Gamers joke around the table but they do take their tonal cues from the GM. If I'm running a "serious" (whatever that means) scene and the player makes a joke, I let him make his joke, but I also pause the scene. I don't say or do anything until the player says or does anything that I as a GM would be considered "in character."

Does it break the flow of the game? Yes. Is it inevitable? Yes. Is it worth getting upset about? No.

You can get a lot of mileage of out not condoning irritating behaviors or even reacting to them.

I would also say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you have players you know won't fit your game style, don't play this game with them but invite them to play something else down the road.

Honestly, it seems like they all know what they want and you are the odd one out. Trying to force what you want on the entire group would be the same as a single player trying to break immersion by constantly joking in a group that wants total immersion.

Your way – or theirs for that matter – is not the "best" way to game. Different people want different things from gaming, and as long as the group is having fun they are all legit.

I agree with Concise Locket that you should probably find a group that would better fit your play/GM style rather than try to force your current group to play in a way that they don't want to.

I feel for the OP and I see the views from all sides of this issue. Sometimes there is a very serious story you're trying to tell and the player that isn't in the limelight just...won't...shut...up. Honestly, I've used the everything-you-say-is-in-character rule, but I've found that it only works in some situations, such as court or a highly political setting. It tends to fail once the gloves come off and blaster fire is singeing your nose hairs. It also only works on certain players. I currently have one player who just can't stop himself from making a joke or a bad pun. Seriously, he gets all red in the face and looks like he's about to explode if he tries to hold it in. It's kind of sad but funny at the same time, and can be more of a distraction than a single quip.

I then had to change to a point system: If you make a joke or comment that completely derails the game, you get a point. Whoever has the most points at the end of the night has to buy drinks for next game. If no one has more than say, 5 points then I would provide the drinks. I stopped this when said player from above consistently had the most points for two months straight.

As a result, I've given up trying to tell any kind of suspenseful story because it just doesn't work for my current group. But there are plenty of other stories that do. (I'm not trying to shout that, it's just the whole of the point I'm trying to make.) Use this as an opportunity to hone your storytelling skills and make adjustments to the type of stories you are telling. The trick is to know your audience. I'd wager my copies of the prequel trilogy that the majority of responders that are saying the only problem is you already have a group that they are comfortable with and already know how to entertain their players. Each group of players has their own chemistry. We just recently revamped our group and I'm still getting making adjustments for the new audience and I've known each of my players for almost two decades.

I don't encourage you to pack it in or find a new group. I would suggest maybe evaluating the stories you are trying to tell, and if you think your group might be too disruptive, then set the story aside to tell to a different group eventually (or maybe the same one once they are more comfortable with their characters and your GMing style) and try to come up with stories specifically for your particular players.

I've always been a disruptive class clown, and I understand that sometimes one person can ruin the fun for everyone (even if they are HILARIOUS). That being said, this doesn't sound like your situation. From the way you've described things, everybody is trying to add some levity to the game. It sounds like there may be a disconnect between your expectations for the game and what your players want.

That sucks, but it's easy to lose perspective. We all like telling stories, we wouldn't be putting in the hard work that comes with GMing if we didn't. But it's easy to become too precious about your narrative and realize that these games are about sharing stories. It sounds like they don't want deep emotional beats. It sounds like they just want to sit around the table and have fun with their friends. Maybe you need to tailor your game towards something more light-hearted, something more episodic. Maybe you need to scale back the density of your narrative, put more agency in the hands of the players, and let them guide the story more, so any tropes are equally their responsibly. Maybe you need to think less about whether your players are not taking your story seriously enough and consider whether you're taking your story too seriously. Maybe your players are just stubborn and thoughtless. Maybe you need to be able to laugh more about the tropes, since Star Wars is basically a game built around them. Maybe you need to just reach an understanding with them that it's okay to recognize those tropes but they can't just spend the whole game pointing them out. I don't know enough about your game to say, but you should definitely sit down with your players to talk about what they want, what you want, and try to find a middle ground that works for the both of you. It sounds like the actions of your players point to two things. Either there's something in the game they aren't satisfied with and they're having trouble investing, or they just aren't looking for something as serious and weighty as you are. Regardless, you should talk it through. Fun trumps all, and if you guys are pals, it seems likely you'll find somewhere you can all have fun.

I don't encourage you to pack it in or find a new group. I would suggest maybe evaluating the stories you are trying to tell, and if you think your group might be too disruptive, then set the story aside to tell to a different group eventually (or maybe the same one once they are more comfortable with their characters and your GMing style) and try to come up with stories specifically for your particular players.

I've literally JUST started doing proper GMing. I have experience doing free-form online with a group of frankly brilliant friends that essentially played as improv (and it was fantastic), but this is my first time running a tabletop game. The first session was bumpy, so bumpy that I didn't think it was going to work. Players were all running their own separate ways, acting disruptive and showing how much of their character they were. The politico was trying to sell horseshit, the mercenary was attacking barkeeps for giving him the stinkeye. I was worried because for much of the game it seemed like only one or two characters would be invested at a time. But I realized that's just the ebb and flow of the game. You spend a lot of the session (or at least I do, with my group) working one-on-one or one-on-two with players at dramatic lulls while the other players talk amongst themselves or listen but stay quiet, and then when the dramatic tension ramps up, everyone's suddenly invested. When the group spent the entire first session goofing around and failing at a job I figured would take them a half hour, I was worried. But then I set objectives they would want as players directly in front of them. "Hey guys, it's a drug stash you can use to buy all that nifty gear you want" and I goofed around with them in the lulls. I realized when you don't treat your entire story as precious, they'll invest fully when you reach the dramatic moments. When the drugs were sinking in a crashed ship and they were scrambling to get what was left, they were invested in their characters. When the situation became of danger to their characters, they were scrambling, acting creatively, spending light side points left and right to pull their characters from danger, sacrificing the stuff they wanted to pull themselves free. I'm not entirely sure what my point is here... maybe that when everything is serious, it's impossible to take anything seriously?

Heya , Need advice on how to deal with players who constantly joke in the middle of the game about tropes / scenes / or the roleplay in general. The group seems ok with it but as a GM i finding it very distracting and disturbing as i try to convey information or role-play out NPC's.

DO i just pull the plug on the game and be done with it?

Heh, my group has this .. 'feature' .. as well

They are often joking with each other about anime or pulling up images on their phones because something in game reminded them of a videogame or a TV show or something.

I've tried repeatedly to ask them to focus but to be honest, they *are* paying attention and the games are still really fun, so I try not to worry about it too much. After the session it's never a case of "that would have been fun if people hadn't been so distracted", it's more "these guys have ADD but the games are still a blast."

If it's interfering with the fun, I'd just talk to them about it like an adult. Tell them how you feel and ask them to try to focus together on the stories you're creating here at the table rather than bringing in references to other movies/TV/comics/etc.

I didn't mention this before, and I obviously am not familiar with the dynamics of your relationship, but... Sometimes, the people joking a lot might be a little insecure about taking the game more seriously. Especially if they are still new-ish to tabletop games, pnp rpgs, and so on. I've been through this stage (though for me it manifested as being very quiet, rather than laughter & jokes), and I've seen others go through it too. What helped me is initially not talking "in character" but just describing what my character does. It felt like a lower level of "commitment" which was easier to achieve for someone currently insecure. Also, if this is the case with your group, all the more reason to NOT punish players for not being in-character - it would only drive them away if they're insecure

I think if it's interfering with the fun [in general] then you might need to adjust, but if everyone is having a ball playing with the jokes and distractions, even if it's a slow go, try and adjust your GMing to a more informal style ... by including encounters, NPC's, locations, etc. that are not so serious.

Have them play a round of pazaak with a drunk [insert alien here] who likes to joke, insult, and so forth ... put a few credits on the line (when they finally focus on the game turn it into an argument)

Have them interact with a goofy droid when looking for something (when they finally focus, his short circuitry could turn him into an adversary)

In other words ... try to roll with it.

I'm not saying there isn't times to get them focused, I don't really know your situation, but you might enjoy it a little more as the GM if you have some scenes/encounters handy to get into when they are not paying attention so much.

Heya , Need advice on how to deal with players who constantly joke in the middle of the game about tropes / scenes / or the roleplay in general. The group seems ok with it but as a GM i finding it very distracting and disturbing as i try to convey information or role-play out NPC's.

DO i just pull the plug on the game and be done with it?

If there's one thing that annoys me its being interrupted by jokes while explaining something. Perhaps tell them before your next session that you will deduct exp if it gets out of hand.

I think it mostly depends on your group situation ...

If you guys get to see each other every day at school or work and have tons of ways to share and tell your daily adventures, then it might be inappropriate to joke at the gaming table... but...

When I was in high school, my friends and I used to play Star Wars WEG almost weekly during the weekend... the Roleplaying was really good, people got in-character and the focus was on the story. But 15 years later, we still play Star Wars FFG about once every 2 months, we keep tabs on Facebook and on Ventrilo from time to time... when we game, it's really an excuse to see each other and share time together. So now, the out-of-character chat is very present, jokes are made often and people start out-of-game topics during game often. It's not the perfect situation, it's not the perfect roleplay group, it's not the perfect immersion... but it is the way we play now... At first, I was irritated by all that chatter and wanted to enforce more strict roleplaying rules, but then I understood that it would be useless... you can't ask old friends not to want to share stories between themselves or even tell tales from old SW games from the younger years...

So before committing to any harsh measures suggested before, maybe you should ask yourself why do you guys play, how often to you play, and how often do you see each other....

Remember that you guys are friends.... friends first, gamers second... are you guys playing SW RPG to be among friends or gamers ?

Also, my comment might be useless if it's a gaming group from your local store and you don't know each other except from SW RPG.

Anyway... hope it helps...

This. I usually see my buds once a week so I don't have a problem with it. It only gets annoying when I'm in the middle or narrating story because then I have to do it again.

I'd suggest hitting them with sticks.