Playing Castle Ravenloft for laughs?

[Tewligan]

Ask them politely if one of them want to run a game. If they decline and continue state that you have put effort into running a serious game so the humor is unwelcome and if they want to keep it up, so are they.

Wheeee.

 

[Hammerhead]

Ask them politely if one of them want to run a game. If they decline and continue state that you have put effort into running a serious game so the humor is unwelcome and if they want to keep it up, so are they.

Seriously. This is a game, you shouldn't be having fun, darn it!

I second the suggestion to play the straight man. You could even play up the party's humor by having some NPCs mention how "out of place" it seems.

And, you know, I never played the original or anything, but I can't really see Ravenloft as being that atmospheric or anything. I mean, it's pretty much drenched in cliches in any case.

 

[evileeyore]

Don't think Mel Brooks.

Think Bob Newhart. Play the straight man. If they want to play it like 'The Mummy' or some other wise cracking low brow adventure, that's there decision. Keep a straight face. So straight that its funny, or at least a good surface to bounce jokes off of.

It doesn't sound like you are going to change the players at this point, but if it was me it wouldn't be the comedy that would bother me. Actually playing your character for laughs is extremely entertaining for me as a DM, especially if you are actually funny. What would bother me is if they couldn't stay in character. A funny in character quip is one thing, but continual out of character banter suggests either immaturity or boredom or both. I don't DM just to hear myself talk. If I'm not entertaining you, why should I waste my time? If you don't entertain me, I'm not going to stay interested in doing the work to produce fun sessions for you. Let's play something everyone can keep thier minds on, or watch a movie or something.

What this guy said. Pure Golden Wisdom.

It's how I run and the players love to bounce jokes off the straight man. It's become a running wager, who can make the DM crack up without resorting to outright tomfoolery.

 

[Dlsharrock]

Funny is only funny so long as everyone finds it funny. If two players are spoiling it for the rest, that's not funny, and their enjoyment isn't paramount, the enjoyment of everyone concerned is. And it does sound like it might be spoiling things for you at least. It could be spoiling it for other players too.

I'd agree you should play the straight man if that sounds like a comfortable solution to you, but if you don't actually want to play the plank to their malarkey, you have your heart set on a serious game, or you can tell this is spoiling the fun for other players, well then, it's time to have an OOC discussion and sort things out.

 

[roguerouge]

And, you know, I never played the original or anything, but I can't really see Ravenloft as being that atmospheric or anything. I mean, it's pretty much drenched in cliches in any case.

One of the things that I tell my media students is that if a cliche works, it's archetypal. And Ravenloft does work.

 

[jaerdaph]

This is exactly the kind of badwrong fun I love!

 

[Mark]

Sometimes a humorous reaction indicates just how intense a campaign situation happens to actually be. Be mindful of that, and also that the fun being had is a compliment to the game mastering, and just try to keep it clear that the meta-humor does not detract from the in-game seriousness, but rather gives you clues to gage the reactions. It's simply a release mechanism.