it doesn't mean your knowledge transfers immediately to your character. Imagine if your GM did the same thing, playing all his mindless creatures as if they had intelligence and Assasin Vines started to coup-de-grace sleeping players, or golems and automata started to focus fire casters and bashing until they were dead-dead and not merely unconscious. You wouldn't be very happy.
Metagaming is using a strategy or action that transcends the specified ruleset. In Pathfinder, this would mean using Player knowledge instead of what your character knows. Reading ahead (i.e. Downloading the scenario and reading it prior to playing) not only spoils the fun for other players, it is also not allowed under PFS rules - which is why they do not allow scenarios to be replayed normally.
Some players might not know what exactly constitutes metagaming, so we'll be tackling some of the more common issues.
Player vs Character Knowledge
What your character knows and what the player knows are different, which is why they have their own attributes and stats. A character with 8 intelligence (IQ 80) vs a 16 intelligence (IQ 160) character are going to behave differently and know different things. This is the same reason why we roll skill checks like Knowledge checks to determine what we know. Your GM pulls out a mini and you immediately recognize it as a Bone Devil. Does your character know that? NOPE. Unless he passes his Knowledge role, or has in some previous adventure encountered the foe, he has no idea what it is or what he does. We can't make the player forget what he already knows, but this doesn't mean that because YOU as the player knows it's immunities / special abilities that you should ramble off all it's stats and AC. That is Metagaming.Similarly, if you as a player, is a loremaster of Golarion, and you know everything there is to know about everything, it doesn't mean your knowledge transfers immediately to your character. Imagine if your GM did the same thing, playing all his mindless creatures as if they had intelligence and Assasin Vines started to coup-de-grace sleeping players, or golems and automata started to focus fire casters and bashing until they were dead-dead and not merely unconscious. You wouldn't be very happy.
Replaying Scenarios / Playing after you GM
In the event that you do replay a scenario or play after you've GMed it, do let your current GM know. Also, do take the initiative to 'take a backseat' when it comes to decision making and let the other players have a chance at exploring the scenario. Entering a room and immediately declaring that "you search the painting for secret doors", "touch the statue with the key" and some how pick out the right bookshelf to find the hidden book on the first try in a library full of books even before the GM finishes the box text screams out READING AHEAD and spoils the fun for the rest of the players.
Similarly, we've also heard of cases where players pick obscure builds and class compositions just to qualify to use magical items found in Adventure Paths, and then make comments like "isn't there supposed to be some guy here that we need to talk to about this magic item" even before the GM has mentioned it.
This spoils the fun for others and give you an unfair advantage over the rest. Please stop.
The level with Meta is high with this one.
Metagaming although not specifically disallowed is generally frowned upon. Reading ahead of scenarios is definitely not allowed under PFS rules as per the Organized Play Guide. As a player, if you find that someone is metagaming, or can clearly see that he has a copy of the game opened up on his tablet/phone while game is progressing, do feel free to sound it out to your GM or local VO.
GMs who find players reading ahead do have the right to ask them to sit out of the game. Although we hope that there can be an amicable solution as we do not like to exclude players, if one person is spoiling the fun for the other five, then there might be no choice.
Remember, practice responsible gaming!
