> I generally see games "turning silly" as a good sign that people > are comfortable with their characters. It's a form of > caricature; I know my PC well enough that I can envision > them outside of the developing environment. I don't agree -- at least not completely. When people are "really roleplaying" (whatever that means) and are comfortable with their characters, we rarely get silliness as a side-effect. I guess my feeling is that when it becomes a caricature, focus has been lost. > The other side of it is, of course, is it group-wide or is > it one (or two) individuals that are being enthusiastic? > Is it disruptive? Do you feel comfortable saying, "This is > funny, but is it going somewhere or do I need to take > control and direct this again?" I think that the question wouldn't come up unless it is being disruptive. The occasional funny moment when appropriate (such as when a PC became a near babbling idiot when he discovered he was to be a father -- and needed to be dunked in the rain barrell), but if it involves lots of OOC comments about underwear...perhaps you might have a problem. And if it isn't disruptive, then it isn't bothering anyone and no one would ask. (My husband's DnD game seems to have more OOC chatter than IC roleplaying -- and everything seems to be on a level that makes low-brow humor look classy, but no one has issues with it. I don't play, because I *would*) > The big question then is what to do when the answer is, "We're not > happy with the game." Then you figure out how to make people happy...or you play something else. Jennifer -- The White Crow Author: The Deryni Roleplaying Game (Coming Nov. 2001, Grey Ghost Press) My RPG pages: http://www.io.com/~whytcrow/ Living Writing: A Column at http://www.free-epress.com/columns/index.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- GMAST Home Page: http://www.phoenyx.net/gmast/
