Sound of Music

[Hefty Lefty]

I've heard a lot of talk by many people on the forums here that music is a good element to have in table-top DnD games. Where do you find your music for fights, adventuring, caves, etc?

[Assassinfox]

Well... when my group was fighting a big evil wizard, we played the boss music from Final Fantasy 4.

[DomarSaul]

Scores to movies are often pretty good. Pirates of the Caribbean is nice for swashbuckling adventures; Gladiator's good too. A variety of computer or video game RPG soundtracks can be nice. Surprisingly, the soundtrack that comes with Sharn: City of Towers is moderately excellent.

[ocato]

I am known to recieve a +2 circumstance to any perform check if I can ad lib something new/good on my guitar, based entirely on the DM's mood.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

I use a variety of music. I just listen to things, and sometimes something clicks in my head. "Holy crap, the main theme to Zone of the Enders 2 would make for an epic boss fight!", or "Dragon Force produces 100% sheer awesomeness for random encounter themes!". I'd shy away from anything main stream or recognizable. You may love the Star Wars soundtrack, but no one will ever take it seriously in any non-Star Wars game. Only use video game songs that are unknown to your players (like my ZoE2 refference) for the same reason. It just sort of ruins the suspension of disbelief when you realize what you're hearing.

[Galathir]

I use a lot of stuff. Soundtracks are pretty good. Some of my favorites include "The Lord of the Rings", "Kingdom of Heaven", "Narnia", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Last Samurai". I also like video game soundtracks like Chrono Cross and Shadow of the Colossus. Then of course as a Classical music theorist and performer I like to use Classical music. Brahms, Tschaikowski and Britten are some of the composers I use more frequently.

[Ranis]

I play the Matrix Trilogy soundtracks, LotR soundtracks, some instrumental, Pirates of the Caribbean, and random techno during my sessions in a random mix from my laptop. During plot-critical moments, I play Those Who Fight Further from Final Fantasy VII. It makes things intense.

[Cult_of_the_Raven]

where do you get final fantasy soundtracks? i'm interested.

[Caelestion]

The Planescape: Torment soundtrack is hugely atmospheric.

As a group we just tend to stick on the Xbox or load the MP3 list and listen to whatever comes our way. Anything appropriate is just happenstance, e.g. I Want to Break Free when planning a prison run.

[Logic]

Scores to movies are often pretty good. Pirates of the Caribbean is nice for swashbuckling adventures; Gladiator's good too. A variety of computer or video game RPG soundtracks can be nice. Surprisingly, the soundtrack that comes with Sharn: City of Towers is moderately excellent.

Isn't that a mild contradiction?

As for my selection, I prefer to put on a mix of the Baldur's Gate soundtrack, Lord of the Rings, that Sharn Disc, The Icewind Dale soundtrack, bits from Gladiator and some stuff from Star Wars for my D&D campaign.

For modern-era games (V:TM, D20 Modern) I usually use "mood" music. If I want to make the players get to a mood of anger, I use Disturbed, Korn and Godsmack.

[Ranis]

where do you get final fantasy soundtracks? i'm interested.

I have the soundtrack for most Final Fantasy games, with the rest on the way. How I got them is not important. I can send whatever you want over AIM, if you'd like.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

"Your grandmother needs a new heart, I hear. I have one I can give you, pretty cheap."
"Where did you find a human heart?"
"How I got them is not important!"

[ExHunterEmerald]

Good lyric-less stuff that produces a mood. Lyrics work too, but keep the volume lower, especially if it's chant or whatnot. Makes for greater dramatic effect.

"Sound of Music..."
The hills are alive~

...roll initiative!

[Matthew]

Conan the Barbarian Sound Track. I would also second the Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment Sound Tracks.

[Tyrael]

Baldur's Gate II has a wonderful soundtrack.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has a freaking amazing musical score.

I love them both.

[Innis Cabal]

honestly...combat i use heavy metal/death metal riffs...tends to get the blood flowing
For night RP i use classical chinese violen and flute
for day RP i use light techno

[LoopyZebra]

Hmm... I tried using the music files that my various PC games used, but many of them were too recognizable to the players. While they would have normally worked well, it's no good when your players try to name the game the track is from. The 'obscurer' files seemed to work as planned, though.

[smellie_hippie]

Conan the Barbarian Sound Track.

Quoted for Truth. Best RPG soundtrack ever.

[shodan_lee]

Heh. Played a short (but massive) session to baptise several people into DnD at once. Most were drama geeks, and dicerolls were almost an afterthought most of the time, but it was fun and that's the point.

Anyhow, the DM is a musical virtuoso (plays something like fifteen instruments) and would DM from behind his electronic piano, providing mood music spontaneously and improvisationally as he went. (Hell, he even had a DM-controlled Bard to help the newbs along, named Leit Motif).

Then he took it one step further. One of our characters, a dwarf named Bermocleze (sp? IS there a right spelling) who was... special. Every time the DM would switch his piano into "Banjo" voice and take off with a predetermined (and hilarious) riff, the player would completely wig out and make Bermoclese do the single most unpredictable and senseless thing he could think of, and in the most frenzied and enthusiastic way possible.

The scary thing is that he would usually start rolling natural 20s around that same time. He even rolled a 20 on a check to open a door (You thought I was kidding when I said senseless, didn't you? He insisted on rolling that check. He was really feeling his character at that point.), slamming it against the opposite wall, and apparently making whatever was waiting to ambush us on the other side break and run like hell.


Best game ever. There were points at which I actually felt like I was asphixiating with laughter in a very unsettling way.