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?

  • Kajo [he/him] 🌈@beehaw.org
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    11 months 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.