I find using an accent for your character can add some fun to the game, as well as help the player get into character.
At least, that's how it works for me.
Anybody else?
For those that do use accents: have you ever been accused of being racist? I have played characters with many different accents, but recently was accused of being racist when doing my Indian accent.
To be clear, I don't use racist statements or anything, I play just like I would any character, but when I speak I use a different voice.
I use accents when it fits the character being portrayed, which can be quite often (I'm the DM).
I have one rule though, which is to never use an accent that sounds "cartoony" - so I limit myself to only accents that I have practiced and become able to do in a very subtle way. Because it is the overly-exaggerated or poorly done accents that might be mistaken for racism.
AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
Ah, this is why I'm jealous of people who can do good voices. 
I can't immitate any accents or even change how my voice sounds. Though, I do have one character with a very distinct dialect. Lots of contractions. It's a bit easier.
I don’t use an accent, but I definitely change my voice and way of speaking. To me, it’s part of my character, and helps me with their personality. My dwarven bard might be a little deeper, more formal. My gnomish cleric is more nasal and irascible, like a grumpy old man.
I try to use accents when I can but I have found that it is something i'm not good at, but I still try as even a bad representation lets the group identify the person easier.
I will change my voice as well and speech pattern which I have a much better time representing as well.
Just find it makes a pretty big difference for players to identify who's speaking as well as identifying a personality to it.
I use an over-the-top, awful Scottish accent for a lot of the characters I play. It generally gets a lot of laughs from the other guys at the table and helps remind everyone that D&D is supposed to be a fun, social experience.
I've found that players generally tend to appear let down when a Dwarf doesn't have a Scottish accent, and that they tend to find dwarf NPCs more believable when they do have Scottish accents. This is probably something that has been either created or heavily reinforced by the general depictions of dwarves with Scottish accents in film and games.
To those of you saying that you aren't very good, or can't do accents: not that I'm trying to be argumentative, but you're wrong.
Anyone, can do an accent. While some will find a few accents easier than others (it has a lot to do with your mouth shape, which is genetic, and how you already talk and form sounds in your native language.) just about any accent is within reach if you simply know the sounds you need to make, and practice.
The first thing I do when I'm going to try out a new accent is to find a video that will explain what sounds I need to emulate. This is the one I started with when I was going for an English-sounding nobleman (history be-damned!). There are a lot of videos by the same guy and they are a great way to start as he points out the specific sounds you need to emulate in order to get said accent.
Once you know the sounds, practice, practice, practice. I usually give it at least a week before I will attempt a new accent at a game. Beforehand, I talk in front of the mirror to myself, so I can watch how my mouth is moving when I make the sounds I need. Talk in the car while you're driving. Just talk, it doesnt matter what you're saying, just have conversations with yourself in said accent. Just like in a sport or other physical activity, you need to build muscle memory. Listen to as many people online talking in that accent as you can (thank god for youtube), And I mean real people, don't use movies as an example, they're usually nowhere close to the real thing. If you want to talk like an Australian, listen to Australians talk.
As you listen, and as you practice, you will find it is easier and easier to do. And once you have one or two, you will find that similar accents are much easier ("oh, thats just like my English one, except they have a different 'o' sound"). As a human (I assume most of you reading this are) your brain is literally wired for this.
Tiarn wrote:
Absolutely!
I played a grapple monk in pathfinder a while back. Antonio Perez "La Tortuga del sur" who use snapping turtle style.
Needless to say I used a great Spanish/Latin accent for this character and he was a huge hit at the table. Didn't get to do much with him, but for the few sessions he got. Antonio was a STAR.
I don't think i was called racist for it? maybe in jest but definately never offended anyone.
Also having a player at the table who uses an accent can also help other players loosen up a bit and get into character a bit more even if they aren't good at using accents beyond their own.
Affecting an accent, even poorly, is not racist, but if the character you are portraying is also a stereotype of the Earth race upon which the accent is based... Well, I don't think that makes you racist automatically, but the risk of offending definitely rises.
FunkySpunk, was the character with the Indian accent wearing a turban and running a small general goods store?
I use accents all the time. Whether it is for portraying an npc when I'm the DM, or when playing a character. For example, I recently did an accent for a snobbish nobleman, just so that the players would hate him even more. And I had a bishop in my campaign who not only talked in a very cold and bored manner, but also made sure to include clear hints at his disdain for women when ever possible.
Nevvur wrote:
I've come to loathe the whole dwarves have a Scottish accent thing. It makes me feel like I'm at a gaming table with Shrek.
My brother has been playing a halfling with zees outrageous French accent in the Adventurers League. I groan a little, but it's hilarious.
MechaPilot wrote:
I have tried a French accent for my angry chef Bard and a Caribbean accent for a female witch-doctor/voodoo woman but since the only other person to take up slight accents is the DM, I don't usually bother now. I will try one more time for a Halfling with a Cornish accent "I don't rightly know Mr Frodo Srrrr", but that will be my last attempt I think. Some players like it but others just end up feeling slightly uncomfortable about it.
As a DM I do to separate NPCs. I'm not good at it, but my players seem to be amused by my attempts.
I use as many vocal variations as I can for NPCs, including accents, just so I can stay in character without having to narrate who is talking at any given time. I care more about the game when I get to maximize the roleplay opportunities.
I cannot voice a Scottish dwarf. Something about that manner of speaking doesn't click for me. I trip over my word choice. I modeled most of my dwarves after pirates or my older Jewish relatives depending on their station in the world.
Even if you're not good at accents, there's other things you can do in the attempt for player/npc voices. Im not that great at accents either. A simple pitch change, speeking in a deeper voice vs. a higher one, faster or slower can do a lot for your interactions. We have one player who speaks on his normal voice, but he speaks very monotone and "bored" with a bit slower speed for one of his fighters. "Off to the caves!" Is what comes out but his character portrays "Ugh...off to the caves...I guess..." just by changing those few things.
FunkySpunk wrote:
This reminds me one time of a D&D meetup at a local bar that goes on every Sunday where I'm at. I voice my Goliath fighter with a Russian accent (Not a realistic one, the one more commonly heard in Cold War style movies) because it helps me get into character. I once had a person say that Goliaths were supposed to sound more Scandinavian or even Norwegian. I gently reminded him that I RP my character my way, and not to his or the expectations of the table. Nothing else was said as we continued to game on, the silly things people say sometimes.
I use all kinds of accents. I use terrible exagerated accents as a player or a Dm. My accents may be offensive and maybe incensitive to LBGT. I know that I work daily to recognize my own prejudice and monitor my own use of racist or anti-LGBT slurs and insults. But racial and sexual orientation prejudices have been ingrained into my language at this age. I make no excuses for my shortcomings and I am diligent about reconizing my own prejudice and how I use my language as not to offend family, friends and strangers alike. That siad If I do a very poor French or Austrailian accent it is done for story telling enhancement and giggles. I will never do an accent to maliciously berate another human being or groups of humans.
Nevvur wrote:
Oops, two assumptions, two misses. 
Nevvur wrote:
I also use Indian or African accents for some of the characters in my campaign. I have the dark skinned Kooghans, who are inspired by real life Carribean pirates, who speak with thick African accents (and also have their own language). And often I have an eastern fakir show up, who has a thick exaggerated Indian accent. I've never heard complaints of racism though. Everyone understands that these characters are caricatures, and are not to be taken too seriously.
Languages are also very important in my campaign, since so many different cultures are featured in my homebrew setting. I've even taught my players made-up words that these cultures use. Such as the word Skua. The players don't even question the origin of the word, and use it as if it were a real word, which is very satisfying for me as a DM.
My Human Barbarian, Grigor Armstrong, wouldn't have been half as much fun if I didn't use an accent.
Imaculata wrote:
FunkySpunk wrote:
Krusk wrote:
Yunru wrote:
sirkaikillah11 wrote: