April 26, 2024: Character Playlists

One of my favorite aspects of TTRPGs is character creation. I freely admit to being one of those players that puts a lot of effort into developing characters with detailed backstories and fleshed-out personalities. Part of that process is creating character playlists – a soundtrack that can stay static or evolve as the campaign goes on. They're a bit like the mixtapes I used to make for friends (remember those?) and feature songs whose tone or lyrics fit the overall mood of the person I'm playing at the table.

 

I thought that character playlists were a particular quirk of mine, born from my love of music and inspired by my admiration for film composers. But as it turns out, I'm far from the only person who uses music to help them get to the heart of their tabletop hero. As I've become involved in more virtual tabletop games, I've learned that many of my friends have playlists dedicated to their characters and create them for the same reasons I do – to help explore their creation's inner life, to aid in discerning an overall tone, and to provide a cinema-style soundtrack for them in between gaming sessions. It makes me wonder how many other TTRPG enthusiasts are out there doing the same thing. I love to your thoughts on our forum!

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