Music to Game to: Kikagaku Moyo - Forest of Lost Children

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.

KIKAGAKU MOYO – FOREST OF LOST CHILDREN

A Japanese psychedelic psych rock quintent featuring a sitar in addition to the more standard guitar, bass, drums linup; Kikagaku Moyo tends toward the dreamlike on Forest of Lost Children, very much evoking a sense of wandering through a slightly unreal place of wonder and danger. Dreamy, but never hazy, meandering but never descending into the merely noodly, Forest of Lost Children is a fantastic addition to the soundtrack library of any fantasy GM. Unlike many of the other albums I’ve recommended for this series heretofore, the album is light on moments of intense anger, dread or suspense, making it a great choice for lighter games.

• Vocals?...Yes, in Japanese
• Music Genre(s)… Psychedelic Rock
• Perfect for…Laid back, dreamy fantasy games.
• If you only grab one track, make it...”Smoke and Mirrors” which meanders between languid dreaminess and driving urgency.

Floating Canoe - Weird Magic Item #11

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...

Floating Canoe

This 20ft canoe can fit up to five human sized creatures and hold 1000 pounds. It floats three feet above any surface and must be poled or towed.

While it can float over rough terrain, choppy waters and even inclines, any sudden drops of more than 5 ft in the surface below the canoe have a 1% chance per foot dropped of causing the canoe to lose stability, flipping upside down and spilling its contents out (5% or 1 in 20, for 5ft, 15% or 1, 2 or 3 on a d20 for 15ft).

For drops of 20 ft or more the chance of the canoe losing stability increases to 2% per foot dropped (40% or 1-8 on a d20 for 20ft, 90% or 1-18 on a d20 for 45ft).

There are rumors of smaller floating kayaks that only hold two human sized creatures and up to 400 pounds.

Post-Apocalyptic Names

As I'm prepping to run a Godless mini-campaign, I wanted to have a good post-apocalyptic name table to draw from. The Apocalypse World name list is great, but I've used it for a bunch of games, so I've cobbled together my own list. There are six columns so that as I use up results on list one, I can use list 2 when I roll the same result again.

d20	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Riley	Nelson	Cannon	Miller	Adalyn	Shelbi
2	Loxli	Madrox	Tiara	Thunder	Aabriella	Eryx
3	Harper	Axtyn	Trigger	Merritt	Spring	Gunner
4	Aaban	Radiance	Kimber	Colt	Hanson	Jones
5	Petronella	Swanson	Boundary	Jaxzon	Mortality	Muhammad
6	Camilla	Ruger	Anderson	Legacii	Drexel	Meyer
7	Caliber	Rainbow	Barrett	Messiah	Pier	Wilder
8	Loring	Veda	Jackson	Wyatt	Grayson	Como
9	Tel	Daxter	Gull	Sorrow	Prisca	Sibilla
10	Bantum	Yang	Zyva	Olson	Mikko	Walther
11	Mason	Tobiah	Lee	Benas	Tracer	Lakewood
12	Psalms	Whisper	Oliver	Cross	Wim	Nokomis
13	Roux	Isla	Lyrix	Elijah	Regret	Peterson
14	Helix	Aria	Awa	Zyrus	Riot	Emberly
15	Beaux	Schmidt	Cardinal	Kia	Horseshoe	Xuri
16	Grace	Carlson	Robin	Atarah	Schultz	Cressida
17	Peleg	Kinsley	Mavis	Poppy	Elon	Rowan
18	Infinity	Josiah	Larson	Wesson	Flora	Luxley
19	Blessing	Xavian	Mateo	Luna	Broxton	Shooter
20	Brahms	Yexalen	Paisley	Magnum	Winchester	Levi

Music to Game to: Motorpsycho and Ståle Storløkken - The Death Defying Unicorn

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.

MOTORPSYCHO AND STÅLE STORLØKKEN – THE DEATH DEFYING UNICORN: “A FANCIFUL AND FAIRLY FAR-OUT MUSICAL FABLE”

A prog rock double length concept album about a criminal given a choice between hanging and joining the ship, the Death Defying Unicorn, as a cabin boy as they journey to the uncharted ‘Hollow Land’, The Death Defying Unicorn amply lives up to its subtitle as a “Fanciful and Fairly Far-Out Musical Fable”. The music surges and swells, recedes and swirls, oceanic in its psychedelic melodies. The nearly over-wrought prog grandeur makes this album perfect for any heroic high fantasy game, and the themes of doomed nautical exploration make it a fine fit pirate or other maritime games as well.

Vocals?...Yes
Music Genre(s)…Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Perfect for…Epic High Fantasy Games, Games with a Pirate Flair
If you only grab one track, make it... “Through the Veil”, a 16 minute epic storm of cacophony and psychedelic chaos that makes incredible use of the many backing instruments provided by the string ensemble Trondheimsolistene and the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra.

Oswald Hilltopple’s Masterwork Hoe - Weird Magic Item #10

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...

Oswald Hilltopple’s Masterwork Hoe

This beautifully crafted garden implement was created by a long forgotten wizard who needed something capable of breaking the frozen ground of his hidden artic garden. It became (in)famous due to it’s use by Oswald Hilltopple, legendary Halfling assassin. It is an exceptional gardening implement, allowing the time needed to complete any agricultural tasks with it by three quarters, so a field that would normally take four hours to hoe would only take one. It also gives the bearer a burrowing speed of 5ft per round. When used as an improvised weapon it does 1d4 damage and has a +1 to attack and damage as well. Additionally any damage it inflicts on plant creatures and creatures made of stone, earth, rock or ice is doubled.

Antagonist Relations Podcast 38 - Murder, Mayhem and Modules, Oh My!

Antagonist Relations Podcast 38 - Murder, Mayhem and Modules, Oh My!

Ben, Cassandra, Christy and Zack ramble on a bit after playing a third session of Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures, mostly discussing murderous rampages and old modules.

as well as other assorted nerdery.

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.


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