At The Table: Music While Gaming

[bibliophile20]

Just wondering; in the games I've been in, I prefer to have music to help my creative juices flow in the right direction, while another GM that I've played with finds music distracting and bans it from the table. 

And for a last question that's impossible to create a poll for: recommendations for music that fits the feel of the Dresdenverse. 

[Shadow lion]

Slipknot koRn Ozzy are great for battles and world ending music

[sinker]

With upwards of nine people in the group I play with regularly we usually can't do music. It's hard enough to hear everybody as it is. However when I'm running deadlands (or any horror game) it's a must and I even set up different playlists for slightly different atmospheres.

If you're going for creepy (my expertise) then the koudelka/shadow hearts game series has surprisingly great music for that (I have all of the soundtracks). I often look at anime/TV/movie/Video Game soundtracks simply because their whole point is to subtly create a specific mood. Just don't pick up soundtracks that are too old, cause they can be terrible in any number of ways (particularly old video game soundtracks).

[Amseriah]

We don't use music in my group really.  There is one person that we play dnd 3.x with who will turn on music but it ends up being distracting (techno bollywood song set on repeat at full blast).  I feel like it is distracting in that it is another thing for someone to have to fidget with in play (changing the playlists to fit the situation).

[admiralducksauce]

I like to work up playlists for my games - nothing that I'd have to switch during play, but in my Highway to Hell campaign I'll pick out a song to blast as I shout "CREDITS!" at the players, and then put the rest on as background.  It's all 70s-80s metal, with some exceptions made for particularly thematic modern songs (Lamb of God's "Walk With Me In Hell" is going to feature in a session dealing with Denarians for sure).

Fitting music to campaigns is, to me, a pretty touchy art.  You could just play whatever crap you like at the moment (and sure, I obviously skew my choices towards my own crap), but I find it's better if you can go 1) full-on ambient so nobody recognizes the music but it creates a mood or 2) songs people know but that fit the theme created by the interplay between your setting, the characters, and the adventure they're on.

[Tempus Corvus]

I've tried putting some Tom Waits on at a low volume when I want to do something creepy. It works with several of my friends.

[Cavallo]

I picked "Other". Just can't be bothered really. As much I would love to I'm to lazy to prepare proper playlist. But I'm looking forward to learn some tips and tricks from you guys in that matter.

[toturi]

Every PC gets his own theme.

[BumblingBear]

Hmmmm.....

You know, now that I think about it, it would be awfully cool to hide a little speaker and my MP3 player in my bag.

That way in the next epic battle, after my character stacks about 5 or 6 (or maybe 9) taggable aspects, I can play

Ride of the Valkyries  (I think Wagner was a wizard)

while I smash the shit out of something with a disgustingly powerful evocation.

[Watson]

I have been using custom soundtracks for close to 20 years, including sound effects. It has come to the point were I can hardly think running a session without it. Every campaign gets its own "intro song" and "end song" (played at the beginning - and end of the session, respectively).

The tracks are taken from various films, edited for personal use only and looped so that they can be played for at least five minutes without audible gaps. The tracks are then named after the mood that I feel when listening to it (like "Breaking in", "Early morning" etc) which makes it easy to find a suitable track during play.

Finding the right music for the DFRPG is what I am working with right now (after 20+ years of running Call of Cthulhu).

[Ren]

Oddly this is something I've been thinking about adding to my current game. I've done some playing around with music during games, usually just as background music. I had a player come up with a mix cd for a Warhammer Fantasy game we played; were good classical pieces that fit the atmosphere. he also did up a cd of 4-5 songs of flute music for a Legend of the Five Rings game. Played low in the background it added a nice background.
Wordless music works best so there are no subtle influences.

Since my current game is set in Miami I am going to put together a list of music form various soundtracks. In particular; Pirates of the Caribbean (Which I listen to daily, its a FUN album!), Conan the Barbarian, Gladiator (the Song for the big battle in particular is great for epic fights) and probably some bits from Predator. I'll have to look through my collection for some other bits to make a decent playlist...someday I really need to learn how to use itunes.