Blog Archives
New sound: Steampunk Dirigible
You stand at the floor-to-ceiling windows at the back of the gondola and watch the city fade into the distance. In a mere 50 hours, you’ll be at your destination. Behind you, the steady hum of the airship’s propellers becomes a soothing drone, and only occasional gusts of wind remind you that you’re thousands of feet in the air. This is the only civilized way to travel, you think to yourself.
The Dirigible track is a 10-minute ambience that loops seamlessly, and features a constant sound of multiple propellers and occasional blasts of wind. This is a perfect background sound for airship travel in Steampunk, early 20th-century Cthulhu games and…is there a “Fringe” RPG?
Our first sound effects CD, released in 1996, was The Game Masters Collection: Vol. 1: The Twentieth Century. Aimed at modern and modern-ish RPGs like Call of Cthulhu, it featured a variety of background ambiences including towns, cities, bars and nightclubs in several decades, a couple of battlefields…and a dirigible. The dirigible soon became a customer favorite – we almost got more compliments on that track than the whole rest of the disc.
Recently we were asked to create a longer, loopable version of the dirigible track for a LARP event, so we dug out the original track, remixed and remastered it, and have now released it as a ten-minute loopable mp3. You can pick it up for $1.50 at toxicbag.com, DrivethruRPG.com or D20pfsrd.com.
New sounds: Demon Flame!
Our new sounds for this month are tied in with a common horror trope: trapping the demon in a circle of enchanted flame. The binding ceremony usually involves drawing symbols on the floor in blood or salt, and setting the circle on fire once the demon steps inside.
Our Demon Fire soundpack comes in three varieties; the differentiating factor is the ignition source for the flame. ‘Cause, let’s face it – you don’t want your players asking, “hey, if we’re in a medieval setting, why am I using a Zippo to light this fire?” Or alternately, in a modern game, “where the heck did I get a torch?”
So, we’ve given you a torch, a match, and a lighter. Each ignition sound is followed by ten minutes of enchanted flame.
And in addition, each download comes with a ten-minute loop of magic flame with no ignition sound, so if you just want continuous fire, you can do that too at no extra charge!
Of course, these fire sounds don’t have to be used exclusively to depict demon traps. Really, you could use them for just about anything your players feel like setting on fire. And if your players are like ours, that’s a lot of things!
Torch (Fantasy/Medieval demon hunter)
The daemon has walked right into your carefully-laid trap; directly into the center of the circle of blood sigils on the stone floor. In the dim light of this dank dungeon, it was easy to conceal it with some hastily-arranged dirt and pieces of rat dung. You touch your torch to the edge of the circle, and the floor erupts in a magical flame.
Now, daemon, we will talk.
This effect is the sound of a torch igniting a magic flame that burns for ten minutes.
Match (Steampunk/Early 20th Century demon hunter)
You have the demon right where you want it. It’s just walked right into the center of the circle of blood sigils you painted on the floor. Before it knows what’s happening, you light a stick match and touch it to the blood. The circle erupts in a magical flame that spreads out to both sides and surrounds the demon in a second.
Shall we begin our conversation, hellspawn?
This effect is the sound of a wooden stick match igniting a magic flame that burns for ten minutes.
You’ve got the demon right where you want him. The smug sonofabitch just walked right into the center of the circle of blood sigils you hid under the throw rug. You smile, just a little, and spark up the chrome lighter in your hand. You throw it to the floor, and the circle erupts in a magical flame. Now old blackeyes there is trapped until you say so.
Before I gank you, you’re gonna spill, buttwipe.
This effect is the sound of a modern lighter igniting a magic flame that burns for ten minutes.
Demon Flame Loop
Now that the demon is trapped within the blood circle, the flame will continue to burn and he won’t be able to leave. This ten-minute loop of magic demon fire will allow you to question him all you like.
Each of the Demon Flame soundpacks are available for $1.25 from toxicbag.com and $1.50 from DrivethruRPG.com.
Science Fiction toolkit
You’ve crafted your universe and created the PCs. Everything is in place to begin your epic RPG Campaign for galactic domination. All that’s left is to add that final element: sound. Toxic Bag’s Science Fiction Toolkit gives you the audio building blocks to help create worlds that, before now, the players had only imagined. Designed for use with any RPG system, the toolkit will help make your sci-fi games better.
Over 45 minutes of Sci-Fi Sounds!
Tracks Include:
Sci-Fi Battle *
Jump to Lightspeed ¥
Time Machine Interior (10 minute ambience) ¥
Self-Destruct Sequence ¥
Cyberspace (10 minute ambience) ¥
Starship Bridge (10 minute ambience) †
Star Cruiser Rumble (10 minute ambience) †
Red Alert (6 minute effect) †
GM Soundpack: Blasters & Deflector Shields (click for description)
* Previously available on the Battles Collection
¥ Previously available on the Strange Places Collection – remastered for this set
† New Sound
The Science Fiction Toolkit is available from toxicbag.com and DrivethruRPG.com.
Game Masters iPad app update
We’re pleased to announce that version 2.3 of our Game Masters Collection app for the iPad is now available at the Apple Store. The new version includes in-app purchase access to several of our recent soundpacks, including:
Eldritch Horror: Cult Ceremonies is a collection of 9 different mystical cult ceremonies. Now you can let your players hear that pesky cult eagerly summoning their icky dark lord to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.
Fantasy: Dragons: a collection of 20 growls, hisses, roars and breath attacks. Now you can let your players hear one of the most iconic creatures of the fantasy genre!
Fantasy: Traps: a collection of eleven sinister traps for you to install into you perilous fantasy campaigns.
Horror #2 – EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomena. These mysterious recordings are believed by some to represent the voices of the dead. Now Toxic Bag introduces a collection of creepy EVP phrases for you to use in your modern horror game.
Sci-Fi: Blasters & Deflector Shields: a collection of 16 energy weapons and shields for you to equip your party as they enter your Galactic Sci-Fi Operas.
Changes and fixes –
Optimized for iOS 7.
Changed the iPhone main view to a tableview menu.
Fixed scrubber to resize properly after rotating.
Resized main tableview icons to line up the text.
Cleaned up the startup screens.
Cleaned up actions when app goes into background.
Added a microphone access request for iOS 7 devices.
The Game Masters app is a free download; additional sounds are available via in-app purchase.
Free Sound for April: Matter Transporter
Our Free Sound for April is a Matter Transporter that sounds like it came from one of those spaceships we saw on TV in the 1950s and 60s. If you’re playing a retro sci-fi game, this might be the thing for you!
Get the Matter Transporter sound here.
The Matter Transporter. A quick flash of energy into which a person vanishes, to (hopefully) appear elsewhere in a fraction of a second. Invented in the mid-twentieth century on Earth to avoid having to film costly spaceship landing sequences, it quickly became a staple of televised science fiction from Star Trek to Doctor Who. This month’s Free Sound is not a precise recreation of either the Enterprise’s transporter or the Trans-Mat of Doctor Who fame, but rather calls to mind the early electronic sound techniques of the 1950s and 60s. If your game has a whimsical element to it, or if it’s set in a “Forbidden Planet”-type future, this sound will definitely come in handy!
This sound can also be used for:
laser guns
disintegrations
force-field impacts
super-agile battle robots that can move faster than the eye can see
magic spells cast by cartoon wizards
New Podcast: Zombies and more Zombies!
Be sure to check out our new podcast, where we talk about our new Zombie stuff, announce the new Specimen game board design, and discuss the new crop of horror TV shows for the fall.
Like the podcast and want to always be up to date? You can grab the RSS Feed here!
New Soundpack: Transmissions from the Zombie Apocalypse
Our new Soundpack adds to the growing selection of Zombie-themed effects we’ve created for your modern horror campaigns.
The dead are returning to life and attacking the living. The government has responded to this world crisis. How will they keep the public informed? What about the media?
Transmissions from the Zombie Apocalypse gives you audio clips to use during your zombie campaigns. Now your players can hear what’s going on in other parts of the world as the crisis unfolds.
Perfect for modern zombie survival games.
Transmissions From The Zombie Apocalypse Volume One includes:
• Police Radio Call: A patrol car responds to a disturbance in a hotel parking lot.
• Domestic News Broadcast: WTBI radio provides a chilling look at what’s happening in the U.S. after the first few weeks of the zombie uprising.
• World News Broadcast: Radio London reports how other parts of the globe are dealing with the zombie outbreak.
• Emergency Action Message – National: The National EAM system has been activated due to a biological threat.
• Emergency Action Messages – Local (4 Messages) The local EAM system has been activated due to a violent incident.
• Traffic Report: WTBI’s own “Eye in the Sky” Stevie Andrews reports on a crashed bus on the highway. But why are some of the accident victims attacking paramedics?
Transmissions From The Zombie Apocalypse Volume One is available from Toxicbag.com or DrivethruRPG.com. And don’t forget our Free Sound tie-in: the Zombie Apocalypse 911 call!
New sounds: Zombie City
Our newest sound collection is Zombie Apocalypse Volume Three: The City. Two six-minute background ambiences set in a city that has become infested with the walking dead. Or the living dead. The ambulatory-and-kinda-bitey dead. Whatever you want to call them. They’re the slow shambly ones.
“Our whole perimeter is collapsing. Those things are everywhere!”
The dead are returning to life and attacking the living. The military has responded and now major cities have become battlefields.
Can you survive in this nightmare world?
Zombie Apocalypse Volume Three includes two six-minute scenes of zombie terror.
Track One: The city has become a maelstrom of combat: the gunfire and explosions, the armored vehicles and airstrikes – and everywhere, the dead.
Track Two: The living have abandoned the now devastated city. It now belongs to the dead.
Perfect for modern zombie survival games. Available at toxicbag.com and drivethruRPG.com.
ALSO!
Our Free Sound this month is a companion to Zombie City: Zombies Attack The Car.
You’ve made a break for it. You and your buddy finally decided it wasn’t safe to stay at the pub any longer, and it was time to make a run for the car. You sprint across the parking lot, dropping a few of the walking dead with your last bullets. Finally you reach the relative safety of your car.
Say…you didn’t leave the headlights on, did you?
Enjoy!
New sounds: Drones and Atmospherics
We have a new soundpack! Drones and Atmospherics Volume One consists of two six-minute ambient drone sounds that GMs can use to underscore unsettling, creepy or otherwise dramatic scenes in their adventures. You can hear and download our new drones at toxicbag.com or drivethrurpg.com.
A blasted heath. An alien planet. Cyberspace. A distant moon orbiting a dead world. The End of Time.
Sometimes you don’t need a specific ambience. Sometimes you just want there to be something…ambient. A background, an atmosphere, a drone.
Whether you’re running a horror campaign, sci-fi opera, fantasy epic or anything in between, the Drones and Atmospherics series gives you a variety of creepy, mysterious sounds to underscore your most unsettling locations. Each drone is six minutes long. We’ve given them names, because “Drone 1” and “Drone 2” wouldn’t be very evocative. But don’t just take our titles as gospel – use them for whatever you like!
Drones & Atmospherics Volume One includes two six-minute creepy mood-setting drones.
Haunted Drone: an electronic hum supports random bursts of mystic energy that drift back and forth across an unearthly abyss.
The Ruins Drone: A wasted land? A devastated planet? The slow song of a dead people drifts across the shattered sky.
Toxic Bag Productions 