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Music is one of the most underused resources available to Game Masters. The use of music to set the scene is astonishing. If you prefer to use mystical terms, Music speaks directly to the soul; if you prefer scientific terms, it is tied deeply into the sub-conscious. It can set the mood in ways that no other game aid can.

However, finding good music to do this can be difficult, as Game Masters are usually limited to what they have lying around the house, and this is seldom helpful. Most popular CDs are unsuitable, usually because the lyrics are too prominent. It is very important that songs are selected that are not going to distract the players too much, or else the whole thing backfires and the illusion is broken.

Instrumental music is usually a safer bet than most commercially available bands, but few CDs available in stores have the complete range of emotion and styles necessary for a wide-sweeping role-playing game. A better choice than CD music is to use MP3s or Ogg Vorbis. Whether from a Laptop, iPod, or other MP3 player, a Playlist can be longer and contain more music than a regular CD, and their content can be mixed and matched from different sources to cover whatever range of emotion is going to be called in.

The selection of music in such a playlist is also crucial, and the kind of music must be consistent with the type of game is being played. Celtic music may be perfect for a high fantasy woodlands, but it is definitely not suited to a dark post-modernist Vampire club. Another thing to remember when selecting music is that it should be as varied as possible, as even the most gung-ho Elven Bard will get tired after four hours of listening to Enya in the background!

Learn more about this author, Kristopher Chambers.
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