ZEITGEIST Using Music in the Zeitgeist Adventure Path

[DigitalCreepshowCalliope]

I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but I love using music during certain scenes during my DMing, and Zeitgeist’s narrative structure offers prime real estate.

Here’s some tracks I have or plan to use for my group as we start digging into Adventure 4 (which is a big hit after a slightly sluggish affair during adventure 3 [I am not good at combat!]) mostly from Game OSTS.

I’d love to hear suggestions/examples of things you’ve used, but truthfully I’d also be satisfied if I were to introduce people to some cool soundtracks they may not have heard of!


General


Flint - City of Commerce

Heimdallr, the Vermillion Capital - Trails of Cold Steel


Royal Homeland Constabulary

C. S. P. D -Crossbell Police Department- - Trails From Zero

Obscurati

The Enforcers - Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter


You’re Under Arrest! - Gen Battle Theme 1

That Person’s Name Is - Bravely Default


Risur’s … Finest? - Gen Battle Theme 2

Enter Velocity - Astlibra


What is Ahead of You (Level Up Theme)

What is Ahead of You - Trails Through Daybreak


Act 1

Adventure 3


Ziggurat of Apet

Between Forgotten Reveries - Trails From Zero


Attack on the Gala of the Ancients

Inevitable Struggle - Trails From Zero


Things Just Got Real (attack on the RHC)

Get Over The Barrier! -Roaring Version- - Trails From Zero


Adventure 4

Orithea - Order in the Wilds

The Prestigious Mask - Nier


Adventure 5

Quital & Grappa

X-Matic - Blazblue

Borne

Battle of Providence - Bravely Second


Act 2

Flint - A City Rebuilding

Radiant Heimdallr - Trails of Cold Steel III


Adventure 6

Pemberton’s Lair Industries

The Wretched Automatons - Nier

Adventure 7

Quital & Grappa II

X-Matic II - Blazblue

Adventure 8

Kasavarina

Kainé/Salvation - Nier

Lukas (PC who was a founder of the Ob)

Song of the Ancients/Devola - Nier

The Great Malice

Grandma - Nier

Nicodemus

Gluttony Fang II - Blazblue

Adventure 9

Voice of Rot I

Out Come the Crawlers - Drakengard 3

Assault on the Governor's Mansion

Gral of Erebos - Trails of Cold Steel III

Stanfield

Plastic Night II - Blazblue

Act 2 Outro

Hail to the King - The Gloom in the Corner


Act 3

Post Great Eclipse Flint

Peaceful Sleep - Nier Automata

Adventure 11

The Dragons

Wretched Weaponry - Nier Automata

Adventure 12

Liam

Song of the Ancients/Popola - Nier

Voice of Rot (Possibly titled ‘This Is A Force’)

The Final Song - Drakengard 3


Adventure 13

Johny & Lya (more PC lore)

Sancho Boss Theme - Limbus Company

Gnostic

Endless Despair II - Blazblue

Blood Brothers

Song of the Ancients/Fate - Nier

The Axis Ritual

Lastendconductor - Umineko

 

[W'rkncacnter]

i haven't started running zeitgeist yet (and i probably won't for a while - i'm a good ways into running a doomed forgotten realms campaign that, if all goes well, won't be ending any time soon), but i have an entire word document with songs for different parts of the campaign (primarily action sequences). most are also taken from video games, but i think i have slightly different inspirations then you do. here's some examples:

Book 1:
Docker Brawl - Drink Up, There's More! (Witcher 3)
Lighthouse Siege - Storm (Half Life Opposing Force)

Book 2:
Vs. Cillian Creed (in the church) - Something Memorable (Furi)
Vs. Macbannin - The Shootist (Red Dead Redemption)

Book 3:
Fight at Mavisha's Seal - The Abyss and the Serpent (Ultrakill)
RHC HQ Fight - Enemy Within - Combat (Deus Ex)

Book 4:
Train Robbery - Diabolical Adrenaline Guitar (Half Life)
Fleeing Vendricce - We've Got Hostiles! (Black Mesa)

Book 5:
Vs. Gale - Weathering Heights (Wrath of Cortex)
Vs. the Colossus - Weapons of Mass Destruction (Ace Combat 6)

Book 6:
Stampede Ambush - Legendary Pokemon (Black/White 2)
Islas Dolas Focas - War Without Reason (Ultrakill, split into literally as many parts as possible to cover the entire assault)

Book 7:
Assault on Knutpara - Skidoo (Tomb Raider 2, but a specific cover of it)
With Macbannin vs. the Ghost Council - Outlaw's Return (Red Dead Redemption)

Book 8:
Nic's Lantern Ambush - The Part Where He Kills You (Portal 2)
vs. Nic on the Lance - ORDER (Ultrakill)

Book 9:
vs. Voice of Rot - God Devouring Serpent Phase 2 (Elden Ring)
Battle of Flint - like 5 different Project Wingman songs in a row because i want to give my players MULTIPLE heart attacks (no, you don't get any points for guessing what the last two are or when they play)

Book 10:
Escaping Axis Island - Invincible Fleet (Ace Combat 4)
Fighting the Godmind - Paradise Warfare (Carpenter Brut - hey, that's not a video game song!)

Book 11:
Gidim Ship - Intro (SiN)
Sigismund, Become Triegenes - Crucified (Army of Lovers, because...i dunno, i'm psychotic? why is this here?)

Book 12:
Meeting Srasama - 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed (Silver Mt. Zion)
vs. Voice of Rot, but for real this time - Goddess of Rot Phase 2 (Elden Ring)

Book 13:
Saving the Cities - The City Must Survive (Frostpunk)
Axis Seal - Steel Haze (where truths meet) (Armoured Core 6)

 

[DigitalCreepshowCalliope]

i haven't started running zeitgeist yet (and i probably won't for a while - i'm a good ways into running a doomed forgotten realms campaign that, if all goes well, won't be ending any time soon), but i have an entire word document with songs for different parts of the campaign (primarily action sequences). most are also taken from video games, but i think i have slightly different inspirations then you do. here's some examples:

Book 1:
Docker Brawl - Drink Up, There's More! (Witcher 3)
Lighthouse Siege - Storm (Half Life Opposing Force)

Book 2:
Vs. Cillian Creed (in the church) - Something Memorable (Furi)
Vs. Macbannin - The Shootist (Red Dead Redemption)

Book 3:
Fight at Mavisha's Seal - The Abyss and the Serpent (Ultrakill)
RHC HQ Fight - Enemy Within - Combat (Deus Ex)

Book 4:
Train Robbery - Diabolical Adrenaline Guitar (Half Life)
Fleeing Vendricce - We've Got Hostiles! (Black Mesa)

Book 5:
Vs. Gale - Weathering Heights (Wrath of Cortex)
Vs. the Colossus - Weapons of Mass Destruction (Ace Combat 6)

Book 6:
Stampede Ambush - Legendary Pokemon (Black/White 2)
Islas Dolas Focas - War Without Reason (Ultrakill, split into literally as many parts as possible to cover the entire assault)

Book 7:
Assault on Knutpara - Skidoo (Tomb Raider 2, but a specific cover of it)
With Macbannin vs. the Ghost Council - Outlaw's Return (Red Dead Redemption)

Book 8:
Nic's Lantern Ambush - The Part Where He Kills You (Portal 2)
vs. Nic on the Lance - ORDER (Ultrakill)

Book 9:
vs. Voice of Rot - God Devouring Serpent Phase 2 (Elden Ring)
Battle of Flint - like 5 different Project Wingman songs in a row because i want to give my players MULTIPLE heart attacks (no, you don't get any points for guessing what the last two are or when they play)

Book 10:
Escaping Axis Island - Invincible Fleet (Ace Combat 4)
Fighting the Godmind - Paradise Warfare (Carpenter Brut - hey, that's not a video game song!)

Book 11:
Gidim Ship - Intro (SiN)
Sigismund, Become Triegenes - Crucified (Army of Lovers, because...i dunno, i'm psychotic? why is this here?)

Book 12:
Meeting Srasama - 13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round The Side Of Your Bed (Silver Mt. Zion)
vs. Voice of Rot, but for real this time - Goddess of Rot Phase 2 (Elden Ring)

Book 13:
Saving the Cities - The City Must Survive (Frostpunk)
Axis Seal - Steel Haze (where truths meet) (Armoured Core 6)

I’d very much like to get my grubby little rat hands on that full list if possible, both to listen to the tracks and to know what scenes you focus on that I may have forgotten, as your list seems quite through.(and ordered conveniently for my neurodivergent needs)

(Also bumbing the thread an account of both updates and the addition of a playlist link)

 

[W'rkncacnter]

I’d very much like to get my grubby little rat hands on that full list if possible, both to listen to the tracks and to know what scenes you focus on that I may have forgotten, as your list seems quite through.(and ordered conveniently for my neurodivergent needs)

(Also bumbing the thread an account of both updates and the addition of a playlist link)

im not actually sure it's as thorough as i may have made it seem. i haven't finished it yet (i've been focusing on my current campaign) and a lot of the names i gave for sections would probably be bizarre and esoteric to anyone else (i had to rename several sections for that post!).

but i think when i have the time i'll add some more songs and clean up the doc a little and post that. not now, though, i got work to go to lol

 

[Rukaiko]

Awesome! I'm always on the lookout for good background music—it's super tricky finding stuff outside my usual taste, thanks!

Over the past four years, I've collected a ton of music for all kinds of moments, but honestly, most of it ended up scattered in random folders or YouTube links. The one thing I've consistently kept organized is a Spotify playlist. It started out with my players picking songs that represented their characters, and later I started adding a couple of tracks for each chapter as a kind of preview for them.

Most songs made the cut because of their lyrics that represents specific NPCs or moments, but sometimes it was just the vibe that matched perfectly.

 

[RangerWickett]

Shia LaBeouf Live is in the playlist for Always on Time?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Shia LaBeouf Live is in the playlist for Always on Time?

i think that's cauldron born, actually

 

[Rukaiko]

Yes, it was supposed to represent Lorcan Kell, since he was always haunting them, killing the other team members and in the end I made him hidden in a cabin in the cloudwood forest like LaBeouf And as a cherry on top he came back from the dead in the bleak gate (Wait, he isn't dead, Shia surprise! There is a gun to your head and death in his eyes!)

 

[W'rkncacnter]

well, it's not complete (and probably won't be for a while), but if i don't post it now i'm gonna forget to do it at all, so here's what i have. i don't have links to anything and it's literally just a word doc, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the songs on youtube (yes, that includes the individual phases of war without reason). if you need help finding anything, feel free to ask.