I am still relatively new to dnd I am only about 8 sessions in to my first ever campaign. I am having trouble finding a voice for my character and really staying in character through and through. I am slowly getting better at it, but I was wondering if any of you guys had any tips you could share about how you immerse yourself in your character and really be them as you role play.
When I roleplay, whether it's my character or an NPC that I am using in the games I run, I don't always use a voice. For phrases, lines, or words I might jump into an accent or voice. But if it's long winded I'll simply say what my character is saying and allow the others to hear the voice in their head. Then I develop phrases or lines that I can do in the characters voice well, or that are iconic and I'll just say those.
As for staying in character, the best question I find is, "How does [insert character name] feel about this" or what do they think about this, and I ask myself that before I ever jump in with input. I play with a pretty laid back group, so this works fairly well, people try not to talk over one another and are respectful of others needing time to formulate a response.
So like all things my two suggestions for getting better at this would be, take your time and practice.
On the topic of voices--if it's a character you'll be playing for a while (not a brief NPC), do not go with a hard to do voice, or an 'extreme' voice (really high, really shrill, really fast, really slow, etc.). You will get tired of doing that voice, and everyone else might get tired of it too.
Accents are fun--even if you're not that good at them :) But I do a lot of larping and character voices, and my secret weapon is Accenthelp.com. Professional voice acting coaches providing nicely packaged audio files and PDFs to help with speaking English with various accents. I've done their Russian, German, Yorkshire, Ireland, Cockney--really great stuff. Had someone mistake me for actually Scottish in a game :) They're around $20-$25, but worth it IMO. (I have no financial interest in their business at all :)
The other somewhat easy way to go is think about easy verbal habits. A, ummm, character who, ahhh, speaks a bit more, hmmmm, slowly, and inserts, mmmmm, the occasional verbal tic. Or repeats key words a lot. Absolutely, absolutely, a good way to distinguish their voice.
You might also think about movie characters who's voices you liked. Again, don't go extreme or terrible (Christian Bale's Batman...yeesh). But the sort of voice work that Gary Oldman does. Often very subtle. But unlike George Clooney, you can tell which Oldman character is talking without knowing what actual words are being said.
And then...practice. Talk to yourself as your character when you're driving or walking (alone, unless you don't mind people thinking you're a crazy person :) You'll hammer out pretty quickly what's easy to maintain, what sounds cool but would be a burden to do all the time, etc. And let the voice evolve over some sessions. Don't let the other players give you crap if you make some changes. It's a game :)
I do acting in community theatre.What I find helps is picking just a couple of standout things about my character to focus on. One of my favorite characters is the Governor in George M Cohan's The Tavern. He is pompous and self important, intersperses his words with a lot of buh-buh-buh, and has a gravelly voice. The gravelly voice is the hardest for me as if I keep it up too long I get a sore throat. These three features let me improvise speech as the Governor pretty easily though.
There are a lot of actors who have very distinctive ways of speaking, Peter Lorre, Jack Nicholson, John Wayne, William Shatner, Humphrey Bogart. Listening to them can give you ideas for what make a distinctive voice for your character. Think also about words or phrases that the character might use often ornate at all, word choice can also be a good way to give your character a distinctive voice
Remember you are all playing to have fun, so if you slip and break character occasionally, or often, it does't matter. You will find yourself getting better at getting into character with practice.
Brotherbock threw this out there and I think it's a really good way to dip your toes into roleplaying. If you are nervous about trying an accent, then don't. Instead, change the way you talk. Maybe a certain NPC does not use contractions. Maybe they have a vocal tick they use or a word or phrase they keep falling back on. Maybe they speak slowly or quickly. These are some basic ways to change up your vocal delivery for an NPC that are less likely to take you out of your comfort zone.
There's a lot of good advice here, I'll toss in my bit and hopefully not echo too much of what's been said. I'm almost always the DM, it's only recently I've started to play again, so the idea of giving all those NPCs a personality and potentially a voice is overwhelming. I homebrew almost everything which also makes it a bit more complicated since I don't have any material to aid in figuring out the personality I should be going with. There are a few things that I've picked up along the way that have helped make that job easier and doesn't take a great deal of experience to pull off.
1) Pick three distinct qualities that you want to define your character. Aerik is dry, compasionate, and impatient. Gazmon is arrogant, narcissistic, and forlorn. Uriah has a scar that paralyzed the right side of his face, speaks with a lisp, and talks plainly even though he's royalty. Each of those traits help give you an idea of how this character would act, sound, and appear.
2) Use body language to help show at least one of those qualities. Aerik almost always has an emotionless face unless someone like a close friend is in danger. Gazmon would puff out his chest and try to loom over the table when he talked. I'd close my eye and pinch my lips together to show the paralyzed face of Uriah. Those little tics and movements that show your character's personality will go much further than any voice acting can do.
3) Let the voice come naturally from the first two steps and find something close to practice with. More often than not a voice/accent will just grow as you continue to play your character, it's a natural progression as you get more comfortable "being" that character. However, we all have that imaginary voice we think should fit a character. Whether you think it should resemble a tv or movie character, a singer, or someone you knew/know in real life, that voice will influence you. Play with it and let it grow as you start to find yourself taking on more of your character's personality.
Don't over think it, don't put too much effort into it, the more "work" you make it, the more you'll probably struggle. If you just have fun, forget about being embarrassed, and enjoy the experience, the easier it will be to just let the character grow.
Finding your character can take time! And even as you play you might "discover" things about them depending on the situations you encounter. So don't be afraid to change as you go.
I find it useful to really dig into the personality traits I've picked for the character, and play to those a lot when first starting out. The Ideals, Bonds and Flaws can help define how this character reacts in a bunch of situation, which can help me choose a way of expressing myself. Look them over again and think about what kind of overall personally this gives your character...are they always smiling? Dour? Cautious? Intense?
I can only echo what OboeCrazy has said, I can do one or two voices/accents and even then for short amounts of time. I could use my natural accent which is Yam-Yam (I'm from the Black Country in England look up Jonny Cole on YouTube or Lenny Henry), but that doesn't really suit my Warlock. So then you go to the personality traits, Is your character good and tries to help people all the time, if so then they are more likely to speak softer and be nicer to NPC's, "I'm so sorry about this horrible thing that has happened, I wish there was some way I could help?" Is your character a dick to people if so then sharpen the words you use in your sentences and be careful on the pronunciation as you do not want to waste any more time than neccessary repeating things for these peasants! "Why are you bothering me with your situation? I can help if you stop whining and pay me!" Are you playing a stereotypical dumb muscle wizard? Again short sentences, but with small words and a bit of grunting "cuz I aint to cleva!" You will find that by adopting your personality the voice will develop naturally.
I could use my natural accent which is Yam-Yam (I'm from the Black Country in England look up Jonny Cole on YouTube or Lenny Henry),
Don't want to hijack, but I haven't had a chance to study Black Country--just watched some vids. Would you say it's closer to a Manchester accent, or to a Liverpool accent? Sounds similar to both in some ways, of course.
I could use my natural accent which is Yam-Yam (I'm from the Black Country in England look up Jonny Cole on YouTube or Lenny Henry),
Don't want to hijack, but I haven't had a chance to study Black Country--just watched some vids. Would you say it's closer to a Manchester accent, or to a Liverpool accent? Sounds similar to both in some ways, of course.
I think you're trying to insult me lol Manchester and Liverpool are a lot further to the North, the Black Country is smack bang in the middle of the country right next to Birmingham (Brummie), the Brummie accent is probably the closest to Yam-Yam. Look up Jasper Carrot for the accent (Brummie comedian). Depending on who you ask depends on the answer you get, but Yam-Yam is very fast with Brummie being slower, but with both you will hear the word "arr" a lot. Manchester (Manc) is another fast spoken accent along with the Liverpool (Scouse) accent. Comedians to check out for accents Yam-Yam - Lenny Henry or Frank Skinner Brummie - Jasper Carrot or Joe Lycett (massive difference on these two lol) Scouse - John Bishop Manc - Jason Manford
Those are just the ones off of the top of my head and that just covers the Midlands and North West of England, if you go further South or up the North East there is even more diversity. For such a small ass country England has a hell of a lot of accents lol
I could use my natural accent which is Yam-Yam (I'm from the Black Country in England look up Jonny Cole on YouTube or Lenny Henry),
Don't want to hijack, but I haven't had a chance to study Black Country--just watched some vids. Would you say it's closer to a Manchester accent, or to a Liverpool accent? Sounds similar to both in some ways, of course.
I think you're trying to insult me lol Manchester and Liverpool are a lot further to the North, the Black Country is smack bang in the middle of the country right next to Birmingham (Brummie), the Brummie accent is probably the closest to Yam-Yam. Look up Jasper Carrot for the accent (Brummie comedian). Depending on who you ask depends on the answer you get, but Yam-Yam is very fast with Brummie being slower, but with both you will hear the word "arr" a lot. Manchester (Manc) is another fast spoken accent along with the Liverpool (Scouse) accent. Comedians to check out for accents Yam-Yam - Lenny Henry or Frank Skinner Brummie - Jasper Carrot or Joe Lycett (massive difference on these two lol) Scouse - John Bishop Manc - Jason Manford
Those are just the ones off of the top of my head and that just covers the Midlands and North West of England, if you go further South or up the North East there is even more diversity. For such a small ass country England has a hell of a lot of accents lol
I think it was maybe the speed that was making me draw the similarities with Manchester (Manc, didn't know that was the name). But it also didn't sound so far to the front of the mouth like Manc is, in terms of sound placement.
Thanks for the names, I'm gonna check some of those out to see if I can pick out the differences. :) (And I did know the risk of insult, lol. It's like asking anyone from any state in the US if they're from the wrong state. "How dare you!!!" :)
If you want more fun check out Newcastle (Geordie), and don't even get me started on the various Scottish accents lol, plus Al Murray does it better (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX98LGnvc1E) enjoy!
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Hi!
I am still relatively new to dnd I am only about 8 sessions in to my first ever campaign. I am having trouble finding a voice for my character and really staying in character through and through. I am slowly getting better at it, but I was wondering if any of you guys had any tips you could share about how you immerse yourself in your character and really be them as you role play.
thank you!
When I roleplay, whether it's my character or an NPC that I am using in the games I run, I don't always use a voice. For phrases, lines, or words I might jump into an accent or voice. But if it's long winded I'll simply say what my character is saying and allow the others to hear the voice in their head. Then I develop phrases or lines that I can do in the characters voice well, or that are iconic and I'll just say those.
As for staying in character, the best question I find is, "How does [insert character name] feel about this" or what do they think about this, and I ask myself that before I ever jump in with input. I play with a pretty laid back group, so this works fairly well, people try not to talk over one another and are respectful of others needing time to formulate a response.
So like all things my two suggestions for getting better at this would be, take your time and practice.
On the topic of voices--if it's a character you'll be playing for a while (not a brief NPC), do not go with a hard to do voice, or an 'extreme' voice (really high, really shrill, really fast, really slow, etc.). You will get tired of doing that voice, and everyone else might get tired of it too.
Accents are fun--even if you're not that good at them :) But I do a lot of larping and character voices, and my secret weapon is Accenthelp.com. Professional voice acting coaches providing nicely packaged audio files and PDFs to help with speaking English with various accents. I've done their Russian, German, Yorkshire, Ireland, Cockney--really great stuff. Had someone mistake me for actually Scottish in a game :) They're around $20-$25, but worth it IMO. (I have no financial interest in their business at all :)
The other somewhat easy way to go is think about easy verbal habits. A, ummm, character who, ahhh, speaks a bit more, hmmmm, slowly, and inserts, mmmmm, the occasional verbal tic. Or repeats key words a lot. Absolutely, absolutely, a good way to distinguish their voice.
You might also think about movie characters who's voices you liked. Again, don't go extreme or terrible (Christian Bale's Batman...yeesh). But the sort of voice work that Gary Oldman does. Often very subtle. But unlike George Clooney, you can tell which Oldman character is talking without knowing what actual words are being said.
And then...practice. Talk to yourself as your character when you're driving or walking (alone, unless you don't mind people thinking you're a crazy person :) You'll hammer out pretty quickly what's easy to maintain, what sounds cool but would be a burden to do all the time, etc. And let the voice evolve over some sessions. Don't let the other players give you crap if you make some changes. It's a game :)
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
Thank you! I will definitely use these in my upcoming sessions!
I do acting in community theatre.What I find helps is picking just a couple of standout things about my character to focus on. One of my favorite characters is the Governor in George M Cohan's The Tavern. He is pompous and self important, intersperses his words with a lot of buh-buh-buh, and has a gravelly voice. The gravelly voice is the hardest for me as if I keep it up too long I get a sore throat. These three features let me improvise speech as the Governor pretty easily though.
There are a lot of actors who have very distinctive ways of speaking, Peter Lorre, Jack Nicholson, John Wayne, William Shatner, Humphrey Bogart. Listening to them can give you ideas for what make a distinctive voice for your character. Think also about words or phrases that the character might use often ornate at all, word choice can also be a good way to give your character a distinctive voice
Remember you are all playing to have fun, so if you slip and break character occasionally, or often, it does't matter. You will find yourself getting better at getting into character with practice.
Brotherbock threw this out there and I think it's a really good way to dip your toes into roleplaying. If you are nervous about trying an accent, then don't. Instead, change the way you talk. Maybe a certain NPC does not use contractions. Maybe they have a vocal tick they use or a word or phrase they keep falling back on. Maybe they speak slowly or quickly. These are some basic ways to change up your vocal delivery for an NPC that are less likely to take you out of your comfort zone.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
There's a lot of good advice here, I'll toss in my bit and hopefully not echo too much of what's been said. I'm almost always the DM, it's only recently I've started to play again, so the idea of giving all those NPCs a personality and potentially a voice is overwhelming. I homebrew almost everything which also makes it a bit more complicated since I don't have any material to aid in figuring out the personality I should be going with. There are a few things that I've picked up along the way that have helped make that job easier and doesn't take a great deal of experience to pull off.
1) Pick three distinct qualities that you want to define your character.
Aerik is dry, compasionate, and impatient. Gazmon is arrogant, narcissistic, and forlorn. Uriah has a scar that paralyzed the right side of his face, speaks with a lisp, and talks plainly even though he's royalty. Each of those traits help give you an idea of how this character would act, sound, and appear.
2) Use body language to help show at least one of those qualities.
Aerik almost always has an emotionless face unless someone like a close friend is in danger. Gazmon would puff out his chest and try to loom over the table when he talked. I'd close my eye and pinch my lips together to show the paralyzed face of Uriah. Those little tics and movements that show your character's personality will go much further than any voice acting can do.
3) Let the voice come naturally from the first two steps and find something close to practice with.
More often than not a voice/accent will just grow as you continue to play your character, it's a natural progression as you get more comfortable "being" that character. However, we all have that imaginary voice we think should fit a character. Whether you think it should resemble a tv or movie character, a singer, or someone you knew/know in real life, that voice will influence you. Play with it and let it grow as you start to find yourself taking on more of your character's personality.
Don't over think it, don't put too much effort into it, the more "work" you make it, the more you'll probably struggle. If you just have fun, forget about being embarrassed, and enjoy the experience, the easier it will be to just let the character grow.
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InsiderFinding your character can take time! And even as you play you might "discover" things about them depending on the situations you encounter. So don't be afraid to change as you go.
I find it useful to really dig into the personality traits I've picked for the character, and play to those a lot when first starting out. The Ideals, Bonds and Flaws can help define how this character reacts in a bunch of situation, which can help me choose a way of expressing myself. Look them over again and think about what kind of overall personally this gives your character...are they always smiling? Dour? Cautious? Intense?
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
I can only echo what OboeCrazy has said, I can do one or two voices/accents and even then for short amounts of time. I could use my natural accent which is Yam-Yam (I'm from the Black Country in England look up Jonny Cole on YouTube or Lenny Henry), but that doesn't really suit my Warlock. So then you go to the personality traits,
Is your character good and tries to help people all the time, if so then they are more likely to speak softer and be nicer to NPC's, "I'm so sorry about this horrible thing that has happened, I wish there was some way I could help?"
Is your character a dick to people if so then sharpen the words you use in your sentences and be careful on the pronunciation as you do not want to waste any more time than neccessary repeating things for these peasants! "Why are you bothering me with your situation? I can help if you stop whining and pay me!"
Are you playing a stereotypical dumb muscle wizard? Again short sentences, but with small words and a bit of grunting "cuz I aint to cleva!"
You will find that by adopting your personality the voice will develop naturally.
From Within Chaos Comes Order!
Don't want to hijack, but I haven't had a chance to study Black Country--just watched some vids. Would you say it's closer to a Manchester accent, or to a Liverpool accent? Sounds similar to both in some ways, of course.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I think you're trying to insult me lol
Manchester and Liverpool are a lot further to the North, the Black Country is smack bang in the middle of the country right next to Birmingham (Brummie), the Brummie accent is probably the closest to Yam-Yam. Look up Jasper Carrot for the accent (Brummie comedian). Depending on who you ask depends on the answer you get, but Yam-Yam is very fast with Brummie being slower, but with both you will hear the word "arr" a lot. Manchester (Manc) is another fast spoken accent along with the Liverpool (Scouse) accent.
Comedians to check out for accents
Yam-Yam - Lenny Henry or Frank Skinner
Brummie - Jasper Carrot or Joe Lycett (massive difference on these two lol)
Scouse - John Bishop
Manc - Jason Manford
Those are just the ones off of the top of my head and that just covers the Midlands and North West of England, if you go further South or up the North East there is even more diversity. For such a small ass country England has a hell of a lot of accents lol
From Within Chaos Comes Order!
I think it was maybe the speed that was making me draw the similarities with Manchester (Manc, didn't know that was the name). But it also didn't sound so far to the front of the mouth like Manc is, in terms of sound placement.
Thanks for the names, I'm gonna check some of those out to see if I can pick out the differences. :) (And I did know the risk of insult, lol. It's like asking anyone from any state in the US if they're from the wrong state. "How dare you!!!" :)
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
If you want more fun check out Newcastle (Geordie), and don't even get me started on the various Scottish accents lol, plus Al Murray does it better (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX98LGnvc1E) enjoy!
From Within Chaos Comes Order!