By using the lyrics of Iron Maiden's "Dance of Death," we help guide you through the process of creating a bard character that is horrified of dancing. The bard that doesn't dance -- how did that happen, anyway? Read on to find out.
Fans of our level design series probably recall the first of the From Lyrics to Levels column (where we taught you how to create a steampunk level by listening to the lyrics of a song); this is the same concept, but instead uses song lyrics to create and embellish a living character in a typical fantasy setting. We will use the lyrics to build on a personality, profession, character interactions, and essential background for use in a fantasy game -- this column can be used for tabletop games, writing, or video games with equal success. It's all about how you want to interpret the music!
In spirit of punctuality (there are entire books on the basics), I've created a basic template for any video game character; the more you know about your character, the more you will be able to write specifically slanted to his or her personality (and if it's a tabletop game, roleplay as the character). Let's get started on the lyrics!
We first must decide on the "essentials" of our character, those typically include (broken down in the same order below): heroic archetype (or class, i.e., ranger, fighter), personality and race, . Here's what I interpreted from the lyrics:
Let me tell you a story to chill the bones / about a thing that I saw / One night wandering in the everglades / I'd one drink, but no more.
Bard. I am instantly told that this character is a bard -- he's telling us a story about some sort of quest or intriguing encounter in his past; he also reveals that he drinks socially, and is typically fitting of a bard persona.
I was rambling, enjoying the bright moonlight, / gazing up at the stars / Not aware of a presence so near to me, / watching my every move.
Our troubadour enjoys nature and the calmness of an evening alone. He finds the moonlight appealing, and probably performs most of his 'questionable jobs' during this time (of course, a bard views them as -- to quote Mal -- "perfectly legitimate business enterprises." He is so taken in by his surroundings, as a bard would be for storytelling purposes, that he failed to notice another life-form nearby. For this reason, I deduce the following:
Persona: Enjoys travel by moonlight, prefers to perform and 'quest' during the night hours. Particularly loves nature (he has mentioned the bright moonlight, the stars, and the everglades in only two stanzas).
Race: His rambling is typical of a bard in general, but for purposes defined in the next few stanzas, this character will be either a halfling, gnome, or kender (a short, skittish guy that enjoys a drink).
Feeling scared, I fell to my knees / as something rushed me from the trees / Took me to an unholy place / and that is where I fell from grace.
This re-enforces the halfling choice; speaking strictly to the stereotypes, a dwarf wouldn't feel scared from an assailant, an elf would not admit it in song, and a human probably wouldn't admit it in order to save face, so to speak. You can break these stereotypes if you like (and are encouraged to, it often yields better characters), but for purposes of this short article and my preferences, I do love the short guys. He feels scared and failed his willpower-related save, which gives me the following:
Persona: This character typically recruits others to travel along his side when on a journey; he doesn't like being alone (at least, not since the incident described herein) because he is merely a storyteller (if you're GMing / designing the game, this is a good time to learn about adding fear to games).
Background: The character has just begun telling us about his encounter with some sort of undead or unholy representation. You could use this as a location to imbue your game with mythology for extra flavor. The next stanza will present more of a background.
Then they summoned me over to join in with them / to the dance of the dead / Into the circle of fire I followed them, / into the middle I was led.As if time had stopped still, I was numb with fear / But still, I wanted to go / And the blaze of the fire did no hurt upon me / As I walked unto the coals.
This one is entirely background-oriented.
Background: The character perhaps reveals some of his reasoning for being fearful -- the one time he was alone in the night, this happened. A score of undead brought him into a 'circle of fire,' where he experienced no pain when walking through it. He's in another world (which you could flesh out with our Open World Design article).
And I felt I was in a trance / And my spirit was lifted from me / And if only someone had the chance / To witness what happened to me!And I danced and I pranced and I sang with them / All had death in their eyes / Lifeless figures -- they were undead, all of them / They had ascended from hell.
This is the most important location in the song. We're being set up by the band to continue into the remainder of the piece (the tempo picks up hereafter), and from a character design perspective, we are given the final glimpse into these events before the importance of them overtakes our singer.
Being a bard-like hero, this character has likely been doubted by those who listen because of the 'modifications' writers are inclined to make in order to 'spice up' a story. In fact, let's pretend for a moment that this is a song the character sings in-game: do we believe him? As another character in the game, is it likely that this scrawny halfling -- merely a lute-player -- survived an encounter with the creatures of hell? From this we can deduce:
Persona: Spices up stories if necessary to allure an audience and, of course, convince them to leave more tips in his hat. In fact, it is likely that a bard would imbue such a song with an enthrall or entrance type of spell in order to obtain more listeners and tips. He's a storyteller, and that inherently makes him a great liar. Boost his persuasion, charisma, and whatever else is related in your game system. The bard feels like someone should have been there to witness what happened because, as has occurred in the past, he wants to have someone to back him up and say "yeah, it really happened." This means our bard gives off an impression of being overly flavorful in his stories, making other heroes somewhat suspicious of him (whether or not they should be).
Background: We are given an important story for the bard's history. He can claim that he has 'been to hell and back' (even if the creatures actually came from hell to him). Whether or not this is merely a story, the bard might act as if it actually happened, which is just as good as being background.
We're going to skip a stanza for purposes of this article, I apologize to any Iron Maiden fans out there.
Until the time came to re-unite us both, / my spirit came back down to me / I didn't know if I was alive or dead / as the others all joined in with me.
By luck then a skirmish started / And took the attention away from me / When they took their gaze from me was the moment that I fled.
I ran like hell, faster than the wind / But behind I did not glance / One thing that I did not dare / was to look just straight ahead.
Spells & Skills: Our character either uses his stealth skill, a spell, or pure dumb luck (which is a fantastic background trait, by the way) to escape his ill fate. He is either 'just plain fast' (dexterity/agility) or uses a spell to hasten his escape (Spirit of the Wolf, Haste).
Persona: He is likely a dirty fighter, using any means to create an unfair fight when matched up against larger opponents. Our bard doesn't like close encounters, but he's likely skilled at dominating the will of opponents (when they have a brain, that is).
Background: Our character isn't afraid to admit that he ran away from an army of undead minions -- but previous lyrics in the song would reveal that he might not be so willing to admit running from, say, a single bandit. He's grandiose in gestures and storytelling, and embellishes any of his tales with more monsters, minions, and bigger baddies if it juices up a story.
Let's finish this up.
When you know that your time has come around / You know you'll be prepared for it / Say your last goodbyes to everyone / Drink, and say a prayer for it [...]To this day I guess I'll never know / Just why they let me go / But I'll never go dancing no more / 'Til I dance with the dead.
This is another incredibly important part of our character's personality.
Background: He's the "bard that doesn't dance." It's outrageous! How could a bard -- a master of music -- not dance? Does he not know how? Is he injured? Was a spell cast upon him? These are some speculations from party members and tavern-goers, but he knows that, for a fact, he is terrified of dancing due to his experience with death. He doesn't want to unduly summon those that released him to his life by performing some sort of insane ritual.
You always need a trait that is uncharacteristic of a stereotype for main characters (it's not nearly as important for supporting roles, of course). A dwarf that doesn't drink, a bard that doesn't dance, a fighter that wears a cooking pot for a helmet, a dragonborn that burns his food to a crisp prior to consuming it, a halfling that is petrified of the darkness, and so forth. Hopefully this post has helped you figure out how you can manipulate lyrics into the background of a rich character! Stick around for more of these design articles!
-Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke
Dancing skeletons image source.
Bard image source.