>I was wondering if it would be considered against policy if I were to take existing songs, rearrange lyrics to make them fit within Elanthian standards?


It would really depend on the song, the extent of the alteration, and the crowd. Personally, I don't like it, but I was once chastised as a player for holding that view.

I can absolutely say that presenting something like this as your own work would get you disqualified from the contests that I have run. And this happens at least once every single time I host a contest.

~Vanah

I think Galenok's suggestions are a great way to approach this.

-- Robert

I happen to love writing ballads, stories, and poems but if you want to start simple why not try muse. Build you confidence and before you know it, you'll be performing epics!


~*~ She conquers, who endures ~*~

While I don't believe any modern day songs have a place in a medieval setting...

I don't see why you couldn't use a song as a point of reference for time-meter and chorus/verse placement and then put your own lyrics in.

Also, the thesaurus is your friend if you need help finding words that rhyme and have particular meaning.

GM Marstreforn

I'm not sure I understand the point of the last post in this folder and I can only hope it was a jest.

However. In light of that post I am going to make a very generalized statement about the contents of this thread so far.

We, as GMs, are always seeking to ensure that the game remains up to par with the setting of a medieval fantasy environment.

Using a modern song is obviously not up to par with those standards and usually it is a fellow player that has an issue with using something like this in the game and REPORTS it. (And sometimes we see these reports from multiple players.)

Problem is. Once it has been done, it was done. And we can't erase the mistake made by the player. All we can do it make sure they are informed not to do it again.

We have rules against "Disrupting" the gave environment for a reason. (ie: Policy 3)

In the end. What's wrong with being a little creative? Why plagiarize something and bring it into a setting where it is not only unwelcome but greatly frowned upon by a number of your fellow players and staff alike.

GM Marstreforn
(Just say No to plagiarism.)

If you're going to copy someone to some degree go get something, well, medieval. Go translate o fortuna for some ideas, for example.

I wasn't planning on having the songs be modern in the sense that they would have OOG references in them or anything. Time-meter doesn't have as much to do with it, since one can't actually hear the music being played, it can only be inferred from the style of play (which is loose already). Replacing the verses and chorus completely would have me run up against the wall of not having decent skill in song smithing (and many of my favorites don't always rhyme)

What I was aiming for would be to use the skeleton of a song that I like, something that inspires me and fill in Elanthian details where necessary. References to RL cultures and whatnot would obviously have to be changed.

Thornbrook mentioned how bards in stories would come and sing or tell stories that everyone knew, and to some extent, I have considered this approach as well. I work at the Ren faire in my area, and many different bands, singers, minstrels, etc play the same folk songs, in their own styles. This would connect with what Rathboner said, although I didn't recognize the first verse as Abba until I read the summary of why it shouldn't be allowed.

Overall, I wouldn't be passing these things off as my own, the only place I could really do that would be in Events where original content is requested; and seeing as I don't really do well in that area, I more than likely will not be competing at such events.

If something like this would be a serious issue, I can just not sing all together, but I'd rather have a shot at putting stuff together to make my rp with this character a little more fun, as it's the first time playing a bard for me.
~S

>I was referring to the syllable counts per line, etc. - Transformer

Scansion would be the word you're looking for there.

>If something like this would be a serious issue, I can just not sing all together, but I'd rather have a shot at putting stuff together to make my rp with this character a little more fun, as it's the first time playing a bard for me. - SANN

I'd never discourage the player of a bard from working on performance, and I have no problem with adaptation and transposition from terrestrial sources. I've even done it myself, albeit taking the source as a very broad inspiration for a very loose adaptation. I would, however, advise against using any recognizable 20th and 21st century culture as source material for Elanthian barding. No matter how many words you change, someone is going to recognize the source and get yanked out of Elanthia by the reference.

Fortunately, there's an almost limitless range of source material available from the history of English writing that is appropriate to the genre and period. Plus, doing the research to find it is loads of fun. (If you're a nerd. Which, well, you play GemStone. Nuff said.)

Dave, Brandain's Bard

Just sing "Fast, fast, fast, Lord Tonis" and they won't complain.

Ahh gotcha

Well thank you, I'm glad that the responses were varied enough to give me some more to think about.

I will do my best to keep things as IG as possible and change references enough so that other people don't get the feeling they are watching MTV or something, haha.

~S