I wrote this up for the other thread someone had on dancing.

"I was playing Fallout:New Vegas and came across The Lonesome Drifter. He had a pretty sweet guitar which to my dismay I couldn't equip and play. I came up with a way that could work in that game and in TES.

You equip you'r musical instrument or what have you and hold down the attack button to have you'r character play. Pressing up on the d-pad for the Xbox 360 changed ammo but for this it would change songs. Dancing would work in much the same way. It would have been a great touch.

It would make even more sense for a bard character in TES to have such an ability. It could change the disposition of NPC's, making them like you or affecting their moods making them happier, sadder, angry or braver."

If anyone else has anything to add go for it. Playing a real bard for a change would rock.

That sounds great actually. There was a lute in Oblivion that I don't think served any purpose other than another trash item. It'd be awesome to actually play music, and that sounds like a really cool way to attempt to raise the dispositions of surrounding NPCs. I'd like to see it happen.

Anything that would allow your character to do actions other than "kill" always improve an RPG. At some point, choosing whether you kill with a melee weapon, magic, or ranged is not enough. Most First Person Shooters have that kind of depth.

An equipable or functional lute or small harp would be great. Especially if it could raise or lower dispositions depending on how well your playing was received. Would come in EXTREMELY handy when you need to gain some favor, but your bribery sack of coins is empty.

Also, it would be great for NPC ambience, if you entered a tavern, and you'd see at night let's say, an NPC walk up to the bar and start singing a ballad or saga for the masses. That kind of interaction or feeling would really add to the play, especially if it can be worked into a quest where the saga or ballad contains necessary clues to your quest.

Like the idea of being able to play set songs that sound different and have different effects on people. But I also love the idea of being able to free style and make you'r own music for fun and maybe more.

It would be great to have lutes, lyres, gambols, penny whistles, viols, hurdy-gurdies...

Not so much for the player, but I'd love to see storytellers in taverns, too, telling tales similar to Beowulf, the Nibelungenlied, the Volsung saga, the Eddas, etc.

Then there was the one in Morrowind that was an easter egg, the Fat Lute. ("phat loot")

I heard lute and thought, "Wonderboy".

But, really, I totally agree. Wandering around the highways and byways of Skyrim, playing an instrument and letting your dragon troubles drift away? Hell yes.

of course, there were also bells in morrowind

I read in another post about a Bard's College, so perhaps there is something, although at this point, I don't know if gameplay would be involved.

finally give a real reason to use to speechcraft :whistling:

Why can't we have the D-Pad (XBox) or Number Keys (PC) play different notes and then use the anolog stick (XBox) or something else (PC) to change pitch? That'll be cool, making up your own songs.

There's a bard college in Northern Solitude...

And half-way through a song i can dragon shout the listener and take over his house :shocking:

Doesn't two world 2 have a musical activity where you can actually buy sheets of music and play different instruments?

Haha, I got a couple letters from them. A llama mascot? How cool is that?!

Ultima Underworld had playable flutes and mandolin/lutes which you could (in a fashion) play by using the number keys while equipped. I believe at least one quest in UW2 required you to play a tune on a flute, so it wasn't entirely useless.

Otherwise, you played when you got bored or lost. It was awesome.

It would be cool if Bethesda introduced playable musical instruments like that, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Doesn't the Craftybits mod (Or something like that) for Oblivion include a playable Lute? You'd play a variety of notes on the lute by tapping the corresponding keys on the number pad, and depending on where you set up people would come and listen to your songs. If you did well, they would even toss money into your basket. It was pretty cool, aside from the fact that the Oblivion NPCs had horrible tastes in music and hated me when I actually did a good job and vice versa.

Lord of the Rings Online (and probably other MMOs as well) also has playable instruments. I remember coming across people in taverns and such, playing the medieval counterparts to modern songs. It took a fair bit of time to master though, and was ultimately useless beyond the Oooohs and Aaaahs of fellow gamers.

I agree and with the jobs in Skyrim and perks this may be possible. Perk being something like "Bard's Way" where you can play a lute and other instruments the only thing I disagree with is that you should have to do something other then just sit there and press up to change a song/dance. Oh and does anyone know if you can gamble in Skyrim?

Great idea!!

It wouldn't have to be anything complex(musically), just enough to give a bard style of character a little distinction and proper use of their trade.

Beyond affecting 'friendly NPCs' disposition towards your character, you could put down the dagger or shortsword when in battle with an enraged frost troll and pull out your lute, lulling the savage beast into submission with a soothing tune. :celebration:

Yeah it does but it is kind of hard to play in that game

One can only hope we can gamble. I'm not a big fan of bards but I thought Lute Intro + Dragonshout = Black Metal Fighting Style so what the hell.

I agree completely.


Haha, I can totally see that. :biggrin:

I'm all for playable instruments. Musicians could add a lot to the atmosphere, even if you weren't necessarily one yourself.