Rad Music d20 logo art by Erich Lazar
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If you're in my Discord, you know I'm a massive fan of a new tabletop system called Stillfleet. I've been helping its c...
2021-04-11 19:20:34 +0000 UTC View PostI know you guys love those less active variants, so here's a less dramatic version of "Be Whole Again." Realistically, I imagine this version is going to get more use than the original. Short of some truly satisfying conclusions, the other piece may simple be too impactful for use in the average ...
2021-04-11 00:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
So many tabletop RPG canonically dictate that some version of heaven and hell are demonstrably real. That's an insane detail that I think most campaigns do not pay enough attention to! If I knew without a doubt that there is a real heaven, and that it's a big mountain w...
2021-04-11 00:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostI imagine music is used non-diegetically in most campaigns. That is: when the GM plays a track, the characters aren't LITERALLY hearing that music in-game. Of course, if you're playing a Michaël Ghelfi ambience, that m...
2021-04-05 13:35:22 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I'm DMing, I often like to use small towns as sort of "social dungeons": areas where the players have a clear goal, a variety of potential routes and leads, and in which the NPCs they meet represent potential aids and potential obstacles. I'm currently running a little murder mystery that sp...
2021-04-05 13:25:25 +0000 UTC View PostNote: My next Foundry module will be coming out in a couple days. This will only be available at the Virtuoso Tier and up, so if Foundry modules are something you're looking for, please double check your pledge amount. Also please note that Foundry modules will never feature ...
2021-04-01 12:55:16 +0000 UTC View PostIt has been reconfirmed yet again that y'all love the ambient and sparse mixes of my tracks. That's great, because they're very satisfying to make! I have a tendency to... let's say "overcomplicate" my tracks (yes, I know that you already know that), so it's extra fun to strip away all the fat an...
2021-03-29 14:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: Please submit track requests for the April poll! Limit 2 per patron, and please submit them in a way that makes it easy for me to post. Drop them in the comments here or in the Discord.
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Greetings from the bottom of the ocean. <...
2021-03-29 13:55:00 +0000 UTC View PostAs a rule, it is unwise to engage an Old One in direct combat. They exist outside our understanding and can end worlds with a thought. THEREFORE, it's usually best if you explore their realms with no intention of entering into a fight. If you're exploring cultist lairs, or the farthest reaches of...
2021-03-22 13:56:36 +0000 UTC View PostEvery couple of months, I can reliably count on you all to vote for the track request that is unambiguously the most difficult to score. "Lovecraftian Horror Breaking Through Dimensional Walls" is right up there with "God Being Freed From an Extraplanar Prison" in terms of "how can I possible do ...
2021-03-22 13:48:34 +0000 UTC View PostHey y'all! Vol. 5 is rapidly approaching completion, and I'm currently planning how I'll round out the track list. I conducted one of these polls last year, and it was quite illuminating. What do YOU consider my library to lacking? I typically like to think of my tracks as each ...
2021-03-21 16:15:05 +0000 UTC View PostIn general, I try to avoid using too many synthesizers in my RPG music. I use sooo many synths in my video game work, and since the majority of you are playing in fantasy settings, I find the sounds of lutes and strings and war drums and whatnot are usually more appropriate.
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2021-03-15 23:34:20 +0000 UTC View PostPresenting players with meaningful choices and then showing them the consequences is one of the most satisfying parts of tabletop gaming for both players and GMs. There's nothing I love more than giving my players a moral quandary and seeing them waffle on what to do. Sure you want to sa...
2021-03-15 23:27:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello everyone! Today, I'm bringing Music d20 into 2021 by finally releasing my most requested feature: Foundry integration! For those of you who use Foundry VTT for your online RPG sessions, this wi...
2021-03-10 13:00:45 +0000 UTC View PostExploring long-abandoned castles, cathedrals, and catacombs is such a staple of fantasy RPGs. Those moments before combat starts or traps are sprung can be incredibly moody and tense. For music, you want something that evokes 1) space, 2) mood, and 3) flavor. I believe "Saga of Stone (Ambient)" d...
2021-03-09 21:09:34 +0000 UTC View Post
A gust of wind howls across the vertical walls of the bottomless abyss that opens on both sides. The bridge you're walking on bears the signs of some past battles, the unfortunate assaulters were fended off and now they lie here abandoned. A massive wooden gate bars the way, but with a simple...
2021-03-09 20:59:39 +0000 UTC View PostThere's a certain sound that I love in podcasts, that I mostly attribute to This American Life and its spinoffs. Take some simple and pleasantly plucky music, and add the tiniest amount of grit to it for the sake of... I don't know, modernizing? If you've ever listened to Serial, or S To...
2021-03-05 16:32:51 +0000 UTC View PostThis week I'm bringing you the first in a short series of collaborations with Music d20 patron, podcaster, and RPG creator Adam Baffoni! Adam is currently working on a (yet unannounced?) podcast project that needs a bit of o...
2021-03-05 16:17:22 +0000 UTC View PostNOT TO BRAG but I think February was pretty dang full of highlights here at Music d20! New Arkus, huge pirate ...
2021-03-01 14:42:29 +0000 UTC View Post"In the Warmth of the Fire" is one of my favorite tunes I've written for Music d20. The original has a perfect Nordic sort of aurora borealis vibe that's great for frigid adventures. It's got a hummable melody, but also isn't too distracting for moments of focus in your RPGs. The ambient mix is a...
2021-02-28 18:49:03 +0000 UTC View PostNote: Please send in some track requests! March is imminently approaching, and I will be posting a poll tomorrow morning. Thanks!
I'm quite fond of airships. It's almost certainly due to growing up with Final Fantasy and other Square JRPGs, but there's something perfect abo...
2021-02-28 18:42:21 +0000 UTC View PostI just released a huge collab with some great RPG buddies! If you can see this post, that means you're already my patron. Thank you! If you want to read a little bit about what's contained in these zip folders, please check out the 2021-02-22 16:51:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: If you just want my track, it's available at the bottom! Instrumental version is free, incredible vocal rendition is available to all my patrons.
Ahoy, ye scurvy treasure hunters! It be gold we be after!
I teamed up with 8 other RPG creators to put toge...
2021-02-22 16:32:56 +0000 UTC View Post"Do you get to the Cloud District very often? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you don't."
Okay, but what happens when your party DOES go to the rich part of town? By mid-level gameplay, it's likely your party has amassed a miniature treasure horde that makes them wealthier than the...
2021-02-21 15:04:16 +0000 UTC View Post
This week, I bring you a stellar map from my friends Mik & Wewa. This Victorian-style auction house is perfect for a bit of elite intrigue... or maybe your party just has a bunch of money to blow on some valuable items. I...
2021-02-21 14:55:20 +0000 UTC View PostI'm so please to announce the release of the first supplement for my Arkus campaign setting! I've been working on this document for months, and it's so satisfying to see it finally completed and release...
2021-02-15 18:38:16 +0000 UTC View Post
NOTE: This is the free version of the Arkus Campaign Setting Supplement. My patrons (or patrons of any of my collaborators for this project) also get access to new tracks, maps, minis/tokens, and illustrations. If you like this project, please support its creators!
Welcome ...
2021-02-15 18:24:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Welcome back to Arkus, the arboreal realm of intrigue and the arcane! Discover new subclasses, dungeon inspiration, and bizarre lore in this exciting new supplement to the Arkus campaign set...
2021-02-15 18:21:54 +0000 UTC View PostWitches fight dirty. You're not going to "lay siege" to a hag's lair. You're going to try to outlast their wicked magic and just get blows in when you can. Hags are dark! As such, this combat version of "The Woods Reject You" is maximally discordant. Aleatoric violin pulses, trombone braams, and ...
2021-02-06 16:16:29 +0000 UTC View PostSometimes when I'm making spooky / dungeon / ambient exploration music, I wonder if what I'm really making is music at all, and then I wonder if that distinction matters! You obviously don't want a song with verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure for your "Creepy Hag Forest" t...
2021-02-06 16:08:50 +0000 UTC View Post