funny vs. stupid

[Mark]

Re: Re: Re: funny vs. stupid

I beg to differ Let's say that the intersection of the two isn't empty. But I can think of many stupid things that aren't funny - and redwing seems to think the same or he wouldn't ask.

I'd posit that if you take each and every funny thing, you will find that there are some of them that no one would call stupid, even if they don't necessarily find them funny. I'd venture, however, anything that is stupid is funny to someone despite our own opinions. One field, therefore and entirely in my opinion, lies completely within the other (making it a subset).

Well, back to post-natal endeavors...

 

[Wicht]

Besides Discworld, some other sources for ideas about comedy in Fantasy might include:

Alice in Wonderland A classic!

Kieth Laumer's Retief stories I suggest the short stories and particularly the early stuff. His work is Sci-fi but if you read it I think you will see many comedic fantasy possibilities.

The Elfin Ship by James P. Blaylock Lighthearted fantasy about a master cheese maker. There is a second book but IMO it is not as good.

The sword in the Stone by T.H. White The rest of White's Arthur stories are pretty depressing but he sets the tone for the fall by making this first novel light hearted

John Morressy's Kedrigern series Stories about a counterspeller wizard

The Apple Dumpling gang by Jack Bickham This is NOT the disney Movie but the original novel. It is a western but it demonstrates how to push normal everyday people and events into a comedic situation.

Terry Brook's Magic Kingdom for sale/sold This and the following books are not quite comedy but they contain some humorous elements that with a little push could be made much more comedic in nature.

 

[Pielorinho]

I'd recommend reading Doc Midnight's awesome Feng Shui story hour for ideas, and borrowing liberally. T

he humor in my game comes from one major source:

-Bizarre Characters. They don't need to be cartoons, but make them weirdos. The shishkebob seller near the town square is a rabid conspiracy theorist who sounds plausible at first, but who gets stranger and stranger the more you listen to her. The villain takes himself very seriously and talks about himself only in the third person. Another villain dresses up in a parody of the king in order to make an obscure political statement. Try to make your players laugh and say, "What the hell was THAT?"

Daniel

 

[redwing]

what do you think about actually shaping the world in some weird and unusual way like having conitnients appear as different items that represent the culture? That was what one of my oler dm's had. It was funny for some of us.

What I have learned through the course of comedy gaming is: NO FOOD JOKES!!!! They are stupid!! Not just in games but everywhere. For example (again not meant as a flame; just my opinion) when Wierd Al Yankovich (sp?) first came out ALL his songs were about food. He even stated in an interview he regreted that time but learned from it.

 

[Mark]

I've been thinking about this a bit more and maybe there is some way to approach giving some advice of a general nature without actually knowing your players. If you could give a few more examples of what your group has enjoyed in the past during games as being "funny" then maybe the ENBers could springboard off of those ideas with some suggestions.

There's just soooooo many ways to approach comedy that it makes it very hard to suggest things to people you do not know.

Does your group like puns? Absurd humor? Quirky personalies? Cartoonish situations? Humor that stems from making the best of a tough situation (Tragicomedy)? Ironic twists? Satirical plots? Parodies of other RL things such as politics, movies or books? Farcical relationships between people? Running gags?

Give us a little more to go on and perhaps we can key in on more specific suggestions...

 

[Sulimo]

Besides Discworld, some other sources for ideas about comedy in Fantasy might include:

Alice in Wonderland A classic!

Kieth Laumer's Retief stories I suggest the short stories and particularly the early stuff. His work is Sci-fi but if you read it I think you will see many comedic fantasy possibilities.

The Elfin Ship by James P. Blaylock Lighthearted fantasy about a master cheese maker. There is a second book but IMO it is not as good.

The sword in the Stone by T.H. White The rest of White's Arthur stories are pretty depressing but he sets the tone for the fall by making this first novel light hearted

John Morressy's Kedrigern series Stories about a counterspeller wizard

The Apple Dumpling gang by Jack Bickham This is NOT the disney Movie but the original novel. It is a western but it demonstrates how to push normal everyday people and events into a comedic situation.

Terry Brook's Magic Kingdom for sale/sold This and the following books are not quite comedy but they contain some humorous elements that with a little push could be made much more comedic in nature.

There's also the Jason Cosmo series by Dan McGirt which also isnt straight comedy, but contain humourous elements. At least from what I remember - it was years ago when I read them.