Music suggestion(s) needed

[J-H]

I have a major fight coming up this Saturday and need some ideas.

The party (level 16) is descending into an ancient elven time-travel station that was sabotaged as it was overrun by an army of undead ogres. At the bottom level, they'll find a CR-20something Wight/Death Knight escorted by a pair of invisible beholder zombies (with antimagic cones up) who just finished killing the defenders of the heart of the station 5,000+ years ago a minute or so ago. Time has really slowed down, and he doesn't even know it, fulfilling a prophecy that his name would be spoken millenia after his birth. The party has some tokens that will let them return to the proper place and time when activated, once.
He's a big dual-wielding ogre death knight resistant to non-magical damage in a pair of antimagic cones, and time is traveling fast enough that anyone who dies in this fight will either (a) have their soul drop out and be too dead for revivify even 1 round later or (b) will have their soul drop out IN THE FUTURE where the party is, and then be un-raiseable when they return to the proper time, because Resurrection doesn't work on someone who died two thousand years in the future.

Time travel is BS. It's fun and introduces a real high risk element that hasn't been present so far.

I need some suitably epic "fighting a big bad guy" music.

I could use Castlevania (Dance of Illusions), but we just finished the Castle Dracula campaign last year and I don't want to re-use something they might recognize. I like to have longer musical pieces (30 min +) so I don't have to manage constantly resetting the music, which means something long on loop. I avoid things with electric guitars and lyrics because I find them distracting. My usual repertoire (a few Warhammer pieces, Two Steps from Hell, etc.) doesn't have anything that I think would work.

[Mastikator]

Two Steps From Hell has an assortment of epic battle music.

[Kol Korran]

A few years ago I ran the Wrath of The Righteous AP in Pathfinder. I complied a decent list for a soundtrack, for battles, atmospheric music and more.

I made a campaign log then. I'll write the web address to it below (can't link properly from my cellphone). Scroll down to the second post. Under each chapter's sessions, there is a spoiler with the soundtrack, and a quick explanation.

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?321974-DM-s-campaign-log-Wrath-Of-The-Righteous-(PF-amp-spoliers!)

Some old time favourites for epic fights (even if a bit old fashioned by today's RPG standards):
- "United we stand, Divided we fall": good for longer battles, steady heroic theme.
- "Archangel": simply good in giving that "epic" feel.
- "To Glory": far more fast paced, and a more "kickass" feel to it.
- "Kill them all": By audiomachine. More Metal, fast paced and gives a feel of quick, brutal violence.
- "Blackblade": Darker, "eviiiil!" Music, slower paced, but hey- cliches are good for a reason...
- "Come scientist, destroy": Not exactly battle music, but strange, creepy, and gives an otherworldly/ "something is deeply wrong here" feel. Might be good for atmospheric music for the station?
- "Battle mix music": Found that mix a long time ago. Changes mid music a few times, and a decent fall back.

Hope some of these may help.
Finding the "right" track for what you seek to convey can be hard...

Good luck!

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by J-H
My usual repertoire (a few Warhammer pieces, Two Steps from Hell, etc.) doesn't have anything that I think would work.

I would’ve suggested Two Steps right off, but sounds like that’s not an option for this situation.

For epic battle music, I love Bear McCreary’s soundtracks for Battlestar Galactica, especially “Storming New Caprica,” “Fight Night,” “Scar” and “Mandala in the Clouds.” The drums and strings really nail the high-tension military atmosphere.

You might also try the soundtrack for “Thirteenth Warrior,” which is one of those movies that’s a ton of fun despite the lead actor. I love the music and there might be some selections which could work.

[Faily]

Since I'm the opposite of you in that I like to have vocals in my background music, I had to dig a bit differently in my library and playlists.


Soul Calibur
Forsaken Sanctuary
Courage Ablaze
Face Your Fate

Sword Art Online
Aerial Fight
Got To Win

Final Fantasy
Fighting
Blinded By Light
Sword of Doubt/Mystery

Naruto
Lightning Speed

[Pauly]

Hall of the Mountain King by Edgar Grieg
The Queen of the Night Aria by Mozart (Diana Damrau version)
Danse Macarbe by Sant-Saens
Night on Bald Mountain by Mussogorsky
Masquerade Waltz by Kacharurian
Dream of a Witches Sabbath by Berlioz
March to the Scaffold by Berlioz
Mephisto Waltz by Liszt
O Fortuna by Carl Off

[J-H]

Thanks!

Kol Korran one of the ones you sent me to had one linked in the recommendations called "the City Must Survive" that's currently a frontrunner. Also, nice campaign!

Palanan the nBSG stuff doesn't fit for this battle but IS exactly what I needed for some of their other fights against Aztec(ish) Aaracokra.

Faily thanks for the direct links. I like the Soul Caliber music...never heard of the game, but the music is in my style and would have been great for Castlevania.

[Stonehead]

In my experience, video game boss music tends to work the best because it was designed to be played in the background of a fight. Although you'll have to avoid games your players have played if you don't want them recognizing the music.

Some personal favorites are

• World Revolution - Chrono Trigger
• Magus' Theme - Chrono Trigger
• Dancing Mad - Final Fantasy VI
• Apex of the World - Fire Emblem Three Houses
• Ornstein and Smough - Dark Souls
• The Grand Finale - Mario & Luigi, Bowser's Inside Story
• Fire in the Deep - Old School Runescape
• Inferno - Old School Runescape
• Cemetary of Onbashira - Touhou 10 Mountain of Faith

I would also recommend anything from Undertale or Delta Rune, but those are pretty popular right now, and a lot more likely to be recognized.

Out of that list, something probably fits the vibe you're going for.

[Composer99]

One-Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII might work, although the vocals might be distracting.

The four fiends boss fight track and final boss fight track from Final Fantasy IV might also work. (The last has a point where the composer stacks chords in 4ths, which might be a nice touch for the setup described.)

(I've picked orchestral versions where possible, but if your players enjoy some retro sounds, you can find classic versions on YouTube as well.)

[Mutazoia]

You might want to check this guy out...