role-playing accents, dialects, voices, etc.

[EP]

I do these as DM for as many characters as possible and it really helps to make the characters stand out much faster. The noble ranger sounds like Sean Connery, the town guard sounds like the dopey cop from Hot Fuzz (the one who doesn't know how to do his job), and the manipulative devourer calling the shots from behind the scenes sounds an awful lot like Mr. Smith from The Matrix. It cuts out many descriptors and immediately allows the characters to develop an impression without dice rolls and introductory chit-chat. And you can use it to your advantage - the devourer is actually on their side but they never trusted him.

The key, I find, is having a catch phrase to fall back on. If you start to slip, use your catch phrase (even if it's just to yourself for practice). And if it slips up, so be it. Unless you're a professional voice actor, I'm sure they can let it slide. If not, treat them like they're a professional adventurer and kill their character.

 

[pawsplay]

Imitating someone specific is a good suggestion. If you don't tell anyone who you're imitating, then it doesn't matter if you mess it up. Occasionally, one of my players will call me Mr. Connery or something but I consider that a bonus.

The Star Wars method is awesome. You imitate some of an accent or pattern, while still speaking fairly naturally. This pseudo-Shakespearean approach is good because it bridges the gap between American and British accents (Shakespeare was, naturally enough, written for a tongue ancestral to both), allows you to imitate characters in a lot of media such as Star Wars or rotten fantasy movies, and most of all, is fairly easy and the results are unlikely to be frightening.

You can also mix and match. Pick a specific trait and apply it to your language, and let the accent go from there. For instance, using a clipped, somewhat nasally approach to vowels makes you sound plummy or a little like an old-fashioned upper crust Brit, while lisping slightly makes you sound a little like Elvis, Christian Slater, or Mr. Connery.

Lastly, don't underestimate body language. Simply leaning forward and sitting upright, or hunching your shoulders and offering a craven smile, will not only improve your performance, but will actually change the way you speak. You may have heard this, but people can tell if you are smiling on the phone by the way you speak. Similarly, straightening your shoulders and offering a menacing glare may cause you to speak differently and will definitely make it easier to tell when you are in character.

I don't claim to be a great actor, but I cannot remember the last time someone asked if I was in character, even when I wasn't using a distinctive accent.

 

[cmrscorpio]

How do I develop my accents? I listen to native speakers and try to imitate them.

Speech Accent Archive

I listen to each accent several times, then I record myself imitating it, playback, make necessary alterations until I'm satisfied. While I'm speaking in the accent, I try to do something physical, either a mannerism or holding a particular body position, in order to cement my association between that accent and that character. It makes it much easier to get into character.

 

[timbannock]

Imitating someone specific is a good suggestion. If you don't tell anyone who you're imitating, then it doesn't matter if you mess it up. Occasionally, one of my players will call me Mr. Connery or something but I consider that a bonus.

The Star Wars method is awesome. You imitate some of an accent or pattern, while still speaking fairly naturally. This pseudo-Shakespearean approach is good because it bridges the gap between American and British accents (Shakespeare was, naturally enough, written for a tongue ancestral to both), allows you to imitate characters in a lot of media such as Star Wars or rotten fantasy movies, and most of all, is fairly easy and the results are unlikely to be frightening.

You can also mix and match. Pick a specific trait and apply it to your language, and let the accent go from there. For instance, using a clipped, somewhat nasally approach to vowels makes you sound plummy or a little like an old-fashioned upper crust Brit, while lisping slightly makes you sound a little like Elvis, Christian Slater, or Mr. Connery.

Lastly, don't underestimate body language. Simply leaning forward and sitting upright, or hunching your shoulders and offering a craven smile, will not only improve your performance, but will actually change the way you speak. You may have heard this, but people can tell if you are smiling on the phone by the way you speak. Similarly, straightening your shoulders and offering a menacing glare may cause you to speak differently and will definitely make it easier to tell when you are in character.

I don't claim to be a great actor, but I cannot remember the last time someone asked if I was in character, even when I wasn't using a distinctive accent.

Agreed. Mannerisms are huge for portraying a character, and can take the place of or even accentuate changes in speech.

If it's not totally weird, dressing the part helps too. If you play a noble, wear a dress shirt. If you play a serf, wear a very plain, boring t-shirt. A punk? Wear a band t-shirt.

If you're a dude playing a girl...well, that's difficult. I don't recommend trying to come off to flamboyantly...just "soften up" your voice a little.

 

[Korgoth]

When I do NPCs, I tend to take one or two traits and exaggerate them. Remember that when you're portraying a table top role playing character, you usually have no set, no costume, no makeup and no props. So you have to be more expressive to get something across. Also, if you have a bunch of NPCs involved it will help distinguish them in people's memories.

You can do the same thing with a character, maybe just have 2-3 things to emphasize rather than 1-2. Since you're not doing Shakespeare in the first place, you don't have to be subtle or brilliant... just entertaining.

Also, in general it won't do to make your character too detailed or subte... you can imagine him that way, but most of the subtleties will never come across because your audience are all also players (and so have plenty on their mind). A little nuance goes a long way, but there's probably a "sweet spot" for sophistication of characterization, after which things are simply not going to be picked up upon.

 

[EP]

If you're a dude playing a girl...well, that's difficult. I don't recommend trying to come off to flamboyantly...just "soften up" your voice a little.

hehe

That reminds me of a full story. Buddy in the group is being seduced by a lone woman NPC in the group. They were all trapped on an island after waking up in a strange lab, all that freaky stuff, and she's the only female in sight. Plus she's all innocent, dress hanging off her shoulder, all that stuff. They don't trust her, but she's hitting on the charismatic sorcerer.

The player's gay and has never been with a woman. At this point, however, none of us knew that and he was willing to go with the flow. But he was awkward as hell and didn't have a clue exactly what turned women on. And I was roleplaying the girl.

I was giggling, complimenting his big shoulders, all that stuff. He seemed to respond to it and took the "relationship" (AKA sex!) to the next level. We didn't go into crazy details, just pull the camera back and fade to black as they duck to the far side of the cave to get it on.

After he came out (months later), he told me that having a dude playing the part helped him get into the scene. I told him he owes me fifty bucks and a ride home.

 

[Stormtalon]

I don't often do accents per se (though I can slip into them almost unconsciously), but I do vary timbre and tone of my voice as well as volume (though not TOO much). A flamboyant, headstrong showy fighter type gets an enthusiastic showing, with a bit (or a lot) of bombast. A shadow skulker gets something softer, with the words drawn out a bit and odd pauses tossed into a sentence. It's easier than accents and works just as well.

 

[Lwaxy]

Generally, I explain accents and let my players describe them, too. Maybe give an example. In some situations, as in pure roleplay in a court or tavern settings, we usually play it out because the funny confusions which may occur. Especially when people are drunk or in love.

I remember an incident where the bard in our group wanted to take the most expensive whore at the court home, but he could not understand how expensive she was. He thought it was about a 10th of what she really asked for. Needless to say he didn't have the money and because the oldest profession was perfectly legal in that kingdom, he got arrested. This lead to a totally comical quest to make up for the money he owned her. Unforgettable.

 

[kitsune9]

Watch over 9000 movies where characters speak with the accent you want to 'learn'. If you want to meld different accents and/or dialects, watch over 9000 movies of each.

Then you should have gotten the hang of it.

. . .

Some people get accents and voices easily; some people don't. I think I'm somewhere in the middle, but close enough to the 'not good at it' side that I don't really try too much.

~

Only 9000 movies? So little?

 

[jdcash]

Kevin Costner in Robin Hood proves that A) having a good accent and B) maintaining it during dialogue are NOT requirements.

8999 to go.....