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View Full Version : DM Help Impressions/voices for NPCs?



Jarmen4u
2018-01-08, 12:36 PM
I've been meaning to ask this for a long time, but I really want to add that depth to my game where I can do different voices for specific NPCs, to give them a little extra personality. Problem is, I have a bit of stage fright when it comes to things like that, and my impression game is all but nonexistent. DMs, how did you learn impressions and accents, and where can I start for practice/inspiration?

Tinkerer
2018-01-08, 03:20 PM
I've been meaning to ask this for a long time, but I really want to add that depth to my game where I can do different voices for specific NPCs, to give them a little extra personality. Problem is, I have a bit of stage fright when it comes to things like that, and my impression game is all but nonexistent. DMs, how did you learn impressions and accents, and where can I start for practice/inspiration?

As with many things it's not necessarily where you start, just the fact that you start at all. I only very recently started using voices and I started by finding a voice which resonated with me and which I felt I could pull off. I actually used Alucard's voice from Team Four Star's Van Helsing Abridged video's since the intonations there felt the most natural and applied that to a character which I stole borrowed named Avenant. Fortunately I'm the only classic film buff in my group so I could get away with that pretty easily.

Getting over the mental barrier of applying a voice to the characters was the biggest hurdle that I found. The actual voices don't need to be very high quality, don't worry about that. The second biggest thing was remembering to consistently apply the voice. Early on I found myself randomly turning the character's voice off and on which resulted in some confusion. If you are using voices then use them consistently.

One excellent way to get in some practice is to read stories out loud. If you have access to any young children who want to be read stories it is an excellent way to practice making voices. If not then I've also used books which I am reading myself. Every time I get to dialogue I just read that portion out loud. I've also played around with recording myself but the results have been mixed. I cannot stand the sound of my own voice so it just winds up discouraging me.

RazorChain
2018-01-08, 03:38 PM
I act out all NPC's.

People tend to make derogatory remarks about how roleplaying isn't about funny voices but for me and my group it is. We stay in character through out the session, change our voices a little bit and act out our characters. This makes it easier to recognize when things are said IC or OOC.

What makes this easier when everybody does it. Two in my group, I and another player have acting experience and where we lead others follow, that is it was much easier for the others to act out their characters when we were doing it.

IME most groups that I have played with dig it that I act out NPC's as it helps with immersion. As for voices and accents, practice makes perfect but there is a suprising amount of effects you can do with your voice just by deepening your voice a little bit or just speaking more softly for female characters, varying your speak pattern by speaking slower or quicker.

I'm running a campaign that happens in mythic europe so just putting in a Ja, mein fraulein or mein herr, si senore, senorita or something simple for different languages does wonders. I mean I'm no language expert I only know 3 languages and get by on the fourth. But you have google and the interent to help out with different accents and you can probably find something about acting and changing your speach pattern.

Aliquid
2018-01-08, 03:39 PM
I've been meaning to ask this for a long time, but I really want to add that depth to my game where I can do different voices for specific NPCs, to give them a little extra personality. Problem is, I have a bit of stage fright when it comes to things like that, and my impression game is all but nonexistent. DMs, how did you learn impressions and accents, and where can I start for practice/inspiration?You can start with minor changes.

One character that talks slowly and carefully, another that talks rapidly & hyper (using your own voice)

If you have time to prep, you can make yourself a list of words for someone with a unique vocabulary, and make sure to pepper the conversation with such words (again, using your own voice)

Someone who has a habit of repeating a word... too often, or ends statements as a question (or both) "Like we went to the store? And like I saw this cool dress?"

miinstrel
2018-01-08, 04:48 PM
As above, it's just something you kind of have to "get over" and start doing it. Quality isn't important, but consistency so players key into who's talking.

You might try some blanket accents to start - Elves are French, Dwarves are Scottish, Orcs are Russian, etc... then adjust your pitch, speed, etc to make different characters within those races sound more unique.

Look no further for inspiration than cartoons and movies. Pick a character with a fun accent. Hannibal from Silence of the Lambs is a classic. Being able to perfectly replicate it isn't important, just give it a shot and see how close you get. It's not about copying exactly as finding your own voice inspired by theirs.

Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Bugs Bunny, Spongebob, Mr. Crabs, Darkwing Duck... all of these can be turned into excellent NPC voices just by playing with it a bit to see what works most naturally for you.

I suggest you make small notecards for each NPC (or use a spreadsheet like I do) with a section for "Accent" where you can make a couple notes. "Minnesota Lisp" is one of my notes. Also "Inward Jamaican" "Slow, menacing Surfer" and "that youtube shooter guy"

Twizzly513
2018-01-08, 06:48 PM
In my game I created a world where there are several nations with similar equivalents in the real world, and all of them have accents related to them in this way (except dwarves, which must be Scottish always). Thus, different characters are easy to differentiate as long as they are from different nations. Another thing is that you should spend time on a voice compared to how much you'll see a character. If it's someone they pass in the street, make your voice just a bit deeper. For others you could make your voice a bit deeper and draw out some syllables. If you'd like more detail for that character, you could talk deeper, draw out syllables, and make the voice a little airy by breathing out more when you talk. Remember you don't need to do strong impressions, just a few changes to your normal voice. Accents are more advanced, and level 100 is combining them. Start with something easy and work your way to more complicated things. Try an American accent, a British accent, and Italian accent, German, French, Russian, Nigerian, whatever you find you can do well. Give a character that accent. Three minute videos are great for this. Remember that even if it doesn't sound good as that accent, for the game, you don't need to sound like a man from Scotland. You need to sound like Gryffin the Dragonslayer, and you decide what his voice is. Also remember that nobody starts out good at an accent, you need to try it a bit. My friend recently learned to do a German accent (his own idea) because he was playing a gnome and I had equated gnomes with a smaller Germany. He is American, and had trouble doing any "R" sounds. Now he sounds creepily accurate and will do it sometimes for no reason. It's second nature to him now.

TL;DR
Try small steps for a character's voice, it'll still be recognizable, even if it seems like you're doing almost nothing. Accents work, but they take work. Don't worry if you don't start out great, no one does, and all you need to do is differentiate between your normal voice and a character's voice.

Another good idea for impressions is to have a certain facial posture. You might raise your eyebrows, frequently raise a single eyebrow, smile too often, never make eye contact, etc. Giving a character a shtick like that makes it obvious who it is, and it tells the PCs when something is wrong as well. If you suddenly break the habit, PCs will get a hint to what's going on. For instance, if a character who normally puts his face downward and looks up to seem cynical suddenly brings their head back, wide-eyed, then characterization happens. Never underestimate the power of what eyes and eyebrows can tell a person.

As a DM, so much of your job hinges on acting ability.

In conclusion to the whole post:
Give NPCs a simple thing they do. Doesn't have to be complicated or impressive. Just give them something. Verbal and nonverbal works well together, and makes for memorable characters.

Darth Ultron
2018-01-08, 06:53 PM
Tv shows and moves are the best places to hear impressions and accents. You should watch a lot different shows, of course.

Of course, you can join any sort of group that does acting like plays for example. Even just ''open mike night'' or something like that.

To practice, just do a impression and/or accent at random. Just say something. It works great when you to a place like Subway. A place where you will likely be alone with just one worker.

Cealocanth
2018-01-09, 12:07 AM
No, roleplaying isn't about doing funny voices, but if you can roleplay effectively, and add a funny voice to the package, it's all the better.

The easiest way to pick up voices is with doing impressions. Mimic iconic voices from TV, movies, video games, etc. The first voices I mastered were impressions of the various characters from Team Fortress 2, which have some relatively easy voices and accents. The second were some of the voices and accents from Skyrim.

However, if you want to try to develop them organically, just start experimenting with your range of speaking. Sing while you speak, basically. See how low you can go, how high you can go, what happens when you speak from high in your throat versus from low in your throat. Taking a singing lesson is the easiest way to learn your range. Then apply parts of your range to different manners of speaking (accents optional), and do that about a thousand times.

Good luck! :smallsmile:

Lorsa
2018-01-09, 10:00 AM
In an attempt to hijack this thread for a somewhat related question.

Does anyone know how best to learn real world accents? In this case I am thinking about English accents. When I GM modern games (such as WoD or the like), I would love for my Irish NPCs to actually sound Irish (etc) without it just being a laughably poor attempt.

I can already do the slow/quick, high/low, soft/hard etc voices, but the actual real accents elude me. English is my second language, but I have the same problem with Swedish so it is not really a language thing. How does one learn it?

Maclay
2018-01-09, 01:17 PM
The International Dialects of English Archive (can't link, sorry) is everyday people from all over the world telling the same short story in their natural speaking voice. Recording quality varies, but it might help exemplify the differences.

Tinkerer
2018-01-09, 01:28 PM
In an attempt to hijack this thread for a somewhat related question.

Does anyone know how best to learn real world accents? In this case I am thinking about English accents. When I GM modern games (such as WoD or the like), I would love for my Irish NPCs to actually sound Irish (etc) without it just being a laughably poor attempt.

I can already do the slow/quick, high/low, soft/hard etc voices, but the actual real accents elude me. English is my second language, but I have the same problem with Swedish so it is not really a language thing. How does one learn it?

There is a fantastic series of YouTube videos by... *googlegooglegoogle* Amy Walker that you may want to check out.

KillianHawkeye
2018-01-09, 05:05 PM
Mimicry is a skill that you just have to practice like any other. If you're trying to master a specific voice or accent, it helps to listen to it a lot to get it in your head. Then try speaking that way. Just repeat what you hear at first. Once you get the hang of a particular voice, you can practice by repeating anything you hear in that voice (I even used to sing along to my car radio to get warmed up for a D&D character with a funny voice and complicated speech pattern).

There are probably some kinds of vocal exercises that you can do to help improve the range of sounds you're comfortable making with your mouth, and I know that pitch range is also something that you can improve with practice. It also helps if you're a good listener.

The Fury
2018-01-09, 10:43 PM
I learned how to do voices when I was a kid and my sister and I did impressions of cartoon characters. (Her Elmer Fudd was better than mine.) I'm still not all that great, but it's not like it's a crucial skill or anything. In RPGs in particular I admit that I copped out accent-wise by saying stuff like "her accent is a little different than yours," because any accent I could attempt would probably take away more than it would add.

The best advice I could give for improving your ability to do voices is don't be afraid to mess up. The only way to get good at something is to be bad at it first.

Velaryon
2018-01-11, 11:59 AM
It's hard to know how your attempts to do different voices for characters will go over with your particular group until you try it. It may turn out to be more comedic than anything else, which makes it fun for more goofy or beer & pretzels games, but less so if you're trying to do more serious roleplaying. For example, if your dwarves all sound like Groundskeeper Willie, it's going to be seen as a joke.

If you find that that happens, you can try a "less is more" approach. Rather than trying to do a specific accent, look at altering your speech pattern and word choices for specific characters. Maybe the king's adviser uses big words to convey his intellectualism (though you can exaggerate this to comedic levels as well, as evidenced by Vaarsuvius in OotS). Maybe the the ranger who spends most of his time out in the wild and rarely talks to other people has a tendency to mumble a little bit, or to not pronounce the g in words that end with -ing, and so on.



In an attempt to hijack this thread for a somewhat related question.

Does anyone know how best to learn real world accents? In this case I am thinking about English accents. When I GM modern games (such as WoD or the like), I would love for my Irish NPCs to actually sound Irish (etc) without it just being a laughably poor attempt.

I can already do the slow/quick, high/low, soft/hard etc voices, but the actual real accents elude me. English is my second language, but I have the same problem with Swedish so it is not really a language thing. How does one learn it?

Audiobooks do exist that give basic acting coaching to mimic specific accents and dialects. If you have access to a public library, perhaps they can obtain one for you?