Need Help: an Epic Speech

[Ayron]

Hi fellows

I'm having a little problem here. I DMing a game with my own campaign and it goes all really well.

So far so good. At the current point in my campaign my PCs along with some NPCs fighter will end up in a dead end with many monsters chasing them. They can arrange to entrench them behind a shabby wall. As a last resort they should stricking back.

You can imagine the scene int LOTR second book/movie in the war of Helms Klamm where Aragorn and Théoden have to retreat more and more. After this they charge out on horses to see Gandalf coming down this ridiculous steep gradient.

Like Aragorn in the movie I want to hold an epic speech with the leader of the npc fighters... and this is the point where my problems begin.

How do you write an epic speech? Which words do you use and in which order? What must I do so it will boost the moral of my PCs (out of game und in game )?

I have tried to write down such a speech... but I fail miserably.

Thanks folks for your help!

greez
Ayron

[Barbarian MD]

Just play this for them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI&sns=em



If you want a good example, google Henry V for his "We Few" speech. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAvmLDkAgAM&sns=em

[gbprime]

This is what the profession of Speech Writer is all about. Some people have lots of talent with it, others not so much. You have to aim the speech at what the audience wants to hear... in this case, your players. What would they or their characters find appealing? (You don't, for example, give them a "for God and King Richard" kind of speech if they're the "I spent my reward on ale and whores" kind of PC's.)

Question though... who's giving the speech? An NPC, or one of the PCs? If an NPC gives it, the players may not be so inspired just because it's an NPC and will sound like plot rather than inspiration. Or if it's one of the PCs... make them come up with something. (Problem solved. )

[LansXero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOsJBWVjG5k
I just love teh emprah

[Chuckthedwarf]

Rip it off from various movies/books.

Your situation seems pretty desperate, so consider using a variation of "We might die but our deeds will last forever" or "Tonight we dine in hell!".

Something like "These -insert enemy type here- think they can come and take whatever they want from us, but today, we will teach them fear! No longer shall they -insert wrong doing- unimpeded, they will cover at -insert the good guys faction/leader/whatever - name... Let's bring them hell!"

Someone could probably do it way better, but hey, this is an okay start.

[Hammerhead]

Use lots of ultimatums, and enunciate hard.

IMO, it's really awkward trying to deliver a rousing call to arms to a few dudes/dudettes eating cheetos in a basement. Tongue-in-cheek has usually been less bad.

[Ravens_cry]

More details please. I like to think I am good at this, or at least OK.
I offer as my resume this and this.
I am especially proud of the 'Single tomorrow' bit, as well as 'Don't take my sunset'.
Is it actually an Helms Deep situation? Have they been retreating and retreating and working to turn the battle around?
Oh and as well as enunciating, speak loud, speak proud, use actions just before you say the words describing them.

[CapnVan]

It just needs to end with "They'll never take our freedom!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrrBs8JBQo

[Ravens_cry]

Brothers and Sisters, you have fought well. By your courage, your tenacity, you have delayed the enemy from those we hold near and dear to our hearts, those we have sworn to protect. By our blood, our sweat and our tears, we seek to oppose those who wish our doom.
It will not be. It Must Not Be!
Tonight, we take the Fight to the Enemy, not just to delay them, but to end them, to carve our names into the pages of history, to show them that no force, whether of spell or blade, can take these walls, so Long as WE DEFEND IT.
Tonight my Brothers and Sisters, we ride into hell, to stab the depths hilt deep and spit in the eye of fear and doubt.
Tonight. We Ride. To. VICTORY!

[Cyrion]

For another source of inspiration, check out Into the Fire the Scarlet Pimpernel musical.

[Ayron]

Thanks for all your links and tipps!
I will certenly have more sources and ideas for speeches in my future (as DM and also as PC)

The information about the situation i had given to you is enough to write a good heroic speech but I will tell you some more, one or two of you may have an idea how to improve it to an epic speech

Question though... who's giving the speech? An NPC, or one of the PCs? If an NPC gives it, the players may not be so inspired just because it's an NPC and will sound like plot rather than inspiration. Or if it's one of the PCs... make them come up with something. (Problem solved. )

The NPC leader should have the speech... never the less he is a king... the small npc party fighters are his childhood friends / lifeguard. They are about 8 fighters.
PC party are less and weaker. They will find the king already barricaded.

Ah and the number of enemy... uncountable?

Something like "These -insert enemy type here- think they can come and take whatever they want from us, but today, we will teach them fear! No longer shall they -insert wrong doing- unimpeded, they will cover at -insert the good guys faction/leader/whatever - name... Let's bring them hell!"

Someone could probably do it way better, but hey, this is an okay start.

Yaj!! Not an okay start, a really good start! Thanks a lot!

More details please. I like to think I am good at this, or at least OK.
I offer as my resume this and this.
I am especially proud of the 'Single tomorrow' bit, as well as 'Don't take my sunset'.
Is it actually an Helms Deep situation? Have they been retreating and retreating and working to turn the battle around?
Oh and as well as enunciating, speak loud, speak proud, use actions just before you say the words describing them.

Brothers and Sisters, you have fought well. By your courage, your tenacity, you have delayed the enemy from those we hold near and dear to our hearts, those we have sworn to protect. By our blood, our sweat and our tears, we seek to oppose those who wish our doom.
It will not be. It Must Not Be!
Tonight, we take the Fight to the Enemy, not just to delay them, but to end them, to carve our names into the pages of history, to show them that no force, whether of spell or blade, can take these walls, so Long as WE DEFEND IT.
Tonight my Brothers and Sisters, we ride into hell, to stab the depths hilt deep and spit in the eye of fear and doubt.
Tonight. We Ride. To. VICTORY!

Woohaa! Nice! Thanks a lot! That is gorgeous!
complex Backstory told short and simply (more or less):

Spoiler

Show

There is a sealed cave which holds back the "true evil", the "dark forces", long long forgotten in a time of peace. The seal can only be opened by a key. Two of them exist.

One is in the possession of the king's family and each king has made an secret oath to protect the key and so the land of humankind with all his might.

However the second key must be summoned. The keyholder also comes from a family and everytime the actual keyholder dies, anotherone in the famely will be granted the power of high magic and the possibility to summon the key. But the holder is cursed. The "dark forces" from the sealed caves have a connection to the keyholder and drive them more and more to madness till the point they will kill themself.

At the time of the campaign the keyholder famely is also long forgotten (expect the king knows of course) and live in a little villages as normal countryman. After the death of the last keyholder his nice, a 10yr old girl, was choosen by fate. Unfortunaly because of her age and her naivety the dark forces could corrupt her really fast and have driven her to the idea to free the evil. She goes into the cave.

The King find out right in time about the whole story and can save the little girl inside the cave. But is know stuck there with no possibility to flee. At this point my PCs find out a little bit of the whole story, enought to convince them to help the king.

With a way (toooooo much complicated to explain here) they organize a key and enter the cave to help. After some fights they find the King. The little girl is casting a kind of magical wall the evil forces cannot pass. But she gets weaker and weaker. The King decides that they will charge the enemy forces with all there might and fight free a passage the PC's can use to flee to the entrance.
Thats the point where the speech should be held

It just needs to end with "They'll never take our freedom!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrrBs8JBQo

Will defenetly use this

For another source of inspiration, check out Into the Fire the Scarlet Pimpernel musical.

And this also! thanks!


Thank you guys for the help!

greez
Ayron

[Iceforge]

Well, I like your idea, but isn't this an obvious chance if you got some creative players in your group? If one of them likes going creative and impromptu roleplay and has acted even slightly leaderish, have the leader of the NPC consult privately with him and share his thoughts that a last strike back against the enemies is needed, but that morale among the men are low, maybe he could try giving a speech, cause the NPC leader is, by his own accord, not a great speech-giver.

The PC can refuse and you can use a pre-written speech for the NPC as a last resort, but maybe you are already picturing a specific player in the group who would love to give an impromptu morale-boosting speech?

You can run it pure roleplay with a reward, like based on how good a speech the player actually gives, you give a +1 to +3 morale boost to will saves vs. fear, attack bonus and damage, as it riles the men up, or as an unique skill challenge (should never deny skills their right, if it is appropriate, by using either something like perform(speech) or whatever skill you find to be appropriate that the player actually have.

I would prefer to run it pure roleplay myself with a reward, but then again, had a few players over time who has complained a bit about how their social skills sometimes seem pretty useless.

[Runestar]

I remember reading a story hour at enworld about this atypical paladin. It ended with him fighting off an ogre invasion, and when he gave his speech to the soldiers, he mentioned how the ogres would likely "do funny things" to them men, and asked them "Who owns your ases?". The soldiers responded with with a re-energised "We do!".

Can't locate the thread at the moment though.

[dsmiles]

George C. Scott's speech from Patton is my pick for Epic Speech of the day.

[Ayron]

@ Iceforge
Under other circumstances i would fully agree with your idea. Normaly the PC leader (a cleric/bard) would make such a speech.

But this time it should be the king who make the speech because:
1. the fighting force are his childhood friends so they will be more motivated by the king as by an unkown cleric they never had seen till this moment
2. the story of the king should be told by the players (if they successfully can escape) where they can have great speeches
3. An epic speech at the ending would enhance such a story by miles IMHO


And pleas don't get me wrong, but if the players find a way to solve the whole story another way (somehow I suspect them, they are really imaginative, allways quite funny to play with them) the speech can easy be made by one of the PCs or do not have to be made at all

[drakir_nosslin]

Dunno if it has been mentioned yet, but patton made another speech before the invasion of europe. It's quite hardcore. Lots of curses though.

[CapnVan]

Just make sure it doesn't devolve into Elan's speech.

[Ayron]

Just make sure it doesn't devolve into Elan's speech.

Ahh, another briliant source for a speech, thanks

And hopefully it will not end like elan's speech... i hope so... may depend on the situation

[Killer Angel]

Just make sure it doesn't devolve into Elan's speech.

Thanks. I've almost forgot it.