Because the Voices That Control Me, From Inside My Head.....

[TheAuldGrump]

I use famous people references all the time.  It is much easier to say that this NPC looks like George Costanza from Seinfeld than to try to explain his appearance and personality.  The players get a quick reference point, and the game can move forward with my trying to do my best to stay true to the character.

One of my favorite PCs of all time had the looks of Danny Davito and the voice of Gilbert Gottfried.  He was a riot!

As for as Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood...

I really wanted to see S.T. until I found out it was a musical.  Understand, I knew it was based on a musical, but I was hoping they would take out the singing and just leave the basic storyline.  I loathe musicals, but I will still probably rent this one when it comes out on DVD.

And There Will Be Blood... I hope so!  Really looking forward to this one!

Actually, S.T. is based on a musical based on an even older music hall rendition, based on a play, that is in turn based on a penny dreadful....

Hmmm, I have an idea....

The Auld Grump

[Chimera]

While on the subject of musicals and the fun facts often found with such trivia... I found out recently that Spider-Man 3 is being transformed into a Broadway musical.  That should make quite the spectacle.   

[TheAuldGrump]

While on the subject of musicals and the fun facts often found with such trivia... I found out recently that Spider-Man 3 is being transformed into a Broadway musical.  That should make quite the spectacle.   

Heh, you are talking to somebody who can, and has, sing the entirety of Man of LaMancha...

Hear me now, oh thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be
And a knight with his banner all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee....

I was at a food co-op when it broke out once, it was very strange when suddenly there were over a dozen people joining in on the songs.... Goodness only knows what the clerk thought of the whole thing.

The Auld Grump

[Chimera]

Heh, you are talking to somebody who can, and has, sing the entirety of Man of LaMancha...

Hear me now, oh thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be
And a knight with his banner all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee....

I was at a food co-op when it broke out once, it was very strange when suddenly there were over a dozen people joining in on the songs.... Goodness only knows what the clerk thought of the whole thing.

The Auld Grump

Was alcohol involved in any way? 

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh, you are talking to somebody who can, and has, sing the entirety of Man of LaMancha...

Hear me now, oh thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be
And a knight with his banner all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee....

I was at a food co-op when it broke out once, it was very strange when suddenly there were over a dozen people joining in on the songs.... Goodness only knows what the clerk thought of the whole thing.

The Auld Grump

Was alcohol involved in any way? 

Not on my part, and everyone else seemed sober. I just think that somebody started singing, someone else joined in, and it spread from there. The only time I have ever seen it happen outside of a musical.

The Auld Grump, who's drinking is severely limited... not quite a teetotaler, but close.

[Nepenthe]

The Auld Grump, who's drinking is severely limited... not quite a teetotaler, but close.

When you do that kind of things sober, it's not really a wonder, is it?

(same here)

[Chimera]

The Auld Grump, who's drinking is severely limited... not quite a teetotaler, but close.

When you do that kind of things sober, it's not really a wonder, is it?

(same here)

Hahaha!

Same here.  I'm usually the one that embarrasses my friends and family out in public.  I rarely drink anymore, but when I do, I do it at home and under close supervision.

On a side note, I am planning a Karaoke party at my house sometime in the near future.  It's a B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bottle or Bring Your Own Balls.  Your Pick.)  I'm sure there will be lots of singing and none of it good. 

[Nepenthe]

On a side note, I am planning a Karaoke party at my house sometime in the near future.  It's a B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bottle or Bring Your Own Balls.  Your Pick.)  I'm sure there will be lots of singing and none of it good. 

Does that mean we're invited?

[Chimera]

On a side note, I am planning a Karaoke party at my house sometime in the near future.  It's a B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bottle or Bring Your Own Balls.  Your Pick.)  I'm sure there will be lots of singing and none of it good. 

Does that mean we're invited?

Only if you promise not to bring any real talent and don't mind making a spectacle of yourself in front of room full of people. 

[TheAuldGrump]

On a side note, I am planning a Karaoke party at my house sometime in the near future.  It's a B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bottle or Bring Your Own Balls.  Your Pick.)  I'm sure there will be lots of singing and none of it good. 

Does that mean we're invited?

Only if you promise not to bring any real talent and don't mind making a spectacle of yourself in front of room full of people. 

Rats!

Though at least I now know why my coworker was so surprised - she had heard me singing as myself, at the Karaoke she heard me singing as Roger Whitaker... (also the first time she heard me singing with accompaniment).

The Auld Grump, who can carry a tune in a bucket, as long as it's a BIG bucket....

[Alphastream]

I always use voices. When DMing, it makes NPCs more memorable. In an international spy game, it helps to interject flavor (though it can be hard to stick to consistent accents... it helps that I've traveled a lot). Voices also help to bring humor to a session. Non-essential NPCs and even essential ones can be given voices that bring smiles to players' faces. An example is the kindly old woman, the snot-nosed kid, the beaten down wino in the alley.

On the playing side, I always use a voice based on how I perceive the character. Sometimes the voice is really subtle - just a bit of inflection, stressing a few letters, repeating certain phrases. Sometimes, as with my Living Spycraft PC (don't make me cry... *SNIFF* *SNIFF*), I have a whole shtick. Anyone that has played with the blaxploitation testosterone mess that is Freight-Train knows i really like voices. I usually start the game by asking if anyone minds my doing a black voice (I'm a White Hispanic), then ask if they are ok with a blaxploitation based black guy who swears a lot, just to be sure people are ok. They still are usually pretty surprised once I unleash the full horror that is Freight-Train. *GRIN*

Teos
I'm gonna so miss Freight-Train...

[Mister Andersen]

Every time I try to do voices, it inevitably devolves into an aggressively scottish brogue (ah, Jamaica, an island full of black Scotts...)