I very excited to announce our next Morvold Music piece - the theme for my vision of the Vampire Castle encounter, an old keep in the snowy mountains with a dark secret -- and an event that will set wheels in motion turning toward a most dreadful evening.
I am commissioning composers/songwriters to create soundtracks to maps that I've created to help provide an even more immersive feel to your sessions. This month, I am happy to provide you with the Vampire Castle Theme by Josh Barron (www.joshbarroncomposer.com), one of your fellow Patrons.
I absolutely loved the story he was able to tell through the various pieces of music, which I will describe down below, in case you would like to follow along for the vision.
Where can I listen to it?
You can either check it out on Soundcloud here: https://on.soundcloud.com/yoPhvGzKLZfWpMGwOM or I've attached an MP3 file at the bottom of the post you can download and integrate into whatever playlists or jukeboxes you might keep for your sessions.
We had a great illustrated scene created for this many years, by Floris Roding, which does a great job showcasing the general layout and feel of the castle exterior:
For those that may have joined us after the release of the Vampire Castle map, here is an example of the first floor:
The location has 2 additional floors above, as well the lower level, which holds the secret location of a long-dormant clan of vampires and their vampire lord.
Here's my attempt to convey the story-vision:
0 - 1min - Traveling through a snow covered mountain pass with heavy snow fall - the shape of the castle in the distance can be seen and finally we reach the warmth of the fires burning at the front gate.
1 - 1:14 - The large castle gate opens and we proceed into the busy courtyard.
1:14 - 2:08 - Wee move through various areas of the courtyard and castle, guard stations, kitchens, smithy, banquet area and throne room.
2:08 - 2:16 - The camera pans down from the king's banner on the wall and the warmth of the room, down through the stone floor, moving toward something older, something...darker.
2:16 - 2:48 - We descend to a hallway, where a body lay in shadow surrounded by a pool of blood. The camera begins to follow a trail of blood that has moved between the stones, beneath a hidden door and down a long hallway before coming to a large door with an ancient symbol. It opens to reveal a large inner chamber with coffins on the periphery and a large sarcophagus raised upon a dais in the center.
2:48 - 3:20 - We see the blood move along tracks in the floor, slowly going to the various coffins, and to the one in the center, where, when it completes a circle around the coffin, the sarcophagus lid begins to slide free.
3:20 - 3:52 - The vampires rise from the coffins, flesh slowly mending and old husks revitalizing with the blood. Once formed, they gather and look toward the open door.
3:52 - 4:20 - The vampire lord walks slowly through the castle, as the lesser vampires take down guards around it as they proceed to the throne room doors of the castle
4:20+ -- Pushing through, the king is confronted by the original owner of the castle, who has come to reclaim its throne.
I've attached these to the bottom of the post, in case you wanted to use them for any of your upcoming adventures in 2026.
I am excited about the music and hope to bring you much more this year! =)