I've got a campaign set to run in the coming months at a public venue and I am looking for some good yet unobtrusive sounds to throw on while the game is being played. My goal is to create an atmospheric experience similar to that of the old SNES SR game with thematic beats and musical cues in mind. I've got the classic sounds from the old cartridge on my machine and a few tracks I found a while back from Harmony Steel made specifically for SR, but I want a wider scope to create a well rounded playlist for a variety of settings and situations. So now I am turning to the denizens of dumpshock for some helpful suggestions in this regard and hopefully some additional pointers to make a pen & paper game more than just dice rolls and dialogue.

Another reason I want to make this game something different for the players to experience is to knock them out of the funk they seem to be stuck in from playing turn after turn of D&D4e and its crushing blows to player creativity. It's not that any of them lack it either, I just never see them get that oppourtunity they as roleplayers deserve in that system.

As far as combat music goes, there's an awful lot of stuff by Pendulum that fits amazingly well. I like Immunize, Showdown, and Slam just in general.

For less of the action, more of the atmosphere, I like this thing I got linked to a while back.

A lot of stuff by Juno Reactor is also good; Perfect Crime, Masters of the Universe, Immaculate Crucifixion, and especially Tokyo Dub.

Surprisingly, this song.

Some interesting industrial, no idea what lyrics are but like the sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BMVeFi-tyA...player_embedded

Memmaker

Anyone else thinking this could be the sound track for a creepy as hell Horizon run?

It takes a lot to scare me.

You did.

Congratulations!

And, frankly, this is *EXACTLY* how we should be portraying Horizon! The familiar is alien!

Funker Vogt

Horizon run?

I tend to have my own MP3's playing when I am gaming. I have it on low volume, with only 1 earbud playing so I can hear my GM & other players talking. Depending on the scene or my mood, I switch around the playlist. Only thing that's ever constant is when we get into combat/shoot-outs. Then it's always the Carmina Burana ~ O Fortuna playing on loop. The old Excalibur movie has me hooked on that song for combat.

Yeah, "O Fortuna" Rocks! (Irony intended). I think, depending on the SR situation, a fair amount of the Carmina Burana would be relevant.

Maybe the 1st movement to Beethoven's 5th Symphony (yes, I am a classical musician and a music teacher).

The obvious would be the matrix soundtrack.

A Shadowrun against the Horizon AAA-Level Megacorporation.

They're a media-heavy organization, so own a lot of copyrights to music from all different eras. And having a gunfight to Simon and Garfunkel or Neil Young's softer work would certainly be interesting.

Do you have any kind of link(s) to this Harmony Steel?

I wouldn't mind hearing some of it.

Thanks,

Eric

Oh, their copyrights had nothing to do with my thought process. The bit on page, 105 I think it is, of the Corporate Guide makes me think they're well on their way to their people talking without speaking and may even now be bowing and praying to a neon god (whether they made it or not is debatable).

She's a bit obscure, but google still has it.
Here's the info: http://www.mp3.com.au/Forms/ArtistProfile....rofileId=278091

Here's my list: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4FC688780A3315C

Deus Ex [1, 2, 3] OST. Also, Raben-AAS has two nice youtube playlists: The general Shadowrun playlist and the Shadowrun Noir playlist. Please report broken/dead links to him, via PM here for instance.

Boards of Canada

Future Sounds of London

Aphex Twin

Forgive me if it's already been mentioned, but SomaFm- DroneZone is one of my favorites. Just kick it in the background and let it be.

I've also used Pandora to create a custom channel for SR. You could also use Grooveshark.

I'm a HUGE fan of ambient music so, in my opinion, Hearts of Space is an excellent source.

Here's a list of some artists: Ulrich Schnauss, Enigma, Rob Dougan, Hyper, Liquid Mind, Delirium, Thievery Corporation, Orbital, Patrick O'Hearn, etc....

My table generally enjoys anything from Jet Set Radio game series.

In addition, Ghosts 'n' Stuff by Deadmau5 is also a table favorite.

Animus Vox by The Glitch Mob
Everybody Lies by Michael McCann
Icarus by Michael McCann
Opening Credits by Michael McCann
Bushido by Rom Di Prisco
Pirandello/Kruger by Solar Fields

I'm planning to use those, plus listen to some more tracks from The Glitch Mob, maybe they can be used too.

For nightclubs, bars and so on I tend to choose freaky music that is or feels retro ...

japanese noise rock
japanese proto punk
Otto von Schirach
more Otto von Schirach
Blue Bob (noise/hard rock)
more Blue Bob

A lot of the stuff by Two Steps From Hell is good for gaming background music.




-k

Soundtrack of Tron - Legacy by Daftpunk
Soundtrack of Armitage - Poly Matrix by Hiroyuki Namba
Maybe Akira, Bladerunner and The Crow OST too.

Do you think I could have a link to your station out curiosity. I like Pandora

Anything by Tom Waits.

For my game it all depends on the scene and the feeling or idea that I want to get across:

PC's went to visit a posse of hip hop hop loving hackers:
MC Frontalot
MC Hawking

PC's went to get some info from some Triad Street Racers
Notorious MSG (There was nothing else I could find that fit them so perfectly)

PC's accosted by a psychobilly Cyber-psychotic Gunslinger with Move-by-Wire 3, Dual Pistols and way to many other enhancements:
Mad Marge and the Stone Cutters
Wet (Video Game) Soundtrack (Sample)
Just an aside: This had to be one of my favorite scenes to run. A running gun battle (Adapted the car chase rules) Through burnt out, dilapidated buildings. Chasing the Gunslinger who in turn was chasing a client that they were suppose to protect. All manner of crazy stuff from trying to shoot out the floors with automatic fire to leaping between buildings window to window.

What ever type of club, Bar, Racial Establishment, what have you, I pick music that fits the scene. But I know that many people do not have a music collection as large and as varied as mine. Some of my NPC's have their own theme songs. Their favorite fence, 'No Lie' Johnny Chu always gets Chinatown Hustler by Notorious MSG (I know Cheesy but it totally fits him since he is kind of a goof.

But I say try not to go for just one style of music. Get music that helps with a scenes ambiance and make it memorable.

Just my 2

Don't know if anyone mentioned it but Run This Town by Jay-Z, Rhianna (pre-red hair), and Kanye practically IS Shadowrun.

Apocalytpica's mix of the cello and heavy metal music is also appropriate.

A Beautiful Mine is great for Resonance Realm trips. (And, coincidentally, invokes images of falling into a mix of bizarre surrealistic images ala the opening of Mad Men, making it even more appropriate)

This metal version of the Game of Thrones theme is another great mix of cyberpunk and fantasy. (the riff is also the ringtone for my phone btw)

Cult of Personality is great if you want to capture the old school cyberpunk dystopia/1984 feel.

And if you got the Mafia involved...how can you not play Woke Up This Morning?!

I used to like them.
Then they were posted on Dumpshock.

This. A million times this!

Anything by The Prodigy, Rage Against the Machine, Pantera, Slayer, Linkin Park, Smashing Pumpkins, Old Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Tool, Perfect Circle, Lacuna Coil, Mithotyn, and others in that vein. If they are not begging for the shit to hit the fan after all that you have some seriously cold fish at your table.

Depends entirely on what you're looking for.

Ambient techno is, of course, great background music for walking around in the city, but you need to have quite a few options on hand for different situations. Noir is, obviously, a weakness for me, dance music for some clubs, angry stuff (Say, BodyCount) for Ork music, celtic stuff for 'upscale' Elves, bland corporate pop and 'pop-approved rebellion' music for corporate life, etc etc etc.

Of course, the biggest bands of the era in terms of talent tend to show up with a guitar and a mic and just lay it out in a ballad. Simple can PUNCH, yo.

I guess it's really dependent on the players. I know some who love only violent, heavy songs, while others not so much. Every time combat comes up in the game I'm in, I like hearing jazz music. It's just my thing. With tablets, smartphones, & micro MP3 players, I guess each player should have his/her music playing. Much like how each character can have their own AR & Reality Filter going in... each player should get their own music playing. Only issue is this causes a barrier in communication between people.

However, there's always someone not paying attention during the game, so... maybe it's not that big of a barrier. LOL!

Added this to my MP3 player today, and had it on repeat during my cardio. Three miles flew by like that

While some of this music is great, we don't allow music during the game. Also no electronics. Or other distractions.

Anything by:

VNV Nation
Combichrist
Orbital
:Wumpscut:
Gravity Kills
808 State
Lords of Acid
Apollo 440
Apoptygma Berzerk
Billy Idol - Cyberpunk (No, really - it's good stuff!)
and this and this just because I love them (the latter is the theme song to the New Orleans campaign I'm running off and on)

No music: I like to hear the dice rolling.

Skrillex's remix of the original Syndicate mission music, made for the new Syndicate trailer.
Also, the soundtrack for Splinter Cell Extinction fan series' pilot episode.

Some good ol' KMFDM is usually appropriate

the Portal 2 soundtrack (Apeture Science Psychoacustics Labratory: Music to Test to Vol 1-3) is chock-full of techno BGM, and also some pretty excelent fight music. its also a free download.

Quite possibly the best car chase music I've ever heard...

- J.