Had good and bad with it, normally I just play music for background noise and just random my entire playlist since I haven't made a specific playlist for games in general. This has lead to some memorable moments in game where my random playlist has excellent timing. Mostly being random stand off situation and suddenly the opening from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly suddenly starts up. Other times have been the players meeting the thieves guild leader Mistress Barracuda and suddenly Barracuda by Heart starts up. Other times it's been the party giving a eulogy for a dead comrade and the Sephiroth song starts up. Really tends to be dependant on your group though as music buffs could start bickering.
If you want great, nonintrusive dungeon-crawling music (IE, for exploration and dungeon crawl, not action scenes like battles) you really cannot beat the scores to the Myst games (Myst/Riven/Myst 3, etc.) The songs are creepy and full of wonder and mystery, and almost entirely unobtrusive (Myst 3 has a couple of tracks that break that mold, but otherwise fantastic.) And most people aren't going to recognize the songs - they make the perfect background tunes.
I'm a big fan of table music, and have recently established a large number of various playlists for all kinds of different events/situations. With iTunes it's just a matter of clicking on the right playlist and off it goes - a process that takes a half a second, really.
I almost always use music when I DM. The only time I don't is when I forget to bring it or when I didn't have time to prepare it.
I generally always make a new folder for each adventure I run where I put notes and studd, as well as a folder for music, and I pick out music for certain events (scary hallway music, bombastic fight music, etc). For the final encoutner of our precious campaign I cut together several songs into a 17~minutes long song that I set on loop during the fight.
I use almost exclusively instrumental music, with choirs being an exception, predominantly soundstracks for games. Though I tend to pick soundtracks for games that are not strictly CRPG's (like Baldurs Gate etc). The soundtrack for Shadow of the Colossus has become a mainstay for me. I have yet to find one situation where some track from that game wouldn't be dramatically poignant.
Our GM uses background music during games. She likes a lot of different sources, but I'll let Deathquaker speak for herself. I use it to get ready for a game too. I associate different songs with different characters. Even have a playlist for getting ready for this game.
Belatedly heard my ears burning. :)
I run with the assistance of a laptop, so running Windows Media Player during game is pretty to do. If it distracts anyone, it's ME--sometimes I get hung up on wanting to have a certain song play--but I like the atmosphere it supplies. I haven't had a lot of feedback from the players except that sometimes a rather appropriate theme comes on at a random time and it's fun when that happens. If we take a break and pause the music, me putting the music back on is a good signal to the players to let them know it's time to focus back on the game.
Sources I use include the following (almost all of them are soundtracks for video games and movies and TV shows):
Baldur's Gate I and II (video game)
Neverwinter Nights I and II, including premium modules (video game)
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura (video game)
Suikoden V (video game)
The Slayers Try (anime)
Xena: Warrior Princess Season 6 (tv show)
Glory at Sea (movie)
Pirates of the Caribbean (movie)
Kamichu (anime; a couple choice tracks for tavern and town scenes but generally the soundtrack is a little too soft and perky for RPGs)
If I were to recommend one of these, I would probably go with the Xena Soundtrack -- Joe LoDuca is an amazing composer and a lot of the music really sets the scene beautifully.
Since I use Windows Media Player (any mp3 program will do) I've organized all the songs into playlists according to theme -- Battle, Adventure, Subdued, Tavern and Town, Mystical, Dungeon, etc. Each playlist runs at least an hour if not two, and I usually have it on shuffle and repeat so you don't always know what will come next.
I'm always adding stuff to these; just got the Icewind Dale soundtrack so probably some of that will get loaded into the playlists, etc.
I haven't seen this posted elsewhere, so figured I'd just through this into the mix. The Fallout 4 soundtrack is available on Amazon for $9 and it's over 3 1/2 hours long. There are enough gems in here that you should be able to find several tracks to enhance your games.
On a side note, there is a separate Fallout 4 digital album that consists of 5 of the songs that Linda Carter sings as her character in the Third Rail. It's awesome!
I was in one of those groups that listened to Rush, Stix, B52's, etc...
It was just whatever was on when we all got together. We would sit around and talk for a bit before game started then leave the radio on... or cassette... later cd player. I've been in groups that insisted that modern music was inappropriate for gaming or couldn't deal with lyrics while playing. I never had a problem. Some of the best memories I have are listening to the old stuff while playing with coke cans and dice as monsters on a spray-on-chalkboard covered table.
As someone earlier mentioned, the Interview with the Vampire soundtrack is really good for non-lyrical music. That's my only suggestion.
Im using Stranger Things pandora station for Iron Gods right now. During Carrion Crown I used something syndicate station so AP sets the theme. Occasionally, ill pick a specific track for an event or boss fight.
Contributor
|
I have a huge collection of music (soundtracks and dark ambient stuff, mostly) that I'll spend hours sifting through to make playlists that fit certain themes or parts of the campaign. For me, it's just as important (and fun to do) as any other element of GM preparation. I'm currently preparing to run Strange Aeons and some of the playlists already have durations in days (!) rather than hours. I'm very much looking forward to editing them down to manageable thematic portions.
I don't use it when I run games over Roll20. But if I'm sitting around a table I will use it.
No because I the players have enough trouble hearing me when I gm because players are often loud.