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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Jan 2016 : 00:48:23
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Poetry and song are a staple of the Realms, and if well implemented something that really adds to a campaign. A well written poem with some adventure clues provide both a puzzle and immersion for your players.
Unfortunately it's also kinda hard to implement for your poor, average Dungeon Master. So this thread is for sharing your scribbles for the benefit of your DM colleagues.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2016 : 01:03:15
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OP goes first.
"Silver Princess" is a love song that recently become popular in local taverns. Some sort of bardic knowledge roll or similar will reveal that it was originally written by a young nobleman for his fiancée. After running off together they are believed to have fallen victim to some horrible monster that yet roams whatever nearby forest fits into your campaign.
Maybe their families wants your players to discover their fate, or maybe they want revenge on the monster.
Text:
See how there are jewels, on night's blank cloth of black
See how gently waters ebb and flow
See the proud birches' pearly silhouettes
High above the Tears of Selune glow
Doors of our prison now stand open
Let us leave this dreariness tonight
My Silver Princess
The full moon is bright
The full moon is bright
There are bonds who bind us, tie us you and me
Freedom is a thing from which we've shied
But here there are no rules, here we may let grow
That which we for so long have denied
Now we're only bound to one another
Let's take time for what we've left untried
My Silver princess
The full moon stands bright
The full moon shines bright
Plot twist.
Of course there is no monster. One of the young folk was a lycanthrope who infected the other. Still very much in love, the call of wild nature eventually got the better of them, and they ran off together. It is up to you if they have succumbed to darker appetites, or if they are simply living as they may closer to nature.
Adapted from an old romatic melody available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by48D13bink
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Delwa
Master of Realmslore
USA
1268 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2016 : 20:35:09
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Subscribing to this thread. I don't have anything to contribute at present, but that's only because I've not found many ways of doing what the topic says that I can, first, do regularly, and second, have gone over well enough that it's worth the effort. Most of the time when I try something, it's a "oh, that's neat, next plot point" kind of reaction.
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- Delwa Aunglor
I am off to slay yon refrigerator and spoil it's horde. Go for the cheese, Boo!
"The Realms change; seldom at the speed desired of those who strive, but far too quickly for those who resist." - The Simbul, taken from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Conspectus |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2016 : 12:57:17
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Not directly adventure related, but I imagine it could be a sentimental tune by an Elven bard somewhere near old Illefarn or anywhere else alliances were made in old times and have since been more or less forgotten.
Friends our people were
Honesty was a virtue for us
To the end of time
To the end of time
Blood brothers we became
Swore each other loyalty
To the end of time
To the end of time
As times changed so did we
Forgot all the things we promised
Perhaps some day
Perhaps some day
Then we shall remember
All the promises we made
Perhaps some day
Perhaps some day
But maybe we are fools
Time goes by
And we lived yesterday
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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xaviera
Learned Scribe
Canada
149 Posts |
Posted - 29 Feb 2016 : 23:28:44
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Also not an adventure-specific song (my apologies), but my loose and slightly Realms-ified translation of Malicorne's 'La complainte du coureur de bois', a French-Canadian folk song:
The Lament of the Woodsman
Listen you, my dear companions
You who live a life of ease
I will sing you now a song
Of all life's greatest miseries
Of months spent slaving in the forest
Working, worrying, with no rest
In the woods so dark and old
In the depths of winter's cold
When it's time our leave to take
to quit our homes for many suns
We must likewise then forsake
our wives and our dear little ones
We kiss our children as they rest
Like little birds within the nest
In the house so dark and cold
In the depths of winter's fold
One morning in the cold sunshine
At the start of the new year
I lay upon a bed of pine
And sang to chase away my fear
In making up this little poem
I longed once more to be at home
Thinking of my darling wife
In the grip of winter's ice
Here we work from dawn to eve
All the days no more no less
The new year's day our only leave
Not even the feasts of Sharess
If it blows, or rains, or snows
Howe'er it is the season goes
Misery's our labour's cost
In the grip of winter's frost.
For general Sharessin songs & poetry, please see the link in my sig. :) |
Writings on Sharess: Thoughts & Prayers by Xaviera ~ High Priestess of Sharess |
Edited by - xaviera on 29 Feb 2016 23:29:55 |
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Saxmilian
Learned Scribe
USA
157 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2016 : 15:00:00
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I wrote this one ages ago...and I NEVER claimed it was good, though an ex of mine did sing it well as a fast-paced diddy
A Sailor’s Lament
April 3, 2002
A DnD song
Oh! Give me the salty air,
A flowin in me hair,
A day in the sun, umberlee’s will be done,
Oh give me the salty air.
A tavern full of rum and drink,
A lass to bathe me when I stink,
A hearty meal of food to eat,
Paradise! Sounds like to me, I think.
Oh! Give me the salty air,
A flowin in me hair,
A day in the sun, Umberlee’s will be done,
Oh give me the salty air.
A foes to fall upon me blade,
A treasure buried in the glade,
Me mates there to lend me aid,
Oh! Give me the salty air,
A flowin in me hair,
A day in the sun, Umberlee’s will be done,
Oh give me the salty air.
When all my tales have been told,
They’ll toss me out into the cold,
A flag o’ me kin, they’ll fold,
And I’ll be replaced by a lad not ten-years-old!
Oh! Give me the salty air,
A flowin in me hair,
A day in the sun, Umberlee’s will be done,
Oh give me the salty air.
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moonbeast
Senior Scribe
USA
522 Posts |
Posted - 02 Mar 2016 : 05:54:09
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Just like the Oscars and Grammys and Emmy awards, we should have the Harpers Award for exemplary bardic achievements. I nominate Misereor, Saxmillian, and xaviera.
And the winner of the 2016 Harpers Award goes to……
(Oh crud! Kanye West just stole my microphone….)
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Poetry and song - adding flavor to your campaign
