Why Music & Sound Effects Matter in My Games
For me, using sound at the table is simply an easy trick for immersion. It doesn’t need much preparation, but it changes everything: it gives the session a more cinematic feel without any extra effort. It’s also a great way to surprise players and keep them interested, especially with sound effects.
A soft ambience helps players focus.
A tense track pushes the action forward.
A quick, well-timed sound effect makes a moment feel sharper and more real.
I use sound to set the emotional tone of a scene, guide the rhythm naturally, surprise players, and make key moments stand out.
Soundsnap for Sound Effects
For sound effects, I use Soundsnap, and it’s the only tool I need. It’s fast, simple, and perfect when I want to trigger sounds live during a session.
I create one project per session, or one project per group of sounds when that makes more sense. This keeps everything organized and easy to reach.
During the game, I just open the project and play sounds directly from the website. It’s also much snappier than uploading sounds to Notion, which always adds a small delay when you try to play them. With Soundsnap, a door creaks or a monster roars exactly when I want it to—no lag.
Spotify for Music Playlists
For music, I use Spotify.
Most of the time, I rely on playlists created by Brian Davis, who is simply the GOAT when it comes to TTRPG music. He has playlists for encounters, landscapes, moods, tension, exploration, boss fights… basically every situation you can think of. With his work alone, I can cover most moments without much preparation.
In parallel, I also choose a soundtrack for each campaign, and a full album for each character. These albums give me ready-made themes for most moments and emotional beats, so I always have something that fits the scene.
This combination—Brian Davis for flexibility, campaign/character albums for identity—keeps my sessions consistent with almost no effort.