Episode 131
How to be Silly in D&D
Welcome to How to Be a Better DM!
Today, we're talking about how to invite silliness and funny business to your table, and why it can help your group enjoy the entire experience.
Here is the episode transcript for anyone interested:
Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent. I'm Justin Lewis here with my friend Tanner Weyland. Hi. Yeah, that's all I got, sorry. Yeah, good to see you all. Great to be here. Tanner and I are in rare form today. We just recorded another episode, which, which went a little bit long.
So we're going to kind of do this fast mode. We're going to do a speed run, uh, but which probably means we'll just go the normal length because I'm a little bit. That's how it always goes is we're like, Oh, let's be fast. Okay. 20 minutes later. Exactly. Uh, without further ado though, let's jump in actually first a quick mention, follow us on Instagram at how to be better DM and at monsters.rent.
Now let's jump in today. We're going to talk about the flip side of one of our episodes last month, which was how to add tragedy to your game. So they were talking about how to, how to add comedy to your game and in the Shakespearean. Uh, definition of the word comedy just means a happy ending, right?
Everyone, like Tanner said, last time, everyone gets married. Essentially in this episode, we're going to talk specifically about making people smile, laugh, or giggle kind of that sort of comedy, the comedy that we're, we're more familiar with today. Not necessarily just a happy ending because obviously everyone wants a happy ending, but more of how to add comical moments or silly moments, or, you know, he has and gaffaws and laughs to your game.
Yeah, and it's so important because I think, you know, being a DM and playing D& D is so much of it is about fun, and it's hard to separate fun from funny, right? In terms of just Practicality, right? Cause you're having more fun if you think things are funny and in, and if you're able to joke with each other and riff, and that's, you know, sometimes there's not always a place for that in every part of the game, right?
Because like we mentioned last time, if you don't have tragic moments or more serious moments, then the game kind of loses some of its weight. But, but honestly, I would argue that, uh, that if you have five times the amount of comedy to tragedy. Then you're in a pretty good place because people are, are happy to come.
They feel like they're in a very friendly environment and you know, but, but there's also some issues, right? Like sometimes people don't feel like, you know, maybe things are too straightforward or you feel like there's not enough room for, for growth, you know, or not growth room for like silliness. Where people are like, Oh, everyone wants to just get through the encounter.
They don't want to hear me make a joke about like, Oh, I hit this guy in the knee, you know, or, you know, or trip him up because everyone wants to know if the mechanics are right for that and everything like that. Right? The people who get over serious is my main point. And I think that you can get around that by just, you know, as the DM putting your, uh, best, you know, silly foot forward and being like, Hey, not everything needs to be super serious, you know?
Absolutely. Uh, you definitely need to know the tenor of the table, and maybe that's the wrong phrase. Understand What people want and when, uh, and if you listen to your characters, you'll get a good sense of when they're willing to be silly or when they're willing to be serious. My, my rule of thumb is when it's a specific, uh, plot point, it's probably going to be serious.
And when I say specific plot point, I mean, like, if something happens one way or the other, the campaign has major consequences, right? The different differences in trajectory, but if it's not so, uh, serious, obviously in terms of consequences, definitely feel free and add in some, some comical elements. Uh, also if it is serious, there's no.
Nothing wrong with sort of taking breaks in between the seriousness, right? So if they're in, you know, a starship and they have to find their way off before everyone knows they're there, uh, you know, you can take a small moment to be like, yeah, you open up a door and you find us a storm trooper sitting on the toilet.
Right? Uh, you obviously close that and then you get back to work. Right? There's nothing wrong with that. But when you get to the final boss scene and you're fighting the dark Lord in his capital ship. You may or may not want comical elements unless your party trades in comical elements on a day to day basis, right?
If they fight that way, then that's how you need to play. So, so definitely listen to your party. Yeah. And, and speaking about party, I think. Uh, as a DM, you can certainly build in moments that you think will be kind of funny, like challenges specifically, if you throw in like a puzzle or a skill check, that's just kind of silly in general, right?
you know, Like people trying to work through, uh, like sneakily through a factory filled with a bunch of breakable statues and then, you know, something falls over, then it's like, you kind of like, there are ways that you can turn like a skill check or something else. Kind of into a potentially comedic situation, right?
But, but I think the best way that you can actually add it into your campaign is just paying really close attention to what your players want to do. So sometimes players want to want to do something that, you know, in, in real life, you just couldn't do. And I'm not talking magic. I'm saying like, no, it just doesn't make sense.
And you know, there's a couple options. You could go with that. You could be the DM who's like, no, that doesn't make sense. Try again. Or you actually do it, but it goes how it should go, which is terribly. And that's hilarious. You know, where essentially you don't always have to shut down your players. If they're just doing something stupid or something that wasn't that well thought out.
It's like, no, let, let them do it and then play it up. Don't like, don't turn their mistake into something that's just like, Oh, take 10 steps back, but instead be like, Oh man. You let's accentuate how funny this is and how terribly it goes, and you can do that a lot with your tone and how you act and you're like, okay, roll that diet, you know, and then explain and be like, so you wanted to do this.
This is what actually happens that I think that you really want to just. Embrace what your players are kind of the, the, the opportunities they give you, right? Both in terms of their mistakes, but also sometimes they're, they're being a little bit silly in a conversation and they, and you can tell that instead of like letting your characters over seriousness.
Pull them back to being serious, you know, give into that like more often than not and like kind of let the conversation Tend in a sillier direction a lot of it is just adding silliness to the game isn't so much You being super funny, but it's more about Not shutting down the natural funniness and the silliness that comes with just playing with a bunch of people, right?
That's probably the best tip that we can give is that if you want comedy in your game Realize that you don't have to be the comical person, right? You can just let your players be the funny ones, right? They'll do funny things. They'll do things like Tanner said, that are nonsensical. And every so often you can do things that are somewhat similar, or you think that would make them laugh, but you don't actually have to be the comical one.
Just let your players be the funny ones. Everyone will laugh and you know, uh, life will go on. Yeah, and kind of going along with that, if you make a mistake and let's say you're like, Oh, this is going to be so difficult. And then the player comes up with a really overly simplistic solution that totally works, then laugh at yourself, you know, be like, okay, so I plan on this.
Well, well, I guess this is done. Okay. What now? You know, they're like, that's, that's also a funny situation. And if you open up and kind of let yourself be a little bit vulnerable there, it can be hilarious for your players too. You know, uh, I think in terms of adding silliness, lightheartedness is the key to it.
All right, don't, don't try and ridicule players to an extreme extent. You can kind of poke fun at like what they chose to do, but you know, don't just like, if you can tell it's bothering them, move on. You know, uh, or, you know, make, make it so that you're more laughing at the situation rather than them. Um, because you don't want to start making fun of people that way in a way that they get really hurt by.
Um, but, but I think that, that you can absolutely add it to every session. That you do, and it's only going to make it so that players are excited to come back week after week and going off of something. I heard from writing excuses, which is Brandon Sanderson's writing podcast, or at least it was. I don't know if he still does it, but they say for comedy, you take something normal.
And add something unexpected. So example, you know, my storm trooper pooping on the toilet, right? The party is running, trying to find a place to hide. They open the door. Storm troopers basically in full armor sitting on the toilet, right? That's Normal, because that's what people do, but it's also unexpected because you're like, this is a star destroyer.
Why is it, you know, they're not supposed to have bathrooms in the galactic empire, you know, of the seven. Another example. Yesterday, my wife and I were kind of joking around, like, what if you don't tip the door dasher? Like who's bringing you your food. And I was like, yeah, he just brings out like a giant bean, like a bean, like the size of a bowling ball and just gives it to you.
That's what he gives it to you. And it's, it's, it's normal. Cause it's food, but it's also like, it's just a big bean, you know, like it's weird. So, so kind of stuff like that. She, she got a kick out of it, but, uh, stuff like that, where you take something slightly normal. And you make it unexpected in some way that sort of breaks people's state and makes them put their head up and pay attention.
But also when they think about it, they're like, that's Why? Like what? Uh, it's easier said than done, obviously, but that's sort of a small framework that you can work off of. Yeah. And a lot of times funniness, uh, and silliness is just a bad contrast. Like you were saying, right. It's like, Oh, that's just, that's odd.
Right. Like it's finding something that like, Oh, maybe works, but it's a little bit off kilter, like, Oh, there's, you know, there's three pigs that you could win at the fair. Uh, two of them are like pork chop and then another one's bacon. Then third one's like Guillermo, right? It's like, it's just, it's about that incongruity and, and you can play with that a whole lot of ways where it's like, okay, maybe they're in a serious conversation with an NPC.
Who's all business. And then suddenly they mentioned the weather and he gets really weirdly specific, right? He's like, uh, no, but please, the nine day forecast says this, how dare, you know, like, it's just adding a little bit of weirdness within like a bunch of normalness. And sometimes that's the most funny situation that there is.
Right. Uh, but yeah, I would say that, you know, something to avoid though, when trying to be funny is trying too hard. Um, because I, I've, I've been guilty of this in my life. Uh, I've, you know, I've had multiple people being like, man, you're really funny when you're not trying. Uh, thanks. And, and through my tears, I'm like, thank you.
Uh, and. I think that that's kind of the key where it's like, Hey, you know, if a joke doesn't land or something that you thought was going to be silly, no one really paid attention. That's okay. Don't let it, uh, you know, trip you up at all. Just keep going. Uh, and you know, once again, don't take it too personally.
If something you plan to be funny wasn't, uh, More be excited when you're able to accentuate the funniness that a player is trying to get going, right? Or just create it out of what they're doing. That's oftentimes a lot more funny and You're gonna enjoy yourself a lot more that way because you have less expectations built up.
Definitely don't try to be funny Just do things that you think would be funny And if you can make yourself laugh, then that's a win. And it's very likely that other people will laugh. Sometimes they won't, but that's probably the third tip that I would give. Do things that would make you laugh. Not do things to be funny, but do things that you think are funny, right?
And there's a very fine line there. One is, you're trying way too hard. The other is, haha, this is great. Do you understand the difference? Yeah, exactly. And so I think, you know, we said we keep it short and we will because frankly, it's a simple topic. But, you know, I guess my main, my last thought before I pass back to Justin is, you know, don't fight the funny, uh, if you don't have to, right?
If it's a really serious moment, then it's okay to do it then. But for most of the campaign, don't let mechanics or you thinking that something's ridiculous, like become like a negative, right? Let them accentuate things and actually make it funnier. Kind of like, uh, you know, it's like letting the stream flow, you know, remove the blockages rather than try to redirect it.
If that makes sense. I love that. That honestly, we should make that into a t shirt Tanner. Don't fight the funny. Uh, cause that is, I love that saying so much. So here's my last, um, my last thought. Why are impatient people always so skinny? I don't know why. It's because they can't stand the weight. Uh, that, that was a small joke for you, but yeah, see, so, uh, don't overthink it.
Just do things that have fun. And if you do need to, you can go look up jokes online, right? Uh, if that's what you really need to do, but I wouldn't resort to that. Uh, just my top three tips. Let your players do the funny, uh, don't fight the funny as Tanner said, add normal to unexpected. And then lastly, do things that make you laugh and you should be just fine.
Uh, this has been how to be a better DM. We're so very grateful for you listening to us again in this new year, and we wish you the best roles for you and the worst roles for your players. I'm just kidding. Uh, but seriously, natural twenties for everyone. Uh, we'll be back next week for another great episode until then let's roll initiative.
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