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Doran
2010-11-03, 05:45 PM
I was looking up mechanics for a 4th edition Bard, and thought it would be perfect to play the Safety Dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjPau5QYtYs) for Song of Defense.

So my question is has anyone actual roleplayed their bardic music with actual songs, and if so, what did you for what, and how effective an aid was it to roleplaying?

Shadowleaf
2010-11-03, 05:50 PM
I commented a thread like this not long ago.

Modern music has no place in a D&D game - not as background music, not as Bard tunes.

Use something medieval instead. Play The Bard's Song, Gregorian Chants, genuine medieval music, etc, instead.

valadil
2010-11-03, 05:53 PM
I brought a guitar and tried doing background music once. It was way too distracting for all the other players. I wanted to provide ambience, but it put me in the spotlight instead.

dsmiles
2010-11-03, 06:00 PM
I like to use this band (http://www.youtube.com/user/pomplamoosemusic?blend=1&ob=4), or these (http://www.youtube.com/user/natalydawn) artists (http://www.youtube.com/user/jackcontemusic). I also have a habit of just looping their music when I'm just sitting around the house.

Tyndmyr
2010-11-03, 06:01 PM
Nah, but I've seen musical instruments used in larping and the like. Awesome there.

I think it probably would be too distracting, though...the most music I like for Rping is a bit of ambient, low background music to set a mood.

Katana_Geldar
2010-11-03, 06:12 PM
I usually tell people what my song is about and what it does. Such as "I play a rousing rollicking distracting song about us fighting the pirates so my allies can look for the thief", at the end of the song the DM had the bartender give me five gold as my song managed to distract the song to the extent that he could over charge them for drinks.

Thing is, if you try and do the song and you're bad...then it gets remembered.

Occasionally, I will do joking Elan-like songs with my bard.

DementedFellow
2010-11-03, 06:24 PM
I was told once that I would get extra XP for singing a lively tune while inspiring courage. I was then told that I would get extra XP for not singing at all. anymore. ever again.

dsmiles
2010-11-03, 06:27 PM
I was told once that I would get extra XP for singing a lively tune while inspiring courage. I was then told that I would get extra XP for not singing at all. anymore. ever again.

I approve of this tactic.

Gnome Alone
2010-11-03, 06:34 PM
I would like to offer to the world-at-large an idea for a bard song: "Mo' Treasure, Mo' Problems."

Doran
2010-11-03, 07:02 PM
*Files away helpful comments for future reference* :smallcool:

So at the most, background instrumental music, and the rest is description?

Escheton
2010-11-03, 11:30 PM
playing a little cure when in a creepy forest or facing spiders always works.
Or the doors when fighting in a thunderstorm.
Songs that fit the situation usually work, if they are not too distinct to draw attention away from the game.

prefer this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZaiB9jYCxI&feature=related version of Safety Dance myself

faceroll
2010-11-04, 01:49 AM
Modern music has no place in a D&D game - not as background music, not as Bard tunes.

Thanks for telling me how I'm supposed to have fun.

Tvtyrant
2010-11-04, 01:58 AM
Modern music has no place in a D&D game - not as background music, not as Bard tunes.

Use something medieval instead.

....D&D isn't medieval. I'm fairly sure a Wizard could invent an electric guitar if they wanted to, and a lute could work as an approximation anyway.

In fact, I am now going to alter my Seeker of the Song so that each of his type of music is a different modern genre. I'm thinking Samba first :smallcool:

dsmiles
2010-11-04, 04:33 AM
In fact, I am now going to alter my Seeker of the Song so that each of his type of music is a different modern genre. I'm thinking Samba first :smallcool:

This just made my day. A bard playing Samba. :smallbiggrin:

Iferus
2010-11-04, 04:38 AM
I play basic riffs as a Bard. They don't interfere with the roleplaying a lot. Sometimes other players have to make rolls for me, but that's okay. I do have to play with a mute in the soundhole.

For action scenes, I play power chords or an improvisation based on Eye of the Tiger or that pulp fiction theme.
For the rare out-of-combat inspire courage, I play the bourree from Bach.
For the fascinate/suggestion line, I play a Bossanova chord progression.
Inspire competence is a samba lick.


Funfact: I don't have to announce which bardic music ability I use.


I do have a very passive combat build, using marshall auras with my magic guitar (which is homebrew, of course). This is because my bardic music ends whenever I stop playing.

Newt
2010-11-04, 05:29 AM
Thanks for telling me how I'm supposed to have fun.

You should be grateful, this is important knowledge. One day you will know enough to get an avatar too, then you will be a true Player. :smallcool:

Rixx
2010-11-04, 06:03 AM
I got ninety nine problems but a lich aint one

Duos Greanleef
2010-11-04, 08:31 AM
I once read Shel Silverstein lines when performing certain abilities.
Kind of fun really, but a little time consuming to go through all of my books to find just the right line or lines so I don't repeat myself all the time.
That lasted a session, but was fun.

dsmiles
2010-11-04, 09:21 AM
I got ninety nine problems but a lich aint one

Pepsi...nose...not good!!!!!:smalleek:

OrionFaarlane
2010-11-04, 09:32 AM
I would like to offer to the world-at-large an idea for a bard song: "Mo' Treasure, Mo' Problems."

That's pretty much amazing right there and I am going to apply that as my 4E bards theme music.

Terumitsu
2010-11-04, 10:33 AM
I was told once that I would get extra XP for singing a lively tune while inspiring courage. I was then told that I would get extra XP for not singing at all. anymore. ever again.

This reminds me of one of my players who was astoundingly good at making up songs on the spot. He would sing in verse about things happening in combat when it came to his turn for bonuses to his Inspire Courage ability. The fact that it was both consistantly good and consistantly funny is what I thought was pure awesome.

LibraryOgre
2010-11-04, 10:44 AM
I have a tendency to annoy people while I'm playing by bringing out an apropos song, to either table talk or the game. Since I play with my laptop open (when DMing, I keep my notes there; when playing, I tend to be on the Compendium, looking up wording to feats and powers and the like), it's easy to pull something out of my library.

As a DM, I use a fair amount of music... a lot of stuff from the Quest For Glory games, plus several soundtracks and a variety of classical music. Last week, I actually edited a horn call to play whenever the Malarites were getting close (the horn turned out to be a Horn of Panic, based on the Drums of Panic, which scattered the party a couple of times).

Shadowleaf
2010-11-04, 10:52 AM
Thanks for telling me how I'm supposed to have fun.
Do I have to add "This is my own personal completely biased opinion" after each post? :smallconfused:
I am just saying, that I do not feel there is a need for modern music, as it tends to break the atmosphere of the games I run / participate in.
Even though magic and science exists in most mainstream D&D settings, the feeling is still sword, taverns and dungeons for me - a setting I would not appreciate more by having Slipknot blasting in the background.

Avaris
2010-11-04, 11:05 AM
Though not a bard, I use Ghost Sound to provide another character with theme tunes. Long story short, he thinks he's a god, and I'm his 'high priest' who is dedicated to making him think this. He therefore gets dramatic music, which I provide via a set of speakers for my ipod. This for example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmlj2tVAgkE)

Currently it is well received by the other players, though I'm running out of good tumes to stop it being dull. Given we have a necromancxer and someone with the dance skill, Thriller has been suggested...

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-11-04, 12:06 PM
I played a darfellan bard whose tunes were wordless, but alike to idealized whale song.

BAAAAAHrmm rmmmm rmmm rmmmmmmmmmmmmm. AHH AHH OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH T'ya YA ya YA! HNNNNNNNNHEEEEEEEE m m m M!

Gametime
2010-11-04, 12:53 PM
Do I have to add "This is my own personal completely biased opinion" after each post? :smallconfused:
I am just saying, that I do not feel there is a need for modern music, as it tends to break the atmosphere of the games I run / participate in.
Even though magic and science exists in most mainstream D&D settings, the feeling is still sword, taverns and dungeons for me - a setting I would not appreciate more by having Slipknot blasting in the background.

Perhaps the presence of an imperative at the end of your post distracted from the fact that it was just your opinion.

Making a universal statement about how the game should be played, and following it up with a direct instruction on what to do to play the game appropriately, makes it sounds like you are, well, instructing people how to play the game. The phrasing was not conducive to communicating "This is my opinion."

On topic, no, but I've wanted to ever since I bought a cheap little Ocarina along with the sheet music to some of the songs from Ocarina of Time. The plan was to use a different song for each of my bardic musics - so maybe Epona's Song for suggestion, and Saria's Song for Inspire Competence. Something like that.

Unfortunately, my last character was a bard, so I probably won't get a chance to put this into action for quite a while.

OMG PONIES
2010-11-04, 12:56 PM
I got ninety nine problems but a lich aint one


I played a darfellan bard whose tunes were wordless, but alike to idealized whale song.

BAAAAAHrmm rmmmm rmmm rmmmmmmmmmmmmm. AHH AHH OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH T'ya YA ya YA! HNNNNNNNNHEEEEEEEE m m m M!

Winners, winners, chicken dinners.

Invelios
2010-11-04, 01:13 PM
Liches ain't sh** but hoes n tricks


For the Evocation specialist, worshiper of Ilmater: I'm just going to stand there and watch you burn..It's alright because I like the way it hurts.

Bardic version of Confusion or insanity (alternately for mindflayers): insane in the brain...going insane got no brain.....

Barbarian Rage: any Rage against the machine song, heck most metal :)

arrowhen
2010-11-04, 01:57 PM
Unfortunately, the number of beers necessary for me to sing in front of anyone exceeds the number of beers I'm comfortable gaming under the influence of.

dsmiles
2010-11-04, 06:05 PM
I still maintain that Pomplamoose is appropriate bard music. :smalltongue:

2-HeadedGiraffe
2010-11-04, 09:06 PM
We were vastly outnumbered and overpowered. The fight appeared to be hopeless (though they all did in that campaign).

My bard started singing "Suicide is Painless" (that's the theme to M*A*S*H, if you didn't already know).

Cerlis
2010-11-04, 09:06 PM
About modern songs. I'm not sure how many people are aware of the song "Careless Whisper". I heard it first as Seether's version. but whenever i quote it hear about the old version. its intersesting how the songs sound so different but have the same words. one is jazzy and blue, the other , well more black.


It would take some musical talent, but i think it would be fun to take a modern song, change words where appropriate, and sing it like a bard would, rather than rocky or rappy or however.

Just listen to The Bard's Song and then keeping that same tone and voice in your head imagine.

----------------
Cause we all just wanna be Famous Bards
And live in hilltop houses, Own over 15 bars
The girls come easy and the Loot comes cheap
We'll all stay skinny 'cause we just won't eat
And we'll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the Theatre stars
Every good gold digger's
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blond hair
And we'll hide out in the private rooms
With the latest dictionary and
today's who's who
They'll get you anything
with that evil smile
Everybody's got a
drug dealer on Scry dial
Hey hey I wanna be a Famous Bard
--------

Ok I coulda done that better, but i'm late to get back to work XD

The Vorpal Tribble
2010-11-04, 09:12 PM
I made a PrC for sort of more modern campaign, though it could fit in nearly any urbanized one:

The Rat-A-Tat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46948)


We were vastly outnumbered and overpowered. The fight appeared to be hopeless (though they all did in that campaign).

My bard started singing "Suicide is Painless" (that's the theme to M*A*S*H, if you didn't already know).
The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway,
The losing card I'll someday lay,
So this is all I have to saaay,

Suicide is painless, it brings on many changes...

...the sword of time will pierce our skin,
It doesn't hurt when it begins,
But as it works its way on in,
The pain grows stronger, watch it grin...

Kami2awa
2010-11-06, 04:51 AM
Thanks for telling me how I'm supposed to have fun.

I heavily use background music, although not much to represent bard songs. For D&D I like heavy classical music such as Ride of the Valkyries or Night on the Bare Mountain. These are definitely not medieval; they are closer in time to the Beatles than a Gregorian chant.

I've not used 20th century music much in D&D, but I use Tangerine Dream and similar surreal music for Call of Cthulhu. Perhaps appropriately for the system, we use a LOT of music for In Nomine (we have theme music for each superior and divine/diabolical intervention music).

grimbold
2010-11-06, 05:28 AM
Modern music has no place in a D&D game - not as background music, not as Bard tunes.

Use something medieval instead. Play The Bard's Song, Gregorian Chants, genuine medieval music, etc, instead.

I see where you are coming from but i disagree. The Bard's song and such are good atmosphere builders but sometimes the irony from modern songs is hilarious. Like one time fighting A great wyrm gold dragon i sneakily booted up my laptop and blasted "Dont stop believing" and everyone just died laughing.

also with magic you can have electric guitars and such. My world has the Rock Gnome village a village based entirely off rock and roll.

Frozen_Northman
2010-11-06, 10:50 AM
With respect to playing your Bard with actual music, I think the appropriate style of music generally boils down to one key issue:

Will your fellow players and DM enjoy it, and be entertained by it?

I'm personally of the opinion that any kind of music is fair game in a D&D setting, provided that it's contributing to actual enjoyment of the game. I once played a Bard in a D&D game where the DM was well aware of my own tendencies to crack puns and compose new lyrics on the fly to well-known tunes. Said DM, in an effort to give me enough rope to hang myself, let my bard obtain a magic lute of epic power - the lyrics that I sang would induce actual effects, as per the DM's interpretation and discretion.

Naturally, I had to be careful with such an item. Any attempt that I made to be purely selfish would almost certainly result in unintended consequences from the GM's fiendish imagination. But if I came up with lyrics that made people laugh, the result tended to work as I hoped it would.

Thus did I draw on whatever styles of music that I could recall - preferably those that would be recognized by those present. I came up with new lyrics for Gilbert & Sullivan songs, Broadway show tunes, the 1812 Overture, commercial jingles, and nursery songs like the Itsy-Bitsy Spider. By and large, it was funny and well-received - even when it had unintended consequences. And in the vast majority of cases, I asked the players first if they wanted me to resort to trying to use the lute. (Which would receive general responses of "(*shuddering*) ...yeah, go ahead. We've reached that level of screwage.")

Again, it comes down to respecting your audience, and presenting them with something that they want to hear. Which is totally in-character for Bards of all flavors.

RanWilde
2010-11-06, 12:09 PM
Playing music is how I make my living. I think that if I played music while playing as a bard I would get far too hung up on playing the music and my roleplaying and such would suffer.

grimbold
2010-11-06, 01:00 PM
We were vastly outnumbered and overpowered. The fight appeared to be hopeless (though they all did in that campaign).

My bard started singing "Suicide is Painless" (that's the theme to M*A*S*H, if you didn't already know).

OH MY GOD!
brilliance
permission to sig?

Zhalath
2010-11-06, 03:43 PM
I played a dwarf bard with Perform (sing), and I made up epic songs on the spot for Inspire Courage.

"for he fought on and on"
"though hordes and hordes of dead"
"Fighting for days and days"
"without a piece of bread"

grimbold
2010-11-06, 04:00 PM
making up your own epic songs is actually a good idea

Lev
2010-11-06, 04:01 PM
I'm going to be. I'm holding my guitar right now.

John Campbell
2010-11-06, 04:23 PM
I don't play 3E Bards. Too spoony.

However, I have, on a couple occasions, burst into song as my half-orc barbarian.

Iron Maiden songs. In the Black Speech. They translate frighteningly well.

Rūkug satro-tuk agh thaguzg-tuk
Rūkhīsug ikharz ash dāl-ir
Hīlug glokgaz-hai dārūlub-u
Maukugul tail-ulubshum-or
Thorul mādūr-ūr, akum krum-ishi
Lobu agh dāgu, zīmarpu dīsut

Irz boshok-u
Irz slaium-ūr
Irz boshok-u
Irz slaium-ūr...

2-HeadedGiraffe
2010-11-06, 05:29 PM
OH MY GOD!
brilliance
permission to sig?

Permission granted.

Zeofar
2010-11-06, 09:46 PM
I'm not sure how well it works, but if you want to do it, go ahead I say! I was thinking of doing something similar, but it would have to be sung myself if I was going to do it at all. The DM chooses background music, if any.

As for anyone trying to do this with prerecorded music, Horses Brawl should work fine for string-bards I think.


Liches ain't sh** but hoes n tricks


I want to go th- I mean, I'd like to put this in my signature, please.

grimbold
2010-11-07, 03:51 AM
I don't play 3E Bards. Too spoony.

However, I have, on a couple occasions, burst into song as my half-orc barbarian.

Iron Maiden songs. In the Black Speech. They translate frighteningly well.

Rūkug satro-tuk agh thaguzg-tuk
Rūkhīsug ikharz ash dāl-ir
Hīlug glokgaz-hai dārūlub-u
Maukugul tail-ulubshum-or
Thorul mādūr-ūr, akum krum-ishi
Lobu agh dāgu, zīmarpu dīsut

Irz boshok-u
Irz slaium-ūr
Irz boshok-u
Irz slaium-ūr...

is the black speech a complete language?
i know sindar and quenya are but nice translation

Saurus33
2010-11-07, 05:03 AM
I think the producers of the movies had a linguist construct a functional language from the scraps Tolkein left. Tolkein's version was different, but he didn't write down the details.

2-HeadedGiraffe
2010-11-07, 08:34 AM
As a word of caution, I played with a guy once who, when playing a bard, played his actual electric guitar. It got pretty old, honestly. It's saying something that that wasn't even the main reason that character wasn't a huge hit with some of the people in the group.

On the off-chance the guy in question is reading this, I should point out that I enjoy playing D&D with him, like him as a person, but did not particularly enjoy that character.

onthetown
2010-11-07, 07:27 PM
I strummed quietly on my mandolin whenever my bard was using a Performance or a Bardic Music ability. The other players really enjoyed it and said it added to the game. I wasn't loud or anything, it was just quiet background music and I played according to the situation (I wouldn't be playing something upbeat if we were in the middle of a battle).

Blue Ghost
2010-11-07, 08:42 PM
In the PbP I'm currently in (in which I'm playing a bard), I try to write impromptu songs on every occasion. (For obvious reasons, that would not work as well in a live game.) Once I'm out of songs, I'll go on to quoting songs and verses that I like.

the_archduke
2010-11-07, 09:01 PM
For Inspire Courage (or a bard/paladin multi-class)

The Impossible Dream from Man From La Mancha

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star



If anyone knows the tune to this, it is pretty inspiring

Fhaolan
2010-11-07, 09:15 PM
I occasionally play a lap harp, wood whistle, or panpipes. But only in very specific circumstances, as it tends to be more distracting than helpful. Mainly because I don't do it often enough to be very good at it.

'Playing' in character in a PnP game is interesting, but it can get very old, very fast. If none of the other players have something similar to do for their characters during game, it can be very spotlight grabbing. And if they do, it can turn into a distracting mass of noise and colour that takes away from the game in general. PnP games really aren't set up for 'active' gaming.

LARP games, however, are set up for that kind of gig. All the players usually do have shticks (or sticks) that they can do, and there's usually enough space and separation for them to do those things and still have fun. Bringing an instrument to a LARP game has it's own drawbacks... such as make sure your instrument can survive being dropped, and that you don't mind accidents happening to it. Or non-accidents depending on how bad a musician you are...

John Campbell
2010-11-07, 10:09 PM
is the black speech a complete language?
i know sindar and quenya are but nice translation
No. There's actually very little canon Black Speech extant... the Ring inscription is by far the largest chunk, and the only other sizable piece actually has two canon translations, because Tolkien forgot that he'd provided the first translation and made up a second, different, one. There's more vocabulary scattered here and there, but almost all of the grammar perforce comes from one of those pieces. Tolkien really disliked the Black Speech, and avoided developing it more than absolutely necessary.

There have been, however, at least three pretty sizable projects to build on that base to make a usable orcish language, and one (Lugbūrz (http://www.thelandofshadow.com/mordorgate/darkdownloads/blackspeech/speech1.htm)) intended to fuse those dialects into a more comprehensive merged language. I mostly use that, though I mix in words from other sources as necessary... the vocabulary they came up with for the movies (which is pretty good, but very, very limited), corrupted Quenya or Sindarin (e.g., translating "lion" as rāf, from canon Quenya rįv), or compounds of pre-existing words (e.g., the word I translated "galloping" to up there, rūkhīsug, is literally "ride-fast-ing").

My current PC's first language is Orcish. He speaks Chondathan, which all of the party has in common, and D&D being D&D, there's no middle ground between inability to speak a language and perfect fluency, but I decided, as an RP thing, that he would speak Chondathan only brokenly, and started picking up the Black Speech so I could drop occasional Orcish words and phrases into his speech. It's amusing the degree to which this leads people, even the other PCs, to underestimate my intelligence. And making up Orcish sayings, and creative translations for them, is great fun. (e.g., "Zorr asharz, ghāsh, agh ghāshkāl-irzi tram," (literally, "Pillage first, burn, and rape by firelight"), which I translated as, "Ah, means... 'do things in right order'.")

2-HeadedGiraffe
2010-11-08, 08:23 AM
For Inspire Courage (or a bard/paladin multi-class)


Standard paladins have to be lawful, bard's have to be anything but lawful. Otherwise, nice.

Also, same bard I mentioned before. He'd told the dragon who guarded the forest we were in that the party's scout was responsible for a recent forest fire. The dragon proceeded to bite the scout's arm off. The scout survived, at negative hit points. My bard healed him, and, as the scout is waking up, the first thing he sees is the bard standing over him, telling him to control his fires. The scout stands up and stabs the bard in the chest.

The bard sings:

Stabbed in the chest,
And you're to blame.
You give scouts,
A bad name.

grimbold
2010-11-08, 12:28 PM
I strummed quietly on my mandolin whenever my bard was using a Performance or a Bardic Music ability. The other players really enjoyed it and said it added to the game. I wasn't loud or anything, it was just quiet background music and I played according to the situation (I wouldn't be playing something upbeat if we were in the middle of a battle).

thats pretty much exactly it onthetown, quiet and not to spotlighty but still with the same general idea. I approve

and thats really cool john i never knew that

Zhalath
2010-11-09, 08:26 PM
making up your own epic songs is actually a good idea

Almost all of them involved food and drink at some point. All dwarven songs eventually turn into drinking songs.

If I actually played an instrument for bardic music checks, I'd probably get unfocused and the whole game would degenerate into a jam session.

RebelRogue
2010-11-09, 10:01 PM
I have a tendency to annoy people while I'm playing by bringing out an apropos song, to either table talk or the game.
We do this all the fricking time in ours games. It was getting sort of ridiculous at one point, and I guess I'm one of the worst offenders...


Standard paladins have to be lawful, bard's have to be anything but lawful. Otherwise, nice.
You can multiclass them using the Devoted Performer Feat.