Comedy has Consequences (Spoilers TLJ)

By Archlyte, in Game Masters

24 minutes ago, Stan Fresh said:

You should read up on the military leadership of the Third Reich, about the vast ineptitude of the Trump administration and its political appointees, and many other antidemocratic regimes.

You are spelling it wrong. It starts with an O

9 minutes ago, 2P51 said:

How the **** does a thread about comedy in game sessions devolve into yet another pissing match off the rails....gee lemmeee guess.......hmmmm.

Someone fed the gundark.

2 hours ago, 2P51 said:

How the **** does a thread about comedy in game sessions devolve into yet another pissing match off the rails....gee lemmeee guess.......hmmmm.

oh hey, threadcrapping from someone who didn't contribute in the first place; it's becoming a familiar pattern

never thought I'd have a stalker

Edited by Stan Fresh
22 minutes ago, Stan Fresh said:

oh hey, threadcrapping from someone who didn't contribute in the first place; it's becoming a familiar pattern

Yes it is. Then 2P51 responded to it

9 minutes ago, korjik said:

Yes it is. Then 2P51 responded to it

except for the fact that I actually contributed to the discussion that was going on, whereas he didn't

but I guess you don't let the truth stand in the way of things

2 hours ago, nameless ronin said:

There’s not actually that many nincompoops to point out there that I can see, to be honest. They typically didn’t/don’t get to that position of authority by helping create a new empire either. Hux didn’t inherit his position, nor was he elected by popular vote. He got his position because Snoke wanted it. If that’s supposed to mean the Supreme Leader is incapable of seeing Hux’ flaws, that might make it even worse.

2 hours ago, Stan Fresh said:

TLJ is very clear about Snoke being aware of Hux' limitations. A re-watch might be in order.

2 hours ago, nameless ronin said:

I doubt he was aware of the “general Hugs” level of ineptitude. And again, if he is that just makes it worse.

2 hours ago, themensch said:

Hux is the son of the Moff that instituted the First Order's "raise 'em right - as stormtroopers!" plan, so it makes sense that he landed where he did. His behavior is what I'd expect from a human male raised to manchildhood. It's not in the movies but it is in canonical fiction, which in turn really enriches the stories portrayed on screen.

@themensch is correct here. General Hux did indeed inherit his position. He didn't earn it through merit. And Snoke was well aware of Hux' incompetence, and his arrogance.

That one can reasonably explain a thing does not make that thing aethestically, emotionally, or naratively satisfying. Tone deaf musicians produce "bad music." A joke delivered at the wrong money can still get a laugh even while ruining the mood. Some viewers considered the writing and directing of this film, including its attempts at humor, sophomoric.

Arguing that juvenile humor is internally coherent doesn't change the fact that its juvenile. Those who found it such will not want it in their games. Those who loved it will. As such, there is no merit in arguing "the phone joke was funny because 'in world reasons.'" Its a question of artistry and whether someone found the work as a whole to have a consistent emotional tone, tenor, and tempo.

Here is the thing: I thought the telephone joke was well-delivered and it made me laugh. The problem was, that was not the moment to go for a laugh. It ruined the mood and killed my suspension of disbelief. It pulled me out of the film. Not everyone wants whipped cream and chocolate sauce on their steak dinner. Sure, its sweet, but... ew. Just ew.

Edited by Vondy
2 hours ago, Stan Fresh said:

except for the fact that I actually contributed to the discussion that was going on, whereas he didn't

but I guess you don't let the truth stand in the way of things

Or maybe I just find that on the average his posting is more of a contribution. He did a molehill, yours is more of a mountain.

2 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

@themensch is correct here. General Hux did indeed inherit his position. He didn't earn it through merit. And Snoke was well aware of Hux' incompetence, and his arrogance.

Inherited from? As far as I know Hux Jr had Phasma kill Hux Sr well before he could rise to prominence in the First Order. Armitage Hux (junior) was one of the first generals of the First Order period.

2 minutes ago, nameless ronin said:

Inherited from? As far as I know Hux Jr had Phasma kill Hux Sr well before he could rise to prominence in the First Order. Armitage Hux (junior) was one of the first generals of the First Order period.

Brendol Hux was already a high level member of the Empire and burgeoning First Order. He was one of the original members of the Shadow Council under Gallius Rex that ultimately evolved into the First Order.

Just now, Tramp Graphics said:

Brendol Hux was already a high level member of the Empire and burgeoning First Order. He was one of the original members of the Shadow Council under Gallius Rex that ultimately evolved into the First Order.

And dead before that happened.

Just now, nameless ronin said:

And dead before that happened.

Yes, but that still establishes that Aldus Hux inherited his father's position within the burgeoning First Order(granted, through murder, but still).

1 hour ago, Vondy said:

Here is the thing: I thought the telephone joke was well-delivered and it made me laugh. The problem was, that was not the moment to go for a laugh. It ruined the mood and killed my suspension of disbelief. It pulled me out of the film. Not everyone wants whipped cream and chocolate sauce on their steak dinner. Sure, its sweet, but... ew. Just ew.

It’s consistent with Poe’s character, though. When he first came face to face with Kylo Ren, his response was not to have a “Holy frak!” moment as Han (understandably) did when confronted with Vader in ESB. His response was to be a smart-@ss. (“Who talks first? Do I talk first? It’s hard to understand you with all the...apparatus.”)

In TLJ, providing a delaying tactic, what did he do? He was a smart-@ss. As we saw, it was the last thing the First Order expected. But it perfectly fit what we know about Poe.

Just now, Tramp Graphics said:

Yes, but that still establishes that Aldus Hux inherited his father's position within the burgeoning First Order(granted, through murder, but still).

His father had no position in the First Order itself. The Shadow Council was sceptical (to put it mildly) about Armitage having the necessary qualities to be a good officer. I don’t see how that adds up to him inheriting anything.

3 minutes ago, nameless ronin said:

His father had no position in the First Order itself. The Shadow Council was sceptical (to put it mildly) about Armitage having the necessary qualities to be a good officer. I don’t see how that adds up to him inheriting anything.

Yes, he he did. He was part of the original Imperial exodus into the Unknown regions, and it was the elder Hux who originally came up with the doctrine of raising Stormtroopers from infancy. In fact, it was the elder Hux who actually found Phasma to begin with. So, yes, he did have a high position in the early First Order.

18 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Yes, he he did. He was part of the original Imperial exodus into the Unknown regions, and it was the elder Hux who originally came up with the doctrine of raising Stormtroopers from infancy. In fact, it was the elder Hux who actually found Phasma to begin with. So, yes, he did have a high position in the early First Order.

Was elder Hux second in command and highest military leader, answerable only to Supreme Leader Snoke? I’m not saying Armitage didn’t have a leg up at first, I’m sure he did - but I don’t see how anyone can ignore or deny that he achieved a much more lofty position in the First Order than his father ever held.

12 minutes ago, nameless ronin said:

Was elder Hux second in command and highest military leader, answerable only to Supreme Leader Snoke? I’m not saying Armitage didn’t have a leg up at first, I’m sure he did - but I don’t see how anyone can ignore or deny that he achieved a much more lofty position in the First Order than his father ever held.

He was a high ranking member of the Order, and all indications was that he was a founding member of the First Order, so, yes, I would say that he was very close to top spot in the order.

In regards to contributing, that would mean maybe answering the OPs question. Like, no I don't micromanage the ratio of humor to drama at my table in regards to events, I let them decide how to have fun. Although, I think you can deal with a serious threat in a comedic fashion, or dramatically be an idiot when facing one. I'm more interested is the seriousness measured in good RP and tactics as opposed to thespian skills. See this would be what I call contributing to the point of the thread created by the OP.

As opposed to initiating some pointless back and forth subjective pissing match over the value of Hux as a character (he's a tool), or whether a specific scene was funny (it was a Verizon cell phone ad and dumb as ****).

This has been a public service announcement..........fly low and stay cool.........The Pirate............ ☠️

Edited by 2P51
9 hours ago, Vondy said:

That one can reasonably explain a thing does not make that thing aethestically, emotionally, or naratively satisfying.

Not necessarily, true. The specific complaint about Hux to which people here are responding was that his character doesn't make sense, though.

9 hours ago, Vondy said:

The problem was, that was not the moment to go for a laugh. It ruined the mood and killed my suspension of disbelief.

It established a mood of larger-than-life daring pulp adventure, like during the Falcon's escape from Hoth, which is full of jokes. So when the raid turns out to be a disaster in the number of lives lost by the Resistance, it hits all the harder.

9 hours ago, Vondy said:

It pulled me out of the film.

Why is that? And why didn't that happen with a couple hundred million other people?

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 7:47 AM, panpolyqueergeek said:

I think it's worth the watch. It addresses things that broke immersion for me. I think modern movies like Star Wars and Marvel films are sabotaging real moments of emotional vulnerability with jokes to break that tension. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was such a difficult watch for me for just this reason: if they had given any of the emotional/dramatic scenes room and time to breathe (instead of interrupting them/cutting them short with bad jokes and insults), I would have been twice as invested in the story and characters.

I also think his can apply at the table. Humor is often used to release tension or interrupt moments of vulnerability. I don't fault my players if they don't feel comfortable being vulnerable at the table, but I try to empower them with tools other than humor to cope with that discomfort and tension. The best tool I've found that I can provide them with is strong relationships with NPC's. I have found that my particular players will take a situation far more seriously when it involves a beloved NPC. Even though the NPC's are not real people, they tend to get attached to them and their causes. There is still plenty of humor at the table, but that is all dropped when one of their favorite NPC's is threatened.

My thing is that any OOC humor is almost always ok. It's fun to get together and sometimes it's fun to jab at what is going on before getting back to it. But In-character humor that is only really funny to the OOC observer is a dangerous element that can easily overwhelm other elements. If there is no gravity to a serious situation then there is no drama, and while I know some people cannot get the idea that TTRPGs aren't strategy board games at heart, they still compete to always win. Sometimes to them not being affected by a fictional sadness or loss is a win at the expense of deeper story.

On ‎6‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 5:44 AM, Darzil said:

If your heroes go up against the all powerful enemy without that enemy being stupid, overconfident, arrogant or other failure of character, they lose.

I accept your primary point there Darzil but I also think there are a thousand ways to skin a womprat, and you can have incidental things change the situation as well as having other counter-balancing situations occur. I would also say that if you have an enemy like that you need to use him Very Carefully, as the Worf Effect can occur. This guy is super tough but gets his *** kicked every time a villain beams on to the bridge so that the writer can show how tough the bad guy is. It can happen in reverse like with Hux.

14 hours ago, 2P51 said:

In regards to contributing, that would mean maybe answering the OPs question. Like, no I don't micromanage the ratio of humor to drama at my table in regards to events, I let them decide how to have fun. Although, I think you can deal with a serious threat in a comedic fashion, or dramatically be an idiot when facing one. I'm more interested is the seriousness measured in good RP and tactics as opposed to thespian skills. See this would be what I call contributing to the point of the thread created by the OP.

As opposed to initiating some pointless back and forth subjective pissing match over the value of Hux as a character (he's a tool), or whether a specific scene was funny (it was a Verizon cell phone ad and dumb as ****).

This has been a public service announcement..........fly low and stay cool.........The Pirate............ ☠️

I agree and I would say that I need to make clear that I am not saying that you need to have a table of actors, just that there needs to be some level of respect for the serious moments in the characters lives if there is going to be drama. Thanks 2P

16 hours ago, nameless ronin said:

Inherited from? As far as I know Hux Jr had Phasma kill Hux Sr well before he could rise to prominence in the First Order. Armitage Hux (junior) was one of the first generals of the First Order period.

I'd call it "usurped" in lieu of "inherited."

11 minutes ago, Archlyte said:

I agree and I would say that I need to make clear that I am not saying that you need to have a table of actors, just that there needs to be some level of respect for the serious moments in the characters lives if there is going to be drama. Thanks 2P

Different characters (not players...characters) will react to “the serious moments” in different ways.

As noted above, Han Solo reacted to being faced with becoming Vader’s captive by pulling his blaster and shooting. Poe Dameron reacted to being taken captive by Kylo Ren by mouthing off about the order of conversation and Kylo’s headgear.

Spider-Man deals with constant life-and-death situations through quips, jokes, and sarcasm. Batman by being a grim avenger of the night.

There is no one size fits all “correct” ways for characters to respond to “the serious moments.”