D&D 5E Adding music to your session

[robus]

Any of the three Thief soundtracks are fantastic, especially for dungeons. I combine them with various ambient sounds that play alongside the music. (I have two music players on at the same time)

Big fan of classic Tangerine Dream so I'll have to check that out

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

I've tried Syrinscape it was fun for a bit but the UI got annoying. I'd like to be able to build a shortcut screen to activate the various soundscapes I'm expecting to need for the evening but there's no way to do that. So I got tired of fiddling with it.

In the end I've stopped using music/ambient effects which makes me sad. I'll try some of the other suggestions here.

There is actually a way to do that. Go on the Syrinscape website and log into your account. Go to the Campaign Manager. Then you can name a campaign and select which soundsets you're going to need for that campaign (which might just be a night). I've made several just for general purposes (all monsters in one, all locations in another, etc) along with specific ones I need for individual characters or sessions.

 

[robus]

There is actually a way to do that. Go on the Syrinscape website and log into your account. Go to the Campaign Manager. Then you can name a campaign and select which soundsets you're going to need for that campaign (which might just be a night). I've made several just for general purposes (all monsters in one, all locations in another, etc) along with specific ones I need for individual characters or sessions.

Huh - this is a recent update? (I'll admit it's been about 6 months since I tried it - and I've cancelled my subscription due to lack of use).

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

I vaguely remember that there was a free version of SyrinScape, but then it was changed to commercial? I would use something like that if it were free of charge.

Currently I just use Spotify playlists, of which I already have several depending on the type of scene, such as taverns, overland travels (different terrains), dungeons, temples, battle... my playlists are growing and changing over time, for example I found out that after a while "battle music" becomes really annoying unless the fight is relatively short.

You can download Syrinscape for free, and each of the three versions (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Board Games) comes with two free soundsets (Bugbear Battle and Witchwood in Fantasy, for example). The other soundsets do cost money, though they do offer a subscription service.

Another site that does a wide variety of sounds is http://www.ambient-mixer.com/ It is free, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of theme sounds available, and because the different elements of the soundsets can be set to different times and rates, you don't get the repetitiveness of just throwing one song on a loop for as long as a scene takes to conclude. Ambient Mixer has everything from modern to fantasy to sci-fi (even several inspired by specific fandoms, like Game of Thrones or Harry Potter). You can also make your own, if you can't find any to your liking.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Huh - this is a recent update? (I'll admit it's been about 6 months since I tried it - and I've cancelled my subscription due to lack of use).

Relatively new, I think? I only started tinkering with it in the last month or so, but I know it was around for a bit before that.

They also came out with a Soundset Creator, where you can add your own sounds and build your own soundsets from scratch (and share them with the community, if you're so inclined), though I believe you have to be a subscriber to gain access to it.

 

[DEFCON 1]

For music I just have MP3s saved on my laptop that I play. I don't have a Spotify account, so this works just fine for me. And every once in a while I head over to my local library and borrow new movie soundtracks to use.

As far as atmospheric sounds... I have a free account over at www.ambient-mixer.com and have saved web links to many ambient soundtracks that I use. You can search for all manner and style of ambient sounds, and can actually build and save your own if you don't find ones that work.

This was particularly helpful when I created a ambient soundtrack to use at the Abbey of St. Markovia in my Curse of Strahd games, where it was just a whole heap of people screaming and crying. When the groups were walking around the Abbey and saw the hundreds of mongrelfolk chained and boxed up, it definitely upped the creep factor by the constant screaming in the background.

 

[robus]

For music I just have MP3s saved on my laptop that I play. I don't have a Spotify account, so this works just fine for me. And every once in a while I head over to my local library and borrow new movie soundtracks to use.

As far as atmospheric sounds... I have a free account over at www.ambient-mixer.com and have saved web links to many ambient soundtracks that I use. You can search for all manner and style of ambient sounds, and can actually build and save your own if you don't find ones that work.

This was particularly helpful when I created a ambient soundtrack to use at the Abbey of St. Markovia in my Curse of Strahd games, where it was just a whole heap of people screaming and crying. When the groups were walking around the Abbey and saw the hundreds of mongrelfolk chained and boxed up, it definitely upped the creep factor by the constant screaming in the background.

I was just checking this out - and, yeah, there does seem to be a bunch of handy soundscapes there!

 

[MNblockhead]

I hear BattleBards advertised a lot. I know that the Godsfall podcast uses Battlebards for its sound tracks. Any use it? How does it compare to Syrinscape?

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I used to hand-pick albums to play during the session, but have since switched to Pandora stations. They have to be properly curated first, though, making sure you’ve given the appropriate thumbs-up and down to mold it to your liking. Otherwise, like during my last session, your Skyrim station will start playing Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, and Frank Sinatra because hey, Fallout!

 

[Nickolaidas]

Hey All, what does everyone use for background music/effects for your sessions? I've heard Syrinscape is the way to go. Thoughts?

Different soundtracks for different things.

City Music: Skyrim, Witcher, a few Square Enix games.
Tavern Music: Witcher 3's Gwent matches music fits perfectly.
Dungeon - exploration: All themes from the PC game Dark Maus fit perfectly.
Dungeon - battle - easy: battle music from the PS One game called Kartia
Dungeon - battle - undead: boss battle music from the PS4 game called Bloodborne
Dungeon - battle - hard: search 'epic music' on YouTube and you're spot on.