I know St. Patty's Day was last week, but I couldn't help myself jumping back into "The Riddle of Peadar O'Heyne." This variant turns up the amplitude, the speed, and the chaos. If you thought the first one was a fun dance, this should be perfect for once fists start swinging.
Obvious uses would be a tavern brawl (a classic scenario during a party's first session), or perhaps a duel in a town square. Pesky nilbogs or other "joke" monsters might be deserving of a comical fight song...
2020-03-25 23:43:28 +0000 UTC
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It's been a few weeks since I've given you something that's just calm. Especially if your party isn't just the "dungeon plundering" type, you're going to need a lot of relaxed, ambient soundscapes to fill the time when you're doing "stuff," but it's not super intense. Even when there are stakes, a lot of times in my campaign, my players will spend a long time feeling out a location and trying to slowly determine what to do, all while soaking in the regional flavor.
This track i...
2020-03-23 22:35:05 +0000 UTC
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No new track this Sunday, but I've got a bunch of stuff from my Patreon collaborator friends. I'll have a new track tomorrow and a bunch more later in the week.
First up: another gorgeous time lapse from Jog Brogzin! This is a map he recently drew for one of DM Dave's adventures (which is featured below). I love watching this mapmaking process. I have an incredibly unsteady hand and find it difficult to wri...
2020-03-22 20:44:03 +0000 UTC
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Hey y'all! Here's something new: I posted a little walkthrough of how I made my track "A Fey Presence" up on YouTube. I've never done something like this before, but it was a lot of fun, and if you guys like it, I'd love to do more videos like this. Let me know what kind of stuff you'd want to see. And please, give me harsh feedback! I'm no expert in video editing, but I do want to make these videos...
2020-03-19 18:06:30 +0000 UTC
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Got another new playlist for you: DnD Intense! This playlist is all about those high-stakes, blood pumping moments that aren't combat focused. Some examples for good times to throw this on would be chase sequences (regardless of whether your party is pursuing or pursued), heists and other clandestine operations, or epic escape sequences.
A perfect example: my players were trying to sec...
2020-03-18 14:23:10 +0000 UTC
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The Riddle of Peader O'Heyne | New 15th-Level Side Trek for Fifth Edition featuring a brand new track!
Note: The download links are below at the bottom of the page.
Leprechauns are small fey creatures who delight in pranks, mischief, and sometimes even the torture of unsuspecting humanoids whom they come into contact with. Some stories tell tales of capturing leprechauns, forcing the creatures to grant them three wishes. Other stories are more cau...
2020-03-17 15:26:06 +0000 UTC
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Happy Sunday, y'all! I did one of these "grab bags" last week, and I think I'm going to start doing them more often. A lot of times, I'll have a little bit of music, and a bunch of little goodies and updates to provide, so this seems like the perfect way to get it out all at once.
First up: new track! "Ambush Zencorin" is pure cinematic intensity, replete with Zimmer-esque "bwaaamps," incessant percussion, and thumping bass. Perfect for high stakes moments: combat, chases, or anything e...
2020-03-15 18:30:55 +0000 UTC
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I've got another big ol' Spotify playlist for all of you: DnD Villains! I had two specific uses in mind for this: non-combat confrontations with villains and exploring villainous lairs.
In my campaigns, I like to dangle bad guys in front of my players without the expectations that a fight is going to immediately break out. A lot of times, a BBEG is too c...
2020-03-11 12:54:59 +0000 UTC
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This variant of "Blood War Conscript" trims all the fat. This is just that juicy organ that you all clamor for. There's a bunch of different organ layers playing throughout, and I think it creates the vibe of an evil cathedral quite well. In general, you might want to treat this like a villainous theme song. The BBEG in one of my campaigns is an amnizu with a sort-of "Refined Southern Gentleman" attitude. My characters absolutely hate him, and I can't wait to play this bombastic drivel next t...
2020-03-10 12:33:59 +0000 UTC
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Look, sometimes you just gotta go to hell and slay some devils. I don't make the rules! I've been a big fan of all the lore surrounding the Blood War since I was first introduced to it in Planescape: Torment. Endless battles between demons and devils on the first layer of literal hell? Yeah, that rules. For those of you enjoying Descent Into Avernus: you're welcome.
This track is perfect for epic moments in the lower planes. But let's face it... any adventure into the Nine Hells is goin...
2020-03-10 12:33:31 +0000 UTC
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Lots of little updates today.
First and foremost: I recently did a fun partnership with Matt over at Fantasy Atlas. He just released a gorgeous city market map inspired by my track "With Garners Full of Grain." I've attached the map (gridded and ungridded) to this post, and you can grab the music here. Matt makes amazing ...
2020-03-09 01:56:41 +0000 UTC
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This is the variant of my "Session Recap" tune. I believe the original is suitable for the vast majority of session recaps, but sometimes the failures of the past are still quite salient when starting up your current gameplay. Perhaps the party botched a quest, failed to save a dying a PC, or simply witnessed a dark plot hook that will be driving the story forward from this point forward.
When that is the case, you need something a bit more serious / somber for the recap. The e...
2020-03-06 19:45:30 +0000 UTC
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Session recaps are key. Whether the DM handles the retelling herself, or if the players collaborate to remember the various details of the previous adventure, recaps set the stage for the events of the upcoming gameplay. It's an opportunity for everybody to get into the right headspace as well as establish the key FACTS that will be underpinning the story moving forward.
This track was made specifically to play as a score to your recaps. I like to chill my players out before ju...
2020-03-06 19:38:30 +0000 UTC
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New month, new poll! I was very pleased with the results of last month's track request ("Permafrost Wasteland") so I'm excited to see what y'all decide this time. I've had a few suggestions for potential tracks, but I'm still mostly coming up with these myself. If you have any options you'd like to see next month, please drop it in the comments or the Discord.
Also, I recently started wor...
2020-03-03 14:54:12 +0000 UTC
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If my last track was silly, this is very much an about-face. This track is slow and understated... admittedly a rarity in my catalog! It will surprise no one for me to say I was inspired by the Skyrim soundtrack here. There's something really magical about wandering moonlit plains and gazing at the glorious skybox above Whiterun.
Of course, TTRPGs occur mostly in the mind, so we don't get the luxury of HD Tamriel constellation textures. This track will work perfectly for evenin...
2020-02-28 00:37:48 +0000 UTC
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My friend DM Dave just released an adventure titled "Those Who Writhe Below," an intentional nod to my track of the same name. He suggests that folks listen to that tune while they play, and he is also letting me share the adventure with all of you! This is a goopy one-shot for three to seven characters of 11th to 16th level.
I've included the PDF of the adventure here, and you can grab my trac...
2020-02-26 17:07:20 +0000 UTC
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If you thought the track I just posted on the normal feed was zany, get ready for this. Yeah, I definitely went overboard with this track, and I think that's fine! I've been listening to the fabulous Shadowrun podcast Fun City, so I've had sci-fi on the brain as of late.
This track would be perfect for those of you with looser campaign settings, maybe something a bit cyberpunk or even just sci-fi adjacent (Eberron p...
2020-02-25 20:43:53 +0000 UTC
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Okay, yeah, this is a goofy one. I know I keep a fairly consistent tone from track to track, but every once in a while it's fun to just let things go off the rails a bit. This circus / funhouse tune is perfect for ludicrous scenes: wild goose chases (perhaps literal?), farcical skill checks, or any moment of complete and total chaos.
I also had in mind a sort of jester boss battle. Video games often have t...
2020-02-25 20:36:30 +0000 UTC
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You all seemed to like the playlists I posted last week, so I figured I'd post another one! This here is DnD Voyage, a collection of music to help score scenes of travel: long boat rides, airship journeys, or horseback treks.
I used to struggle with these moments in my own campaign, because I do like to linger on them. I find it's important to spend t...
2020-02-21 18:50:44 +0000 UTC
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Hey all, here's an exciting new adventure brought to you as a collaboration with some of the biggest names in RPG content creation. As always, I provided the music, but this adventure has so so much more. Dig in!
Pst! Scroll to the bottom for the files!
You Survived the Crash!
2020-02-19 16:01:02 +0000 UTC
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This is the combat version of "Shipwrecked on the Skeleton Key," written to accompany the thrilling Skeleton Key adventure that I'm posting along side this. You can find two separate versions (Calm and Adventure) in the original post, that should help you round out that journey perfectly. More percussion! More guitar! Faster tempo! Less of my own dang vocal chords!
This track is perfect for low level en...
2020-02-19 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Hey all! As you know, my goal is to make sure you have every sort of track you could possibly need to score your fantasy RPG adventures. However, even with a catalog as large as mine, I'd lose my damn mind if Music d20 was all I listened to during my play sessions. As such, I've created some big ol' playlists to help score all basic sorts of encounters.
I love desert towns! They're a really convenient plot hook in RPGs because the moment a desert is introduced, the town becomes both a respite and a prison. Want to leave the desert town? Well guess what, you have to go through the desert. From Mos Eisley to Gerudo Town, sandy outposts allow you to introduce Wild West themes or exotic pseudo-Egyptian adventures. You can jump back and forth from monolithic ruins to shady cantinas.
This track is the city variant of <...
2020-02-13 22:42:27 +0000 UTC
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Last week I gave you dire tundra music, and this week it's arid desert! In my mind, this tune is that late voyage struggle with exhaustion and dehydration, but it could just as easily be a desert outpost with some none too savory denizens. You'll recognize all the trappings of cinematic "Arabian Nights" style folk music, but I'm particularly happy with how the melodica turned out! I play this thing all the time, but I so rarely end up achieving a sound *on recording* that I'm fond of. I think...
2020-02-12 21:59:11 +0000 UTC
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This is a city-themed variant of "Permafrost Wasteland." I feel like every RPG has that sort of majestic, royal, snowy city. Winterhold, Kaer Trolde, Bryn Shande, Imil, Flanoir, Narshe, Irithyll of the Boreal Valley etc. This is the music for that town. Perfect for frigid castles, icy city streets, and sub-zero trade routes. This could also pass for a dwarven mountainhome or just a bit of an exotic but stuffy castle. It's still pretty intense, but cities like that often are!
I ...
2020-02-06 22:15:55 +0000 UTC
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One thing I want to experiment more with in my own campaigns is survival elements. I'm often waaay too generous with rations, exhaustion, weather, etc... favoring my pre-written stories over actual consequences of trying to live in dire conditions.
With that in mind, here's track specifically for the moments when you're out in the frigid tundra just trying to make it through! I built this track with non-combat encounters in mind, but this could also pass for a conflict with yetis,...
2020-02-06 22:03:27 +0000 UTC
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Power to the people! You asked for it, you've got it. I'll now be doing monthly polls to determine at least one of the tracks I'll release in the coming weeks. If you have ideas that you want me to include in next month's poll, throw it in the comments!
2020-02-02 17:41:39 +0000 UTC
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I don't know about you, but in my campaigns, I have a hard time portraying kings and queens as anything but shady despots. Luckily, a modern take on medieval fantasy allows us to paint a nuanced picture of how despicable a lot of those governments actually were! And yet, sometimes my players are still surprised to discover the level of depravity to which royal figures were so happily stoop. Here's the track for those moments!
"Shadow Puppets" was written with loathsome monarchies in min...
2020-02-01 20:06:08 +0000 UTC
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This is a non-combat variant of "Renouncing The Oath." I actually made this version prior to the standard combat version, so who's to say which one is the variant. I think this track is great for tense, raw, dark moments for your players. These are perfect for those gut punch moments... maybe your player is confronting a character from their past, or maybe a beloved NPC just died. In fact, this is properly elegiac, so this might even be a good track for a player death.
For those o...
2020-01-23 21:26:13 +0000 UTC
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It's been a minute since I've given you all some straight-up combat music so I've finally rectified that! The idea behind this track is a Paladin having to confront another knight of his order, but that was just my inspiration. You could use this for all sorts of meaningful combat encounters: attacking the mage who killed your father, laying siege to your sworn enemy's stronghold, or just finally duking it out with the BBEG.
Folks at the $5 and up tiers get a real...
2020-01-23 21:21:02 +0000 UTC
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