Music during sessions?

[Kingscourt]

Just a question for DnD players out there, do you guys play music during sessions?

Personally, when I DM I find music really helps get the players 'into' the game and in character, and makes epic battles that much more epic (the music always seems to time perfectly with the battle), haha. Of course, I also find that you have to time everything right, and know your soundtrack really well, but I really like what it brings to the table.

[dsmiles]

I only use it in horror/suspense games. And even then, only rarely, just to creep the players out.

[valadil]

I tried it for my first campaign. Never again.

It was too much effort. I wanted it to be like video game music where certain songs come up when you enter villages or meet important NPCs. Controlling all that took away from my ability to run the game. Finding songs that were period appropriate and fit certain NPCs was damn near impossible.

[NichG]

I've been in a couple campaigns that have used it to great effect, and have tried to use it myself a few times.

If you organize the music ahead of time and don't fuss over it too much, it can work wonders. Another possibility is if you give the job to one of the players and have them put on appropriate music for things, but it requires that the player have a good sense of it.

Heck, I'm currently in a campaign where some of the characters have a particular form of insanity that lets them hear the music in-character. This has given rise to things like 'Uh oh, the music just got scary, we'd better see what happened to thievy PC #3 when he went off alone to scout out possible acquisitions'.

[Dragero]

I don't use music to often, but when I do, it's mostly just something like the Final Fantasy "Battle won" music, for when they beat a big boss, or we're just messing around.

[Velaryon]

I use music in my games, whether I'm running the show or just a player. If someone else is the GM, they of course get veto power on music, but it pretty much never becomes a problem.

I think it can add to the atmosphere of a game. For example, who doesn't get more psyched for a Star Wars RPG if the session begins with the 20th Century Fox fanfare into the main title music from A New Hope? Is not a nautical campaign enhanced by having the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks playing along?

On the other hand, you have to keep it appropriate. One of my friends likes to play a lot of power metal and that kind of thing during D&D. While I like Blind Guardian, HammerFall, and bands like that okay, and while they might be singing about knights and dragons and stuff, I just don't find it a good fit alongside playing D&D. I prefer my musical selections to be mostly instrumental, and keep electric guitars and stuff to a minimum unless it's a game setting where that kind of music is more fitting. I have no problem playing hard rock and industrial in a modern setting, for example.

Also, I sometimes find it difficult to keep things fresh. Eventually you need to use new music, because after the ninth or tenth time you've played the 300 soundtrack during combat, it just no longer has any real impact on the listeners. So you end up with a constant search to expand the musical collection available for gaming.

[Loki Eremes]

well,
music had effect depending of the groups and the effort DM put on it.

One reccomendation: always try not to use music that includes lyrics, they tend to make you PCs lose focus on your voice and their thinkings.


Other great thing i found: using old games 16-bit music.
I laways used OST like the one from Chrono Trigger, Terranigma, and other ones that really helps PCs imagining they are into a fantastic game.
Also used (one you must use if you are planning some scary & suspence moment) Silent Hills OST, and even some Visual Novels ones, like Tsukihime and Fate stay/night.


But when fighting, if its gonna be epic, a MUST is some epic metal (Dragonforce, Blind Guardian, Guardians of Time, and many many others)

but well, always depend on tastes from the DM and the group
Always remember to play music that exalts the emotions from the moment.

[Saint GoH]

We have used music to great effect in my games, both as a PC and a DM. What comes to mind is the Benny Hill Theme Song as the PC's ran across a zombie infested (like 200-300) town, as the only living people. Of note, the gnome crusader was naked.

Also, certain tracks from Gladiator/Black Hawk Down have been used when paladin's fall, or even when a monk viewed the carnage his rod of wonder caused and realized he was no longer lawful.

Its just about tact and taste. Use it sparingly for certain key moments.

[NichG]

E.S. Posthumous has good stuff for anything involving epic angelic/demonic imagery. I used it extensively in a game where the party fought their way up an angelic hierarchy. There was enough epic battle music in two of their CDs that every guy they encountered ended up with his own theme.

Cirque de Soleil is very good. The music from .hack, Noir, and Tsubasa is all great for various things. Also the Xenogears Creid soundtrack has an excellent song for just weird mysterious stuff going on (the first track).

Mana Khemia stuff is good for more humorous campaigns.

OC Remix has a lot of good videogame remixes that are sufficiently different the players won't necessarily make the connection.

[Warlawk]

We ALWAYS have music going during the session, but not quite like you're implying here. It's just a 14 hour playlist of various music that everyone in the group enjoys with new songs tossed in as they come to light. It is played quietly as background noise I suppose. I'm just a very music oriented person and usually have music running almost all the time.

"Setting" or theme music is just never worth it to the experiences of our group. It's a neat idea, and for a couple of specific one shot sessions with very specific tones I have thrown together playlists of classical, instrumental and movie score music, but it's sort of a special occasion thing and not generally worth it.

[cupkeyk]

maybe this topic should be stickied coz it comes up at least once every month.

We use the soundtrack from the computer Arcanum for our DnD game. We use Yoshida Brothers for our L5R game.

[RTGoodman]

What comes to mind is the Benny Hill Theme Song as the PC's ran across a zombie infested (like 200-300) town, as the only living people. Of note, the gnome crusader was naked.

I used the same thing when my PCs were chasing a bunch of looting kenkus (one of whom was wearing a bowl for a helmet and wielding a fireplace poker as a sword) around a farm. Classic.


As far as serious music, I haven't used it before, but I have a Pandora station for "Traditional Arab & Andalusian Folk Music" for a Dark Sun game I was thinking about running.

[Serpentine]

I do... when I remember. I mostly use instrumental stuff, no or little lyrics, such as classical and electronica. I also have a variety of playlists that I just set to random, including: Combat, Suspense/Horror, Travel, and Community.

[Telasi]

One of my players keeps starting up random songs during sessions, which drives me insane. I wouldn't mind if it were appropriate to the game at hand and he asked permission, but neither is true.

Personally, I don't have appropriate songs for the game, other than the occasional bit from the LotR soundtrack. I would use it if I had good music for the game.

[Loki Eremes]

One of my players keeps starting up random songs during sessions, which drives me insane. I wouldn't mind if it were appropriate to the game at hand and he asked permission, but neither is true.

Personally, I don't have appropriate songs for the game, other than the occasional bit from the LotR soundtrack. I would use it if I had good music for the game.

That happened to me when DMing for a group of people about 2 years ago.
They liked all kinds of Metal and wanted to play that genre all the time.
When I certainly love of Metal genres, theres times when that music is not suitable for the ocassion, and yes, drived me nuts.


Imagine talking to and gentle old lady in a library and hearing something like...this...

Spoiler

Show

NPC: Sry sweetie, but Metal or GTFO.

NPC concept & situation: completly destroyed.

[RndmNumGen]

I really like having music in campaigns. It's far too much work to set up setting-appropriate music, but if you just have some stuff going in the background it is a lot of fun. I've found music from movie soundtracks is really good.

[Ryu_Bonkosi]

I also agree with the no lyrics, it just takes away from the immersion. Most of the stuff I use I got off Newgrounds. The people there have very good music if you are willing to sift through it. I once used a audio track of constant wind chimes (I can't find it anymore ) in a forest just to set the mood for a creepy mystical place.

[Kerghan]

One word: Queen. For the dramatic, or humorous moments of the campaign, nothing beats classics like Princes of the Universe, and Another One Bites the Dust. Generic video game music, like the Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines soundtrack, or sound files if you have the game installed work wonders.

[FelixG]

maybe this topic should be stickied coz it comes up at least once every month.

This, or people could use the search function

But i don't let players at my RL games have music, mainly because they are far too easily distracted.

[Scarlet-Devil]

We have used music to great effect in my games, both as a PC and a DM. What comes to mind is the Benny Hill Theme Song as the PC's ran across a zombie infested (like 200-300) town, as the only living people. Of note, the gnome crusader was naked.

Haha! One of my DMs 'sings' that at least once a session, presumably to imply that we're running around like idiots (when we start running back and forth in a dungeon trying to figure out where to go, etc).

[Kerghan]

This, or people could use the search function

But i don't let players at my RL games have music, mainly because they are far too easily distracted.

Ugh, my rping group has the attention span of a gnat.

[Dust]

I pick out a song for PC death, important, world-changing game events, and one song for the primary antagonist. This leaves me with a playlist of about a dozen things, maybe 3-5 of which will be heard over the course of the game. For that reason, my players joke about 'two-song-sessions' as a metaphor for when things are about to get really, really bad - because song #1 would be the villain showing up or a catalysmic event, and song #2 would be player death, or something along those lines.

[supermonkeyjoe]

One digital game distributor, I'm not sure if I can mention the name due to advertising rules but it lets you download all of those Good Old Games from years ago, also has the option to download the soundtracks to most of the games, so the baldurs gate series, icewind dale series, arcanum, temple of elemental evil PC games between them have HOURS of appropriate RPG music.

[Loki Eremes]

One digital game distributor, I'm not sure if I can mention the name due to advertising rules but it lets you download all of those Good Old Games from years ago, also has the option to download the soundtracks to most of the games, so the baldurs gate series, icewind dale series, arcanum, temple of elemental evil PC games between them have HOURS of appropriate RPG music.

I think if its not for selling purposes you could insert the link here.
But only if those dowloads are free and so. (i think some of them are old enough to be for public domain)

If not possible, please, send me that link, i would certainly appreciate it

[Balain]

We use to play music all the time while playing. Not so much lately. Not for any particular reason, just being lazy lately. For fantasy games we often use the soundtrack from Conan The Barbarian.

A few times a friend that was running a pathfinder campaign used neverwinter nights in the background. He created simple levels with say city sounds. So we would hear city sounds in the background as we played in a city.

When we play our current super heroes campaign we each have a theme song that we have itunes in the background shuffle through. We have been trying to convience the GM to give us extra xp or some bonus if we defeat a bad guy we are fighting when our theme song comes on lol

[Knaight]

I typically have some sort of background music up. Nothing tailored to the game, just a bunch of instrumentals or songs in a language I don't know at all (Norwegian isn't likely to distract me, but I know just enough French and German for distraction, and way more Spanish than it takes to reach distraction. What this means is that I listen to way too much gothic "metal").

There has been one exception, during a non serious game. We were playing at a friends house, and said friend has a piano near a table. He is also a near genius at musical composition, which led to quick musical themes -6 notes or so usually- upon the introduction of certain NPCs or setting elements, as he saw them musically. It was fun, it was accurate, and given that the game wasn't very serious to begin with the mild distraction wasn't an issue.

[Tenebris]

TIP: Hellraiser soundtrack while introducing a hellbred PC/NPC is brilliant

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

[Kikaz]

This thread has inspired me to play a bard for my next campaign. I'll sit there strumming my guitar nonstop and all vocalizations will be hymns. Alternatively, if I DM, I'll do the same thing but give all descriptions in the form of song.

Paladin Jim

Oh, ye yonder Balor feasts upon ye, Jim the Paladin
Oh, he disemboweled thee with utmost glee, Jim the Paladin
Oh, we your fellowship now of just three, Jim the Paladin
We miss ye and mourn ye, Jim the Paladin

Or just play some Jethro Tull...

[Barbin]

When the PCs beat the BBEG I play princes of the univers.

[zorba1994]

Amnesia: Dark Descent and the Penumbra series of games have great horror-mood music, from "creepy tension" to "eerie" to "DEAR GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?!?"

Other than that, not much. Too cheesy and generally unnescessary.