Good D&D Music

[AQuebman]

So I am rather young and I have never had any luck building up good music that goes well for D&D. The occasional gem like "The Necromancer" by Rush sticks in my head but there seems to be something i'm missing or don't know about when i'm searching for either good background music or music that is about a fantasy scenario etc...

I'm open to anything so please post away i'd love to give other DM's ideas and things they would like. I will say the Spellburn Podcast over on the DCC forums has pushed me to listen to Glitter Wizard which seems like a good fit for some glam rock D&D style stuff.

[AQuebman]

Artist: Dethklok
Song: Awaken
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUnhoe0rpU

[Stonjuz]

Artist : Alestorm
Song : Shipwrecked, but anything from them should work, especially if playing with pirates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggyC0FOzqHM

[rredmond]

Vargr uses instrumental stuff to good effect in his PbPs and keeps them organized in their own threads.

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=713

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=873

[Vargr1105]

I am going to use a bunch of music in "IM22 Earl Aubec and the Iron Galleon" too, but there will be metal/rock songs (sometime by famous groups) with lyrics this time.

And I do hope it is for "good effect" rredmond, the musical portion of teh PbP is the most laborious to pull off.

[rredmond]

This is also a good resource. They are free downloads, and the guy had RPGs in mind when writing:

http://ruchmasi.rugerfred.com/index.html

Click on WORKS for the music. Then click on the song to hear it, right click on it to get a download the MP3 option.

Enjoy!

[tooleychris]

Might be kinda old school but the Conan soundtrack works good for my group. Also don't discount game sound files. Neverwinter Nights has an oogle of great categorized sounds like good temple, tavern, battle scene 1-12, and MANY great sound effects like crowds, bars, sailors, "working girls ", screams, prayers, ect

[Vargr1105]

I agree tooleychris, but there's a problem. Some of those themes are so well known in the gaming community and so overused culturally that I get the "eye-roll" instinct when someone plays them. You have to hunt for less popular tracks. I mean, playing Neverwinter Nights, Conan or Carmina Burana on a fight scene? Pu-leeze

And call me weird, but I am so sick of (usually bad) orchestral music being used in fantasy media with lots of strings and wind instruments and choruses going "hoooo!" "haaaaa!" or singing in faux latin/sanscrit/klingon/whatever. Jeremy T. is freakin' awesome with his electronic orchestra, but if someone start playing Guild Wars or Elder Scrolls/Skyrim music I'm outta here!

I usually try to stay away from that type of music in fantasy because it is so blatantly obvious, for lack of a better term. I have found that rock/metal, plus electronic and some alternative-style OSTs will invoke a better atmosphere.

Of course, all of the above is IMHO and there are exceptions to everything I said.

One last thing I try to do is being at least minimally thematic on the tracks I use for a game to achieve its own feel. UK5 uses mostly Anime and PC Game tracks but still has the greater variancy; on IM15 I went for whatever sounds like it came from a bad 80's action flick scores, mostly electronic ; and in IM22 I will be using mostly retro Rock/Metal with an eye for both Space/Progressive/Dreamy and Seedy/80's Bar tunes.

[tooleychris]

Eh, it's just for ambience. I don't mean for it to be a major tool. Don't want to distract from the game or story. Just add a little flavor.

[Fearghus]

I am starting to hear the soundtrack to Ladyhawke in my mind because of the above comments. Fast forward to about 0:50, and even 5:00 is great, but 6:36 takes the cake for me. Makes me laugh every time.

Classical music for fantasy games does not bother me at all, but I also like using metal and rock. Old 80's fantasy like Heavy Metal I thought was a trip with its mix of music and fantasy. I've recently been immensely inspired by The Sword, and Blind Guardian's Imaginations from the Other Side and Nightfall on Middle-Earth are great.

[Vargr1105]

I will say the Spellburn Podcast over on the DCC forums has pushed me to listen to Glitter Wizard which seems like a good fit for some glam rock D&D style stuff.

Is Glitter Wizard the ban playing the metal music at the end of the podcast intro? What's the title?

[rredmond]

I am starting to hear the soundtrack to Ladyhawke in my mind because of the above comments. Fast forward to about 0:50, and even 5:00 is great, but 6:36 takes the cake for me. Makes me laugh every time.
...

Heh. Love the movie and love the soundtrack. Have it in MP3s somewhere. It screams 80s fantasy movie soundtrack. Plus Rutger. Everything's better with Rutger. Don't get me started on Blood of Heroes.

[Vargr1105]

Classical music for fantasy games does not bother me at all

Neither it does me. I was refering to bad, formulaic, overused classical tracks or those that are SO popular and associated with specific franchise that they merit only an eye-roll and an eye of disgust if used (i.e. using the LoTR soundtrack on a FR PbP). Only the laziest of DJ GMs would stoop so low.

Of course, if you are running MERP and drop in LoTR tracks it a different matter.

I've recently been immensely inspired by The Sword, and Blind Guardian's Imaginations from the Other Side and Nightfall on Middle-Earth are great.

The Sword could make the official AD&D anthem all by themselves. Blind Guardian is a terrible choice for PbP music, except for a few of their slower tracks. The vocals with the weird accent are just too high volume and clear, so unless the lyrics actually fit the scene they're not much use. There's a ton of good metal tracks out there which are useless for gaming tracks, they just can't fit any scene.

In general, metal is cool for fight scenes and some action sequences. Older tracks may be good for ambiance because unlike 99% of the bands nowdays the music wasn't all hammers and guttural screaming. But the violinesque guitar solos and operatic lyrics of 80's metal can set up a scene quiet nicely.

Eh, it's just for ambience. I don't mean for it to be a major tool. Don't want to distract from the game or story. Just add a little flavor.

Are we talking about IRL or PbP here? Because I can't see how music will distract anyone from anything in these forums. It's up to folks to press the "play" button or not, it's not like the virtual GM is dropping by their place and installing a sound system.

[AQuebman]

Glitter Wizard plays in their intro and outtro but im not certain which song it is. Also do you guys embed the music into the forum or just use links for others to click on?

I love a mixture my buddy found some awesome music fitting for our oriental. D&D game but he wouldnt reveal his sources to me. I like a nice mix of things but I agree a lot of renaissance era music gets overused

[Alethan]

Also do you guys embed the music into the forum or just use links for others to click on?

Considering how many people access the forum from a work environment, I would recommend not imbedding the music.

[Norjax]

Also do you guys embed the music into the forum or just use links for others to click on?

Considering how many people access the forum from a work environment, I would recommend not imbedding the music.

Nah, we wouldn't do that.

Two Steps from Hell works for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASj81daun5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2hRTLdvdnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjlBCAx6330

[Grognardsw]

My D&D playlist includes many soundtracks... Age of Conan (a great two-CD soundtrack to the computer game), Gladiator, LOTR 1-3, the Omen, Game of Thrones, the Dark Knight, Conan original, Conan remake, Psycho, some classical like Mozart's Requiem, Carmen Burena. 95% of these I burned from library copies; it's amazing how much one can get from inter-library loans. I supplement that with indy instrumental bands like Explosions in the Sky, Red Sparrowes, Mogwai, which is heavy and atmospheric but not distracting the way metal is to me. Plug in some song titles into Pandora and it pulls all sorts of similar good stuff, free.

[AQuebman]

Also do you guys embed the music into the forum or just use links for others to click on?

Considering how many people access the forum from a work environment, I would recommend not imbedding the music.

I meant non auto playing embeds but good point just to be safe i'll probably just use links.

[Alethan]

Also do you guys embed the music into the forum or just use links for others to click on?

Considering how many people access the forum from a work environment, I would recommend not imbedding the music.

I meant non auto playing embeds but good point just to be safe i'll probably just use links.

Ah... Sorry, yeah, I thought you were talking about something that automatically plays when the page opens. I mean, you could do it, but then you'd have to post pictures of fuzzy cats in dangerously hilarious poses with witty captions.

I don't think there'd be any issues with imbedded-but-still-have-to-click music.

[AQuebman]

A perfect way to introduce people to D&D music, attract them with LOLcat pictures.