Help » Dealing with Godmoding

Preamble

In January of 2013, our community came together to discuss the much lamented practice of "god moding" or "god modding". Though many complain about god moding in RP, there has rarely been agreement on what it actually means, or why so many resort to this hated practice. We set out to change all that.

What is god moding?

god moding (aka god modding) noun:

1. A player who tries to control things that are not under their control, i.e. the reactions and emotions of other people's characters
2. A rude behavior in which a gamer oversteps what is allowed by the written or unwritten rules of the game.

Sometimes, this phrase was used to refer to people whose characters are just incredibly, unrealistically, inappropriately (for their game, setting or community) overpowered. But through our discussion, we decided that this was something distinct, and "god moding" would still only apply if that player was writing the reactions of other characters or assuming that they were allowed to take certain actions without repercussion in their posts.



We decided that this confusion stemmed from the fact that both conditions represented related "judgement call" problems, in which a player is not doing a good job considering what will be fun for the rest of their community. Therefore, these two foibles are often exhibited in the same person.

But for those cases where people pick inappropriate power levels for their characters but do not also force the actions of others, a different term was proposed that was separate and distinct: "Twinking" or simply "over powered".

Of course, being the RP repository, we didn't just gather to nail down slurs for people who really bother us! We'd like to remind our players that name calling isn't the answer. How to approach people who don't yet understand what they're doing and why controlling other people's characters was another topic we discussed, and read on to find answers to some of life's stickiest RP situations.

But first, let's try to understand what might cause people to god mode.

Why is god moding a problem?

Is assuming someone else's character returns your nod of hello really such a problem? Yes; it defeats the point of playing in a group, rather than writing alone. And yet for most players, the real problem came down to a simple question of respect.





Moreover, while some might forgive an assumed nod or other such small action, most felt that it raised a red flag that more liberties might be taken with their own rights in more important situations.

Who does it, and why?

God modding is primarily exhibited by two types of people:

1. Most commonly, very green new players
2. Very rarely, old, impatient players who think that they have "earned the right".

Of course, no one ever earns the right to dictate the acions and reactions of other people's characters in free form RP, and the practice is exceedingly rare among trusted GMs in guided games as well.



If you're reading this with a sinking feeling, because you've just realized that you're a god moder, don't worry. More than half the people who attended our chat admitted to having made the same mistake in the past as well. Talking about what other characters do is so normal when writing your own stories that it can be a hard concept to unlearn when you switch to a collaborative form. New players almost always make the mistake once or twice, especially those who began their RP careers in the freeform style or at a young age.

How to handle godmoding

When asked what helped them to stop, back in those bad days when they didn't know better, our players almost universally answered that it was being talked to by a more experienced player.

It can be very difficult to confront someone about bad behavior.

But the longer it's left to fester, the worse the situation - and the resultant discussion you will be forced into - will become. Our players had some great tips for talking to a god moder, new or old.


Since 99% of cases are just plain ignorance, they can be solved with a little prevention.






If you have a larger RP community, you may want to consider implementing a core of volunteer teachers, who greet every new player and show them the basic ropes of your game and your community -- so that this problem never becomes a problem.



If you need some help explaining these concepts to a new player, you can always refer them to this article! For our readers interested in the full experience, you can find the chat logs here: Chat log for RP Discussion #3

If you need more advice on how to talk to someone who is hurting your RP fun, you might want to refer to some of the tips we've posted on maintaining the health of OOC bonds by having tough talks in a civil manner.