In Common Roleplaying Mistakes That Players Make – Part 1 of 2, we talked about issues with player versus game master, and player versus player. Now we move on to the next issue, metagaming. Essentially, metagaming is using out-of-character knowledge for an in-character situation. Common examples of metagaming are:

- One player hears another player say or do something and then acts upon it, when there is no way their character would be aware of that knowledge. One example is when the characters are miles apart with no communications, yet are acting in sync as if they knew exactly what the other was thinking. This is a common mistake that pretty much every player falls prey to at some point.

- Playing a character beyond their ability level. Your character may be a meathead combat-monkey. He will most likely not know how to build a fusion reactor, even if you the player do.

- Using knowledge of a game mechanic specifically for advantage. One example might be a ranged character that always stays at the perfect distance to keep himself far away from his enemy, but close enough to not incur in-game penalties. If that character always attempts to fight at exactly fifty yards away from his opponent because it gives him a flawless advantage in combat that is not realistic.

- Employing a certain attack or defense against an enemy that your character would not know about. One example would be that you know a particular monster is weak against fire because of fighting against that monster in a different campaign another game master ran. If this character does not have knowledge of that, he most likely should not be using it.

- Reading a published adventure that the game master is running with the intention of using that information to beat the adventure. This is the closest thing on this list that is akin to cheating. Just don’t do it.

Keep in mind, that metagaming is not necessarily always a bad thing. And also remember that there is, for lack of a better term, reverse-metagaming. Where a character may know something the player does not. In this case, it would be okay to ask the game master what the particular piece of information is. For example, maybe the player doesn’t know what types of monsters reside in an area, but his character has spent his entire life growing up there. In that scenario, it would be okay to ask the game master what monsters are in that area, or explain that his character probably already knows that information.

The final list of common mistakes that roleplayers make is a catch-all list. These particular mistakes may not fit into one specific category, but are things that players should watch out for.

- Complaining when something does not favor your character.

- Acting only during combat, but letting the other players or the game master carry you through the non-combat portions of the game.

- Becoming a dice thrower and not a roleplayer. This can be especially bad if the game contains a skill check for social skills. Don’t just say, “I lie to the guard. I’m rolling my con skill.” Tell the game master what your character says to try and con the guard, and then roll your skill. He may give you a bonus if your con is a particularly believable one!

- Not learning the rules after playing the game for a while. Do your best to keep the game moving by trying to learn the rules of the game. No one ever learns all the rules, but at least be familiar with the ones that are specific to your character.

- Trying to be involved in everything. If the group of characters is split up, don’t be that guy that moves from group to group just to stay in the action.

- Forgetting that bad rolls are part of the game. Remember, good luck and bad luck are both equally part of roleplaying. Try not to get upset if the dice aren’t rolling your way, it happens. Some games have functions that allow you to mitigate poor rolls, use them.

- Not paying attention. Don’t make everyone repeat themselves because you’re too busy reading the players handbook, or doing something else.

- Playing characters that are flawless. No person on earth is flawless. No character in a roleplaying game should be flawless.

- Treating a roleplaying game as something that can be won. Just like you can’t surf to the end of the internet, you can’t win a roleplaying game.

As I stated in the beginning, this is not a comprehensive list. There are many more mistakes out there to be made. But these are some of the common ones. Knowledge is power. Use this list as food for thought, and maybe it can help make you a better roleplayer.

What other common mistakes do players make in roleplaying that we haven’t mentioned yet?