silly voices and accents

[IronWolf]

I wish I was good at different voices but I really am not. So I try to save my players the agony. If I could do them though, I would love to for many of the reasons from the people that use voices say they do.

 

[Matt Black]

I first started by assigning an 'actor' to an NPC, then immitating the actor. So Jack Nicholson was the captain of a Federation starship, Sean Connery was a retired British Expeditionary Force Colonel, Peter Lore was a corrupt shop clerk, Mogran Freeman was a burned out old cop, etc.

The Auld Grump

I do this too. I'm terrible at impersonations, so no one ever recognises the source for a given NPC's voice. However I can be reasonably consistent, so once NPCs are established they're usually recognisable from then on. As for actual accents - only when I know for sure that I'll be able to stick to one. Nothing worse than starting with Russian and degenerating into an Irish brogue.

With both accents and impersonations, I absolutely need a couple catch phrases and characteristic facial expressions to get me into and keep me in character. Once I've associated these closely enough with the character, just going over them in my head a couple of times will bring the voice out.

I've had a few GMs who seem to have hundreds of unique personalities inside them, ready to summon up at will. Those of us without this sort of clinical disorder have to rely on tricks instead.

 

[Hypersmurf]

And it makes it easier to remember the NPCs attitudes. I first started by assigning an 'actor' to an NPC, then immitating the actor. So Jack Nicholson was the captain of a Federation starship, Sean Connery was a retired British Expeditionary Force Colonel, Peter Lore was a corrupt shop clerk, Mogran Freeman was a burned out old cop, etc.

That's what I do

Sometimes, the players pick the inspiration, sometimes they don't. Basil Fawlty as an irritable potion-merchant, everyone recognised instantly... and it also gave them an immediate mental image to build off for the character. Clint Eastwood as the town constable, likewise... and it meant I didn't have to describe to them the aura of menacing competence the guy had. On the other hand, I doubt anyone realised that the local stern, unforgiving priestess was Judi Dench as 'M', but it helped me stay in character.

It's not just a voice, it's a personality, an attitude, a vocabulary... all summed up by two or three words jotted next to the NPC's name.

Plus, I love cameos

-Hyp.

 

[devilbat]

My players tell me they enjoy the accents that I provide, so I keep them in the game. To this point I've used French, Scottish, British, Spanish (thats Mexican for you non Canadians), Native American, Irish and German.

I have a player that does a great spanish accent every time his character speaks in game. I hope it continues, as it adds greatly to the game.

 

[ForceUser]

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

Yes. Portraying different voices, dialects, languages, mannerisms, etc. is, for me, the essence of creating a believable, immersive role-playing experience. The majority of my players do not follow suit, but they do appreciate my efforts.

 

[STARP_JVP]

Absolutely yes on both counts. It really does help with gameplay.

Regarding NPCs, I always try to make each one sound or appear to be different, through voices or more frequently mannerisms. I assume a (dodgy) English private school accent for one character and switch to a West Country accent for another. This has always happened - I had one NPC in my previous campaign who spoke with a distinct cockney accent and had inflections all his own - the PCs always knew when he was around.

Regarding my PCs, I do it when appropriate. If I take a character in a real-world setting I assume the appropriate accent - in Shadowrun for instance, I usually talk with an American accent (not hard to fake given the amount of US TV we get this side of the equator) and once with a hearty Glaswegian accent. Scottish seems to be popular with our group, for some reason - nobody seems to really know why. Irish, too. Maybe it's because anything said in those accents sounds cool and/or funny.