Music to Game to: UUUU - s/t

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

UUUU – S/T

Perhaps it’s because I was getting deeper into Planescape at the same time that I was discovering more experimental industrial and post-punk music, but the stranger end of industrial and post-punk evokes the gritty philosophical struggles of Planescape and especially Sigil for me. With members of Wire, Thighpaulsandra and Vanishing Twin, there is an intoxicating eclecticism to the instrumentation and feel of this album that makes it perfect for the many portals, planes and factions of Planescape. Which the instrumentation, tempo and dynamics vary, there is still a unified sense of tension, mutation, propulsion, curiosity and shadowy unease that make the album feel like a whole. In addition to Planescape, it could serve very well as part of a soundtrack for a darker Numenera game or a cyberpunk or other harder sci-fi game.

• Vocals?...Yes, on “Boots With Wings” and “Verlagerung, Verlagerung, Verlagerung”
• Music Genre(s)…Experimental, Krautrock
• Perfect for…Planescape, Cyberpunk or Sci-fi games
• If you only grab one track, make it... “Five Gates” which mutates effortless through its 16 minute run time and well, I’ll just let the Joseph Burnett’s review from the Quietus sum it up: 
• At UUUU’s heart lies the bloated, ridiculous, wild and frequently beautiful 16-minute wigout that is ‘Five Gates’. It surges out of the speakers like an early Cure song overloaded with fuzz and distortion, Magaletti maintaining a simple rhythm under cascades of icy synths. But the quartet quickly tear it down with a demonic chorus and a collapsed-building jazz freakout that plunges the track into a pit of seething noises and freeform drum and guitar friction. Ever impatient, UUUU then shuffle into a mesmerising motorik groove, complete with seesawing guitar lines straight out of the Manuel Göttsching handbook which they perversely lock into with apparent glee even as they allow the piece to meander almost aimlessly. “Almost” being the appropriate word, because ‘Five Gates’ surges back into focus with almost delirious potency, the band channeling Hawkwind, Haino, early Tangerine Dream and Coil all at once to create a bewildering cocktail of abrasive, hypnotic and ferocious rock mayhem. There’s nothing subtle on ‘Five Gates’ or indeed across the entirety of UUUU, even on the quieter moments, but the quartet’s enjoyment at such untrammeled ritualistic chaos is a thing of beauty in and of itself.

Burnt Boots of the Trapfinder - Weird Magic Item #9

Inspired by the incredibly excellent Weird Magic Item generator over at Donjon.bin.sh, I've been coming up with a few of my own system agnostic weird magic items to put in the many games I run, be they 13th Age or Beyond the Wall...

Eventually I want to try and put them into a randomizer, but I need to generate a few first. I'm going to try and post one every other Wednesday. Please let me know if you end up using an item I've created in your own game. You can find the entire series here...

Antagonist Relations Weird Magic Item Generator Presents...

Burnt Boots of the Trapfinder

Haunted by the unusually greedy ghost of a particularly unlucky thief, these shiny black leather boots smell slightly of burnt leather and flesh, and cannot be worn. Instead, they can be set on the ground in a room, corridor or other discrete area and activated by paying the ghost's price. Once the price is paid, the boots traverse the corridor or room and trigger any traps that would be set off by a person walking, standing or entering a trigger area. The price begins at 10gp and doubles each subsequent time the party calls upon the boots. The price must be put into the empty boots and disappears to the ghost's ethereal hoard, but it can be paid in any form, be it coin, raw gems or items worth at least the price (though the boots never make change, even when grossly overpaid). The boots can never be destroyed, except by a sphere of annihilation or other potent disintegration, but they do show appropriate damage. For instance, if the boots are used to trigger a spray of acid, they would be visibly singed by the caustic spray. Any damage slowly disappears over a 24 hour period until the boots are once again a pair of shiny black leather boots. It is rumored that the same unlucky thief once had a pair of gloves, but no one has seen them (or at least admitted so).

Music to Game to: Eight Trails, One Path

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

VARIOUS – EIGHT TRAILS, ONE PATH

A compilation album celebrating “the various styles, approaches, and concepts used by eight contemporary guitar masters.” The album is mostly solo acoustic guitar, lending itself naturally to an American Wild West feel, but there bits and pieces of other instruments as well. The album feels surprisingly unified for a compilation, with the focus on the guitar helping each song to sound as part of the whole.

• Vocals?...Distorted vocals low in the mix on “Stranded on Io”
• Music Genre(s)…Psychedelic Rock, Folk, Acoustic
• Perfect for…Wild West games or any game you want to add a Western flair to.
• If you only grab one track, make it... “Stranded On Io”, which adds a slight sci-fi ambience, for a melancholic explorer lost in space feel. Though if you were going to run a more straight-forward or authentic Wild West game, this might also be the track you skip.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 37 - The Bear's Entourage

Antagonist Relations Podcast 37 - The Bear's Entourage

The third of three parts of our June 2018 Beyond the Wall Actual Play Episodes, now separated into bite size chunks for your audio enjoyment (or at least, not an listenable 3 hour podcast).

The party continues their search for a basement, visiting the mill, purchasing a sack of flour, then they visit the ruins of the Foaming Mug Inn where they finally encounter a basement… a basement full of a familiar rancid, musty stench… Also featuring Hugen’s further descent into blood vengeance...

Starring Ben as Hugen Coldhands, the New Watchman, Christy as Ziska Forespark, the Student of the Dark Arts, Mike as Jasper (Jape) Sweetberry IV, the Gifted Dilettante and Cassandra as Tulip, the Village Bear.

• Player created maps
• GM Hex Map (not for player eyes)
• Map of Orlane

If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:

Antagonist Relations reviews Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures

Antagonist Relations reviews Further Afield.

Please take our listener survey here.

Music to Game to: The Gate - Island Virus

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

THE GATE – ISLAND VIRUS

Right out of the gate, the first track of this album is titled “Black Bird of Death Spewing Death Puke,” to give you an idea of what you’re in for. This is deep, apocalyptic tuba rumbling, backed mostly by double bass and drums. Having been a high school marching band tuba player, I’ve a deep fondness for the instrument, and Dan Peck, who leads the The Gate and blows the horn, uses it to create skull-vibrating and sinister tones. With the double bass and more uptempo drumming, the album draws more on free jazz than doom metal, but it cannot help but be thunderously deep. While many doom jazz albums can tend towards the ethereal and haunting, Island Virus is grounded and sinister. Perfect for any game where unlucky investigators wander foggy seaside towns and face down horrid fish people.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)…Doom, Tuba, Doom Jazz,
• Perfect for…Early 20th century horror games, any game where you want to add a rumbling darkness.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The doleful and deep, “Back to the Sea,” where the tuba functions as a bringer of mysterious doom and gloom like a mammoth reptilian creature plodding back to the oceanic depths.

Pietro's Pocket Pole - Weird Magic Item #8

Inspired by the incredibly excellent Weird Magic Item generator over at Donjon.bin.sh, I've been coming up with a few of my own system agnostic weird magic items to put in the many games I run, be they 13th Age or Beyond the Wall...

Eventually I want to try and put them into a randomizer, but I need to generate a few first. I'm going to try and post one every other Wednesday. Please let me know if you end up using an item I've created in your own game. You can find the entire series here...

Antagonist Relations Weird Magic Item Generator Presents...

Pietro's Pocket Pole

Created by a minor archmage, Pietro the Practical, this six inch long dowel can be transmuted into a ten foot pole by holding it in your hand and uttering the command phrase "Better safe than sorry" which is burnt into its side. Once it has become a ten foot pole it remains so for at least ten minutes, for up to an hour. Other than being unusually sturdy and resilient, it is in every other respect a simple ten foot pole useful for finding pits and pushing rafts. Once the pole has reverted to its six inch form, either because the user has ended the effect or because the hour duration is up, the pole requires ten minutes to regain its charge and be transformed again.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 36 - "Can we see the stench?"

Antagonist Relations Podcast 36 - "Can we see the stench?"

The second of three parts of our June 2018 Beyond the Wall Actual Play Episodes, now separated into bite size chunks for your audio enjoyment (or at least, not an listenable 3 hour podcast).

The party takes leave of wizard and weasel to visit a widow in Orlane and then having found signs of foul undertakings, march on to the Temple to determine if it is the seat from which all sinister doings in the village emanate.

Starring Ben as Hugen Coldhands, the New Watchman, Christy as Ziska Forespark, the Student of the Dark Arts, Mike as Jasper (Jape) Sweetberry IV, the Gifted Dilettante and Cassandra as Tulip, the Village Bear.

• Player created maps
• GM Hex Map (not for player eyes)
• Map of Orlane

If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:

Antagonist Relations reviews Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures

Antagonist Relations reviews Further Afield.

Please take our listener survey here.

Music to Game to: The Comet Is Coming - Channel the Spirits

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

THE COMET IS COMING – CHANNEL THE SPIRITS

With the band name, member pseudoynms (King Shabaka, Danalogue the Conquerer and Betamax Killer), and song titles (“Journey through the Asteroid Belt”, “Slam Dunk Through a Black Hole”) you can easily deduce that this is an album well suited for Sci-Fi games. With a skillful blend of Sun Ra inspired jazz, space funk and psychedelic rock, Channel the Spirits is a fantastic fit for any psychedelic science fiction RPG or a superheroes game with a more Cosmic Kirby feel.

• Vocals?...Yes, largely on one song, “Lightyears”
• Music Genre(s)…Jazz, psychedelic rock, electronic
• Perfect for…Psychedelic science-fiction games.
• If you only grab one track, make it... The propulsive and groovy “Star Furnace”.

RPG Inspiration Twitter Bot List - Sword Names Table

Instead of posting another table of surnames I've made, I figured I'd put this up. I made a list of RPG Twitter Bots I find interesting/inspirational. If you have any suggestions to be added, let me know.

RPG Inspiration Bots - a list by @antag_relations

I'm hoping to have a Magic Sword/Weapon name bot set up later this summer. I've been thinking about the few swords in Thomas' al-Qadim AD&D Church game, like Angel's Fang and Wizard Death. I created a little table to generate Sword names and then couldn't stop myself after, so I started randomly generating thousands of interesting magic sword names that will eventually go into the bot. But for now you can enjoy sword names like "Ghost Shaver" and "Moon('s) Edge".

d20	Sword Name Prefix	Sword Name Suffix
1	Foe	Wrath
2	Adversary	Slicer
3	Spleen	Vengeance
4	Death	Fang
5	Moon	Blade
6	Blood	Render
7	Weakling	Breaker
8	Gore	Shard
9	Shining	Wound
10	Silver	Shaver
11	Dawn	Death
12	King	Ender
13	Angel	Edge
14	Heart	Skewer
15	Ghost	Piercer
16	Sharp	Slasher
17	Widow's	Ache
18	Sir	Carver
19	Steel	Bane
20	Mountain	Tickler

Also, last month I converted my old Zombie Twitter RPG account into a twitter account just for my RPG nonsense, which you can follow at its new handle: @antag_relations

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 35 - Ixnay on the Bloodbath-ay

Antagonist Relations Podcast Episode 35 - Ixnay on the Bloodbath-ay

The first of three parts of our June 2018 Beyond the Wall Actual Play Episodes, now separated into bite size chunks for your audio enjoyment (or at least, not an listenable 3 hour podcast). 

The party visits the mayor of Orlane and Ziska, Jape and Tulip have to talk Hugen out of killing first and asking questions later. Then they visit a weasel and a wizard.

Starring Ben as Hugen Coldhands, the New Watchman, Christy as Ziska Forespark, the Student of the Dark Arts, Mike as Jasper (Jape) Sweetberry IV, the Gifted Dilettante and Cassandra as Tulip, the Village Bear.

Player created maps

GM Hex Map (not for player eyes)

If you want to know more about Beyond the Wall, check out the Antagonist Relations reviews:

Antagonist Relations reviews Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures

Antagonist Relations reviews Further Afield.

Please take our listener survey here.

Music to Game to: Scott Walker - The Childhood of a Leader (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

I listen to a lot of music (over 40 days worth in 2017 according to last.fm) and I find that few things help me keep the mood of a game foregrounded in my mind like a good soundtrack. Plus, I’ve discovered that when I’m playing music to a speaker via Bluetooth, I’m less likely to be on my phone, lest my players hear any stray sounds, letting me better model engagement during a game. To that end, I want to share some of my favorite music to game to; the albums that inspire and inflame my imagination and that I’ve found work well as background music for games as well. I’ll do a mini-review and cover the basics of what mood it helps me set.

SCOTT WALKER – THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)

I’m not going to recommend many soundtracks with this blog series, after all, they are well trod ground. Many an article or post about music for RPGs references the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack (without going back to check, I feel like the Master and Commander soundtrack is also strangely well represented in this oeuvre). So, why recommend The Childhood of a Leader soundtrack?

Firstly, it is composed by the legendary Scott Walker (as opposed to the aggressively boring, anti-democratic Wisconsin politician who sullies the name), but Noel Scott Engel, who took the moniker Walker at the formation of the 60’s pop trio, the Walker Brothers. With JG Thirlwell, Walker is in my mind, one of the very best composers of the 21st century. If you doubt it, I will direct your attention to the epic “SDSS14+13B (Zercon, A Flagpole Sitter)” which mixes references to ascetics of Roman Antiquity, astronomy, insults, flatulence and more in 21 minutes. And I’ve written before on Scott’s collaboration with Drone Metal titans Sunn O))) before.

Secondly, unlike the tried and true soundtracks of LotR or other blockbusters, your players (and let’s be honest, you as well) have probably never seen The Childhood of a Leader. It is not a stirring, epic score, but a suspenseful and uncanny one. This is probably not music for your fantasy hearbreaker game or your sci-fi epic, but would work tremendously well for a horror/suspense game set anytime in the 20th century. There are quiet lulls suddenly torn apart by blasts of horns, strings and percussion. This is an album of music to put in the mix when you want your players to be unsettled and on edge.

• Vocals?...No
• Music Genre(s)…Classical
• Perfect for…Horror, suspense and paranoid games set in the 20th century.
• If you only grab one track, make it...The track, “The Meeting”, which begins with swirling and nausea inducing strings and then settles into a tense silence punctuated by low bursts of horns, the returning strings and flute or piccolo whistles.