I agree with @Blackraven's point that we're defining what the term metagaming means. Metagaming is by definition to have foreknowledge from having previously played the game. In that sense, as @BelgarathMTH so vividly reminds us, only a first-time player will have no metagame knowledge whatsoever.
I would say then that metagaming is only meaningful to discuss in the context of people who have played the game. And then we are really defining what one does with the knowledge about the game that one has. And with that definition in mind we may ask the following questions:
1) Is it possible to compartmentalize the knowledge one has as a player from an earnestly roleplayed (i.e., imagined) perspective of what characters can/would/should know of their world? I would say yes. Even if not absolutely, to a great extent this can be done.
2) Is there a degree to which metagame knowledge might unconsciously affect even the most sincere efforts to imagine only what the party can know? Undoubtedly. I'd call that a given.
3) Can one's effort to imagine only what the party is likely to know, grasp, speculate about, anticipate or perceive of their world still be mostly uncontaminated by metagame knowledge? Yes, I think it can. But it depends on the individual doing it, and how honest the player is with him or herself.
This is just to underscore that it is not perfectly black and white mental operation. It's actually gray. And there are varying shades.
A good example of what I'm talking about is in my "Fates" game now where Faldorn just leveled to Druid 5 in chapter 5. The party is, after resting and buying some gear, heading to the chapter's final battle. For Faldorn's one level 3 spell slot which spell do I have her memorize? And how much does my meta knowledge of the game insert itself to shape my roleplaying decision for the spell she picks to memorize?
I know as a player that Summon Insects is a strong spell choice. But I'm trying to roleplay her according to what she knows, not me. I do see her as very connected to the forest still... Longing for the forest since they are in the city, in fact. So a spell that connects her with Nature does kind of feel right. (Call Lighting doesn't make much sense for a lot of indoor fighting, so I don't think she would pick that one. Also, I don't imagine her simply picking Cure Medium Wounds, since the party has a lot of healing already. She'd pick an offensive spell, I think.)
But I'm also conceiving Faldorn in this game as a spy who is totally dedicated to her mission to investigate the Iron Throne; and, if she gets the opportunity, to topple it. So she would also be inclined to dispassionately pick what she believes is strategically the wisest spell at this point.
I decided to make a short list of strategically strong spells I imagine Faldorn as most likely to pick, as I've conceptualized her for this particular game: Miscast Magic, Rigid Thinking, Strength of One, and Summon Insects. I rolled a 1d4, where 1, 2, 3, and 4 match the order that I just listed the spells. Result was 4 = Summon Insects.
So this is one way to go about it. The metagame knowledge is there. I guess it's a matter of how much of a check is put on it!
(I've added the spoiler tag in the thread title, just because spoilers are bound to be part and parcel of a discussion about metagmaing.)
I can't resist yet another observation about how my own game is developing, so I'll briefly mention it but stop there lest I begin spamming about it.
Another strong example of how metagame knowledge can be minimized in the roleplay is the investigation of the Iron Throne. If you really take the time to roleplay this with a party that is sleuthing, it would actually be foolish to burst onto the fifth floor. Yes, there's a fun battle, XP, and loot to be had there. But if you're earnestly investigating as spies for Eltan, you will know that the city's negotiations for iron are underway on the top floor, and the odds of being discovered by high ranking members of the Iron Throne are almost certain. (Emissary Tar has told you that's what's going on there.) If you couldn't bluff the guards on the way up (and not everyone would conceive of the ploy to seek to be hired as recruits; posing as merchants from Sembia is probably a more sensible ruse), then why would you think you could bluff the negotiators? Unlike the guards, they definitely know that you have no business there. And you're not there to fight, per se. Your mission is to obtain evidence (presumably documents) about the Iron Throne's schemes to destabilize the region.
I think that for a reasonably smart party, with decent judgment, they would actually not simply waltz in on the negotiations on the top floor. Rather, a stealth approach seems called for there.
So here is a case where our conditioning as power/meta-gamers (and believe me, I also enjoy that playstyle myself) would have us proceed to the top floor for thrilling battle, XP, and loot from the boss battle there. But if conscientiously roleplayed, that is probably not what a smart party would do.
This might not be an answer to the question on how to not metagame, but just an example that even with the game knowledge, we can still get cought by suprise. In my ongoing playthrough I got myself in a very interesting situation where even though I have the knowledge I still have a real sense of danger. Introduction/explanation: When I was thinking about this playthrough a couple months ago I decided to roll (with real dice) a character and let the dice (fate) decide the race/class/spells etc. I rolled an elven mage, which was really fun, so I decided to make a list of all available npcs and again with the help of dice create the party, the result was: Charname, Osprey (Candlekeep training mage/cleric - might be considered a cheese, but you can have those characters with you for the rest of the game), Montaron, Khalid, Ajantis and Eldoth. I separated the characters by leaving them inside buildings etc. I thought that by introducing the party and how it all begun will help everyone to understand the whole situation. What I mean by that is the Marek's poison quest. There is a limited time to do this quest, or you'll die. I have 3 casters on my party and after taking the quest I decided to finish some other stuff in the city, especially visiting Entar's estate (since Eldoth wanted to free Skie), in that location there are 2 major battles: Helm and Cloak party and Degrodel's house. I burned out almost all of my spells by that and I know I can't affort to rest (the poison). Now without the spells and limited time got me wondered whether I'll be able to do this quest on time/survive without resting.
Play when very drunk? I don't drink anymore but I used to drink excessively (it was an occupational hazard - trust me, I'm a brewer) and on one occasion very late at night Charname suffered a default alignment change to Chaotic Drunk and got me into such a potentially catastrophic situation that I just had to pack it in for the night and leave my sober alter-ego to clean up the mess in the morning. Not recommended, but it does sort of answer the original question (mind you so would a full frontal lobotomy).
@Lemernis, I totally agree. Randomly generated characters tend to create some of the most memorable playthroughs. The generation itself is pure fun. The system from that thread looks very similar to what I did, but if there are less options to choose than the sides of a die (e.g. 9 classes with d10) I would use the '10' as a reroll. I also gave myself 1 reroll for stats, for which I used the 4d6 (minus the worst roll) per stat method and then tried to replicate the result in game (without using the spare points).
I honestly haven't tried all the race/class variations yet, so this is a great method of keeping the game fresh: just roll a character and a party randomly and have fun with creating alternative routes. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't tried it and/or is bored with his/her playthroughs.
Apart from the fantastic random character creation and "let the fates decide" options espoused by @Lemernis, the only real way i've found to make myself to not metagame is by heavily roleplaying my PC...my most fun way so far is by taking a favourite character from outside the BG universe and importing them into it, whether it be from a novel, film, tv series, etc....like gangsters? Then why not import Tony Soprano into the Forgotten Realms, vicious, cunning and ruthless on his quest to get revenge on those that attacked his family, and eternally in search of some good cannoli. A cartoon fan and want a lighthearted run through? How would Homer Simpson face down Sarevok, cope with Xan's doomsaying and be forced to traipse around the countryside? My own perosnal favourite was a Twin Peaks inspired run, taking FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper on a labyrinthine detective case. With Ajantis as a stalwart "Sheriff Truman" type, Safana as the sultry Audrey Horne-esque femme fatale, Kivan as the silent and driven Deputy Hawk replacement, Khalid as the goofy deputy Andy stand-in and and all-singing, all-dancing Tiax as the "little man from another place", this kept me immensely and geekily entertained, chasing bizzare plot strands all about the Sword Coast.
Just a random throught to throw in for those who may need some inspiration for yet another run...
Something I tried once as an exercise in roleplaying was to roll and play charname as one of my friends, a work colleague, an ex-gf (mistake) etc. which sort of avoided metagaming because I, as the player, was one step removed from the character in question. Consequently I was less concerned with optimising any given situation and more interested in seeing what if...... Just a thought.
Comments
I would say then that metagaming is only meaningful to discuss in the context of people who have played the game. And then we are really defining what one does with the knowledge about the game that one has. And with that definition in mind we may ask the following questions:
1) Is it possible to compartmentalize the knowledge one has as a player from an earnestly roleplayed (i.e., imagined) perspective of what characters can/would/should know of their world? I would say yes. Even if not absolutely, to a great extent this can be done.
2) Is there a degree to which metagame knowledge might unconsciously affect even the most sincere efforts to imagine only what the party can know? Undoubtedly. I'd call that a given.
3) Can one's effort to imagine only what the party is likely to know, grasp, speculate about, anticipate or perceive of their world still be mostly uncontaminated by metagame knowledge? Yes, I think it can. But it depends on the individual doing it, and how honest the player is with him or herself.
This is just to underscore that it is not perfectly black and white mental operation. It's actually gray. And there are varying shades.
Then have endless nostalgic orgasms
I know as a player that Summon Insects is a strong spell choice. But I'm trying to roleplay her according to what she knows, not me. I do see her as very connected to the forest still... Longing for the forest since they are in the city, in fact. So a spell that connects her with Nature does kind of feel right. (Call Lighting doesn't make much sense for a lot of indoor fighting, so I don't think she would pick that one. Also, I don't imagine her simply picking Cure Medium Wounds, since the party has a lot of healing already. She'd pick an offensive spell, I think.)
But I'm also conceiving Faldorn in this game as a spy who is totally dedicated to her mission to investigate the Iron Throne; and, if she gets the opportunity, to topple it. So she would also be inclined to dispassionately pick what she believes is strategically the wisest spell at this point.
I decided to make a short list of strategically strong spells I imagine Faldorn as most likely to pick, as I've conceptualized her for this particular game: Miscast Magic, Rigid Thinking, Strength of One, and Summon Insects. I rolled a 1d4, where 1, 2, 3, and 4 match the order that I just listed the spells. Result was 4 = Summon Insects.
So this is one way to go about it. The metagame knowledge is there. I guess it's a matter of how much of a check is put on it!
I can't resist yet another observation about how my own game is developing, so I'll briefly mention it but stop there lest I begin spamming about it.
Another strong example of how metagame knowledge can be minimized in the roleplay is the investigation of the Iron Throne. If you really take the time to roleplay this with a party that is sleuthing, it would actually be foolish to burst onto the fifth floor. Yes, there's a fun battle, XP, and loot to be had there. But if you're earnestly investigating as spies for Eltan, you will know that the city's negotiations for iron are underway on the top floor, and the odds of being discovered by high ranking members of the Iron Throne are almost certain. (Emissary Tar has told you that's what's going on there.) If you couldn't bluff the guards on the way up (and not everyone would conceive of the ploy to seek to be hired as recruits; posing as merchants from Sembia is probably a more sensible ruse), then why would you think you could bluff the negotiators? Unlike the guards, they definitely know that you have no business there. And you're not there to fight, per se. Your mission is to obtain evidence (presumably documents) about the Iron Throne's schemes to destabilize the region.
I think that for a reasonably smart party, with decent judgment, they would actually not simply waltz in on the negotiations on the top floor. Rather, a stealth approach seems called for there.
So here is a case where our conditioning as power/meta-gamers (and believe me, I also enjoy that playstyle myself) would have us proceed to the top floor for thrilling battle, XP, and loot from the boss battle there. But if conscientiously roleplayed, that is probably not what a smart party would do.
I don't drink anymore but I used to drink excessively (it was an occupational hazard - trust me, I'm a brewer) and on one occasion very late at night Charname suffered a default alignment change to Chaotic Drunk and got me into such a potentially catastrophic situation that I just had to pack it in for the night and leave my sober alter-ego to clean up the mess in the morning.
Not recommended, but it does sort of answer the original question (mind you so would a full frontal lobotomy).
I honestly haven't tried all the race/class variations yet, so this is a great method of keeping the game fresh: just roll a character and a party randomly and have fun with creating alternative routes. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn't tried it and/or is bored with his/her playthroughs.
My own perosnal favourite was a Twin Peaks inspired run, taking FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper on a labyrinthine detective case. With Ajantis as a stalwart "Sheriff Truman" type, Safana as the sultry Audrey Horne-esque femme fatale, Kivan as the silent and driven Deputy Hawk replacement, Khalid as the goofy deputy Andy stand-in and and all-singing, all-dancing Tiax as the "little man from another place", this kept me immensely and geekily entertained, chasing bizzare plot strands all about the Sword Coast.
Just a random throught to throw in for those who may need some inspiration for yet another run...
Just a thought.