What do you do if you're going to watch a scary movie? You turn down the lights. Similarly, you might find that you can help the Dungeons & Dragons players get in the right frame of mind for the game by using lighting, backdrops, and background music to create the right atmosphere.

If you want to convey an atmosphere of mystery, fear, and suspense, consider keeping the lights low around the gaming table. Don't make it so dark that the players can't see what's written on their character sheets or read the results of their die rolls, but other than that, darker is usually better.

Quiet background music is a powerful tool for imagination, especially if it's appropriate for the current tempo of your game. The following genres of music make good background or mood music for D&D games:

• Movie soundtracks: Most soundtracks don't have much singing that might distract your listeners with lyrics, and they're created specifically for the purpose of evoking emotion at appropriate moments. Horror, fantasy, and science fiction movie soundtracks usually fit the mood for D&D adventures.
• Game soundtracks: A small number of game soundtracks are available. They have the virtue of being created specifically for the purpose of providing background music for D&D games or other roleplaying games, but your mileage may vary.
• Classical music, classic rock, or heavy metal: These types of music can work for the game if you find the right piece or the right artist and album. But watch out for music that contains distracting lyrics.

Don't be afraid to save background music for specific game events, especially combat encounters. If you've got a pounding, heroic battle-theme playing when you'd really rather have an atmosphere of lurking dread, your music is getting in the way of imagination. Above all, don't get so caught up in fiddling with the music that your attention is on the stereo instead of the players. If you're going to use background music, cue it up on the stereo before the players arrive so that all you have to do is push a button to get the selection you're after.