Don't get me wrong. The idea of a joke characters sound amazing from time to time. But what would someone do if they don't want you to play a joke character on a Serious or long term campaign?

No joke survives five hundred hours at the table. 

If the character is nothing but a crappy meme with no substance to it whatsoever, everyone will tire of the meme eventually - and "eventually" will come sooner than the memester thinks.  That's not to say that funny characters are bad, but there's a difference between a funny character and a joke/meme character.  Better to make a character you can still enjoy a hundred sessions later than something even you will want to kill with fire after ten.

I've had people create joke characters and join my campaigns.

Those campaigns are still running but the joke characters no longer exist.

No, I didn't kill them! Sheesh.

In a serious game no.

Though I run a Hard Fun type game, so a joke type character won't last long anyway.

For a fun game, sure though.

In the right campaigns they can work. And by “the right campaigns” I mean light and brief. A short humorous campaign can withstand a joke character.

In a serious campaign, or one that’s going to last more than a handful of sessions, not so much. The joking disrupts a serious campaign, and wears out its welcome quickly.

Quote from Yurei1453 >>

No joke survives five hundred hours at the table. 

If the character is nothing but a crappy meme with no substance to it whatsoever, everyone will tire of the meme eventually - and "eventually" will come sooner than the memester thinks.  That's not to say that funny characters are bad, but there's a difference between a funny character and a joke/meme character.  Better to make a character you can still enjoy a hundred sessions later than something even you will want to kill with fire after ten.

This. 

If the character only exists for a funny name and a punchline that only works once, it's doomed to fail.  But if the humor is just part of a larger character, then it can work.  As long as it doesn't disrupt the tone that the rest of the group wants. 

There are many kinds of joke characters.  

The meme only exists for the punchline.  That gets old fast.  A stupid name and gimmick leaves the DM and other players having to constantly decide if they are going to treat it realistically in the game world, or pretend it isn't weird when it clearly is. Neither options are much fun.  Example - Harry McBig****, the Bugbear that farts Poison Spray cantrips

Then there are in-joke characters.  Where the joke is funny to the players, but the character fits perfectly normal in the game world. Those are much easier to work with.  Even if they seem silly upfront.  Example - Raphael, the Tortle Monk.  Clearly ridiculous to the players, but the people in the game world have no frame of reference for this joke.  The name, species, and class combination mean nothing to them.  Everyone can RP normally as long as Raphael isn't constantly talking about pizza, minivans, and sewers.

Then there are just characters that are funny people.  Characters that tell good jokes, or have a funny personality quirk, or an unfortunate curse.  The people in the game world are also aware the character is funny and can react accordingly.  But they hopefully have more to them than the joke.  They still have hopes and dreams and things that can be taken seriously to maintain the tone.  Example - the one-man band that is just trying to pay off some debts, the forgetful old wizard that always loses her hat, the charming rogue that is cursed to lose all their money each night so they decide to just live it up and have a laugh at the tavern.

I would usually avoid pure joke characters myself.  If a player wanted one, I'd make sure the rest of the group was okay with it, and ask them to at least try to give them a personality outside of the punchline.  One that won't annoy and disrupt everything.  My last campaign had a player who made a dwarf with a very unfortunate nickname, and the unfortunate backstory to explain it.  He sounded like a joke character from that alone.  But it usually just lead to some chuckles or funny looks when he introduced himself to new people.  And shock/pity when they heard how he got the name.  But other than that he was a very grounded character with a great story and noble goals.  He was just a hero with a funny nickname.  That's something true of many people in real life. 

So yeah, joke characters can find their place in any game if played carefully.  Just try to respect the other players fun too.  And try to give yourself something to enjoy about the character long after the joke wears thin.

This is why we have one-shots and limited series campaigns. You spend a few sessions having some laughs, then go back to a more serious game. There's certainly a place for it at our table - some of the characters we bring up years later are from these kinds of games.

Quote from scatterbraind >>

This is why we have one-shots and limited series campaigns. You spend a few sessions having some laughs, then go back to a more serious game. There's certainly a place for it at our table - some of the characters we bring up years later are from these kinds of games.

Very good point.  :)

I'm very surprised on how many people responded to this question. I was only after some attention. Though I suppose it was a bit of a question to since I remember making to Joke characters.

If I'm DMing a one-shot or two-shot, I'm fine with joke characters. For me, one-shots are just to have fun or introduce newer players, so joke characters are fine as long as they're not offensive. If I'm DMing a longer and more serious campaign that I've put time and effort into, I will be very strict against joke characters. It makes the whole campaign seem like a joke. As a player, it's important to know when and when not to play a joke character, and a serious campaign that the DM has been waiting to play with you is not the time to mess around. Yet I've never played a joke character myself, so keep in mind that if both the player and the DM are fine with it, then it's not a problem.

Not sure if anyone else remebers it but if you want a truly funny/weird rpg experience then you should play a game called Toon, it was made many many many moons ago. Basically all the characters are cartoons and cannot die, it might be something to D&Dize in the future...maybe do a Who Framed Roger Rabbit combined with Alice in Wonderland and your normal D&D monsters?

Seriously depends on what the player does with them.

I'm running a campaign with a player who is using what they admit was a joke-character they built to use once in a one-shot, and then decided they really liked.

They are currently going through a character-development arc, where they are trying to find out their true parentage and come to terms with it, and are conflicted between pleasing their father (Thor) or going on their own path. They are still a slightly over-the-top character who proclaims their name when they enter battle, but that is no longer all that they are.

The joke character will always die, but whether that's because they become a character with depth or food for falling rocks, that's up to the player.

I think there are three general types of joke character, two of which can be effective if piloted properly, the third of which might be problematic for a long-term game. 

To start with the problematic, there are characters that are heavily based off a singular joke which appears constantly - say, a barbarian character named Leeroy Jenkins who runs into every combat screaming their name and hitting something without any plan (that’s still a relevant reference, right…?).  That kind of player can get old first - the joke might be funny once, but if repeated it both grows tiring and rapidly interferes with how others play the game.

The second category is a joke which is a part of the character, but rather than the defining trait is more presented as a quirk or flaw of the character, or just something that happens less commonly and folks give a chuckle (or groan) to at on the occasions where it might come up.  This is something like a Yuan-ti who leans on the lore that they see everything as “Yuan-ti, threat, or meat” so is constantly referring to their party members as “meat” rather than as equal creatures. It should be note that the division between the first category and this category is not an objective line - it is going to mostly come down to the person piloting the deck, and their own ability to maintain a balance between the joke and taking the joke too far.  That is not a balance everyone can walk. 

The final general category is playing the Fool—not merely playing a foolish character, but leaning into the centuries-old archetype so commonly seen in Shakespeare and other works of literature. This is a character who, when given a choice, will always make the questionable decision—who provides a “yeah, but what if we didn’t use common sense?” option to the game.  Though it can be said that their personality itself is a singular, fundamental joke, the way that joke manifests will be different in different circumstances, so they feel like a string of related jokes all tied to the fundamental character.  This can also be hard to pull off, and requires someone who can really sell the character and who knows how to operate the Fool in a manner that might look chaotic, but also helps advance the party rather than hinders them. 

Better be great or I will get bored and TPK.

In answer to the question, if they ask you not to do it, be courteous and don't do it. Most joke characters really aren't that funny, especially in the long run. If you don't want joke characters, ask the DM of the expectations of the game and ask if those involved can do something about it.

I agonised over my current character, Commissar Katyusha Lozdkause (no prizes for guessing any of the jokes within those three words), where her whole thing was to ride her Steel Defender and shout "drive me closer, I want to hit them with my sword!" It hasn't worked out very well, but I was quick to realise this and make something so much more out of her. She's a far greater asset out of combat than in combat, but might as well be a frequent NPC at this stage. The jokes have long worn off, and now she's no longer the feisty gnomish loudmouth that she once was: she's tired of being downed in fights for her leading from the front, realises she's not a battle bard of old, and finds being alive to play politics and commit audits opens up a lot of doors for the party.

I won't play another joke character unless it's for a one-shot. Even then my last one, a tribute to Halo and Splitgate's Oddball mode, did his thing ("Oi's gonna reset da bawl," he says, disengaging) and did it very little.

I prefer a jokey character to a joke character.

I remember one time at work I was told about a certain character. A necromancer who thinks they're a cleric. I assume that was a joke but then I thought of something even funnier in my head. A ranger who think they're a druid. Now I may not know the similarities of Druids and Rangers but I would love to play that one day in a One-Shot.

As an addendum to my previous post I want to make it clear that a funny character is not the same as a “joke character.” Funny characters are typically fine. But a pure goof who’s only in it for the lolz, and whose raison d’être is to goof around gets old quickly.

I'm not a fan of joke characters, funny charas are great, but I prefer characters that make jokes to characters that are a joke, Especially if it feels like the character is only funny to the one who's playing the chara when everyone else is making more serious characters.

Example: In the very first D&D game I ever played, there was a player who's character was IIRC a Revenant or at least some Undead. If I remember right in the world we were playing Undead were feared, so he wanted to hide his condition by hiding his face.
With a paper bag. Ala Spider-Men's "Bag-Man" costume just with armor.
He could've used an actual helmet, but no, it had to be a paper bag, because "Haha it's so funny!!!"

Thinking back, I should've said something, but it was my very first time playing D&D and I was a bit anxious about what would happen if I did. (we only ever played 1 game over Discord vc, then our schedules never aligned anymore and after 1 year of no posts I left the discord server)

I personally love them.

If you take the joke part away from the character, what's left?

If you still have a functional PC who's capable of contributing something more than taking a hit that could have gone to a more useful party member, you're good.

If all the character is is the joke, don't do it.  Playing a character that's functionally useless is likely to make the rest of the party resentful no matter how funny you are.