Musical Inspiration Challenge Part 7: The Theme of the Dungeon

Pirate Song by Alestorm

Pirates seem easy at first, but given the other developments we’ve had, I’m actually wracking my brain a bit with this one.

Well, onto the lyrics.

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Though you see me now, the mere ghost of a man,
I once had the heart of a lion.
Commanding my ship, between many a shore,
The ol' Jolly Roger a-flyin'.
Mine was a name that put fear into men,
And regret into plenty o' lasses.
Lo, how I wish I could take back those days,
As I stare at these empty beer glasses.

I think of the times past when I had it all,
I toyed with men's wives and their daughters.
And in my pursuit of this ill-gotten wealth,
I stabbed and I slashed and I slaughtered.

And for what? (HEY! )
The men that I've fought,
Are matched by the number of women I've bought.

And for what? (HEY! )
I've killed and I've shot,
And reddened the cold tears of children with blood.

And if I could go back and make my amends,
I'd make all those mistakes again.
And kill every last one of those bastards, my friend!

My ship was the last sight that many would see,
As we narrowed the gap with our quarry.
Sound of the cannons and splintering wood,
Did herald our pass into glory.
We seized all the bounty and scuppered the ship,
Our hearts hadn't time for no wounded.
I took my share and the crew got the rest,
And on into port we did bound it.

Life has many pleasures and we had our fill,
Of food and of wenches and beer.
When we tired of the port or had drunken it dry,
The time to set sail had come near.

And for what? (HEY! )
We heed no law,
The other man suffers so we can have more.

And for what? (HEY! )
We lived every day,
The noose of the hangman a hairsbreadth away.

And if I could go back and make my amends,
I'd make all those mistakes again.
And kill every last one of those bastards, my friend!

Oh, I have seen wonders you never have dreamed,
And taken my fair share I must say.
Holds full of booty I happily seized,
From crews who would not see a new day.
Spanish gold came and went, and gemstones were sold,
And I knew more lay on the horizon.
Yet the beer was too good, and gals were too sweet,
And now in my old age, it's gone.

These memories were bought with the lives of good men,
A price that I paid without scruple.
So many so suffered so I could get drunk,
And swagger from brothel to brothel.

Now for what? (HEY! )
It's been many years,
The screams of the vanquished still ring in my ears.

But for what? (HEY! )
I've blood on my hands,
I wait for my place in the halls of the damned.

And if I could go back and make my amends,
I'd make all those mistakes again.
I'D KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THOSE BASTARDS, MY FRIENDS!

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This song actually has a nice counterpoint to the set-up of regrets and pain that seem to be motivating our villain and seem to be driving the aim of the villain’s plot.

As I stated though, the purpose of this category is to give us what the dungeon is, and in that, I think it helps considerably.

The song appears to be about an old washed up pirate working in a dive as what’s essentially a waiter, or drunk off of his ass in a corner thinking of old glories and the terrible things he had to do to earn them.

Now, I personally like to approach dungeons like characters. This is because players spend arguably more time with them then they do with given antagonists or bad guys on account of the fact that the players interact with the dungeon a lot more. Dungeons as adventure-sites have personalities.

So, looking at our prior decisions (well my prior decisions) we have our nostalgia driven villain who is attempting to co-opt the home haunts of the heroes as a ground point to try to recreate the world that they have lost.

Into this, let’s say we have a captured fortress or stronghold, previously under the control of a league of smugglers or pirates, who commanded the nearby area, and who inflicted pain and suffering on them. Maybe this is why our Hellknights showed up in the first place? To remove these brigands and then they squatted there, their leader driven by the treasures and booty they had to begin the undertaking of changing the local township into their own lost homeland.  The pirates, one of whom may still survive, have no regrets for what they did. The Hellknights are made of regret.

And thus, their stronghold does not lightly serve them. This allows for shortcomings, difficulties and the like. The Knights can be perceived as highly competent but using the pirate’s strong hold has left huge holes in their defenses which PCs (or Monsters) have snuck in through. Perhaps the old pirate captain is indeed a washed up slob down in the town, and resists the Hellknights and presents an ally (and a person who knows the ins and outs of his old strong hold) the PCs can use. Not because he regrets what he did and wants to make right, but because the Hellknights, like his dishonest crew, are wasting his hard earned booty on high minded nonsensical bull when he could be using it to drink himself to death.

The idea of a pirate themed dungeon (tankards, ropes, and the like) also has a fun element in that the place will be designed for lightly armored brigands who rely on agility and subterfuge. Placing it in the hands of heavily armored, straight forward LE and LN armored fellows and fiends, means the players can subconsciously see that this facility isn’t really the Hellknight’s, but is something they’re squatting in and inexpertly trying to twist to their purposes.

Just like the town.