Character Voices

For those of us who are not natural with accents or coming up with voices on the spot, refer to these tables to characterize voices, affectations, and methods of speaking for your characters.

For major characters, it helps if you prepare these characteristics in advance and practice a few sentences. For minor characters, it is often enough to roll on a single table; just enough to give them flavor.

Affect

Affect describes the vocal characteristics. These should be recognizable even if nobody can see the character.

D20 Affect D20 Affect 1 Nasal 11 Creaky 2 Mumbles 12 Stuffy nose 3 Brassy 13 Falsetto 4 Trails off sentences ... 14 Lilting 5 Stutters 15 Growling 6 Lisps 16 Everything comes out as a question? 7 Inappropriately loud 17 Puts emphasis on wrong words 8 Holds consonnnents 18 Appends "yes" to every sentence, yes 9 Holds vooowels 19 Appends "no" to every sentences, no 10 Breathy 20 Whispers everything

Behavior

Behavior describes how the person acts when they talk to you. These are common habits, tics, or interaction styles.

D20 Behavior D20 Behavior 1 Fast talker 11 Barely listens 2 Slow talker, drawl 12 Stares into the distance 3 Leans on hand 13 Always stares right at you 4 Touches face 14 Stares at the ceiling 5 Giggly, laughs at everything 15 Stares at the floor 6 Excitable 16 Thinks for 3 seconds before speaking 7 Melancholy 17 Umms and Ahhs a lot 8 Naive enthusiasm 18 Sick, sniffling and coughing 9 Wistful sighing 19 Obviously distracted or hurried 10 Obviously bored 20 Only uses grunts,noises, and single word answers

Attitude

If not part of character backstory, attitude describes their conversational expressions and reactions. It determines how much they'll say, and how they respond to your statements and questions.

Note: attitude does not implicitly mean they'll withhold or give away more information, but it can help determine how they cooperate. When answering truthfully they may blurt answers, tease you with hints, or explain it like you're a child. When deceiving, they might outright deny, carefully omit or flamboyantly mislead you.

Particularly clever characters may appear to have one attitude, but act differently with different crowds or parties. Appearing humble or naive may just be a ruse to gain your trust.