Do you use "voice acting" when you play?

[Deset Gled]

This is a question for both DMs and players. How do you use voices when roleplaying? Do you consider yourself a full blown voice actor, with distinctly different voices for each character? Do you just use your regular voice? Something in between? If you use your normal voice, how do you communicate when you are talking in-character or out-of-character?

I believe there's always been a certain amount of voice work used when playing RPGs, but I get the general impression it's been on the rise. I assume this is the influence of Critical Role.

Personally, as a player I like to identify a mild affectation for my characters. Something like a slightly gruff tone, a mild stutter, or even just using "stage voice" to project differently. I find it is helpful to identify when I'm talking in character or not. And it can help with character development. I once played a low-level wizard that was "self taught" and would regularly mispronounce "book words" like facade or epitome. But generally I feel like less is more. What I specifically try to avoid is voice work that plays out like a complicated Halloween costume: a fun voice that is paraded about with pride in the beginning, but gradually gets discarded as the night goes on.

I don't do too much voice acting when I DM. I sometimes will for a BBEG, or something else of similar importance. But it's a lot of work, both doing the voices and keeping them straight. And bad (silly or annoying) voices can cause problems over time. It might seem like fun to have a random shopkeeper talk with an outlandish accent, but it can be regrettable if the players unexpectedly go back to that shop too often.

 

[Morrus]

Nope. I am incapable of it. That’s a talent I definitely do not have.

 

[môrgondír]

I used to, when I was much younger and everyone with whom I played was also - I'd probably be too self-conscious to do it in the presence of others my own age now, especially strangers. =)

 

[Bagpuss]

Sometimes, but generally as a player my own characters have my own voice as I can't keep it up for a long amount of time.

 

[humble minion]

I try to have distinct voices for important NPCs, but I’m not a professional voice actor and can’t improvise voices worth a damn so I have to plan and practise a bit beforehand, so it’s not practical to do it for every shopkeeper or guard or urchin.

My current campaign is the first time I’ve really gotten into it, and it’s actually working better than I expected. It’s a great ‘shorthand’ way of establishing character - you can give an NPC a voice that reminds your PCs that the NPC is young, or uncertain, or dignified, or whatever. And it is a much better toolkit for running scenes with multiple NPCs in a single conversation - much less confusion about who is saying what.

The accent thing is a bit fraught though. Do you give all dwarves (for instance) or NPCs from a similar part of the world a similar accent? If so, how many different and distinct Scottish (or German, or Russian or whatever) voices can you do, and are your players going to be able to distinguish one dwarf from another? And similarly, how many different distinct old lady voices can you reliably do, or do you end up just doing one cliched one?

I do think it adds to the game. And I don’t get embarrassed or self-conscious about it (I mean, we’re all grown adults who catch up once a fortnight to pretend to be gnomes, and you’re telling me to get embarrassed about silly voices?!). But it’s not always easy and there are a few pitfalls, I hope I get better with practice.

 

[The Soloist]

No, I don’t make voices out loud when I play solo. The voices are in my head!

 

[Lanefan]

I try to give each character a distinctive voice and-or accent. I say "try" because after a few beer the accent and voice often start to regress to my own.

And to echo @humble minion 's point, I too think it adds to the game. And I'm pretty hard to embarrass...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sometimes. It depends on who I'm playing with and how many characters I'm wrangling.

When I'm the DM, I try to put some energy into at least one NPC's voice, usually a comic character, but other times, I just paraphrase 99% of NPC dialogue.

 

[Celebrim]

I try but I'm not particularly good at it. When I read "Harry Potter" to the kids I was able to give a distinctive voice to each main character, but that was accomplished by repetition and practice and because I had a strong sense of how they should sound. I can't do the 'Critical Role' thing of just improvising a wide range of believable accents and characters, though I greatly admire the skill and think it a very useful one in a GM.

 

[payn]

Not always, but yeah as GM I try to do voices for NPCs. Sometimes I do one for my PCs, but the only voice im exceptional at is the Fargo nord accent. You betcha.