Hello everyone! I am very pleased to announce a new adventure collaboration from a really talented group of creators, led by Venatus Maps. You can find information on each of the individual collaborators below. You can grab all the files, including my tracks, at the bottom of this post!
Background
The Silverspring Mine is one of the premier, up-and-coming mining fr...
2020-09-13 15:48:01 +0000 UTC
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I've done a few sci-fi tracks now, and they all share a certain degree of tension or unease. For those of you who have actually played sci-fi TTRPGs though, you know that sometimes things are just fine! Your space ship is functional. Your life support is active. The threats are somewhere else. Your moment to moment gameplay is much less "Xenomorph aboard the Nostromo" and much more...
2020-09-10 14:04:47 +0000 UTC
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While the prototypical RPG village is beset by issues that the PCs will eventually address, sometimes it's good to roleplay a city that's actually doing just fine! Maybe this is a trade hub, an idyllic farming community, or even just that original city after the PCs solve all the problems. In my campaigns, I like to present cities that seem fine and dandy until the players uncover some shocking secret, or until it all goes to hell when a dragon attacks (or whatever).
F...
2020-09-10 13:58:01 +0000 UTC
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I've split "Hordebreaker" up into two versions:
- "No Percussion" is better for intense moments without sword and shield clashing. Chases, escapes, a battle of wits. Scenarios with high stakes, but not quite a standard duel.
- "Just Percussion" is ideal for more low-level combat. A basic crew of mobs early on in a dungeon just there to test your party's endurance. No need to bring out the brass and the big guns for this standard battle.
As always looping versions ...
2020-09-07 15:51:08 +0000 UTC
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"Generic Tracks" won the track request poll this month, so I've decided to squeeze as many standard tracks into this month (and probably early October) as I can, in between the requisite collaborations and commissions. Now, when I say "standard" I don't mean boring or uninspired, but simply something that you can use in many many different scenarios. I interpret this voting result to mean that a large percentage of you want more tracks that "cover the bases" so to speak, so that you can...
2020-09-07 15:47:01 +0000 UTC
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I quite enjoy when video games have distinct nighttime themes for cities. Towns like Kakariko Village in Breath of the Wild or Venice in Assassin's Creed 2 feel like completely different locations when the sun sets, and I think the unique music has a lot to do with that!
"Midvale Moonrise" is an emotive track with a dark (but not quite sinister) tone. I've done plenty of village / city tunes that fit most standard fantasy settings, but I think this track...
2020-09-01 22:08:36 +0000 UTC
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Happy September, y'all! Lots of great submissions this month. I think this one is going to be really competitive! Same rules apply as always:
- Feel free to vote for more than one
- This poll will stay open for 24 hours
- If you have a suggestion for next month, you can drop it in the comments!
2020-09-01 13:10:46 +0000 UTC
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Hey hey everybody, just a quick grab bag today! First things first: please send in track requests for the September track request poll! To be honest, I'm always a bit surprised by how FEW requests we normally get. This is your chance to get something that's almost akin to a free commission. Anyway, since there's been some confusion in the past, I'd love to limit this to just 2 track requests per person. I think that's a bit neater than a full free-for-all where some ...
2020-08-30 21:47:57 +0000 UTC
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Hey all! I'm trying to figure out what my next Spotify playlist will be. So far I have City, Calm, Combat, Dungeon, Eastern, Villains, Intense, Voyage, Metropolis, and Space. I feel like that covers a bunch of the standard RPG settings / scenarios, along with some more niche stuff.
My question to you is: what would you like to see next? There are a lot of different routes we can try: more niche settings (e.g. Western, Underwater, Pirates), more granular scenarios (e.g. Campfire, B...
2020-08-26 13:57:06 +0000 UTC
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This sparse mix of "Myrilight Clocktower" is great for protracted conversations with goofy characters. Perhaps you need to spend a long time speaking with slightly batty old sage, and you want to tone down the music for a bit so as to not be distracting. I think this exactly how you'd want to score that conversation!
As always, loops are provided below as well.
2020-08-24 14:59:55 +0000 UTC
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I've been really enjoying my collaborations with Venatus Maps lately. In addition to his awesome Illithid Lair map he created for my Arkus Campaign Setting, I've also helped him out a few 2020-08-24 14:56:31 +0000 UTC
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Sometimes a somber evening is mitigated by good company. The villain got away, but the tavern still has some good pals. Tomorrow, the grief will remain, but tonight there's time to revel.
"Don't Weep for the Fallen (Tavern)" is your go-to for joyous bummers. Sharing tales before a battle! Finding love in the wake of an upset! Hell, even just seeing an old buddy after losing another.
As always, looping versions of this and the original track can be found below or in the Artist Tier...
2020-08-20 20:48:15 +0000 UTC
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In some campaigns, a player character death is a trivial matter. I'm sure many of you have shown up to a Tomb of Annihilation session with multiple back-up character sheets at the ready. However, a player death in a more drawn-out campaign is a big deal! In fact, even a prominent NPC death can be cause for pause. As a DM, I like to lean into those moments, embracing the sadness of the party. I don't do this because I like to see them suffer, but because an impactful moment like that ...
2020-08-20 20:42:08 +0000 UTC
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Hi all!
Cool news. I've been intermittently working on some track for an indie game called The Glitch Fairy, and the developers just uploaded 7 of my boss tracks to their YouTube page. These aren't specifically TTRPG themed, but I'm sure you can find a way to use them in your campaigns.
Check out my boss tracks from The Glitch F...
2020-08-19 16:27:22 +0000 UTC
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Hi all! I want to let you know that Patreon HQ just rolled out annual payments for certain creators, and I'm lucky enough to be included. This means that instead of paying once a month, you can pay upfront for an entire year of Music d20.
You may ask yourself: "why would I want to do that?"
Three reasons!
- 1. You get 12% off for the entire year. If you're subscribed at the Artist tier, that means you'll be saving $7 per year. Nea...
2020-08-18 17:43:28 +0000 UTC
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I hope you enjoyed the new adventure we released today! If you couldn't notice, I've really been enjoying Western / Frontier adventures, and that's been influencing a lot of the music I've been working on lately.
For this track variant, I'm actually giving you the original version of "The Ol' Silver Serpent Saloon." Initially conceived of as a solo piano piece, it only gained the strings + banjo + guitar arrangement when I learned that the traditional "Cowboy Bar" setting...
2020-08-17 15:57:10 +0000 UTC
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Saddle up for this awesome new fifth edition 5-creator collaboration: The Ol’ Silver Serpent Saloon.
The Ol’ Silver Serpent Saloon is a mini-adventure for 3rd-level characters in which the party must wheel and deal with the patrons of a Weird West saloon, in order to collect the scattered components of a mythical cowboy’s outfit. A mini-adventure is a bite-sized adventure which can be slotted into any larger campaign for a diversion and change of pace.
2020-08-17 15:51:42 +0000 UTC
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Not all RPG stories take place on rustic medieval back roads. Sometimes you end up in the start void, high above the world. Maybe you're projecting into the astral plane, traveling aboard a Spelljammer, or just pulling some wild homebrew shenanigans. Regardless, the typical fantasy lyres, fifes, and hand drums won't cut it. You're going to need something a little more evocative.
Enter
2020-08-14 12:02:22 +0000 UTC
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I really love the idea of a band of total buffoons defeating a wise wizard. Some insanely powerful master of arcana just gets choke slammed by the local barbarian. It's such a fun trope, and like... "Sword and Sorcery" is its own genre for that reason. So when your -1 Intelligence players decide to storm the local mage's guild, you're going to need some appropriate fight music.
This variant of "Mergo's Beacon" is exactly that. Combat music for regular players attacking highly refined fo...
2020-08-13 13:16:41 +0000 UTC
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This month, you all voted for "Huge Wizard Tower" in the August Track Request Poll. To be honest, I struggled a bit with this, because I had just rolled out "Ritual Forge" last month as part of the Arkus bundle. To me, that had a really spooky, mysterious, "alchemical" sound to it. So when I started working on this wizard tower, I wanted to make sure I wasn't just retreading the same territo...
2020-08-13 13:11:28 +0000 UTC
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Hey y'all! Believe it or not, it's been almost a full year since I started this Patreon. In the past 11 months, I've released almost 4 hours of standard tracks, many more hours of loops and variants, a playback app, 9 Spotify playlists, and oodles of collaborations, homebrew, and other bonus content, and that's all thanks to you.
Looking toward year 2 of Music d20, I want to make sure I'm making the best use of my limited ability to self-promote on a limited budget. Music d2...
2020-08-10 19:36:27 +0000 UTC
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One of my favorite RPG tropes is the wasteland town. Sometimes that's pretty literal—90% of the towns you encounter throughout the Fallout series have this sort of frontier Americana vibe while still being nearly lifeless outside of the few homesteaders living nearby. There are plenty of fantasy examples as well: Planescape's "gate-towns" are cities build around portals to the Outer Planes, and some of them have some pretty wild physics and geometry. "Curst" (at least as it's depic...
2020-08-09 18:44:15 +0000 UTC
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Like I said in the main post, "Slay the Serpent" is busy as heck. There's blustering brass and choppy percussion and all sorts of complementary vibes piling on top of each other. Maybe you just want an exciting desert evening without all of the bombast. Luckily, these two variants should help you out!
"(Bass and Percussion)" is good for fights that aren't quite worthy of the quasi-boss level intensity of the main track. Perhaps your convoy is assaulted by some low level brigands, or a c...
2020-08-04 20:51:15 +0000 UTC
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Every once in a while, I'll write a track for a client, and even if they like it, they deem it not quite appropriate for their project. Sometimes that's a blessing! For example: right now! This track was written for a certain indie game that I'm working on, but it just wasn't quite the right vibe for the project. Luckily, I was able to retool it to work for all of you.
"Slay the Serpent" is desert combat music, plain and simple. Fighting some sandy bandits? Duking it out in a f...
2020-08-04 20:44:25 +0000 UTC
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Welp, it's looking like it's that time of the month again: THE BEGINNING OF IT. That means it's time for some track requests. I'll likely be submitting Music d20: Vol. 3 to storefronts by the end of the month, so this is your last chance to decide what ends up on my third album. Make your votes count!
As always, some reminders:
- Feel free to vote for more than one!
- If you want to make a suggestion for September, drop it in the comments, or throw it in the Disco...
2020-08-01 19:02:45 +0000 UTC
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I hope you enjoyed that new Team Superhydra adventures! I always get excited when we release big bundles like that with goodies from all my regular collaborators. And I hope you enjoyed my new track! I know some folks have been clamoring for "dragon battle" music for a while, and this seemed like a good excuse to whip out the big guns, so to speak.
If you really want to dive headfirst into the Stravinsky-esque crunch of this cinematic combat music, boy have you come to the right place. ...
2020-07-31 19:17:31 +0000 UTC
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Blight's Barrow! A new Team Superhydra collaboration!
Hey guys! We've got a surprise end of the month collab for you, including an adventure, maps, tokens, items and music! This was made possible thanks to the combined effort of everyone at Team Superhydra so please make sure to send some love their way!
Note: You can grab my brand new track and all the rest of the goodies at the end of this post
2020-07-31 19:09:40 +0000 UTC
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July's almost over and I'm very sweaty! One of the worst things about recording music is that microphones are really good at picking up the sound of your fan / AC, so you gotta shut that all off when you're tracking some accordion and mandolin for 8 hours. ANYWAY, since August is almost upon us, please send in some track requests for the August poll! You can do that in the comment below, on the Discord, or just email me. Whatever you're comfortable with!
...
2020-07-28 16:53:56 +0000 UTC
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This rendition of "Skirmish Topside (Arcade)" is the originally barely remastered version of my track from an undisclosed project from a few years ago. It is absolutely cheesy as hell, and I totally love it. Accordions, faux-mandolins, and immaculately rendered 909 drums make this unmistakably pirate-y and unmistakably retro. For even goofier antics and less serious bouts between drunks on the seven seas, this is the track to whip out. Looping versions of both this and the orig...
2020-07-24 00:47:26 +0000 UTC
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The weird thing about writing music for hire is that sometimes you write a track that you love, but since you wrote it for someone else, you no longer actually own the track and can't do anything with it. This is overwhelmingly worse when the project you worked on ends up getting canceled. One of my favorite tracks I've ever written was a merry pirate combat track that I wrote for a now-canceled PC game. Well, as luck would have it, my former clients were willing to give me back the ...
2020-07-24 00:41:29 +0000 UTC
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