Liven up your role playing games with music soundtracks
Players and game masters alike often look for ways to spice up their role playing games, to perhaps add a little atmosphere. Music can be essential to such a quest, providing background sound to keep play on an even keel or highlighting adventurous moments with a boost of adrenaline.
Longtime gamers likely will have their favorite tunes, but those new to the hobby might be wondering what music goes best with a session of Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, Traveler, or any number of tabletop RPGs. Also, with the holidays upon us, you might be looking for some gift ideas for your favorite gamer.
I have found that soundtracks often provide excitement and variety to gaming sessions. Obviously music is a subjective matter, much like deciding upon a favorite role playing game, but over the years here are a few soundtracks that have proved quite successful at my gaming tables:
Conan the Barbarian
This is the soundtrack for the 1982 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, not the more recent remake. I would be surprised if any gamers who have been part of the hobby for even a short while have not heard at least some of the music from this movie’s soundtrack, as it offers some of the most iconic adventure and fantasy music ever produced. Composer Basil Poledouris is likely best remembered today for his work here, and it is a legacy of which to be proud. Personal favorite songs on this soundtrack include “Anvil of Crom” and “Battle of the Mounds.” If you have no other gaming-related music in your collection, you should be able to get by with this one, at least for your fantasy games, because no other soundtrack offers the thrills of high adventure like this one.
https://youtu.be/sHDmXtW9Yx0
Ennio Morricone: The Legendary Italian Westerns
This album of music is not actually a soundtrack, but is a collection of various songs by composer Ennio Morricone taken from a half dozen Spaghetti Western films, including the famous Fistful of Dollars and its sequel, For a Few Dollars More. Perhaps surprisingly you will not find here Morricone’s most popular work, the theme song to the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, but many of these songs are just as iconic, just as strong, and perhaps a few of them better than that iconic song. My personal favorite of this bunch is “Man With a Harmonica” from Once Upon a Time in the West, but “The Showdown” and “The Massacre” are also full of tension and excitement. Some of this material would be appropriate to a fantasy-based RPG, but all of it fits well with a Western setting, so you Deadlands fans have something worth adding to your game sessions.
The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack music
Seeming gritty and dark when it was released in 1994, this soundtrack should prove perfect for any noir games in a modern setting, and possibly for any darkly futuristic, even post-apocalyptic games. Fans of ’90s alternative rock music will find plenty to enjoy, but more than that, this album provides plenty of atmosphere with songs such as “Burn” by The Cure and “Darkness” from Rage Against the Machine. And if you’re concerned about loud, raucous music disrupting your gameplay, don’t be as there are also a number of slower-beat songs here. All in all, this collection offers plenty of diversity while always staying close to its subject matter.
Best of Bond … James Bond (50th Anniversary Collection)
For all you James Bond fans, this is just about the perfect collection, bringing together all the hit songs from the first 50 years of the James Bond movies. Here you will find the likes of “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney and Wings, as well as “You Know My Name” by Chris Cornell, and many, many other recognizable tunes. Unfortunately you Adele fans will be left wanting, as this collection was released the year before “Skyfall” hit the theaters. Still, there is plenty here to add to any game of sleuthing or espionage. Break out the rules for Top Secret, or even the old James Bond role playing game, and knock the dust off your license to kill, because it’s time to do some spying.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Soundtrack
If you’re looking for a mixture of music, this might be the right three-disc collection for you and your game. Taken from the popular 2004 video game by Rockstar Games, here can be found a little of everything, from country music’s Willie Nelson crooning out “Crazy” to hip hop’s Cyprus Hill with “How I Could Just Kill a Man” to the classic James Brown’s “The Payback.” Any role playing game taking part from the late ’80s up to modern day should feel right at home with this music. Two discs contain 23 songs while the third disc is a DVD of a prologue for the video game, but if you want even more music, there is always the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Soundtrack Box Set, which includes 8 discs, all the music and talk from the radio stations found within the game.
This music is really just the tip of the iceberg, as I’m sure many of you have your own favorite soundtracks you would like to introduce to your gaming sessions, but I believe my list above is a good starting place for many. Since you’re here, why not go ahead and leave a Comment about some of your favorite music for gaming?
And remember, Stay Nerdy!
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