Music at the gaming table?

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NewJeffCT

First Post

• Sep 23, 2009

• #1

I haven't really used much in the way of music in the midst of my 2 year old campaign (still in 3.5E, hitting level 17 soon)... however, I heard a few songs recently that made me change my mind since my next session will likely be wall-to-wall combat. And, the party will be facing a long-time nemesis who has escaped them 3 times in the past, but not before dropping at least 1 PC each time.But, I need some suggestions for epic/bombastic type movie score stuff for the gaming table.

So far, I have the "Conan the Barbarian" theme song from Basil Poledouris, as well as "Pompeii" from ES Posthumus. Any other suggestions?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UChMJ14dQNs]YouTube - Conan the barbarian soundtrack[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GusLypfx7OQ]YouTube - E.S. Posthumus - Pompeii[/ame]

This was the only other time I used music - for Harpy song...
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdqjcW8u7Lw]YouTube - The MAGIC Of Bulgarian Voices & Music - Malka Moma / Little girl - LIVE (Gold collection)[/ame]

 

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Herschel

Adventurer

• Sep 23, 2009

• #2

You can never go wrong with the first two movements of Orff's "Carmina Burana". Wagner also has a lot of good stuff. Gregorian Chant to Lorena McKennitt works for me when feeling the mood, but it likely doesn't have that "mid battle" feel you're looking for.

 

weem

First Post

• Sep 23, 2009

• #3

The audio CD that came with Rome: Total War is great. So if you have that game and have not considered it, check it out.

In fact...

From the RTW Wiki Page...

The original music soundtrack for the game was composed by Jeff van Dyck, who received a BAFTA (British Academy) Interactive Awards nomination for his work. His wife Angela van Dyck features in some of the vocals; Angela also wrote the lyrics for the song "Divinitus", the lyrics of which are in Latin. The game's most notable collaboration between Jeff and Angela is "Forever", which plays while the game's credits are rolling. "Forever" was originally meant to be the game's main menu song.

Click to expand...

 

Mouseferatu

Hero

• Sep 23, 2009

• #4

I've used whole soundtracks from:

Pirates of the Caribbean (1 and 2; less fond of the music from 3)
Gladiator
Conan
Krull
300
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
From Hell
Dracula
Equilibrium
Diablo
Deus Ex
Van Helsing
The Chronicles of Riddick
Several of the Batman movies
Hellboy
The Mummy
The Fog
The 13th Warrior
The Sixth Sense
Rune
Signs
Black Aria (not really a soundtrack, but still...)
Various Midnight Syndicate CDs (again, not soundtracks)

I've made my own "Combat CD" with individual pieces from:
The Phantom Menace
Ravenous
Frankenstein
Dune
and many of the above soundtracks

I've made my own "Character or Location themes" CD within individual pieces from:
Ravenous
The Matrix
Legend
The Omen
Return of the Jedi (Emperor's Theme)
Dune
Black Aria
Temple of Doom
Mars Attacks
Carmina Burana
Doctor Who
and again, many of the soundtracks listed above

And I'm sure I'm forgetting some--possibly quite a few--but there's a start, at least.

 

Mean Eyed Cat

Explorer

• Sep 23, 2009

• #5

You can't go wrong with Corvus Corax:[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC96H7beaDg]YouTube - Corvus Corax - Venus Vina Musica[/ame]

 

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EroGaki

First Post

• Sep 24, 2009

• #6

We have been using music at game for years now, and I honestly can't imagine a session without it. The right music can heighten the experience dramatically.

For example, a few years ago, my DM had us on a quest to eliminate a cult of devil worshippers. When we finally descended into their lair, he began to play some Gregorian Chant; the music was soft at first, but as we got closer to their location, the volume increased. It was very creepy.

 

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Oddric

First Post

• Sep 24, 2009

• #7

Just curious...

Adding music to a game doesn't make it distracting or anything? I thought it would and there would be less focus on the game.

 

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NewJeffCT

First Post

• Sep 24, 2009

• #8

good selection Mean Eyed Cat - thanks

 

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NewJeffCT

First Post

• Sep 24, 2009

• #9

Oddric said:

Just curious...

Adding music to a game doesn't make it distracting or anything? I thought it would and there would be less focus on the game.

Click to expand...

My group is unfocused & distracted enough

I figure at least the music would help me block out the side conversations I'm probably not supposed to hear anyways.

 

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Oddric

First Post

• Sep 24, 2009

• #10

NewJeffCT said:

My group is unfocused & distracted enough

I figure at least the music would help me block out the side conversations I'm probably not supposed to hear anyways.

Click to expand...

Haha.

I'm relatively new to GMing. So I'm very cautious of what I do that could cause the rest of my group to fall apart from distractions. So I think I'll wait before adding music to games. Maybe for major moments, but that's it. XD