Mr. Desborough put up this interesting bit of video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP45_BIirBk) regarding GM's using their voice in different ways.
Some of it is stuff I already try to do as Player or GM... but for the most part very few people I've played with have done anything different with their voice. I've even had some mock me for doing it.
It seems like it has a lot of potential for setting atmosphere, and as a Player, doing stuff like accents or keeping a certain tone really helps me stay in character, rather than just playing myself.
How common/uncommon is it for people to use their voice in these ways?
I use voices, accents (albeit poorly), tone and timbre. I assumed all people did this...
Video was too boring. Tried to find where he started talking about voices and couldn't.
I do "some" voices. Mostly because I can't do accents. In one of my games, one NPC, an hour in, suddenly because Scottish, and stayed that way.
Some.
Not every NPC or PC gets a unique voice. Most sound like me. Distinct voices or patterns of speech tend to go to a few major villains, what in the movies would be called a character part or comic relief, and most females. Since I'm not female, I try to use a voice in the higher portion of my voice range. Not falsetto, just higher and lighter.
I find that players often do something similar. The woman who co-GMed a bunch of stuff with me would lower her voice for certain male parts - usually the big and gruff guys. And the PCs who are kind of a wacky or character part PC tend to be given voices. For example, the player of the Hippolyte de Bouchard, the Foul Corsair, talks a lot like Long John Silver...cuz he's a pirate. My wife is a good mimic and she tends to have a much more defined, distinct, and broad range of speech for her PCs.
Sometimes. But it definitely isn't my forte. I do it when I feel like I can pull it off or when it fits. But for normal variations between characters, I just speak normally. My voice is a bit on the low side, and I find that tends to read as being less emotional, more monotone. So I rely more on gestures and word selection.
No. I don't do voices in the typical sense. I don't try to do accents or anything.
However, my players have told me that I do slight inflections. Most notably, I slightly alter the pitch of my voice when I'm voicing a girl or woman. It's not really an intentional thing or a specific change of voice, just something I do without noticing.
Players have often complimented me on NPCs saying even when I have multiple NPCs talking in the same conversation, no one gets confused as to who is talking. It's half from characterization and half from the subconscious tone changes I do.
Edit: There is ONE voice I do. There's a pixie NPC which became a staple of games back in the 90s. She has a helium sounding voice. She has a couple of catchphrases: "Whatcha doooin?" and "Ooooooh!" Everyone who uses her will attempt to do her voice, because it's part of the entertainment.
I use them for any NPC of relevance. Given a few defining adjectives I don't have a problem coming up with something on that spot.
Quote from: Simlasa;917759Mr. Desborough put up this interesting bit of video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP45_BIirBk) regarding GM's using their voice in different ways.
Some of it is stuff I already try to do as Player or GM... but for the most part very few people I've played with have done anything different with their voice. I've even had some mock me for doing it.
It seems like it has a lot of potential for setting atmosphere, and as a Player, doing stuff like accents or keeping a certain tone really helps me stay in character, rather than just playing myself.
How common/uncommon is it for people to use their voice in these ways?
I tend to do "African" voices (West, East, take your pick, it all sounds the same to White gamers, hah hah!) and that's because I grew up, in part, around Nigerian and Ghanian people. Plus, having friends over the years who are Kenyan and Somali helps 'round it out. I tend to do a pretty good job -- it helps that my voice is a natural bass-baritone and dat I know de way thachu speak to SPEAK lik a TRUU AFREECAN! (That, by the way, is keeping it West). Hah hah, I did this whole "Heart of Darkness" spiel starting with, "You know the way to keel a maan? Yu see...", my players loved the character, was very intimidating and engaging.
My second-in-command can do a pretty solid generic Eastern-European accent and a decent New Jersey accent too (can make it sound real Yonkers-type, too). If we did OWOD at LDRC, I'd ensure he had a Tzimisce be the enigmatic grand villain at the heart of his upcoming Vampire chronicle.
Often. Depends on a lot of things, most of all the players and our mood. Sometimes it's "The bartender tells you about the missing child" and sometimes it's "Well, young'uns, why don't you wet your whistles whilst I tell ya the story of Clem and the missing monkey."
Yes and often. I can act and role-playing is one of the things I enjoy about this hobby.
When I run games, I don't really do voices/accents other than the occasional and well-timed silly one if the game needs some energy - an overly gruff bartender, drunken fool, shrill hag, super old man, pompous dandy or something. I usually present NPC comments in third person, such as, "The merchant says that..." My players have tended toward the same, though occasionally we slip from third to first person if it speeds things up. Even then, it's not usually done in voices/accents. Just not our style.
Goodness, I have a stock cast of characters. From squeaky kobolds, to accented goblins, to "Slingblade" the dwarf king, to "Schwarzenegger" to warrior NPC to "Goofy" the talking gelatinous cube to...well, enough that players can tell which NPC is talking by my voice.
It's only a problem with certain adventures where the writer was stupid enough to put half a dozen NPCs in a room and have them all talk at the players at once...I really don't know how that gets through playtesting, because I just can't see how anyone can do that.
I used to game with a professional voice actor, who later made the suspect decision to move down to California an be successful (last I heard he was doing one of the voices for the Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon). He was great to play with, for obvious reasons.
I don't do voices so much as cadences. I adapt the way I speak to the character, but don't try to alter my pitch or tone because I'm not talented enough to do it without sounding goofy.
... and hand puppets, too! :D
No. No, just voices with all their fun inflections and accents.
(But one day, Lambchop, one day when they least expect it... :mad: )
I do, because I can. I don't think the players would care if I didn't, however.
Quote from: Opaopajr;917803... and hand puppets, too! :D
I'm playing a Hiver in our Traveller game and I've seriously been thinking about making a hand puppet for it.
I just added accents and voices, mostly as a PC, but I am working on some NPCs.
Problem is I am not trained enough to keep them consistent especially if they are any thing subtle.
So I am stuck with charctature or monotone.
I do though I'm not very good at it.
Poorly done accents are far, far worse than using your natural voice. Most people absolutely suck at accents, me included, which is why they're rarely done.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;917855Poorly done accents are far, far worse than using your natural voice. Most people absolutely suck at accents, me included, which is why they're rarely done.
I tried doing an Irish accent during one session and my players thought the NPC was Italian.
Only if they're silly.
YouTube is your friend for accents, there are all sorts of videos to give help, and I've appealed to YouTube a few times.
There's a few accents I can do. Most of the time it's cadence and speech patterns, body language or tone shift. I don't pitch much. I did a female voice recording once for a Shadowrun voice message system. My throat hurt like hell while I was doing it, but the players thought it was awesome. After that I got girls to record stuff like that for me if I ever needed it.
I do different ways of speaking without really thinking about it. I've been told I'm really good at female voices, though I have a deep voice. Found that kind of bemusing. I tend to avoid accents unless they are in the handful of broad accents that I can do.
Quote from: Simlasa;917812I'm playing a Hiver in our Traveller game and I've seriously been thinking about making a hand puppet for it.
Y'know, I've been looking at starfish, microbe, & squid puppet plushies, and no, there really is no Hiver substitute. I guess this gives license to DIY home ec project! If crocheted vaginas (now with uterus and fallopian tubes!) can get a Pinterest/Etsy spot, I'm sure someone can whip you up a Hiver pattern.
I suggest baby alpaca or angora yarn for the quality feathering of the ply. :)
I try to give important NPCs their own "voice" but not always in terms of accent. Their pitch, tone, attitude and vocabulary can also convey a lot about who they are. Sometimes I think the most important thing in NPC dialog is considering which words they'd use. Are they an aristocrat, an academic, a street thug, or just a working stiff? Whatever, their choice of words should match their background, if nothing else.
Quote from: Doom;917861YouTube is your friend for accents, there are all sorts of videos to give help, and I've appealed to YouTube a few times.
Yes, I've made use of those myself. My last Pathfinder PC was a large squirrel with a thick Scottish accent.
My Hiver PC is currently using a translator that speaks in a moderate gender-neutral tone. Kinda sounds like a therapist, very calm and just a bit condescending.
Alpaca and angora are too drapey for a sock puppet, stay away from silks. You will want a some wool in the mix so your puppet will hold its shape at least a little bit.
A couple of my players use them and so do I, but it's seldom by design. A character's name might remind someone of a celebrity or TV/movie character. For example, Arnulf the Fighting Man sounds kinda like Ahnuld, so of course one or more players will break out their Schwarzenegger impressions.
Or the character or monster will do something reminiscent of a TV/movie character, like an ogre my magic-user charmed into attacking a mounted knight with his bare hands, taking out the horse with the first blow. The first thing that popped into everyone's mind was Blazing Saddles:
[video=youtube;28khv-BydeY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28khv-BydeY[/youtube]
From then on, the ogre was called Mongo and talked like him, too.
Sometimes the miniature or sketch of a character/NPC/monster will look like someone famous and the voice will stick. Many years ago I did a sketch of my mage and my DM at the time said he looked like James Mason (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV4IWsXkNI8). For the rest of that campaign, Mollo the Magic-User sounded like James Mason.
Another player had a miniature of a fat cleric who looked like Curly Howard. Mercifully, that PC died soon after because all the "nyuk-nyuk-nyuk" and "woob-woob-woob" got old very quickly.
Quote from: Opaopajr;917876Y'know, I've been looking at starfish, microbe, & squid puppet plushies, and no, there really is no Hiver substitute. I guess this gives license to DIY home ec project! If crocheted vaginas (now with uterus and fallopian tubes!) can get a Pinterest/Etsy spot, I'm sure someone can whip you up a Hiver pattern.
I suggest baby alpaca or angora yarn for the quality feathering of the ply. :)
Make sure you also get a mask. And charge for refereeing.
The Saga Begins: https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?435072-Professional-GM-Diary-Caravan-of-Blades
And it only got better.
I use several voices:
Powerful magician (Sounds like James Earl Jones, in my head)
Dark Side Illuminate (Sounds like Darth Vader)
Seductress (Sounds like James Earl Jones as a women)
Sniveller (Doesn't sound like James Earl Jones)
Everyone else (Sounds like me with/without an accent)
Quote from: soltakss;917966I use several voices:
Powerful magician (Sounds like James Earl Jones, in my head)
Dark Side Illuminate (Sounds like Darth Vader)
Seductress (Sounds like James Earl Jones as a women)
Sniveller (Doesn't sound like James Earl Jones)
Everyone else (Sounds like me with/without an accent)
Haha! I will have to remember this one. :D
I have a lot of trouble doing voices for female characters and having them sound different from each other. They tend to devolve into one of a few stock types. Trying to do a woman's voice and a character voice at the same time is tough for me to sustain for any length of time.
Quote from: yosemitemike;918002I have a lot of trouble doing voices for female characters and having them sound different from each other. They tend to devolve into one of a few stock types. Trying to do a woman's voice and a character voice at the same time is tough for me to sustain for any length of time.
Sometimes (usually with voices that are uncomfortable to voice) I will do the voice to establish the character and then once it is clear who they are and what they sound like, I drop back to my normal speaking voice. My wife did the same thing with her old Runequest character Donn the Humakti Runepriest Duck. He sounded like Donald Duck, so she could only keep up that hoarse voice for a while before it got uncomfortable.
Quote from: Bren;918068Sometimes (usually with voices that are uncomfortable to voice) I will do the voice to establish the character and then once it is clear who they are and what they sound like, I drop back to my normal speaking voice. My wife did the same thing with her old Runequest character Donn the Humakti Runepriest Duck. He sounded like Donald Duck, so she could only keep up that hoarse voice for a while before it got uncomfortable.
I do that quite a bit simply because I have a hard time sustaining a female voice and a character voice for any length of time.
Quote from: BedrockBrendan;917856I tried doing an Irish accent during one session and my players thought the NPC was Italian.
That is, like, the second most popular accent to do, like ever! That whole blended Irish Scotch sound where it doesn't sound Irish and it doesn't sound Scottish but sounds kinda like either. Highlander accent, I call it.
Quote from: CRKrueger;917863There's a few accents I can do. Most of the time it's cadence and speech patterns, body language or tone shift. I don't pitch much. I did a female voice recording once for a Shadowrun voice message system. My throat hurt like hell while I was doing it, but the players thought it was awesome. After that I got girls to record stuff like that for me if I ever needed it.
Jesus Christ man, why'd the hell'd you put yourself through all that?
Quote from: Manzanaro;917868I do different ways of speaking without really thinking about it. I've been told I'm really good at female voices, though I have a deep voice. Found that kind of bemusing. I tend to avoid accents unless they are in the handful of broad accents that I can do.
Did you know Trey Parker and Matt Stone do literally EVERY voice on South Park? EVEN the female ones. I was shocked. Pretty good -- then again, they do have a professional studio and voice modulators and all kinds of crazy shit.
I have fun with voices but generally only as a GM. I don't bother with them as a player.
Good god, no, I don't do 'voices' when GMing. I find them pretty ridiculous, with accents, and men effecting high-pitched, 'womens' voices being just the worst. As a player I've always found a GM that puts on voices to be an eye-rolling experience.
When I roleplay NPCs, I mess around with diction, slang, and pacing based upon the NPC's background, status, and reaction. I use my regular speaking voice for both men and women NPCs.
It's definatly a risk. Fuck it up and it's funny, or sucks or distracting. But it's a way to push your self to improve your role playing. I really find it helps to set character, if I'm talking like a greasy uneducated hood, it reminds me to play like a greasy undereducated hood.
Like I said I started with voices as a player. One voice at a time one character to keep track of. I am trying to bring them over bit by bit to the DMing side but there is so much to keep track of I won't do many voices just one or two.
As much as they can be taxing and sometimes fail, I like trying to push my role playing so I will keep at it.
I should be a voice actor
I use voices, and affect, and acting. My idea is that my voice and performance is somewhere between my own voice and the character's voice, and translated into English from whatever the actual language would be. I don't want myself or my players to think the player's voice literally is exactly what the character's voice is, both because it places too much demand on player acting/voice skills, and it would limit and impact what would be possible for the characters and the characters' social and language skills, etc. After all, many players want to play characters that aren't like them (and may be very different), and certainly the world's NPCs shouldn't be limited to the skills and voice range of the GM.
Use voices? I hear voices and they tell me what to do! :)
I have a variety of terrible accents at my disposal that I use frequently. I have been told my demons and women NPCs are quite convincing. [insert joke about their similarities] But from my perspective, my use of gestures, posture and body acting goes much farther for immersion than my voice impressions.
And I fully agree that YouTube acting tutorials are highly recommended for GMs.
Quote from: soltakss;917966I use several voices:
Powerful magician (Sounds like James Earl Jones, in my head)
Dark Side Illuminate (Sounds like Darth Vader)
Seductress (Sounds like James Earl Jones as a women)
Sniveller (Doesn't sound like James Earl Jones)
Everyone else (Sounds like me with/without an accent)
I can only do James Earl Jones when I have a moderate cold. A mild cold and I sound like Isaac Hayes and a bad one makes me talk like Barry White. Only I don't use the word "Baby" at the end of every sentence.
Quote from: flyingmice;918168I should be a voice actor
You could try to get into the glamorous, high paying world of anime dub voice acting.
I used to use voices.
I'm actually pretty good at them too, and have a considerable stable. But eventually they start to feel like a crutch to characterization, and you can't easily re-use them without accidentally evoking some other NPC the players met in the past.
It also intimidates new players, who then feel they are doing something wrong if they don't follow suit.
I don't really do them anymore.
Voices and accents is one of my gifts as a GM. I have a bit of a gift for language, having studied several of them, and that turns out to be pretty useful for GMing purposes.
Quote from: Elfdart;918216I can only do James Earl Jones when I have a moderate cold. A mild cold and I sound like Isaac Hayes and a bad one makes me talk like Barry White. Only I don't use the word "Baby" at the end of every sentence.
Even Schwarzenegger says everyone can do his voice. He was interviewed for Jingle All the Way and said he has to go to stores in person, because they don't believe it is him on the phone, since "Everyone can do my ah-ccent."
As a DM Sometimes though all my voices tend to sound pretty alike! I try to vary my NPC speech patterns though it tends to devolve to pseudo-Vancian style lingo. My one big success has been the targets of Speek with Animals spells my players seem to like (or find amusing) my attempts a trying to sound like being not used to talking.
Quote from: ligedog;919103As a DM Sometimes though all my voices tend to sound pretty alike!
Well, the video I linked in the OP addresses doing a variety of things with your voice besides just sounding like other people... like speaking faster during stressful/exciting moments... speaking lower or louder for various effects. Mostly stuff for a GM but I can see making use of it as a Player as well... even if you're not so good at accents or changing pitch.