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The World of Georic 1989-Present

Monday, August 24, 2020

#RPGaDay2020: Day 24 - Humour

Only a week left after this!

Day 24 of #RPGaDay2020 and it's funny, in a very non-American "Humour" type of way.

I actively try to inject humor into my games in all but the most dramatic of scenes.  In fact, I've been accused of  "not being serious enough running games" by my original GM no less.   I know that that specific criticism is different than simply adding humor to games, but for years after we last talked, his opinion of  "serious"  gaming consisted of powergaming and topless female drow kicking male ass in his games.

My normal players are smart enough and irreverent enough to keep things light until things get serious... or really, really dark.

While I've run my share of serious stuff, my bread and butter has always been light-hearted humorous fun.

GURPS: IOU - Scavenger Hunt.  An undergrad romp through the steam tunnels, complete with the Village People and their zombie legions coveting the the disco ball from the 1977 IOU Winter Social.  Perhaps my favorite game run of all time.

GURPS: IOU - Road Trip!  Sequel to Scavenger Hunt.  A simple roadtrip to Miskatonic University for a Moopsball game.  Aliens, a stolen firetruck, and an atomic fireball in Springfield, Massachusetts

TOON - Cthulhu Comes to Springfield.  A completely different Springfield.   A great collaboration with my friend "Doctor Bob" working the tales of HP Lovecraft into the universe of the The Simpsons in hour-long episodes.  Episodes names like "Homer the Ghoul," "Mister Smooth," and "Krusty the Kultist," it's been bringing joy for nearly 25 years.

Risus IOU - The Day of Sloth Campaign. For years we hosted a Day-Before-Labor-Day Picnic (aka The Day of Sloth).  It was regular fare, as picnics go, except as the party wound down, we would whip out index cards and d6's and dove into Illuminati University.  Irreverent abuse of pop culture (even if I was reaching).  Funnelcake-powered Mecha Jewish Monkeys. Sentient Genius-Level Coffee Bushes. MONGO, Pawn in Game of Life (and Union Negotiator).  Yoda: The College Years, Emmanuel Freakin' Lewis (The Anti-Christ). And Snake Gandhi.

Risus IOU - The Virtual Edition. Probably not picnic again this year, but we've had some fun with our Monday night online game.  A few returning characters with some new players to the style, with a little Texas Roadhouse Massacre, and a little confusion between the Kurgan and the Culligan Man.

Our back-up D&D game, Adventures in Gulluvia is a serious fantasy story, complete with some neatly woven conspiracies, but we've had some fun collaboration framing out some details such as the low-Charisma muscle of the party is a female version of Sloth (and the most endearing character ever!), that the local mercenaries with short attention spans are named Leroy and Jenkins, or that the magic-users family fortunes came from cleaning outhouses around the barony.

And lets not even talk about our current Star Wars d6 game.  Characters are pretty straightforward, but are all associated with the Arrogant Noble/Exotic Animal Dealer.  As it should, things have devolved into a season of Space Tiger King, all while maintaining the base line of of legitimacy. 

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