A Brief Introduction:
Welcome to the Guide to Godmoding, Èveillers. Within this topic, we will be tackling a little issue known as "godmoding," and if you are only capable of learning but one thing in this cold, cruel world... Let us all pray that it is this. Though it is both important and highly recommended for all players to know at least the basics of this issue, it is a key necessity for ANY fighting ranks. As a member of the fighting ranks in the Èveiller, I expect each and every one of you to read this guide, know this guide, love this guide, and be able to recite the key points of this guide in your sleep when Michael McIntyre shows up. As an intermediate group, each player raised to the highest standard of fairplay, no matter where they come from or what they do on the side (lookin at you warrior cats.) I would only hope that you carry our standards high in the company of not only your own pack but that of other packs, be they friend or foe, as well.
--Alina
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Forward:
As you can tell, godmoding does not sound desirable... Perhaps it might be fun for the one partaking in the unfair play, but being caught on the brunt end of a godmoder's actions can be one of the most undesirable experiences roleplaying has to offer if you don't have a slice of patience pie on hand. So what is this godmoding? To begin with, let us step back and look at the basics. Godmoding, in its most basic form, can be summarized as, "when someone's character has the ability to do nearly anything without the existence of limits or boundaries." Yet that's a rather broad, grey-zone analysis of this often despised tactic. In fact, Godmoding can be further pulled apart into three key aspects: abuse of dodging, forcing one's actions upon another, and--lastly but perhaps most awfully--taking control of another's character.
>>The Matrix Problem: The First Part of Godmoding<<
Unless you are a fetus, then you've hopefully remember that scene where, standing down Agent Smith, Neo dramatically bends backwards and dodges bullets at the speed of light. Unfortunately, you are not The One, and this is not the Matrix. This is the land of rp, and that would obviously be godmoding. "The Matrix Problem," or abuse of dodging, is the first element of godmoding and often not quite that easy to discern.
Within any fair roleplay, each player holds equal right to dodge another player's action upon themselves--to a reasonable extent, of course. Therefore, it could be completely plausible that a player was able to dodge a relatively large amount of attacks or actions directed upon themselves... but of course, many take this too far by mistake. There is a rule in the world of roleplay that has circulated about through many games called the "Hit to Dodge Ratio." This ratios is described as a 3:1 ratio, meaning for every three dodges performed, your character MUST take the fourth move as a hit. If they don't? Karen will lodge a complaint with management.
Now, I will take a moment to point out how actually stupid I believe this rule to be. In an advanced roleplay situation, it is completely plausible that you have had large openings to avoid (not every) but many/most of the other players moves, and it is just as plausible that you have not had a single chance to maneuver yourself free and have taken every single offensive attack as a hit instead. No fight should be constrained by a specific ratio. However, it is imperative to be aware of the situation while playing so as not to fall into the dodge-abuse category. This is particularly true of improvised roleplays where you and the other participants have not agreed on an outcome or major plot points beforehand in the magical, mystical realm of occ planning. Therefore, if you are ever in doubt as to whether or not you are dodging too much, you can always use the aforementioned ratio as a guideline to judge your actions. It certainly helps while you get the hang of things, or if you are ever in an unfamiliar situation.
>>The Power of Christ Compels You: The Second Part of Godmoding<<
The second form of godmoding comes in the form of forcing one's actions upon another. But gee.... What constitutes as "forcing actions?" First off... this is 2020. If you're not familiar with the concept of consent by now, then there are other things besides this guide that you may want to study up on.
Another term for "forcing actions" is the commonly used "auto-hitting." Auto-hitting means roleplaying or posting as if your actions were successful regardless of the other player's feelings without giving an adequate opening for the other player to react. For example, if Bumper (our lovely demonstration wolf) were to post, "Bumper threw a burrito at Amy and splattered it all over her face!" he would be forcing the action of burrito-splattering on Amy without allowing for her to choose her own reaction. So how do we fix this? Quite easily, actually! The very easiest way to avoid auto-hitting by using open-ended actions. You can even put open-ended action words in front of your intended actions to make this clear. There is an abundant amount of words that you can use, but some of the common ones you might see are "tried, attempted, endeavored, aimed, strived, or made an effort to." So let us return to the example of Bumper and Amy. Recall that the original post was, "Bumper threw a burrito at Amy and splattered it all over her face" Now... This post can be easily fixed by changing it to: "Bumper tried to throw a burrito at Amy, hoping it would splatter all over her face" Simple yet effective. Here, Bumper is no longer godmoding in his post, rather, he is playing fairly by wording his intentions with an open end, so that the other player, Amy, may post back whether Bumper succeeded or missed entirely.
But.... does this mean we always have to use open-ended words in our post? No! In fact, it does not. Many roleplayers are able to post in a fair and open-ended fashion without the use of key words. For example, Chloe (our second demonstration wolf) might post, "Chloe scrunched up her eyes before loosing a loud snarl of aggravation at their lack of good performance during the ruff-off that afternoon and jumped forward at her incredibly uptight and annoying friend. Chloe pinned her ears before lunging at Aubrey in frustration." In this post, Chloe did not use any words such as "attempted" or "tried," yet she did not godmode. GgaASSssppPPppp!!! How is this? Well, by leaving an open end and not carrying the post through to a concrete result, she gave Aubrey adequate room to make her own moves in response. She lunged at Aubrey but did not post whether or not she was successful in her attempt to attack. Therefore... she successfully avoided godmoding while not relying on any of the specific example words.
The exception to all of this, of course, is pre-determined actions that you agreed upon before hand. If you're worried about godmoding (or you just want a specific outcome)…. TALK with your partner ooc before you begin. Or in the middle. Who cares... communication is good.
>>The Exorcist: The Third Part of Godmoding<<
This is perhaps the most undesired and unholy form of godmoding in the world of intermediate rp. It lies dormant and waiting, and then... suddenly, you find that your character is possessed. That's right. This form of godmoding takes control of the other player's character. It's similar to forcing your actions upon them but involves acting on their behalf. Shall we have an example of this form of godmoding? Indeed I think we shall! Our next demonstration wolf, Jesse has gone and posted, "Jesse looked across the pack gathering and found Beca of the rival pack. Jesse, not particularly in his right mind, bounded over and informed Beca that because he was a wolf and she was a wolf, they were probably going to have wolf pups. Beca agreed and threw her forelimbs around Jesse in a anatomically-questionable wolf-hug because he was right--it WAS inevitable."
Now... I do not know Beca all that well, and I doubt Jesse knows her that well either. Perhaps Beca agreed with him because it's inevitable.... Or she could also think that he's extremely strange and is a huge nerd. Either way, it was wrong to assume what the second player would do in this situation, and it is even worse to post on their behalf. This form of godmoding is no different than writing a book in which you control all the characters (which you should consider doing instead of roleplay, if this sounds fun!). However, it's far more controversial than writing your own stories because there are actual living, breathing people on the other end of other characters that you are unfairly playing with. Don't be a dick like Jesse just was, and don't possess anyone else's character, ya demon. Instead, a more fair post would be, "Jesse looked across the pack gathering and found Beca of the rival pack. Jesse, not particularly in his right mind, bounded over and informed Beca that because he was a wolf and she was a wolf, they were probably going to have wolf pups together." Then Beca can make her own decisions like a grown ass adult and choose what to do in this aca-awkward situation.
>>The Final Countdown: How to Handle Godmoding Godmoders<<
Now that we have a fair grasp on what Godmoding actually is... we can discuss how we ought to handle it when a fellow player godmodes. This can be a tricky thing to consider, because how you handle a situation rife with godmoding may change depending on your partner. It is never a bad idea to ask your resident group admin for advice when you are faced with excessive godmoding before you take things into your own paws... er... hands. What you should probably NOT do, however, is pitch a soap box about it in group chats. This creates a confrontational environment where nothing is likely to be remedied even though it could have been a simple mistake.
That being said, there are two key ways that you might handle a godmoding situation. The first of these two ways is to calmly and politely inform the other player that you prefer not to godmode in your roleplay, as it takes the fun out of it for you and presents less of an exciting, fair story. For example, you might say, "(Opposing Player), can you please not (whatever they did to godmode) for right now? We have rules in my group against that in order to make the roleplay more fair for all players involved, and I would appreciate it if you could give me more of a chance to try and play back and have fun on my own too." Notice the courteous tone... this is the most important part. Don't be a dick--key words being "don't" and "dick." You need to remember that not all roleplayers come from the same background as you. What is godmoding to you may be perfectly acceptable to them, and it is not your responsibility to change their style without their permission. (Actually, hey, that sounds a little bit like real-like forcing actions COUGH COUGH.) It is okay for you to ask another player to play on even ground with you, but it is not your responsibility, obligation, or in your power to forcibly change their way of play if they do not wish it. With that in mind, respect is the key in whatever you do in life, especially requesting a godmoder to stop their godmoding.
And the second technique, you ask? It is my personal favorite, though often a difficult technique to grasp. I once met a roleplayer--In Greece he spent a year in silence just to better understand the sound of a whisper. It's a profound art which can only truly be mastered by those who have mastered their tongues. Yes, my lords, my ladies, and all you other people... In the face of godmoding, you are fully entitled to just ignore it. -dodges wayward tomatoes and booing- Now hear me out. I do not mean stop what your doing and ghost it like a bad tinder swipe. However, you can always just continue on as if it did not happen. You can take another player's godmoding post as if it were a fair post and continue on your way. A strategy for this is to read their godmoding post as if it were a fair post without physically mentioning doing so. This method can be highly helpful when it comes to being faced with a godmoding situation. It is good for preventing conflict over the act of godmoding and has the ability to let both players relax and play the way they are most comfortable. Of course, some might point out that they landed the hit or whichever. If they do, you can simply go back to square one, being the first method above, and calmly, politely explain how you choose to roleplay.
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Knowing what you now know about godmoding from this guide, hopefully you will be able to make yourself into a well-rounded roleplayer capable of avoiding it in your own use (because you'll find far less fun, fair roleplays if you do use it). Hopefully, you will also find yourself able to handle the situation should you be faced with another player godmoding against your or a friend. Of course, godmoding is highly controversial, and often the definition of it varies from group to group (though the insight given here is fairly standard for most intermediate groups). So, of course, a brief reminder that the best path is always to ask your group leader or another admin to help you with any problems you might encounter with godmoding. Never be afraid to ask for help or further explanation on a topic! You'd be surprised how beneficial some mature communication your issues can be.
Subject: A Guide To Godmoding (And How to Avoid It) 
