Anyone discovery their accent / colloquialisms ruins certain characters

[Dox of the ParaDox twins]

let me explain since my title sucks. i'm from the southern US and as such use terms like y'all. i've found it hard to not say y'all even when voicing characters that wouldn't use such terminology. anyone else have the same problem? fixes or advice maybe?

[yukongil]

I wouldn't sweat it, unless you're roleplaying under contract and drawing a salary from it.

otherwise, if you concentrate on your accent, you should also pay attention to the words and phrases you use and that might help you if you find you're about to let lose with a sonofagun, y'all, aintya, fixin' or the like.

[avr]

Depends on your audience. If your friends are from the southern US too I expect they're not bothered. Or if you're talking to a bunch of Kiwis I promise it's not the 'southern' part of the US accent which is sticking in their heads.

In any case trying to do Ye Olde English is probably more distracting than it's worth, both to you and your group. Trying to stay in character may be easier if you're doing mostly a copy of some actor or character in a book, which might come with a particular mode of speaking in your head.

[TxSam88]

I've discovered that it's best not to have line to line conversations between Pc's and NPC's, that paraphrasing things works best and keeps the game moving.

[Sysryke]

This is one of those things that falls under player motivations. Not everyone is an actor archetype. Clearly you like to attempt to speak in your characters voice from time to time, but it's not necessary. I'm also hit and miss on this play style. When I do try, I go for an intentionally exaggerated foreign accent. Another thing my group does is to make some kind of gesture or code word that indicates a transition from in character to out of character speech. That brief interjection or delay can help you focus your word choices. When all else fails, fall back on the dichotomy of character vs. player. Say what you want or mean to say, and let your fellow players imagine how your character might have reworded or delivered the message.

[Dox of the ParaDox twins]

all very helpful, thanks, this has just been something i've thought about for a while and wanted a fresh set of opinions on it. thanks y'all

[Oli Ironbar]

Go with it!

Funny voices are the reason for and purpose of role playing.

[Insapateh]

I go with the approach that I'm not doing a bad Scottish accent, or a bad American accent, or a bad English accent (I'm Irish).

Instead I'm doing a *good* accent for that part of my homebrew world.

'S not my fault it happens to sound like a bad version of an accent for the real world (it totally is my fault).

[VoodistMonk]

I tend to paraphrase more than try to in-character voice act... mainly because my Bard has an 18 Charisma, and I do not.

[SunKing]

I go with the paraphrasing / explaining things in the third person. If people like role play, then I’m happy for them to fill their boots. But I don’t act out attacking the dragon, so for me, there is no requirement to ‘act out’ any other interaction...

[Mark Hoover 330]

I was raised, at least in part, on the south side of Chicago. There's a distinct, regional dialect that imparts - a certain way some vowels come across, phrases like "Over by 'dem/over by 'dere," "get me a couple two tree of (insert type of street food here)," "You'se two guys" and so on.

Most of the time I speak pretty regionally neutral. When I get worked up, excited, angry and such, the accent comes out. Most of my players have heard this way of talking come out of my mouth at some point or another.

It really hasn't gotten in the way. In fact, I've weaponized it. See, as I said, my players know I'm getting hyped if the accent comes out. When I want to convey a real sense of drama in a fight scene (and this accent really only works in action scenes I've found) I start grinding on a soft "a" or throw in an "over by 'dere" to let them know the pain is coming.

I have however worked on several other "funny voices" to load into NPCs over the years. I've given them pronounced lisps, face or hand tics, really badly done accents from several European countries and more. I also strongly prefer imitating Lenny and Squiggy from the old Laverne and Shirley show for minions, several characters from the movie Labyrinth for kind or sensitive NPCs, or 80's action stars for one liners and more brutish foes.

Honestly, I can't imagine playing TTRPGs without my accent or other voice acting. Its not like I'm all that good at most of it, but even a silly voice is like a PC handout; it takes the players out of the norm and delivers one extra layer of the fantasy that they can interact with.

The only reason to hide or cloak your naturally wonderful way of speaking Doxikins, would be if your players say they don't like it, and even then I'd say they better get used to it. That's your baseline, your normal - the more relaxed and comfortable YOU are, the better your narration and storytelling gets.

If YOU don't like it, that's another matter, but it sounds like you do. Your game is an extension of who you are. Deliver yourself unabashedly to your players.

[Oli Ironbar]

So Mark... if I were da tell ya da story ofta tree bears, da papa bear, da mama bear, and da little bebe bear you’a no wat I’s talkin about den?

[Sysryke]

Sorry Chicago folk. You all are recognizable for sure, but you're not that hard to decipher. If we really want to play the "get the translator" card, you've got to look to the far North, East, and South. Love and respect to all; but we're looking for those places where geographic extremes meet the back woods. I'm looking at you Louisiana. And you North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maryland :p (plenty of other examples if you know where you should/shouldn't go looking)

[Quixote]

Sysryke wrote:

And you North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maryland...

It's funny. I moved from Wisconsin to Utah, and there are almost no dialect differences.

At any rate, I'll second a lot of the opinions already voiced here: immersion cares more about ease of understanding than historical authenticity. It doesn't matter if you rehearse an elaborate Shakespearean speech if your audience has to work super hard to understand it. Better to speak plainly and require minimal effort on your player's end.

As far as character voices and third-person summaries go, I think it's important to use both as a GM so your players can participate at any level they feel comfortable.

[Neriathale]

I played PFS for a few years, and for the grand end of campaign special adventure there were pre-recorded speeches by the various NPCs that had to be played at certain points in the event.

Of course, being the official Paizo versions they all spoke with American accents, which sounded horribly wrong when I’d got used to all the NPCs sounding English/Scottish/Danish/French/Norwegian (delete according to referee).

[Lucy_Valentine]

Dox of the ParaDox twins wrote:

i'm from the southern US and as such use terms like y'all. i've found it hard to not say y'all even when voicing characters that wouldn't use such terminology. anyone else have the same problem?

Yes. Some character concepts just don't fit with voices I can manage. Practicing accents helps me.

[Mark Hoover 330]

My best friend/surrogate brother is from Kentucky. He moved to the west suburbs of Chicago when he was in 8th grade. That is a weird mix of accents/colloquialisms.

So maybe the Midwest doesn't really count but my point is - work with the voice/speaking method you have first, don't run from it. Adding other methods after your own is a way to differentiate the "others" outside the normal party in the game.

And yah, I'd get what Da Tree Bears is all about, especially Papa Bear. His name is eider Halas or Di'ka, dependen' on how old yah are! DA.... BEARS!