Atmospheric background music for D&D

[multiarms]

I often play atmospheric music during my D&D sessions. Usually at low volume, so we can easily talk without straining our voices. It frequently fades into the background but I feel that it has an unconscious atmospheric effect on me and can help to create a "vibe" among the table. 

I also almost always listen to something while I'm by myself reading, planning, drawing maps, or painting minis. This helps me to immerse myself into a mildly altered state where my consciousness is absorbed into the imaginal realm (as does one or two good strong beers).

I would like to start a thread where I regularly post what I am listening to, or things which have become favorites of mine. Please chime in with your own stuff if you like. I am a fan of heavy metal music as well but I rarely listen to it for gaming, because the level of aggression seems somehow too much for D&D. Also, I find that lyrical content distracts me (even if it is growly "cookie-monster" death metal). So I personally reserve the metal for miniatures and boardgames.

In this thread, I'd like to focus on non-lyrical, instrumental, ambient, neo-classical, neo-medieval, and "dungeon synth" music. Dungeon Synth is a whole genre of music with its own unique subculture which probably deserves a thread to itself. But I digress...

First up is an album from 1992, which quickly became the all-time most-played CD in my basement, as my brother and I played it on repeat for hours and hours. Mostly we were playing 1st edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Warhammer Fantasy Battles at that point, having decided that AD&D 2e had "jumped the shark."

Glenn Danzig was well known to me as the vocalist of the hardcore punk band The Misfits and his own hard rock/metal band (just called Danzig). I loved the first two Danzig albums, and actually my first rock concert was seeing Danzig on tour for Danzig II: Lucifuge (the opening band was the soon-to-be much more popular Soundgarden!). So I bought his solo album Black Aria on CD at my local record shop the day it was released, expecting more rock/metal with his characteristic Elvis-like vocals.

To my great surprise, this was an all-instrumental mini-album made on synthesizers with a gothic or ethereal feel to it. It had creepy and bombastic parts and flowed like the soundtrack to some crazy movie that only existed in my dreams where Conan was thinner than Arnold with long black hair and pale skin, and fought vampires in an underground catacomb. The cover art was also super evocative and cool. My brother and I loved it and used it constantly as background music for our games. I still get chills of nostalgia every time I listen to it, which is alot.



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There is another good thread discussing "inspirational music" here:  ruinsofmurkhill.proboards.com/thread/4034/inspirational-music
This thread has links to YouTubes with some cool folk/rock songs with lyrical content evocative of fantasy worlds. Hence the title "inspirational" music, stuff that might make you think of new characters or ideas for your game.

An older thread had several links to metal and hard rock songs:  ruinsofmurkhill.proboards.com/thread/467/music-game

TPD also has a good thread of atmospheric/inspirational music specific to his Murkhill campaign here:  ruinsofmurkhill.proboards.com/thread/2999/music-inspires-ruins-murkhill-campaign

[The Perilous Dreamer]

I see you found the other threads! Cool!

Post away. I have never been in a position to play music during the game. The one you linked here is, in my mind, perfect for going into a dungeon.

[Iucounu]

Thanks for the album recommendation. It's really great!

In the games I play in someone usually puts on some random fantasy music by searching for words like "fantasy" and choosing the first playlist that comes up. I am not always that happy about it since those kinds of playlists almost always sound like an epic battle or something. I would much more like something that could create an eerie or imposing atmosphere to keep us on our toes. Though I don't DM in that group and the rest of them likes it.

I have been listening to a lot of Dungeon Synth lately, but mostly while reading. I tried to put it on during a game but I found that some it was very distracting (especially the album More True Than Time Thought by Hedge Wizard). Maybe I should just be more selective about what albums and songs that specifically fit the mood and not just put on the playlist I regularly listen to. I would like to try some music that is more in the style of the album you shared.

While reading though, I have found Dungeon Synth to be fantastic. I recently read a collection of Conan stories and some of the music I found contributed so much to the atmosphere while reading the book that I got goosebumps at one point. I think I was listening to Den Sorte Død or Offermose while reading The Tower of The Elephant. They are kind of electronic but I found that fit perfectly with the themes of extra planar beings, telepathy and such.

As a recommendation for the thread I will post this album by Offermose:

[Iucounu]

Jun 9, 2021 10:07:30 GMT -5 multiarms said:

Glenn Danzig was well known to me as the vocalist of the hardcore punk band The Misfits and his own hard rock/metal band (just called Danzig). I loved the first two Danzig albums, and actually my first rock concert was seeing Danzig on tour for Danzig II: Lucifuge (the opening band was the soon-to-be much more popular Soundgarden!). So I bought his solo album, Black Aria, on CD at my local record shop the day it was released, expecting more rock/metal with his characteristic Elvis-like vocals.

By the way. I tried to search for a way to buy it digitally but couldn't find it. So if you happen to find it somewhere, I would be happy to know.

[multiarms]

Jun 9, 2021 14:41:30 GMT -5 Iucounu said:

Jun 9, 2021 10:07:30 GMT -5 multiarms said:

Glenn Danzig was well known to me as the vocalist of the hardcore punk band The Misfits and his own hard rock/metal band (just called Danzig). I loved the first two Danzig albums, and actually my first rock concert was seeing Danzig on tour for Danzig II: Lucifuge (the opening band was the soon-to-be much more popular Soundgarden!). So I bought his solo album, Black Aria, on CD at my local record shop the day it was released, expecting more rock/metal with his characteristic Elvis-like vocals.

By the way. I tried to search for a way to buy it digitally but couldn't find it. So if you happen to find it somewhere, I would be happy to know.

I'm really glad you enjoyed!

I still have my original compact disc, but it is somewhat scratched unfortunately. So my only current option is the YouTube (which is not very high quality).

I have actually considered buying a tape cassette of Black Aria on Discogs since collecting cassettes is my new jam. I have found cassettes to be more durable and reliable for older things... CD sounds good when new but they usually don't last 10+ years.

By the way, Glenn Danzig eventually released a Black Aria II album. I'm not as familiar with that one, but I believe it is on YouTube as well.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

This is great music guys, loving it. I miss music on vinyl records, they last a lot longer than CDs or Cassettes and while I can't really hear well enough to hear the difference, audiophiles claim they have better sound quality too, since you don't have to worry about the size of the digital file.

[multiarms]

Jun 9, 2021 14:38:46 GMT -5 Iucounu said:

Thanks for the album recommendation. It's really great!

In the games I play in someone usually puts on some random fantasy music by searching for words like "fantasy" and choosing the first playlist that comes up. I am not always that happy about it since those kinds of playlists almost always sound like an epic battle or something. I would much more like something that could create an eerie or imposing atmosphere to keep us on our toes. Though I don't DM in that group and the rest of them likes it.

I have been listening to a lot of Dungeon Synth lately, but mostly while reading. I tried to put it on during a game but I found that some it was very distracting (especially the album More True Than Time Thought by Hedge Wizard). Maybe I should just be more selective about what albums and songs that specifically fit the mood and not just put on the playlist I regularly listen to. I would like to try some music that is more in the style of the album you shared.

While reading though, I have found Dungeon Synth to be fantastic. I recently read a collection of Conan stories and some of the music I found contributed so much to the atmosphere while reading the book that I got goosebumps at one point. I think I was listening to Den Sorte Død or Offermose while reading The Tower of The Elephant. They are kind of electronic but I found that fit perfectly with the themes of extra planar beings, telepathy and such.

As a recommendation for the thread I will post this album by Offermose:

I'm listening to this Offermose right now, and it is pretty interesting, although it has much more of a synthwave sound than what I usually listen to. This is a new artist to me so thanks for the recommendation! I am playing it using Bandcamp since I find the quality to be better usually and I can follow the artists easily that way.

I'm very glad to meet a fellow Dungeon Synth lord here in the dank crypt below Murkhill. Hail Lucounu!


- multi

[multiarms]

Here is what I could find of Danzig's Black Aria II. I will just post a link here instead of embedded video because the artwork is NSFW.

youtube.com/playlist?list=PL302g-xzahPPqwJrzcHHJH9YjQ3tHw_ER

As I said, I am not as familiar with this album since it came out many years later and I never had it except as mp3. I've only listened to it a few times, but I don't think it is quite as good.

I will post something new tomorrow hopefully!

[mao]

My favorite background music is the soundtrack to the movie Cat People. It has the theme by David Bowie and then is very spooky. I wish I had more like this as I love music at the game, mostly I just played whatever I felt like. Several of the payers burned cds for me of stuff they knew I would like. My BFF and I have very different music choices, I don't like his favorites and he doesn't like mine.

[mao]

Jun 10, 2021 7:03:14 GMT -5 mao said:

My favorite background music is the soundtrack to the movie Cat People. It has the theme by David Bowie and then is very spooky. I wish I had more like this as I love music at the game, mostly I just played whatever I felt like. Several of the payers burned cds for me of stuff they knew I would like. My BFF and I have very differant music chooices, I don't like his favorites and he doesn't like mine.

BTW the Cat People movie is terrible, it is so slow.

[multiarms]

Thanks Mao, that Cat People soundtrack is pretty cool. I listened to it on Spotify this morning and would totally use this for a Call of Cthulhu type of game. It doesn't have the dank mythic medieval fantasy that I usually am looking for with D&D though.

I never saw that movie, but I have seen the original from the 1940s and it's pretty great. The original "jump scare" is in that film. The 40s sequel is also a weird fantastic film.

[multiarms]

I frequently listened to film scores during D&D and Warhammer back in the day.

At that time, Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) were in frequent rotation. 

I also really liked the score to Last of the Mohicans (1992). It has a foresty epic feel as well as some folksy fiddle parts. Excellent theme music for rangers and barbarians.

[multiarms]

Here's something slightly more obscure. My brother and I played this computer game Mechwarrior 2, back in 1995. It was a good game, but the soundtrack was FANTASTIC. And I feel like the game came with a CD or something because we would listen to it all the time. Obviously it has a bit of a futuristic or sci-fi feel at parts but it always seemed to work well for fantasy atmosphere as well. Especially stealth scenes, assassination, ninjas, infiltration missions, etc.

Listening to it again makes me think of all the weird RPG adventures we had in high school...

[multiarms]

Here's a recent Dungeon Synth album by an obscure Euro artist known as "Thongor," named after Lin Carter's fictional sword & sorcery hero character Thongor of Lemuria. This music is from 2018 and the artist might be Italian (?). I feel this one is perfectly suited for fantasy and sword & sorcery adventures.

[hengest]

Killer thread. Inspiring throughout.

[Iucounu]

I have been listening a lot to that Black Aria album these last few days. It's seriously great. And, Wow everything else that has been posted in the meantime looks really interesting. I am looking forward to listening to it while i read!

I looked up that soundtrack from Cat People and saw that it was Giorgio Moroder. I love that guy's music. I recently watched Scarface as well and was reminded how amazing his score for that one is.

[multiarms]

Next up on my list of favorite atmospheric D&D music is an album called Ancient Noëls. I still have the CD from 1994, which was a gift from my father. He never really understood D&D but was trying to get me something that I might be interested in, which meant a lot to me.

Musically, it is an instrumental album with a Christian Nativity theme, although none of the tracks are recognizable "Christmas songs." The dulcimer is the primary instrument, accompanied by drums and flutes, with a medieval Celtic feel. 

I use this album when the adventurers are in a settlement. Maybe it is a small village where they are resting in safety after a dangerous excursion into the underworld. It is also excellent music for a castle feast or bustling faire. 

The album is still in print on CD; you can find it easily. It is also on Spotify here.

Most of the tracks can be found individually on YouTube. Here is the opening tune:

[multiarms]

Dead Can Dance is an unusual musical duo which has a long discography dating back to 1984, and they are still active today. I first head of them in the early 90s, at an independent music store in Cleveland Ohio. There was this really cool poster for a band called Dead Can Dance, which is a weird name. I had no idea what kind of music it was but I bought a CD anyway and my mind was blown. 



When they first started in the early 80s, DCD was a post-punk goth rock band which sounded kind of like the Cure or Siouxie and the Banshees. Over time, beginning with their second album, they began experimenting with medieval folk and ethnic music, eventually veering towards an eclectic mix of afro-middle eastern "world music" in later years.

Probably everyone here has heard the haunting vocals of Lisa Gerrard, who is one-half of Dead Can Dance. She is known for her mournful, etheric-sounding vocals, which are in a spontaneous idiosyncratic language of her own invention (a form of "glossolalia" for those who know what that means). She became somewhat famous for her vocals on the soundtrack to the film Gladiator, and after that she has worked on numerous film soundtracks.

One of their classic songs is "Host of the Seraphim." It has their characteristic droning instrumentals and Lisa's insanely beautiful yet frightening voice. In D&D, I love this track for an encounter with mystical elves or something.



Some of their medieval european folk music is great for social encounters and scenes in settlements. I have always enjoyed the song "Saltarello" for feasting or revelry in D&D.



Later period DCD tends more towards ethnic world music, but can be great for gaming too, especially for an exotic setting like a sword & sorcery sultan's palace or jungle island or barbarian forest. Check out "Nierika."



I think almost everything that Dead Can Dance have done is worth listening to, although not everything is well-suited for D&D. They produced 9 studio albums so far, as well as several live releases and compilations. I would steer away form their self-titled first album, which is basically a rock album, and also their 2012 album Anastasis which I found to be quite crappy.

If you are looking to get into Dead Can Dance, I would recommend the albums from the late 1980s, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, The Serpent's Egg, and Aion. Lisa Gerrard's solo albums and soundtracks are fun to explore as well.

I also have created a Spotify playlist of Dead Can Dance to be used with D&D. It includes about 2.5 hours worth of music, focusing on instrumental tracks and Lisa Gerrard vocal tracks. I avoided the songs with English lyrics and those with exclusively Brendan Perry's vocals (which are cool, but not for D&D).

My Spotify playlist

Happy listening, enjoy, and Fight On!

Nick

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Jun 15, 2021 13:14:47 GMT -5 multiarms said:

Dead Can Dance 

Great thread and post, have an Exalt!

[multiarms]

Jun 9, 2021 14:38:46 GMT -5 Iucounu said:

In the games I play in someone usually puts on some random fantasy music by searching for words like "fantasy" and choosing the first playlist that comes up. I am not always that happy about it since those kinds of playlists almost always sound like an epic battle or something. I would much more like something that could create an eerie or imposing atmosphere to keep us on our toes.

This is a great point!

I feel like epic battle music is not really that useful in my D&D. If a combat scene is exciting, it will be epic enough on its own. Voices may be raised, players standing up, and the background music (if any) will fade out of awareness. 

I suspect that those long playlists of epic battle music are created and used by folks playing modern games like Pathfinder and 5e, where there are so many hit points and ways of healing in combat... the battles can last sooo long, with precise tactical movement on a grid, "grinding" down HP, using various feats and abilities, etc. You almost need epic music because it's more like playing a board game or video game boss battle.

My preference is for subdued music at low volume, just to create an ambiance or vibe amongst the players at the table. Ideally, the music should be barely noticeable. "Eerie and imposing" stuff like Black Aria for a dungeon scene, maybe something lighter or more cheerful for social scenes, etc. 

I've been listening to this artist ASKII recently. They have several albums on YouTube and Bandcamp. The YouTubes are cool because there are evocative videos as well. But generally I prefer to use Bandcamp for listening, because it is ad-free listening without interruptions. 

ASKII seems to specialize in creating a very chill vibe (relaxing fantasy music). Perfect for reading or studying. I like this one a lot for quieter scenes, especially nighttime urban adventures such as cat-burglary, espionage, and the like.




I plan to use this in an upcoming session when the PCs have returned from the wilderness back to town, and I will run a spontaneous nighttime urban adventure session using the wonderful Nocturnal Table by Gabor Lux (the $10 zine ships from Hungary. The PDF is available here).


Enjoy!

[dicecapades]

This music is all new to me, but I have to say that I am liking it.

[karaunios]

Like I said in an older post: computer RPGs have plenty of ambient music for different atmospheres. Combat, tavern, dungeon, towns, rural areas, etc. Many of them are very good and the newer ones are usually orchestrated.

Most OST are available on YouTube.

Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate II
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale II
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights II
Pillars of Eternity
Pillars of Eternity II
Tyranny
The Witcher
The Witcher II
The Witcher III
Mount & Blade
Mount & Blade - Viking Conquest
Apotheon
Gothic
Gothic II
Gothic 3
Risen
The Elder Scrolls - Arena
The Elder Scrolls II - Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls III - Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim
World of Warcraft

Others I suspect are good but haven't checked yet: the Divinity games, Dragon Age games, Baldur's Gate III, Pathfinder Kingmaker, Nox, Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord.

Some YouTube channels even have ambient videos with music. So you get a dungeon video (with images from the game), where you hear drops of water, etc. Or a rural video with the chirps of birds.

You can also download YouTube videos by subscribing, but there's plenty of YouTube downloaders of you Google it, most of them allowing you to download the videos on mp3 (music) format.









If you play videogames, GOG (Good Old Games) is better stuff for this. You get goodies that include mp3 and sometimes flac versions of the OSTs.

With these you're not gonna be short on D&D music for several lifetimes.

[karaunios]

Before I forget: there's also plenty of channels with ambient videos (no music) on YouTube too.

My favourite one is The Guild of Ambience.







But other good channels are Michael Ghelfi, New Bliss, Relaxing Soundzzz and johnielawson. Others with music Ambient Worlds, Meisio, Craft of Ambience and Everness.

[multiarms]

Check this out!

Ancient Egyptian sword & sorcery music by Karl Sanders:



There is no better soundtrack for dark ritual sacrifice and exotic cultic activities.

Musician/composer Karl Sanders is best known as lead guitarist and vocalist for the long-running death metal band NILE... which I also recommend. Nile is 100% about ancient Egypt in all their lyrics and songs. Totally unique in the metal scene.

[mao]

Love Egyptian crap! Will def listen and report back! Thanx multiarms!

[Morose]

I like foreboding classical music and similar stuff.