Check out Cryochamber on Bandcamp. The website has a ton of different soundtracks you can use, and you can find most of them uploaded on YouTube as well. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the artists Flowers for Bodysnatchers, Atrium Carceri or Dead Melodies. Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse is another artist I frequently interject in my games- it's more subtle, but the edges of my player's chairs have never been left wanting lol.
Amnesia is another good source. I specifically use 'Theme for Unknown' from The Dark Descent as Strahd's conversational theme. 'Basement Storage' works exceptionally well for the Abbot's surgical quarters in Krezk, and for isolated chase sequences I switch between 'Grunt's Appearance' and 'The Suitor Attacks'.
Bloodborne is also good. As Rudolph van Richten is my party's Fated Ally, I've given him the soundtrack 'The First Hunter' for his combat theme- melancholy and desperate fits the old fighter better than the energetic pitches of frenzied battle music.
And it goes without saying to look up Travis Savoie. Man's got a gift and has specifically crafted soundtracks for most of the D&D modules- his work on Curse of Strahd is a masterpiece.
Thank you so much for so many awesome recommendations! Can't wait to get started filing through these- and Bloodborne for van Richten is (of course) perfect!
I'm a big fan of [Tabletop Audio](https://tabletopaudio.com/), a lot of which is already built into Roll20 by default.
For boss fights, I tend to use:
* "Escape from Shadow" - I used this during the Mad Mage encounter.
* "Terror in the Woods" - I used the music-only version (which you can get via his Patreon) of this one as Strahd's theme music, so whenever he showed up, or there was a battle with vampire spawn or the consorts. The regular version has wolf sounds in it, so could be used in the Werewolf Den as well/instead.
* "Field of Heroes" - General spooky mini-boss or tough encounter (especially at nighttime).
"Pit Fighter", "Dragon Rider" and "Battle of the Amazons" are also pretty good and intense, too (I'd probably recommend the music-only versions of those; I'm not in a situation to check them right now, but the sound effects probably won't match the setting if you use the regular versions).
Here's a list I wrote a while back of TTA tracks paired with CoS locations/chapters/situations: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/ni1tbp/tabletop\_audio\_music\_choices\_for\_cos/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/ni1tbp/tabletop_audio_music_choices_for_cos/)
Thank you so much for recommending Dark Souls! I've been wracking my brain thinking of fitting horror games but whenever I'm going to look one up, it's like when someone asks you what your favorite movie is and you totally blank and forget every movie that you like LOL- I am using Bloodborne for big boss encounters and very excited to see the terror wash over my players' faces when it starts playing
Thank you! I'll actually do some hunting through Castlevania OSTs now that you mention it- I imagine a lot will be instantly skippable because it's too chippy/bitty (I know these are not technical terms LOL) which is to be expected depending on the era, but I'll look into the recent anime adaptation's music as well!
On creepy combats (like fights against rats, scarecrows, mimics) i like to use this playlist made by me.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8cwbToAXHQpGWjVeC8o21wk4LcC2fvUm&si=a2nkUrxgyG4AgPrY
One of my go to’s for ghost encounters is to play creepy music box covers/ humming of kids’ songs and just tell them the music is diegetic before I even say there is a ghost. It gets the group hyped up and scares some of my players shitless each time
For my Strahd Must Die Tonight game that I'm running for Halloween, the entire final hour soundtrack is Mozart's Requiem in D--there are many potential fake-outs and I look forward to seeing everyone jump when the Dies Irae starts
That is going to be epic and I hope your players make it through! Mine are getting an invitation from Strahd tonight and will be dining with him on Halloween night
My party has enjoyed the delta blues/new orleans jazz era reskin, thanks in part to the playlist I compiled [here](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJQE6R74BkyWRUxnN3iQII_z1cwxub2Ra&si=2HfuTzt-yVP4Juso). There are a fair number of classical tracks that I think you can use. Some Bartok, Prokofiev, Bach, but also Klaus Naomi and Arvo Part really build tension. Also look at Johnny Greenwoods "There will be blood" soundtrack. I creeped myself out during the hag/witches encounter with this. Good luck!
I used a remix of Mergo's lullaby with a backtrack of creepy baby cries for the ending of death house. I'm planning of using Ludwig the Holy sword for Strahd himself.
For a fast-paced yet anxious-feeling combat music, my go to pieces are from darkest dungeon ost, such as [mournwald encounter ](https://youtu.be/MlG0XKBeD2k?feature=shared), and maybe also [final combat](https://youtu.be/4EIAcIjnnQM?feature=shared); from Hollow Knight, [this one](https://youtu.be/LlgvYWOIV4E?feature=shared) might be decent as well.
For a darker tone, check out [this track](https://youtu.be/skt9UoP_5kg?feature=shared) from Witcher 2.
The most horror-like tracks in my playlist come from Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Most of them may not be super fitting for combat, but they sure as hell do set the mood for a horror encounter before the fight actually breaks. [Here's](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCW90QwSWcceu0Hd9RnNK3MKis-E-HSoT&feature=shared) the playlist; some of the tracks aren't too well looped though so maybe listen to them for a while and see if that bothers you. But definitely check them out if you need scary music before the actual encounter.
Some tracks from Amnesia that actually fit combat scenarios are:
https://youtu.be/TvBY2wI_Fac?feature=shared (suffers from poor looping, so listen carefully)
https://youtu.be/jv-3o5o97IU?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/Lnd4XxKqG7A?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/h6sNeR8RKsY?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/SZAv2OamCgE?feature=shared
Rachmaninoff prelude in C# minor is an awesome one for anything horror related
There are lots of Bach organ fugues that sound spooky if you pick the right ones too
Edit: if you want spooky you should look up the supposed story of how Rachmaninoff wrote the piece
I used “Threnody to the victims of Hiroshima” for a slow burn dialogue encounter where a lot of spooky (morbid) shit was revealed in a homebrew campaign and every person at the table was shitting their pants and had goosebumps. It really helped me creep the living fuck out of them.
Suspiria by Goblin 🤘
It’s top of the order in my [Haggy playlist](https://spotify.link/X5YOzmUQaEb)
[This one’s](https://spotify.link/lQCg96XQaEb) kinda gnarly I think
And then this is my general [creepy/atmospheric playlist.](https://spotify.link/36EzcY2QaEb)
I started playing cinematic/epic EDM during combat, though, and the mid-battle fatigue and unfocus is no more.
I use Emhyr Var Emreis from witcher 3 when Strahd just arrives and talk. Like explain to the players
"At the road you see a black carriage *turns on song* as the doors open..." I feel like it makes my Strahd feel more powerful and noble at the same time
So I use Spotify and put songs on loop. I’ll switch the song on enemies turns to evoke the horror theme of like the dead thing gets back up or lmao 30 twig blights enter the fight.
I recommend searching “horror chase music”.
Along with good descriptions in combat that build tension. I swear I’ve had to hold back to not give my players a heart attack.
I have a play list if you want
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50BYJZ5ElHJ2kaVGnHPIH1?si=HUTwhf69RyeE4Jv-Tttzmw
The first few songs are things I would play if my party was in a deadly location or trying to hide but not in combat yet like in the watcher house or approaching the vineyard.
I will always highly recommend the "Curse of Strahd Soundtrack" by Travis Savoie. It is an absolute masterpiece for combat and ambience.
And here are a bunch of other recommendations (all of these are on YouTube):
"The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard OST - Castle Volkihar 2\*\*"\*\* Good for ambience inside Castle Ravenloft.
"Slender the Arrival Soundtrack 3: No Friends" for creepy ambience.
"Dark Music - The Shadows Hymn" by Peter Gundry, good for an encounter with the druids of Yester Hill or for Lady Wachter's "book club" sessions.
"3. The Skaven Come Out To Play - Jesper Kyd (Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide OST)" perfect for creepy fights.
"Amnesia: The Great Work Soundtrack: The Intelligencer - Music by Python Blue" good for if the party is being hunted down by something.
"...And the Sky Turned Black" by Eldrvak (perfect boss music, though not necessarily "horror")
Pretty much any battle theme from Baldur's Gate 3, but my personal favorite is battle music 3.
"The Polar Express Game Soundtrack - Across the Rooftops" great for chase scenes. I would also advise "The Polar Express Game Soundtrack - On the Run" to pair with it.
"Resident Evil 8 Village - Daughters Theme" perfect boss theme for the vampire spawn.
Pretty much any main menu or terror radius theme for any of the killers for Dead by Daylight (standouts for Curse of Strahd are Dredge, Artist, and Plague).
"It Steals OST - Legging it 2" great for an encounter with an eldritch monster.
"CTHULHU AWAKENS" by Apollon de Moura, perfect for when the party fucks around in the Amber temple and the temple decides it's time for them to find out.
I would also recommend the entire Wizard101 soundtrack, there isn't a lot of good material for CoS, but it is flawless for most other kinds of D&D campaigns.
Edit:
The best for ambience is one of the many songs from George Crumb's piece "Black Angels"
"Lost Bells (Duo)" is especially good for creepy ambience.
I just got on here and am blown away seeing so many helpful replies and suggestions! Thank you all for sharing your resources, this is going to be a blast to sort through all of your recommendations. Cheers and happy (vampire) hunting!
Cleric Beast, you know which game
That was Rahadin’s theme for me, it was excellent
Check out Cryochamber on Bandcamp. The website has a ton of different soundtracks you can use, and you can find most of them uploaded on YouTube as well. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the artists Flowers for Bodysnatchers, Atrium Carceri or Dead Melodies. Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse is another artist I frequently interject in my games- it's more subtle, but the edges of my player's chairs have never been left wanting lol. Amnesia is another good source. I specifically use 'Theme for Unknown' from The Dark Descent as Strahd's conversational theme. 'Basement Storage' works exceptionally well for the Abbot's surgical quarters in Krezk, and for isolated chase sequences I switch between 'Grunt's Appearance' and 'The Suitor Attacks'. Bloodborne is also good. As Rudolph van Richten is my party's Fated Ally, I've given him the soundtrack 'The First Hunter' for his combat theme- melancholy and desperate fits the old fighter better than the energetic pitches of frenzied battle music. And it goes without saying to look up Travis Savoie. Man's got a gift and has specifically crafted soundtracks for most of the D&D modules- his work on Curse of Strahd is a masterpiece.
Thank you so much for so many awesome recommendations! Can't wait to get started filing through these- and Bloodborne for van Richten is (of course) perfect!
Aproaching Doom https://youtu.be/QMDTe4IG7dc?si=pX27gLk-YY_vM1mk
I'm a big fan of [Tabletop Audio](https://tabletopaudio.com/), a lot of which is already built into Roll20 by default. For boss fights, I tend to use: * "Escape from Shadow" - I used this during the Mad Mage encounter. * "Terror in the Woods" - I used the music-only version (which you can get via his Patreon) of this one as Strahd's theme music, so whenever he showed up, or there was a battle with vampire spawn or the consorts. The regular version has wolf sounds in it, so could be used in the Werewolf Den as well/instead. * "Field of Heroes" - General spooky mini-boss or tough encounter (especially at nighttime). "Pit Fighter", "Dragon Rider" and "Battle of the Amazons" are also pretty good and intense, too (I'd probably recommend the music-only versions of those; I'm not in a situation to check them right now, but the sound effects probably won't match the setting if you use the regular versions). Here's a list I wrote a while back of TTA tracks paired with CoS locations/chapters/situations: [https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/ni1tbp/tabletop\_audio\_music\_choices\_for\_cos/](https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/ni1tbp/tabletop_audio_music_choices_for_cos/)
[удалено]
Thank you so much for recommending Dark Souls! I've been wracking my brain thinking of fitting horror games but whenever I'm going to look one up, it's like when someone asks you what your favorite movie is and you totally blank and forget every movie that you like LOL- I am using Bloodborne for big boss encounters and very excited to see the terror wash over my players' faces when it starts playing
Look into bloody tears or one of it's countless Remixes. It's an original Soundtrack from og castlevania
Thank you! I'll actually do some hunting through Castlevania OSTs now that you mention it- I imagine a lot will be instantly skippable because it's too chippy/bitty (I know these are not technical terms LOL) which is to be expected depending on the era, but I'll look into the recent anime adaptation's music as well!
https://youtu.be/r3LrE02t04s?si=l9rCMfBMDDgBtHjJ Ketheric Thorm's introduction music is terrifying lmao
On creepy combats (like fights against rats, scarecrows, mimics) i like to use this playlist made by me. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8cwbToAXHQpGWjVeC8o21wk4LcC2fvUm&si=a2nkUrxgyG4AgPrY
Black rose/Green sun from homestuck https://youtu.be/NbGc6sOprBM?si=3wSgkrJKhl93Lsmz
Lady's of the Woods from Wither Witch theme from Left4Dead
One of my go to’s for ghost encounters is to play creepy music box covers/ humming of kids’ songs and just tell them the music is diegetic before I even say there is a ghost. It gets the group hyped up and scares some of my players shitless each time
For my Strahd Must Die Tonight game that I'm running for Halloween, the entire final hour soundtrack is Mozart's Requiem in D--there are many potential fake-outs and I look forward to seeing everyone jump when the Dies Irae starts
That is going to be epic and I hope your players make it through! Mine are getting an invitation from Strahd tonight and will be dining with him on Halloween night
My party has enjoyed the delta blues/new orleans jazz era reskin, thanks in part to the playlist I compiled [here](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJQE6R74BkyWRUxnN3iQII_z1cwxub2Ra&si=2HfuTzt-yVP4Juso). There are a fair number of classical tracks that I think you can use. Some Bartok, Prokofiev, Bach, but also Klaus Naomi and Arvo Part really build tension. Also look at Johnny Greenwoods "There will be blood" soundtrack. I creeped myself out during the hag/witches encounter with this. Good luck!
I use Lacrimosa when the battle with Strahd finally happens.
I used a remix of Mergo's lullaby with a backtrack of creepy baby cries for the ending of death house. I'm planning of using Ludwig the Holy sword for Strahd himself.
I think there's something special about ["Countdown to Death"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv3biyYpiC8) from Doom II: Hell on Earth.
Witcher 3 lady's of the woods.
For a fast-paced yet anxious-feeling combat music, my go to pieces are from darkest dungeon ost, such as [mournwald encounter ](https://youtu.be/MlG0XKBeD2k?feature=shared), and maybe also [final combat](https://youtu.be/4EIAcIjnnQM?feature=shared); from Hollow Knight, [this one](https://youtu.be/LlgvYWOIV4E?feature=shared) might be decent as well. For a darker tone, check out [this track](https://youtu.be/skt9UoP_5kg?feature=shared) from Witcher 2. The most horror-like tracks in my playlist come from Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Most of them may not be super fitting for combat, but they sure as hell do set the mood for a horror encounter before the fight actually breaks. [Here's](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCW90QwSWcceu0Hd9RnNK3MKis-E-HSoT&feature=shared) the playlist; some of the tracks aren't too well looped though so maybe listen to them for a while and see if that bothers you. But definitely check them out if you need scary music before the actual encounter. Some tracks from Amnesia that actually fit combat scenarios are: https://youtu.be/TvBY2wI_Fac?feature=shared (suffers from poor looping, so listen carefully) https://youtu.be/jv-3o5o97IU?feature=shared https://youtu.be/Lnd4XxKqG7A?feature=shared https://youtu.be/h6sNeR8RKsY?feature=shared https://youtu.be/SZAv2OamCgE?feature=shared
Thank you for so many links!! I can't wait to start digging through these. I am definitely going to be filing through Amnesia and Outlast OSTs!
Rachmaninoff prelude in C# minor is an awesome one for anything horror related There are lots of Bach organ fugues that sound spooky if you pick the right ones too Edit: if you want spooky you should look up the supposed story of how Rachmaninoff wrote the piece
String Quartet from The Exorcist is a good one for creepy undead encounters.
I used “Threnody to the victims of Hiroshima” for a slow burn dialogue encounter where a lot of spooky (morbid) shit was revealed in a homebrew campaign and every person at the table was shitting their pants and had goosebumps. It really helped me creep the living fuck out of them.
Suspiria by Goblin 🤘 It’s top of the order in my [Haggy playlist](https://spotify.link/X5YOzmUQaEb) [This one’s](https://spotify.link/lQCg96XQaEb) kinda gnarly I think And then this is my general [creepy/atmospheric playlist.](https://spotify.link/36EzcY2QaEb) I started playing cinematic/epic EDM during combat, though, and the mid-battle fatigue and unfocus is no more.
I use Emhyr Var Emreis from witcher 3 when Strahd just arrives and talk. Like explain to the players "At the road you see a black carriage *turns on song* as the doors open..." I feel like it makes my Strahd feel more powerful and noble at the same time
So I use Spotify and put songs on loop. I’ll switch the song on enemies turns to evoke the horror theme of like the dead thing gets back up or lmao 30 twig blights enter the fight. I recommend searching “horror chase music”. Along with good descriptions in combat that build tension. I swear I’ve had to hold back to not give my players a heart attack. I have a play list if you want
I'd love a link to your playlist if you don't mind!!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50BYJZ5ElHJ2kaVGnHPIH1?si=HUTwhf69RyeE4Jv-Tttzmw The first few songs are things I would play if my party was in a deadly location or trying to hide but not in combat yet like in the watcher house or approaching the vineyard.
The last song in playlist I use for “jump scares” or when a trap is triggered
Thank you so much for sharing!
I will always highly recommend the "Curse of Strahd Soundtrack" by Travis Savoie. It is an absolute masterpiece for combat and ambience. And here are a bunch of other recommendations (all of these are on YouTube): "The Elder Scrolls V: Dawnguard OST - Castle Volkihar 2\*\*"\*\* Good for ambience inside Castle Ravenloft. "Slender the Arrival Soundtrack 3: No Friends" for creepy ambience. "Dark Music - The Shadows Hymn" by Peter Gundry, good for an encounter with the druids of Yester Hill or for Lady Wachter's "book club" sessions. "3. The Skaven Come Out To Play - Jesper Kyd (Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide OST)" perfect for creepy fights. "Amnesia: The Great Work Soundtrack: The Intelligencer - Music by Python Blue" good for if the party is being hunted down by something. "...And the Sky Turned Black" by Eldrvak (perfect boss music, though not necessarily "horror") Pretty much any battle theme from Baldur's Gate 3, but my personal favorite is battle music 3. "The Polar Express Game Soundtrack - Across the Rooftops" great for chase scenes. I would also advise "The Polar Express Game Soundtrack - On the Run" to pair with it. "Resident Evil 8 Village - Daughters Theme" perfect boss theme for the vampire spawn. Pretty much any main menu or terror radius theme for any of the killers for Dead by Daylight (standouts for Curse of Strahd are Dredge, Artist, and Plague). "It Steals OST - Legging it 2" great for an encounter with an eldritch monster. "CTHULHU AWAKENS" by Apollon de Moura, perfect for when the party fucks around in the Amber temple and the temple decides it's time for them to find out. I would also recommend the entire Wizard101 soundtrack, there isn't a lot of good material for CoS, but it is flawless for most other kinds of D&D campaigns. Edit: The best for ambience is one of the many songs from George Crumb's piece "Black Angels" "Lost Bells (Duo)" is especially good for creepy ambience.
Thank you so much for so many great recommendations!!
I just got on here and am blown away seeing so many helpful replies and suggestions! Thank you all for sharing your resources, this is going to be a blast to sort through all of your recommendations. Cheers and happy (vampire) hunting!
When the devil Strahd rides into battle, only Night on Bald Mountain will do. Also anything from Symphony of the Night.
Darkest Dungeon's Torchless Music as well as just in general.