[DM]Music choices?

[Minsc]

I want to get some background music to set the mood for my D&D sessions.

Any suggestions (I'm starting from scratch here)

TIA

 

[Ghostwind]

You can't go wrong with the official Dungeons & Dragons soundtrack from Midnight Syndicate. For that matter, anything they've done is suitable, especially if you are running a horror-driven campaign.

The soundtracks to the Lord of the Rings movies are also considered must-haves by the folks around here. I also make use of the Official Motion Picture Soundtrack from the first Tomb Raider movie (not the general soundtrack that has Moby on it).

Some others that are suitable:
*Rune soundtrack
*Conan the Barbarian soundtrack
*Music from any of the D&D computer games (Balder's Gate, Icewind Dale, Myth Drannor, Neverwinter Nights)
*Highlander: The Televison Series official score

That's all that immediately come to mind. I'm sure everyone else can give you an even more extensive list.

 

[Arnwyn]

Ah, this thread pops up about once every 6 months.

Here is my rather extensive list that I use for gaming (thank goodness for those 300-CD players). I've found that soundtracks of all types (notably movie, anime, and video game) are excellent for gaming. It is recommended that you do *not* play music that is widely recognized (namely "Star Wars"), as you will likely evoke images that are not appropriate for the scene you are describing (unless, of course, you're playing a Star Wars game - in which you would only want to use Star Wars music). Anywho, the list (not comprehensive, since I'm at work and going by memory) that I use:
- Baldur's Gate
- Brain Powerd 1-2
- Brave Fencer Musashi
- Breath of Fire 1-5
- Chrono Trigger
- Chrono Cross
- Conan the Barbarian
- Conan the Destroyer
- Cutthroat Island
- Dracula/Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Dragonheart
- Dragon Quest Symphony 1-7
- Escaflowne 1-4
- Elemental Gearbolt
- Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture
- Final Fantasy 1-11, Tactics, etc.
- First Knight
- Grandia 1-2
- .hack 1-3
- Mask of Zorro
- The Mummy 1-2
- Noir 1-2
- The Phantom
- Record of Lodoss War 1-3
- Record of Lodoss War TV 1-3
- Sakura Wars
- Slayers
- Stargate
- Suikoden 1-3
- Tactics Ogre
- Treasure Hunter G
- Uncharted Waters
- Vagrant Story
- Waterworld
- Wild Arms 1-3
- Willow
- Xenogears
- Xenosaga
- Y's Symphony
- Zelda Symphony

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Black Aria by Glenn Danzig (yes its the Misfits singer, but no, this isn't punk or metal. Its an orchestral score that he wrote about a war between the angels)

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

My suggestions would be anything by Dead Can Dance, Lisa Gerard (formerly of DCD), or Loreena McKennit. Clannad, Enya, and various other celtic music types are also worth a listen but more pop-oriented. Dead Can Dance does music with middle-eastern and ancient themes, languages, instruments, etc. Very cool stuff.

Lisa Gerard has done some nice stuff since she left the group, including work on the Gladiator soundtrack. Loreena McKennit is slightly more modern in style but still with lots of celtic and middle eastern influences. Her stuff is more song-oriented than Dead Can Dance, if that makes any sense.

 

[The_Universe]

Star Wars (original trilogy music) + Indiana Jones (any) + Gladiator + LOTR = great game soundtrack.

I once took the time to rip all of my game CDs to Mp3, and then organized the music by game theme. There's a list for dramtic dialogue, one for villain introduction, one for sneaking around, one for fighting, etc.

I wish I had that kind of time, now.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

In my d20 Modern game, whenever the party comes across a bad guy who is associated with the Big Bad Guy, I play "Dance of the Sugarplum Faries" from the Nutcracker.

Scares the bejeebus out of them.

 

[Allanon]

Currently using Kuja's themes (he has more yes) from FF9 for the BBEG. Since none of my player's ever played the game it's sets the tone quite nicely. And since the songs sound alike but increase in intensity it also suits well when I want to raise the tension to show they are getting closer.

 

[Mark]

Here's a link I've seen before with some suggestions -

http://www.black-knight.org/penn/music/gaming_music.html

And here's a thread on Classical Music -

http://enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&t=58183

As archived in the DMing Advice thread -

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=47525

 

[Ghostwind]

I forgot about using stuff from Shadowfax if you want to go for an Eastern/Oriental flavor. Their earlier stuff is better in my opinion.