Ronnie James Dio

In case you didn't know: Ronnie James Dio, died of stomach cancer on the morning of 5-16-10...

I heard of his death this morning. I always knew of Dio's song Holy Diver, but a couple of years ago I really got into RJD's music. His epic lyrics and belting vocals made him a big influence for me in the last couple of years. For me early heavy metal bands like the kind that Ronnie James Dio was apart of (Black Sabbath, Dio, Elf, Rainbow) really drove home the imagery and pageantry of metal fantasy. They defined the leap toward the fantastic land of the gods and devils that drove me to play this game. I'm not going to say that my life is going to be different now that Dio is gone. I didn't know him, I just really liked his music.

For me the importance of his death for me is that each time someone like Dio or Frazzeta falls off our little planet I feel like a little of the original artistic spark and magic that drew me into this game goes with them. It won't go all at once, it will be like a long tide, leaving behind it nothing but dust.

Rock on Dio... you will be missed!

They say that lifes a carousel

Spinning fast, youve got to ride it well

The world is full of kings and queens

Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams

Its heaven and hell, oh well

And they'll tell you black is really white

The moon is just the sun at night

And when you walk in golden halls

You get to keep the gold that falls

Its heaven and hell, oh no!

Heaven and Hell - Ronnie James Dio and Black Sabbath

Music while RPG'ing and the Hellraiser Soundtrack

I've never been one to find and select music specifically designed for specific adventure sessions, but during playing tabletop games it sometimes makes sense to play some music that matches the mood of the game. I think it helps to keep the players engaged a bit.

I used to play the Braveheart Soundtrack (or Celtic instrumental albums) during a lot of my outdoor games. For dungeon environments I used to put in the Broken album by NIN, or some other crazy industrial or metal album whatever the guys brought with them.

For some reason a ritual was created by my players in my 2nd edition Forgotten Realms campaign. Whenever they went into the "Undermountain" dungeon below the streets of Waterdeep they decided to play the Hellraiser soundtrack. I think it might have had something to do with traps, wandering monsters, and TPK's???