Musicians of Ravensburg: a sound for every place

First of all, I received Musicians of Ravensburg for free for evaluation purposes. A few days ago we talked about this Kickstarter project in an article that accurately described the product and offer of Darkraven Games. Now instead we will give you a more precise idea of the contents thanks to the material granted exclusively to No Dice Unrolled.

An empire of sounds

Just to do a quick review, Musicians of Ravensburg is a collection of music to be used as a background for your role-playing sessions (or any other activity that needs ambient background music).

The offer proposed by Darkraven Games is truly wide. We are talking about 16 hours of sounds and music, to which, depending on the chosen pledge, 8 hours of Cthulhu and Fantasy Orc Zombie Assault (two other projects by Darkraven Games) and 26 hours of Vivat Imperium (a collection of 50 locations relating to a hypothetical imperial city) can be added. In this sense Musicians of Ravensburg stands as an expansion of the Vivat Imperium project, adding 9 other locations. Finally, the highest pledge level comes up with 18 projects and a total of more than 100 hours of reproducible background music.

For the purpose of this review, we will focus on both the Musicians of Ravensburg clips, collected in a video on the project’s Kickstarter page, and on other examples taken from collections sent to us by Darkraven Games.

A delicate variable

Playing a soundtrack during role-playing sessions is a very personal choice of each master, which derives from a whole series of tastes and conditions.

This review starts from my preferences. In my opinion, a good soundtrack must:

• Be easy to prepare and with a quick reference archive.
• Have audio files of a duration that does not have to be managed every few minutes nor be perceived too repetitive if set in a continuous loop.
• Listen to a constant volume that can be heard without annoying.
• Have enough variety and versatility to be used in almost any situation so as not to go from engaging musical moments to complete silence.

Let’s see specifically how the product has proven itself!

What do the Musicians of Ravensburg play?

Let’s start from the heart of the offer, that is Musicians of Ravensburg. In the video below there are 8 minutes of preview offering 9 different music. There are music taken from previous products (Lady Farlane, The Baggamuffins, The Wild Geese) and a whole new strand, The Troubadours of Duke Wencilvas. The latter group of music is made with lutes, Celtic harps and other instruments appropriate to the setting. The songs are then offered in different contexts: noble feasts, taverns, banquets, fairs. Each context corresponds to a different background. You can judge for yourself through the video.

Personally, I was very impressed. The audio quality is excellent, the timbre of the instruments performs very well and the backgrounds are credible and appropriate. If you want to find a defect every now and then you hear some repeated noise and in some situations the background raises the tone a little and risks disturbing a little. But in reality you cannot expect 45 minutes of completely different sounds. Furthermore, the tracks in which the volume of the background noise is more heterogeneous are all related to chaotic and festive locations; in them the interpretation of the characters should lead to raise the tone. In practice, the defect becomes an advantage.

My advice is to listen with headphones and eyes closed. By eliminating the sounds “of our world” and experiencing suggestions, the effect sought by Musicians of Ravensburg is perfectly centered. If, even in the midst of concentration, you can think of sitting at the counter of an inn, you can be sure that the effect during a session is assured, especially if supported by hardware up to par.

From a qualitative point of view, one cannot but compliment. There is quality, there are excellent songs and a lot of realism. Unfortunately there are only 9 locations, quite varied but just up to a certain point. Is the offer worth the price? In my opinion, yes, but let’s consider another aspect.

Expanding the horizon of Darkraven Games

Sometimes a good sound is underestimated. Films without an immersive soundtrack and sound design would go nowhere. Role-playing is certainly not a movie, but music can be very important. I think of kitchens with dishes still in the sink or associations that have bare rooms, certainly the place where to play does not facilitate identification. Or on the contrary I think of the gaming rooms, with dedicated tables, special furniture, when everything is perfect except the silence or the wrong sounds in the background.

In this perspective, a good sound sector can make the difference. Of course, 9 locations are not enough. It should be considered a greater expense, but Darkraven Games offers a library of sounds, settings and music of respect.

You may prefer to invest in 5 manuals to play the subclass of the alternative variant race or try 5 different games and systems per year. Or, especially when you have a beautiful campaign of a game that fully satisfies, you can invest in making each session even more suggestive.

It is a personal choice dictated, as I said before, by many factors. To help understand how valid the choice to privilege the sound aspect can be, here are some examples taken from old projects by Darkraven Games, always available in various pledges. They are 15 seconds long samples with the fade out effect.

These are just a few simple examples from a library of immense possibilities. The setting files last from 15 to 45 minutes. Then there are different sounds, which require more attention to be used, but which are worth mentioning.

Musicians of Ravensburg: a harmonious offer

In conclusion? Compared to the parameters that I had given myself, Musicians of Ravensburg and in general the whole portion of the library sent to me by Darkraven Games have passed the test brilliantly. The audio quality in production and recording is excellent and the volume management is wise. The duration of the tracks and the variety of songs and situations makes the product very long-lived.

Obviously the more you spend the more it is worth it, so you need to evaluate well what you need and how and how much you can take advantage of the investment. Never as in this case the judgment is subjective. My advice is not to underestimate the value of music in sessions. After that, if you intend to invest in it, the Darkraven Games offer is certainly one of the best on the market.

Keep following us to stay informed on background music such as those of Musicians of Ravensburg!