Cowed by the Mooooooooood.
That said, how do you keep the mood? And once lost, how do you try to bring everyone back? Can you? Is it even possible?
This is a question that separates me from the freaky immersionists. (Not that I don't understand the immersion idea, just that I think there's a freaky aspect to it. For someone who dabbles with the concepts I do, creating the scenario for possession just doesn't appeal…)
I understand that mood is a collaborative effort, but as a GM I've felt that it was not unreasonable to rely strongly on the players to make the greater effort to maintain the mood they want. If the players are joking, maybe now's not the time to introduce that treasure chest with all the carefully sliced and drained body parts.
On second thought… maybe it is. Timing is everything.
See, when it comes down to it, I enjoy the perversity of sitting around in someone's house pretending to be exploring a dungeon. Last week's campaign had the LintKing's character noting that there was a "Bloomingdale's" in the city's collection of establishments.
"That's where you get flowers?" my character, Jelica guessed.
"They also sell small valleys," Tanzania agreed.
"Of course! Where do you think they grow the flowers?" Brand the Magnificent added.
(To my fellow Amber players: No relation.)
This could have been distracting. Or, and the way I viewed it, it was a matter of interpretation. We analyze the world around us based on our experiences. I know more about the weight of a motorcycle than the weight of a horse. I have to put my whole measurement of how much Jelica can lift in a medieval world based on my knowledge of how current standards are likely to apply. It's not a "mood breaker." It's a tool.
And what do you do with that one player who is always the first one to crack a joke and break up the tension you've built to so carefully, no matter how many times you've asked/warned him/her not to do that?
See, I don't penalize players for that, because it's true-to-life. If I were investigating a cache of xenomorph eggs, a demon-infested temple, or a bunch of Enron documents, I'd be cracking jokes, too. It's my way. (In some ways, it's my religion.)
Timing and technique are more important than (and different from) tension, and while they are all aspects of mood, some aspects are more important than others.
We laugh a lot in our games. (Right now my throat is a little sore, but my cheek muscles are worse... we laugh a lot.) Frankly, that's a measure of how much fun we're having. I am in this for fun. Yes, there were some serious moments. (I didn't realize Jelica got into nearly-blind rages until she got into her Serious Clothes. Now I realize that she really is scary. It's too easy to play her dumb...)
I was in a group once that wasn't fun. I stopped playing after the GM decided he needed to teach another player a lesson. Now, admittedly, the other player was a bit of a jerk. Not a real bad fellow, just someone who weighed in on the side of obnoxious. You know, the kind of guy who has to roll to see if he makes a critical fumble during his morning ablutions. Who makes the GM roll weather dice. Who is strict to the book but takes advantage of a specialized character class. That sort of guy.
The GM made an elaborate scenario that ruined the mood for me not on a game basis, but on a player-to-player basis. The player strayed on the edge of ruining the mood not because of laughter but because of solemnity. Frankly, I didn't care that his character had regular bowel movements. (No, wait, I did care. I most definitely didn't want to know.)
That was a game-breaker. Was it the mood that kept the game from being salvaged? I don't think so. I think the group chemistry was sour, and the mood was just a reaction to that, not the cause.
Yes, there is a chemistry to gaming. Mood is a part of that, too. Keep opening your eyes to the bigger picture.