When Players Are Too Serious
What do you do to lighten the mood when the group loses its humour, forgets it’s a game, and gets too intense?
Game Master K asked in June’s Monthly Q&A call:
My current group has become very serious, and so it feels a bit like playing at a wake where it’s a serious game with serious players.
So I’m trying to kind of work out how to build up the humor within the system so we can, I guess, play a humorous campaign with serious people.
And that would hopefully level out the balance to make it feel fun and death to just be something exciting rather than someone moping in the corner trying to write their funeral eulogy for a character who’s been alive for a session and a half.
If you’re in the same boat, here are a few tips from me and other GMs on the call.
Chat With Your Group
First, I see this as an energy problem. The GM wants a different session atmosphere and campaign tone than players. The opposite situation could also apply here for example, with too much joking around in a serious campaign.
I would avoid handling player-GM issues in-character, though. Your toolset is more limited. The context gets confusing. It’s passive aggressive. And after all the scheming and subterfuge, players still might not get the message.
I’ve heard cases where GMs ended up trashing their campaign just to “send a message”, and that’s just cutting off your GM screen to spite your dice.
It’s always better having a chat with player(s) directly:
- Speak to your perceptions of the matter and ask if they feel the same.
- Avoid casting blame spells. Speak to gameplay and consequences to keep defenses at regular levels.
- Speak in private with problem player(s) or have a friendly group chat.
- Try to end the chat with a mutually agreed playtest of different behaviour, tone, or procedure.
While these chats involve a little tension, they’re crucial. In my experience, they’re the best and fastest way to get to the heart of a matter. They send an accountability signal, establish boundaries and social contract, and help you learn valuable people skills you can apply elsewhere in life.
Introduce Humor Via NPCs
Bring over-the-top or funny NPCs into play.
First, as GM you’re leading by example, assuming the comedy is mindful of the situation.
Second, it gives players permission to do the same.
Third, if players react with hostility toward the NPC, it gives them an in-game mechanism to vent frustration while demonstrating that humor is allowed.
The characters Tasselhoff and Flint in Dragonlance, for example, are cat and dog with each other. The authors use them to release story tension before ramping the drama up again. Sometimes it gets a bit violent, but the dwarf didn’t drown and the axe swipes never landed.
Try Genre Shuffling
Game Master Alex advises shifting the campaign’s genre or framing to observe whether players adjust their table tone or continue bringing somber expectations regardless.
He says:
The characters don’t know what genre they’re in, but your players do. The audience knows what genre.
For example, is this horror? In a normal thing, walking out of your cabin in the woods is no big deal. The chance of a mass murderer coming to slaughter a 19-year-old who wants to walk out onto the pier at the lake, not a big deal. But in a horror movie, they’re going to get slaughtered.
If it’s a rom-com summer romance type of a thing, no. You’re expecting, ‘She’s going to see her beloved across the lake’ or something like this.
There was an analysis of the MCU, all of Phase 1, 2, and 3. All the way until Endgame. It’s a superhero movie. It’s not a superhero movie. Superhero sci-fi is the platform, but different movies were different genres. So Ant-Man is a heist movie. Captain America often was political intrigue, especially Winter Soldier.
So what that taught me is that I can run Call of Cthulhu, D&D, Werewolf, or whatever. And I might have an overarching horror, superhero, or vampire “movie”.
But the current 5 Room Dungeon they’re in might be a heist 5 Room Dungeon. And another might be a murder mystery.
The difference between horror and comedy is the background music, right? That heist could be a pure comedic gold, or that heist could be high-stakes political drama. And it’s all a matter of what music you want your players to have.
So, if you’re worried your players are being too serious, maybe that’s the kind of genre they want to be in. Or maybe they’ve gotten caught because one particular set of scenes was high drama and serious, and they’ve lost the hook for what made things fun and light.
Consider External Real-Life Context
Game Master Laura said:
Recognize that background stress or real-life grief can cause players to hold onto characters tightly and react poorly to character death or forced jokes.
Shift the focus to future characters. Encourage players to brainstorm new character concepts they are excited to try, which helps soften the emotional blow of losing a current character.
The GM is an Ally
Game Master Rob advised:
Bring in ridiculous NPCs. Support the atmosphere with over-the-top, silly NPCs to break table tension.
Position the GM as a player ally. Frame the GM’s goal as placing characters in perceived danger without actually killing them. Reserve character death strictly for colossally foolish actions.
Set Expectations in Session Zero
Game Master Buck said:
Establish upfront in Session Zero that the system is deadly so players avoid getting overly attached to new characters.
Provide glorious send-offs. When a character dies, allow them to go out in a “glorious bang” or memorable heroic moment rather than a depressing fizzle.
I hope these ideas help you, K, and any GMs in a similar situation.
When players, GM, and game are on different pages, nobody has fun. It’s important to set and communicate the tone out of character, in-character, and in-genre.
Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!
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