The Ultimate DND Playlist: How to Set the Mood for Your Next Adventure
Carefully selected tunes can take your Dungeons & Dragons campaign from good to great. We’ll show you where to go to make a DND playlist of your own.
In a game fueled by boundless imagination, music and ambience can take your Dungeons & Dragons campaign to the next level. As such, you’ll need to be prepared with only the best sounds, ambience, and music. Get ready, for I shall guide you through a quest to create the greatest D&D Playlist of them all!
My Favorite YouTube Channels for DND Music
In your quest for music and ambience, one of the easiest resources at your disposal is YouTube. With just a few clicks, you can uncover so much musical gold. Allow me to unveil the finest YouTube channels to use at your next session:
Michael Ghelfi Studios boasts an impressive collection of ambience perfectly suited to any scenario your campaign demands. Michael Ghelfi’s repertoire spans from the humming of a steampunk airship engine to the charm of sparkling fey forests. Prepare to be amazed by the diversity this channel has to offer!
For video playlists designed to immerse you in specific moods, events, and locations, look no further than Bardify. Scroll through their offerings and you’re sure to find not an abundance of options that precisely match the atmosphere you seek. The blend of music and ambience found here ensures an imaginative D&D adventure!
Immerse yourself in the realm of original fantasy music with the popular Vindsvept, fantasy music. This channel not only serves as the perfect background music for your sessions but also provides great inspiration for world-building. Embark on a dramatic and uplifting adventure with these fantastic original compositions!
When the shadows deepen and a darker mood befalls your campaign, turn to The Dungeon Synth Archives. This channel specializes in the creation of haunting dark ambient sounds, complemented by spooky visualizations. This powerful music is sure to send a chill down your spine!
Top Artists with DND Playlists on Spotify
Spotify is a treasure trove of DND-friendly music, with many artists creating sci-fi and fantasy-themed playlists with roleplaying games in mind.
Venturing beyond YouTube, Spotify has another collection of D&D music waiting to be explored. Here are three artists to add to your library:
With a diverse selection of albums, the creations of Will Savino cater to a wide range of moods and situations. The inclusion of "d20" in their album names shows dedication to the game. Not only that, but Will Savino also showcases playlists featuring other gifted artists to check out.
Prepare for epic battles and intense scenes with the orchestral albums composed by Midnight Syndicate. Even Matthew Mercer has cited them as a go-to artist for much of the music heard on Critical Role!
Tabletop RPG Music is an artist explicitly dedicated to the realm of D&D, with 15 albums designed to be played at your table. Their works are best at creating suspense and amplifying combat. Each track is titled with the mood or situation it fits best, making it super easy to pick which song to play next!
With Spotify unlocked, let these artists guide your imagination and elevate the immersion of your campaign to incredible heights.
Websites Dedicated to Fantasy Music and Ambiance
If you've yearned for a single hub dedicated to fantasy tabletop music, sound, and ambience, your wish is about to come true! Brace yourself for the discovery of music websites designed specifically for D&D enthusiasts:
Considered a classic go-to resource, TabletopAudio.com offers music and sound that encompass almost anything you could imagine. With its user-friendly interface, setting the perfect mood for your party becomes quick and effortless!
A newer website, Bardly.io, allows you to craft your own D&D playlists. They also conveniently offer a smartphone app, allowing you to access your personalized playlists with ease!
Syrinscape.com is the giant of the bunch. With one of the largest libraries of sound effects, music, and ambience, this website offers a wealth of options to suit any scenario. Syrinscape has also been awarded the Matthew Mercer seal of approval – that means it must be good!
Prepare to dive into what these sites have to offer, where an unrivaled assortment of sound awaits.
Movie and Video Game Soundtracks Make Great DND Music, Too!
If you’re building a DND playlist for your next campaign, don’t overlook movie and video game soundtracks as a potential source: you just need to find a soundtrack that fits your genre.
There exists one last simple (but effective) way to immerse your players: utilizing movie or video game soundtracks. Together, Spotify and YouTube will give you access to almost every game and movie that you’ll need. Here are some noteworthy soundtracks to explore:
Skyrim, The Witcher, and World of Warcraft have the perfect soundtrack for a typical D&D campaign. Their fantasy worlds will breathe life into your adventure!
Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are combat-centric games that have amazing music for boss fights.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has a diversity of themes suitable for many locations where your campaign might take place.
Consider titles like Mass Effect, Fallout, or Hollow Knight if your campaign is located beyond a traditional medieval fantasy world.
The Chronicles of Narnia movie soundtrack might be the ideal choice for a mysterious but playful ambience.
For a pirate-themed campaign, the enchanting scores of the Pirates of the Caribbean will instantly transport you and your players to the high seas. Who would have thought!
As you may have guessed, the score from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is great because, well, it was quite literally made for D&D. The charming soundtrack will guide you through the twists and turns of your epic quest!
Incorporating these fantastic, recognizable soundtracks into your D&D sessions will bring your players into a world of excitement.
Go Forth and Make the Greatest DND Playlist Ever
With plenty of options at your disposal, the quest for the Ultimate D&D Playlist becomes an adventure in itself. From YouTube channels, to Spotify playlists, entire websites, and even movie and video game soundtracks, a vast realm of musical treasures awaits you and your party.
Now that you’ve set the stage for your next adventure, check out some of our other content to help you build your campaign. Perhaps a Studio Ghibli one-shot is just what the doctor ordered. If you’re new to the game, our introductory What is D&D? post is for you. You can also check out our beginner’s guide to getting strted with a D&D group.
Of course, if you’ve searched far and wide and haven’t found a local group to play with, we have your back. At Young Dragonslayers™, we organize online D&D campaigns that help kids and teens meet peers with similar interests all over the country (and even the world). If that sounds like your kind of party, learn more about us and get on our waitlist for our next round of games. After all, someone needs to enjoy this new playlist you’ve created.