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Seeing as this is an Epic Journey AP I'd like music to emphasize the different feeling that each location gives to the game.
I was wondering if people had some suggestions for music for the following locations:
Avistan: Sandpoint (Lord of the Rings Soundtrack)
Avistan: Land of the Linnorm Kings (Something Metal?)
Crown of the World (Icewind Dale Soundtrack)
Tian Xia: Forest of Spirits (Princess Mononoke Soundtrack?)
Suggestions and ideas welcome!
Avistan: Land of the Linnorm Kings (Something Metal?)
Good suggestions overall! Might I suggest Basil Poledouris' awesome "Conan the Barbarian" OST for the Linnorm Kings? It's still one of the best OSTs ever made for a fantasy film IMHO.
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Sandpoint/Avistan: Lord of the Rings OST, hell yeah!
Land of the Linnorm Kings: Age of Conan (the MMORPG) soundtrack.
Crown of the World: Icewind Dale OST, hell yeah x2!
Tian-Xia: Uttara-Kuru, Yoshida brothers, a selection of shamisen, shinobue and taiko soundtracks, maybe a couple from The Last Samurai OST.
As an alternative to the modern vibes of Yoshida Brothers, you could also go for the more traditional, if you wanted things to be more serene I would suggest the following:
CHINA Dong Qiuming : Full Moon by "Yong-ji Wang, Shanghai Virtuosi & Qiu-ming Dong".
For western rpg music I could also suggest you look at "Nox Arcana" especially the album Blood of the Dragon.
Finally "Leaves Eyes" done some neat music that could be used for Land of the Linnorn Kings, I am especially thinking about the albums Legend Lands and Vinland Saga.
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The soundtrack of Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer has some excellent pieces which fit the AP very well. "Through the City Gates" seems especially appropiate as the "opening theme" for Jade Regent sessions.
I'd also recommend "Oogway Ascends" from the Kung Fu Panda soundtrack.
Alright, I'll take a crack at this. I love these kinds of discussions.
1: Varisia: Lets see, when I think Varisia, I hear the music of David Arkenstone in my head. Particuarly one song comes to mind.
The Quest of Culhwch
Its a song that just screams adventure in a traditional fantasy frontier setting after all, and a great song for starting off any journey.
2: Land of the Limnorn Kings: I concur with Dudemeister on this one. Viking folk metal is a perfect fit here. My pick in music is this...
Vandraren (Ensiferum's cover)
Or Smoking Ruins is a good one for an Ulfen PC who was initially exiled from these lands as part of his backstory.
3: Crown of the world: This part of the world sort of strikes me as a forlorn section where depending on the time of the year, you could be getting little to no sunlight at all, or sun all day long. The adventure may take sort of a somber mood, as they grow weary of the cold and silence beyond the caravan. Encounters with other living creatures are rare. And when they are encountered, the party may wish they hadn't been. A few blackmore's night songs pop in my head, but this one does stick out.
Where are we going from here
Alternatively, we could throw in a secret of mana song
And of course as someone suggested, Icewind Dale was pretty much made for this environment.
4: Tian Xai: Well, I don't have any songs to represent Tian Xai as a whole, but you guys have already made some great examples. I do have a good song in mind for Minkai though. The song roughly translates to:
Keepsake of the Spring
Yeah, those are some of my suggestions, but I may be firing blanks here as I only have a vague idea of what happens within these lands, as the books aren't out yet.
The soundtrack of Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer has some excellent pieces which fit the AP very well. "Through the City Gates" seems especially appropiate as the "opening theme" for Jade Regent sessions.
I'd also recommend "Oogway Ascends" from the Kung Fu Panda soundtrack.
I'm listening to the Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer soundtrack right now, and I agree with magnuskn, this album is PERFECT for Jade regent.
The soundtrack for the original Age of Conan game is also awesome.
For more stealthy and sinister tunes I recommend the soundtracks from the Tenchu games.
I'm listening to the Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer soundtrack right now, and I agree with magnuskn, this album is PERFECT for Jade regent.The soundtrack for the original Age of Conan game is also awesome.
For more stealthy and sinister tunes I recommend the soundtracks from the Tenchu games.
The Cimmerian tracks just scream "Land of the Linnorm Kings"
Just listen to this.And this.
Or this: (Live version from norwegian tv).
A good chunk of anything done by The Yoshida Brothers.
Uttara-Kuru (especially "Mendicant Priest").
Kiyoshi Yoshida, the Asian Drums albums in particular.
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To take a slight shift in direction, I recommend looking into what kind of music different genres have available.
The easiest genre to fit into an rpg session is dark ambient, naturally. It, for the most part, relies on the same sense of sublime and transcendent epicness that movie soundtracks do. Here's a few good examples for you to consider: Ulf Söderberg, Sephiroth and of course Lustmord. All of these bands and artists are pretty damn athmospheric and are super easy to drop into any a game session. Naturally, not all of the tracks would fit in say, an urban sphere, or rolling grasslands near a farming hamlet(unless it is in the middle of falling into Abaddon), but dark ambient is the perfect genre to get that feeling of vast spaces and forgotten environments that bespokes of exploration and discovery. Hostile areas and the quickening tension of threat.
Right, that was moody enough, now how about some classical stuff? I bet you all are familiar with this. It's by Camille Saint-Saëns and easily one the most overplayed tracks when it comes to marketing and movie trailers. However, the Carnival of Animals, where it comes from has many a subtle, even eerie track in it, all of which can work for dungeon sessions, nightly infiltration and even mood pieces while setting up the caravan. Then there's this French fellow, whose Clair de Lune is another overplayed track. But hey, more power to you, you get the mesmerizing quality of that song, since he has a pretty recognizable style, but don't have to worry about people drawing associations to Twilight.
I'd like to offer Borodin and Sibelius too, but I fear that maybe stretching the mood of the campaign, heh. Both do the fantastic and the bombastic really well though.
I'd like to offer some neo-pagan stuff in here as well, but it's pretty hard to fit them in anywhere else than the Linnorm Kings/Varisia parts. I admit that this stuff easily slips into folk metal, but you may find really fitting pieces for any kind of adventures with a rustic or snowbound element in them if you just look into the it. Here's a nice piece that could very well work for a combat scene or two. Or for a scene with the cresting of a hill with the mighty Kopparberget in sight. And this one plays when the shield walls meet! Then there's Ulver of course. That album is like "A Song of Ice and Fire The Soundtrack", in that it evokes the same kind of desperate yet epic feelings.
Finally, OTWaTM might not work for everyone, since it is in English and therefore lacks that exciting ethnic element of otherness, but it's still an option. Very evocative, could work as a session starter, for instance.
Hope this helps. I wish I could offer some East-Asian themed pieces, but I'm sadly at loss for options.
I just thought of a game soundtrack that encompasses everything.
Guild Wars: Prophecies for Varisia
Guild Wars: Eye of the North for Land of Linnorm Kings and Crown of the World
Guild Wars: Factions for Tian Xia
Edit: I'm also digging the new Conan soundtrack.
I just thought of a game soundtrack that encompasses everything.
Guild Wars: Prophecies for Varisia
Guild Wars: Eye of the North for Land of Linnorm Kings and Crown of the World
Guild Wars: Factions for Tian XiaEdit: I'm also digging the new Conan soundtrack.
Thanks, these go on the list.
Keep them coming, people, I am especially looking for more of those lovely orchestral/chinese music mixes. Japanese music also is nice, but I'll go for a heavy samisen and taiko mix there anyway, and I got that covered. :)
For people who are actually looking for such music, I'd recommend the Total War: Shogun 2 soundtrack and just looking for Taiko music on Youtube and other places.
Allright, I think I'd like to give my detailed recommendations. I've focused so far very much on the asian aspect of getting a soundtrack together, as I already have a quite good western soundtrack. So keep that in mind.
- Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer. Includes this song, which I think makes a excellent main theme for the campaign.
- Some songs from the Yoshida Brothers
- Total War: Shogun 2 soundtrack
- Movie soundtracks: Hero; House of Flying Daggers; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; "Oogway Ascends" from Kung Fu Panda; The Last Samurai
- Jade Empire soundtrack
- Taiko music: Wadaiko Matsuriza, The Soul of Koto, Master Musicians of Ikuta-Ryu, Irodori
That's all for the moment, although I am looking for more music in the chinese/orchestral music mix vein. If anybody wants to give me pointers in that direction, I'd appreciate it.
Another thing that might work for Lands of the Linnorm Kings could be Hedningarna. It's more Finnish/Karelian than Scandinavian, but would certainly suit a fantasy-campaign (and they've also done several instrumental pieces).
A more Swedish-sounding reccomendation would be Garmarna.
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More suggestions for Lands of the Linnorm King themed music:
The 13th warrior soundtrack
Pathfinder (The movie, nothing to do with the RPG) (Dreadful movie, great soundtrack)
Outlander soundtrack
Viking: Battle for Asgard video game soundtrack (follow link for free download)
Wardruna Ambient/Folk music
I also recommend The Forbidden Kingdom soundtrack, as well as Hero and Fearless. As these are martial arts movie soundtracks, there is a good mix of Asian-influenced orchestral action music, as well as tracks that are great for general ambiance. I think As One Tale Ends... is particularly good as the party sets out for Tian Xia.
Emperor of Eternal Darkness and Spirit Extermination are from the Okami game soundtrack, and would make excellent battle tracks. Also Shifu Faces Tai Long would be good if you're not too worried about your players recognizing the more recently released theme.
Okami has a number of great ambient tracks. Much of the open world music such as Uepeker and Kamui could easily find its place in this campaign.
The Soundtrack of "Genji - Dawn of the Samurai" is great for the second half of this AP.
For another suggestion for the Linnorm Kings, I'd suggest:
Sequentia: from Edda
The whole CD "Edda - Myths from medieval Iceland" sounds quite promising.
For me, I'd want something more indicative of the music of the actual inhabitants of the setting, rather than modern-sounding "Viking Death-Metal."
Princess Mononoke has a soundtrack that I personally find exceptionally fitting to the campaign.
The Legend of Ashitaka has become our recap music that starts off every session.
This week, I recapped in third person and managed to get in "And the party set out to reclaim... THE BRINEWALL LEGACY" as the music came to a peak. :)
Okami had a crazy good soundtrack (fitting, for a crazy good game)... traditional Japanese feel, but with some Western elements as well.
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This has been a great thread and I have bought some great stuff because of it. My campaign now has a theme song (plus chapter / region songs).
Has anyone given any thought to Character Themes? I have chosen Cherry Blossoms in Winter by the Yoshida Brothers for Ameiko and have embedded on her character page on my campaign site.
I am struggling a little for the others and I am not really sure whether I should use Romani (Gypsy) music for Koya and Sandru or something else.
Shalelu I am really unsure of, I was thinking of an instrumental version of Desperado by The Eagles but it may seem "odd" in regards to the rest of the music.
My plan is when they are having major interaction to a NPC, I would have their theme running quietly in the background and then as major events happen to or around NPCs I could start playing it and they should know something is going on with that person.
Any ideas?
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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If it's not too well known by your party, I'd suggest some of the stuff off of BSG, season 4. Some pieces like Rosilyn flees, have a Samesen in them. The mix of eastern and western sounds in pieces like that might work as 'transitional' pieces.
And of course 'Wander my Friends' could make perfect Shaleu music, even with vocals.
Edit: I'm listening to 'The Orgy' right now off of the Conan OST and it hit me this would also be good music for the festival in book 4.
Don't forget some Russian style music for the artic circle too.
Starting to run Jade Regent this week and this thread has been a great help so far. Thanks, guys!
For the Crown of the World part of the campaign I'd recommend some tracks from the Age of Conan OST as well as Gothic 3 (example). Also check out the Skyrim Soundtrack, that whole game has a nordic theme.
For the Crown of the World I would recommend the Vare Album by finish avantgarde folksters Tenhi. It has several tracks that just breath vastness and cold.
I just found THIS on Spotify. Really good Japan inspired ambient music. Perfect for Minkai.
It's been a while since I've heard them, but the Silk Roads albumns by Kitaro might work for the middle/later parts of the AP.
Mists of Pandaria seems like it will contain lots of excellent tracks.
Pandora has been a stellar resource thus far.
I tend to listen to music more while I'm reading, and preparing game content, than during a session (other than the occasional pre-plucked situation & accompanying soundtrack). In general, thematically appropriate music helps get me in the mood for whatever it is that I'm running. However, I don't have a huge collection of oriental themed tracks loaded up on the ol' listening device.
Luckily I could just jump into Pandora, start with the Yoshida Brothers and then just thumbs up & thumbs down my way into a pretty cool, laid back oriental themed station for those late night reading sessions.
Not so much full soundtrack but for aura or sobs of the attic whisperer I layered 3 tracks of children singing slow songs acappella and just creepy children talking. I had the desired effect on my players.
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One of my players wrote a song about our group's exploits in the Brinemarsh.
The Emperor's Blood. Hope y'all dig it!
The Game of Thrones soundtrack is a nice background for The Hungry Storm. Winter is coming and all that... ;-)
Though it's sci-fi, the soundtrack for the Battlestar Galactica series has a few pieces that could fit right in with the rest. "Roslin Escapes" springs immediately to mind for a Tian action scene.
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I used a few different songs for Kikonu.
To introduce Kikonu and his awful play: Kō Ōtani - Sign of the Colossus
For Kikonu's not at all serious attempt to fight the party: Kō Ōtani - In Awe of the Power ～Battle with the Colossus～
Kikonu escaped the fight. When the party next encountered him, Kikonu was in the main courtyard, giving a rather uninspiring, Kefka-like speech to some of his surviving minions (the ogrekin ranger, some troglodytes, a half dozen corbies, and Zaiobe). I had a lot of fun chewing scenery with this in the background: dBu music - AB -北極に双つ星-
Naturally the party jumped in and fought everybody at once. And won (barely). My song of choice: O-Life Japan - 好奇心優先