How to do crazy NPC voices in Dungeons & Dragons/Tabletop RPGs! 

"They're nerds too, and they won't judge you for it." So true...

Every female voice I try to do ends up being the classic female Monty Python voice

7:27 - The Tough 13:30 - The Wise 17:38 - The Innocent 19:38 - The Crazy 22:32 - The Pathetic

I ran a DnD game last night and was told my voices made the session. Thanks Mark, for your insane tips that somehow work

I think that confidence is so important for things like this - I often feel pretty jealous of Mark on High Rollers since I'd love to be that confident.

Mark, I would have literally just watched an entire video of you pulling voices out of your arse. xD

I now have a mental image of Korak with a stone caught in his throat and that's how he has his really deep voice.

Only one can do a granny Trell voice, it cannot be copied XD

The main reason I prefer to speak English when I dm and play dnd is because there are so many accents you can use that we can associate with fantasy instead of Swedish. But one does what one can. Voices and accents give so much flavor to the game. Great vid, Mark! Very inspiring.

We need Matt to explain Granny Trell perfectly for us

The most important part, at leasr for me, is having fun doing your voice. When you have fun doing a voice, it's infectious, and it adds so much more to your campaign.

I would watch this on silent if I were you. Then imagine it is a man being stung by bees from the waist down.

*reaching very high pitched voices* me: huh that kinda sounds like me. oh no

I dm for the first time in 3 minutes xD

For me, I do these voices when I am driving by myself. I play out entire conversations between NPCs I have in my campaign on my drive to work, or doing groceries etc. It feels amazing to have the privacy and no limit on "how loud you can be"... looking at my wife >_>

i love doing silly voices with my friends, can't wait to (hopefully) do it in d&d. just caught up with high rollers, sadly couldn't catch the stream sunday, but the VOD is up and i really loved your frost giant's "scandinavian" voice. keep up the good stuff!

Love this video! The voices are definately one of the awesome things about D&D (And High rollers) Can't wait for the next Weekly video. Keep it up Mark! :D

Be careful when you say “go in the bath and just mess around”

Great video Mark, I'm going to use this for the voices of my NPCs in my edge of the empire campaign I'm running

This is a great video for voice over actors in general. There aren’t a ton of detailed videos for creating character voices for voice over on RU-vid, surprisingly. I recently started D&D a few weeks ago to work on my character improv and came across voicing D&D characters videos, like this one, as I was researching gameplay in general, and they are so much better than the videos focused on voice over. Very well done bud!

These are fantastic tips! Especially the physicality and points of voice projection! Thank you ser

Thank you for this Mark, I listened to your advice and started practicing weird/silly/funny voices when I am alone, found it really fun and can't wait to use it in sessions

@Sherlock Hulmes Thank you for the video! This will be a huge help for my games! This is truly wonderful content.

Perfect voices and very valuable explanations. You feel so comfortable acting out different characters.

I just had my first session as DM for our group and I love doing the voices! You and Mercer are such a joy to watch and, quite frankly, steal ideas for voices from :) Just subbed. Great idea, this channel. Cheers, Mark!

great video man. i took a ton of notes and found myself constantly rewinding. this will help me greatly as a dm

This was brilliant, thanks Mark. Found this really useful and hopefully it will help me in the future with characters. :)

Fantastic video, your tips are practical and easy to understand!

Great video Mark, I like to do voices as well and will definitely do them whenever I DM. I think the physicality aspect is pretty important like you said, I always try have my body portray the character as well. I have some funny voiced characters that I'm just waiting for my players to come across in my WoW RPG game, including a Gnome couple who are like 190 years old.

Vicktor, the black powder merchant! Ha-ha!

I love this video, it's helped me with the voices of the NPCs i'm doing. One being a D&D creation of my Larp Character Northorn (he's got a gruff, slightly Northorn accent) and the other being a Dijjin(inspired by Robin Williams). It also helped with my Snow Elven Princess, Helayna Frostwalker, Evocation Wizard

thanks for the coaching ;) I will have these tips in my mind when I DM for the first time :)

I actually really enjoyed this video. It actually reminded me of some of the things I learned in choir a long time ago. How to make certain sounds and pitches, ya know? Thanks so much for making this video.

Hey Mark, thanks a lot for these tips and tricks. I've watched High Rollers since it started and love it to bits! As some who loves D&D but can't play it due to lack of friends who dare to jump into the world of D&D I really appreciate that you share these things, because it makes me more confidant in trying to get people to play it and someday become a awesome DM like you.

This is insanely helpful to me as an aspiring DM. Thanks Mark!

Oh man, mark and his cocacola addiction visible in the background

Nice video, Mark! It's actually a little easier for me to understand what you're talking about because I'm in choir. Will definitely remember this when I start DMing again :3

Lovely video! I shall try to remember these tips for my next session :D

only thing this video is missing is reference to tharisdon (the insane beholder)

The talking to yourself is the best advice, I do it while I'm doing chores, cleaning, sat alone etc, and just voice scenes from movies, books, scenes in my head, songs in an accent etc etc, it's something that the more you do it, the more comfortable you will get.

absolutely amazing Mark! really helpful. hoping to get my mates into a game of DND soon all because of high rollers and the hatfilms Christmas stream last year!

This is super helpful and well done! Thanks so much!

This was a great episode and it helped a lot. Thanks

Great video. Using physicality to inform voices is a great tip!

Hey Mark, loving the content you are creating and high rollers. just watched 30+ hours of high roller streams and still have more to watch as I have had no time to watch them due to studies. A video I would love to see is how you create and setup character sheets and spells, mainly the entire process of character creation. Keep up the great work. Congrats on hitting 1 million dollars on the jingle jam :)

Thanks Mark, very helpful. I've been watching High Rollers lately and caught up from the beginning in a week, I've managed to watch the last 7 episodes live now and it's really got me into D&D. Me and my friends hav now got two sessions running and last week I DM'd TLMOP but I just thaught that it was a bit bland without the crazy voices so this is very helpful for me. Thanks again

I love doing stupid voices. This is awesome. My favourites are a Smeagol-like one and a demon one because I can get it super deep and growly. Love the video, Mark!

I love this video! Ive always enjoyed doing weird and wonderful voices and accents, good to see im not crazy xD Thanks for the tips!

Absolutely brilliant video! I think just about anyone can learn at least one new thing from this right here. Thank you for all the tips!

*tiny clapping* Honestly I love seeing the thought process behind the magic (especially as it's a wee bit insane! haha) This was actually super helpful to me and you're an amazing voice actor! (almost as talented as Granny Trell!) Thank you for doing what you do!

This video was super helpful not just for DND but also since i like doing wierd funny voices for drama so thanks Mark. p.s I like how there's just a coke can lying on your desk.

So helpful! Nicely done. Thanks! I'll try some of these out on my esl students when I read dialogue, lol.

I am looking forward to the silly voices - I honed my skills on bedtime stories voicing animals and silly people, a great way to really get the voices fixed as you have to quickly switch from one to the other and make them distinctive. Young kids soon tell you if you've slipped up, DMing should be a breeze after that tough audience.

I'm glad you advertised your channel on the office cam, now I know you have a channel

Thanks, this helped me put a lot. Cant really do great voices, but the personalities of the characters are shining through a bit more. X)

That visualization method really helps! Thanks!

This video made me laugh so much. Subscribed!

You know you're watching a geeky video when there is a health and safety notice about making voices XD. Love this vid.

Loving all these new videos Mark :) Could you perhaps do a supplementary video on this topic regarding performing a more regal sounding voice? Or maybe just how to nail Turps's voice so accurately? :P

I see the focus in this video is on the mic. Fitting ;)

What you demonstrated with the different resonances was really cool and is extremely important in singing as well. Understanding the chest/head resonances will help you shape your vocal tone and colour. The "voice being pulled out the top of your head" is what my singing teacher always tells me to visualize when I try to sing higher notes. Top tips m8

I considered myself a pretty decent voice actor before this video, but after watching and applying this advice I think my voice talent has improved by 110% Thanks a lot Mark =)

Hey mark! I love Highrollers!

Dat intro! XD love it!

4,161 subscribers... The Yogscast don't promote other channels very well... This is the Best Channel!

By far one of my favourite voices my dm uses is the swedish chef for a specific character, it just adds so much character to the npc without the use of description or much conversation.

Ohh visualizing where the voice comes from, really really helps a ton! I havent paid attention to that before

Okay, Mark, you're wayyyy too good. We need to meet and have a voice-off.

Knew this video was going to be entertaining once I saw the title haha. The "voice source" thing is a really interesting perspective though. I do weird/different voices quite a bit but never gave "how" I do them much thought. Will have to try your method out and see what happens :P

Yo my dog this is the exact kind of tutorial i've been looking for for dming. Many thanks

Haha "blew off my thumbs you see" 😂👍 Great video, thanks for sharing, your really good. I was trying them, its true, i immediately got embarrassed and I'm by myself... at home, talking to myself... haha ha 😬

One of my favorite NPCs I have used is just essentially a clone of the black knight from Monty Python. He just guards the mouth of a cave holding holy relics and is instructed by his superiors to let no-one pass, and just the voice alone was the most fun thing of the encounter. *None shall pass*, and *Then you... shall... die* was the only thing I said too.

This is absolutely fantastic. Great advice, and just plain fun! Tried out some voices during D&D last week, but my players said it just made them uncomfortable. Maybe another time with another group I suppose.

Before this, my pinnacle of voices was a hybrid I named Christopher PlankWalken, a swashbuckling version of the classic voice. Now I can do several voices that are slightly more unique than impressions. A genuine thanks from me, a Babby DM.

Mark, thanks to you and Matt mercer you have convinced my friends to play dnd all I can say is thank you 👍

Great video, would love to hear some other voices.

It's easy to get carried away and think that every NPC needs its own special sound. The players speak with 16 NPCs and it's a real struggle to find different voices. It can be exhausting, too. Mark, you spoke about mannerisms in terms of an aid to get the voice right. Even if a DM doesn't really need a special "Smeagol" voice, just hunching up and putting on an eager expression will help. Often that's all you need to do. I have a leader of the thieves guild in my homebrew setting who is a former PC from an old 2nd-edition campaign. I did a couple of simple things. First, just a lighter tone to my voice - the friend who played the character has a kind of middle range tone. I also tended to clasp my hands together and occasionally blew upwards as though trying to get a wisp of hair off my forehead, mimicking a couple of her habits. My current players have never met this friend (she has long moved interstate), so the mannerisms and the tone became that guildmaster.

Thanks to your influence I ended up developing a ridiculous range of stupid/unique voices that have been inflicted on my players for the best part of a year. Great content as always! : )

Wow this was super helpful!!!

Watching this great video about voices, I can't help but feel sad that Little Moonbeam's parents don't have a Scottish accent, that was so, can't think of better words to describe it, terrifying and adorable at the same time. Really sad Mark, but great video nonetheless. :D

Okay, some follow-up that might be useful for people. The high, mid-, and lower registers are great. For grandmotherly types I wouldn't go quite so high. Vocal chords elongate over time so even women's voices drop in pitch over time a bit. Keep this in mind and they go from being silly to matronly, or they can. For doing female voices, working in the higher register is good, but keep your breath more airy. Not so much struggling for air but softer and more breathy. Think of silk curtains blowing in a breeze. The register doesn't have to be as high. (This is something that was mentioned by Mr. Matthew Mercer, who is a phenomenal voice actor.) Another thing you can look at is the low, mid, and high registers of the voice, but then combine them with the Seven Dwarves. There's a great video on Geek & Sundry's channel in the GMTips playlist where Satine Phoenix and Talesin Jaffe talk about this subject and that was something that he brought up. Using those two combinations, even without accents will give you 21 different characters or archetypes, and htere was more to be added. Combine them with accents, even two or three, and you jump to like over sixty. And with your five types, crossing them with the others, you get a huuuge amount of leeway. If you're also struggling with it, consider impressions. Find a character from a movie, or a famous person and try to get close with impressions. And then branch off, or find more. Unless you're super good, you might not be spot on for people to realize what you're doing. And if you are, you'll probably be complimented. (Stay away from Arnold Schwarzenegger though, cuz that gets silly, unless you're actually running someone with his accent, and doing it as a serious character.) I do impressions and funny voices for friends and to entertain myself, but I don't really use them for my online games. I don't know those people as well, and many are from the UK, and I'm afraid I might offend someone, even if I have a good Cockney/Londoner accent, or a good Posh/Received Pronounciation English accent. What might work in my ears might not work for them. Same for Scottish or Irish, and I normally enjoy doing those. I used to have a good Aussie but now I'm paranoid about that too. I get suuuuper self-conscious about it, despite my own enjoyment. I worry about pissing someone else off by being bad at it. Wot if it's really good though? I dunno. Aaaand having social anxiety doesn't help so I don't use it, even if it used to be something in my DMing toolkit. I wound up taking a 10 year break from tabletop gaming (involuntarily) and now I feel like I'm so rusty .. I dont have the freedom, confidence, or what not.. that I used to. I used to run off the cuff, and off the top of my head, but now.. I don't feel like I can as much. Maybe it's over-prep or something. Anyway, enough of my rambling, but hope those few tips help, and resources. One more thing, the International Dialects of English Archive is great for learning accents.

Practicing beforehand makes it much easier. Although I don't practice for nervous characters, that way I'm actually nervous and it comes out naturally.

I started D&D a few months ago, my first character was Donnie Trumpet, a slightly...dim high elf, who had an obsession of constructing walls of course. The accent for this character was obviously key, and massively improved the emersment!

I’m currently playing as an opium-addicted human CG/CN gunslinger. When high he gets a temporary damage resistance, changes from CG to CN, and changes his voice from a southern drawl to foghorn leghorn. My friends think it’s hilarious.

Hey Mark, very helpful video, one video I would like on would be on note making and the amount you should note up as being a first time DM I can never quite get the balance, thanks.

you've helped alot thank you!!!

im going to go through a whole school day doing a goblin voice XD

Hey mark, another great video, do you think we could get a D&D world building video next or maybe a story idea video. Thanks another great video, can't wait to use these voices on my party.

voices are extremely difficult for me due to my damaged lungs and diaphragm but this has helped me so much.

More of this please :D

gotta love how the mic is in focus the entire video lol

Im the one of the two players in all of my groups that uses a voice, my favourites are Ak, the massive orc with intelligence and wisdom of 3, and Craphat the insane goblin necromancer wuth his pet creation- daisy. It adds so much to these characters and without the voice you wouldn't get a sense of Ak's dumbness and Craphats insanity. Try it if you're a player or DM and everyone will love it.

this video has been extreamly helpful, i have been doing some of this stuff subconsciously or natrually, but now i can add more and be mindful about what i am doing. and also The Tough=Rainbow dash The Wise=Applejack The Innocent=Fluttershy The Crazy=Pinkie Pie The Pathetic=Rarity The normal voice=Twilight just a thought.

A perfect video and you are perfect to do this video

My favourite Dm voices so far: T-bone The goblin companion who almost literally knows nothing, Harken a cockney half orc bartender and Roshi a racist elf sadist (she is my favourite npc to rp ever). Any one else got a favourite dm voice list?

Hey, Mark really helpful video, been struggling with this kind of stuff for a while! Might be interesting to do some more detailed character voice analysis, if that would be something interesting to you? Almost like a breakdown of how to achieve a particular voice. And, just on a purely visual critique, having the camera focus on you may make the video more aesthetically pleasing to watch as the microphone being the focal point came across a little distracting! Keep up the awesome work!

Thanks Mark!

Hi Mr Hulmes! Just binged a ton of your videos at 1 in the morning haha. I was wondering if you have any homebrew rules that you would suggest using in campaigns like how you've banned darkvision in Arrak

Great video btw ;)

Mark, what's the voice you like doing the most on high rollers and what type of character would you most like to voice in a video game/anime/etc. Your method of doing voices is really interesting, and makes sense, to a certain degree. Greetings from Brazil.