So, I'm playing a character that has forgotten how to speak, she can still read and write. I've been trying to rack my brain on how to slowly get her speaking again throughout the campaign. Would anyone have any suggestions on how to re-teach someone to speak?
How did she lose her ability to speak? Was it due to magical tampering or through lack of use? A lot of how we speak is tied to muscle memory, so if that is how she lost it, it would just be a matter of relearning the movements and breathing techniques requires to produce language.
I'd probably have her learn how to control the sounds she can already make, slowly build it into a sort of controlled hum or vocalization of vowel sounds and grunts, and then slowly build back up to fine motor control required to articulate clearly. Definitely will need to have her study with one of her party members or someone else during downtime so that they can demonstrate the correct ways of vocalizing the words she can read.
She's a custom race that is created by reincarnating a demon and one of the many side-effects of this type of reincarnation is forgetting how to speak. So, magical tampering I suppose.
Solid advice. Will keep that in my notes and try to build off of that.
Interesting. Not sure how that would work given standard cosmology but if we assume Wish level magic, I've got no problems with suspending disbelief.
Something else you might like to know: People that have issues with stuttering or other speech impediments find that activating a different portion of the brain in an effort to communicate helps bypass those limitations. Singing, for instance, can help alleviate stuttering for some people. Perhaps you can have her learn to vocalize through singing and then it would translate into a more sing-song type of speech?
In-game mechanics to show her progress would be her putting ranks in Bluff, Diplomacy, or Perform:Oratory.
Roleplaying, I would have her speak super slow/deliberate. I know people that used have lisps, but have "corrected" it by controlling the tempo at which they speak.
I like the singing idea as she enjoys the concept of singing. Tracking her progress through Perform:Oratory seems befitting in a way. I will discuss that with my DM. I thought about starting her off with "oohs" and "aahs slowly making her way up to a somewhat childish speaking level.