Funny-Ha-Ha (TCG)

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Humor, in all its various fonns can break the tension, relieve the fear, and provide a balance for all the intensity associated with combat and life-or-death puzzle-solving. A joke (even outside the context of the game), a fwmy incident, or a silly NPC portrayal can slow the pace of the game down and give the players enough time to regain their perspective on a situation. Humor can also provide a deadly trap. Picture an inept NPC, someone who could be dangerous if he had his wits about him, but who is obviously more concerned with his own trivial, even humorous problems. His light-hearted demeanor catches the player characters off-guard, even involves them in solving his problems. Then, when the players least expect it, the NPC springs his trap, either attacking the characters or relieving them of valuables (it may even be possible for the characters to be unaware of their loss until long after the fact). Unless the DM varies the situation, this little trap should only work once for each group of players.
Use humor to change the pace or lighten a tense situation, but avoid giving NPCs silly sounding names unless the character is intended to 26 be the constant butt of jokes. Keep the names consistent with the world. Fearless Phred, may seem cute initially, and generate a few chuckles, but eventually, the joke wears thin and the DM is stuck with an NPC who has a stupid name. Regardless of Fearless Phred's prowess or power, the PCs will never take him seriously.