I want to take a moment and talk about something fairly serious in the gaming community. It’s something that tends to kill the creativity and free thought in any role playing game. That is something called Meta Gaming. It’s when another person/character who is not in scene with you tells you “Oh! You should totally do this instead of what you are doing now!” Or variants of that.
In a nutshell, Meta Gaming is just not cool.
Now, I have been guilty of Meta Gaming myself. I’ve for sure opened my mouth when it was not my turn and I have influenced other characters to do things they might not have done otherwise.
Conversely, I have also been Meta Gamed. I am easily susceptible to it because I have a hard time thinking on my feet when it comes to my character (more on this topic later).
And I get it. Sometimes it’s super fun and in the spirit of “teamwork” it’s tempting to make suggestions for gameplay. But I am telling you it is better to keep your mouth shut.
The first step of stopping Meta Gaming is to know it’s happening. Be aware of those who aren’t in your character’s area who are giving unsolicited advice. Remind the person doing such things that it is your turn and it’s not cool to Meta Game. That usually is the end of it. However, if they do persist, take it to the DM. Odds are they are fully aware and have a contingency/ punishment plan for when it happens next.
But most of all, don’t let it ruin your game time. Lean into the creativity and bolster your free thought in game play. The main objective for D&D is to have fun. Part of that is not ruining it for others.
Striving to be a respectable gamer,
Kira