Good ol' cliches

[Jeivar]

I'm planning to goad my friends into a D&D campaign with a somewhat different flavor than usual: Playing it like a cliche-riddled computer RPG, for laughs. I'm going to start it out at an idyllic village, full of flowers and sunshine and happy children, where nothing bad ever happens (and you know what happens next), feature a masked evil overlord type who insists on launching into melodramatic speeches before battles, fallen PC's coming back to life after a battle ends, NPC's giving out rewards for menial quests, the PC's being the only competent people around who can save the day etc. etc.

Could you guys help me out with ideas? Point out illogical RPG cliches that can be exploited for fun and silliness?

[BRC]

The problem with using Cliche's for laughs is that you need to differentiate yourself from someone who is just using the cliches.
Currently, if you do the above adventure as you have described it, the players wont think "HA, that wacky DM, subverting RPG cliches" they will think "That was cliche"

[Draz74]

Make sure you keep a tight grip on the characters' personalities and backstories. For example, all of the characters must be orphans. Any dwarf characters must be extremely grumpy and usually drunk. Any elf characters must be drop-dead gorgeous. Any wizards must wear tall pointy hats.

Make sure there's a side quest to rescue a beautiful princess from a tower at some point. Bonus points if the tower is guarded by some kind of dragon.

[Tacoma]

This.

(It needs to be at least 10 characters bleargh gabba gabba hey)

[Tacoma]

Make sure you keep a tight grip on the characters' personalities and backstories. For example, all of the characters must be orphans. Any dwarf characters must be extremely grumpy and usually drunk. Any elf characters must be drop-dead gorgeous. Any wizards must wear tall pointy hats.

Make sure there's a side quest to rescue a beautiful princess from a tower at some point. Bonus points if the tower is guarded by some kind of dragon.

Furthermore, if the princess is evil and she's captured a good dragon that is such a common subversion of the trope that it almost counts as a new trope.

Females must be rogues and clerics, possibly wizards. The party leader must be a Fighter. Have everyone gain an elemental power later - the party leader gets Fire.

They all have evil twins.

In order to leave the idyllic valley where the town is, they have to ask the old man mayor for a key to the ancient tunnel through the mountains. But before he gives them the key he demands that they go into the sewers to rescue his missing cat.

[Mando Knight]

This.

Specifically this if you're going for RPG tropes.

Remember, Tropes Are Not Bad.

[Morty]

Make sure all magic used by NPCs is as vaguely described as possible. Never mention any particular spells, they've simply "used their magics".
When describing the Big Bad and his/her forces, use words such as "evil", "wicked", "foul" or "cruel" at least once per sentence.

[Dublock]

first quest must be to kill rats in a basement.

[Tacoma]

The BBEG has to have a stupid weapon that's improbably sized.

This can mean he uses a tiny flaming scourge, or a giant katana. When there aren't any Asian cultures in your campaign. Yet there is sushi.

[Dixieboy]

Make sure you keep a tight grip on the characters' personalities and backstories. For example, all of the characters must be orphans. Any dwarf characters must be extremely grumpy and usually drunk. Any elf characters must be drop-dead gorgeous. Any wizards must wear tall pointy hats.

Oh yes, and elves despite being fey must ask like the archetype for lawful neutral

Also have one of your characters (Preferably a human fighter) have some sort of ancestral sword, that or a an old rusty blade that later turns out to be the ultimate weapon of good

[hamishspence]

if "Sunshine Happy Land" is very evil, and Masked Overlord is the well intentioned but a little extreme Good Guy, thats a very basic subversion.

But yes, plain cliches, even straight cliche subversions, get old fast.

Playing around with tropes which haven't yet reached cliche status, however, has a lot to recommend it.

[Dublock]

thought of another, have a wise old man help out the party at times they really need it, but he never, never enters combat but yet comments on how the main characters fight.

[Flickerdart]

You might want to take a look at the Undead Horse Tropes (like a Dead Horse trope but still alive) or Omnipresent Tropes that are so common you never notice them anyways.

[hiryuu]

They did this. They called it The Slayers. They even made a d20 supplement.

[Kurald Galain]

Every NPC must speak precisely one sentence, and repeat that whenever asked anything.

Welcome to Corneria.

[Altima]

Your party must be five members.

The leader, the lancer, the smart guy, the brute, and the chick.

They must also save the world. Even better if they have to stop a wizard from summoning some sort of world eating monster.

Also, they have to fight The Dragon before defeating the bad guy.

Alternatively, you can go uber subversive with a party of evil/good guys who have to save the world from good (being overrun with scenty flowers and snuggley bears). You must rescure the evil princess from the gold dragon in this scenario (bonus points if said evil princess is preggers with gold dragon spawn--nature versus nurture!)

[Glyphic]

Make sure to have side quests or hidden treasures that are guarded by monsters that are ten times stronger than the final boss is.

Have save points; demand that PC's use a tent, cabin, or house when resting anywhere but an Inn.

[Tacoma]

The BBEG has to be fought in various ever-more difficult forms. The final form is this huge nasty demon thing.

[Canadian]

You need to have locked doors. When you get to them a cloud pops up that says you need the key. When you kill a beast it poofs in a puff of smoke and leaves behind a giant key that needs to be held with two hands or over your shoulder.

When you get to the locked door all you have to do is point the key at the door and it opens by itself and the key vanishes. Music plays and you go onto the next level.

[Tacoma]

You need to have locked doors. When you get to them a cloud pops up that says you need the key. When you kill a beast it poofs in a puff of smoke and leaves behind a giant key that needs to be held with two hands or over your shoulder.

When you get to the locked door all you have to do is point the key at the door and it opens by itself and the key vanishes. Music plays and you go onto the next level.

Whenever the PCs find a magic item, whoever gets it has to hold it up above his head for the whole world to see!

*DOO DOO DOO!*

I'm gonna do that with a character sometime.

[Agrippa]

Oh yes, and elves despite being fey must ask like the archetype for lawful neutral

Actually that's sterotypical Lawful Neutral. Archetypal Lawful Neutral would be Havelock Vetinari or Baron Klaus Wulfenbach.

Also have one of your characters (Preferably a human fighter) have some sort of ancestral sword, that or a an old rusty blade that later turns out to be the ultimate weapon of good

And if its still a rusty old sword that vaguely resembles a hacksaw?

[Canadian]

Unimportant NPC's don't get to speak. They have text boxes instead. As the text boxes go by you hear a "charlie brown" style nonsense voice in the background.

[Assassin89]

Wolves carry coins and rings for some weird reason

[Canadian]

When you take damage you can get points back by picking up hearts. They can be cartoon style hearts. Or actual meaty, bloody, still beating hearts.

[BRC]

All these cliche's are strictly enforced by a society led by epic-level bards. People found breaking the cliche get beaten up, if they do it again, they vanish and nobody hears of them again. Example
Player: Ow, that dragon was tough, my arm's broken and I've got third-degree burns over half my body. Ooh look! An Inn
*player sleeps at the in, wakes up unhealed*
Player: What a ripoff *shouts VIOLATION out the window*
A group of thugs show up and start beating up the innkeeper, who gives the player a free nights stay. The next night, a group of clerics sneak into the players room and heal him up.

[Ivan Ooze]

Tales of Symphonia is littered with RPG clichés. It may provide you with some inspiration.

Also, MacGuffins. Search for them, collect them, etc.

[chiasaur11]

Wolves carry coins and rings for some weird reason

And Spoons. Don't forget spoons.

[Canadian]

The end boss of each level has a glowing red dot (weak spot) that is momentarily exposed every few rounds when their armor opens (for no known reason) and the red dot flashes every time it is hit. More and more smoke and flames come out as the red dot is hit. In the end the boss explodes leaving some kind of prize.

Every time you kill a boos the GM gives you a summary of how many xp's coins and hearts you have. If you kill enough enemies you get an extra man.

[Altima]

There must be only a few archetypes of villains. Goblins gently increase in power from the, uh, sick goblin to the goblin god. And they all look the same, apart from coloration.

Bats. There must always be bats. Possibly giant roaches as well.

There must always be someone competing with the party. This person/party usually meets with the party, skirmishes, then runs off. They occaisionally perform better than the PCs to acquire a semi-useful Macguffin. Shortly before the end of the game campaign, the two parties will fight and the rivals will be defeated to pass on the torch, symbolically, to their rivals.

There will always be an attractive (possibly scantily clad) female who is powerful, works for the BBEG, hands the party its butt on a regular basis, then gets betrayed by BBEG or something or seducedredeemed by the 'good guys' at which time she'll become completely useless, being little more than a cheerleader for the party.

The last PC to join the party must be a low level functionary of the BBEG. The party will fight this character, who will be incredibly difficult to defeat. Upon his or her defeat, he or she will join the part at level 1.

For a more modern feel, have every important NPC speak to the player/party in gender neutral terms.

[monty]

And Spoons. Don't forget spoons.

But...but...there is no spoon!

Sorry, wrong genre.