USAFguy Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Have any GMs employed music for the setting? - Possibly, heavy "Darth Vader" music when the main baddie shows up? - Allowing the Hero(es) to have group or individual theme music? And to further add to the mood/weirdness, allow the players to pick when in the action to play their "theme music", during which they gain +1 or +2 to all skill rolls, OCV/DCV, (etc, at the GM's discretion)? It would probably have a short term effect, if only allowed once per session. (Hopefully, no one will select Don McLean's "American Pie" as their theme....) Probably better in a Pulp or Superhero genre... Thoughts? Best regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flames Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? Yeah, I've tried it, but it can be a bit distracting trying to manage a playlist. Best to have a system that pulls up the appropriate music by a simple keystroke. For some music to try, check out http://www.noxarcana.com, http://www.midnightsyndicate.com, and http://www.freeplaymusic.com. All of those sites have free downloads of selected tracks (freeplaymusic lets you download any of them for personal use). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? I found it to be tricky at best. Having to stop the game briefly just to play a musical selection for dramatic effect is distracting. Likewise, having the music play continuously reduces it to background noise. It can be done, but it's best used sparingly, in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Waters Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? I wouldn't bother with individual theme tunes unless you are a bit technically competent and an excellent stage manager, but it is not a bad idea to have some 'frenetic' music for combat, some 'sombre' music for tragedy and something full of pomp and ceremony for triumph. Start simple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? Playing music to set a mood can be difficult. The couple times I've tried it, players ended up listening to the music until it was over and then the game continued - which is not what's intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost-angel Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? the times I've tried it, mostly for Cyberpunk games, I've found you need music without words or the players get caught up in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Yuck Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? Yeah, I've tried it, but it can be a bit distracting trying to manage a playlist. Best to have a system that pulls up the appropriate music by a simple keystroke. For some music to try, check out http://www.noxarcana.com, http://www.midnightsyndicate.com, and http://www.freeplaymusic.com. All of those sites have free downloads of selected tracks (freeplaymusic lets you download any of them for personal use). I've used both Nox Arcana and Midnight Syndicate music to enhance our Fantasy Hero game. I've taken these CDs (particularly the Nox Arcana material) and based an adventure entirely around the CD. The tricky part is to develop a story that goes with the flow of the CD. (eg track 1, 2, 3, etc) Of course players have a way of thinking of things you did not... so you have to be flexible and adaptable with adventure design. Couple of good examples from Nox Arcana are Carnival Of Lost Souls (a spooky, demonic carnival for your PCs to explore!) and The Blood Of The Dragon ( an EPIC Lord of the Rings type story and my personal favorite!) Use it only to punctuate key events or it is distracting and/or becomes background noise. You be the judge though! Listen to Nox Arcana on Rhapsody if you have that. Good luck and happy adventuring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenixcrest Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? I keep some categorized general background music on hand. It helps keep the room from going silent, at least. So, playlists for "combat", "hanging around", "sneaky/dark", and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? You can also use sound effects or parts of dialogues from different films Again, it can be distracting at times. I often thought about using an "assistant" to play the music on cue, but I doubt I'd get many volunteers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Re: "Theme Music" and it's uses for setting and action? When I run I play genre-appropriate music for pretty much all my games. It gives my back brain something to parse while my fore brain deals with the game, and keeps me in the right mood. But, I've very musically driven -- the proper background music makes a big difference on whatever it is Im doing at the time. Some players find it distracting, and most GM's I've played under don't care for the practice when they are running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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