Gygax Releases Final Songs
Plus Cowboy Bebop Music Themed Dice & Fight Dice Video for “Attack the Drider”
As I covered a year ago in a previous issue of Critical Hit Parader, the band Gygax has called it a day. Last week they emptied their vaults and released three songs, as described in the following message to their followers on Bandcamp:
“Hello adventurers. We finally managed to get out the last three recorded songs we had. This doesn't mean we're still alive. In fact, I am speaking to you from the grave. But we wanted to share these and, again, thank you for your support. Be well, be cool and party on from dusk til dawn!”
Here are the song titles along with a short description from the band:
“Founding Legends”: “One of two of the last fully recorded studio songs. Inspired by Jocks Machina.”
“Strength & Wisdom”: “Second of the final two studio tracks we've recorded. Inspired by the cleric, Est Volkara, as worship to Cayden Cailean.”
“Stormbringer” (Deep Purple cover): “A little lagniappe for y'all...”
I’m still sad that the band is no more, but I’m enjoying these songs. They exhibit what I loved about the band: presenting a modern take on classic hard rock with fantasy RPG-inspired lyrics. You can listen to all three of the songs from the GYGAX Bandcamp page:
Cowboy Bebop Music Themed Dice
A recent Screen Rant article described the importance of music to the Cowboy Bebop tabletop roleplaying game. The game is “an original d6 dice-based system that uses music as a central theme with choices made by players to use Jazz, Rock, Tango, Blues, or Dance as their musical approach impacting the outcome of their story.”
A preview of the game on DriveThruRPG provides details about each of the musical “Approaches”:
Rock Approach - “It involves cool actions where the character is trying to do something under a lot of pressure, keeping their composure, or staying calm in the face of danger.”
Dance Approach - “It involves dramatic, exuberant actions, displays of stamina and recklessness, or an endless flow of energy, to make the character the center of attention.”
Blues Approach - “It involves spirituality, the character’s self-awareness and understanding of emotions, or the ability to look within and gain enlightenment.”
Tango Approach - “It involves being charming and seductive, or inimidating and terrifying: getting others to do the character’s bidding by words and presence.”
Jazz Approach - “It involves analysis, deep understanding, applying skill, knowing what to do and how to do it, and knowing the flow and going with it.
You can purchase the game from Mana Project Studio or from DriveThruRPG.
Fight Dice Video for “Attack the Drider”
The band Fight Dice has released a second video from their upcoming album Total Party Kill, which is scheduled to be released on the 20th of September 20 on Forge Again Records. I profiled the band in a Critical Hit Parader newsletter last month. Fight Dice “merges heavy post-punk sounds with the epic narratives of your favorite role-playing game.”
The new video shows kids playing a tabletop roleplaying game with a young game master wearing a t-shirt for the band Garbage:
Someone is raising their kids right. You can watch the video for “Attack the Drider” here:
The album is available to pre-order from the Fight Dice Bandcamp page.