#dnd tip for DMs: before deciding to run a humorous campaign (or any campaign), make sure your players want it. If they don't give their buy-in, it just isn't going to work. A campaign with a strong narrative requires everyone to contribute, but a funny campaign moreso.
— Shawn Merwin, descending into Avernus (@shawnmerwin) July 10, 2019
And an #acqinc campaign doesn't have to be funny. You can use all the tools in the #acqincbook and run a completely serious, and even terribly dark, campaign very easily. As funny as corporate satire can be, it can also be turned into a grim direction.
— Shawn Merwin, descending into Avernus (@shawnmerwin) July 10, 2019
But if you want to make it funny, a session 0 is ultimately important. The characters have to fit together so that the comedic friction between them can be employed in the ongoing narrative. And all the jokes that are normally done as asides need to be brought into the game.
— Shawn Merwin, descending into Avernus (@shawnmerwin) July 10, 2019
For my home group, we always create themed parties for this reason. The band of half-orc half-brother barbarians who are always trying to one-up each other. The traveling circus ala criminal group of all small characters. There is a story there before the stories even start.
— Shawn Merwin, descending into Avernus (@shawnmerwin) July 10, 2019
Oh I hear that. I was referring to players who are open to playing a more comedic episode but for reasons (whether new to D&D or to another group member, or introverted, or whatever) are uneasy about unsure that they’ll be welcome/valued. I think that worry can be allayed by making it clear that the players don't have to try to be funny. They just need to be open to accepting the humor that's already there. That means trusting the DM not to enforce drama-sized consequences for comedic behavior.
— Shawn Merwin, descending into Avernus (@shawnmerwin) July 11, 2019
Insulting the queen should not end in a beheading. Taking an outrageous action in combat, knowing that it is silly, should not automatically result in an irretrievable annihilation of the character. If the stakes do shift, the DM should make it clear with they have shifted.
— Shawn Merwin, descending into Avernus (@shawnmerwin) July 11, 2019