Comic Relief NPCs

ErykEryk

So I'd like to ask to make sure I know about everyone.
Who comes to my mind:
Nephele (anyone knows something about her voiceset?)
Hubelpot
Keto

By comic relief i don't mean meme npcs like Banana

LavaDelVortel

WTF? I can't decide which is funnier -- Lhannd's fear because his father is dying from a disease he doesn't know how to cure and causes organ failure, or Dvaradime's fear that something might have happened to his beloved one, that he might have been hurt and that he may lose him. These are damn hilarious themes.

Mothor

Petsy and Keto.

ErykEryk

You completely misunderstood Lava. Both main themes you mentioned are not funny at all.
But for example
Lhannd has some little interjections with a sense of humour, about his handsomeness, moustache etc. It's even in one of the talks with charname.
Dvaradime - his accent, his spelling, his overall dwarfiness, his "argh, stepped into something", "stained me journal again, bah" , his beard wax?
Also isn't it the point of full character? Both Minsc and Jan have some dark sides of their stories..
I don't think I'm the one to tell you where your own characters are acting funny?
Please calm down and keep up your awesome work

ErykEryk

Anyyyyway - anyone knows how to add voiceset to Nephele?
Edit:
managed with EEUITweeks

LavaDelVortel

I don't think you understand what comic relief CHARACTER is, then. Because the fact that some lines here and there are a bit more lighthearted doesn't mean a character is a comic relief. Tiax is a comic relief. Perhaps Quayle. From mods: probably Afu-Zuuvi, a kobold that praises a dragon deity and doesn't have a clue about most things. Or my IWD T'viy is one too, so is Hommet. Noober is a comic relief character, if you want to add non-joinables to the list.

Neither Lhannd, nor Dvaradime are comic relief characters. What you said is true, that full characters do not cling just to one thing in a story, but there is a difference between saying something funny or lighthearted or saying a joke and being a comic relief character. Especially when mentioned characters want to pretend everything's fine or you don't want to overwhelm others with their problems all the time and pretend they feel better.

How such characters are described on other websites (for example videomaker.com) and do it pretty well:

Comic relief characters are oftentimes designed to keep the audience entertained and laughing throughout the film. For instance, Tony Stark might make a few funny quips during intense moments, but he isn’t a comic relief character. His role in the story isn’t to make people laugh. The simplest definition of a comic relief character is a character that’s in a film only to make people laugh.

And sure, they can have depth, but having few lines here and there doesn't change the fact that both these mods are both about fear, death, going through difficult times, and finding peace.

And why does it matter and why I wrote this boring post? Because wrong labels on a story can mislead others. I am unsure if I would tell people who go through hard stuff (like illness in a family) to go and play these mods because they are "funny". The core of these mods is not. Well, like 65% of these mods isn't exactly funny, it's best if people know that. While I like telling sad stories, the last thing I want to do is for the misled players to feel bad because they weren't ready for such themes and they thought these mods are about something else. It happened before, trust me on that.

ErykEryk

Well to cite the same site:
"Comic relief characters are typically sidekicks to the protagonists and embrace a light-hearted, fun-loving personality — think Timon and Pumbaa from “The Lion King” (1994) or Donkey from “Shrek” (2001). However, comic relief characters don't always have to be on the side of the protagonist."
And we all know that Donkey story is far from being only funny.
Other good example i think are Weasley brothers from HP.
Same with Jan and minsc as i mentioned before.
Anyway you're the creator of mentioned NPCS so you have last words on that. I'm gonna edit my initial post to erase your NPCs. Especially that of course when you think about NPCS as points on a scale - i guess there are many varieties of comic relieving percentage per NPC However I still think you should maybe consider adjusting the tone of your responses my friend.

LavaDelVortel

Timon, Pumbaa, and Donkey are light-hearted, they are not exactly shallow, but now compare that to:

the fact that Lhannd

is unable to save his father and he dies right after Lhannd starts to believe that he can still save him, but the organs fail and he finds his father dead in the bed right after PC and Lhannd returns with a possible cure. Then, he doesn't know how to accept that, he leaves and is nowhere to be found, until you go to the tavern, and you see him drunk and unable to stand, lying in the corner of the room.

or that Dvaradime

finds out that his husband is dead... well, undead, and has to kill him or ask PC to do it for him, but it's such a great shock to Dvaradime that he is unable to give him a proper burial and it is his father that has to help him. And the fact that Ribald gives the NPC a present Dvaradime's husband ordered for him but he no longer is there to give it to Dvaradime himself isn't exactly a cheering-up moment, too.

So nope, their purpose isn't there to be "comic". Even with occasional moments when they may say "funny things", it's not their role to play.

Anyway, I said what I wanted to say you don't need to worry I will write anything else in this thread.

ErykEryk

As I said, you're the creator of your art and you know the best. I respect that. But what i want you to think about is how you respond to people. Have a nice life and looking forward for your next releases.

Skitia

Kale from my SkitiaNPCs (and Kale BG1 mod) is probably somewhat comic relief. He imagines himself as the Protagonist's #2, and if there was a film with him in a party, he would definitely be portrayed that way. Of the group, I definitely gave him the goofiest party banters.

ErykEryk

Ah Yes, i had him in a party and yeah he was funny, also Emily has some funny interjections

SharGuidesMyHand

I wouldn't characterize Nephele as "comic relief," either - she's an elderly widow who joins your party to escape the grief and loneliness of losing her husband, and she bonds with your Charname over your mutual loss of loved ones.