Godmoding & Metagaming
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
By Mithaniel
Godmoding
The name is homage to the old Doom and Hexen and Wolfenstein games' "God Mode" cheat, where you can do whatever you like and have every weapon in the game because, simply, you are a god. In Ultima Online and a roleplay setting, godmoding is the act of doing something (99% of the time via emotes) that the game mechanics cannot represent; A.K.A. something you -simply can't do-. However some 'godmoding', A.K.A. "*he laughs, as dark energies swirl around his hand*" or other such harmless emotes are generally fine. "Godmoding" is used, 90% of the time, on players that do an action/emote to another player without allowing them to resist. It could be as small as "*hits him in the head with a thrown rock*" or as large as "*picks him up and eats him in one bite*" or "*shoots an arrow through your neck, killing you instantly*" or "*banishes you from space and time*" or perhaps claiming to control an invisible army of 100 soldiers that nobody can hurt whatsoever. Remember there are alternatives. Instead of dictating what happens with the rock, just emote *throws a rock at him*. Mostly try -attempting- things. *attempts to push the man over*. Likewise, if someone is attempting something on you, think of your stats. You aern't Neo, don't dodge everything if you have 25 dex, and if you are wearing full platemail armor (haha yeah right) then you wouldn't be very good at balancing if someone pushes you over. Likewise, note that some emotes, even if not affecting another player, might be viewed as godmoding as per the 'not represented by gameplay mechanics' thing. I have seen rituals done well like this, but I have also seen some *points at a mountain and it explodes* kind've stuff. If it seems outrageous, don't do it. And remember that we are all here to have fun... Don't godmode another player without their permission, don't ruin anyone elses day.
Metagaming
This is when your character learns something that they could not possibly have learned, but they know it because you, their player, knows it. This is huge. Anything from OOC contact with other players, to IC posts that your character was not present at (don't do the 'I was outside standing under the window, I heard the whole thing!' unless the author gives you explicit permission), knowing things that you learned on another character, or it can be small things nobody would even think about. Say you are deep inside your castle and all the sudden you see a fight outside. Oh no! Rush and help! NO. Your character sees with two eyes, directly in front of them. You do not have eyes in the back of your head, and you do not see from a 3/4 overhead view. You do not have X-ray vision, you do not see through walls. If there is a window, or its a thin house (a.k.a. not in a big keep with 2 huge stone walls blocking the sound) you might hear the sounds of battle and investigate. If you think it is metagaming, just think, 'did my character learn about it? or did i?'.