Sadness, At Last
Added 2020-11-11 14:59:03 +0000 UTCY'all have been asking for a while for some genuinely sad and emotional music, and I think I've finally got something with genuine melancholy. A well-executed sad moment in an RPG can be a really satisfying gut-punch! The death of a PC, death of an NPC, a failed mission, a battle lost. Hell, even recognizing a betrayal can be a pretty noteworthy blow. As long as you can manage your players' emotions in real life, there's nothing wrong with some well-executed loss to raise the stakes.
For those truly heart-breaking moments, try playing "To Long and to Lose." My goal with this track was to offer just a glimmer of hopefulness, only to inevitably crush it down. A little bit of emotional ambiguity gives way to genuine despair around the 1:21. To me, this is perfect for TTRPG sessions. So many instances of genuine sadness in a campaign are immediately preceded by the party exploring their options. "Can we cast revivify? Do we know someone with a Wish spell? Maybe we can just fudge the rolls?" Eventually, truth sets in, and you've got to revel in the anguish.
Let me know about a particularly sad moment you've had in a campaign that really resonated with the party. And when you're done feeling sorry for yourself, head on over to the Artist Tier post to get a rocking new version of "Shelter at Last!"
