Jester David
Hero
There was certainly drama: pretty much every scene they weren't in as a duo.
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D&D 5E Whimsy in your game?
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
Hussar
Legend
Thing is, there's all sorts of examples of whimsy characters that are incredibly dark.
Obviously, you have The Joker. That's about as good as it gets right there. The Goblin King from Labyrinth. Doctor Who is rife with fairly silly characters (Daleks anyone) and the Doctor himself is both whimsical and incredibly dark. Torchwood provides lots of examples too. Mort from the Planescape video game - a flying skull that helps you through your adventure. Neil Gaiman would also be a fantastic source - the Sandman stories, American Gods and others. Hellboy would be another good source of inspiration here.
Dark whimsy is hardly a new thing. And, for my money, it's also really, really cool.
Obviously, you have The Joker. That's about as good as it gets right there. The Goblin King from Labyrinth. Doctor Who is rife with fairly silly characters (Daleks anyone) and the Doctor himself is both whimsical and incredibly dark. Torchwood provides lots of examples too. Mort from the Planescape video game - a flying skull that helps you through your adventure. Neil Gaiman would also be a fantastic source - the Sandman stories, American Gods and others. Hellboy would be another good source of inspiration here.
Dark whimsy is hardly a new thing. And, for my money, it's also really, really cool.
And, while my friends and I enjoy many of those things listed, the only one relevant to D&D as far as my friends and I are concerned is Labyrinth (we despise Planescape). If we want Dr Who, we will pull out Dr Who: Adventures in Time and Space. If we want something Neil Gaiman, we find a system for that. Hellboy? Well, I have never been a fan and none of my friends ever talk about it. As for the Goblin King, that is, to me, fine for something in the Feywild. I don't want it for more than part of a session and, definitely, not with regards to the demons or the Underdark (the latter which holds no interest for me as a DM or player)
So what do you pull D&D out for? For me, I've had a range of campaigns with different themes and tones. It doesn't do gritty realism well, admittedly, but the comedic scale is well accommodated at both ends.
Hussar
Legend
Umm, we're talking about inspired by, not directly ported into. A demon inspired by The Joker would be pretty cool. Heck, what was the name of that clown demon in Spawn? Not the live action movie, but the animated series was pretty darn dark and whimsical. Very cool and easily ported into a D&D setting.
What do you think they mean by "inspired by" or "drawing from"?
Sacrosanct
Legend
Jester David
Hero
And when done well it works very nicely, accentuating the horror aspects. When it isn't done well it's painful and campy.
Remathilis
Legend
I'll guess Game of Thrones. There, the only comedy is slipping and falling from the intestines of your disemboweled foe laying on the floor while on your way to rape your sister...
pming
Legend
Hiya!
"Whimsical" generally means "full of whimsy, usually in a light, funny or playful manner". Basically "chaotic and unpredictable, but light and playful".... y'know, "fun for the whole family".
Anyway, someone mentioned other examples, like the Joker, and the Goblin King of the movie Labyrinth. Joker...maybe, depending on if we are talking movie/graphic novel Joker, or Saturday morning cartoon Joker. The Goblin King? Maybe, but how would he have been seen/remembered if he was constantly cracking bad puns and was called the Gobble-in King and dressed up in a bad turkey suit? That is what I see us getting a bit too often in Out of the Abyss... silly names, silly situations, silly pictures/art. No thanks, pass. Now, if it was Heath Ledger Joker...count me in! But, judging from the names and art, I'm doubt it.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
"Whimsical" generally means "full of whimsy, usually in a light, funny or playful manner". Basically "chaotic and unpredictable, but light and playful".... y'know, "fun for the whole family".
Anyway, someone mentioned other examples, like the Joker, and the Goblin King of the movie Labyrinth. Joker...maybe, depending on if we are talking movie/graphic novel Joker, or Saturday morning cartoon Joker. The Goblin King? Maybe, but how would he have been seen/remembered if he was constantly cracking bad puns and was called the Gobble-in King and dressed up in a bad turkey suit? That is what I see us getting a bit too often in Out of the Abyss... silly names, silly situations, silly pictures/art. No thanks, pass. Now, if it was Heath Ledger Joker...count me in! But, judging from the names and art, I'm doubt it.
^_^
Paul L. Ming
Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Camp also very much has a place in the game; and are we sometimes confusing camp with whimsy here?
Someone years ago had an excellent thread in here where we were asked to describe our campaign in 10 words or less. Mine went:
JRR Tolkein, may I introduce you to Xena, Warrior Princess.
To expand this a bit: my ideal campaign would nicely meld the high fantasy and underlying seriousness of Tolkein with the over-the-top camp and humour (and occasional seriousness) of the Xena-Hercules series. It doesn't always come off, but that don't stop me from trying.
(and throw in some Game-of-Thrones grit for good measure)Lan-"putting the camp in campaign since 1984"-efan
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