For some time our BOOM Library sound effects and music by Sonic Liberty are part and parcel of the Dungeons and Dragons episodes of the fantasy podcast “The Indoorsmen”. Enjoy listening to episodes 41-43!
In addition to listening to our sound effects, you can also read some great comments from the Dungeons and Dragons master Garrick Enright who told us how he made use of our sound FX. (If you are interested in some more information and episodes – then check out our “The Indoorsmen” article part one and two.)
This episode turned into a sound track extravaganza. Our story finally has some breathing room. The players are not in a deadly situation for the first time in many weeks, so I got the ability to score this episode with lighter, positive tracks. It’s a nice change of pace.
7:00 – 10:30
Haseid’s Backstory.
We get an insight into our bard’s sad backstory. Warning, it involves adult themes. This small segment shows the effort our players put into their characters and why they love to play this game.
Packs used: Sonic Liberty – A mournful song pads this moment out.
10:30 – 13:30
Contrast
In stark contrast to the previous scene this scene is about the wondrous exploration of the surface word for the first time in years. The group is on an airship which is brand new technology for our world. You’ll hear the creaking of the ship, the wind rolling through and positive music that hints at the curiosity and wonder that sprawls out before our players.
Packs used: Nature Essentials: Wind . Cinematic Horror:Creaky door sounds were used for the wood of the ship.
21:45 – 25:30
Flying and exploring an abandoned village.
Our gang decides where they’re headed and push forward! The destination is Jayce’s home town of Hogsfeet, a long abandoned farming settlement complete with birds, insects, and wildlife.
Packs used: Nature Essentials: Wind, and Deciduous Forest sound effects. Magic: Rumbling of the engines and fire ring as the ship powers through the air, and the whining of the magical disks that lower the players to the ground off of the airship. Cinematic Horror: The creaking open of the neglected door. Sonic Liberty: Positive and upbeat music with an air of fantasy or mystery.
25:40 – 28:00
Owlbear Encounter!
As soon as they step into the abandoned house the mood shifts to dangerous as a massive owlbear and her cubs have taken up residence in the home. This scene starts out potentially deadly and ends with a hilarious improvisational twist.
Packs used: Cinematic Horror: A mysterious banging noise is used to highlight the threat. Creatures: I mixed a gator-like growl with a large bird-like groan and chattering to create the sounds of the owlbear that you hear throughout this scene.
33:40 – 36:00
Night of Revelry
The group spends the night drinking and swapping stories after finding casks of aged liquors that had been forgotten by time and left behind in the war. The music picks up in tempo and the nature sounds transition into your more nocturnal creatures, like bullfrogs, owls, and crickets.
Packs used: Nature Essentials: Nocturnal animal noises. Sonic Liberty: The energetic music makes this seem like a lot of fun.
39:00 – 40:40
A smudge on the horizon.
After a few days in the sky the group comes across a downed enemy airship. The music takes on a tense tone and is punctuated with pangs from the Horror Essentials
Packs used: Nature Essentials: Wind noises. Cinematic Horror: Tension punctuators. Sonic Liberty: Tens music
43:30 – 47:50
Investigating the airship.
The gang pilots their airship towards the downed ship and the music gets more and more tense the closer they get. The group feels the tension and discusses if it’s worth the risk.
Packs used: Cinematic Horror: Subtle Stingers were used to highlight new discoveries. Magic: The Sound effects of the group descending the airship were from this pack.
51:28 – 1:00:02
The Enemy
While investigating the group finds an Rakshasa, the enemy, gravely injured inside the rubble. It’s calling for help. The group spends time hacking away at the debris covering the rakshasa. They pull the creature out, restrain it, and begin to lay into the creature for information.
Packs used: Cinematic Horror: Subtle stinger used when the reveal of the Rakshasa is made. Debris: The hacking at the debris is impact and rubble noises. Close Combat: For the slaps, and gore noises. Medieval Weapons: For the slicing of the Rakshasa’s fingers and hand. Sonic Liberty: The music tenses up and becomes more and more dramatic as the torture ramps up.
1:06:00
Arriving at the Spire – The Target Destination
This part is mostly exposition.
The group leaves the airship behind after getting some information out of the bad guy. The music resumes a semi-chipper mood… then when the silhouette of the mountain comes into view the music shifts dramatically as the group becomes coated in ash floating down from above. The city comes into view… and so does a rakshasa floating island. Their radio comes to life as the island contacts them.
5:40 – 8:30
We start when the radio cracks to life in the last episode. The group stumbles through a conversation with the enemy.
Packs used: Cinematic Horror: Door creaking noises. Nature Essentials: Wind Wooshes. Medieval Weapons: A siege crank is used to make the wheel turning sound.
14:25 – 18:30
The group convinces the Rakshasa that they are in fact one of their own. So the Enemy says, “You can’t land here until you get us tribute.” which is typically a slave of some kind. So the group sets off to the city below to get some kind of tribute and hopefully develop some kind of plan in the process. The city sprawls out below them and they land on the edge of town to find people. What they find is anything but normal.
Packs used:Magic: The whirring of the engine. Debris: Explosion sounds used for the initial blast of the airship engines moving forward. Nature Essentials: The wind whipping as the ship cuts through the air. Sonic Liberty: A natural sounding track with flutes that has enough chaos to it to showcase the ‘on edge’ feeling of this scene.
20:00 – 23:30
Undead Surprise
The music shifts to an ominous tone as the group walks through a deserted portion of the city. They move cautiously. One of the players scales a building to get a better vantage point to see the people they saw earlier. . . but he doesn’t see anything. Another player from the airship see’s undead descending on his teammates position. He fires the ship’s ballista to get their attention because he’s too far to shout to them.
Packs used: Cinematic Horror: There are multiple layers of horror SFX going on here. You hear a devil moan and a ominous wind sweep through when the undead are finally spotted, coupled with the effected sound clips of people crying and gasping to add to the tension. Nature Essentials: Heavy wind. Medieval Weapons: Siege weapon for the ballista sound. Creatures: Several layers of groans, snarls, snaps, growls, and groans are used to create a zombie soundscape that you hear throughout this combat scene: Sonic Liberty: An ominous arid song is replaced with a more dramatic combat-centric song.
23:30
RUN AWAY!
The group runs back to the airship as fast as they can to escape a sea of undead. Combat begins. You hear various spells, swooshes, clangs, and screams throughout this portion.
1. Sound Effects of Note cast:
Erupting earth @26:05; Packs used: Magic for the humm and Debris for the earth rumbles.
Holy Flame: @27:45 Packs used: Magic for the holy vocals, flare and impact noises.
2. A siege weapon is loaded. @29:10. Packs used: Medieval Weapons.
3. Ballista fired from the airship and impales an undead. @33:00 Packs used: Medieval Weapons: for the seige weapon sounds and the ballista bolt. Creatures for the undead noises. Close Combat: Impact and gore noises.
4. Another siege weapon is fired at 39:00
5. Darkness is cast by our ranger. 39:45. Packs used: Magic for the swelling sound effects and main burst. Cinematic Horror: for the low end resonant sounds, like an inception horn.
6. The Bard ascends to the ship on a magical Disk along with his comrades: @45:35. Packs used: Magic.
7. Our Cleric casts Inflict Wounds and fails. @46:40 Packs used: Magic for the swooshy aura sound.
8. 48:50 – Our fighter unleashes a volley of crossbow bolts. Packs used: Medieval Weapons: for the crossbow and bolt noises. Creatures: Zombie effects.
57:00 – 59:50
On the right track.
After fleeing an encounter with an uncountable amount of undead the gang remembers some information and head to a location where they think people are… But … per usual, things don’t go as easily as they should for them. The area has a massive waterfall in the area which you hear rumbling throughout this scene.
Packs used: Nature Essentials: Several rivers and wave noises were used and their pitch was lowered to make it sound like a waterfall. Magic: The bubbling noise of the waterfall is boiling water from the magic pack. Cinematic Horror: The creaking of the ship is a door.
1:00:13
Into the waterfall.
The group walks through the waterfall to find the people.
Packs used: all of the packs from above with less sound effectors distorting them. The water sounds more crisp and pure because they’re closer.
Packs used: Cinematic Horror:There are a lot of sub-impact sounds highlighting the strange effects, and trills to increase tension. Magic: There are a few magical sound effects and auras throughout.
Medieval Weapons: Siege weapons sound effects create the the gate closure sound, and level effects. And Magic for the steam noises. Close Combat: for the screams. Cinematic Horror: for the Screams.
5:19 – 6:00
Into the waterfall.
The group walks through the waterfall to find the people.
Packs used: all of the packs from above with less sound effectors distorting them. The water sounds more crisp and pure because they’re closer.
Packs used: Medieval Weapons: Siege weapon latch used as a lever. Magic: I combined fire and dry ice sounds to create a steam gust. Cinematic Horror and Close Combats: Screams used from both of these packs in stereo to create the pain sounds.
9:15 – 10:33 // 11:45 – 13:00
A group of harsh looking elves begin to cast spells at the good guys, but our bard pulls out a song that would prove he’s not one of the bad guys… effectively saving the group from a deadly battle. You hear the dramatic tension in the music shift to a more folksy lute tune. After the song the group convinces the elves to raise the gate that is separating their party.
Packs used: Magic: I used a magical aura effect from the designed kit for the magical swirl. And a separate designed magical effect for the spells to be dissolved. Medieval Weapons: More siege weapon effects from the builder kit were used to make the chain, lever, and latching sounds of the iron gate being raised.
27:20 – 32:00
The group has been taken into the city, they discover that all the people inside are starving. When they meet the leader of this place, “King Colm,” they find him sitting on a throne eating and surrounded by a ton of food. The “King” is verbally abusive to the players and physically abusive to the servants in the room which leads to a confrontation with one of our players. This scene is primarily here to create a moral decisions for the the players, will they help the King or betray him?
41:00 – 42:00
Our Water Cleric gets into a word-match with the ‘King’ and makes it rain on him with a spell. ‘The King’ is not impressed. He catches rain in his mouth, spits it out and fights back with his own quip.
Packs used:Nature: The Thunder and Rain SFX for the create water spell. Magic: For the qater spitting sound effect. Sonic Liberty: for that tense music.
56:30 – 1:00:00
After departing the hidden town of Colmhaven, our heroes takes their airship and up to the mouth of the Spire. The spire is a giant, mountain sized, geyser essentially. When they reach its peak they find out that the entrance to the Aarakocra city lies inside the mouth of the Spire. They have to pilot their massive airship in between eruptions… and they fail.
Packs used: Magic: Boiling water, and water paddle noises used to create the geyser sound effects. Debris: The rumble of the geyser came from the builder kit of the Debris package
Big thanks to “The Indoorsmen” for highlighting and spreading the word about our SFX. It’s our pleasure to be part of these adventures.