Players not speaking in character

[dead]

I notice that my players very rarely speak in a distinctive character "voice". I noticed it with such contrast when a new player joined and he started playing a PC with a Scottish accent.

With this accent, I could always identify when he was speaking in character. This is important for me because: a) it let's me know what the PCs *really* do and don't say (so that I can have NPCs act accordingly when they overhear); and b) it helps create the mood of the game (an accent or a character voice really makes you feel like your there!).

Are accents the only way to show you're speaking in character?

I don't want to force the other PCs to pick an accent, but I have said that they should add a little bit more "intonation" to their voices and, perhaps, address the other PCs/NPCs by name frequently.

This doesn't seem to be rubbing off on them, though. They seem to talk as real people rather than their characters. Actually, sometimes it's blatently obvious. One PC might say to another: "Have you still got that +2 Frost Longsword coz we should stab this guy in the back with it". In this example, not only are the PCs talking as players in front of the NPC (who'd certainly take insult!) but they're using game language (+2 Frost Longsword).

How do other people solve all these problems?

 

[Teflon Billy]

I despise players using accents, and especially Scottish ones (They are just the most common).

It doesn't add anything for me except for players sounding "affected".

Except for a Star Wars game I'm playing in where my PC's Twi'Lek friend speaks with a Romanian accent. That I like.

 

[Turanil]

I notice that my players very rarely speak in a distinctive character "voice". I noticed it with such contrast when a new player joined and he started playing a PC with a Scottish accent.

How do other people solve all these problems?

Speaking with a distinctive accent quickly becomes tiring for the player, and is not necessarily funny. On the other hand, speaking in-character is important. I see too many times players metagame ("Have you still got that +2 Frost Longsword coz we should stab this guy in the back with it") which I really don't like (as a DM I lessen the XP awards for such players, and tell them about it). Then, I really don't like when players start speaking about totally unrelated things during the game, which is rude toward the DM, and toward other players when it slows the game. (Last gaming session was but 4 hours, two of which were wasted in out-of play discussions like this.)

 

[Flyspeck23]

I don't like accents popping up in my game, as no "real world" accents has a place IMC (and anyone that has played the localized german version of Baldur's Gate I knows how annoying accents can be).

Still, it's all in the voice. You can change the voice (within reason), lower or higher, faster or slower and so on, so that the GM will notice when you're talking in character.

 

[FallenAngel]

That's tough man, how old are the guys you're gaming with?
In my group(we're all roughly around 20), OOC-talk is kept to the minimum possible and if I'm GM'ing I'd instantly punish anyone for something like asking a partymember about his "+2 sword".
Players interacting out of character, to be safe from listening NPC's or to discuss the groups tactical approach towards the orcs that just ambushed them is a big no-no for us.
If you want to talk to a partymember, do it in-character.
If you want to re-organize after being ambushed, do it in-character(for example we do it through hand-signs the group actually trained and developed for such a case).
Attacking, searching for traps or casting spells is all done IC too.
You don't say "I'm doing a full attack action", you actually flesh out how your character devotes his entire turn to smash his enemy, twisting, slashing and dodging.
I never really had the issue of players acting OOC coming up, so I don't know what you can do to change this, although I'd try to have a talk with them and explain to them how important it is for the mood and atmosphere of the game to stay IC as much as possible.
Good luck with this.

 

[Ironclad]

A convention that we tend to use is to assume that all conversations happen in character, which has gotten more than one character into a spot of bother.

To signify "out of character" dialogue, we tend to use the "time out" hand gesture. I've also seen the use one hand up to one's temple in a sort of a moose-antler way, but I think that is mostly used in Melbourne.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

A convention that we tend to use is to assume that all conversations happen in character, which has gotten more than one character into a spot of bother.

I've never understood this. How does, "Hey, has anyone seen my red d20?" translate in character?

I like it when people develop a distinctive voice for their characters, whether it's an accent, a distinctive speech pattern, or several phrases (such as curses). As the original poster said, it's a clear indication as to when that player is in "RP mode" (as opposed to "player mode" or "tactical mode."

I currently have two PCs: My necrotheurge is a friendly, creepy fellow, and I very loosely model him on Peter Lorre (especially Ugarti, from Casablanca). My dwarven cleric's voice is just a drop of my own voice into baritone/bass range, coupled with more formal construction. As someone mentioned, doing a complex voice or accent does become tiring, so I save my necrotheurge's voice for important interactions. The dwarf's voice, though, is simple to maintain, so I'm pretty much 100 percent with it.

Some people, however, will forever be resistant to talking in voice, for whatever reasons (some valid, some lame); one suggestion I make is for those players to use a prop: a letter-opener shaped like a dagger, or a Meerschaum pipe, or a fancy quill ... whatever. When they want to signal themselves as "in character," they use the prop. It works very well; in fact, I've considered trying to find a skull (real or replica) to use for my necrotheurge.

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

No one I play with cares.

That said, most of us do speak differently in character: usually not through a silly voice or an accent, but more in the choice of vocabulary or the pitch of the voice or the facial expressions used when speaking. But it's not a requirement, and no one complains or feels irritated if someone doesn't do that for their character.

Partly this is because it's not actually all that difficult for us to tell when someone is speaking in character. If they're saying more than a few sentences, we have enough context to figure out whether it's IC or OOC, and if they're only saying one very brief thing, they generally start off with "I say:" (or "{character name} says:"). No mysteries there.

We also have a general rule that if someone attempts to do an accent, no one can make fun of it. Considering how bad most of us are at accents, that was kind of essential. But it's not like anyone wants to try to maintain an in-character accent for an entire game, so this rule is mostly for one-off games and NPCs, and even with the latter the GM usually begs off on doing the accent if the NPC is going to have to say something long or complicated.


I think if anyone ever tried to institute an "anything you say, your character says" rule in our group, there'd be an open revolt. A certain amount of out-of-character joking and crosstalk is fine with us, because we're all friends who enjoy each other's company and who don't mind being asked to shut up if it's genuinely interfering with the game. We're all there to have fun and hang out together, after all.

--
besides, that kind of rule is a little too control-freaky for my tastes
ryan

 

[shilsen]

I tend to speak "differently" in character, but not necessarily by using a different voice. I'm okay with doing voices, but it just becomes too much effort. Instead, I vary intonation, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc. to make it evident when I'm speaking as a player and when my PC is. Works much better for me that way. I have, however, done voices on occasion, like for a 6 Int/Wis/Cha orc PC, who had a slow, thick, gravelly voice.

 

[DragonSword]

Using a different tone of voice, and using different styles of speech (posh, common, etc) can work a whole lot better than accents. Unless the accents particularly good, I always end up cracking up when someone tries it. It also takes a lot of skill to keep an accent up for an entire session.