I was curious how to voice my male NPCs. I don't want to fill my world with female NPCs just because I can't voice male characters. I want to get more into the roleplay aspect of the game, but my friends laugh anytime I try to do a guys voice. I want to make my characters unique as well, not just using the same tone and what not for everyone.
How can I better handle voicing male characters?
The greatest part of this for me is just voicing males in general. This would include core races like Humans, Dwarves, elves, and also "extra" races, like goblins and Aarakocra, etc. I don't think lowering my voice is a choice here, so I was just wondering what people had to say to help! It's difficult for me to get the "gruff and brute" voices of some of the tougher male races, so I also want to hear about how I might be able to roleplay these voices properly.
(I didn't expect this to get so much attention! So, I hope whoever reads these answers gets as much help from them as I am!)
Best Answer
As a DM, I've found that trying to distinguish characters solely by changing my voice doesn't work very well. It's not especially scalable, for one - if you have a full cast of NPCs, you're likely to run out of voices you're physically capable of doing long before you run out of NPCs who need voices. Plus, depending on the voices you have to do and the length of your sessions, you can actually hurt yourself sustaining difficult voices for a long time. (And it's not just doing loud voices; one professional VA injured herself whispering.)
So what's a roleplaying DM to do?
Use Body Language
In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum/Smeagol swaps back and forth between two personalities. While some of the change is in the voice, the vast majority of it is in his body language - the way he holds himself, the way he moves. You can tell which one is in control even with the sound off.
When you get your body into your roleplaying, your voice will naturally follow in ways that don't require you to make a huge effort to "Do A Voice". If you're playing a timid character, shrink down and into yourself. Hunch your shoulders, duck your head. You'll find your voice is naturally softer and likely a bit higher-pitched just due to the shape of your body.
Likewise, if you want to portray a brash, bold warrior, thrust out your chest, lift your chin, and speak from your stomach. This naturally deepens and loudens your voice, and especially if you're a woman, makes you sound more "masculine".
If you're a king, command attention by speaking levelly and not especially loudly: a king knows he is so important that everyone else will fall silent to listen to him. If you're a peasant, slouch your shoulders and slap on your favorite country bumpkin drawl.
Your voice is shaped by your body. Shape your body in the form of the character you're roleplaying, and your voice will follow.
Know Your NPCs' Mannerisms and Speaking Habits
Using body language to shift your voice and roleplay characters requires that you know what body language to use in the first place. This means knowing your characters - their backgrounds, their personalities, the kinds of language they use, etc. This helps them stand out from one another even when you aren't using any special voices.
For example, I had an NPC who could see all of time at once. This meant she often jumped three or four steps ahead in conversation, answering not the question the PCs had just asked, but the one that would logically follow. She was also very distracted all the time, and would sometimes need to be snapped back to the conversation.
In a different campaign, I had an NPC whom the players adopted after he failed his villainous plot against them. He was an intelligent and haughty high elf, so when I played him, I would lean my head back to look down my nose, and speak with Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness.
Using these mannerisms helped me both visually and aurally distinguish between my various NPCs, and made it more fun for the players to interact with them.
General Tips for Speaking in a Deep Voice
I said above to speak from your stomach. I tend to use this trick when I want to be louder, as it's the basis for stage projection, but it has the side effect of making my voice deeper. On average, women tend to speak through our noses and at the front of our mouths. Pay attention to where you feel the vibrations and the movement of air when you're talking; you'll likely find them at the front of your tongue and up in the soft palate under your nose.
Men, on the other hand, tend to speak from deeper in the chest/stomach, at the back of their mouths. Try to let your voice sit at the very back of your tongue, at the top of your throat. Instead of pushing air through your nose to talk, push it all the way up from your stomach. You'll feel your voice resonating in your throat, which has the effect of making it deeper and more masculine.
Yes, You'll Be Laughed At (At First)
Your players will likely laugh at first, as you find your way. We laughed at each other a lot back in theatre class. Just like anything new, it takes practice, and you'll sound (and look) a bit silly until you get the hang of it. Practice in front of a mirror, or in the car or shower, or even with a trusted friend or two.
The main thing to remember is to commit. Don't half-ass your body language; it muddies the message and doesn't help your voice cooperate. Just go all-in, and you'll be doing awesome voices in no time - and maybe encouraging your friends to join you.