DMs, do you act out your NPCs?

[J.Gellert]

This is something I've been wondering about... Every time my players meet an NPC, I am much more inclined to handle him by telling the players "He says this." or "He answers your question by telling you." or even "He seems annoyed, but agrees with you." I very rarely actually act out the NPC's reactions, in fact I rarely even give them the exact words, unless it's an important NPC.

That's mostly because I don't trust in my skill to make them unique and believable with only my facial expressions and tone of voice. A simple description is so much easier, like writing a book or story.

Still, I am curious, how do you handle conversation with NPCs? What's the "norm"?

[Myatar_Panwar]

I'm with you. I just can't pull off voices and mannerisms without making an ass out of myself.

But I do think that if you can pull it off it certainly adds to the game.

[BobVosh]

Market Day NPCS: Never even mention they talked to a NPC, they spend money and get stuff, or give stuff and get money.

All other NPCs: Usually I try to act it out, but sometimes I make NPCs I don't have a chance to make a believable RP of it.

[Radar]

I mix things up. Even for the same NPC i can switch from playing his role to describing his actions. I do try to say all the dialog in character, since it is better for roleplaying - it prompts players to do the same. :smallsmile:

It's not as important for all NPCs to be widely different - saying their lines is generaly better, then the alternative IMO.

[Optimator]

A lil bit.

[Totally Guy]

Interacting with Player characters, yes.

If they ever interact with each other. No.

[ka_bna]

Dialogues with non-market NPCs I do myself. Even without vocal and expressional talent, I manage to play a couple of stereotypes.

Unless the PC's try something the NPC doesn't believe, then I don't play it (I'll say: He doesn't believe you, or He raises his brow)
I don't know why I made such a distinction, it simply became a habit.

[Togo]

I do, yes.

It's not always appropriate. Unles you can make different NPCs sound very different, it can confuse players. And if you have a big group, it can end up with one or two loud players meaning that noone else gets to talk to NPCs at all.

Different styles for different people and different kinds of game. There's no one right answer on how to run a game.

[DarkEternal]

Honestly, depends on my mood and how far along we are. If we just started playing I do try my best, however, if it's like two in the morning and I'm gassed already then rarely. Also depends on the character. A psychopathic goblin that wants to slaughter the pc's is much more fun to voice then a random guy they meet.

[AslanCross]

I plan to, but sometimes it just breaks down to a lame grating voice that sounds like the orcs in Warcraft. Sometimes I just narrate the description of the feeling that the character's voice gives, especially if they're outsiders.

[molten_dragon]

Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't. It depends on how much the PCs will be interacting with that particular NPC, and whether that NPC has any traits that make him worth acting out.

[Eloi]

I mostly attach weird habits to my NPC's because I can't do voices very well.

Me as trying to throw voice: Hail adventurers!
Player-1: Why does the old guy sound like an adolescent chick?
Player-2: Why does everyone we meet sound like an adolescent chick?
Me: ...Because I am... Um... the guy spasms and twitches for little reason and flails his arms and gestures wildly because he has been traumatized so badly by carnage witnessed by the Big Bad, and is highly paranoid (bluffing is harder, in other words). Hail *twitch* ad-VEN-turers *spasms*!
Player-2: Didn't the other guy have the exact same background and mannerisms as this one?
Me: Shut up and go with it. And the other guy twitched and spasmed. He spasms and twitches.

So yeah, but I do like to write backgrounds and mannerisms and fun mental diseases for most of my NPC's, but when improvising small-time NPCs I mostly just copy them and change names. So...yep.

[Irreverent Fool]

In earlier days, I (and my friends) used to act out and describe every NPC. The end result was that the world seemed sparsely populated with colorful characters and some sessions would involve nothing but shopping.

I kind of miss those days, as we have some very memorable RP experiences from them. However, when focusing on story, I tend to gloss over NPC reactions a little unless the NPC is important somehow to a PC or the plot. Every once in awhile I will give interesting traits to an NPC lest the players think that every NPC I describe is important to the plot.

This leads to them remembering these characters and doing things like Buying the Tavern. I find it amusing when this happens to a throwaway NPC.

I still haven't decided if this change is a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes I feel that I'm using the more extensive mechanics in editions more recent than my old homebrew system and AD&D as a crutch to avoid RP and sounding silly to passers-by.


Me as trying to throw voice: Hail adventurers!
Player-1: Why does the old guy sound like an adolescent chick?
Player-2: Why does everyone we meet sound like an adolescent chick?
Me: ...Because I am... Um... the guy spasms and twitches for little reason and flails his arms and gestures wildly because he has been traumatized so badly by carnage witnessed by the Big Bad, and is highly paranoid (bluffing is harder, in other words). Hail *twitch* ad-VEN-turers *spasms*!
Player-2: Didn't the other guy have the exact same background and mannerisms as this one?
Me: Shut up and go with it. And the other guy twitched and spasmed. He spasms and twitches.

This reminds me of old times. :smallbiggrin: In your honor, I shall take a note from this book and drop my voice an octave next time I am speaking as a female NPC. (Why does the adolescent girl sound like Barry White Chef from South Park?)

[Eloi]

In earlier days, I (and my friends) used to act out and describe every NPC. The end result was that the world seemed sparsely populated with colorful characters and some sessions would involve nothing but shopping.

I kind of miss those days, as we have some very memorable RP experiences from them. However, when focusing on story, I tend to gloss over NPC reactions a little unless the NPC is important somehow to a PC or the plot. Every once in awhile I will give interesting traits to an NPC lest the players think that every NPC I describe is important to the plot.

This leads to them remembering these characters and doing things like Buying the Tavern. I find it amusing when this happens to a throwaway NPC.

I still haven't decided if this change is a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes I feel that I'm using the more extensive mechanics in editions more recent than my old homebrew system and AD&D as a crutch to avoid RP and sounding silly to passers-by.



This reminds me of old times. :smallbiggrin: I shall take a note from this book and drop my voice an octave next time I am speaking as a female NPC in honor of this. (Why does the adolescent girl sound like Barry White Chef from South Park?)
Maybe all the NPC's have rare genetic disorders that effect the pitch of their voice.
*writes down in Notes file "castrated vocal cords, natural soprano"*

[Rising Phoenix]

For NPCs that the PCs will interact extensively with or important ones. Yes, I do try. I enjoy it and write up some quotes for that particular character.

For other NPCs, no. I have a six (seven) member party. Too much effort.

[Scarlet Tropix]

For me it depends greatly on who I'm playing with at the time. I DM heavily with two particular groups of people, the former being my high-school buddies, the second being a collective of friends online. I've sort of detailed the differences below.

My RL group is fairly relaxed, unoptimized, and in it for the laughs. A good background, in their eyes, is that their character is "happy a lot." They're the sort of people who you can stall for a couple of hours with a riddle, not necessarily because they can't solve the riddle but because they'd rather come up with crazy or nonsensical answers and then argue why they're the correct answer. When it comes to NPCs, I tend to either just narrate what happens in the conversation or play the NPC as a caricature of themselves, designed to draw out the most laughs from the group. It's not always satisfying from a storytelling perspective, and sometimes it gets frustrating trying to convey plot information, but it's a fun time overall.

My online group is more in it for the story. They build their characters around heavy optimization, provide detailed histories, and generally try to provide humor "in character". They often consider distracting someone from their descriptions or dialogues as a grievous offense, holding questions or comments until after they're finished speaking. In that same manner, I often portray NPCs more in line with how I design them, something which is augmented by the fact that I have more appeal in written word than I do in real life. [:P] I also find that this is the more difficult group to challenge, although that may or may not be related to this directly.

I enjoy both approaches, although I will confess a slight preference for the latter due to my melodramatic bent. Sometimes it's more satisfying for the players to make bisque out of your Giant Enemy Crab when it's done in character.

[Morty]

I'm not very good at acting out various NPCs, but I definetly try it to the best of my ability. It helps immersion.

[Umael]

I've found that I do, but it helps if I have something prepared. Last night, I improv a part of ghosts, mother and son, who were haunting a hunting lodge that the PCs were having to use.

I included a "cat". The cat was more felidae frankenstein than felidae domesticus and is already being considered to be a potential companion for the group.

(I describe the cat as resembling a cross between a lizard and a pile of dirty laundry. Said mother ghost was scared of the cat. At one point the cat went into the Shadowlands after the mother ghost and dragged her back to the Material plane. Said cat is also quite intelligent, has opposable thumbs, and drinks.)

[InkEyes]

Yeah, I do. It tends to be kind of generic sounding unless they're a recurring NPC; I try to give those characters unique personalities. It seems to work too, since the more dynamic personalities are the ones the party actually remembers the names of. I also learned that nothing incites my PCs to rage faster than a Theodore Roosevelt impression. How anyone can dislike a man who's favorite world is "bully" is beyond me.

[Eloi]

Yeah, I do. It tends to be kind of generic sounding unless they're a recurring NPC; I try to give them unique personalities. It seems to work, since the more dynamic personalities are the ones the party remembers actually the names of, and sometimes involve in the plot. I also learned that nothing incites my PCs to rage faster than a Theodore Roosevelt impression. How anyone can dislike a man who's favorite world is "bully" is beyond me.
A character background is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.
-Theodore Roosevelt on Roleplaying

Characters, in the long run, are the decisive factors in the campaign of an individual and of parties alike.
-Theodore Roosevelt on the importance of characters in campaigns

Courtesy is as much a mark of a good player as power.
-Theodore Roosevelt on OOC behavior.

Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
-Theodore Roosevelt on Intra-party conflicts

Every source book has a lunatic mechanic.
-Theodore Roosevelt on Sourcebooks

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt on effective campaigns

I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!
-Theodore Roosevelt on effecting role-playing.

[Eloi]

I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.
-Theodore Roosevelt, advising you to make Charisma your dump stat instead of Intelligence

It is difficult to make our campaign material better by the best mechanics, but it is easy enough to ruin it by bad mechanics.
-Theodore Roosevelt, on mechanics quality in campaigns


No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expedience.
-Theodore Roosevelt, on barring evil character options for good aligned-characters for the greater good

Obedience of the DM is demanded; not asked as a favor.
-Theodore Roosevelt on 0th law.

[Jair Barik]

Yep. I act out all of them.
Yes that includes market NPC's. I believe the best case of 'minor' NPC=funny involved a kick ass sword a player had looted from the local catacombs. It was deadly against the undead but when the players came up against spiders he quickly found he was finding it unusually difficult to hit them despite rolling well. He then found that whenever he tried drawing another weapon he quickly found out that having made the attack role he would inexplicably have the same sword in his hand. He couldn't drop it and would always run into close combat of he tried drawing a bow. Now the hilarity came when he tried selling it off or getting it uncursed because the sword was a well known relic that had great importance to the locals, as did the guy who's cold dead hands he had pried it from. I RPed every NPC he considered going to and (thankfully) he didn't actually show it to any of them or mention what he had done instead using vague terms. If I didn't RP such things this wouldn't have happenned, he could just say 'I pay for remove curse'.

I also acted out the voice for Aceraks little floor poem. It was amusing.

Of course sometimes there are voices that you can't act out. The.se voices though are typically tied to mind control and DM note passing :smallbiggrin:. It wouldn't be anywhere near as funny if I had said 'Player A a voice in your head commands you to kill the rest of the party', at that point you just have to suck it up and pass people notes.

[Hendel]

I try and it doesn't always work but it is good for a laugh sometimes. My most recent foray into role-playing an NPC was a Marilth real estate agent in Sigil (higher level game), who took on a Long Island accent with big poofy hair and six hands of very long fingernails that she filed with an adamantine nail file. I am a male from Texas, so that was a stretch, but the players seemed to enjoy it.

I say just role with it, who cares if you get the accent wrong, I once kept slipping into an accent from India when I was trying to do the eastern European accent. My Strahd Von Zarovich sounded like Abu from the Quicky Mart on the Simpsons. It was funny, we all laughed. It made for a good night of non-combat fun.

[Il_Vec]

I ususally provide descriptions, like:
"The fat old man says: '-Yeah I've seen that orc you're lookin' for, in a loud, rude manner. You find him unpleasant."

[PersonMan]

It depends. If the PCs go to buy something or whatever, "You get a room for X GP".

If it's an important NPC, or an antagonist or battle-thing:

'He says "Quiet, you stupid half-breed! Your pathetic nation will be smashed between the forces of the Fey'Ri and the South Bornean Empire! Join the Fey'Ri and you will survive, no, prosper!" And grins, his eyes flickering about.'

[Ravens_cry]

I am inexperienced with DMing, but I like to play them as I have played my PC's, act out their actions and reactions, with mannerisms appropriate, with an occasional narration for describing something I can't act out in table top setting.

[Volos]

I usually always play out my NPCs, just because I've been in drama and I enjoy the challenge. Though there have been some situations that have gotten away from me, due to major mistakes on my part.

For example... The Barbarian became the party face, so he was running about gathering information. He decided that he would rather roleplay out each and every NPC encounter rather then roll for gather information, being that he had CHA8 and no ranks in said skill.

So he's talking to this noble's daughter, trying to ask her where he might find some drugs (they were trying to pry information from a drug addict by the docks). She had this very high pitched cute little voice that was straining my throat to keep up with. I was getting a bit tired of talking in that tone, so I tried to finish up with the conversation quickly, just telling him that he could find some from the gentleman across the ballroom by the punch. The Barbarian, trying to be very polite, thanked me gruffly. When I went to say, "You're welcome." My voice dropped about three octaves. The entire party stared at me for a full minute before the Barbarian concluded that the woman was in fact a man, and that the annual ball they were attending was in fact a trap, and though the door was wide open and completely unblocked, there was in fact no way out. We spent the next hour fighting nobles and their personal guards while trying to make it back to the docks.

Lesson learned? Good acting makes the NPCs interesting to interact with and very engaging. While at the same time, bad acting so soon after good acting will either confuse the party or lead them through a series of unfortunate assumptions.

[Eloi]

I usually always play out my NPCs, just because I've been in drama and I enjoy the challenge. Though there have been some situations that have gotten away from me, due to major mistakes on my part.

For example... The Barbarian became the party face, so he was running about gathering information. He decided that he would rather roleplay out each and every NPC encounter rather then roll for gather information, being that he had CHA8 and no ranks in said skill.

So he's talking to this noble's daughter, trying to ask her where he might find some drugs (they were trying to pry information from a drug addict by the docks). She had this very high pitched cute little voice that was straining my throat to keep up with. I was getting a bit tired of talking in that tone, so I tried to finish up with the conversation quickly, just telling him that he could find some from the gentleman across the ballroom by the punch. The Barbarian, trying to be very polite, thanked me gruffly. When I went to say, "You're welcome." My voice dropped about three octaves. The entire party stared at me for a full minute before the Barbarian concluded that the woman was in fact a man, and that the annual ball they were attending was in fact a trap, and though the door was wide open and completely unblocked, there was in fact no way out. We spent the next hour fighting nobles and their personal guards while trying to make it back to the docks.

Lesson learned? Good acting makes the NPCs interesting to interact with and very engaging. While at the same time, bad acting so soon after good acting will either confuse the party or lead them through a series of unfortunate assumptions.
Oi, I kind of like it when voices drop a few octaves
for no reason. If I could make my voice lower I'd do that, but I can usually only raise it a lot. I think a way to side-step those problems is just to make most of your NPC's your gender and age. It may seem like a cop-out, but it'd probably prevent problems like that.

[HailDiscordia]

I'm no thespian, but I do try to act out most of the NPC's that they come across. Some are very generic and fit into a mold of about 1/2 dozen stock voices, but others are real important. It also sort of lets the PC's know who is relevant and who is a throw away.

One of the nice aspects of it is that a lot of NPC's wind up taking on traits that I had no idea they possessed. They wind up becoming a part of the plot, either as an ally or a villain. I don't usually plan the voice in advance. There have definitely been times where PC's have said things like, "You know, let's not burn down that inn. The innkeep was alright. Sort of funny." And they have also said, "There is no way that we are leaving this town until that singer is dead. He was quite obnoxious."

There are certainly times when I just speed things along, especially if it's a generic money transaction. But I think that acting out the NPC's is one of the things that really make a game an RPG, rather than a combat oriented video game. I don't expect PC's to use voices and what not (committing to a single character is a lot for a night) but I do expect them to speak in the 1st person and I always call people by their character names during a session. It sort of shapes the whole game.

[Twilight_Crow]

This may just be me, but I have the decided tendency to act out my NPCs. Now, a bit of background on why. Most of my major NPCs (i.e. those that appear at least 3 times with some form of cause) are just characters I myself made for the system. I find it works out well and also gives things like class levels, etc. For lesser NPCs, I tend to just go with stereotypes (behold the 8 INT commoner)

----------------
Now playing: Rise Against - Survive (http://www.foxytunes.com/artist/rise+against/track/survive)
via FoxyTunes (http://www.foxytunes.com/signatunes/)

[Ormur]

I usually mix acting them out and describing what they say. Sometimes they have to have detailed discussions with the players but I'm not really good at thinking up how exactly they'd respond. I want to act most of the exchanges but I'm more comfortable with just describing what they do and say.

[Mazed]

Oh, definitely so. :smallbiggrin:

I don't particularly care if I make a fool of myself; whenever the PCs run into an NPC that's supposed to be significant in some way, they've always got some kind of specific mannerism or tone of voice, and I have absolutely no reservations about completely hamming it up, no matter how terrible the accent or how wild the gesticulations.

It pays off--players do remember interactions better as a result, and on no few occasions have I broken into a particular voice, with no real description of the speaker, and they immediately go "Hey, it's that guy!"

What might help is that I come from a family of stage-actors...I've never actually done that myself, but you pick up a lot. To all GMs, I encourage NPC portrayal like this wholeheartedly, even if you're faltering to start out; it gets better with practice, and in my own experience never hasn't been fun for all involved.

[valadil]

I try, but suck at it. Acting out my NPCs is my biggest weakness as a GM. My problem is that I like to get deeply into a character's mind before quirks and mannerisms emerge. This is great for long term characters, but not for NPCs who I swap around like hats.

What I tried doing to right this was to treat the NPCs more like caricatures. They each have a few key traits that I play up whenever they're on screen. It made them more recognizable, but didn't give them any depth. Telling the PCs about a mustache and hat doesn't make the NPC any more interesting.

I'm going to try something new when my game comes back from hiatus though. Each session I'll focus on one NPC. I'm going to approach the game as though that's my DMPC and spend the weeks between games getting into that character's head. I'll try to give that NPC more screen time then too. Once I get NPCs fleshed out in this way, I'm hoping I can return to them and remember how to get back in their head.

I'm thinking of this as the Lost method of NPCs. Each one gets his own episode. They'll become more interesting and sympathetic once you've spent some time focused on them.

[Mazed]

I'm going to try something new when my game comes back from hiatus though. Each session I'll focus on one NPC. I'm going to approach the game as though that's my DMPC and spend the weeks between games getting into that character's head. I'll try to give that NPC more screen time then too. Once I get NPCs fleshed out in this way, I'm hoping I can return to them and remember how to get back in their head.

I would actually advise the opposite. :smallsmile: You mentioned thinking of them as caricatures earlier; in my experience, this actually helps more. Basically, try to think of every NPC as a cartoon character, with the same over-acted mannerisms common in animation. You can still come up with plenty of backstory and such, if it suits your game, but the immediate impression should be exaggerated and memorable, something that give the players something to instantly latch onto, and from there you can go deeper.

Oh yeah, and since it's relevant to the discussion: when coming up with impressions, don't hesitate to rip stuff off. Your mileage may vary here, but if your GM'ing you don't necessarily need everything to be overly original; if an NPC is a character you saw in a comic or TV show in everything but name, that's perfectly fine, and you already have material to work with even if you didn't get a chance to flesh them out before the game session starts.

[valadil]

I would actually advise the opposite. :smallsmile: You mentioned thinking of them as caricatures earlier; in my experience, this actually helps more. Basically, try to think of every NPC as a cartoon character, with the same over-acted mannerisms common in animation. You can still come up with plenty of backstory and such, if it suits your game, but the immediate impression should be exaggerated and memorable, something that give the players something to instantly latch onto, and from there you can go deeper.

Oh yeah, and since it's relevant to the discussion: when coming up with impressions, don't hesitate to rip stuff off. Your mileage may vary here, but if your GM'ing you don't necessarily need everything to be overly original; if an NPC is a character you saw in a comic or TV show in everything but name, that's perfectly fine, and you already have material to work with even if you didn't get a chance to flesh them out before the game session starts.

I started out the opposite way. It wasn't working for me. I'll keep the mannerisms (there's no reason to ditch what's already written) but I think I need to spend more time on individual NPCs.

Ripping stuff off is absolutely essential. Half the time your PCs can't tell anyway. Instead of mannerisms, one of my NPC cards actually says "Vince McMahon/Frank Reynolds". I impersonate those two characters instead of try to come up with something unique. My players couldn't tell that NPC wasn't original, but he was much better acted.

[ArcanistSupreme]

Rogue Hansel and Fighter Wilhelm must have German accents!!! So yes, I do act out most NPC interactions. This does come to be an issue during market time (which turns into market session), but thanks to this thread I've realized that there is no reason that every freaking shopkeeper needs to be acted out when the PCs are shopping around.

I find that my DMing style is really fun for the type of game I run (which is a little on the goofy side), but it might be a bit more problematic in a more serious setting. I would probably have to give up half of my voices if I every ran a game like that though, so of course it never happens!

[InkEyes]

The mind of Theodore Roosevelt

I always knew Teddy Roosevelt was the archetypal PC. I guess that's why a pastiche of him incites so much rage in my players; it hits too close to home. :smalltongue:

Now I'm wondering what class he'd play...

[Shademan]

yes!
the goblin sewersweep is squeeky and coughs alot, I hunch my back and rub my hands alot as the players intimidate information out of him.
the two-swords-short-of-a-drizzt-clone alchemist is very LOUD and over the top. making inapropriate dramatic exclamations (complete with me flailing my arms or standing up all heroic like with one foot on the tool) and generally being slightly creepy.
SCIENCE!!!

I tend not to act out females tho'. I tend to narrate them:smallconfused:

[Eloi]

I always knew Teddy Roosevelt was the archetypal PC. I guess that's why a pastiche of him incites so much rage in my players; it hits too close to home. :smalltongue:

Now I'm wondering what class he'd play...

Well just remember:
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
-Theodore Roosevelt on how having a high Charisma and Strength is the best choices to make.

[FoE]

I do, though I have a tendency to break out into giggles.

[shadow_archmagi]

My DM does voices in an attempt to make each NPC distinctive

Unfortunately, all of his voices end up being nixon. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvYm68dOQ4k&NR=1)

I'm not sure why he can only do one voice, but, hey. It does make us feel better about killing them.

[oxybe]

i don't really act out NPCs.

i speak to the PCs directly, as i would speak to an NPC were i a player, but no funny voices, accents, flairs or mannerisms. just plain old talking.

[Eloi]

My DM does voices in an attempt to make each NPC distinctive

Unfortunately, all of his voices end up being nixon. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvYm68dOQ4k&NR=1)

I'm not sure why he can only do one voice, but, hey. It does make us feel better about killing them.

It's as Roosevelt said:
"Nixon pretty much sucks, yeah."
-Theodore Roosevelt, getting right to the point.

I don't honestly believe that, but I'm not at liberty to be political, but I did lol (I always use that literally) at the whole "It does make us feel better about killing them" part.

[Fuzzie Fuzz]

I will occasionally, but usually I just narrate. I don't trust myself to make them sound unique, or to be able to respond in a way that sounds real.

[The Glyphstone]

No. Not since the...well, let's call it the Vampire incident. I don't act out NPCs anymore after that.

[tiercel]

I'm never going to quit my work and become an actor, but I do enjoy *some* RP in my RPG.

Naturally, if the interaction is mundane, minor, or I/my players really want to move things along, I will summarize or narrate what my NPCs say... but in general any NPC important enough to have their own name and/or stat block at least gets a note or two (if only mental) as to how I want to play them.

Besides, if you are going to get your players worked up about wasting a BBEG, it really pays to give them attitude, even if it's only in the midst of combat. If you can make your *players* hate/admire the BBEG, they'll really get into the combat and want to bring this one (or at least his plans) down.

I like giving the occasional random/neutral NPC a bit of flair/flavor just because it helps players establish and remember the landscape ("maybe we should check back at that tavern with the creepy-sounding guy who drinks that Flaming Ale"), not to mention to keep my players off balance for assuming which NPCs are major plot points and which ones are just me acting funny ;)

[Dienekes]

I rarely narrate. Almost whenever a new NPC is being talked to my posture, voice, and expressions will change to fit the character and I give actual dialogue.

I find it some of the more fun aspects of being a GM, though I was an actor (in school plays anyway) in Jr. High through college so GMing is more or less taking up the niche I left.

[DabblerWizard]

I act out the important ones. I change their voices, and sometimes give evil glares and flail and such. It's all in good fun. I don't mind doing this for my friends, since it does make the story more interesting. They're also nice about not telling me my acting sucks. :smallwink:

What I find most difficult, is finding the right altered voice a second or third time, when an especially important NPC shows up more than once.

I only act out unimportant NPCs from time to time. As I told my players early on, not every NPC needs a name with a complex backstory. You might consider this lack of immersion, or you can look at it from the perspective that super duper adventurer PCs may eventually lose touch with commoners and non-powerful beings, as their power grows exponentially. It's lonely atop that mountain.