The dynamics of every group of gamers is different. I've seen some groups attack the game with military precision - 100% business. They go in and get the job done, destroying everything in their path. But, you also have to remember how important a sense of humor is. We game for two reasons: to have fun and to blow off steam. Sure, it's great to sit on the edge of your seat all night wondering what lurks around the next corner or if your rogue will fail that will save and turn on the rest of the party. But, on the other hand, it's also good to have sessions where everyone is holding their sides from laughing so much. It's good to try to have a balance of seriousness and laughter in each game, and sometimes, all it takes is a single word or phrase to go from one extreme to the other.
This past Sunday, we were playing Mutants and Masterminds. Our group of superheroes, the Amazing Eight, were fighting a guy whose body was made of bricks. When he talked, his voice sounded like a cement mixer. When we finally damaged him, instead of bleeding, he oozed wet cement. This guy was pretty intimidating. Then, one guy wants to do something with his internal organs and accidentally says, "I wonder if his bricks are made of lungs." That was all it took. We were gone for the rest of the night pondering what bricks made of lungs would look like. Through the laughter, the battle continued. The bad guy hit his hands together to cause a seismic wave. Of course, we echoed his actions in a wheezing voice as he had just slammed his lungs together. Then we said we were going to take him apart brick by brick. Of course we sang Brickhouse, called him a brick shit house and said he was going to shit a brick. Then we pondered if his mother was a brick and his father was a lung. In the end, we pulled a gadget off him him that was controlling him from afar. I'm glad we didn't kill him or we would've been charged with mortar.
