Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Guryaa, Turtle Cat 11-03-07, 07:44 AM	My new character will be a Hobgoblin. For him, I will be using a loud, guttural voice (since doing voices is fun) in order to make him sound as brutal as I plan to play him. I've never done anything like that before, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm also slightly worried since I'm a callcenter-agent and I need my voice to do my job. The last thing I want is to lose that after an evening of enthousiastic RPing, of course, so does anybody have advice on how to make it easy on my vocal chords? Or am I worrying too much and should I be fine? Also, what is the starting age, weight and height for a Hobgoblin? Thanks in advance.
Sarella Starshine 11-03-07, 09:23 AM	Not to sure how to prevent. Drinking water, or other hydrating beverages between bouts of in character roleplay may help, so may taking one of those menthol cough drops (like Halls). But, if you are afraid that you might be a bit horse, and find that the above does not work, try to limit what you say in character. I am sure your fellow players can understand if you curb your normal style for a bit while playing a different character whose vocal characterization may effect your work. (If they don't, just smack them upside the head.) Remember, its not a sin to refer to your character in 3rd person ;), dispite what many people will say. You do have a good reason for it.
Another Gnome 11-03-07, 09:42 AM	Can't help with the voice, but hobgoblin vital stats get a passing mention in Races of Faerūn... Age is the same as that of half-orcs; height and weight you need to extrapolate. Comparing the numbers given in RoF to those of other races, I came up with the stats below: Male: 5'7" +2d10; 155 lb. x(1d6) Female: 4'9" +2d10; 115 lb. x(1d6) Thus, the average hobgoblin male would stand 6'6" tall and weigh 194 lb. while the average female would stand 5'8" tall and weigh 154 lb. (rounded up). That would make their build very similar to humans, only taller. Presumably hobgoblins (like their smaller cousins) would be slightly top-heavy though, with relatively broader chests and longer arms than humans have.
camthalion 11-03-07, 10:04 AM	My new character will be a Hobgoblin. For him, I will be using a loud, guttural voice (since doing voices is fun) in order to make him sound as brutal as I plan to play him. I've never done anything like that before, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm also slightly worried since I'm a callcenter-agent and I need my voice to do my job. The last thing I want is to lose that after an evening of enthousiastic RPing, of course, so does anybody have advice on how to make it easy on my vocal chords? Or am I worrying too much and should I be fine? Also, what is the starting age, weight and height for a Hobgoblin? Thanks in advance. As a professor, I need my voice a lot too. - You might want to stand (or even kneel on the chair) while playing him. This will allow you to fill your lungs with air and not strain as much. Breath deep into your lungs. Breathing exercises twice a day can help you to use more of your lungs. You could learn these from any decent drama course. - Also, try not to make the voice gravelly or it will be rough on the throat. Cheers
CryoSilver 11-03-07, 02:35 PM	Just a couple pointers that are mostly derived from death metal growling techniques: Try and get the sound you want from the back of your throat, instead of the front. It's harder, but it hurts less, and even if it affects your voice, it'll affect it less. You can get a more guttural sound by leaving more saliva in your mouth than normal. You'll get a louder and deeper sound by "pushing" the air out as you speak, instead of exhaling normally. One thing that'll screw your voice up more than anything else is trying to sound raspy. Avoid this at all costs: if you sound raspy, your mouth and throat are too dry, and you're going to sound AWFUL the next day. Finally: no cold drinks, and nothing carbonated. Tea is good. Warm water is, too. Beer is bad (sadly) since it is both cold and carbonated. If you listen to metal, you want to sound like Opeth, not Dimmu Borgir.
Edymnion 11-03-07, 04:04 PM	There are also a number of commercially available throat sprays which work wonders. I work haunted houses every year, which typically involves lots of loud speaking/screaming/growling/whatever. I don't remember the name of the stuff we use (a friend usually brings it, I just use it), but its a small spray pump bottle he gets from I think a musical supply store. Basically, its intended for singers. Tastes awful, and it burns like hell, but it works.
ADHadh 11-03-07, 04:18 PM	Tastes awful, and it burns like hell, but it works. With no angst there is no art. Now you know why rock musicians usually sound so angry.
CryoSilver 11-03-07, 04:25 PM	Now you know why rock musicians usually sound so angry. My sister's theory is that the singer is angry because he doesn't know who stole his shirt.
Stardrake 11-03-07, 05:33 PM	Okay, time for the old theatre major to jump in... A couple tips: 1) Warm up your voice. One you might try is to start to hum softly and slowly bring up the volume to rather loud, than go back to soft. Repeat a few times. Change the tone between hums--but don't push too hard either high or low. If you Google "vocal warm-ups", you'll get more help than I can give you. 2) Don't push the volume too hard. You're not on stage, so you don't need to try so hard to be heard. 3) If you have a cold, DON'T use the gravel voice unless you ABSOLUTELY have to! Trust me on this one--I racked up my voice for MONTHS once by not realizing this! (In fact, it's best to talk as little as possible when you have a cold or sore throat--problematic for a call-center worker, but at least try to be as quiet as possible when not at work until you're better. This will also HELP your throat heal faster. And beware whispering...it's harder on your throat than normal speech. Talk in a low, clear voice when you must.) CryoSilver's point about hydration is well taken--I kinda like water with lemon in it, myself, but YMMV. And be careful with cough drops and sprays--they're mostly numbing agents, which reduce the pain but don't help the underlying problem. Use them, but use them sparingly--I can't use them anymore because I overdid them when I had the aforementioned voice problem, and now they actually hurt my throat! Hope this helps!
amatulic 11-03-07, 06:10 PM	My new character will be a Hobgoblin. For him, I will be using a loud, guttural voice (since doing voices is fun) in order to make him sound as brutal as I plan to play him. I've never done anything like that before, and I'm looking forward to it. I had the opposite problem with my recent character; he needed to sound squeaky and cute. So I bought a tank of helium from a party supply store, affixed an aquarium tube to the spigot, and inhaled a breath every time I wanted my character to talk. I had great fun role-playing that character, and the other players and DM were delighted and amused by him, due to the helium. You, on the other hand, want your voice pitch to be deeper -- the opposite of what helium does. Such a gas does exist: Sulfur hexafluoride (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_hexafluoride). It's nontoxic, but like helium you don't want to inhale it in consecutive breaths because it displaces oxygen in your lungs. YouTube demo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIXEzj08MwE I think with that, you could easily get an effect like you want without straining you voice. I'm not sure where you can get it. Party stores don't sell the stuff. -A
Guryaa, Turtle Cat 11-04-07, 03:23 PM	To be honest, using gas would go too far, but thanks for all the ideas. I'll be playing my character and still be able to do my job ;)
Rogue Elendae 11-04-07, 03:54 PM	It's already been said, but I'll further state that hot drinks are the best thing to keep around when doing something like this with one's voice while still hoping not to damage it. Preferably (at least, from what I've found), hot tea with lemon and honey. It's good on multiple levels--the heat keeps the throat a bit more relaxed, the honey helps coat things a bit to keep it from getting scratchy, and I've heard that the acid in the lemon has some sort of vaguely antiseptic effect. I use this sort of thing when I've been having throat problems, since I'm pretty prone to them and in addition to playing D&D, I'm in college with a load of seminar classes that call for discussion...not good if one can't talk. It helps loosen things up and keep your throat from getting too sore, no matter how much abuse you're putting it through. At that (if you're legal to do so), I'd recommend spiking the mix with a bit of rum...it's my grandfather's old home remedy, and I'll grant it's only helpful in the short run (sort of like old hot toddies in Victorian times, though medical science has proved it's not really effective), but it can really help keep the throat going over long periods of potentially painful voice work. At that, just plain keep yourself hydrated. It's miserable to try to do any voice work if you're dehydrated, and you'll only hurt your throat worse if it's dry and you try to do a gravelly voice (not to say that's not throat torture to begin with). Also, if you can, try not to speak from the throat. I'm female, so I long-since learned it's easier to do a deeper growl if I try to voice it more from the chest than the throat, the same way a higher voice works better if you're speaking through the nose rather than the throat. It might take some doing, but it's better on the voice in the long run.
RobbyPants 11-05-07, 01:49 PM	Also, to help minimize damage, you don't have to over do it to get the idea across. Merely talking in a different voice than normal is good enough to get you noticed by the other players and the DM. So you don't have to go "100% hobgoblin" for them to realize that you're talking in character. Hopefully, not going all out will also help keep you from losing your voice.
CryoSilver 11-05-07, 02:51 PM	That's also true; even small changes can make a big difference. I use a distinct accent when I meet new people, because it hepls them remember me. It isn't extremely different from the normal New England accent, but it makes me stand out.
Guryaa, Turtle Cat 11-06-07, 01:42 PM	Well I took the general advice at heart and didn't go all out. I just used a heavier voice coupled with snorts and lots of slamming on the table. I had fun, so did the other guys and my throat feels okay. Again, thanks.