So I was on the phone with my littlest sister the other day. We've always wanted to game together, but due to a series of unfortunate circumstances we've never been able to realize our dream. But things are about to open up in both our schedules and you may be seeing play reports up on here, God willing! I asked her what she wanted to play... and she told me she wanted something funny.
Any of you who have been reading this blog and my play reports know that I do not do funny. Not willingly.
It's not that I don't have a sense of humor. It's just that my tastes in stories are incredibly serious and dark. My sister and I have had pretty rough lives, with our own histories of mental illness and whatnot. But whereas I face it head-on, in the dark, grimly, my sister faces it with a witty quip and a wry smile. She's awesome. It's easy to strap on a grim and serious face when looking at your issues, but to look at it and laugh? Gosh, I admire that.
But a comedic RPG?
But, what the hell, it's my baby sister! And besides, stretching is almost always a good idea. Fortunately I had an idea for what games I wanted to try with her and I think we came to an agreement for when the time comes! Here are the steps I took: I considered our tastes and capabilities, thought about the games that I owned that might fit, considered their mechanical possibilities, pitched what I loved about the game, and took in feedback. I didn't have to repeat the whole process, but if you have to, do so.
So, the first thing I did was that I took my own tastes into account. Like I said, I don't do funny terribly often, but I needed to consider that here. So I wondered if it was a place that I wanted to go in the first place. But, y'know, stretching your repertoire is a good idea, so why not give a shot? I know that I'm going to have a rough time doing it, so my expectations are set accordingly. My baby sister wanted something funny. Fortunately she has a really dark sense of humor, probably blacker than mine, so I know I can throw in a pretty dark setting that'll give me the kicks that I need, but still be funny enough... well... let's be honest... that'll probably be funnier to her.
Mutant Crawl Classics dropped into my head. I pitched it. I talked to her about the character funnel and its gruesomely hilarious potential, about the fact that most of the game's mechanics were about silly spells from AIs and trying not to be vaporized by the tech you were trying to work. She laughed uproariously, and said "Let's do it!" I also floated Honey Quest, but she really liked the post-apoc ridiculousness of MCC enough to where we called it a day. We were really happy about it. We'll see what happens.
But what if you can't think of a game? Don't despair! There are definitely games out there for pretty much every taste (F.A.T.A.L. DOES NOT COUNT AS TASTE BUT IT DOES EXIST OH GOD WHY). That usually means some level of research. The simple answer, of course, is to just go to DnD or Pathfinder. I cannot caution against this enough. It's not that those are bad games (OK, I think DnD 5e isn't very good, but whatever), but that those games are actually for very specific experiences. You are always free to ask on this particular blog or the Facebook group or wherever for recommendations, but don't settle for something that doesn't fit what you'd like.
Picking a game does not have to be a terribly complicated thing. You don't have to settle for a game that is "good enough" or "popular" or whatever else means you're settling for less than what you want. Consider what types of things you and your friends like in stories and in general, come up with an agreement, do some research, and ask around. Your game will be so much better for going for a good fit, as opposed to a square peg in a round hole.
Conversely, if you don't want to ask around, go to RPG Geek. I just found this place. It's awesome.
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