Recently I've started experimenting with building mini-soundtracks for scenes. My group has actually asked for more musical cues, so I've started making small groups of songs to accompany certain events as they unfold. It takes some micro-management on the DM's part but the extra impact is worth it.
(The following contains spoilers for the Shackled City campaign)
Here's an example of a scene that will occur the next time I run my campaign. In this scene, the city's merchants and businessfolk are fed up with increasing tax rates, and one merchant named Maavu is leading a vocal protest/demonstration outside City Hall. Many disgruntled and even hostile merchants show up, as well as many other civilians, and a large mob forms. One of the issues they have is that the tax money is being used to hire half-orc mercenaries to supplement the regular guard force.
Maavu's passionate speech has a huge effect on the gathered crowd, and they start cheering and encouraging him. His words are inspiring and stir up those in attendance...maybe too much. Encouragement starts turning into hostility towards the city government - perhaps Maavu's true goal all along. The next song will play once the party realizes things are starting to turn ugly, but Maavu continues orating and whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
The foreboding, ominous next song will start as a guard captain and 4 mercenaries arrive on the scene. As they make their way through the crowd they receive jeers, angry glares, and thinly-veiled threats. Upon arriving at Maavu's dais, the captain announces that Maavu is under arrest for, essentially, treason. The crowd, openly hostile towards the newcomers, is on the verge of erupting.
At that moment, members of the local thieves guild hiding in the crowd brutally ambush and murder the mercenaries in an attempt to throw things into anarchy. The last song starts at this point. The crowd starts rioting and destroying buildings, lighting things on fire, and trying to kill the guard captain. Meanwhile, a mage working for the city government in the upper level of City Hall summons some invisible air elementals to assassinate Maavu. The party has to try to disperse the crowd without killing everyone, save Maavu, save the guard captain, and deal with the air elementals. Needless to say, it's utter chaos.
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I find that having scene-specific music really livens the game session up and keeps the players interested, involved and really immersed in what's happening. It does take some time to trawl through the hundreds of mp3s you've got stored up (if you're like me) but I keep them organized by theme - creepy, caves, fighting, etc - to help streamline the process. What would really make it more efficient would be a tag system, so I could tag a single song with multiple attributes. Something for me to work on, I guess.
Showing posts with label shackled city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shackled city. Show all posts
Anatomy of a One-Shot
Last week our D&D night was a special one-shot session that still took place in our regular campaign continuity. One of our players was moving away, so we wanted to play one last time before he left. Fortunately, we happened to be directly between chapters and not buried in some dungeon, but I didn't want to start the next chapter since the moving player wouldn't get to see any of it anyway. It took some brainstorming, but I was able to weave together enough loose ends and dormant plot hooks into a cohesive and fun night, while still remaining relevant to the long-term campaign!
In my opinion, when you run a one-shot that takes place as part of your regular campaign, it's a great opportunity for the DM to:
• Expand on NPC personalities and their relationships to the party
• Sprinkle plot hooks, clues and hints that you might neglect during a busy "real" session
• Let the players really guide the night and do what they want; it's not part of the "real" plot or storyline so let them have fun! It's a perfect time to look back at what silly/unexpected things the players really latched onto and had fun with, and focus on those things for a few hours.
In a different incident, a local inn a short distance away from town was ransacked by bandits and mostly destroyed about a year ago. The players fought off the bandits but were too late to save the innkeep & workers. Since then it's been cleaned up but abandoned. The party purchased the deed to turn it into Meat on a Stick's headquarters.
The party is also in an ongoing war with local thieves guild The Last Laugh, having thwarted their efforts on numerous occasions. Both sides hate the other.
What I decided to go with as the basis for the session was the Grand Opening of Meat on a Stick, rebuilt on the old, destroyed inn. I let them pretty much design the layout and floorplan of the restaurant themselves (which was a lot of fun for everyone), working with a big supply of D&D tiles on the table. I then had the NPC author of our campaign newspaper arrive and suggest they hold a grand opening event, so he could write a restaurant review in the newspaper. Naturally there would need to be important city dignitaries and officials at such an important grand opening...
Two encounters is a perfect amount for a one-shot night, and this worked out perfectly - one encounter would be the party getting the required meat for the night (huge, rare animals captured and brought back by their ogre chef), in a huge melee right in the restaurant's backyard. The other encounter was a surprise ambush by the Last Laugh during the meal, a dual purpose assault to both injure/kill the PC's and to damage their reputation by killing the dignitaries.
This led to some great creative goofiness as the party came up with insane ideas for entertaining the guests, such as enchanting all the cutlery to sing songs and serving all sorts of bizarre, exotic meat (dire lion chops, portal drake stew and phase spider pudding were all on the menu).
There was also some nice individual roleplaying time as the players got to play their characters in non-combat situations, and expand on their individual quirks and personalities a bit. The barbarian decided that he wasn't going to serve anyone and acted as the bouncer. Meanwhile, the warforged cleric took the opportunity to chat up the mayor about the many benefits of establishing an all-construct city guard. Additionally, they got to interact and chat with important NPC's who, though they had met them before, had never really received equal table time with the party. Important NPC's who will soon play major roles in the campaign...
The Last Laugh's attack caught the party completely off-guard, and was surprisingly emotional, as it was the first time the thieves guild had proactively attacked the party instead of vice versa. Since Meat on a Stick was the party's precious baby, they took the attack very, very personally. It was also very interesting watching the party actually be concerned about property damage and such for the first time EVER.
At the end of the night, Meat on a Stick had gone from a funny running joke to an actual, in-game thing, many essential NPC's had been fleshed out, and the Last Laugh hate was stronger than ever. In retrospect, it's probably good to run sessions like this once in a while, to let the players' actions dictate the night's events, tie up loose ends and plant some nice plot/story hooks for the future.
In my opinion, when you run a one-shot that takes place as part of your regular campaign, it's a great opportunity for the DM to:
• Expand on NPC personalities and their relationships to the party
• Sprinkle plot hooks, clues and hints that you might neglect during a busy "real" session
• Let the players really guide the night and do what they want; it's not part of the "real" plot or storyline so let them have fun! It's a perfect time to look back at what silly/unexpected things the players really latched onto and had fun with, and focus on those things for a few hours.
Previous Events
A while back, the party fought off a rampaging Umber Hulk and saved some innocent civilians. However, the highlight of that night wasn't their heroics, but instead how they saw a little cart on the official map labeled Meat on a Stick. Being typical D&D players, the instantly fixated on this random little stand and, after some improvised vendor dialogue, purchased the "franchise" and started elaborate plans to turn it into a lucrative business. (Players. Sigh.)In a different incident, a local inn a short distance away from town was ransacked by bandits and mostly destroyed about a year ago. The players fought off the bandits but were too late to save the innkeep & workers. Since then it's been cleaned up but abandoned. The party purchased the deed to turn it into Meat on a Stick's headquarters.
The party is also in an ongoing war with local thieves guild The Last Laugh, having thwarted their efforts on numerous occasions. Both sides hate the other.
What I decided to go with as the basis for the session was the Grand Opening of Meat on a Stick, rebuilt on the old, destroyed inn. I let them pretty much design the layout and floorplan of the restaurant themselves (which was a lot of fun for everyone), working with a big supply of D&D tiles on the table. I then had the NPC author of our campaign newspaper arrive and suggest they hold a grand opening event, so he could write a restaurant review in the newspaper. Naturally there would need to be important city dignitaries and officials at such an important grand opening...
Two encounters is a perfect amount for a one-shot night, and this worked out perfectly - one encounter would be the party getting the required meat for the night (huge, rare animals captured and brought back by their ogre chef), in a huge melee right in the restaurant's backyard. The other encounter was a surprise ambush by the Last Laugh during the meal, a dual purpose assault to both injure/kill the PC's and to damage their reputation by killing the dignitaries.
This led to some great creative goofiness as the party came up with insane ideas for entertaining the guests, such as enchanting all the cutlery to sing songs and serving all sorts of bizarre, exotic meat (dire lion chops, portal drake stew and phase spider pudding were all on the menu).
There was also some nice individual roleplaying time as the players got to play their characters in non-combat situations, and expand on their individual quirks and personalities a bit. The barbarian decided that he wasn't going to serve anyone and acted as the bouncer. Meanwhile, the warforged cleric took the opportunity to chat up the mayor about the many benefits of establishing an all-construct city guard. Additionally, they got to interact and chat with important NPC's who, though they had met them before, had never really received equal table time with the party. Important NPC's who will soon play major roles in the campaign...
The Last Laugh's attack caught the party completely off-guard, and was surprisingly emotional, as it was the first time the thieves guild had proactively attacked the party instead of vice versa. Since Meat on a Stick was the party's precious baby, they took the attack very, very personally. It was also very interesting watching the party actually be concerned about property damage and such for the first time EVER.
At the end of the night, Meat on a Stick had gone from a funny running joke to an actual, in-game thing, many essential NPC's had been fleshed out, and the Last Laugh hate was stronger than ever. In retrospect, it's probably good to run sessions like this once in a while, to let the players' actions dictate the night's events, tie up loose ends and plant some nice plot/story hooks for the future.
Using music to enhance your game
In a previous post I mentioned how I was using a very cool song from the movie Final Fantasy: Advent Children to add a ton of atmosphere and suspense to my 4E Shackled City campaign. It was a huge success, and I highly recommend using special music for special events. Here's a few more details about how it went down. (The full session recap can be found here.
The temple was well defended, and the party had been overcoming tough opposition (and were starting to really hate kuo-toas.) After emerging into a large open cavern, they started to hear a loud, rhythmic thumping noise.
This is what they heard (I clipped the first minute or so and played it on repeat.)
As they explored further, they looked into a huge, football-stadium sized chamber only to see hundreds of kuo-toas deep in trance/meditation. The sound was the sound of countless kuo-toa hearts beating in unison.
A long bridge led above the crowd into a shrine, and the effect of the suspenseful, ominous music playing while they crept across was great. I stopped the music when they entered the shrine. A few encounters and one session later, they had the dwarf in tow and were ready to start sneaking out again. They exchanged nervous looks when I put the music on again, which I took great pleasure in.
Sneaking out over the bridge was a stealth-based skill challenge, so as to not alert the dormant horde beneath them. They eventually failed, making noise and alerting the kuo-toas. However, I didn't tell them they had failed or that the kuo-toas had noticed them, I simply switched the song to the 1:40 mark and waited. When the tempo changed everyone at the tables completely lost their minds and started all yelling at once what they were doing, in a panic.
The skill challenge turned into an escape-themed one, led into a fight with a vengeful dragon back for a rematch, and finally a terrible far realm abomination blocking the way to their escape boat, all while being pursued by enraged kuo-toas out for blood. I used various escape/pursuit-themed songs to emphasize the danger, and after the beaten, tired but successful players drifted away on their boat, they all said it was one of the most intense sessions yet.
It can be tough to find that song that perfectly fits an event, and you don't want to do it too often or it'll lose its magic. But sometimes it works perfectly, and makes a cool encounter unforgettable.
The temple was well defended, and the party had been overcoming tough opposition (and were starting to really hate kuo-toas.) After emerging into a large open cavern, they started to hear a loud, rhythmic thumping noise.
This is what they heard (I clipped the first minute or so and played it on repeat.)
As they explored further, they looked into a huge, football-stadium sized chamber only to see hundreds of kuo-toas deep in trance/meditation. The sound was the sound of countless kuo-toa hearts beating in unison.
A long bridge led above the crowd into a shrine, and the effect of the suspenseful, ominous music playing while they crept across was great. I stopped the music when they entered the shrine. A few encounters and one session later, they had the dwarf in tow and were ready to start sneaking out again. They exchanged nervous looks when I put the music on again, which I took great pleasure in.
Sneaking out over the bridge was a stealth-based skill challenge, so as to not alert the dormant horde beneath them. They eventually failed, making noise and alerting the kuo-toas. However, I didn't tell them they had failed or that the kuo-toas had noticed them, I simply switched the song to the 1:40 mark and waited. When the tempo changed everyone at the tables completely lost their minds and started all yelling at once what they were doing, in a panic.
The skill challenge turned into an escape-themed one, led into a fight with a vengeful dragon back for a rematch, and finally a terrible far realm abomination blocking the way to their escape boat, all while being pursued by enraged kuo-toas out for blood. I used various escape/pursuit-themed songs to emphasize the danger, and after the beaten, tired but successful players drifted away on their boat, they all said it was one of the most intense sessions yet.
It can be tough to find that song that perfectly fits an event, and you don't want to do it too often or it'll lose its magic. But sometimes it works perfectly, and makes a cool encounter unforgettable.
Music Showcase: Beyond the Wasteland
Beyond the Wasteland (Final Fantasy: Advent Children soundtrack)
Ever since I heard this song, I've wanted to use it in a game. In the campaign I'm running (a 4E conversion of Dragon's "Shackled City" adventure path) I finally have the chance.
In Chapter 4: Zenith Trajectory, the party is tasked with tracking down and rescuing a dwarven warrior named Zenith Splintershield, who's been missing for a decade after a crusade into the Underdark that went wrong (surprise surprise). They learn that he's being held in a kuo-toa city/shrine deep underground.
So far, the players have fought their way in, killing many kuo-toas and fighting off a black dragon, who flew away before they could finish it off, and have approached a massive stone shrine/ziggurat with hundreds of chanting kuo-toas crowded around it. They have to sneak over a stone bridge into the shrine, defeat the totally insane Zenith, and then try to sneak away/escape.
Which, of course, isn't going to happen. ;)
When they started approaching the temple (before they could see it) I started playing this song, clipped to the first half. It freaked them out completely, which was only driven home when they saw how many potential enemies were before them.
After fighting Zenith, I'm going to play the music again as they sneak along the bridge, trying not to alert the Kuo-Toas below (which will be a Skill Challenge based on stealth and observation). Eventually they'll be discovered, but I won't say this fact out loud - I'll let the music at 1:47 convey the message. It should be fun, and will lead into part two of the Skill Challenge, which is based more on athletics and fending off the swarm of enraged kuo-toas.
Ever since I heard this song, I've wanted to use it in a game. In the campaign I'm running (a 4E conversion of Dragon's "Shackled City" adventure path) I finally have the chance.
In Chapter 4: Zenith Trajectory, the party is tasked with tracking down and rescuing a dwarven warrior named Zenith Splintershield, who's been missing for a decade after a crusade into the Underdark that went wrong (surprise surprise). They learn that he's being held in a kuo-toa city/shrine deep underground.
So far, the players have fought their way in, killing many kuo-toas and fighting off a black dragon, who flew away before they could finish it off, and have approached a massive stone shrine/ziggurat with hundreds of chanting kuo-toas crowded around it. They have to sneak over a stone bridge into the shrine, defeat the totally insane Zenith, and then try to sneak away/escape.
Which, of course, isn't going to happen. ;)
When they started approaching the temple (before they could see it) I started playing this song, clipped to the first half. It freaked them out completely, which was only driven home when they saw how many potential enemies were before them.
After fighting Zenith, I'm going to play the music again as they sneak along the bridge, trying not to alert the Kuo-Toas below (which will be a Skill Challenge based on stealth and observation). Eventually they'll be discovered, but I won't say this fact out loud - I'll let the music at 1:47 convey the message. It should be fun, and will lead into part two of the Skill Challenge, which is based more on athletics and fending off the swarm of enraged kuo-toas.