Comedic PC Characters

[RavensCall]

I'm assuming sometime in January, my current group will start our 3rd campaign and it will be based in Ravenloft with native PC characters. Using various 3rd party supplements as well as some homebrew, it will be a 5e game. IMO 5e is very player friendly and can be hard to evoke that sense of dread needed for the setting. However, using a few tweaks and some supplemental rules, as well as the settings own rule changes, I think I can put together a campaign with that old horror feeling. I was recently informed, that one of my players is going to recreate an old character he made years ago. This character is a dwarf who is mentally challenged. (Back in 2nd edition days, we used those low scores and roleplayed them much more whereas with 5e I don't see many low scores). He played the character for laughs but he was a simple fighter that was a good tank, but otherwise talked with a silly voice, and did things simply to cause trouble. It was more so the fact that being so dumb, the character didn't worry about consequences. If potions were found, he'd yell "fruit juice" or some such nonsense and drink them up without knowing what they were. He also would open doors without waiting for the group to decide where they were going next. And he had quite a few interesting encounters with various NPC's including a few Dark Lords. He also was easily frightened so he rarely made fear checks IIRC. My current group is made up of players that haven't experienced a full blown trip in Ravenloft. They've had horror adventures but no nothing about the place except this player. I do trust him, but I'm worried this may not foster the atmosphere I'm going for. I know Ravenloft is made up of many contrasts. Landscapes can be beautiful during the day and turn deadly at night to emphasize the horror. He will play along with whatever backstory I make up, even why he is so lacking in the intelligence department. And don't get me wrong, I use humor to contrast the campaign myself. I'm just wondering, is it too much? Should I be worried? What sort of things should I nerf the player on, if any?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I wouldn't want to tell someone not to play what they want, but this character really doesn't seem to fit the theme you're aiming for. An absolutely brilliant PC/DM team could maybe find a way to take this comic relief character and recontextualize him in Ravenloft as a tragic figure over his head. But I don't know I've ever seen that level of brilliance at any table I've been at.

I would probably try to find a way to ask the player "what else do you have?"

[Mischief]

5e is very player friendly and can be hard to evoke that sense of dread needed for the setting.

I disagree a bit here. Gameplay dread is a different tension than setting-induced dread. Consider the first two floors of the Death House which have no monsters*. It's just a tension building exercise in a creepy house. Making the game harder can heighten emotions, but making the game scarier is really what makes it scarier.
Also keep in mind the tiers of play. By feel of how a character plays, lvl 1-4 is low fantasy, 5-10 is mid fantasy. 11-16 is high fantasy, and 17+ is superheroes. CoS was 1-10.

I would probably try to find a way to ask the player "what else do you have?"

This is fair. Maybe try offering the player the Haunted One background. Also I'm pretty sure it got buffed because it's an underpowered bg, so check for that too.

I'm just going to quote Curse of Strahd's page on how to be scary here.

MARKS OF HORROR: A gust of air like the foul-smelling breath of some horrible monster greets the adventurers as they climb the steps of a tower in Castle Ravenloft. Nearing the top, they begin to hear the beating of a heart in the darkness above. Not a human heart, but the heart of something monstrous and horrible. Such is the nature of gothic horror: fear bred by anticipation and the dark realization that all will be truly and horribly revealed in time.
The following tips can help you make this adventure a chilling experience for you and your players.

THE UNKNOWN: Horror is born out of fear of the unknown. Our fear is heightened when the darkness engulfs us and we can't see, or when the truth is behind a locked door, covered by a sheet, or buried in the soft earth. It's not the monster, but its shadow, that breeds horror. The more we know about a monster, the less we fear it, so the trick is to keep it out of the light for as long as possible. Here are two tricks to heighten fear of the unknown:
• When it seems as though the characters have everything under control, you can have a gust of wind suddenly blow out their torches, plunging them into darkness.
• Before a monster appears, take a moment to describe the odor that precedes it, the eerie sound it makes, or the weird shadow it casts.

FORESHADOWING: Foreshadowing is about finding clues to a horrible truth yet to be revealed. Consider the following examples:
• Before characters encounter a monster, hint at the monster's presence with clues such as claw marks, gnawed bones, and bloodstains.
• Whenever characters take a long rest, give one character a prophetic dream in which he or she glimpses something yet to be found or encountered.

AGE: Barovia is the grim reflection of its undead master. Almost everything here is old and timeworn. Everywhere the adventurers go, they should be reminded of death, decay, and their own mortality. Here are a couple of ways to reinforce these pervasive themes:
• Take time to describe the rotting timbers of buildings, the faded and moth-eaten clothing of the Barovian peasantry, the worm-ridden pages of old books, and the rust on iron fences and gates.
• A character gazing into a mirror, a pool, or other reflective surface might glimpse an older, more decrepit version of himself or herself.

LIGHT: A tale that is perpetually dark in tone becomes tiresome very quickly. It needs to feature the occasional ray of light for contrast and to create a sense of hope. Monsters and other terrors must be offset with creatures that are kind and lovable, giving the characters even more reasons to stand against the darkness. Here are a couple of ways to add glimmers of light to a tragic tale:
• In a land as dreary as Barovia, take the time to describe the occasional scene of beauty, such as a pretty flower growing atop a grave.
• Make sure that the heroes have contact with NPCs who are honest, friendly, and helpful, such as the Martikovs in Vallaki or the Krezkovs in Krezk.

PERSONIFICATION: Ascribing human characteristics to an inanimate thing is one way to turn something ordinary into something malevolent. A groaning house, the wailing wind, grasping mud, and a squatting chest aren't just mundane things- they're characters in your story, made all the creepier thanks to their humanlike traits. Torches sputter nervously, rusty hinges shatter silence with their sudden cries of anguish, and cobwebs quietly beckon us to our doom. Here are more examples:
• Imagine darkness as a silent crowd that follows the characters everywhere and stares at them while they sleep.
• Imagine trees as towering giants that stand idle yet ever watchful as characters face the perils of the Svalich Woods alone.

DETAILS: In a horror story, there's no telling where danger might be lurking. A leering gargoyle might be a monster in disguise, or merely a fiendish sculpture. A mirror hanging on a wall might have the power to transfix all who gaze into it, or it might be nothing out of the ordinary. In a horror story, taking the time to describe an object in detail draws attention to it, makes one suspicious of it, and might distract from the real danger. Here are a couple of tricks you can use:
• In a given encounter area, choose one object or feature to describe in some detail. It need not be important to the story.
• Allow the character who has the highest passive Wisdom (Perception) score to see, hear, or smell something that no one else can perceive.

HUMOR: There are no stranger bedfellows than horror and humor. Tension can't be sustained indefinitely, so a dash of humor provides a respite, giving horror a chance to sneak up on us later and catch us off guard. While humorous situations will occur naturally in the course of running the adventure, here are some tips for creating humor when needed
• Allow NPCs (even evil ones) to tell jokes, speak in a funny voice, or behave idiotically. Even morbid humor is better than none.
• When a hero, villain, or monster rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, describe a humorous mishap that occurs as a result of the low roll, such as a character accidentally kn9ckini. over a lamp and setting-some drapes on fire while trying to hide or move silently.

[The Lesser Evil]

In the group where the original dwarf character was played, were all the players new to Ravenloft, or had they experience with Ravenloft under their belt before the dwarf PC came along?

And for your upcoming campaign, is there anything as far as feel, etc. that you wanted to do differently from your previous campaign with the original dwarf PC?

[RavensCall]

Thanks everyone, some good advice all around. My concerns mostly dealt with the fact that with the exception of this player, the group has never played in the setting. Horror scenarios yes, but not a full blown Ravenloft campaign. I'll set the tone, expectations and buy in at session 0. This is a fun group of players but they don't work well as a unit. They don't coordinate their actions in combat and they either don't plan ahead or break with the plan after coming up with one. And they're great at splitting the party. But none of them are obnoxious players and they enjoy playing. The past 2 campaigns have been fun, I think I've just seen their style and it doesn't gel too much with how I played in the setting in the past. So I'm def. going to have to make some adjustments along the way with my expectations. I can adapt and I know have have plenty of ways to bring home the atmosphere I'm trying to convey. Having this comedic character just had me worried that it would "give the group permission" if you will, to play like they normally do. In fact, the dwarf player is really only bringing this character back because he's tired of being the one in the group that has to keep them on track. He wants a change after two campaigns. For example, our last campaign he played a bard and was excited to be a buffer for the party, but the party never coordinates well and a lot of his skills and traits were wasted. He'd end up going toe to toe with foes because no one else was making the effort. So I can understand why he wants to now kinda be the thorn in their side and let them take the reigns a bit more.

Of course after having wrote this I did the best thing a DM could do and talked with this player. He's agreed to tone it down a bit, especially in the beginning. Having played in the setting I trust him that he knows when he can be a bit goofy and when he needs to reel it in. He's going to try to go for a more middle of the road approach. More of an air-head. All brawns and no brains. He will also be a bit of a coward and we're working on a backstory that explains why he's so feeble-minded, if you will. Trauma from the past caused him to shut down mentally. Now he's more of a simpleton. He will blurt out what's on his mind from time to time, but he won't put the group in danger, (unless it will amp up the plot as we go along). I'm also toying with the idea that one of the villains in the campaign has need of some knowledge locked away in his warped little brain and trying to extract this knowledge will be a continuing plot thread.

So I think I found a happy medium and we'll see how it goes. We still have the rest of this year to finalize the character and come up with something that works for all concerned. Thanks again for the adivce.