How do you set 'the mood'

[JesterPoet]

So, last night we were playing a "one-shot" (which will end up being a two-shot) of Cthulhu, The Crack'd and Crook'd Manse. About 2 hours into game, one of my players mentions she's getting kinda freaked out. So, we did the obvious thing, and brought the lights down, and did things right.

I love setting the mood, but haven't done it much lately, as I have a puppy who needs constant attention and tends to break the mood, so it usually isn't worth it. Last night reminded me that 'the mood' is a great addition to the game.

So that leads me to my two questions for the day:

1) Do you eat mustard?

2) How do you set 'the mood' in your games? Do you even bother?

 

[BiggusGeekus]

1) With rangers.

2) Killing the ranger and cooking him with mustard.

... OK seriously ...


For my d20 Modern game (now in relapse) I set mood by staging the adventure. For instance, I once realized that the players had never been to "The Hottest Club In Town". All action movies have to have a scene where there is a shootout at The Hottest Club In Town. So before the game I simply told my players outright that it was going to be a Hottest Club In Town adventure, put on some DJ John Kelly, and mood was created!

For my D&D game I have a poster sized map. I point out to the party where they are and where they're going. I answer any setting background questions they have and I expect to hear questions I've already answered 50 times before. That generally does the trick.

But, in my opinion, its easier to set mood for modern than fantasy.

 

[the Jester]

How do you set 'the mood' in your games? Do you even bother?

My favorite recent story regarding setting the mood in a game goes something like this... (I'm gonna put spoiler tags around it, for those who may not want to spoil any of Return to the Tomb of Horrors.)

Spoiler

The previous game had ended with a pc accidentally stepping backwards through a terrible black hole that, as far as the pcs knew, destroyed anything that went into it. The pc actually had the necessary 'key' on him to pass through it safely, but he didn't know that. So when we started the next session, I locked him in my bedroom with a black light as his only light. He was in a spooky, dead city of utter silence, frigid cold and near-total darkness. Locking away the player like that served both to heighten his uncertainty and to freak out the other players- every time someone went to the bathroom they had to pass through my bedroom, with its trippy lighting and a player sitting silently like a zombie against the wall. When the rest of the pcs finally got to the City That Waits, I moved the black light to my front room, where we typically game, and shut the music and most of the other lights off.

If you're interested, the story is here.[/pimp]

 

[JesterPoet]

My favorite recent story regarding setting the mood in a game goes something like this... (I'm gonna put spoiler tags around it, for those who may not want to spoil any of Return to the Tomb of Horrors.)

Ahem.... you seem to have skipped question #1...

 

[the Jester]

Ahem.... you seem to have skipped question #1...

Sorry, my bad.

Yes I do... I prefer brown but like yellow as well. Also, I enjoy trying different unique mustards. (I had a really good sweet pineapple mustard once... strange but tasty!)

 

[Cake Mage]

Well, I like to dim the lights, light some scented candles, put on a little Al Green. It was just too good to pass up sorry.

 

[SpringPlum]

2) Our primary DM has been perfectly the art of selecting the perfect music for every scene. He mostly uses anime soundtracks, Escaflowne being his favorite. When we play sci-fi games, he branches out into more modern, techo-like, stuff--BT works well. This works so well that when any of the rest of us DM, we delve into his collection. We also rarely game during daylight, to give the sessions a bit more 'unreal' atmosphere.

1) Sorry, I'm a mayo girl.

 

[Kweezil]

My favorite recent story regarding setting the mood in a game goes something like this... (I'm gonna put spoiler tags around it, for those who may not want to spoil any of Return to the Tomb of Horrors.)

Okay, you are now officially my hero for that degree of sheer DMness.

On to the questions:

1. Not really, occassionally on a hotdog or burger, never alone.

2. It really depends on the game. For my most recent 'modern' games I've run (Mage and Bubblegum Crisis), I've made up soudtracks (well, mp3 playlists) with player assistance (they get to pick suitable music, particularly for their own characters) - lots of old goth (Sisters of Mercy, the Cure etc) and dark metal (Type-O etc) with a spice of classical chanting for Mage, and heavy electronic metal (Filter, Rob Zombie) for BGC. I've put clues to long-running plots and NPCs in their 'theme tunes', and it's always fun to see the players reactions when they figure them out.

Other than that, I rarely get the chance to set up much as we don't game in my house. I use printouts and handouts when I can, but rarely have the time to do anything like some I've seen - full manilla folders with pics and sheets of text for file reports, large pre-weathered maps inscribed in ancient runes, fun stuff

 

[JesterPoet]

Well, I like to dim the lights, light some scented candles, put on a little Al Green. It was just too good to pass up sorry.

What about question 1?

 

[Wombat]

1) Depends on the mustard and the item being served. Some want for dijon style, some a sweet hot Russian, some a coarse ground, and still others for ale mustards. Never French's is the rule.

2) I have tried to set the mood on a number of occasions with my players (many groups over many years); I have achieved highly mixed results. The best types of games in which mood-setting appears to be important is in horror games. People who play these games want to be creeped out, so everything from props to music to lighting, even to food & drink, can be highly important. Then there was the session that was set in the midst of a formal banquet -- I made the food, set the places, had wine, and generally forced everyone into their "Sunday Best" manners, which was a gas for me, but bothersome to the players.

So, much like mustard, there are different matters that work at different times with any mood setting and it is easy to have far too much of a good thing. Oh, and Midnight Syndicate = French's, for my tastes.