Omnirizon, what do you mean by metagaming?
Things like carrying a grudge from one game to the next of course are really absurd should be avoided at all times. As for out of character communication in a game's discussion thread, I've been wondering why there isn't a more clear distinction between out of character and in character communications. I could actually do a better job of this myself sometimes, but I've found in some games, people don't RP much or don't try to unless someone else does. So it seems like a rather tricky thing. I've been wondering if some sort of roleplaying template would be useful (think of the diplomatic negotiation screen in Civilization, or Master of Orion or Master of Magic, where you're just talking to the computer, but everything is very much in characters). In those situations it's not so much what is being done, but the language that it's couched in that makes an event more convincing. So I think it's mostly a question of language, but maybe it's also a question of attitude.
I'm not sure I could perform the "high art of roleplaying" in Dom 3, to quote cupido02; I often like the idea of role-playing more in the vein of Steve Jackson's goofier games. An off-beat approach referencing pop culture outside of the game can also be fun. For instance, Zoidberg, Pretender God of R'yleh, who tries to heal afflictions, but sometimes also causes them with his pincers.
Of course this depends on the setting and wouldn't work so well during a more serious good vs evil type game.
So in general, I think role-playing in Dom 3 can often be complicated, (e.g. is it a good idea to pick a thematic pretender if it will cost you extra design points?) but it also adds some depth without which the game just feels like an exercise in crunching numbers and memorizing spells and strategies. Granted, memorizing spells and strategies can be fun, but I like it more if there's a compelling reason that I am doing it (aside from becoming the number one pretender god). Anyway, I've been mulling over some good vs evil role-playing ideas
in this thread, so feel free to throw in some more ideas.
I guess the basic question I'm getting at is more like: "What is fun about role-playing in Dominions? When does it work? When doesn't it work? How can it make the game more fun?" Something like that.
