silly voices and accents

[punkorange]

When you DM do you do different voices and accents for NPCs? Do any of your players have a distinct in-character voice?

 

[Goblyn]

As a DM:Almost all the time. I try not to go overboard, but it reminds both the players and myself who's speaking.

And it's fun, but then I'm good at voices.

As a player:Accents for PCs don't last long though. If I do it, I just do it enough to remind people that the character talks like that. Such all the time gets tiresome.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Most definitely, on both sides of the screen. The player of the deep gnome rogue speaks (when speaking in character) in a halting manner, like someone speaking a language unfamiliar to them. When I'm not DMing, one of the first things I come up with is how the character will speak.

I like to use different voices, but not overbearingly so. When it can help define and detail a NPC, that's when it's time to break out a different voice. If every NPC has a unique voice, then it ceases to be as evocative.

I learned my lesson when I had a flumph that spoke in a warbly Elmer Fudd voice and a quasit that spoke in a brooklyn accent. That was just too much!

 

[Galethorn]

Not really. While I do try to modify the cadence, use of expressions, tone, etc. of my voice to distinguish between NPCs. As well, all squires/servants invariably have a certain pythonesque variation on the british accent.

Oh, and for my upcoming anglo-saxon-themed campaign, I'm going to make sure to actually pronounce names properly: Elfwine is 'aylf-weeneh,' Cynemund is 'kyeen-ay-moond,' etc. The result, of course, is that satisfying 'anything but english or french' sound (even though, technically, it's Old english).

And I shouldn't forget to mention that I do have a few fairly good mild, generic 'foreign' accents for people who aren't native speakers of whatever language they're speaking to the PCs in. The trick? Pronounce vowels the non-english way.

I should also mention that my players don't use accents, and they aren't put off by the ones I assume. That said, I don't use pythoneque french accents, extreme (or any) scottish/irish accents, or anything that 'native' english speakers really have, other than my 'squire voice'.

 

[The_Universe]

I do some voices, but I really can't do convincing female voices AT ALL. So, I generally just use my real voice, and tell the players, "Imagine she said that, but a lot more feminine."

I had a great session where I was losing my voice just as I introduced a major NPC, so my voice dropped like 2 octaves and was extraordinarly gravelly - it made his threats all the more threatening, as normally I don't think my voice is all that terrifying.

EDIT: But, perhaps my all time favorite character voice is a halfling who had his front teeth knocked out by a player realtively early in the campaign. I know how to "whistle" with my own teeth, so he's managed to find a distinctive voice as a recurring NPC in the current campaign in particular.

 

[punkorange]

Normally my players are fine with me just saying "She says ..." or "He says ..."

When in conversation, especially with barkeeps, I sometimes find myself attempting that oh so cliche european accent.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I do some voices, but I really can't do convincing female voices AT ALL. So, I generally just use my real voice, and tell the players, "Imagine she said that, but a lot more feminine."

I'm the opposite. I tend to do more distinctive voices for the female NPCs (OK, so many of them sound more like a Monty Python skit, I try). For the male ones I have trouble making them distinctive enough or keeping it straight, so I tend to use my own voice more often for the males. I think for female NPCs I don't want the players to forget they are dealing with a female, so I go out on a limb a little more.

 

[Gentlegamer]

I'm a ham, as both player and referee.

The trick to doing female voices for me is to speak much more softly. The speech comes out convincingly feminine, in my experience. This makes you sound more "Kids in the Hall" than "Monty Python" . . .

 

[Desdichado]

I don't do much of accents. I don't mind doing them, I just tend to forget. I think it's kinda fun, though.

I tend to use accents more in my modern games. If you run across a Russian character, he's got a Russian accent. If you run across a Mexican character, he's got a Mexican accent. And so on. I seem to do accents well enough to not make people laugh specifically at my accent, anyway.

For fantasy games, it's a little harder without breaking suspension of disbelief. "Why do the people from Cassant speak with New Jersey accents?" "Well, they have to speak with some accent..." doesn't really cut it as an explanation.

 

[The Shaman]

When you DM do you do different voices and accents for NPCs? Do any of your players have a distinct in-character voice?

No and no.

I have one accent/silly voice: John Cleese as the French man-at-arms in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Kinda tough to build a whole campaign around that - if I want to keep any players at the table, that is.