71 réponses à ce sujet

[Corker]

You write a little dwarven rap and suddenly you think you gotta have a Creations thread...

Hallbera, a dwarven epic of the First Blight in the style of Beowulf
An ogre threatens the city of Hormak
Hallbera comes to Hormak and is taunted by a deshyr
Hallbera fights the ogre
Hallbera and her men are honored with feasting and gifts
Hallbera defeats a broodmother and receives a warning
Hallbera kills the Archdemon but it does not die; the death of Hallbera

Fun Stuff

An Ode in Appreciation of the Dwarven Form, by Ser Micchalotti di Antiva
The Nug in the Rug, by Paragon Seuss
Dust Town Poetry Slam, by Jarvia
I Wanna Leave the Tower, by Enchanter William Joel
Act 1, Scene 3 of The Warden's Play (MacBeth parody)

Holiday Rip-Offs

The Twelve Days of Wintersend 
Good Chantry Men
O Little Town of Denerim

*wink wink nudge nudge*

Real Old Time Religion, Dalish verses (on the kmeme, NSFW)
The Mage Came Back
There was an Antivan assassin...
How Many Can Fit in a Longboat?
Long Story, That   Podcast
Have You Ever Licked a Lampost?   Podcast
Tail Wind Blowing (on the vulgar side)
When Cold Winter Wind Gusts Do Blow (another limerick)
A Quick Study

Love
A Sonnet for Isabela - what it says on the tin.
The Journey Home: Another Zevran love poem for the prompt "Lost."  Podcast by tklivory.
Come and Dance with Me (Under the Moon) - 80s power ballad.  Podcast by tklivory.
Closer to My Heart, by Lady Aeducan - Country and Western   Podcast
Who Am I? A Leiliana song from DAO: The Musical
Looking Forward  A love poem from Zevran to the Warden

War Music

March Beneath the Moon  - Irish fight song
You Know What They Say About Dwarves - nothing good, when you think one's gulling the king

Teh Drama
NEW - Follow the String: A Merrill song from DA2: The Musical
Dwarves Don't Dream: From the Dwarf Commoner Prologue to DAO: The Musical
Failure - An Aveline song from DA2: The Musical
The Demon of Redcliffe - a traditional English ballad
Betrayal - Kelly Clarkson-style angst-pop

The Ballad of the Hero of Ferelden (work in progress)
- A collection of ballad verses; pick and choose to create your song

Human Noble and City Elf Origins
Dwarf Commoner and Dwarf Noble Origins
Dalish Elf and Magi Origins
Ostagar
Dog Recruit, Lothering, Leiliana and Sten Recruit
Depart Lothering, Brecelian Forest, Werewolf Recruit
Dalish Recruit
Loghain's Scheme and Zevran Recruit/Kill
Alistair's Birthright, The Fight for Redcliffe
Enter Redcliffe Castle, Kill Connor, Enlist Mages' Assistance
Save Connor with Mages/Blood Magic, Bridge to Sacred Ashes
Urn of Sacred Ashes, Arl Eamon Is Cured

Modifié par Corker, 05 avril 2013 - 07:03 .

[Corker]

It started with this:

An Ode in Appreciation of the Dwarven Form
Ser Micchalotta di Antiva

Prologue:

Antivan Single Ladies

Maker's breath.
Rebecca, observe her bottom.
It is so big.
She looks like a dwarven noble's mistress.
I cannot account for dwarvish tastes.
They only speak to her because
she looks like a noble hunter (as they term it).
Her bottom, it is just so big
I cannot believe it is so round, it protrudes
It is utterly unseemly.
She is such a dwarf.

The Ode

I like dwarf girls and I can not lie
You gentlemen cannot deny
And when a lass walks in with a tiny slender waist
Her round hips shaking with such fine grace
You take notice

Oh fair ones,
When it comes to ladies
I abjure the common fashion
36-24-36
Only if she's 4'10"

Modifié par Corker, 15 juin 2010 - 02:02 .

[Corker]

We'll pretend "Dust Town Girl" didn't happen, because it's 95% the same as the Billy Joel original and that's just lame.

Next, Soignee needed some virtual cookies to tempt her into writing.  In honor of her PC Missa's Dwarf Commoner background, and her forum posts that paint a Dust Town that's strongly reminiscient of black urban America, I wanted to do something like rap.  Because I can, I thought I'd show how that meter (anapestic tetrameter, for the record) can be tied to Lore.

Paragon Seuss is official.  "Fried Mush and Nug" mixes anapestic feet with iambs, but some of Seuss's other work is much more strongly anapestic:

The Nug in the Rug

The lava was dark, it was too cold to play
So we sat in the house all that cold, cold dark day

I sat there with Dworkin.  We sat there, we two
And I said, "How I wish we had something to do!"

Too cold to go out and too dark to play ball
So we sat in the house and we stared at the wall

And then something went THUMP!
How that THUMP made us JUMP!

We looked! And we saw him! He stepped on our slug!
We looked!  And we saw him! The Nug in the Rug!
"Why do you sit there?" he asked with a shrug.
"I know it is cold and the lava's not runny
But we can have lots of good fun that is funny!"

Modifié par Corker, 15 juin 2010 - 02:22 .

[Corker]

So, that done, I moved on to the actual poem.

I am given to understand that rap started as a voice of angry protest against the poverty and violence of the inner cities, and was only later taken over by the 'gangstas' who used it to glorify their lifestyle.  But we have such a nice gangsta in Origins, so I thought she should get her turn at the poetry slam.

The meter's not bang-on but it reads well in my head.  "Blue" is a very unimaginative non-canon slang term for lyrium.

Dust Town Poetry Slam

My gloves are made of drakeskin and my knife is of red steel
I'm not your common duster, man, this is the real deal
You come onto my turf and you know  I'll take you down
Ain't no one as big as me in all of sodding Dust Town
You gotta be tough if you're gonna deal in Blue
I got to where I am by screwing over all of you
So when I say bend over, you bend over and you take it
Jarvia's my name, remember if you want to make it

Modifié par Corker, 15 juin 2010 - 06:41 .

[Corker]

And finally, since Soignee's canon PC is in a Zevran romance:

There was an Antivan assassin
Who thought he'd go Grey Warden-stabbin
"Hey, he's kind of hot"
The Grey Warden thought
And now in her tent they are thrashin

Modifié par Corker, 15 juin 2010 - 02:25 .

[Corker]

Well, the positive response my doggerel engendered was... surprising.  But very gratifying!  Being as susceptible to flattery as the next person, I decided to keep at it and open this thread here. 

This is a song, as yet without a tune, such as one might sing while returning to one's ship after a most intriguing visit to the Pearl in Denerim.

How Many Can Fit in a Longboat?

How many can fit in a longboat?
There's plenty of room for one.
But I'll not get too far
By the light of the stars
Since sailing alone isn't fun.

How many can fit in a longboat?
There's plenty of room for two.
You're a sweet little thing
To come sailing in spring
But I think we can take on more crew.

How many can fit in a longboat?
There's plenty of room for three.
Red hair and fine eyes
Your bard's quite a prize
But I'll not set out yet for the sea

How many can fit in a longboat?
There's plenty of room for four.
We'll take on the Crow
For he knows how to row
Now we're ready to sail from the shore.

Modifié par Corker, 15 juin 2010 - 02:33 .

[TanithAeyrs]

Thanks for sharing Corker, these are great.

[Corker]

• Morrigan: I imagine you have already composed a suitable ballad to commemorate the events at Redcliffe, Leliana?
• Leliana: Why would I do such a thing?
• Morrigan: You have taken up your instruments once again, have you not? So to speak. A bard takes events of great import and puts them to tale.
• Leliana: What happened at Redcliffe was horrible! So many people died, and they were violated by unimaginable evil forces.
• Morrigan: That was not so difficult, was it? You may wish to add music however.

Morrigan's spot-on here.  Open a collection of English ballads to a random page and you'll probably find someone being stabbed, poisoned, hanged or drowned in the deep salt sea.  In fact, I would hazard a guess that a ballad of Redcliffe would be even more gruesome than actual events.  (Added bonus: It conflicts with everyone's playthrough equally that way!)

Trivia bit: Ballads are written in 8-6-8-6 stanzas.  Many hymns, including "Amazing Grace," conform to this pattern, (and so does the theme to "Gilligan's Island").  So the following can be sung to any traditional ballad tune (or "Amazing Grace," or the theme to "Gilligan's Island.")  "Mary Hamilton" works pretty well.

The Demon of Redcliffe

It was all in the summer time
When pretty birds do fly
The Arl of Redcliffe took to bed
So sick that he would die

"Mother, oh Mother," his son cried out
"I've met a lady fair
She says she knows a mighty spell
And Father's life she'll spare."

"Oh where, oh where," his mother asked
"Oh where'd you meet this maid?
On hill, in field, in valley green
Or in some wooded glade?"

"No hill, nor field, nor valley green
Nor in no wooded glade
She came to me in Land of Dreams
I met her in the Fade."

"Alas, alas," his mother cried
"Alas and woe for thee
Tis not a maiden you have met
But demon that you've set free."

"Alas, alas," his mother cried
"Alas and woe for me
I kept you here, my own mage-son
I did not this foresee."

She's taken up her wee pen-knife
Her wee pen-knife so sharp
And how she cried and how she cried
She stabbed him in the heart

"What news, what news?" the Arl he said
He asked when he was cured
"I've been so sick this summer time
There is no news I've heard."

"Our son is dead," his wife she said
"I killed him while you slept
A demon took his mind from him."
The Arl lay down and wept.

The Arl has taken up his sword
And pinned her to the wall
He cried out and called so loud
They heard throughout the hall

"My wife is dead, my son is gone
There is no more for me
On Calenhad set me a ship
And let my soul fly free"

"On Calenhad set me a ship
And light our fun'ral pyre
My son, my wife and I myself
Are going to the fire."

Modifié par Corker, 16 juin 2010 - 11:07 .

[Corker]

You're welcome, Tanith!

[Corker]

Leiliana: I have been setting down, in ink, the tales of our exploits...

So here's a fun project: Leiliana writes the ballad of your playthrough.  No no, not mine: yours.

Ballad verses are nice little self-contained units.  It's perfectly possible to write a few to cover:

Each Origin
A stanza for each Companion
The major possible outcomes for each recruitment quest
The possible endings for the Landsmeet
The possible endings for the battle of Denerim
A nod to each possible romance

You pick and choose which stanzas fit your playthrough, arrange them in the correct order and bang! insta-ballad.  I'll be careful not to use any gendered words where they'll take a rhyme, so you can switch out "his" for "hers" or "lass" for "lad."  Mostly, I'll do what Bioware does and call you "the Warden," but I think I can manage to get your name in at your Origin, at least.  Just don't have more than four syllables in your first name. 

This will also be the Leiliana-approved version for public release.  It assumes you kept Leiliana in your party for the whole quest.  If you defiled the Ashes and intimidated her into staying with you, she's not going to bring that up.  Dark Ritual? What Dark Ritual?  And there's just no way Morrigan is going to come off as a sympathetic character.  Even if your love for each other was as pure and dark as an obsidian mirror, you know Leiliana's going to turn her into an evil enchantress.

Never annoy bards, for our memories are long and your name scans to "Greensleeves."

[Corker]

On Names

I'm leaving three syllables of song for first names, assuming the second syllable is the stressed one. If your name doesn't fit that model, here's how to game it.

Single syllable, e.g., "Drake Cousland"  - Pick out a single syllable adjective that you like: young, strong, fair.  Stick it in front of your name.  Drop the very first note of the line (it's a pickup, it'll be easy).  YOUNG drake COUSland

Two syllables, e.g., "Robert Cousland" - Same as above, only you'll be singing the adjective on the first (weak) note. young RObert COUSland.

Three syllables, stress in the middle, e.g., "Sebastian Cousland" - just insert name here.  seBASTian COUSland

Three syllables, stress on first syllable, e.g., "Lorelai Brosca" - Use the two syllable technique and scrunch up the two accented syllables to fit into one note.  fair LOR(elai) BROSca

Four syllables, stress on third syllable, e.g., "Orianna Cousland" - You're going to scrunch up the first two syllables to fit into one note-space and sing as a regular three syllable name. (ori)ANna COUSland

Five or more syllables or stress on final syllable: I can only do so much, people.  Just push it til it fits (Zevran said).

"Amell" is going to give me fits and I'll deal with that when I get to it.

[Corker]

Human Noble Origin

The Couslands marched to Ostagar
To serve their rightful king
The Arl of fair Amaranthine
Foul treachery did bring

(YourNameHere) Cousland, in the keep
Fought with her mother dear
They found her father nearly dead
As Howe's men drew more near

"Now give to me your youngest one,"
Grey Warden Duncan said
"And I will take her far from here"
To Ostagar they've fled.

City Elf Origin

The elves who live in Denerim
Were singing all with joy
Who knew that hate this wedding
Would very soon destroy?

The arl's own son came in that day
And stole away the bride
The men that he had with him
Took all the maids besides

The (bride/groom) has gone and killed him
They say that she will hang
But voice of Warden Duncan
Through Alienage rang

"(YourNameHere) Tabris will come with me,"
Grey Warden Duncan said
"At Ostagar, we've need of men
She's more use there than dead."

[soignee]

ilu, Corker.

+12 soignee points

[Corker]

soignee points!  Oh boy!

Just for that...

Dwarf Commoner Origin

The stalwart dwarven kingdom old
It is called Orzammar
So deep below the Frostback peaks
Where gems and iron are

In Dust Town bred, an angry lad
A fighter tough and strong
He won a royal Proving fight
But nobles said twas wrong

"No casteless in a Proving fight,"
The noble deshyrs said.
"You mock our proud traditions, brand
For this, you will be dead."

"You'll give me (YourName)* Brosca,"
The Warden Duncan said.
"To surface lands and exile
I'll take him there instead."

*Sorry, Broscas.  I could only fit in two syllables for your name.  Three syllables, you'll have to do that folk music thing and jam it in as best you can.

Dwarf Noble Origin

The stalwart dwarven kingdom old
It is called Orzammar
So deep below the Frostback peaks
Where gems and iron are

The line of true Aeducan kings
A tragedy befell
The middle sib, he killed the first / (YourNameHere) killed the eldest prince
Or so the youngest tells

Kinslayer (Name) was branded then / Kinslayer he was branded then
And sent to Deep Roads dark
"A shame - it seems a wasted life,"
Grey Warden scout remarks

So Warden Duncan found him there
In Deep Roads dark and vile
And to the surface they have gone
For life in long exile.

If you have a one or maybe two syllable name, I'd use the first of the alternate lines presented.  Longer names, use the second.

Modifié par Corker, 16 juin 2010 - 04:49 .

[Corker]

Dalish Elf Origin

In forest glens, the Dalish roam
While hid from human eyes
Their aravels drift o'er the land
All under open skies

The forests darker secrets hold
Between their roots and leaves
Two elves an ancient evil woke
Their Keeper groans and grieves.

"Young Tamlen lost, Mahariel, / "Young Tamlen lost, my (YourNameHere),
And you are fallen sick
I have no art to cure this taint
Your dying will come quick."

"I offer aid," Grey Warden said
"This sickenss I can cure
But with me he must come away
And ride with you no more."

Magi Origin

The tower that the mages have
That rises to the sky
Corruption felt in every stone
As subtle as a sigh

(YourNameHere), a new-made mage
Soon learned to her dismay
That power's tempting siren call
Can lead true friends astray

Blood magic's a foul weapon
Its use the templars bring
To help one all unknowing
Is still a deadly thing

"I need a new Grey Warden mage
To stand against the Blight.
Or Aeonar?" old Duncan asked
"I think you'd rather fight."

Modifié par Corker, 18 juin 2010 - 11:43 .

[Corker]

Ostagar

And so they went to Ostagar
To face the darkspawn horde
A Warden charge, the army flanks -
So Loghain gave his word

To light the signal beacon
The new recruit was sent
Brave Alistair to guard her back
To Ishtal's Tow'r went

But darkspawn had all tunneled in
The stench, it filled the air
But fighting hard, they came at last
To light that beacon there

The light shone out and Loghain turned
He's turned and he has run
The Wardens and fair Cailan, king
Abandoned and undone

The general has left the field
And darkspawn run it o'er
Up high in tower, Wardens fall
And think to live no more

They wake out in the Wilds
Were rescued from their plight
By ancient witch named Flemeth
To go and stop the Blight

Ferelden's only Wardens
Cannot deny that call
So take up arms and armor
Although their force is small

So to it add another
Flemeth's only child
Called Morrigan, a darksome girl
A young Witch of the Wilds

Modifié par Corker, 21 juin 2010 - 03:30 .

[Corker]

Dog Recruit - Cousland

Young Cousland's stout mabari hound
Gone missing for a while
Rejoined his master merrily
And Cousland widely smiled.

Dog Recruit - Other

Upon the road, they met a dog
Mabari, loyal hound
It fought the darkspawn at their side
And now they're Loth'ring bound

Lothering

And when they came to Lothering
They found to their surprise
That Loghain's spreading slander
The vilest sort of lies

Grey Wardens led the king to death
That night at Ostagar
Grey Wardens may be killed on sight
As wanted traitors are

Leiliana Recruit

In tavern by the river
A Chantry sister fair
Told them the Maker blessed her
In answer to her prayer

The Maker urged her onwards
The Wardens to assist
They took her in their party
Her aid they did enlist

Sten Recruit

A sullen grey-faced giant
Was standing in a cage
As punishment for murders foul
Committed in a rage

"Redemption lies in service,"
The young Grey Warden said.
"You come with me to end the Blight,
To fight and die instead."

The giant slowly nodded yes
And left his iron pen
To follow that Grey Warden true
He said his name was Sten

[Corker]

Depart Lothering

So they left poor Lothering
Abandoned to the Blight
To assemble promised armies
The darkspawn for to fight

Brecelian Forest

To dark Brecelian Forest
They traveled with all haste
They went to seek the Dalish
Their aravels they chased

And when they found the Dalish
They heard the dire news
The werewolf's curse beset the clan
To help they must refuse

So Warden goes to seek the cure
The heart of Witherfang
A great white wolf in forest old
His howls through darkness rang

In ancient fallen ruins
A forest spirit dwells
A tale of rage and vengeance
The forest spirit tells

Werewolf Recruit

So long ago, the Dalish elves
Called down an evil curse
To punish wayward humans
But it's done that, and worse

The curse has only lingered
Unjustly it has spread
The werewolves ask for justice
To strike the Dalish dead

The curse was of blood magic
That foul forbidden art
Andraste's holy justice
Tore Dalish camp apart

In gratitude the werewolves
They offered solemn vow
Those men all trapped in curséd forms
Would fight with Warden now

(Again with this being the version of things that might be sung for a general audience, and its goal is to make the Warden look a hero.  So the Dalish have to look evil in the werewolf recruitment condition.)

Modifié par Corker, 22 juin 2010 - 12:17 .

[Corker]

So, my brain noticed that "Templar Carrol" and "Sean O'Farrel" have the same cadence and this fell out.  To the tune of "The Rising of the Moon," obviously.

"Oh then tell me, Templar Carrol, tell me why you hurry so."
"Hush Commander, hush and listen," and his cheeks were all aglow
"I bear orders from the Warden get you ready quick and soon
For the templars must be marching by the rising of the moon"

By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
For the templars must be marching by the rising of the moon.

Down beside the singing river, a dark mass of beasts was seen
Among the werewolves howling was a spirit that was green
Bark once more for signal token, snarl up a marching tune
We race for Denerim beneath the rising of the moon

By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
We race for Denerim beneath the rising of the moon

Out of many a mud-walled cabin, eyes were watching through the night
As Redcliffe's men all mustered to go forth against the Blight
They  marched out as light was dawning, they made Lothering by noon
They saw Fort Drakon's spire by the rising of the moon

By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
They saw Fort Drakon's spire by the rising of the moon

Oh they fought for poor old Orz'mar and full bitter was their fate
On Anvil laid and hammered as Branka golems new creates
Yet thank Stone e'en still are beating hearts that lyrium stills soon
A golem army marches at the rising of the moon


By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
A golem army marches at the rising of the moon

Modifié par Corker, 23 juin 2010 - 12:27 .

[Corker]

Dalish Recruit - Curse Lifted

So long ago, the Dalish elves
Called down an evil curse
To punish wayward humans
But it's done that, and worse

The curse has only lingered
Unjustly it has spread
The werewolves ask for parley
A cure for all instead

The elven Keeper Zathrian
Has to the ruins come
And though it was the death of him
The curse he's now undone

The werewolves now are mortal men
The Dalish are made well
With Warden's army they will fight
With arrow and with spell.

Dalish Recruit - Werewolves Killed

"I will stand with Dalish elves,"
Grey Warden loud proclaimed
"Begone you forest spirit foul!"
And Witherfang she's slain.

The heart returned to Zathrian
The Dalish are made well
With Warden's army they will fight
With arrow and with spell.

Modifié par Corker, 24 juin 2010 - 11:41 .

[soignee]

See I imagine this with your character holding a harp and singing this all, bard style. And that's a happy image



Templar Carrol is kind of melanchony, really, considering the choices made in the ballad.

[Corker]

Yeah, I don't know what was up with that. I guess once I had the templar army marching, I just went down the line and grabbed all the 'dark' armies. (You just know Connor got killed in that song's universe...)

[Corker]

Loghain's Scheme

To Denerim, Loghain has gone
And makes himself as king
The Wardens' chance survival, then,
As news his lackey brings

In Denerim, the regent's man
His name was Rendon Howe
Proposes that to kill this threat
The Crown employ a Crow

Zevran Recruit or Kill

The assassin's gone to meet them
Our daring Warden pair
An ambush he has set for them
The Wardens must beware!

The Crow, he's failed to kill them there
And bargains for his life
The Warden hears this offer made
But answers with her knife / And stays her hand on knife  [killed / recruited]

Modifié par Corker, 24 juin 2010 - 04:17 .

[Corker]

Zevran: (when searching the tree stump of the mad hermit) "Ha! Let's see... When was the last time I slipped my hand into some dark hole? Hmmm... Long story, that."


Long Story, That
[i]Podcast!

It was an odd job for Antivan assassins
No killing or poisons or politics, no
But a lady has misplaced her favorite bauble
To help her reclaim it, she's hired a Crow

"What's wrong?" asked the Crow, an elf very handsome
"Why are you crying with such grief and woe?"
"I've lost my bright bauble, a ball made of silver
It slipped from my grasp and is stuck down a hole."

"It is a dear plaything and gives me much pleasure
A gift from my husband and I love it so
He would be upset if he knew that I lost it
Discretion from Crows I can count on, I know."

"I'll show you the place where the bauble went missing
A glade with a stream whose clear waters run slow
The ball has got stuck there all up in the wellspring
And will not be loosened despite how it flows."

The wellspring was narrow, his hand barely fit there
The ball, it kept slipping up, back, to and fro
At long last, he caught it and carefully brought it
To his employer, success for to show

"Oh yes!" she then cried, "You've got it, you've found it!"
She took it from him with her face all aglow
"If I lose it again, you be sure that I'll call you
For service discrete there is none like a Crow."

Modifié par Corker, 01 juillet 2010 - 11:08 .

[tmp7704]

On the scale of awesome, this rates a full Duncan beard.