Percy is a new man since his confrontation with the Briarwoods. Or is he? The ghosts of his past still rear their ugly heads now and then. And they nearly cost him his life. Or did. Technically. So what songs has Taliesin been listening to this year as he searches Percy’s soul? Let’s find out, shall we?

Taliesin Jaffe — Percy’s Playlist 2016

Bury It – Chvrches

There’s nothing like a good old fashion moment of ecstatic illumination. Finding freedom through self knowledge and illumination. Knowing yourself and your place in the world, even if it’s only a brief moment. The echo of that sort of truth with all of the joy and despair it brings can comfort you for years. As true in game as it is in real life.

Bullets – Tunng

Secret knowledge is a dangerous thing. And once it’s in the wild, there is little to be done. Also, I’m so curious to how Percy will react to the first gunsmith he meets who doesn’t know his name.

Big Balls – AC/DC

I often refer to Percy as a terrible person, and I know that mystifies people. He’s not a mustache-twirling villain, he’s that guy you can count on MOST of the time. He always thinks he’s doing the right thing by volume, if not quality. And he is convinced himself quietly that his opinion matters most. Cocky, arrogant, prideful, and less cunning than he thinks.

Sympathy For The Devil – The Rolling Stones

Percy’s attitude towards the world has shifted dramatically, and there’s no better song that’s ever been written for a monster that defies the very notion of judgment.

Heroes – David Bowie

A song for Keyleth, and the hope she inspires for what they may accomplish. The height of vanity, obviously. May we all look so good once no one left alive can recall our face.

Death Is Not The End – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Our 180 degree shift from William Shatner’s ballad “You’re Gonna Die” on the previous playlist. This song is far more painfully on the nose than it has any right to be. We are not done, and there is still more work to do before oblivion, apparently.

Carry On Till Tomorrow – Badfinger

Percy was never supposed to do much with his title. And as often is the case with privileged people given few official duties, he has an overdeveloped sense of it. His resurrection reminds me of a children’s book, called “The Little Moon Theater”. In this book there is a pixie, always attempting to fulfill one last wish before she takes her rest. She keeps finding the problems she has been tasked to solve already taken care of, she moves on to the next, and the next to the point of exhaustion. The point is that it’s not that she has something she must do before she sleeps, but rather she must do something before she sleeps. For those who are curious, the character who would have been Percy’s replacement would have personified the other end of this particular folk tale’s moral.

Fine Knacks For Ladies – Sting

A love poem to the joy of materialism. Or the other way around. Why build if what you build could turn against you? Why breathe if a breath may choke, or eat if a bite may poison? This song is also one of both Percy’s and my favorite songs to sing, especially with friends who can harmonize.

All These Things That I’ve Done – The Killers

A couple of you figured out that the Raven Queen did Percy quite a favor. Freed from false hopes of salvation, what happens to a man in a world of Gods when he denies them? Nothing but nice happy good things, I imagine. How I’ve gone this long without thinking to make a Mechanist D&D character is just baffling.

Wait For It – Hamilton

A perfect unrequited love song to an uncaring universe, and unusual friendships. Feel free to salt and pepper the subtext to your taste.

Punk Rock Girl – Dead Milkmen

Bad ideas are the best ideas and the best bad ideas know who Mojo Nixon is. Crush on a punk at least once before you die, and remember that scars are just nature’s way of giving you an all-natural fuck-you victory tattoo. For the obtuse, YES this song is about what you think it is.

If you’d like to listen to Percy’s 2015 playlist, you can find that here.

Featured image credit: Nick Robles