A Role Playing Games Blog
Music
Every RPG should have its own soundtrack!
3August 30, 2011
On the weekend I started playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which is actually a prequel to the original Deus Ex that was released over a decade ago. I like the game a lot so far, especially the soundtrack. I am sure the game wouldn’t be as fun if it didn’t have the great soundtrack by Michael McCann. In movies and computer/console games the soundtrack plays a vital role. Music can affect our emotions much more than visuals or words.
That’s the reason why a lot of game masters use background music when running roleplaying games. Alas it’s often not so easy to find fitting music for your game. Often you have to rely on movie and game soundtracks, but they are not as perfectly suited as one might hope. What some GMs end up doing is creating elaborate playlists for their games with background music, music for combat scenes, music for chase scenes etc.
From Weird West to Barbarians of the Future
3August 17, 2011
Today I want to share a couple of things I stumbled upon during the last days.
-
Tomb of the Overfiend
Weird West is definitely one of coolest old-school games ever conceived. It’s extremely rules-light, but contains a lot of weird west goodness. Recently Stuart Robertson, creator of that fine game, released a free one-page adventure based on an excellent map by Matt Jackson. And even if you’re not into Weird West you can easily use it for other old-school games as well. - Ashen Stars Theme Music
James Semple who has done several soundtracks for Gumshoe games in the past, has composed a theme music for Robin D. Laws latest game, Ashen Stars. I really hope this is the first sign of a full Ashen Stars soundtrack to come. You can listen to the rather short theme tune here. -
Barbarians of the Future
You probably might already have heard about Barbarians of Lemuria, Simon Washbourne’s Sword & Sorcery RPG. While I haven’t tried the game yet, it’s among the games I have to give a try at least once. Some people actually call it one of the best RPGs of the genre. Obviously the system used in BoL can also be easily be used in other genres. There’s Jabberwocky Productions’ post-apocalyptic setting-expansion Barbarians of the Aftermath for example.
A while back rpg.net forum member Maxwell Luther created a free PDF supplement for BoA that allows players and the GM to experience adventures in the grim-dark future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe (with the serial numbers filed off). If you are interested in both BoA and the WH40K universe, you should definitely give it a look. You can download the 42-paged PDF here. -
Expedition RPG
Fellow RPG blogger Dennis N. Santana has recently released an early playtest edition of his Expedition RPG. I haven’t had time to give it a closer look, but according to Shaun Welch’s playtest reports (part one & part two), he and his players not only had fun with the fast character creation system that allows truly unique character concepts, but also very much enjoyed the combat rules. From what I’ve seen Expedition contains a lot of interesting ideas that set the game apart from the majority of fantasy games. If you’re looking for something new, why don’t you give it a try. It’s free and obviously pretty polished for a game still in its alpha stage.
Review: Eternal Lies Suite
2April 15, 2011
I love using music in roleplaying games since my first GM used the “Nightmare on Elm Street” soundtrack in a CHILL game he was running. Before that we had no background music but I can remember no session without it after that. Music can touch you at a deeper level than the spoken word can and it’s great to convey emotions.
I am also a big fan of the GUMSHOE system. Robin D. Laws is one of my favorite game designers and in my opinion GUMSHOE is the perfect system for investigative campaigns of all kinds. So when I read that James Semple had created music for both Trail of Cthulhu and Esoterrorists I had to buy it immediately. Both Dissonance for Esoterrorists and Four Shadows for Trail are great soundtracks albeit a bit short.
But James Semple, his team (Marie-Anne Fischer, Mike Torr, and Yaiza Varona) and Pelgrane Press didn’t stop there. Recently they released the Eternal Lies Suite as soundtrack for the Eternal Lies campaign for Trail of Cthulhu. I haven’t had the chance to look at said campaign but I had to buy the soundtrack as soon as it became available at the Pelgrane Press online shop.
The soundtrack consists of 27 tracks of orchestrated music. Some of the tracks feature additional sound samples like wind, breathing, etc. but this never distracts from the beautiful music. I own a couple of soundtracks by Midnight Syndicate where the samples actually are quite distracting especially when used as background music. But this is not the case here.
The majority of the tracks are orchestral pieces like you would expect from a horror movie soundtrack. Especially the longer pieces work great as background music for any horror roleplaying game. The last few tracks on the soundtrack are obviously meant for special situations like chases, dangerous situations, and are aptly named "Run!”, “Danger”, “Tension” etc. But I think you could still use those in the background as well.
The soundtrack is available as download as well as on CD and is highly recommended not only for Trail but for any period horror game. According to the official product description the soundtrack was created in a way that you can loop it unobtrusively and the action tracks can be shuffled randomly but still blend seamlessly. I have to admit I haven’t tried that yet, but I will surely do so when I run my next horror game.
You can listen to a sample of the soundtrack here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
You can buy the Eternal Lies Suite as download or CD at the Pelgrane Press Store which sets you back $14.95 or $18.95 respectively. Alternatively the download version is available at DriveThruRPG as well.
Campaign Primer Ideas! Part 2
1April 13, 2011
Now that I’ve started writing about this I can’t stop. Here is the thing, on a previous post I was musing about the “campaign primer”, the way to introduce your campaign to your prospective players, inspired by Shinobicow’s excellent series on World Building.
In his series, specifically Part 8 he talks about this and touches upon the elevator speech, or elevator pitch, call it what you may. And I think this is particularly appropriate, the idea is to communicate the “value proposition”, in layman’s terms, why this campaign is right for you! Having worked in sales I can understand the value of this type of communication. Precise, succinct, to the point, and there is something to be said for getting your point across in a distilled form. It forces you to take a hard look at the campaign and reduce it to its salient features.
Of course, being creative types who have (probably) worked on this campaign for hours upon hours, you want to share every exciting detail with the players. My advice, be patient, there will be time for this. If you indulge my digression here for a moment, patience is also a valuable skill for a Game Master. In our modern “instant gratification” culture we want all the excitement and we want it right now, but if you pace yourself, set up plots and introduce information little by little not only will you have the satisfaction when it all comes together down the line, but you will keep your players engrossed and interested, coming back to your game for more.
But back to the task at hand, how do we apply this to the campaign primer. Ok let me recapitulate from the last post and give some structure to this:
New Erdenstern album in the works
6May 31, 2010
If you have been following Stargazer’s World for some time now, you probably already read a few reviews of music suitable for roleplaying sessions. Aside from various soundtracks there are a few musicians who are creating music especially with roleplaying in mind, one of those bands is Erdenstern.
The three German musicians Andreas Petersen, Eva-Maria Irek and Per Dittmann are currently working on their next album which will be called “Into The White”. Here’s what the official site tells us about Erdenstern’s upcoming CD:
Announced for summer, 2010
“Into The White” leads you far up north, through the austere lands of the tundra to the endless range of eternal ice. Amidst the cold and solitude, you meet the inhabitants of this hostile environment – proud warriors, simple fishermen, surreal figures and wild beasts. You will witness the intense and forbidding beauty of the scenery. You will explore mighty glacial caves, cross snow-covered plains, seek shelter from avalanches and blizzards. Lit by the magical northern lights, your expedition comes to a close.
And here’s a sample of what “Into The White” will have to offer. Enjoy!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ask the Readers: What’s your favorite rock band?
4January 19, 2010
As a lot of ideas these days, the idea to this post developed on Twitter. Zachary from RPG Blog 2 tweeted about being interested to find out more about gamers’ music tastes. The idea developed over a couple of tweets, Michael Brewer from Mad Brew Labs and I joined the discussion. Finally we decided it would be best, if Zachary created a short survey. It basically just asks about your favorite rock band and about your preferences when it comes to music in gaming. It would be great if you could take a minute to check out the survey.
Roleplaying music
I usually use orchestral movie or video game soundtracks or music especially created for roleplaying games in my gaming sessions. Sometimes I use the music I later want to use in the game session while preparation to get me into the right mood. Especially when I am planning a horror game, creepy music is playing all day. 
If you want to learn more about my preferences when it comes to music in gaming, please check out some of my other posts on that topic as well:
- Instant soundtrack for your Cthulhu campaign
- Roleplaying music – Five essential soundtrack albums
- Horror Improved!
- Music for the adventure in your mind
Rock music
In some occasions I have used rock music during game sessions. I remember that I often used rock music while running Shadowrun and I used metal music in some D&D combats. Especially when I want to use rock music in D&D I prefer bands who use fantasy elements in their songs. Bands like Manowar, Blind Guardian and Rhapsody of Fire come to mind. But I am pretty sure there are dozens more.
When asked about my favorite rock band, I usually can’t give a definitive answer. I have been a fan of Genesis, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits for a long time, but recently I’ve started to listen to bands like Nickelback, Theory of a Dead Man, Evanescence and 30 Seconds to Mars, too. But I think my all-time favorite is still Dire Strait’s “Brothers in Arms”.
Instant soundtrack for your Cthulhu campaign
11
For many years now, I have used background music in my roleplaying game sessions. Music is a prefect tool to help to set a certain mood. For my last Trail of Cthulhu game, which was set into the late 1930s, I used a mix of movie soundtracks (especially the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” soundtrack works great for any horror game) and 1930s jazz music. I didn’t own any 1930s music, so I had to lend a few CDs from a friend who’s a big fan of jazz music.
But now I found a free source of music from the early 20th century (thanks to the Propnomicon blog). Archive.org has thousands of recordings from 78 rpm records and even phonograph cylinders.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The above song is 1920s big band music performed by Abe Lyman and his band.
You have a question about an existing or upcoming Stargazer Games product? Ask away! You want to know what we think about a recent development in the RPG industry? Send in your questions. You always wanted to know what we think about game X? Send us an email.
