No time for a more in-depth post this week. So here are a few music selections that I feel are excellent for a proper Voidjammer or Spelljammer campaign.
KRULL Soundtrack
It may not seem like it at first, but Krull is very much attached to Fantasy Space. The main baddie (The Beast) travels through Wildspace in a ginormous mountain/spaceship. That and his minions, The Slayers and others, are very space-ish looking and use LASERS.
The Moody Blues - On The Threshold Of A Dream
The Moody Blues in general are great to play during RPG sessions. However this album is particularly nice for games taking place in fantasy space.
HAWKWIND - Master Of The Universe
GREAT for setting the mood for Wildspace Adventures! Especially when embarking on a quest through the cosmos. Traveling music you might say.
HP Lovecraft - The White Ship Psychedelic rock band from Chicago. Named after the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Unconventional sounding harmonies on a bolero beat. Personally, I love the spooky mood set by this album. and I think it is excellent for gaming in general.
Black Blade by Two Steps From Hell (Invincible)
One of many excellent tracks from the Invincible album which I highly recommend (buy it here). The work of this production company covers a wide range of musical tastes suitable for epic fantasy, but is particularly useful for action scenes.
A Celtic Journey by Peter Crowley Fantasy Dream
This selection comes from the album Legend of The Dragon (purchase it and other works here). Anything put out by this company is highly recommended. Most fantasy fans are at least partially familiar with Celtic or Celtic-like music, and so this album is excellent for setting a mood for a fantasy game or story.
Music from Ancient Rome by Synaulia
Synaulia is a team of musicians, archeologists, paleorganologists and choreographers dedicated to the application of their historical research to ancient music and dance, in particular to the ancient Etruscan and Roman periods. This is excellent for older cultures (such as Elves or Giants) in a fantasy setting.
Following are a few bands and songs that I think are excellent for setting the mood for a Pangea Campaign.
Future World Music - Voyage to Atlantis
Pretty much anything by Future World Music is excellent for fantasy RPG music and particularly for a campaign set in Pangea. Moody, melodramatic and full of that energating "pop" that brings the majesty of grand vistas to the hearts eye! I highly reccommend.
Audiomachine - Young Blood
This song and the majority of Paul Dinletirs Epica album is superb for gaming. This is a grittier and more "aggressive" sort of music, with a strong feel of light vs dark. Excellent for grim struggles and moments of hard choices in a game.
City Of The Fallen - Elohim
City of the Fallen is a production music company based in Washington DC. They produce music for movies and video games, and so all of their compositions are moody and excellent for action scenes. Though not as good for travelling music and longer sequences, these songs are excellent for fight scenes.
The Lost World - Michael Stearns Michael Stearns is a U.S. musician and composer of ambient music. Much of his music is perfect for the feel of Pangea, having an epic but very human feel to it. The Lost World has more than just the title to lend itself well to the story of Pangea, it is a moody and energetic journey.
Steve Roach - Earthman
Steve Roach is a U.S. composer and performer of ambient and tribal-ambient music, whose recordings are also classified in the genres of space, drone, New Age, and electronic music.
Earthman is pretty perfect for the feel of Pangea. The music has a slow, moody buildup that seems to promise excitement around the corner. Excellent for keeping the mood of a journey through wild country.
Yor: The Hunter From the Future - title theme (Yor's World)
The opening credits to the incomparable YOR, featuring the title song by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis (Oliver Onions). Personally, I can BARELY understand a word these guys are singing about, but it calls to the goofy-grim feel that can help make a Pangean campaign fun.
As a game-master, I LOVE having music going in the background while planning and running a game. This helps set the mood of the game as well as to inspire players to be heroic in their portrayal of the characters under their control.
And so below are five tracks from seven fairly different bands. Each is excellent for setting a mood for a good game, and a few of them have some AWESOME cover art.
