Comedy in D&D, good or bad?

[Moe Ronalds]

I'm a novice DM and I have a question. (Well several, but one that's been bugging me for a bit) How much comedy is too much for a game? Is it going overboard to have a mystical being named Chet? Or an NPC named Poofypants? I kind of have a lot of humor in my adventures but I've been thinking it's too much..

 

[Moon_Goddess]

It all depends on your players, some like it, some really hate it.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

There are as many ways to run a game as there are gaming groups. I am happiest as a player or GM when the group laughs a lot. And while I might not go so far as to introduce an NPC as Mr. Poofypants, that doesn't matter: what matters is the way your players respond to the humor. If your players enjoy that humor, then it's good. If it isn't working, lose it.

-jpj

 

[Uller]

If it is fun for the group, go with it. It's just a game, remember. You're not co-writing a novel(and even novels have comedic relief...Read David Eddings Belgeriad trilogy...sure the books aren't great literature, but their a fun read and Silk is a laugh riot).

In the game I play in, we met a Merlin/Elminster/Gandalf type guy. We could never remember his name, so whenever he showed up, someone would say "Al's back!" Even the DM calls him Al, now...

 

[Holy Bovine]

Ask your players what they think. They are the ultimate judges since they have to play in the world you create.

Ask them to be honest and that you are thinking there may be too much comedy in the game as it stands now.

If 1/2 like the comedy and 1/2 think there is too much try cutting down on the number of times the great stone heirglyphics make mention of chickens and roads or how many times that Succubus named Drayno and talks like a Valley Girl shows up. Your players are your best sounding board in this case.

 

[Quickbeam]

Overall comedy is a good thing, since the point of D&D is to have fun . That said, there is clearly a point where enough homur becomes too much humor and silliness. If you and the players are having a good time, and the humor is adding to everyone's enjoyment of the sessions, then keep it coming. If it highjinx begin to detract from the game, tone it down a notch or two.

Our group has a secondary campaign we play once every 6-8 weeks, where the primary focus is roleplaying characters with lovable, silly flaws and quirks. Those sessions are lighthearted, relaxed and designed to improve our RP talent. I wouldn't that level of silliness in our regular game, but in its element we have a blast!!

 

[Altalazar]

Sometimes comedy is made all the more sweet by the seriousness of a situation.

Watch Braveheart - that is a deadly serious movie, and yet there are moments, even when it is most serious, where there is a bit of comedy - it relieves tension.

Such as during the first battle, when the arrows are flying, and they are hiding behind the arrows and the irishman quips - 'The good lord has arranged to get me out of this one. But as for you, you're pretty much f*&#ed'.

Of course, you don't want to overdue it - but they don't call it comic relief for nothing. The campaign that had the most fun with that was actually my Ravenloft campaign - described elsewhere - where you had one party member cursed to turn into a fish-man, another cursed to turn into a zombie-lord, and yet another one slowly turning insane. At one point, they ran into a cursed NPC who was traumatized by it and told them about it to get both sympathy and to threaten them. The quick reaction of the party, which was unexpected, was the fish-man (Aqua-man as he became known) threw back his hood and showed his scaled head, the zombie lord threw off her cloak, and the stepped forward, pointing at themselves and said something like 'You think YOU have problems, Listen...'