Funny Good, Funny Bad

When is humor acceptable in games, and when it’s not

Thanks to the author, Aggran

A sense of humor is a good thing, don’t get me wrong, humor seems to help people deal with the chaos of the world, and it certainly makes life more interesting and fun. However, sometimes jokes and snickers can ruin the quality and atmosphere of a role playing game. So, I’ve come up with examples of when, and how, humor fits best in our game.

When Humor Doesn’t Work

Humor doesn’t work when it disrupts the game, or is centered on meta-game things. For example, don’t make fun of the GM for a voice that he uses for the Captain of the Guard. I will assume that whatever outburst you make, your character makes.

This type of humor hijacks the game, and wastes our valuable time. It does not contribute to the story, atmosphere, or group enjoyment of the game. Chances are, the GM is trying to be patient, and waiting for you to finish, so that we can all get back to the game.

Some examples of humor gone bad:

• Making a joke about the voice that another player is using.
• Doing impressions of the GM describing a setting/NPC/monster. 
• Making fun of a PC or NPC name. “Harkoon? Sounds like Harpoon!”
• Goofing off with the pewter figures, trying to make others laugh.
• “AK-AK-Aking” while another player speaks.
• Having your character say anything about “pr0n”, “snarf”, or “the power of castle greyskull.”

I’m sure that you get the idea, here. Save your jokes for the dinner break, not for the middle of the game. If you are so tempted to fool around, maybe you should create a character that has a similar sense of humor to your own.

Possible penalties

If a player insists upon meta-game humor and it becomes excessive, they can expect to run the next game session. Suddenly, it isn’t so funny when 4-5 other people are looking to you to create an entertaining evening, and one of them attempts to take control of the game that you’ve carefully planed.

When Humor Works

Humor works best if it is kept in character. What I mean by this is that your character is responding to something in the world, and reacts to it in a way that is consistent with the personality that you’ve crafted for her. When you make a joke in character, we all assume that your character says whatever joke that you’ve said.

If you’re the joking type of person, maybe you should incorporate this humor into the character itself. Then, when you are tempted to crack one, it is in character, and not some alien outburst.

Examples of good humor:

• You make fun of the size of Krysta’s bicepts. “Geez, they’re as big as my leg!! How do you even swing that sword?!! It should just fly outta your hands!!!”
• Draezor and Perrun snicker at the incompetence of the Irvan street archer nailing an innocent victim in the Irvan crowds: ”Oi, my EYE!”
• You laugh because the boulder just landed on the Dar, and your character is a bit jaded towards the little fella.

Remember: When you joke, your character jokes. If you’re making fun of a character “out of game” I’m going to assume that this is what your character is saying. Period.

We all get together to game for one thing: to have fun. We are all friends with wacky senses of humor, and it is tempting to let the cat out of the bag from time to time.

So, if you’re going to make jokes, have your character do it for you, and your GM and the other players will love you.