[Rant] Bad cliches, silly names, and acting stupid around the gaming table

[Lanefan]

Both as DM and player, I tend to ham it up at times, depending on the character (some lends themselves to such things more than others). It's just more fun that way.

As DM, I'll also chuck in the occasional over-the-top stereotype NPC...usually a wizard whose ego is only bounded by...well, nothing, or a Cavalier who is so hide-bound in his (or her) sense of honour as to be nearly non-functional. People either find these fun, and play their own characters accordingly, or awful, and try something different; either way, all is good.

Lanefan

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I'm afraid this isn't for me, as a rule.

I enjoy jokes at the gaming table - too much, some of my fellow players might say - but I generally prefer to keep the content of the game "straight".

That might mean playing a genuinely amusing character, but there's a difference between playing a funny character and playing a joke character.

Joke characters, situations, and the like aren't for me.

I also can't stand cliches, especially the tired old traditional fantasy cliches.

 

[Oryan77]

The problem is, most gamers that play "silly" games are not really funny guys to begin with. They try too hard to be funny and end up being more lame than funny...fitting into the stereotypical gamer role.

That's just my opinion based on the gamers that I've met.

I can enjoy a funny/goofy game as much as the next guy, but it needs to actually be funny, not lame & embarassing. And naming characters Fluffy McBubblebutt & adventuring in an air-balloon shaped like a giant cupcake is not funny to me. Fighting with a dead fish & a garbage can lid instead of a shortsword and shield is not funny. Those are lame attempts at humor and something an 8 year old would find "funny".

But roleplaying the ugly dwarf that flirts with any & all females can be funny (if you are witty enough to say funny things in your attempts at romance). Maybe the groups NPC guide rubbed the Wizard PC the wrong way so the PC constantly harasses the groups NPC guide by casting Ventriloquism on the guide each time he's talking to other important NPC's (again, it's only funny if you are witty enough to say funny things). Or maybe the Wizard sneaks body parts in the NPC's backpack so he reaks when he enters town. The PC Fighter could be the type that always brags about his sparing skills and challenges NPC's at every tavern no matter how weak or strong the NPC is. If the player is a funny guy, he can make this an amusing scenario each time.

I don't really find gamers in general very funny. When meeting random gamers online in hopes they could join my group, half of them always come off as the "Fluffy McBubblebutt" type of players. The stories they tell me about their games send red flags and I know right away that they aren't the type of funny players I want in my game. I understand a lot of people like to play with that type of humor, so I'm not critisizing that style at all...I just don't think of it as being funny myself.

 

[shilsen]

I think it is obvious from your story hour that you folks do this very well.

Thanks. I think we manage to strike a pretty good balance there.

BTW, you mean the Burne story hour and not my Eberron story hour, right?

 

[PwrMnky]

Humor

I agree with the posters who encourage humor from interaction as opposed to expression.

Meaning a "funny name" does not encourage as much diverse humor, or the longevity of humor ... as two funny conflicting personalities trying to accomplish a goal.

You're talking about a "knock-knock joke" versus a "TV Sit Com."

 

[Brimshack]

I can certainly understand the concern about people who try to be funny and fail. I've cringed at a bad accent or a ridiculous name or two myself. At such times I tell myself it's a game and if that's what the player wants to do. So, I'm not going to take the wind out of his sails just because I would prefer to have the scene play out in a different tone. Truth be told, I find it quite a bit harder to swallow the super-serious characters that some plays come up with. Part of the reason the Dead Alewives sketch is so funny is that moment in the parody where the super-hilarious geeky player tries to speak with the gravity of an epic character, "I am Galstaff, Sorcerer of Lite..." He just can't carry it off (and I've seen that happen more times than I can count). Cringe-worthy performances abound at the game table, and in my own experience they are as likely to come from those who play it serious as those who play it funny.

I would add that not enjoying a performance is not quite the same as disallowing it. I can't say I've enjoyed all the gags people have brought to my table, but I don't really see a need to take action in most instances. Better to let the players try what they want to in my estimation. We can always have a little sit down if it gets out of hand, I don't see a need to pre-empt any type of performance, really.

 

[Silver Moon]

We're very big in humor and out-of-game comments during our games, although part of it is that we've all been friends for between 20 and 30 years, so there would be a lot of that when we get together even if a game wasn't going on at the time.