8 Albums to Amplify Your Tabletop Sessions
Expand your tabletop music library with 8 picks from various genres and lesser known artists.
I am Mr. Music-for-Tabletop, and I have strong opinions on RPG tunes. I’ve already told you when and when not to loop music, how to prep music for a session, and why you should pick more unusual tunes when scoring your campaigns. You know all that stuff, though! You have a strategy for scoring your sessions, and now it’s time to start building up your library of sick tunes.
Today, I’ve got 8 albums that you should check out when looking for music with which to score your campaigns. These aren’t going to be those super obvious picks: no Skyrim, no Lord of the Rings, no Witcher 3, no Game of Thrones. Those are all fine and dandy, but you already know them. Here are some selections that are much deeper cuts.
Full disclosure: lots of my pals make dedicated tabletop music. I’ll feature them at some point in a dedicated post, but for now, I want to point to stuff that wasn’t made specifically in a TTRPG context. Conveniently, that means I don’t actually know any of these musicians, and therefore there’s no conflict of interest. Nice!
Ensemble Galilei - From Whence We Came
My god, the fantasy moods on this album are impeccable. Ensemble Galilei is a very long-running group that fuses classical and Celtic music, often with a bit of renaissance/medieval flair. This album is my favorite of theirs. Put on just about any track, and you’ll be immediately transported to some Arthurian castle, fae forest, or Elizabethan ball. If you want pure fantasy combined with impeccable musicianship and some careful period appropriate performances, look no further.
Recommended track: Douglas and Fiona Shearer
Stafford Brawler, Obfusc, Grigori - Monument Valley
Why the hell did they make music so transcendent for a dang mobile game? You remember Monument Valley, I bet, but hell… you may have foolishly played it with the sound off. Well, the soundtrack is pure ambient bliss, with lots of soft, emotive synth plucks and washes. Don’t be fooled, though. Just because it’s synth-focused doesn’t mean this ought to be relegated to the territory of sci-fi. Much of this music has a decidedly fantasy air to it. Explore enchanted realms to “The Box,” enjoy a starlit stroll to “The Spire,” or chill out on the astral plane with “The Garden.”
Recommended track: Observatory
Nolan Medvek - Dans le vent
This one is a real sleeper pick... Nolan is a fabulous Italian guitarist, and, as far as I can tell, this whole album is just him overdubbing himself. The harmony choices are not at all medieval, but there’s a certain undeniable fantasy sound to all of these layered guitars. These tracks are perfect for campfire moments, emotional moments, or contemplative exploration.
Recommended track: Gitane
Minihi - Recaptures
Slightly upbeat, lots of twinkling bells, harp, dulcimers, and meandering harmonies. It's a bit twee and maybe a bit "NPR-lite," but it's also incredibly nuanced. You can listen to these tracks over and over and still find new things to pay attention to. I find this music much more texturally compelling than a lot of the “standard” RPG music picks, and that makes it a great choice for strange but populated locales: a quirky metropolis, a magical forest village, a wizard’s lab.
Recommended track: Hallowed Halls
Links: Spotify, YouTube, Bandcamp
Alkemie - Pentiment
There are moments when this soundtrack sounds so perfectly period-appropriate that it might actually sound not that fantastical. That is: this feels like historical music, and not always something you'd want in the Forgotten Realms and so forth. Honestly, that’s convenient! Use this album when diegesis is the name of the game. Your party walks into some lord’s keep, or—fittingly, given the subject of Pentiment—a humble monastery. The party hears some local musicians bowing their vielles and noodling on a dulcian. The vibes are on point, and much of the album sits in that perfectly emotionally neutral space that makes it ideal for letting your party dictate the valence of a scene.
Recommended track: Andreas’ Farewell
Links: Spotify, YouTube, Steam
Mark Korven - The Lighthouse
Your dungeons need love too! If you’ve got any sort of Lovecraftian or Nautical-themed spooky places in your campaigns, the Lighthouse must be on your music rotation. The slowly bending horns act as these wonky drones that suggest both space and theme; this is not “generic” underground music, but nightmarish MARITIME music. If you dig the vibes here but want something a bit more forest-y, go for Korven’s soundtrack to The Witch. Both soundtracks are common reference points for my own dungeon music.
Recommended track: Murder / Mermaid / Heavy Labour
Links: Spotify, YouTube, Sacred Bones Records
Bear McCreary - Black Sails
Mr. McCreary is by far the biggest name on this list, but I don’t know of anyone who has seen this random Starz show. Music kicks ass, though! This is probably my favorite pirate music ever, better than Pirates of the Caribbean or Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag. If you know Bear McCreary’s other works (Rings of Power, God of War, Outlander), you basically know what to expect, but I still think you’re in for a nice surprise if you want some flavorful nautical combat music or raucous tavern tunes.
Recommended track: The Wrecks
Tonbruket - Dig It to the End
Swedish alternative jazz probably isn’t the first place you look for tabletop music, but all of Tonbruket’s music does such a good job of suggesting unique landscapes. This is the soundtrack for a strange and mostly unfriendly realm. It almost feels like a folk music from a culture that doesn’t exist. “Trackpounder” is great for skirmishes, “Grandma’s Haze” for backwoods villages, and “Lilo” for charming pastoral scenes.
Recommended track: Le Var
Links: Spotify, YouTube, Bandcamp
I’ll be back at some point with another list of suggestions, but let me know what you reach for that’s a bit off the beaten path. Got any random favorites that I probably haven’t heard of? Drop it in the comments! Cheers!
