I make it a point to have my computer play a custom built soundtrack of sorts during play. (I make it a point to avoid songs with lyrics because they interfere with game play)
Do any of you do the same for your game? If so, and if you have a CD you really love, list it here, would you? :-)
Thanks,
- Warcry
My Music list for campaign:
13th Warrior (good overall)
House of Flying Daggers (excellent for combat)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (good overall)
Hero (some good, some not so good)
Last of the Mohicans (an alltime fave)
Lord of the Rings 1-3 (good all around, but specific for theme)
Conan the Barbarian (alltime combat fave)
Xena, Warrior Princess (surprisingly good)
Immortal Memory, Lisa Gerrard (good temple tunes)
Aion, Lisa Gerrard (good temple tunes)
Master and Commander (ARR! Pirate tunes matey!)
Pirates of the Carribian (ARR! Pirate tunes matey!)
Alexander the Great (not bad overall)
Kodo, Traditional Japanese Drums (OMG! Combat Fave!)
The Village (overall quiet but good)
Lorenna Mckennit, various albums (good tavern tunes)
Enya, various albums (good tavern/vocals)
Dances with Wolves (good overall)
Kitaro, various albums (some songs not bad, some too loud)
Classical, various artists/albums (often too traditional)
Kaki King (excellent guitarist, almost no lyrics)
Wow, quite the extensive list. I think I'll hit the used CD bins to see if I can find some of those titles.
My buddy Lane likes to play the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Would it be too contrived to say I like the official D&D soundtrack?
Thanks again for the playlist!
- Chris Shadowens
Y'know, I visited my random boxes of crap in storage today and while my box of CDs was stolen (in the break-in of X-Mas '04) I did come across my Star Wars Trilogy boxed set (released in '93, i bought it in '95 according to the receipt I found in the box.) While it's from a sci-fi storyline I think the thematic quality of John Williams' music can always lend a good mood to the gaming table. Sure, the Cantina songs are a bit *too* specific but those are only two songs...oh yea, and the song Sy Snootles sings as well as that cursed Ewok celebration tune. So four songs over 4 CDs, not bad overall (though my stereo only holds 3 CDs.)
- Chris Shadowens
I just found some great resources in computer role playing games.
Not only do they have some good music but they also have some cool ambient sounds like a working blacksmith's shop, a lively tavern, a town square, a sewer with water dripping, etc.
Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind have some great .wav files to use in your campaigns.
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Hawkwind's Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975) and Chronicle of the Black Sword (1985) are based on thematic elements from Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series of novels, in particular the Elric stories. They make great background music and Michael Moorcock's prose in Warrior spawned a Spelljammer campaign that did find the Edge of Time. Check them out!
I've been gaming or running games since '78 and music has always been a major part of the 'ambiance' at our table. I even used to lug a dozen or so LPs to the houses of friends, along with all those books and dice. When I'd cue up a deep crescendo, the crew's faces would tighten with dread, and anticipation. Heroes lived and died to the music...
Over the years I've built a collection of over 100 film score LPs and over 250 soundtrack CDs, now supplemented with legal downloads available from sites such as music4games.net, fileshack.com and others. When running a Traveller campaign in the 1980s-early 90s, one of my players and I recorded a 'campaign soundtrack' of cues from the collection, complete with liner notes. It filled fourteen 90-minute cassettes, and was topped off at the end by three 'best of' CDs with full labeling and cover art-and this was in 1994!
Now I'm running the Age of Worms AP and looking for suitable cues for that 'writhing' feel-I was never much into horror films but I think I'll be using some of this type of music.
In general, if you haven't tried these film scores in your game, I highly recommend them:
Fantasy:
The Sword and the Sorceror (old school fantasy film)
Krull (more of the same, by James Horner)
Merlin (very atmospheric)
Cutthroat Island (the best modern swashbuckling soundtrack)
Lord of the Rings (1978 animated film-with orcish chorus!)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes
(Sounds just like LotR 1978, above)
The Warlord (short but sweet-gotta love that bell...)
The Vikings (Must-have for any Norse/barbarian campaign)
Ivanhoe (typical chivalric score from 1950s)
Ben-Hur ('Row well, and live!'-great naval battle cue)
Godzilla (score)(with orchestra and metallic highlights)
First Blood (great for those woodland stalkings)
Lionheart (great score by Goldsmith)
The 9th Gate (Very eerie, good for an evil cult)
Dracula (Wojciech Kilar)(A favorite horror score)
Red Dawn (interesting work by 'Conan' composer Poleduris)
Robin and Marian (very mild, but flavorful score)
Robin Hood (Costner's film version)
Spartacus (The battle score is a must!)
Timeline (Both versions, Tyler and Goldsmith, are very good)
Tombstone (Not as western as you'd think, very strong themes)
Willow (More old school)
Chronicles of Riddick (New, and heavy, but not bad)
Onimusha II/III (From ADV films.com-good and atmospheric)
Icewind Dale I/II (excellent fantasy music)
Baldur's Gate I/II (The classic fantasy game scores)
The Rock (strong main theme-we used it for 'Night Below' D&D campaign in the mid-1990s)
Reign of Fire (Good work by new composer Shearmur)
Sleepy Hollow (Danny Elfman's fine period piece)
Alexander Nevsky (Russian, with battle sound effects and good thematic melodies)
First Knight (good main theme)
Iron Monkey (as good as newer asian film scores)
Rapa Nui (For Polynesian-flavor scenarios, none better!)
Hellboy (good mix of action and brooding suspense)
The Cell (sounds like Lord of the Rings trilogy-same composer)
The Wind and the Lion (Excellent for Al-Qadim setting)
The Name of the Rose (great and rare score from Connery film)
Ogniem i Mieczem (Polish-from the epic Sienkiewicz story)
Space Opera:
Aliens quadrilogy
(incl. Aliens vs. Predator)
Predator 2
Terminator trilogy
Total Recall
Battle Beyond the Stars
Battlestar Galactica (original version)
Escape from New York
Independence Day
Hitman 3:Contracts
Mission: Impossible (film)
Robocop
Starship Troopers I/II
Steamboy
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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Would it be too contrived to say I like the official D&D soundtrack?
I don't think so. I haven't heard it but if you like it cool. I was surprised and impressed by the music CD WotC included with the Sharn book. I've used it several times.
Also I like CD's with nature sounds and no music. I used to make extensive use of these to set the scene. I have a Thunderstorm CD I plan on using to begin my Shackled City Campaign. When they enter the Dungeon I'll probably switch to the Eberron CD.
My other game favorite is Holst: The Planets.
We experimented a lot with sound to RPG, sometimes with 800+ CD for one session, even making some music by ourselves. Here are my advice, give your villains and your characters themes like in a movie. Sometimes just the sound was enough to take my players on the edge. My players made tapes with songs that they thought would most likely represent their character. Between the songs they put quotation from movies. So if their was something special for this character we threw in the tape and he got his own 'theme'.
Here are some alltime favorites:
Star Wars (1-6) OST
ClockDVA Buried Dreams (the are experimenting with low sounds under 10hz, which causes fear. Never met a stereo that could produce these sounds, but it is creepy enough)
Angel Heart OST (for any horror scenario)
Alien (1-3) OST
Hack.Sign OST (irish/japanese pop mix)
Arabian Chill Out (the beats make the arabian sounds not so alien)
Ghost in the Shell OST (1-2, SAC, more Cyberpunk but usable for anything)
Metallica S/M (the blend of the orchestral music works really nice)
Koyaanisqatsi Phillip Glass OST (Superb for 'grand' description)
Fight Club OST (Has a certain 'drive')
Rachid Taha Made in Medina (algerian rock music for arabian fighting scenes)
Bach Toccata (a standard for Ravenloft)
Beethoven (5th & 9th standard)
Vivaldi (4 Seasons)
Qntal (Medieval songs with electronic beats)
Cowboy Bepop OST (Jazz space opera)
Matrix OST (1-3 the first one for action, the third for choir)
Buddha Bar 1-7 series (world music ambiente, very good but expensive)
Dead Man OST Neil Young (Only Guitar, organ, sounds and Johnny Depp reciting William Blake)
Apocalyptica (any, four celli playing metal music, combat score)
Alan Parsons Project Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Turn of a friendly card, Eve (Fantasy/Gothic horror themes)
The Pogues Best of 1+2 (Pub Brawl)
Princess Mononoke OST (nearly everything usable)
Massive Attack Mezzanine (Aggressive yet slowly building themes)
Lost Highway OST (nice disturbing songs)
Kama Sutra OST (for oriental with light indian music)
Escaflowne OST (nice choir, fantasy themes)
Oswald Mein Begehr und Wille (Drink Songs from Oswald from Wolkenstein a medieval bard)
The Mummy (composed by Jerry Goldsmith (same composer as 13th Warrior and made around the same year) some high-action music, some BBEG themes, some climactic encounter themes)
The Mummy Returns (composed by Alan Silvestri, more energized than The Mummy)
Van Helsing (composed by Alan Silvestri, similar feel as The Mummy Returns with classic horror elements)
Gods bless iTunes- I archive my playlists by theme (Horror, Medieval, High Fantasy etc). By jumping themes I can unobtrusively follow the mood for my game. I've picked up the standard music (howard shore and others), but here are a few pieces folks may find useful:
13th Warrior OST- absolutely classic
Flesh and Blood OST- Hard to find, but well worth it
Krull Complete OST- A two disc set of Classic Fantasy Themes
The Lord of the Ring OST- The Music from the animated Feature; subdued and good for travelling yet menacing at times
Robin Hood OST- The music from the Patrick Bergin/ Uma Thurman movie. Uses a lot of older instruments to give different experience
Clannad: Robin of Sherwood OST- a mixed bag, but very evocative for more arboreal, Celtic gaming
Merlin OST- The Sam Neil vehicle was indifferent, but had a great soundtrack
The Kairn of Koridwen- A piece composed for a celtic-based dance, but is very moody- good for mysterious and arcane locations
The Mummy OST- Not much more to be said on this- a classic
Earthsea OST_ A bit heavy on the ethnic Warblings made popular by Xena, but has a good sound for travel and epic adventure.
Alien3 OST- Perfect for Horror adventures, particularly with Abberations (of course)
I hear the Soundtrack to the War of the Ring PC game is excellent for general gaming- has anyone heard the complete piece?
I typically find one, non-obtrusive (but still thematically appropriate) track and put it on repeat until they come to a specific encounter/battle. Then I put a "battle track" on repeat until the combat ends. Then switch back to repeating the original track or another less exciting "theme" track.
What techniques do you use?
I've thought about doing this as well. I'm planning on using my laptop and piping it into the inputs of the stereo/radio. Some models come with an input for the red/white audio cords that can be bought with a headphone jack that is placed in the headphone slot of the PC. Or, I could just buy some speakers.
I'd set up an "ambient noise" playlist (using something like those nature soundtracks you can get at Wal-Mart) and repeat that. Once I'm ready for the battle, I'd select a "Battle Theme" playlist.
Although I haven't tried it, you could probably set up some kind of webpage that has a Submit button you can use for sound effects. Not sure if it would override the original Media player or not...
Todd
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My prefrence is Video game soundtracks, and orchestra selections. Here is a Taste of what I mean.
Castlevania Soundtracks:
Good for more than just Ravenloft settings!
Vampire Killer (Castlevania series main title theme)
Bloody Tears (the 2nd most repeated theme tune in the series)
-Orchestrated of course-
Conan the Destroyer & Barbarian Soundtracks:
The entire album screams D&D!
Kung Fu Hustle Soundtrack:
Perfect for some Monk action, or maybe even a Ninja.
Brahm Stoker's Dracula Soundrack:
Ravenloft setting, Oh yeah!
Stargate Soundtrack:
Some tracks can me very good for building to the mood of a scene as the adventure progresses.
Midnight Syndicate:
Gee they did all the tunes for the D&D background music back in the day. (First Quest etc.) They grew a lot since then. Perfect for adventure settings of any type.
Therion
Some vocals but not enough to distract.
Call of Dagon (Perfect for Cthullu settings)
Symphony of the Dead (insurmental track that is great for the grand finale! I find it amusing this track has been used on a few Castlevania soundtracks. Guess they see it too.)
Lord of the Rings Soundtracks:
1 Down side to these treasures, after 4 hrs of power gaming in the earli hours of the AM, it will put you straight to sleep, so skip to the battle themes! LOL
Seriously it's D&D and it's perfect, but some of the elven flair style themes are best left to the early hours of gaming, not the later hours.
Lineage II Soundtrack
Perfect. Of course most of my stuff i but from GMO.
*Game Music Online* For that hard to find sounstrack of your favorite game look it up and order it.
Lineage II has the theme and flavor of the dungeons as well as the city themes. Orc themes are perfect for battle.
Dwarf themes sound like a harvest Faire is going on.
Van Helsing Soundtrack:
Thank you Alan Silvanestri! You want action themes and great background tracks you'll find it here.
My Reccomendation... Shameless as it is.
Check out Overclocked Remixes on the web they have a lot of re-arranged tracks from your favorite video games, and some sound awesome. Ok Granted Zelda had some memorable tracks I reccomend Castlevania tracks to everyone.
Akira Ifukube Scores:
Yes the guy who did the Godzilla themes.
Come on, the majesty of a great wyrm is deserving of some giant monster track I reccomend King Ghidorah's theme. It really gives the players a little sweat on thier brow.
But for the most part I have hunted down a lot of those listed above and agreed with a lot of your selections. I think it's all about finding perfect music for certain adventures.
My players have a Greyhawk Mix, a Waterdeep Mix, and other settings and locales they frequesnt in the strat of many an adventure to warm them up into getting in charcater after a long week of work. if anyone would like a sampler email me i'd gladly burn you some of my selections. Being I own all of the cd's it's hardly a bootleg. LOL
I just let this run in the background.
http://www.radiorivendell.com/
The soundtrack from the video game Chrono Cross is also pretty cool for background.
--Fang
I'm noticing a pattern here. Everyone listens to movie soundtracks. Weird. To me D&D at it's heart is all about fighting huge unbelieveable monsters and killing them without mercy. Can anyone say metal. Just put on some Darkest Hour, Mastadon, Metallica (pre-black album), hell, even Iron Maiden. This is what decapatating a Great Red Wyrm sounds like.
If you must use soundtracks, loop this when inside a dungeon:
http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/nes/Zelda_I_-_Underworld_Them e.mid
One of my favorite things is to use soundscape-y type music (ambient music if you will). I really love Godspeed You Black Emperor for kind of apocalyptic type settings. Not to mention that Black Sabbath--Black Sabbath and Glenn Danzig--Black Aria are great for certain meeting the ultimate evil type situations.
But I use LOTR on repeat, as well as some wierd Fugazi albums, Conan albums (barbarian and destroyer..often overlooked, but great D&D music). Typically it depends on the mood. I also like Carmina Burana (sp?) as well as Duel of the Fates from Episode 1 for big combat situations. But if you try and do to much it can be intrusive.
Use your computer, set your playlists and go. Have good stuff on hand for critical situations.
Can anyone say metal. Just put on some Darkest Hour, Mastadon, Metallica (pre-black album), hell, even Iron Maiden. This is what decapatating a Great Red Wyrm sounds like.
If you must use soundtracks, loop this when inside a dungeon:
http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/nes/Zelda_I_-_Underworld_Them e.mid
I hear you metal is awesome. Bust some Samhein, Danzig, Black Sabbath at the right time and it's sweet.
That link you posted is dead. Too bad cause underworld Zelda 1 music would've been nice.
I use the group "Barrage"'s music as a backround, only downside are the lyrics which are sorta random, one song has another doesnt...
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Here's what I use currently. I play it quietly on my laptop during the session - I actually have it broken into three saved playlists (generic, unapproachable east, and battle) with shortcut icons on my desktop to 'switch moods'.
1. Jerry Goldsmith - Valhalla Viking Victory (10:39)
2. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 01 (2:28)
3. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 03 (4:19)
4. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 04 (4:41)
5. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 06 (3:05)
6. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 07 (3:30)
7. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 08 (4:04)
8. DND Music 1 - atmosphere 09 (4:11)
9. Michael Hoenig - Fighting For Survival (1:23)
10. Children of Dune - Inama Nushif (3:52)
11. Children of Dune - Child Emperor (1:18)
12. Children of Dune - Children of Dune (1:16)
13. Children of Dune - End Title (1:30)
14. Basil Pouledaris - Conan - Anvil of Crom (2:25)
15. Basil Poledouris - Atlantean Sword (3:51)
16. Basil Poledouris - Wifeing - Theme Of Love (2:11)
17. Basil Poledouris - The Tree Of Woe (3:33)
18. Basil Poledouris - Valeria Remembered (3:08)
19. Basil Poledouris - Crystal Palace (6:13)
20. Basil Poledouris - The Katta (1:05)
21. Conan the Destroyer - Night Bird (2:22)
22. Basil Poledouris - The Scrolls of Skelos (2:25)
23. Basil Poledouris - Dueling Wizards (1:27)
24. Basil Poledouris - Illusion's Lake (1:18)
25. David Arnold - A Touch Of Frost (1:52)
26. Dungeon Siege - Ice Bridge (1:27)
27. DND Music 1 - Dungeon 01 v2 (1:42)
28. DND Music 1 - dungeon 02 (2:32)
29. DND Music 1 - dungeon 03 (1:04)
30. DND Music 1 - dungeon 04 (1:10)
31. DND Music 1 - dungeon 05 (1:05)
32. Jeremy Soule - Temple of Tempus (1:48)
33. Jeremy Soule - 04 - Hrothgar's Temple (0:58)
34. Jeremy Soule - Kuldahar Theme (1:21)
35. Jeremy Soule - Kresselack's Lair (0:48)
36. Jeremy Soule - Severed Hand Interior (1:31)
37. Icewind Dale - The Mage Tower (0:56)
38. Jeremy Soule - Icewind Dale (Game) - Kuldahar (1:38)
39. Howard Shore - Helm's Deep (3:53)
40. Howard Shore - The Shadow of the Past (3:34)
41. Howard Shore - The Uruk-Hai (2:58)
42. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 08 - Evenstar.mp3
43. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 09 - The White Rider.mp3
44. Loreena McKennit - The Mists of Avalon.mp3
45. Mediaeval Baebes - Erthe upon Erthe.mp3
46. Medieval Iceland - The song of Fire and Ice.mp3
47. Medieval Total War - Euro Lose 1.wav
48. Medieval Total War - Euro Tension 1.wav
49. Medieval Total War - Euro Tension 2.wav
50. Medieval Total War - Euro Tension 3.wav
51. Medieval Total War - Frontend.wav
52. Midnight Syndicate - Vampyre Symphonies From The Crypt - 01 - Awakening.mp3
53. Philip Glass & The Kronos Quartet - Dr van Helsing & Dracula.mp3
54. Pirates of the Caribbean - 01 Fog Bound.mp3
55. 13th Warrior Soundtrack - Valhalla Viking Victory.mp3
56. atmosphere 01.mp3
57. atmosphere 03.mp3
58. atmosphere 04.mp3
59. atmosphere 06.mp3
60. atmosphere 07.mp3
61. atmosphere 08.mp3
62. atmosphere 09.mp3
63. Baldurs Gate - Michael Hoening - 30 - Fighting for Survival.mp3
64. Children of Dune - 08 - Inama Nushif.mp3
65. Children of Dune - 26 - Child Emperor.mp3
66. Children of Dune - 34 - Children of Dune.mp3
67. Children of Dune - 36 - End Title.mp3
68. Conan the Barbarian - Anvil of Crom.mp3
69. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 05 - Atlantean Sword.mp3
70. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 07 - Wifeing-Theme Of Love.mp3
71. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 10 - The Tree Of Woe.mp3
72. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 02 - Valeria Remembered.mp3
73. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 05 - Crystal Palace.mp3
74. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 06 - The Katta.mp3
75. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 08 - Night Bird.mp3
76. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 10 - The Scrolls of Skelos.mp3
77. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 11 - Dueling Wizards.mp3
78. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 12 - Illusion's Lake.mp3
79. Die Another Day Soundtrack - David Arnold - A Touch of Frost.mp3
80. Dungeon Siege - Ice Bridge.mp3
81. Dungeon 01 v2.mp3
82. dungeon 02.mp3
83. dungeon 03.mp3
84. dungeon 04.mp3
85. dungeon 05.mp3
86. Icewind Dale - 05 - Temple Of Tempus.mp3
87. Icewind Dale - Hrothgar's Temple.mp3
88. Icewind Dale - Jeremy Soule - 09 - Kuldahar Theme.mp3
89. Icewind Dale - Jeremy Soule - 14 Kresselack's Lair.mp3
90. Icewind Dale - Jeremy Soule - 21 Severed Hand Interior.mp3
91. Icewind Dale - Jeremy Soule - 22 - The Mage Tower.mp3
92. Jeremy Soule - Icewind Dale - Kuldahar Town A.mp3
93. Lord of the Rings - 12 - Helm's Deep.mp3
94. Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring - 03 - The Shadow of the Past.mp3
95. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 00 - The Uruk-Hai.mp3
96. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 08 - Evenstar.mp3
97. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 09 - The White Rider.mp3
98. Loreena McKennit - The Mists of Avalon.mp3
99. Mediaeval Baebes - Erthe upon Erthe.mp3
100. Medieval Iceland - The song of Fire and Ice.mp3
101. Medieval Total War - Euro Lose 1.wav
102. Medieval Total War - Euro Tension 1.wav
103. Medieval Total War - Euro Tension 2.wav
104. Medieval Total War - Euro Tension 3.wav
105. Medieval Total War - Frontend.wav
106. Midnight Syndicate - Vampyre Symphonies From The Crypt - 01 - Awakening.mp3
107. Philip Glass & The Kronos Quartet - Dr van Helsing & Dracula.mp3
108. Pirates of the Caribbean - 01 Fog Bound.mp3
109. Soundtracks - Children of Dune - 30 - The Ghola Duncan.mp3
110. Star Wars II - Jango Fett Theme.mp3
111. Stargate - David Arnold - 19 - Ra The Sun God.mp3
112. Stargate - David Arnold - 21 - Myth Faith Belief.mp3
113. tes4title.mp3
114. Van Helsing - Main Theme.mp3
115. Van Helsing - Trailer Music.mp3
116. Soundtracks - Children of Dune - 30 - The Ghola Duncan.mp3
117. Star Wars II - Jango Fett Theme.mp3
118. Stargate - David Arnold - 19 - Ra The Sun God.mp3
119. Stargate - David Arnold - 21 - Myth Faith Belief.mp3
120. tes4title.mp3
121. Van Helsing - Main Theme.mp3
122. Van Helsing - Trailer Music.mp3
123. Children of Dune - 19 - The Ring of Paul.mp3
124. Children of Dune - 16 - Trap the Worm.mp3
125. Children of Dune - 23 - My Skin is Not My Own.mp3
126. Children of Dune - 25 - The Golden Path.mp3
127. Children of Dune - 29 - The Desert Journey.mp3
128. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 00 - Mountain of Power Procession.mp3
129. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 04 - Wheel of Pain.mp3
130. Medieval Total War - Arab Battle 1.wav
131. Medieval Total War - Arab Battle 2.wav
132. Medieval Total War - Arab Battle 3.wav
133. Medieval Total War - Arab Lose 1.wav
134. Medieval Total War - Arab Mobilize 1.wav
135. Medieval Total War - Arab Mobilize 2.wav
136. Medieval Total War - Arab Mobilize 3.wav
137. Medieval Total War - Arab Strat Summer 1.wav
138. Medieval Total War - Arab Strat Summer 2.wav
139. Medieval Total War - Arab Strat Winter 1.wav
140. Medieval Total War - Arab Strat Winter 2.wav
141. Medieval Total War - Arab Tension 1.wav
142. Medieval Total War - Arab Tension 2.wav
143. Medieval Total War - Arab Tension 3.wav
144. Medieval Total War - Arab Win 1.wav
145. Mummy - 14 - The Mummy Main Theme.mp3
146. Mummy - Imhotep.mp3
147. Mummy Returns - Theme.mp3
148. Soundtracks - Children of Dune - 31 - Leto and Ghanima.mp3
149. Baldur's Gate - 30 - Fighting For Survival.mp3
150. Baldur's Gate II - Superior Battle.mp3
151. Baldurs Gate - Main Theme.mp3
152. Baldurs Gate - Michael Hoening - 13 - Swords-Against-Darkness.mp3
153. Baldurs Gate - Michael Hoening - The Last Battle.mp3
154. battle 01.mp3
155. battle 02.mp3
156. battle 03.mp3
157. battle 04.mp3
158. battle 05.mp3
159. battle 06.mp3
160. battle 07.mp3
161. battle 08.mp3
162. Children of Dune - 07 - Leto Atreides II.mp3
163. Children of Dune - 09 - War Begins.mp3
164. Children of Dune - 18 - The Jihad.mp3
165. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 00 - Gladiator Theme.mp3
166. Conan the Barbarian - Basil Poledouris - 14 - Battle of the Mounds.mp3
167. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 01 - Riders Of Taramis.mp3
168. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 04 - Elite Guard Attacks.mp3
169. Conan the Destroyer - Basil Poledouris - 13 - Battle Song.mp3
170. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 17 - Isengard Unleashed.mp3
171. Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers - 17 - The Dawn Battle Theodens Victory.mp3
172. Medieval Total War - Euro Battle 1.wav
173. Medieval Total War - Euro Battle 2.wav
174. Medieval Total War - Euro Battle 3.wav
175. Medieval Total War - Euro Mobilize 1.wav
176. Medieval Total War - Euro Mobilize 2.wav
177. Medieval Total War - Euro Mobilize 3.wav
178. Mummy - Jerry Goldsmith - 05 - Night Boarders.mp3
179. Pirates of the Caribbean - 06 - Walk The Plank.mp3
180. Pirates of the Caribbean - 07 - Barbossa is Hungry.mp3
181. Pirates of the Caribbean - Klaus Badelt - Swords Crossed.mp3
182. Soundtracks - Children of Dune - 11 - Rya Wolves.mp3
183. Star Wars I - Darth Maul's Theme.mp3
184. Undertaker - Druid Theme.mp3
185. Van Helsing - Alan Silvestri - 01 - Transylvania 1887.mp3
186. Van Helsing - Transylvanian Horses.mp3
Here are some of the tracks I like to use:
The Insider (Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke): LB in Montana, Faith, I'm Alone On This
Firefly OST (Greg Edmonson): The Funeral
Battlestar Galactica (Bear McCreay): Kobol's Last Gleaming
Black Aria (Glenn Danzig): All tracks
Also I sometimes pull tracks from Angel - Live Fast, Die Never, Mars Red Planet, Homeworld 2, The Mirror Pool (Lisa Gerrard), and I have a track entitled The Geometry of Shadows Part I from Tao Jones (don't know if it is B5 inspired or not, but I've never been able to find any others by the same artist)
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Hi everyone,
I am wondering how you got these titles:
Did you buy all the sound tracks of the above mentioned movies (didn't know that there is actually an official soundtrack for old movies like Ben Hur or Ivanhoe). Or do you record it right from TV?
If the latter is correct: how do you avoid movie noises (after all it is largely just back ground music in the movies, too)?
Greetings,
Günther
P.S.
So far my players had higher initiative: one of them played the Lords of the Rings cds. Of course that kind of back ground doesn't exactly help - I'd prefer to control which title is being played during a certain event in game.
When I have background music in games I prefer something generic which sets the atmosphere I want and don't bother with different tracks for different scenes, that is too much of a hassle.
I stay away from several soundtracks and classical music because I don't want the players to actually listen to the music. As the purpose of the music is not to fit to any particular scenes it is best if the players don't recognize the music they are hearing. So my preferences are more obscure classical pieces and actual historical music: for example Italian renaissance dances, Palestrina, English madrigals...
And of course the volume is so low that actively listening to it is hardly possible. It is a backdrop.
Interesting ambience to a session would be brought by putting on one of those 80's computer game themes on repeat...
Interesting ambience to a session would be brought by putting on one of those 80's computer game themes on repeat...
Imagine listening to the 'Gold Saucer' theme from Final Fantasy VII on repeat for an entire session... THAT would be inhuman...
Ultradan
I guess things like that would be great choice if you wanted to run a session of "let's kill everything that moves".
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Here are some of mine:
1) Last track from BLAIR WITCH PROJECT! Great for dungeons.
2) IN THE NURSERY (especially the albums KÖDA and STORMHORSE)
3) TANGERINE DREAM (the album PHAEDRA)
4) BIRDY (Soundtrack from Peter Gabriel!)
Check those out, you'll love them!!!
PS Oh, and the the NWN2 game has a lot of Ambient, Music and Sounds on the DVD which can be found in the folder of the game!
unfortunately, music is verboten at our gaming table, as it simply adds to the background chatter (and, boy, do the players chatter during the gaming session!)
Our group is a little strange in that we're running three campaigns at once. I'm in charge of the music for all of them though!
Usually, it's just something ambient and energetic for the exploration/interaction part. When something particularly big happens, like a battle or discovery of something cool, I'm asked to put something else on.
When we were exploring a large kua-toa canvern, the DM requested that we listend to John Zorn's duck calls. Zorn is a acid jazz guy who took duck lures and made all sorts of crazy noises with it. It's just squeaking, squaking, madness inducing noise. In the end, the duck calls became kua-toa noises we were hearing in the distances.
Another time, we found a crystal cave with a seemingly frozen waterfall. So I put on a couple of tracks from the Donnie Darko soundtrack becuase of the tinkly, pretty piano. Then, when we were transported to a fairie garden, I put on the Amelie soundtrack becuase it's happy and French!
Basically, it's whatever strikes us. I do the same for WOD.
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I've always used music during games. Some of my favourites include:
- Thergothon (really good for Call of Cthulhu)
- Kyuss (ironic)--has lyrics, but good anyway
- Coheed & Cambria/Shabutie (again-with lyrics, but really good)
- The Princess Mononoke OST
- Franz Liszt's 'Danse Macabre'
- The Morrowind and Oblivion soundtracks
- The Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2 soundtracks
- and of course, the Midnight Syndicate D&D soundtrack
Try it. I implore you.
- The Eldritch Mr. Shiny
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I forgot to post a few other good music sources that I use in my games:
- Creed (played at low volume; mostly because it sounds epic)
- A few tracks by Marilyn Manson: Coma Black, Cryptorchid, This is the New S$#@ (nice and aggressive, good for epic conquests), The Fight Song (good combat music), and The Last Day on Earth
- Tool (dark, scary, and mostly instrumental)
- A Perfect Circle (trippy and frequently instrumental)
- The Prizefighter Inferno (has sort of an airy fantasy feel)
I am currently playing in AoW, and our DM found it hilarious that there was a.) a band called Kyuss, and b.) that it worked for background music in AoW.
-The Eldritch Mr. Shiny
Most of my favorites are on the many excellent lists above.
I didn't see the soundtrack from the Rock (I don't think). I highly reccomend it for modern to future games (I use it in MARVEL all the time too).
Just ran a Winter Solstice adventure extravaganza last night and I bought the 13th Warrior soundtrack just for the adventure. It was so tasty.
My usage depends on the session. For many games I just play background filler and then battle tracks. But for others I do actually lay out a score, with specific songs for specific scenes. I have even gone so far to time out descriptions with changes in the music for big reveals in climactic roleplaying scenes and stuff. When it works, the effect is awesome, its like being in your own feature film.
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Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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In our Eberron campaign, I whipped up a selection from the soundtracks of various Dungeonsiege games. We were in the jungles of Xendrick, complete with Yuan-ti and temple dungeons, so I selected a lot of jungle themes. I was able to fit something like 39 tracks to the audio CD. It worked pretty well. Jeremy Soule does some great music for gaming.
I also think the music for Fable is pretty good. The opening theme is composed by Danny Elfman, and is excellent, but the rest of the soundtrack is nice as well. It would be well suited for times the party spends in villages and towns.
Depending on settings I use the various Celctic film cuts, Morrowwind and Oblivion soundtracks, Willow, Legend, and Kingdom of Heaven soundtracks.
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I'm always surprised when I see responses to year-old threads...
The only music I've ever used during a game: the soundtrack to "The Ninth Gate" by Wojciech Kilar (also wrote the score for "Bram Stoker's Dracula"); wet over great as background music during "Tatters of the King" and "Spawn of Azathoth" (CoC 6th ed).
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Owner - Johnny Scott Comics and Games
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An off the beaten path suggestion is to use Uriah Heap for the journey to a dungeon crawl, and Jethro Tull for in town settings. Zeppelin can also work well for some adventures.
I also picked up a couple CDs from a RenFaire band called the Minstrels of Mayhem a few years back, and play that for lengthy tavern encounters.
Midnight Syndicate was mentioned earlier in this thread, but I can't help but emphasize how well they can set the stage for a campaign - especially if you're running a horror-themed campaign. They were a staple for me when I was running Ravenloft, and I continue to use them with my home-brewed campaign world. Their music adds to the atmosphere, especially when the barmaid they've picked up transforms into a werewolf during s*x...
Lustmord.
For D&D Horror, try his "Heresy" CD.
For D&D Planar travel, try his "The Place Where Black Stars Hang"
Very creepy stuff.
Hurm.
Ozzy
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Check out Lesiem. http://www.lesiem.de/ A friend of mine hipped me to them back when we were playing In Nomine. The better part of their music fits at the gaming table. I was going to suggest listening to their song "Fundamentum," and by happy coincidence there's an eleven minute version of it as a free download on their site. I'm going to grab that now myself.
For standard medieval "Keep on the Borderlands" stuff, I like to play Tull's "Thick as a Brick" or Genesis' "Supper's Ready" (the Gabriel one, not that annoying Collins twerp). I like those long songs that eventually return to a common theme. For eerie far realms/cultist stuff, Iron Maiden goes on the stereo. For other stuff, Clannad is pretty good. And I tried to play once with Toby Keith in the background, but it didn't work as well, somehow. Likewise for Eazy-E. Go figure.
Yesterday while listening to some records I started to think what kind of reaction would come up in gaming table if the session was started with Holiday in Cambodia by Dead Kennedys..."oh, of course it doesn't mean anything", says she while smiling mysteriously.
Lots of good suggestions here.
I've used Danzig's Black Aria (not too sure on BA II tho), the soundtrack for Bran Stoker's Dracula is good too. I've also used the soundtrack CD that came with the collectors edition of Diablo II. I bet the music from the later Final Fantasy games (more orchestrated) would go over well. For inn/tavern scenes, Glass Hammer's The Middle Earth Album or Journey of the Dunadan might work well. If I could find some good sound effects files of cave sounds, and running water, and so on, I'd love to use those for delving sessions...