When the GM puts in the effort to create a game session for your party, and everyone makes time in their busy lives to show up, you might as well make the most of the occasion. Setting the scene for your game and creating a space where you can relax can help immerse you in the experience. Whether you prefer to create an atmosphere that suggests the setting of your game, or choose to focus on the fact that you are hanging out with your friends for a few hours, you can find little ways to make it special.
Music
I like playing music in the background during games. It creates a nice ambiance and can set the tone for the action. I know some GMs carefully curate an array of playlists with music for every mood and setting, switching between them as needed, but I am nowhere near that level yet.
Fortunately, streaming music services like Spotify and Pandora (or even YouTube) are full of playlists other people already have created. They usually are stocked with scores from movies and video games, and maybe some medieval or Renaissance-style music in the mix. There's a whole niche market of people who write music specifically for use in RPGs, including artists such as Midnight Syndicate or Kevin MacLeod. Look up those names and let the recommendation algorithm introduce you to hundreds of hours of game-appropriate music. You also can round out your playlists with ambient tracks of sound effects including gentle rain or thunderstorms, daytime bird calls, night time crickets, the sound of waves, or Halloween-style ghostly noises and howls.
Decor and Lighting
Not everyone has the space, budget, or desire to dedicate a whole space to gaming. But when it's game night, you can always break out a few extra items with your dice and other equipment. You can add subtle touches like a tablecloth that sets the mood, or light candles in the room. You don't even have to use real candles if you're worried about open flames and excess heat -- LED candles look great, many have a natural-looking flickering setting, and some are even remote controlled.
To add an easy faux-medieval touch to the table, serve drinks in steins and goblets. You can find plenty of attractive options for sale, but some are only meant to be decorative, so make sure you buy ones that are made from food-safe materials if you're going to use them. They're perfect for ale and wine, of course, but there's nothing stopping you from drinking iced tea out of a bejeweled chalice if you want to.
If you are inclined to add more elaborate or permanent decor, you have a lot of options too. You can buy wall-mounted LED torch sconces, tapestries, or even fantasy creature models. WizKids has produced a line of these which so far includes a red dragon head, a mindflayer head, and a very impressive beholder. They're not cheap, and can be tricky to hang (particularly the beholder, which has to be mounted in the ceiling), but they are a lot of fun.
Snacks
Honestly, what's a party without snacks? Gathering people together to enjoy food is one of society's oldest bonding rituals. Plenty of people bring their own individual snacks, and that's fine, but you could take it a step further if everyone wants to. You can approach it as a dinner with friends, even if you're just sharing a pizza, or go the themed menu route with imaginary tavern classics. One of these days, I'm going to serve stew in homemade bread bowls at one of my games. But that's a lot of work, so you could choose a simpler option and serve charcuterie and cheese trays, fruit, and fresh bread. Or just make nachos -- the point is to make it a fun experience for the group.
Scented Products
Scent is a major sensory trigger that can create a lot of atmosphere with a little whiff. Now there are scented products on the market that are designed specifically for use in RPG scene-setting. They come in forms such as candles, sachets, or pots of scented beads you can place on your game table. Some are subtle scents intended to produce a general mood, but others are very specific. You can find incense-tinged scents meant to evoke a temple or ritual, or the scent of a forest or ocean, a campfire or tavern, but you also can find more esoteric varieties such as alchemist's lab or ancient library, and less pleasant aromas like dungeon, swamp, or moldy crypt...if you think that's something your party would appreciate. Which leads to an extremely important caveat on this item:
Many people cannot tolerate exposure to scented products! Allergies are common and can be very serious. Your game isn't going to be much fun if it comes to a grinding halt when a player fails a real-life CON save against a scented item. It could cause everything from sneezing or a sore throat to a migraine, asthma attack or worse. Therefore, I strongly recommend getting explicit consent from everyone who will be in the area before using such a product. Even if you think the scent isn't that strong, it might have a big impact on someone who is sensitive to it.
Do you have any favorite game time mood setters? Want to share a recipe? Tell me about it in the comments! (And let me know if you want to see recipes in future columns, because that's one of my specialties.)
contributed by Annie Bulloch
Music
I like playing music in the background during games. It creates a nice ambiance and can set the tone for the action. I know some GMs carefully curate an array of playlists with music for every mood and setting, switching between them as needed, but I am nowhere near that level yet.
Fortunately, streaming music services like Spotify and Pandora (or even YouTube) are full of playlists other people already have created. They usually are stocked with scores from movies and video games, and maybe some medieval or Renaissance-style music in the mix. There's a whole niche market of people who write music specifically for use in RPGs, including artists such as Midnight Syndicate or Kevin MacLeod. Look up those names and let the recommendation algorithm introduce you to hundreds of hours of game-appropriate music. You also can round out your playlists with ambient tracks of sound effects including gentle rain or thunderstorms, daytime bird calls, night time crickets, the sound of waves, or Halloween-style ghostly noises and howls.
Decor and Lighting
Not everyone has the space, budget, or desire to dedicate a whole space to gaming. But when it's game night, you can always break out a few extra items with your dice and other equipment. You can add subtle touches like a tablecloth that sets the mood, or light candles in the room. You don't even have to use real candles if you're worried about open flames and excess heat -- LED candles look great, many have a natural-looking flickering setting, and some are even remote controlled.
To add an easy faux-medieval touch to the table, serve drinks in steins and goblets. You can find plenty of attractive options for sale, but some are only meant to be decorative, so make sure you buy ones that are made from food-safe materials if you're going to use them. They're perfect for ale and wine, of course, but there's nothing stopping you from drinking iced tea out of a bejeweled chalice if you want to.
If you are inclined to add more elaborate or permanent decor, you have a lot of options too. You can buy wall-mounted LED torch sconces, tapestries, or even fantasy creature models. WizKids has produced a line of these which so far includes a red dragon head, a mindflayer head, and a very impressive beholder. They're not cheap, and can be tricky to hang (particularly the beholder, which has to be mounted in the ceiling), but they are a lot of fun.
View attachment 98261
I DM Adventurer's League inside this beholder's anti-magic cone every Wednesday night at my shop.
I DM Adventurer's League inside this beholder's anti-magic cone every Wednesday night at my shop.
Snacks
Honestly, what's a party without snacks? Gathering people together to enjoy food is one of society's oldest bonding rituals. Plenty of people bring their own individual snacks, and that's fine, but you could take it a step further if everyone wants to. You can approach it as a dinner with friends, even if you're just sharing a pizza, or go the themed menu route with imaginary tavern classics. One of these days, I'm going to serve stew in homemade bread bowls at one of my games. But that's a lot of work, so you could choose a simpler option and serve charcuterie and cheese trays, fruit, and fresh bread. Or just make nachos -- the point is to make it a fun experience for the group.
Scented Products
Scent is a major sensory trigger that can create a lot of atmosphere with a little whiff. Now there are scented products on the market that are designed specifically for use in RPG scene-setting. They come in forms such as candles, sachets, or pots of scented beads you can place on your game table. Some are subtle scents intended to produce a general mood, but others are very specific. You can find incense-tinged scents meant to evoke a temple or ritual, or the scent of a forest or ocean, a campfire or tavern, but you also can find more esoteric varieties such as alchemist's lab or ancient library, and less pleasant aromas like dungeon, swamp, or moldy crypt...if you think that's something your party would appreciate. Which leads to an extremely important caveat on this item:
Many people cannot tolerate exposure to scented products! Allergies are common and can be very serious. Your game isn't going to be much fun if it comes to a grinding halt when a player fails a real-life CON save against a scented item. It could cause everything from sneezing or a sore throat to a migraine, asthma attack or worse. Therefore, I strongly recommend getting explicit consent from everyone who will be in the area before using such a product. Even if you think the scent isn't that strong, it might have a big impact on someone who is sensitive to it.
Do you have any favorite game time mood setters? Want to share a recipe? Tell me about it in the comments! (And let me know if you want to see recipes in future columns, because that's one of my specialties.)
contributed by Annie Bulloch
