Sages' Guild

Picture this. You’re playing Dungeons & Dragons with your friends, and one of them decides he wants to start talking about his “relationship problems.” Say what? This is D&D nightwhen all human troubles are forgotten, and only the game remains. But how do you politely put an end to his blubbering? You head to the stereo and put on Dungeons & Dragonsthe official soundtrack album by Midnight Syndicate.That’s right, Midnight Syndicate (a gothic ambient group headed by composers Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka) was requested by Wizards of the Coast to make the album in 2003. Although entirely ambient, the album’s a perfect fit for a night of adventuring. Earlier Midnight Syndicate albums were actually already popular among gaming groups. You can tell that a similar creative force is at workMidnight Syndicate’s 1998 album Born of the Night features track names like “Dark Tower,” “Masque of Sorrow,” and “Vampire’s Kiss.”On Dungeons & Dragons, the group toned down the horror elements and worked closely with the game designers to make sure everything fell into place. The designers requested music based around a chase scene and a fight scene, but otherwise let the group work relatively unhindered. The resulting album is 65 minutes long and includes tracks like “The Fens of Sargath,” “Eternal Mystery,” and “Beasts of the Borderlands.”Before creating the album, the group’s work had already been featured in different Halloween-themed amusement park events. Recent horror films The Rage (2008) and The Dead Matter (2010) have also turned to the group for soundtracks