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Music recommendation: Baldur’s Gate (fantasy)

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Cover art for the Baldur’s Gate soundtrack

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

  1. Attacked By Assassins
  2. Gorion’s Battle
  3. Hobgoblins and Worgs
  4. The Gibberling Horde
  5. Swords Against Darkness
  6. Attacked By Bounty Hunters
  7. Giant Spiders
  8. From Out of the Storm
  9. Bandit Melee
  10. Fighting For Survival
  11. The Last Battle

Nature

  1. Exploring the Plains
  2. Cloakwood Forest

Urban

  1. Candelkeep
  2. Safe In Beregost
  3. The Friendly Arms Inn
  4. Streets of the City

Night

  1. Night On the Plains
  2. The Beregost Night
  3. Night In Cloakwood
  4. Stealth In the Bandit Camp
  5. Night Falls On Baldur’s Gate

Dungeon

  1. The Ruins of Ulcaster
  2. Down To the Sewers
  3. Ever Deeper

Temple

  1. Helm’s Temple
  2. The Lady’s House

Emotional

  1. Leaving Home

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