Funny Kid or Class Clown
—Thanks to Anna for this idea.
It’s been mentioned here before: Too much Dark, Heavy RP tends to drag down RP all together. Even incredibly dark stories like The Road have moments of levity and joy. An equally problematic style, one that we haven’t delved in too deeply, is the “Super Happy Fun” style. The character who is always up to wacky, zany hijinks! The goofy, funny, not-a-serious-bone-in-his-or-her-body that is always doing something comical.
Funny is good. Comedy breaks up emotionally heavy moments into something palatable. But all comedy, all the time, does not allow for any significant character development. As fun as it may be to play the goofy character, it is not necessarily fun to play with the Goofy Character.
Think back to grade (primary) school. There was the Funny Kid and the Class Clown. The Funny Kid knew when it was a good idea to be funny and when to be quiet. The Class Clown, as funny as he or she could be, got the class in trouble. The Funny Kid knows when the joke is old. The Class Clown rarely does. It is infinitely preferable to work with the Funny Kid than the Class Clown.
But wait Bricu–some of you might say–Comedy is a defense mechanism against a tragic, chaotic home life. And I reply. Yes, learning to be funny can be a coping mechanism for addressing terrible and traumatic events. That is still different from being the Class Clown. A number of comics and comedians talk about how they survived school because they were funny. But when they talk about their experiences, one will notice that they say, “they knew when to be funny.” This implies that they also knew when to be serious.
Comedy has its place in RP. The point is to balance the comedy in a fashion that will not annoy the people you RP with. Here are a few quick pointers:
In the spirit of full disclosure, I need to point out that I tend towards darker, meaner stories (I blame my Irish sense of melancholy, the Vertigo Line and Marvel Comics). I try to rely on banter to bring the tone up. How do other people the Funny Kid and the Class Clown?
Filed in Alliance,Character Development,Class,Factions,Horde,Info,Open Thread,RP,World of Warcraft 7 Comments so far
Elyle on 30 Jul 2009 at 2:32 pm #
My old main Elyle wasn’t really either of these but I’d like to think that my new rogue Alanth would fall into the funny guy category. It’s sometimes hard to tone it down because I border on class clown in real life.
Itanya Blade on 30 Jul 2009 at 3:46 pm #
For all that Alanth is a funny guy, he can be very serious. I think he’s become more a joke because of the circle he hangs out with.
As for breaking things up, most of the time the paladins are involved in very intense and dark plot lines. And then Dorri and Kel get drunk.
Take, for example, the night Dorri and Kel came as close to fighting as they ever do. Dorri left the Nox fire distressed and angry and Kel left angry and depressed. They both ended up in the bar, drinking. And while it was a dark night for both of them, They managed to interject some commedy, mostly by deciding in their drunkeness that Verdus was a giant anteater.
Or Pill, who can be a clown, but is most often serious with a smile. I have left it to Threnn to scrawl the outlines of the story for the mage, but while the Wrathgate storyline is deeply serious, she does interject what I think of as appropiate humor.
Elyle on 30 Jul 2009 at 6:42 pm #
Mean ole prophecy of light, making fun of my poor rogue.
Omega2 on 30 Jul 2009 at 7:51 pm #
Before coming in and unleashing your arsenal of jokes (and for the love of A’dal, no puns included!), it’s always a good idea to test the waters a little. Listen to what people are saying, check out their actions and possible emoted thoughts, if it’s too dark for what you have in mind, it’s usually a good idea to stay silent and wait for a good opportunity to throw a little line in. Nothing too hilarious, though, just a bit of wit to brighten the day. If it’s well-received, congratulations, you probably lightened the mood a bit. If it’s not, better to adjust to a more serious RPing mode.
On the other hand, if things are still a bit ambivalent, you could toss a quick line that could be interpreted seriously or with a more comical twist (adventuring facts are good for that) and see what the others say about it. If you get /smiles and /chuckles back, there’s a good chance you’re in the right track. If the reactions are more serious or if your line’s ignored, better slow down because it’s not the best time for funnies.
Also, if you think you’re bringing the mood down too much (I do that often), you can always do a bit of simple/self-deprecative humor to bring some variety to the story. Likewise, if you’re going too funny and want to take it down a notch, hold on the jokes and do a gradual transition to seriousness. As with anything in drama and comedy, it’s always about timing. =)
Bricu on 30 Jul 2009 at 8:38 pm #
Elyle and Pill both were the “Funny Kids.” Elyle, especially when he was approaching Catrily, was very serious. When Bricu joked around with Pill during the Montrose/Arthas Gem story, she surprised him with seriousness–Blue socks notwithstanding.
Everyone has a different RP style, including a comedy stylings. Some styles are better for specific people and groups.
Bricu on 30 Jul 2009 at 10:17 pm #
Brilliantly said Omega2!
Mommacow on 31 Jul 2009 at 5:08 pm #
I don’t actually use either archetype, because IC Rashona has no functioning sense of humor and wouldn’t bother with a joke. (She makes a great straight cow, though.) OOC, however, I know she’s astonishingly clueless in the social department and can use it to make funny things happen. One of my favorite RP sessions ever involved Rashona blithely comparing a wannabe-lowlife shaman to a hyena, and pointing out more and more similarities while he got more and more annoyed. She was just pointing out that yes, people admire wolves more, but SOMEBODY has to eat the carrion when he stomped off in a huff. So much fun watching the annoyed comments and veiled threats sail right over her head…