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Mystic Muse
2009-06-30, 02:21 PM
I want to use this part of the song "room of angels" in my D&D campaign. specifically in the voice of Tiamat to a victim of hers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOSY2BSNCZc

anybody know of a way to do that so that it sounds threatening and not cheesy?

shadzar
2009-06-30, 03:53 PM
Download the video. Use audio software to open the video as audio only. Cut out the parts of the audio track you don't want.

Use the audio editing tools to alter the pitch, octave, volume and tempop of the track to give a more Tiamat feel for you.

Save new audio in your preferred format.

Play during the game.

TSED
2009-06-30, 03:59 PM
Instead of downloading the video, get ahold of the actual song.

YouTube videos are not in very high quality, and you'll save yourself work with the cropping anyways.

Magicus
2009-06-30, 04:00 PM
I've got to admit, I'm a big fan of this tactic myself. I often draw ideas for my games from songs, so quoting a bit of the lyrics in-game. In fact, this Friday I plan to employ a bit of "Arthur Macbride" while I'm playing a couple of recruitment officers trying to drum my players into service. Two things I think help greatly in this endeavor, though, are:
1. Hope your players aren't familiar with the song. When they hear something they've never heard before, it can really help set the mood, but having them recognize "Oh hey, that's from [insert song x]" breaks the illusion.
2. I find that it's easiest to recite the lines yourself, in whatever voice you've chosen for the NPC in question. That way, you can change the diction from sounding like a song to something more natural for speech. Perhaps your players might not even recognize that it comes from a song, and give you kudos for your amazing NPC dialog. :smalltongue:

Mystic Muse
2009-06-30, 04:09 PM
Download the video. Use audio software to open the video as audio only. Cut out the parts of the audio track you don't want.

Use the audio editing tools to alter the pitch, octave, volume and tempop of the track to give a more Tiamat feel for you.

Save new audio in your preferred format.

Play during the game.

um this isn't really the point. the point is to use it as dialogue (although I guess I could do what you're suggesting) and make it so it doesn't sound so cheesy.

and don't worry. I'm almost positive none of them have played silent hill 4 the room.

shadzar
2009-06-30, 04:14 PM
:smallredface: Oh, you wanted something to say yourself so the words are more important that an audio bite...

Sorry, didn't listen to it so don't really know what would be cheesy about it then to need to change to fit Tiamat.

I was thinking audio file since you linked to a video on BoobTube.

What are the words that need de-cheese-ing?

huttj509
2009-06-30, 04:30 PM
Hmmm, apparently it's from silent hill 4 (can't find if it's original for the game or used from elsewhere for it). That would explain why it seems perfectly crafted to send chills down my spine. The slow music, deep percussion, breathy ethereal tone to the voice, and lyrics that don't quite match the tone I'd expect from just the music all combine to a very nice psychological unnerving.

As to how to use it, it depends on if you want to use the music, or just the lyrics. If just the lyrics, you might want to take them, but basically rewrite it while keeping the same idea, as the lyrics without the music lose MUCH of their impact.


You lie, silent there before me.
Your tears, they mean nothing to me,
The wind howling at the window,
The love you never gave,
I give to you,
Really don't deserve it,
But now, there's nothing you can do.
So sleep, in your only memory
Of me, my dearest mother...

Here's a lullaby to close your eyes.
[Goodbye]
It was always you that I despised.
I don't feel enough for you to cry, [oh no]
Here's a lullaby to close your eyes,
[Goodbye],
[Goodbye],
[Goodbye],
[Goodbye].

I think that in order to have the effect I think you're looking for you'd need to actually have Tiamat sing it, softly and sweetly, to the helpless victim. Unfortunately, depending on your gender and singing voice at the least this could require a shift in tone from your normal gaming setup (depends on how willing the players are to sit there listening), and at worst it would unnerve your players for...um...the wrong reasons (not infrequent issue when male DMs try to roleplay female NPCs).

Okay, thinking about it, wouldn't need to be sung, but perhaps just said at a slow soft pace, as if you were singing it but without the tone. The 'cinematic' feel to it might be a significant change from the normal pace of your games though.

Mystic Muse
2009-06-30, 08:05 PM
yeah. I've noticed it really only works with the song being sung. and I can't throw my voice to sound like a girl pretty much at all. also the cheesy sounding part is the "lullaby" otherwise it's not too bad.

now. I can use an audio file but there's one slight problem. who would Tiamat's mother be?:smallconfused:

Zaq
2009-06-30, 08:18 PM
now. I can use an audio file but there's one slight problem. who would Tiamat's mother be?:smallconfused:

Who says the gods don't have mothers? Heironeous and Hextor are half-brothers via their mother, after all. Just because none of the D&D pantheon other than The Brothers H have explicit familial relationship doesn't mean it can't happen.

Maybe she ascended to Overdeity and has been rendered alien and incomprehensible (and thus ignored) to mortals. Maybe she's another deity you never happened to mention. Maybe Tiamat is speaking from the perspective of her children (awkward, but doable... and Tiamat is certainly renowned for creating spawn). Maybe she's the primal forces of, um, dragonism. Maybe she's Io (who is usually addressed as male, granted, but yeah).

Plenty of options, really.

Mystic Muse
2009-06-30, 08:31 PM
okay thanks. I COULD say that Io is actually female (since he's the one who supposedly created Bahamut and Tiamat) or I could use one of your many Ideas. thank you. my campaign will go much smoother now.

P.S. what's the best method for getting audio files from youtube?

shadzar
2009-06-30, 08:43 PM
P.S. what's the best method for getting audio files from youtube?

Since you are taking audio from a movie clip from a game... that might not be something allowed to discuss here.

I will just say there are some freeware programs out there that can take only the audio from video files and they just throw away the video portion and leave you with something you can save in various audio formats even the lame* MP3 format.

* :smallwink::smallwink: