PDA

View Full Version : Looking for inspiration for music- Abyssal Jungle, Abyssal Metropolis



Kol Korran
2015-08-09, 12:36 AM
Hey folks! I'm lookign for help with finding appropriate music to act as backgroudn and atmosphere enahcner for the next session. The party will be ebntering an abyssal realm, who takes the form of a sort of a sinister, dark, tropical chain of islands, with lots of jungles and the like. The realm in question is the creation of the demon lord of lust, darkness, secrets and assassination. She is also the first succubus, and this gets reflected on the realm. I am looking for two types of music tracks for this exploration:

1) Exploring the jungles/ islands: I'm aiming to try and catpure some elements. It doesn't have to have them all, but them roe the better (I can incorporate several tracks to get some moods along):
- An alien place: This is the first time the party travels to a different plane, and I'd really liek them to feel that "We're not in kansas anymore..." The music should have touches of something... not quite human, not quite normal, bizarre, out ot the range of regular music.
- Luscious vivid wild nature exploration: Most of the islands are sparesly inhabited, and are overgrown with thick, ancient jungles. I'd really like to have the feel of "In the wild!" going on.
- Temptation and seduction: This need not be overt, but a feeling of beign welcomed, taken care for, wanted, lusted for, and so on... some hints of sensuality, sexuality and so on...
- Danger and a sinsiter nature: Lastly, if at all possible, I'd really liek to keep thefeelign of danger, and that this place is inherently evil (Abyss after all), and ominous in some way. I'd like this to feel soemwhat subtle, but enoguh to get the feelign across that "Hey! Better watch out!"

Ideally the tracks should contain music only, or words/ talkign not in english. (I'd liek to avoid the party trying to listen and figure out the words, it distracts too much. Happened before). I can loop tracks, so short tracks are ok as well.

2) Abyssal Metropolis: The party seeks to get to an abyssal metropolis, with millions of demons, rampant sin, trade ,violence and danger. The themes I'm looking to capture here are:
- Sinful fun and temptation: This shoould be MUCH more evident than in the jungles. The city caters to any kind of temptations, delights, wants, desires and so on. The place is ruled by lots of succubi, and nearly every inn or such also functions as a sort of brothel. I'd liek to capture that.
- Danger at every corner: With millions of entities embodying chaos and evil, and the rule of power, I'd like the place to feel qutie hazardous, bordering (Or crossing) to violence and more quite often.
- Busy busy city: The place is the trade hub of the abyss, where you're supposedly asble to find whatever you'd like. I'd like the place to feel liek a hgue metropolis, liek the super cities of our world. Aimign at a feelign liek New York or London Or Shenghai and such.
- The suffering in the open: The place also have lots of slaves, tortured victims and the like. As this is the city of demons, I'd like the party to also feel/ witness the great sufferign this city thrives on. It may be extremley difficult to put this with the other tracks, but I'd really liek somethign unnerving, disturbing, empathy triggerign music that I can put at some times.

Tracks here can include more lyrics and words, 9I'm thinking of usign soem of Enigma's tracks, or Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams are Made of These" for example), as this place needs to feel very much a lived in place. An over stimulation of the senses and music is encoruaged at soem tracks.

I hope you can help, thanks for the suggestions! :smallsmile:

hymer
2015-08-09, 02:37 PM
For jungle, I'm afraid it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3j5_022Yk) isn't particularly seductive. But I think the rest are pretty much there. It might be too recognizable, though.

Actana
2015-08-09, 04:37 PM
It doesn't fit many of your criteria, but this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eSrmSsz7mQ) song immediately comes to mind when someone says abyssal metropolis. Unfortunately, the game's OST revolves mostly around boss fights so it's not terribly useful for what you want.

Kol Korran
2015-08-11, 04:24 AM
For jungle, I'm afraid it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3j5_022Yk) isn't particularly seductive. But I think the rest are pretty much there. It might be too recognizable, though.

Diablo 2! This may just work out great! I've started listening to this track and a few others, see which ones will fit. Thanks!


It doesn't fit many of your criteria, but this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eSrmSsz7mQ) song immediately comes to mind when someone says abyssal metropolis. Unfortunately, the game's OST revolves mostly around boss fights so it's not terribly useful for what you want.
It started out quite cool and promising, (At least for entering the metropolis), but once the lyrics start... it just doesn't fit it. Sorry. :smallfrown: Thanks for the suggestion though!

SoC175
2015-08-11, 02:24 PM
Here's something I did years ago for a modern planes project that never came to fruition.

Yes, it's probably full of spelling and formating errors

The lawless slums of the Abyss
It's an infinity of anarchy.
It's home to the demons.
It's where the strong enslave the weak
It's where's no order beyond one's arm length

The abbys is look like the worst slums and ghettos of modern cities, consisting of an infinite number of blocks.
Each block is ruled by a powerfull demon crime prince and his gang of ruthless bullies and dealers.

Abyssal Traits
The Lawless Slums of the Abyss have the following traits. Normal Gravity: The first block of the Abyss, the Infinite Subway Station has the normal gravity trait, but other blocks of the Abyss can contain wildly different gravity traits that run the gamut of possibilities.
Normal Time: Time flows at the same rate in the Slums of the Abyss as on the Material Plane. However, rumors persist of a block where time flows backward with regard to aching. The reverse flow is erratic, however
Infinite Size: The Slums of the Abyss go on forever in the form of an infinite number of blocks, although the well known blocks are bounded.
Divinely Morphic: See MotP
Mixed Elemental and Energy Traits: See MotP
Midly Evil-Aligned and Midly Chaotic-Aligned: See MotP
Normal Magic.

Abyssal Links
The two most well-known access points to the Slums of the Abyss are a subway connection to the town of Plague-Mort, and the River Styx. Both links provide access to the first block of the Abyss, the Infinite Subway Station, although small tributaries flow through the sewers of many blocks of the Slums of the Abyss.

Abyssal Inhabitants
Called Demonholme by some, the Slums harbor demons and are likely their ultimate source. Gangs of Demons ruthlessy rule most blocks of the Slums of the Abyss. Other evil creatures reside in the cheap derelict buildings as well, including bebeliths, bodaks, retrievers, undead of every sort, renegade devils, twisted mortals and worse.
A gang of demons called tanar'ri are the unchallenged masters of the Slums, although the nigh-infinite variety of the plane means that some blocks exist beyond their reach.

Abyssal Petitioners
Any ideas? The standard manes don't seem to really fit here anymore.

Movement and Combat
In general the Slums of the Abyss function like the Material Plane with regard to movement and combat. On blocks where the enviroment is radically strange, different rules apply. Individual blocks of the Abyss could be ever burning from riots and have the fire dominant trait, for example, or have the subjective directional gravity with demonic bikers driving up and down the walls of decayed apartments build in impossible angles. Unless stated otherwise, those traits function the same in the Slums of the Abyss as they do everywhere else.

Features of the Abyss
The Slums of the Abyss have more blocks than anyone knows, mortal or deity. A few of the most well known blocks are described below.
Vision in the Slums is usually normal, except on some blocks who are cloaked into thick layers of smock or eternal night. Unless noted otherwise hellish suns or street lights and neon signs provide illumination in all block.
Unless a particular block is somehow very noisy, hearing is also normal in the Slums.

The Infinite Subway Station
This is the first block of the Slums of the Abyss. The whole block consists of a giant underground subway station with trains constantly leaving to every other block of the Slums. The station is dirty and refuse and drunk homeless inhabitants everywhere on the ground. While there are security offices everywhere, the security officers do nothing against the thievery and violence everywhere on this block. In fact, they only function as rally points for gangs to be send to fight in the eternal Blood War against the devils. The only time that the security forces act is when trains arrive from Hell, filled with invading devils.

The brothels of Azzagrat
The brothels of Azzagrat are the territory claimed by Graz’zt the Pimp and his gangs. Azzagrat consist of three blocks of the Slums of the Abyss and Graz’zt's hookers and brothels are everywhere. The blocks are cloaked in eternal night and neon signs and street lights are everywhere.

Rubbish Cap
The 222nd block of the Abyss is territory shared by the garbage lord Juiblex and Zuggtmoy, the Lady of Mildew. A popular saying in the Slums is Whatever is thrown away in a block eventually ends in the 222nd Rubbish Cap. This block is arguably in the worst condition of all. Mounts of garbage fill the entire block and have even burried entire buildings.

The Seepin Streets
The 422nd block of the Slums of the Abyss is ruled by the biker lord Yeenoghu and his pack of demonic bikers. They roam the streets of the block like Hyenas on the hunt and every weaker petitioner cowers in fear behind closed doors and windows while they pass by.

The twisted Park of Demogorgon
The 88th block of the Abyss, once called the Brine Flats, today looks like a city park out of nightmares. None has ever cared to maintain the plants and they have long ago broken all former boarders of the park and taken over the surrounding buildings. The whole block looks like a decayed city, swallowed by jungle and swamp. Aboleths, kraken, and other see monsters war in the stinking lakes and sewers and the corpses of the overgrown apartments offer no shelter from the swarms of mosquito and worse which rule the air. Demogorgon, called the Godfather of Demons (a title contested by the Crime Lords Graz’zt and Orcus) rules the park from his fortress Abysm build in a swamp in the centre of the Park.

The Graveyard of Orcus


d100
Random Block of the Lawless Slums of the Abyss
01–05
Rubbish Cap

06–10
Demonic Park

11–15
Crack Houses

16–20
Brothels

21-25
Riots

26-30
Gang War

31-35
Undead

36-40
Cloaked in thick poisonous smock

41-45
Demonic City Park

46-50
Graveyard

51-55
Demonic Hospital

56-60
Demonic Barracks

61-65
Blood War battlefield

66-70
Atomic Wasteland

71-75
Realm of power full abyssal entity

76-80
Mortals

81-85
Demonic Docks

86-90


91-95


95-100

Bulhakov
2015-08-11, 04:58 PM
Dead Can Dance has a wide selection of ethnic/mysterious tracks (though mainly arabic or eastern european themes). Just some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZpXPwmbQvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJhVM930YXY

Eldan
2015-08-11, 06:45 PM
Since you mentioned planar metropolis, I was immediately thinking of the Planescape: Torment soundtrack, though a lot of that is probably more melancholy than you want for the Abyss. Still, here's a few sample pieces hat might fit:

Mortuary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R42nlCEllzo"Fortress of Regret[/URL]
[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K186aYqMS4)
Night Bones (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K186aYqMS4)
Sigil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUc7am_NsnY)
Dak'kon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Jpm0P2C6E)
Help, I can't stop linking. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Jpm0P2C6E)
Nameless (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Jpm0P2C6E)

Kol Korran
2015-08-12, 07:25 AM
Dead Can Dance has a wide selection of ethnic/mysterious tracks (though mainly arabic or eastern european themes). Just some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZpXPwmbQvc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJhVM930YXY
I have just briefly listened to these (at work now) they do sounds intriguing. Will check more upon it later...


Since you mentioned planar metropolis, I was immediately thinking of the Planescape: Torment soundtrack, though a lot of that is probably more melancholy than you want for the Abyss. Still, here's a few sample pieces hat might fit:

Mortuary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R42nlCEllzo"Fortress of Regret[/URL]
[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K186aYqMS4)
Night Bones (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K186aYqMS4)
Sigil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUc7am_NsnY)
Dak'kon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Jpm0P2C6E)
Help, I can't stop linking. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Jpm0P2C6E)
Nameless (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4Jpm0P2C6E)
Torment! How did I forget about it? Love the music there, I will check it out later, but I'm sure some things will fit.
Damn, I want to play it again now. A genius of a game!