Speaking in "faux old English" [Poll]

[trancejeremy]

No, it's annoying.

And one thing that bugs me - people never said "ye", (as in "yeee"), that was just how "the" was spelled back then. (At least for things like "Ye Oldd Shoppe" or like that. I think ye as short for you was used)

 

[Mark Hope]

No. It's silly.

I seem to recall a particularly pompous NPC using it in a 12th century World of Darkness game (ie. once, when it was appropriate) but never in a D&D or other fantasy game. Plus I think that if I did, certain members of my current group would mock me mercilessly.

 

[edbonny]

Technically, this wouldn't be Old English. Old English is unrecognizable to our Modern English ears, and the Early Modern English of Shakespearean days sounds more and more archaic with each passing generation.

I think you are talking about using a 1950s-ish Hollywood stylized version of fanicful medieval speak, say that found in "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" or even the more recent "Black Knight" with Martin Lawrence. You know "Fare thee well"....

or if you really want to use Old English, "Hal wes thu!" (Be thou well/hale)

 

[Mycanid]

Oh ... every once in a while ... usually not speaking though, I would write out something similiar on old hand outs that were from an older time period. Haven't done it in a while. I kinda like it actually ... but not too much.

 

[BryonD]

Techinically, this wouldn't be Old English. Old English is unrecognizable to our Modern English ears, and the Early Modern English of Shakespearean days sound more and more archaic with each passing generation.

I think you are talking about using a 1950s-ish Hollywood stylized version of fanicful medieval speak, say that found in "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" or even the more recent "Black Knight" with Martin Lawrence. You know "Fare thee well"....

or if you really want to use Old English, "Hal wes thu!" (Be thou well/hale)

Note the word: "faux"

 

[arscott]

aye. But as you're trying to approximate the speech of the high-late middle ages that D&D draws most of it's historical inspiration from, then that "faux" will be referring to a faux middle english, not a faux old english.

I tend to avoid that sort of thing, because it's almost always really hokey. On the other hand, I tend to pepper my own speech with vaguely old fashioned sounding terms like "Whence", "Hitherto", and "Thrice" in real life, so that tends to carry over into my games (even modern and futuristic games).

 

[Mieric]

Hell no - my group of thespians would revolt if I did that.

Though watching them tremble with repressed rage when I mix deep south redneck with certain hollywood 'old english' words is a blast.

-Everything I need to know about being a DM I picked up from Jeff Foxworthy and George Carlin!

 

[howandwhy99]

Arrr!! I never be usin' old English. Me own spit is stronger and a cheaper polish.

As fer fake accents in gaming? Who be the scallywag to even dare such a thing?

 

[Nyaricus]

I tend to avoid that sort of thing, because it's almost always really hokey. On the other hand, I tend to pepper my own speech with vaguely old fashioned sounding terms like "Whence", "Hitherto", and "Thrice" in real life, so that tends to carry over into my games (even modern and futuristic games).

I pride myself at having a large vocabulary (rarely does a word come up that I don't know or have a connentation of what it means) but sometimes I spli out a thou or a thee in casual conversation. My gf has laughed like mad when I did this once, the first time in front of her.

But then again, I'm nerdy like that

 

[Nyaricus]

As for this poll, I voted sometimes - as in almost never, but the occasional NPC in the right realm might talk like that. I try my best at accents/impressions (I've been told I could run my own cartoon with all the reasonably good impressions I occasionally break out with; one time I even spent the better part of 2 hours with my gf terrorising her with every accent I could think of from Western Europe ), but never 'Ye Olde Englishe' in particular