role-playing accents, dialects, voices, etc.

[Aberzanzorax]

I like the idea of having a specific actor playing a specific character in mind.

Beyond that, think of one of their catch-phrases that really typifies that accent to you.

Maybe "screw you Trebek" for Sean Connery (yeah, I know that was just an impersonation).


I played a cleric of Leira (goddess of lies) in second edition. He didn't want anyone to take him seriously and delve too deeply into his lies. He made up his own character (yes I was playing a character who was playing a character ).

That character was a thief (class). He was modeled after Agador Spartacus from the Birdcage. Whenever I felt like I was slipping out of character or losing the accent, I said the key phrase that typified the accent for me "I do not like to wear shoes. They make me fall down."


So having the accent really shaped his character (the other players never took him seriously, as was the goal...and he was able to get away with a TON of stuff he wouldn't have without that roleplaying) and also made him comical and fun.

 

[NewJeffCT]

I like the idea of having a specific actor playing a specific character in mind.

I try to do that as well. My old DM used to be really good at it and his NPCs were always memorable, though you often couldn't tell the exact actor he was doing. (One, he had a grizzled old cleric modeled after Charlton "Get your stinking paws off me..." Heston. Can't recall the others now, just the NPCs themselves.)

 

[pawsplay]

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.

I remember once, my ex commented, after listening in on our game, "You can always tell when a dude is trying to play a chick."

"Oh?" I asked, not sure where the conversation was heading.

"They act so prissy. They speak in a high-pitched voice. It's ridiculous."

"Who was doing that?""

"You," she said.

"Oh," I said. "Actually, my character is a dude."

I had a good laugh... the character was a foppish bard who acted as the squire for the party's paladin. I was pleased at the result.

As far as actually playing a female character, just don't overthink it. Women are, ultimately, humans as different from each other as from men. There are some things you can do vocally and semantically but a little spice can flavor a large dish. This is an area where thinking of an actual woman can help, such as a classmate. Most of my female characters are Natalie Portman, who has played everything from an urban Brit to Taffy Dale ("People live here, you know").

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I remember once, my ex commented, after listening in on our game, "You can always tell when a dude is trying to play a chick."

"Oh?" I asked, not sure where the conversation was heading.

"They act so prissy. They speak in a high-pitched voice. It's ridiculous."

"Who was doing that?""

"You," she said.

"Oh," I said. "Actually, my character is a dude."

I had a good laugh... the character was a foppish bard who acted as the squire for the party's paladin. I was pleased at the result.

Or to paraphrase Phil Foglio's What's New with Phil and Dixie...they wear "special shoes."

 

[ExploderWizard]

Another good trick -- reversal. Character is a massive slab of muscle? Be softspoken and maybe even a bit hesitant, as if he's possibly afraid of his own strength. Pipsqueak? Be loud, insistent and florid -- make up for your lack of size with sheer force of personality and flamboyance.

I've used this to good effect before. When I ran the Freeport adventures I played the Orc pirate captain Scarbelly with the voice of Mike Tyson. It was a huge hit and cracked the player's up.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Its been mentioned before, but it bears repeating- imitate a celebrity...or maybe even someone your group knows.

There are probably one or two people you can mimic well enough to set your PC apart.

I'm a bit more gifted in that area than most, but it still illustrates the power of doing this:

1) I did an Elvis impression as the voice of a creature one party's Druid had Awakened.

2) I did a Ronald Reagan impression as the voice of a wise but addled priest who was a common adviser to a party.

3) As a player, I did a Monty Python French knight thing as the voice of...well...a French Paladin.

4) Also as a player, I did a Rocky Balboa/Sylvester Stallone voice for a dim-witted warrior. Most of THAT was mumbling and incoherent.

5) I used an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression as the voice for a Minotaur I was playing...and every Minotaur since then has sounded a bit "Austrian."

In each case, the PCs were quite distinct and a blast to play. In certain cases, other players actually played in such a way as to force me to use those voices, just for giggles- like making the Sly Stallone fighter convince someone to let the party into a building.

 

[MortalPlague]

This thread has some great suggestions! Another one I'd like to add is this; make up curse words. Some characters, particularly from a different area than the locals, or perhaps from a religious sect have a very unique set of curses. I once played a grumpy old cleric of Ilmater (god of suffering from FR) who used "Carts!" and "Wagons!" as curses. My rational for it was that Ilmater dictates that there's a certain finite amount of suffering in the world, and the clerics must take upon themselves as much as possible. So carts and wagons, being devices used to avoid heavy lifting are also devices which limit menial suffering. Thus... Morich waded into battle shouting about the "wagon-blasted foes" they were about to face.

 

[Mark1733]

THANKS EVERYONE!!! I didn't expect so very many great ideas and comments. I must say, that all the posts gave me something to consider doing. The ideas that made be laugh were:

Chistopher Walken--(Kevin Spacey hosted SNL and did a skit with several imitations of unseen Star Wars auditions, including Christopher Walken as Han Solo and Richard Dreyfuss as C3PO). "You mean...you never heard of The Mill-enium Falcon?"

Captain Kirk--same thing...it is just a rhythm and syllable-stress thing

The orc pirate as Mike Tyson.

I think it is not so much the accents that I need, but more of some way to make my character more memorable as the character rather than sounding like me all the time. I think the ideas that focused on behaviors rather than accents would serve me well in this instance. When I played a halfing thief--I totally tried to sound like Bilbo Baggins from Rankin & Bass's animated movie -- The Hobbit. That fit the bill rather easily. He was also comedic relief. For my current character, I think gestures, catchy phrases, curses, exclamations etc are good defining behaviors. He is a serious, slightly chaotic sorcerer who is searching for his murderous wizard brother. I can't try to pull off a comedic tone. I think the serious and determined nature of this character is what has me feeling limited, since I am normally a punster. Also, I just got a cloak with Chaos symbols on it. If these have some unknown effect to make me even more chaotic (btw, that is just my suggestion; not what the cloak does), what might be some of the behaviors and speaking patterns/voices that can get this character better defined? Let's summarize my character again: Half-elf sorcerer. Brother became evil wizard and murdered father with miniature clockworks. Now looks for evil wizard brother who is much more powerfull at this time. How about something cocky to say at the slightest hint of confrontation, such as "Please, tempt/test my abilities."

 

[EP]

Let's summarize my character again: Half-elf sorcerer. Brother became evil wizard and murdered father with miniature clockworks. Now looks for evil wizard brother who is much more powerfull at this time. How about something cocky to say at the slightest hint of confrontation, such as "Please, tempt/test my abilities."

I'm not sure why, but I'm thinking the "professor" from Fringe (sorry, but I've never been able to catch the show enough to know his name). He's distant and his mind is always somewhere else that no one's ever been to before, but there's no questioning his intelligence and capabilities. This would allow you to slip in some comedy (if it's in your own nature to do so) without stepping out of character. You would just say inappropriate things at the wrong time.

And I can hear his voice saying "Please, tempt my abilities."

 

[EP]

Double post.