Conan Music

Raphael

Raphael

Mongoose
As many DMs do, I use music both as a background and mood setting device.

What do you use for Conan?

here are a few of mine:
So what music moves and frightens your PCs?
Raphael
 
Well, call me old fashioned, but I open each session with the theme music from 'Conan the Barbarian'.

I also use 'Pirates of the Caribbean', 'Gladiator', and 'The Rock' soundtracks.

For fight scenes where I expect the PCs to kick butt I use "Deathcoaster" from the 'Army of Darkness' soundtrack.

My PCs are just coming to levels where I can throw tougher supernatural thrills at them, so I need to experiment with various music for such ends. Thanks for your tips.
 
Raphael said:
As many DMs do, I use music both as a background and mood setting device.

What do you use for Conan?

here are a few of mine:
So what music moves and frightens your PCs?
Raphael
Click to expand...
I used to insist on using music in my games when I'd hold htem at my place, but now I travel out to one of the player's place and he refuses to load music. :cry: The only music they feared was Basil Pouledoris' Conan the Barbarian soundtrack, because whenever I'd play the "Prologue/Anvil of Crom", one of the PCs would end up dying (they called it the death theme :twisted: ). I'd also use the Patriot Games soundtrack, Braveheart, some Vangelis or other more contemporary music. I'd usually only use punk music when playing a game like Cyberpunk, but those days have passed.
 
Bregales said:
I'd usually only use punk music when playing a game like Cyberpunk, but those days have passed.
Click to expand...

I used to only use orchestral music for fantasy games, but some hard stuff works really well for intense combat scenes.

I used have listed the Conan Sndtrk, If I had it. Gotta get that pronto.

Raphael
 
I am a huge fan of playing music during gaming. I have a varity of soundtracks that I use, but I have found myself putting the same 5 discs in the player for the last few Conan sessions;

Conan The Barbarian
13 Warrior
Last of the Mohicans
Sinbad (the disney cartoon one, great stuff!)
Van Helseng
Battle Songs (a compilation I made of all the good fighting themes from about 15 different soundtracks)

All of those are pretty upbeat, fast paced stuff. But I tend to get to the action right away.

Others of note :

Cutthroat Island
Kingdom of Heaven (great for those city/traveling times)
Crimson Tide
Children of Dune
 
Here are some of mine:

Conan the Barbarian (of course), Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, Passion by Peter Gabriel (the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack), The Mission by Ennio Morricone (soundtrack); Various Celtic music and Gregorian chants.
Also: Soundbytes from Dark Ages of Camelot Online RPG, and soundbytes from Conan the Barbarian movie (Conan! What is best in life?).

I prefer to have them playing in the background.
 
urdinaran said:
Here are some of mine:

Conan the Barbarian (of course), Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, Passion by Peter Gabriel (the Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack), The Mission by Ennio Morricone (soundtrack); Various Celtic music and Gregorian chants.
Also: Soundbytes from Dark Ages of Camelot Online RPG, and soundbytes from Conan the Barbarian movie (Conan! What is best in life?).

I prefer to have them playing in the background.
Click to expand...
A-ha!! After I left work and was walking to fencing class tonight, Passion popped into my head, and I just got home and was gonna post it, but I see you did. Yeah, how could I have forgotten that one, eerie, good music! Hadn't even thought about The Mission soundtrack (even though I was just posting about that movie in a different thread0, great music. Another eerie Peter Gabriel soundtrack is Long Walk Home: Music from the Rabbit-Proof Fence, very eerie, almost like (but not nearly as head-throbbing as) Eraserhead! :p Of the 2 Peter Gabriel albums mentioned, I think I'd recommend Passion more, but click the links and give each a listen (about 20 seconds from each song, which really doesn't give anything from Long Walk Home, but anyways....)
 
Here is the African CD I have. There is a whole bunch in this series
Explorer Series; West Africa

I remember thinking I'd like the Sinbad Sdtk when I saw the movie. As much as I love Soubndtracks for role playing, if I have something which sounds remotely like regional music I play that.

Raphael
 
I hit my local library, which has a nice selection of "world music", and check out whatever fits the area of the world the adventure us in. Middle Eastern music , African music, East Indian music, Celtic music, whatever.

Now, when I'm preparing adventures and getting myself pumped up, I listen to, um, well... see, I grew up in the 70s when Frazetta and other fantasy artists did rock album covers. That was the time period when I first read Robert E. Howard, Karl Edward Wagner, Michael Moorcock, Fritz Lieber, et. al. In my head, associations were formed. So I tend to listen to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Molly Hatchet, Nazareth, and other bands from the era.

I do, however, eschew the blacklight posters and bong. :wink:
 
I've used a wide variety of stuff over the years in fantasy settings, and since my D&D campaign is in a Russian/Byzantine type world, lots of culturally appropriate stuff from there.

For Conan I have already garnered quite a bit of stuff, mostly orchestral in nature but with many soundtracks and some "world music".

Some weird stuff that you might not think to use: parts of the soundtrack of CRIMSON TIDE; purely a capella music, esp. chants from Greece or the middle east, even Gregorian will work in the right context; older soundtracks, such as a couple of bits from GONE WITH THE WIND (but not the really familiar stuff) or some of the eerier bits from ALIEN; Philip Glass, a minimalist composer whose stuff works quite well in many contexts; Mussorgsky for sheer devilish passion (though steer clear of NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN or most of PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION--too recognizable). The soundtrack from HAMLET (the one Mel Gibson was in) has some great spooky stuff.

The big problem is co-ordinating your choices with the adventure you're playing. Thank god for computers--anymore I just line 'em up in iTunes and can easily switch tracks as needed.
 
Some a the music I use for a Conan Campaign.
Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer of course :D
And the Alexander by Vangelis.

Some specialized music I use.
For battles : Flesh + Blood, Reign of Fire
For Nordheim : The 13th Warrior
For Aquilonia : Ben-Hur
For Caves and Ruins : The Abyss, Aliens, Sphere
For Demons and Undeads : Hellraiser I & II, Constantine, Devil's Advocate
For the Black Kingdoms : The Lost Word (Jurassic Park 2)
For Argos and Zingara : The Three Musketeers (by M. Kamen)
For Shem : Cleopatra (T. Jones)
For religious matters : The Name of the Rose
For the East : Hero (by Tan Dun), Warrior of Earth and Heaven (by A.R. Rahman)
 
strategoi_nikolai said:
The big problem is co-ordinating your choices with the adventure you're playing. Thank god for computers--anymore I just line 'em up in iTunes and can easily switch tracks as needed.
Click to expand...


This interests me.
I've just now started using iTunes.

Can you give me some details on how you do this...
Logistically and such?

details are great help since I'm still learning to use it effectively.

I just got an iPod so I've been ripping all my classical and soundtracks... Would it work to make multiple playlists? and what would you suggest??

anyone?
thanks!
-kev-
 
I am especially looking for something for a new Cmapaign starting in or near the Pictish frontier - especially with some Wardrums, etc.

Additionally - I am very partial to playing some mood music when I have the Players venture down to the Black Kingdoms ... (More drums as well). Especially with the lovely new sourcebook now available.

Any suggestions ??? I'll really have to get an iPod .... Can they play the correct theme in a 'looped/ replay' mode ?

I remember having My Players fleeing in genuine panic, through thick forests, in another RPG. The natives were almost upon them, with their wicked weapons, including 6' blowguns .... when .... the 'jungle' mood music that had some sinister overtones, suddenly turned to a whimsical/ comical style ...
The mood broke with an uproar of tension breaking laughter, as Everyone immagined the Natives all doing a 'chorus line' song-and-dance-show, akin to a Broadway musical ..... (Sigh).
 
LokiOne said:
Additionally - I am very partial to playing some mood music when I have the Players venture down to the Black Kingdoms ... (More drums as well). Especially with the lovely new sourcebook now available.
Click to expand...

See my previous post for Black Kingdoms music.

Raphael
 
Rimsky-Korsakov's Scherehezade (sp?). Been listening to it since I was a kid every time I read a Conan story.
 
When we played DANGERS IN THE WESTERMARK we used the LAST OF THE MOHICANS Soundtrack.

Other good Stuff:
Lord oft he Rings (the Bakshi Version!)
Bram Stokers Dracula
Robin Hood (Kostner...and even the Clannad TV)
Lifeforce
1492
Army of Darkness
Pirates of the Carribean
The Vikings

And in a few Advenures will ennio Morricone fit...
 
In addition to much of the music already mentioned - I use a LOT of Midnight Syndicate (been fans of them for a long time), and Mortiis (Stargate is a great album).

I'll only use something with lyrics if I feel it's dramatically appropriate - like Theatre of Tragedy's "A Rose For The Dead" when the PCs were attending a funeral (at which someone was assassinated).
 
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