Tone
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 7:16 am
The impression I get (somewhere) is that the game is geared to a comic tone. Am I right? If so, is there any way to not play it that way?
...if Evil Hat can do it, so can you! My new motto for the small publisher out there. Evil Hat puts out a high quality product at a reasonable price.PencilBoy99 wrote:I got the impression from (1) the comics and (2) the spellburn podcast. I like comic bits in my game, but I like to have serious parts too.
I'd also like someone to do for Zocchi dice what they did for Fate Dice - there's a gagillion places to get those darn things now. I demand Zocchi dice at every store!
May I ask which version of Paranoia you are referring to? I got the exact same impression of Hackmaster but what's with all the hate for Paranoia? The first two editions of the game are great and share some of the same artists as our beloved DCC RPG. They are deep in the darkly humorous post-apocalyptic theme of Alpha Complex sure but the rules themselves don't reek of parody- you have a rather crunchy d100 skill based system for 1ed and probably the first true d20 game with 2ed as it used a d20 for everything and came out prior to 3ed D&D You could easily strip away the dark humor theme reminiscent of feature films of the same genre at the time (A boy and his dog, brazil, Robocop, the running man, etc.) and go for a more serious style (ala THX-1138, Gattaca or Logan's Run) without any major modifications to the rules. Of all the rpgs out there that have tried to mix in a dark sense of humor it seems like Paranoia is just about the only one to have done it successfully IMO.finarvyn wrote:I like comedy in my campaign, but not in my rules set.
For example, when I play D&D or C&C or DCC or whatever, my players often find themselves in wacky situations. Sometimes of their making, sometimes of mine. That's okay, and we can have a great time together.
When I read the Hackmaster rules (designed to be a parody of AD&D) I found that the humor was too forced for my liking. I want my rules to be straightforward so that I can understand them, and don't really need hillarity as I'm reading the rules. Not just HM, but I had the same objection to Murphy's World and Paranoia and probably others I can't think of at the moment.
A possible exception to this is the DCC supplement Transylvanian Adventures. Scott's style of prose is laid back and often contains humor and is the kind of thing I might write if I was writing a RPG. While clearly not slapstick style comedy, and certainly not a lighthearted subject, TA has a fun writing style. That (to me) is very different from reading Paranoia, which is supposed to be a funny rulebook but somehow isn't.
Just my two coppers.
Thanks, Marv. It's worth noting I've played/run gonzo games of DCC and TATG as well as very serious ones. It works fine either way.finarvyn wrote:A possible exception to this is the DCC supplement Transylvanian Adventures. Scott's style of prose is laid back and often contains humor and is the kind of thing I might write if I was writing a RPG. While clearly not slapstick style comedy, and certainly not a lighthearted subject, TA has a fun writing style. That (to me) is very different from reading Paranoia, which is supposed to be a funny rulebook but somehow isn't.
Just my two coppers.
I agree with this (and find it amusingly written to boot). Having a 100% serious game in DCC might be harder to achieve than with some other systems. So while the comedy is not written into the rules, it's hard to avoid it altogether. I'm fine with that, but if someone is looking for a humorless game, I doubt DCC is for him. Might as well accept it.jozxyqk wrote:I would agree that it's hard to escape some inherently comic flavor in DCC RPG (which I like, myself). The randomness and corruption in the magic system in particular lends itself to hilarity. When a wizard gets elephant ears or five testicles or whatever, or has a mercurial magic that inevitably calls forth a swarm of chinchillas or something when he casts a spell -- guaranteed laughs. Also the funnel tends to be goofy -- a bunch of nobodies, usually named "Hobo Baggins" and "Elfish Costello" go into a dungeon and get obliterated, attempting to use hens and quill pens and things to fight monsters. I doubt there are too many people who play the funnel "straight." (How rough would it be if you actually took that bloodbath seriously? Geez. Everyone would be all tore up all the time).
I am sort of surprised to see Spellburn mentioned. I wouldn't have thought we conveyed a comical nature to the game.PencilBoy99 wrote:I got the impression from (1) the comics and (2) the spellburn podcast. I like comic bits in my game, but I like to have serious parts too.
I wouldn't say "hate" for Paranoia, because I've played in some great games of it over the years. I just have found that some of the stuff in the rulebook just seemed to slapstick for my liking.Skars wrote:May I ask which version of Paranoia you are referring to? I got the exact same impression of Hackmaster but what's with all the hate for Paranoia?finarvyn wrote:I had the same objection to Murphy's World and Paranoia and probably others I can't think of at the moment.
It would be interesting to spy on your campaign. I'd like to see a session of "horror gone gonzo" in TATG.smathis wrote:It's worth noting I've played/run gonzo games of DCC and TATG as well as very serious ones. It works fine either way.finarvyn wrote:A possible exception to this is the DCC supplement Transylvanian Adventures.
Now, that's just downright un-American, commie. The Computer says so!finarvyn wrote:That (to me) is very different from reading Paranoia, which is supposed to be a funny rulebook but somehow isn't.
finarvyn wrote:It would be interesting to spy on your campaign. I'd like to see a session of "horror gone gonzo" in TATG.smathis wrote:It's worth noting I've played/run gonzo games of DCC and TATG as well as very serious ones. It works fine either way.finarvyn wrote:A possible exception to this is the DCC supplement Transylvanian Adventures.
You seem to be pretty quick to judge, Citizen. What might you be hiding, I wonder? Perhaps the Alpha Complex will need to send some folks over to investigate you, too.Ogrepuppy wrote:Now, that's just downright un-American, commie. The Computer says so!finarvyn wrote:That (to me) is very different from reading Paranoia, which is supposed to be a funny rulebook but somehow isn't.