Remember the "Secret Tunnel!" hippies from Avatar the Last Airbender? RPG thoughts

[Scalenex]

This is one of my favorite episodes of the Avatar series. But I realize that I've played and ran RPGs a very long time, and never seen anything like these characters in any game system.

I talked with my friend and he said that it is fun to watch Sokka dealing with the goofy hippies but in an RPG you have to be Sokka dealing with the goofy hippies and that is a lot less fun.

In your opinions, what is the best way to include goofball comedic relief NPCs in an RPG?

[Keltest]

Have them be the PCs. Otherwise, keep the dosage extremely small. Being zany crazy people is a lot more fun than dealing with them as more than a one off thing.

[Unoriginal]

I talked with my friend and he said that it is fun to watch Sokka dealing with the goofy hippies but in an RPG you have to be Sokka dealing with the goofy hippies and that is a lot less fun.

Maybe on the moment, but that kind of encounter is memorable and past frustrations are often remembered fondly.

In your opinions, what is the best way to include goofball comedic relief NPCs in an RPG?

The three main possibilities are:

1) Don't make them overstay their welcome. They're here for a few jokes (maybe a running gag)/to showcase the kind of people the PCs have to deal with in that context, but they shouldn't be a constant thorn for a long time.

2) Make them stay longer but also give them character traits and skills that make them useful to have around even with their zany quirks. This can come up by having them not being quite as zany as first appeared, or having them be heroic when the chips are down.

If Singing Hippie Man had decided to sacrifice himself by luring a group of soldiers away so that the PCs could escape the Fire Nation, he'd very likely be remembered in a very positive way by the players. Even if they did manage to save him after all.

3) Make them antagonists and give the PCs the chance to vent their frustration on them at some point. Or have another NPC call tem out. Be they tricksters, obstructive bureaucrats, obnoxious bad guys or just your typical jerks, them being annoying is the set up and them getting what they deserve is the payoff.

[Errorname]

A benefit you have with this compared to a TV show is that you're going to be getting live reactions as you write these characters, so you can adjust on the fly. If your party is enjoying the shenanigans you can play into it, if they're clearly annoyed you can tone it down.

[Beelzebub1111]

I was playing a call of cthulhu game and when we were asking questions at an antique shop our Keeper made him kind of a hippie stoner who was sort of helpful but forgetful type who's uncle owns the place but he's out of town. It was fun role-playing with the guy and preventing him from accidentally breaking priceless vases while pumping him for information about a guy who bought something from there.

[Xervous]

The best attempts at comedic relief characters are expendable NPCs that the players are not obligated to interact with. If they prove entertaining the players will continue to engage, if not you have the option to cash them out in a final scene for schadenfreude appeal.

The secret tunnel group (memory just a tad hazy) is a GM nudge of ‘plot this way!’ that becomes a railroad when all the other options get blocked. Getting railroaded into dealing with obnoxious, essential NPCs is miserable and tends to bring wishes for karmic retribution to afflict the NPCs in the near future.

[Easy e]

I think the best place to use them would be in the Last Airbender RPG.......

[Curse]

Their obvious purpose is to give a group that has no bard access to bardic knowledge. Therefore a quirky (and possibly quite annoying) option would be that for some unknown reason the troup of travelling bards always shows up when the PCs are in desperate need of some hint.
Later it might or might not turn out to be a disguised hive of mind flayers giving just the right amount of hints to lure the adventurers into their trap ...