DM's not Speaking in Different NPC Voices is Lazy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ย. 2019
- This video discusses why dungeon master's not speaking in different non-player character voices is lazy for dungeons and dragons adventures. Dungeon master guide for beginner, intermediate and experienced d&d adventure story tellers. Chris Perkins, Matt Colville and Matt Mercer have not made a secret of how they run their npc's, but you don't have to copy what they do and be a good or great dungeon master. Voice acting, npc accents are not the most important aspects of role-playing. I tend to refer most of my comments back to dungeons and dragons 5e.
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It's all personal preference and depends on how you wanna convey things. It depends on your level of showmanship and how you practice your craft. I never really use voices and that's how I prefer it even as a player. It can be difficult to understand and even jarring to have that different accent jumping in and out of conversations, but that's just how I function. It is 100% okay to not use the voices.
Thanks for sharing your personal experience.
Lazy
@@instabad83 Laziness would be not preparing or understanding the campaign or characters your portraying for your players. It's preference if you dont wanna do voices. Theres a difference.
@@philcutchins5624 sorry mate. I was being facetious. I don't mind either way.
@@philcutchins5624 there are ways for those who want not to do the voices, but i figured that gesticulating and acting th epart is much more valuable then the voices. i have merely 3 voices, and yet my players are fine with it. i got my monster voice... not even accent or things like that. just talking in lower tones. and then my pitch "kids" voice. for goblins and the likes... just higher pitched. everyone can do that much without effort. he's riht, it is lazy from you not to do it. and as matt mercer did, start by understanding "YOUR" voice before trying to understand others. look at ashley johnson, not a voice actress, she has only one voice. yet she try to do kids voice, easy she try to do monster voice, easy. don't ask her to do any of the advance stuff, she can't. but the three basic voices i'm speaking about, everyone can do them with ease. so you'd have to be lazy not to do them.
now, i understand some people are all about the painting of the image with words, and if you are good with your words and vocabulary. then go for it. but that requires that you always use writters wording, meaning that you always start with, the woman with golden hair and a tiara says "bla bla bla" say your words. otherwise your players will always confuse your DMing with your characters and they will be lost. any other cases is you being lazy and just confusing your players. so either you take on the writters ways and just describe everything and do not miss a beat by always saying whos talking at which time. or you actually role play the shit out of it by gesticulating and using voices, even the three basic voices.
as a DM who did all of this from a young age... i can tell that my games were upped very much by mixing both the writters method and the actors method. if you don't do both... you are missing out a lot.
@3:45
I immediately thought, "The Mercer Effect" when you asked the question. Lol
More the audience effect, lol.
Second thought, a slight pet peeve of mine is when a DM gives every NPC a completely different accent, especially if the NPCs are in the same area and from the same region. Accents are regional.
Seems to me that sort of DM is trying very hard. Your point makes sense, but maybe giving them some slack would mean they can relax a bit more with the voices.
Maybe the NPCs were born elsewhere and live there now, or maybe they're from a different family and that family has a different accent than the regional one, or maybe the NPC is just a pompous voice-actor who always usually a silly voice.
There is always class and antecedents.
You sly fox :D I clicked on this because I thought this was Colvilles video judging from the thumbnail :D .
Make sure to checkout Matt Colville's Roleplay video, it's very good.
Solid advice, my friend. Ya know, there was a time that I would have never dreamed of doing voices in my game. Third person only... But now I use them more than more (whether they are good or not). Not because my players want me to use voices/accents, but because I enjoy practicing them.
Thanks. Fair enough. Thanks for sharing Wally.
Totally agree, Fred! I’ve always had fun doing impressions and different voices, long before playing D&D, so being DM was an outlet for that fun for me. But I’ve played in numerous games where the DM did no “acting” or voice changing, and those were awesome games! Everyone has to make their own style, and don’t feel like they are pressured to do it a specific way just because others have. Great video!
Thanks. My hope is that the people who need this video will make the step to DM.
I got bronchitis before, and now my vocal cords never recovered ;;; I really enjoy writing DND stories, and am working on one, but I'm really scared of my players not liking my lack of voices. I can do like, exaggerated ones and I also can show emotion very well, but I just can't nail decent normal voices and different accents. my voice just goes out while trying ;;;
I have this problem to a lesser extent.
I've always been more of a 3rd person and indirect dialog. Too many times, I've heard players or DMs attempting to speak as a character and it comes off pretentious, awkward, or just plain silly, thus breaking the mood. For that reason, I appreciate players/DMs who, knowing their limitations and also realizing that accents and voices are not required for good TTRPG sessions, refrain from doing so. It is concerning to me, however, that most sessions you see on youtube make it seem like 1st person, direct dialog and improvised voices/accents are what is expected in TTRPGs. Some of these look more like LARPing than playing D&D.
That's part of the reason I made the video.
The quickest way to scare people off and frighten them away...
>Proceeds to show picture of Matt Colville.
Savage AF
Agreed sir! I truly wish I could do more voices but I am limited to the half dozen or so that you mentioned are common. My players enjoy them and I bring them out as often as I can but you just don't need to put a different accent on every NPC. Thanks for the video!
Thanks. It's really helpful for people to confirm what I say. Your experience is very common. Thank you for your feedback.
I’ve been following your channel for the past few months and appreciate your broader message. Don’t compare yourself to others, be the best your personal talent allows, and above all else, just have fun.
I agree that the world needs more DM’s. This means that full time Dungeon Masters might actually have a chance to play. 🤓
Wouldn't that be wonderful :)
I've been DMing for almost 40 years and have always done accents and different voices for my NPC's. I don't always do them, sometimes I just talk like myself, especially if it's just normal conversation.
Thanks for sharing for experience :)
I always thought it was stupid when people would play In different voices that's why I never watch the videos of people playing it's so unlike how me and my friends use to play
Everyone has their play style preference. I just don't want people not Dungeon Mastering, because they think they have to change their voice. Thanks for sharing.
@@HowtoRPG I feel ya didnt mean to say stupid just how I feel if people wanna talk in voices and act out their plays that's their decision and I'm happy they have fun doing it.
It's cool :)
I do voices easily but I only role play when I feel it. I do not stress myself about it. I also fall silent for minutes at a time as my players confer. Near as I can tell my players hide and whisper a good third of their lives. I only use a voice in a short part, an important character or a monster. Otherwise, I just handle the part by the manner of speech and behavior.
Thanks for sharing :)
Even though a DM may not be good at voices, when he/she attempts it, it can be seen as taking a risk and make others join in like an ice breaker.
It need not be maintained, just initiated to cue the players its time for a role playing.
I agree with you though Fred, some people just dont have the voice box for it or it may not fit their personality.
As I get older my voice has changed and my range becomes smaller. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
My brother-in-law likes to act everything out with accents and voices, I like to describe what happens to let the player get their own image of what's happening
My brother-in-law's a confident actor. I'm a writer.
My best mate who's been with us since we were in secondary school wants to try, but isn't confident with description or acting and hasn't seen anyone else do it so keeps shying away from trying. Which you're right is a shame, he needs to find his own style and adjust when finds out what everyone wants, lots of give and take
The problem I see is that most people don't know much about modulating the voice. What you end up with instead is either silly voices or parodies of actual accents.
The latter can even be pretty offensive, when using accents in a way that feels stereotype, like using AAE to represent orcs and so on.
Yep.
I think that voices and accents are a key part of being an excellent dm. But it is very difficult, and sometimes frustrating. For example my players always tell me that my Dwarven accent is very good. But I can’t find a way to talk with an elvish accent
I think with elves its more about the words you use. In my games an elf might use words like exquisite instead of good, like how a thug would say 'decent' instead. Its all down to how elves are portrayed and where they're found in your games though, for mine they're typically quite sophisticated, but they could be rebels living rough in the woods, or could have a globalised accent due to teleportation magic in their culture, or even be normal everyday people who've integrated into other societies (an elf with a dwarven accent could be funny). Anyway just a few ideas, sorry for the text wall.
Squidge don’t worry about the text wall! It’s really nice to exchange some feedback. Yes I agree with you, the vocabulary is the key part to play a good elf. An elf raised by dwarves would be something hilarious 😂
By the way, where are you from? My guess is Scotland, but forgive me if I am wrong!
@@joaquinllamazares I'm from England :)
There is a limit to everyone's voice range, even with training.
I dont think you have to do a different voice, but every NPC better feel like a different character when you speak for them. As a player, I have had DMs that just kinda narrate what is going on in their every day voice or dialogue, and after an hour of play I want to get up from the table and go do something fun. As a DM, you need to think like a bard with high Charisma and draw your players into the world's and characters that you have created. The players, NPCs, and Monsters should all feel like characters of substance living and moving inside the world the DM is creating. It should not feel like a bunch of people sitting around a table playing a board game. We need DMs, but we also need players, which means we need good DMs.
All the good DM's, started out as not so good at the position. Chris Perkins, Matt Mercer and Matt Colville have confirmed they weren't very good when they started DMing in interviews.
If you’re not going to change voice, don’t DM
For more than 8 years I have encouraged anyone and everyone playing roleplaying games to be a game master or Dungeon Master. It's attitudes and comments like yours that poison the community. Stay away from my channel, please.
It has become an opinion of the community? Where are these scientific statistics? The vocal minority who are akin to your neighbor-s being nosy and commenting with a critical eye on your flower bed. In other words, its bullshit and they should mind their fucking business. I try and use accents and body language to differentiate npc's, but a good 20 years from 1e on I hadn't seen much of anything akin to the attempts I and others I see DMing try. Doing it or not, either is fine. To call out a DM as lazy or a bad DM is more elitist nonsense that hurts the community more than helps. Shaming isn't constructive and at the end of the day if you don't like it, go DM yourself if you are gifted in the use of your voice. Anyone who is critical of this can take the walk away from the table and keep on walking, period. Bye Felicia!
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