D&D General How serious are your D&D games?

[Vaalingrade]

D&D has high laugh level.
Loads other games to do the misery porn level of grim OR very very silly

What is 'Wraith: the Oblivion', Alex?

I will never forgive my friend for inviting us to play that.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What is 'Wraith: the Oblivion', Alex?

I will never forgive my friend for inviting us to play that.

Wraith: The game where someone thought Nazi death camps would be a good setting book.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Thinking more about this, I think my answer would be:

"Everyone should take the game seriously, but the game doesn't have to be serious."

I like this. take A lot.

Take the game seriously: Come prepared. Contribute. Share the spotlight. Try to keep non-game related banter at a minimum while we're playing - we make time before and after the game for that.

Yet gameplay need not be so serious. At our table, I relish: groaning (at misfortune and at bad puns), cheering (for amazing dice outcomes and cool strategies), gasping (at near misses and surprises), and laughter (at misfortune and at bad puns). With great emphasis on the laughter part.

 

[Rabulias]

Yet gameplay need not be so serious. At our table, I relish: groaning (at misfortune and at bad puns), cheering (for amazing dice outcomes and cool strategies), gasping (at near misses and surprises), and laughter (at misfortune and at bad puns). With great emphasis on the laughter part.

But really, is there any such thing as a bad pun? Aren't they all great?

 

[iserith]

Thinking more about this, I think my answer would be:

"Everyone should take the game seriously, but the game doesn't have to be serious."

Yes, in terms of what people put into making themselves available for play and the process of play itself, it's good to have players and DMs who take that part seriously. As far as the content though? It can be absolutely silly. And in my view, D&D is so inherently silly that trying to make the content serious is like trying to swim against the current.

People who read my posts on the usual topics may come away with a sense that my game is Serious Stuff. Far from it, but when it comes to the process of play? It's absolutely serious because those sorts of fundamental aspects of the game influence everything that follows, no matter how silly the content.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I got as far as character creation with that game.

What is 'Wraith: the Oblivion', Alex?

I will never forgive my friend for inviting us to play that.

Ironically for a company whose games frequently were about keeping your humanity amongst the monstrous, in their quest to make dark and edgy games, they lost sight of that themselves on multiple occasions. I get that the past is frequently a foreign country, but even by the standards of the time, that was egregious.

Wraith: The game where someone thought Nazi death camps would be a good setting book.

 

[Laurefindel]

Normally, I aim for «very serious» but it inevitably ends up «mostly serious».

My present campaign is an import of a comic strip (Girl Genius) in Eberron and purposefully aims for a more Garduians of the Galaxy level of silliness despite the pretty high stakes.

 

[Voadam]

Normally aim to «very serious» but inevitably ends up «mostly serious».

My present campaign is an import of a comic strip (Girl Genius) in Eberron and purposefully aims for a more Garduians of the Galaxy level of silliness despite the pretty high stakes.

I can't imagine doing a zero humor Foglio themed game.

Even doing it straight faced serious would be a subversion that was funny.

 

[Lanefan]

Thinking more about this, I think my answer would be:

"Everyone should take the game seriously, but the game doesn't have to be serious."

As a player, I take it seriously enough to show up on time for the sessions but once I'm there seriousness might just go out the window, depending on the in-game situation.

As a DM I take it more seriously mostly because I pretty much have to; but even then there's going to be a steady-ish diet of whimsical and-or slapstick elements thrown in.

 

[Incenjucar]

Venture Bros.

I started off my last campaign with vampire mermaids and an angel pirate captain.

At one point I pantomimed an NPC doing a backstory exposition dance.

The players once snuck into a drug den through a room where two giff were going at it.

The players also turned the second-in-command boss into the Silver Sweeper, a babbling minion covered in metal who swung a broom.

One encounter involved being cuddled by albino swamp gorillas.

I could go on for quite awhile.