Need inspiration for fun character voices & accents for a RPG
July 18, 2017 4:52 AM Subscribe
I am running my first RPG, the Dungeons and Dragons starter set, and am doing my best to give my NPCs unique voices. I stink at it, and am already mixing up who had which voice. I decided to try to associate a pop culture voice with each character. I chose Sean Connery for an old, honorable knight. Can you help me find more inspiration?
I'm looking for a variety of interesting voices in a fantasy setting, such as a guard, merchant, king,
wizard, fighter, holy man, village folk, etc.
I'm not very good at impressions, so very distinct ones would probably be easiest for me.
Can you point me to some really interesting voices/actors from specific movies, cartoons, or youtube videos? (preferably those that can be found on Netflix streaming, Amazon, Hulu, or youtube.)
I'm looking for a variety of interesting voices in a fantasy setting, such as a guard, merchant, king,
wizard, fighter, holy man, village folk, etc.
I'm not very good at impressions, so very distinct ones would probably be easiest for me.
Can you point me to some really interesting voices/actors from specific movies, cartoons, or youtube videos? (preferably those that can be found on Netflix streaming, Amazon, Hulu, or youtube.)
You might find the Critical Role series on Youtube/twitch inspirrational. There are 100 episodes episodes at this point and they are a group of professional voice exports and actors that play d and d. Side note I DM weekly for the past three years, voices aren't compulsory, if yippy have trouble with them start with mannerisms and how they speak. Do they use lots of big words, do they speak quickly the voice tends to cone naturally after that.
posted by wwax at 6:04 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by wwax at 6:04 AM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Goblins sound like this. Kind of a gravelly, high-pitch East End accent.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:07 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:07 AM on July 18, 2017
Came to recommend Critical Hit - still full of voices but perhaps less daunting than Critical Role.
The best DM I ever had didn't so much change his voice as change his body language with each NPC. One memorable NPC just keep wringing hands. Another one hunched. It was really effective.
posted by kariebookish at 6:29 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
The best DM I ever had didn't so much change his voice as change his body language with each NPC. One memorable NPC just keep wringing hands. Another one hunched. It was really effective.
posted by kariebookish at 6:29 AM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]
Stop. Go no further before you watch the movie Legend. Inspiration for goblins, demons, and other assorted baddies abounds.
posted by lieber hair at 6:32 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by lieber hair at 6:32 AM on July 18, 2017
If you are bad at voices, consider musical cues for characters' longer speeches. JukeDeck can algorithmicly produce 3 minute or so clips you could download and cue up when a certain NPC has a longer scene.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:59 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:59 AM on July 18, 2017
Someone has to be Michael Caine obviously. Ideally, you'd have two characters who sound like Michael Caine who are constantly arguing with one another. Like twin brothers running a shop, who spend their whole day bickering with one another about everything.
posted by Naberius at 10:28 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by Naberius at 10:28 AM on July 18, 2017
I assume you're running the Lost Mines of Phandelver? It is EXCELLENT and a great adventure - I started DMing with it and we have since moved into Storm King's Thunder.
It helped me to think of different pop culture characters. Some that I have used are:
- Mike Ehrmantraut (Breaking Bad) - could be Sildar Hallwinter
- Lucille Bluth (actually, any of the Bluths) from Arrested Development
- Morty from Rick & Morty
- Scruffy the Janitor from Futurama
- Leela from Futurama
Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. Also, there is a great Lost Mines of Phandelver DMs Facebook group that has tons of great ideas!
posted by rossination at 12:07 PM on July 18, 2017
It helped me to think of different pop culture characters. Some that I have used are:
- Mike Ehrmantraut (Breaking Bad) - could be Sildar Hallwinter
- Lucille Bluth (actually, any of the Bluths) from Arrested Development
- Morty from Rick & Morty
- Scruffy the Janitor from Futurama
- Leela from Futurama
Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. Also, there is a great Lost Mines of Phandelver DMs Facebook group that has tons of great ideas!
posted by rossination at 12:07 PM on July 18, 2017
Since you already have Sean Connery, just add everyone else from The Hunt for Red October. Lots of good voices in there.
posted by BeeDo at 1:22 PM on July 18, 2017
posted by BeeDo at 1:22 PM on July 18, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Brock Samson (played by the incomparable Patrick Warburton) from The Venture Brothers (also on Hulu) might be a good one to pull from for like a bored captain of the guard or something like that. Honestly, that show has a lot of great voices to pull from.
Hank Azaria from The Simpsons has flat out admitted that he has made his voice acting career out of doing bad impressions and turning them into character voices, so that might also be a great source to check out. I think the newer eps are on Hulu, but not sure about the older ones.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:01 AM on July 18, 2017