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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Petrosian" data-source="post: 155431" data-attributes="member: 1149">My thoights on cinema and characters...I love good dramatic or comedic scenes. They are great things.COMEDY is, however, a thing best derived for main characters (the PCs) by putting them OUT OF THEIR ELEMENT. If you make fun of a character in what he is good at, then you belittle him and all that he has worked at, for the sake of a yuck.In the original example a character with good skills and works at points spent on diplomacy, gather info perhaps and generally good social skills walks in expecting to get to make actual use of those NON-COMBAT skills and gets a summary YOU FAIL for comedic purposes. Adding insult to insult he also gets caught by ruffian types (also summarily) and so all his size and dex etc is also nerfed for the scene.IMO, it is bad form to fiat away for the sake of comedy the character's strengths. IMO it is good form for comedic purposes to highlight the characters weaknesses.A much better scene would be to let the character get a few rounds of drinks and some info gathered and have a fight start between two bar guys. The insuing brawl could engulf the halfling and his new found chat buddies and an incredibly comedic scene could result as he tries to avoid getting brawled, moving around at knee level in a barfight, maybe even helping some of his new friends and thus making even firmer social gains. A whole bunch of slapstick yucks to be had when he gets snatched up by the bruiser and is about to be pummeled and HAS A CHANCE TO BE CREATIVE himself.As opposed to...they all dont like you."but i roll a cha check of ..."you fail, they all dont like you..."well ok i..."you are grabbed by drunken patron..."but i have an ac of..."you fail, he has grabbed you and ..."i have escape artis..."you fail, he carries you to the door and throws you out.Don't humiliate your characters/players in their character strengths. highlight their weaknesses for humor and it should go over much better more often than not.In my game, last session, the barbarian's leg waxing scene had them rolling.</blockquote>

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