April Fools issues (Humor in your games)

[Brazeku]

All the time. I avoid puns because... yeah. Anyway, most of the jokes are just really over the top NPCs. The interactions with the party are totally priceless.

Best session ever was when one dude had agreed to hand over some technology if the party would entertain him by putting on a show, and they chose to do a Rock opera. And it worked! It was called "Die Imperials". Those were the only lyrics, aside from the occasional swear. It was totally great! They had a whole thing planned out with notes on special effects, and they all had ridiculous, unexplained powers (like the ability to fly or levitate, shoot lasers, and so on) for the duration of the performance, all of which were being constantly dissed by the peanut gallery NPCs.

I mean, we play games for fun, right?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Humor happens.

Absolutely no preparation is necessary. And I respect the game too much to have a joke session.

 

[hong]

I had 3 NPCs once called Randall, Malcolm and Bishop.

 

[Oryan77]

I once tried spicing up a session to make the players feel like the world around them is more alive. To help do this, I created this scenario from an idea I got from an enworld post. It involves a bard's puppet telling jokes to the PC's (a whole tavern actually) and I allowed the PC to respond in between the jokes. Here's the notes that I wrote to myself so I could play it out:


Party sees a Half-Elven Bard sitting on a small platform in the corner of the tavern. There is what looks like a wooden puppet sitting on his knee and it appears that the Bard has one hand holding the puppet from behind. (He's a ventrioloquist). The Bard asks one of the party members to assist him and then the Puppet begins talking to the PC.


Bard (Lucious): "I need a volunteer this evening from the crowd…how about one of you fine patrons?" *points to PC's* "Come on up here."

Puppet (Luvets): *speaking to PC* "Hey Blood, I know it looks like this Half-Breed Elf here is my master cause he keeps me in that box, but don't let that fool ya. My names Luvets, so what's yer name cutter?

Puppet: I've got a few good jokes for ya ……..! Let me know if you've ever heard any of these. So what's the fastest way to get a one-armed Half-Orc out of a tree?"

Puppet: "You just WAVE at the poor sod!"

Puppet: "Ok..ok..so how do you get a Half-Orc to laugh at a joke on Friday?"

Puppet: "Ya tell it to him on Monday!"

Puppet: "So did ya hear what happened to the smartest Half-Orc on the Prime Material Planes?"

Puppet: "His foot got stuck in a bear trap while adventuring, he chewed off his leg, and he was still stuck in the bear trap!"


Just then, a very large, very mean-looking Half-Orc in the back of the room stands up and growls. He throws his mug of ale down on the ground and it shatters. Then he slams his fist into the table, breaking off a good sized chunk of wood.


Half-Orc: "I'm sick of this berk making fun of Half-Orcs and saying we're stupid! I outta rip yer head clean off yer neck!"

The bard quickly throws his hands up in the air apologetically and looks very nervous.

Bard: "My apologies Cutter. Didn't mean anything personal. I was just trying to get some cheap laughs to liven up the audience."

Half-Orc: "Sir, I wasn't talking to you so pike it! I was talkin to the little smartass sitting on your lap!"


Everyone in the tavern erupts into laughter. Two of the Half-Orcs human companions joyfully pat the Half-Orc on the shoulders and motion for him to calm down and take a seat. After the humans exchange some words with the Half-Orc, the Half-Orc's face turns red and he lowers his head in embarassment. The tavern patrons attention focuses back on the Bard, and the Bard continues on with his routine.

 

[Peni Griffin]

I have found that the easiest way to get a laugh is to tell the truth.

What makes my players laugh the hardest is when people in the game act the way people do in real life. In RHOD, Jorr the ranger became a comic character because I played him as a type with which they were familiar (the redneck loner, shy around but admiring of women), and his dogs were named Grip, Fang, and Tinkerbell. The players hit on the idea of reducing bandit predation on refugee trains by getting Wiston to offer a bounty on Hordelings, up to and including free pardons in exchange for high-ranking officers, and roleplaying this had many comic elements. I didn't even have to work at it; when I said that certain young men listening to the announcement had "teenage questions" concerning the bounty and the players started making their own. "So, how much do I get if I bring in half an ear? What if I haven't committed any crimes, can I trade in the pardon for cash or could I commit a crime and get off free?"

I infodump rumors sometimes, partly to give the players a feel for the larger world in which they play, and partly to guage what they're interested in. I had the Red Horde dropping propaganda leaflets and specified that they were made of some kind of thin parchment, quickly assumed by the populace to be human skin. In confirmation of this, the PCs spoke to someone who's best friend's cousin's aunt's girlfriend's daughter picked up a leaflet with a tattoo on it, which she recognized as being from the arm of her fiance, who had gone up the Old North Road with a caravan earlier in the year. They found this hilarious, mostly because I structured it as a FOAF story.

Most games develop funny on their own. You don't have to push it, and if you do, you risk being annoying. It takes a light touch, a straight face, and an honest heart to do it on purpose.