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<blockquote data-quote="Peni Griffin" data-source="post: 3425463" data-attributes="member: 50322">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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; I didn't even have to work at it; when I said that certain young men listening to the announcement had &quot;teenage questions&quot; concerning the bounty and the players started making their own.&nbsp; &quot;So, how much do I get if I bring in half an ear?&nbsp; 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?&quot;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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; They found this hilarious, mostly because I structured it as a FOAF story.Most games develop funny on their own.&nbsp; You don't have to push it, and if you do, you risk being annoying.&nbsp; It takes a light touch, a straight face, and an honest heart to do it on purpose.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Peni Griffin, post: 3425463, member: 50322"] 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. [/QUOTE]

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