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Welcome to the October edition of "Confessions of a Newbie", the column that proves that "Newbie" isnt just a chronological term, its a state of mind. This month, Id like to discuss something that I think affects us all from time to time: The Sillies.
Unless you have all the sense of humor of Severus Snape, youre most likely going to get hit with the sillies from time to time. You know what they are: When no matter how much the Game Master tries to get you all to take the game seriously, you just cant get out of the mode of thinking up silly things and laughing at everything. Watch the outtakes from movies and TV shows, and youll see that even the most professional actors occasionally get the sillies. Acting is just RPing for big bucks, rather than just for fun and stat gains. The director, though, just like the GM, is rarely as amused as the rest of the crew. For us, it happened this month as my daughter tried to run a game of "Earthdawn" for us.
Now, dont get me wrong. Many studies have shown that a good sense of humor ("good" being a subjective, relative term here) is extremely beneficial to our mental and physical health. Humor and laughter have been shown time and again to help hospital patients heal faster. Granted, if youve had abdominal surgery, laughter can also be quite painful too, but, hey, its worth it (yes, I speak from experience). The problem is, when the GM is trying to run a game that he or she has put many hours of preparation into, and the players have an attack of the sillies instead. It does not bode well for a dangerous quest if early in the evening the Monty Python references are flowing fast and free, nor does it bode well when two characters keep swapping veiled conjugal references. Not that my wife and I would EVER do anything like that.
A quick side note to the parents of small children: Little kids can be extremely embarrassing to parents. By the time the little tykes hit the adolescent years, most of us parents have reached the point of having no shame left; you cant embarrass us anymore. However, somewhere around those sensitive adolescent teen years, a strange shift in the balance of power occurs, and we, the old fogey parents, suddenly have the power to embarrass the kids. While they embarrassed us with loudly announced bodily functions, indiscretely repeated secrets, screaming fits in public places, etc., we can turn the tables most effectively by just having fun. A teenager may engage in the most raunchy talk with his or her friends without shame, but just let Mom mention running off with Dad for some wild monkey sex, and watch the crimson glow of the blush illuminate the room. Its priceless. So, the next time youre so embarrassed by the little darlings that you start to wonder why you had them in the first place, just remind yourself that your turn is coming, and with a vengeance.
Anyway. The sillies, it seems to me, develop from one of two factors. One is the "slaphappy" factor, which can result from too little sleep the night before, copious consumption of alcohol (or other disreputable substances), low blood sugar, etc, or it can result from the "discomfort" factor. Newbies especially are susceptible to the discomfort factor. Essentially, rather than risk making a serious blunder out of our ignorance on the subtleties of the game, we default instead to silliness to cover up our inadequacies. This is much like the old "Class clown" in school, who, rather than simply says "I dont know" when asked a question, answers instead with a smart aleck comment that will make the class laugh with him instead of at him.
The other problem with the sillies is that they are contagious. At least, in our family they are. One person starts out getting silly, and pretty soon, all hope for a serious game is lost. This is one reason I will never run for President. I dont want to think about hosting Middle East Peace Talks and have the "sillies" erupt in the middle of them. While that might sound like a better option than the normal way peace talks go, Id be afraid of the parties breaking into "3 Stooges" routines until someone gets hurt and offended. Laughing it off with a "nyuk nyuk nyuk" works on TV, but not usually as well in real life. One tactic a GM can try when the sillies break out is to take a break and see if the sillies will run their course and die down. This might work, but its an even money bet that the sillies will return. Another tactic is to just roll with the punches. If the players are going to get silly, throw something silly at them and have fun with it, too. If necessary, postpone the serious part of the quest until next time, or, until everyone is in such a pissy mood that the sillies just cant take. Heck, you may be prepared for a scenario for a full year and never have to do anything but the initial planning. If worse comes to worst, then go with the situation and simply announce that their laughing and carrying on has attracted the attention of The Dark Demon of Dour Depression, who enters the area and kills them all with one mighty fireball. At least, Ive heard that works for some GMs. Your results may vary. Of course, you could try inviting Snape to sit in on your next game, too, but I would not bet on a good outcome from that evening, either.
Now, if youll excuse me, I need to find my monkey suit...
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