Thread 96385957

How do we feel about joke characters, or quirky characters in general?

>>96385957 (OP)
they are funny guys
maybe every fourth or fifth NPC i make is an obvious joke
and every third PC is centered around some dumb gimmick

>>96385957 (OP)
Fully depends on the tone of the game. If I sign up for a noir thriller game and a player shows up with Cunty McPiss the used bubblegum salesman, I'm burning his sheet in front of him.

>>96386027
>Cunty McPiss the used bubblegum salesman
unironically my next call of cthulhu character

>>96385957 (OP)
I'm good with it as long as the joke or quirk makes at least a degree of sense in universe. When you can point to a logical chain of events that could occur to result in the character being the way that they are, and the joke is mostly out-of-character, it's good. But when the character starts warping the setting by existing or saying things that ONLY make sense for them to say with out-of-character context, it ruins the tone.

You can play a man named Will who is empowered by a totemic connection to a coyote spirit and who also happens to go in for harebrained schemes. Those are all traits that can make sense in the appropriate context, even if we know out of game that you're riffing on Wile E. Coyote. But when you start insisting that your gear has ACME written on it and pathologically start hunting down roadrunners, you've crossed the line.

>>96385957 (OP)
For PCs: If the character isn't just a joke with legs, it's fine to have a bunch of silly traits.
For NPCs: A lot of these guys do end up as one note joke characters, but that's fine because the uninteresting ones typically fade from the campaign.

>>96385957 (OP)
Every character in everything is an annoying quippy asshole now

>>96385957 (OP)
Usually never funny and are just attention whores
Also having a "serious" character acting like theyre in a Marvel movie is annoying
>Gee sure glad I wasnt that guy

>>96385957 (OP)
As long as the player isn't an asshole about it and remembers it's a PC first as a joke second.

>>96385957 (OP)

I have legitimately neve seen a joke character or an overly serious character not slide all the way to the other end of the spectrum by the end of the campaign.

You either die a clown, or live long enough to see yourself become the straight man.

Joke characters are not so much the problem as the attitude of the player.
A player who actively strives to ruin the mood for the rest of the group with cheap jokes is definitely not welcome.

>>96385957 (OP)
I'm a bit fed up with them. My opinion is unfortunately irrelevant however, as my player are gonna keep making them until the day I die.

>>96385957 (OP)
>how do we feel
I don't know. I can't gauge your mind and feelings. So why don't you tell us how you feel about them?

>>96388595
I haven't played many games yet, so I never had the opportunity to play a several sessions with a joke character. The only one I've seen left the campaign before session 0 finished because they got bored while the GM was explaining the setting.

I don't see the appeal of playing one for a campaign intended to last at least several sessions. Even worse when it's one joke. I can appreciate a quirky character that has some depth. I blame their appearance on DnD posts about successful joke characters.

I think interesting character traits are a crutch and will bitch and moan at my table when anyone exhibits a distinct personality.

>>96385957 (OP)
Whatever. The joke runs out and they turn into players.

A joke character is kind of like a meme template; a bad one will quickly get stale and run its course, but a good one is versatile and will keep finding ways to surprise you.

>>96385957 (OP)
They're mostly a little too "funny" especially after some heavy shit happens.

>>96385957 (OP)
When done by genuinely clever or funny players, I love them. The street rat in our Conan game was Abu the monkey crossed with Daffy Duck, and was a joy to play with. The cowardly and conniving TIE fighter pilot named Wahlu Ghi led the team to victory when the chips were down.

But some players are just idiots or assholes, and if they make a joke character it is 100% because they aren't making a real effort, rather than being clever. Those players ruin it for everyone else. (Also, sometimes a good player will have a bad day, but usually a good player can course-correct later)

>>96386027
This.
The tone of the game should be agreed on by the group.
If I came to a causal game with a serious character with a mile of backstory I'd not only look like an asshole but have a shit time.

>>96385957 (OP)

As a GM, I enjoy killing them to raise the stakes of the BBEG most of the time. As a PC, I'm not that funny of a guy so I usually RP Clerics/Priests/Paladins.

That said, there's nothing worse than a "joke" character that no one finds funny or a quirky character played by some assclown that thinks they're so heckin' special.

A bad player is going to be just as bad playing a serious character. Likewise, a good player can work with anything. Do bad players have a tendency towards joke characters? Maybe, I haven't played with enough groups to decide on that.

>>96385957 (OP)
Funny in small doses.

>>96399691
This.
/thread.