Music recommendation: Baldur’s Gate (fantasy)

It’s impossible for me to be impartial when reviewing the soundtrack that first got me started using music in tabletop roleplaying games. Luckily, a blog like this does not have to adhere to any sort of journalistic standards, so what follows is my completely biased recommendation of the Baldur’s Gate soundtrack.

To many video gamers, Baldur’s Gate remains the gold standard against which all other RPG video games are measured. The same could be said of its soundtrack. While many soundtracks that came after it, including that of the sequel Shadows of Amn, may well be more interesting from a purely artistic point of view, few soundtracks are as immediately useful to tabletop roleplayers as this one.

The tracklist covers almost every common theme that a typical fantasy campaign will need. Most tracks have titles that clearly communicate their mood and tempo, and nearly all of them are uniform enough to be useful without editing.

Although not apparent at first, a leitmotif for the entire game recurs in several tracks, both calm and dramatic. To players who spent a lot of time with Baldur’s Gate, this melody provides a unique connection to the Forgotten Realms and the Sword Coast in particular, which could be either a great benefit or a drawback depending on which type of game you are running. To players who don’t recognize the theme to begin with but pick it up during your sessions, it may well become a trademark theme that they will forever associate with your campaign.

Suggested scenes

Theme

1. Main Theme
2. Setting the Stage

Battle

4. Attacked By Assassins
6. Gorion’s Battle
8. Hobgoblins and Worgs
10. The Gibberling Horde
13. Swords Against Darkness
16. Attacked By Bounty Hunters
18. Giant Spiders
20. From Out of the Storm
24. Bandit Melee
30. Fighting For Survival
32. The Last Battle

Nature

7. Exploring the Plains
17. Cloakwood Forest

Urban

3. Candelkeep
14. Safe In Beregost
21. The Friendly Arms Inn
26. Streets of the City

Night

9. Night On the Plains
15. The Beregost Night
19. Night In Cloakwood
23. Stealth In the Bandit Camp
27. Night Falls On Baldur’s Gate

Dungeon

12. The Ruins of Ulcaster
29. Down To the Sewers
31. Ever Deeper

Temple

11. Helm’s Temple
28. The Lady’s House

Emotional

5. Leaving Home