Soundtracks: for the PC

BONUS POST!

That's right, everybody, this week there are TWO blog entries! Let the bodies hit the floor!

In the previous article we talked about building a soundtrack as a DM. We divided our soundtrack into three playlists and had a rockin' good time while doing it. And we danced to the music. But does the buck stop there? Does the DM only determine the music in the campaign?

The short answer, if you have a cool DM, is no! No it doesn't! Players can have a hand in the game's soundtrack, in one especial way: Theme Songs.

The idea is this: each PC gets a theme song, and when that tune comes up in combat you get some kind of bonus. This isn't a new idea. Sly Flourish covered it in his article, Three Ways To Use Music In Your Game, and that was almost two years ago. Greg Bilsland had a similar house rule even before that, though I was unable to track it down.

In my campaign, when a Player's theme song comes on, the current turn in the initiative order is resolved ASAP and the PC immediately gets a bonus turn. There's nothing quite as sweet as getting two turns in a round. Just ask the Dragons and Ettins. And even sweeter than cracking extra orc skull is getting to crack them to Bad Reputation.

Oh God... is that... Halfcocked?...

I thoroughly encourage DMs to include this in their games, and for players to be as creative as possible with their songs. Pick something that you know is going to stand out amongst your DM's fantasy fare. It can be Ok Go, John Williams, or Mozart, just so long as, when it plays, everyone thinks "that's Divo the Deva's song, and he/she's about to kick some tail."

If you're feeling particularly creative (or masochistic), try composing or remixing your own theme song. Here's an example. My GM in Star Wars RPG asked us all to pick theme songs, but specifically said that they could not be from Star Wars. So I started combing through iTunes trying to find the perfect sci-fi song for my good natured Imperial Intelligence Officer, Special Agent Coop Marloeve (insert DEAR CHARACTER BLOG joke here).

And yes, for those who cocked an eyebrow
at "Special Agent Coop", he is
inspired by a Twin Peaks character.

As we were listening to various tunes, my brother and I realized that "I Am The Doctor" from the Doctor Who Soundtrack and "Suicide Mission" from Mass Effect 2 were very similar in a lot of ways. So I sped up the ME2 track and combined the songs into one epic five minute theme song.

For those who love Mass Effect and Doctor Who, I've embedded it below. And for those who don't, why don't you? Come on, people, they're great Sci-Fi.

So go out and find a theme song, and start chopping baddies to it. Happy gaming!

-DS