Mood music & FR

[kengar]

I'm going to be running a campaign in the Silver Marches and was thinking of trying background music for the first time. I'm hoping it will get folks into a more RP mood.

Any suggestions -especially FR appropriate/fitting- are appreciated.

 

[Cador]

The Icewind Dale soundtrack would probably not be desperately inapropriate. You can get it from Interplay here. Or if you own the game (or Baldur's Gate), you can extract the music files yourself (tools can be found there).

I often use the Icewind Dale music in my gaming sessions. It is quite atmospheric and not terribly obtrusive. Sort of easy listening fantasy music without being bland.

 

[Enforcer]

I've said it before, but the soundtrack to Conan, the Barbarian is great for roleplaying. The first track, "Anvil of Crom" can't be beaten for barbarian/orcish hordes, while the other tracks can be used for less violent aspects of gaming. Check it out!

 

[der_kluge]

What does one consider "FR-style" music?

 

[kengar]

What does one consider "FR-style" music?

I have no idea. Though the Icewind Dale music idea was an interesting one.

My problem is that I have never used background music. Many people here on the boards say it works well for their campaigns. So I thought I'd give it a try. The campaign is fairly "out of the book" 3e Faerun. In other words, a goodly bit of magic and magic items; noble quests, etc. The party is 6-7th level, Good alignments and multi-racial (1 half-orc, 1 moon elf, 3 humans). The players are 2 women gamers & three guys, all 25-35 yrs old.

I don't know if any of this helps, but thanks for the feedback.

Here's another question: do you folks who use music try to fit the tune to what's happening at the moment? Or do you just let the CD play? Just curious.

 

[Desdichado]

I'd use the same stuff I use for any other fantasy game. Soundtracks from movies that I like to use include:

• Dracula
• Signs
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Braveheart
• Conan the Barbarian
• The Time Machine
• Schindler's List
• Gladiator

I also use the game soundtracks from Heroes of Might and Magic III and IV.

 

[Irysangel]

Depends on if you want singing or not...

If you want singing, I'd recommend anything by Loreena McKennit or Clannad, maybe even Enya's Celts album.

No singing, go for the LotR soundtrack, the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack, Dances with Wolves, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Conan, Gladiator, Glory, Braveheart, Princess Bride, Amadeus, any Star Wars....

And one of my personal favorites, the Matrix! (Of course, you have to be in a certain mood for this .

Seriously, I do a lot of writing to music, and LotM, Loreena McKennitt, Glory, and LotR are a few of my favorites.

 

[Rel]

You might want to try out some music by these guys .

Their stuff sounds like it might be sort of munchkin.

 

[cybernetic]

I tend to use plastikman..its minimalism doesn't distract anyone and helps to fill the silence void without you even realizing its there...

(its really good for CoC games too...cause when you start feeling scared your mind starts to register the music in strange ways..)

 

[Cador]

Here's another question: do you folks who use music try to fit the tune to what's happening at the moment? Or do you just let the CD play? Just curious.

I find that constant background music gets annoying after a while. Especially if it is good music – talented compositions makes listening more demanding. As in a movie, non-stop background music just doesn't work well. Instead, music should be reserved for the major scenes in the story. When I prepare an adventure, I write down music cues at appropriate points. And as I use a laptop at the gaming table (can't live without various electronic aids), I have a pair of speakers connected and play the pre-selected music from mp3's. That way I can pretty much start the music mid-sentence, sort of "You open the door and [cue foreboding_dungeon_score.mp3] a stench of death comes towards you through the darkness." It has spooked the players quite a bit at various occasions.