[TTRPG] How important are NPC voices to you? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by The_Hunted_One@beehaw.org to c/tabletop@beehaw.org

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I've been primarily a player in my TTRPG games, and roleplay hasn't ever really been my strong suit. I've typically been more of a person to describe what my character is doing and saying, rather than acting "in-character", and this has been sufficient for the games I've played, but I've always felt I should be doing more to get better immersed into my character and worlds.

Now that I've finished my campaigns as a player, I'm looking to expand into DM'ing for a local group of friends, where I would be the most experienced player by far. (Planning to run Abomination Vaults for Pathfinder 2e)

My current worry is, because of my lack of experience establishing a "voice" for my PCs, if that will hinder the experience for my players by not having a range of easily identifiable voices for separate NPCs that the party will be interacting with.

Abomination Vaults is primarily a mega-dungeon, so I'm at least not diving into a campaign with dozens of unique NPCs required for social encounters, but there are still a number of frequent NPCs that will show up, and they will mostly be the same throughout the campaign (people like the primary quest-giver, the town guard captain, innkeeper, etc.)

And so, my question: How important is it to you, as a player or GM, that the GM has a voice for each NPC, even if they sometimes sound similar to other NPCs? Should I be practising voices in my spare time? Do you care if a voice for an NPC is consistent, or can it change as I get more familiar both with the character, and finding my style for voicing them?

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[-] Kajo@beehaw.org 6 points 1 year ago

It can be fun if done sparingly, for a few colorful recurring characters. But I've seen GMs do it systematically at RPG conventions, and I find it awkward.

What I find important is not making voices, it's interpreting the NPCs to give clues about their personality, their education, their state of mind and so forth.

As a player, I don't need every dwarf I meet to talk like in Lord of the Rings. But I do need to know if he's a friendly tavern-keeper, or a clan leader who commands respect.

[-] xuxxun@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

Absolutely not important. What is important is the npcs role in the story and their motivation for interacting with the PCs. If you want a character to stand out you can achieve that with describing their mannerisms, their appearence etc. Hell, you can even describe their voice if you want. No need for actually "doing" the voice.

[-] theangriestbird@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

If you've never GM'd before, don't worry about voices for individual NPCs. You have enough to worry about learning in the beginning, and unique NPC voices is more of an "icing" on your GM cake. Not doing voices will not break character immersion, and you can always throw it in later once you have the experience.

This video from Matthew Colville talks a lot about NPCs and roleplaying them, including the topic of doing "accents" for characters. Probably a great watch for this exact question you're tossing around in your head.

[-] storksforlegs@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

I feel like you dont have to be an actor, but as long as you point out how npcs are acting and how they sound when they speak etc, that works well too.

[-] tissek@ttrpg.network 3 points 1 year ago

Not that much. Manners, how they speak and what they are saying are for me much more important than good acting. I'm mostly acting (hehe) as a narrator until something sticks and it becomes easier to do it in first person. But even then the narrator comes in to clarify and emphasize things. Like if there is anger in the voice. If they avoid a topic.

Also narrating things goes so much faster.