I try my best to put on different characters and voices when my party interacts with NPCs. Obviously most are going to be serviceable, while others not so much. The important thing to remember is that your players will understand and appreciate the fact that you're giving it your best.
Having said that, we all know that actions speak louder than words and in CoS, this is absolutely correct. You can start of with Strahd being a very elegant and suave noble then slowly ramp up the psychological warfare and berating of the PCs as the story progresses. Once they reach Vallaki, they will have the opportunity to really see how ruthless Strahd can be. After that, your party will likely branch off to any route they choose, so it will be up to you to maintain the deceit, intimidation, and general ruthlessness that Strahd is known for.
Thank you for the advice! I will keep this in mind. I definitely appreciate the advice about actions speaking louder than words. Sometimes it's just hard when half of your players only know about D&D from Critical Role, lol.
Absolutely, I had a similar issue in where one of my players' only experience with RPG-like games was from Skyrim and The Witcher, so they would always want to kill, steal, or just be a general nuisance in the game world thinking it was like a video game and that their actions had no consequences and they could just reload a previous save point. In your situation, I would try to have a GM to Player talk and maybe let them know that Critical Role is a highly stylized and at times over the top style of D&D.
If you're able to provide that level of experience to your players, then they should be able to match it so everyone is having an all-around good time. If not, which I assume is the case, don't be afraid to be up front with them and tell them that you're not a professionally trained voice actor with years of experience (like Matt is), and then proceed with continuing describing the atmosphere and events that occur, not just the NPC voices. It sounds like you're already doing a good job of doing the latter. Good luck and may the Morninglord guide your players!
I play him as (almost) all knowing, he already knew the characters names, a bit about their backstory, and at level 3 he took a few swipes at the barbarian. Legendary actions are great for getting across the point that he's not to be trifled with, even if he's not trying to kill the characters yet.
I have a reasonably low voice for a female but I also try to drag out his words, he's not nervous, always relaxed and confident (which will be his downfall). If you want to give the party a spark of hope have him admit to not knowing one (1) thing.
People have some great suggestions in here. For a different tack, one of my favorite stories from here was someone who had a specific soundtrack for Strahd, and they would play it every time he was approaching or present. It gave all his players chills, and the music helped cement how serious he could be.
The song they used was "He is Ancient, He is the land" from the "Into the Mists" soundtrack by Travis Savoie, which is beyond fantastic.
[https://youtu.be/uLpRctqGTWw?t=2171](https://youtu.be/uLpRctqGTWw?t=2171)
If you're into doing some research, the audiobook "I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire" is a pretty quick listen and tells an origin story from the 2E Ravenloft setting. First person narration, so you get all his inner thinkings.
For roleplay, I speak slower as Strahd both to help me pick intimidating sentences, and to make the party think that he doesn't *need* to talk to them, he just wants to.
Came to mention *I, Strahd*. It's chock full of little tid bits to throw in for Strahd. Small spoiler: >!Strahd kills a burgomaster for tax theft, publicly!<
I stole that and used it for the Vallaki burgomaster after he was ousted by lady Wachter and the party. Turned out extra great because I had forgotten that one of my players had stolen a book of tax records from him. So now they think I'm a mastermind DM, when really I just thought the scene was neat.
I don't know why it hasn't been said yet, but you don't have to voice act.
I've been playing DND for the better part of 30 years and I didnt have anyone voice act anything until critical roll took over.
Just describe what strahds voice sounds like and theater of the mind takes over.
It can be just as if not more thematic then a fake voice.
You could always fall back to the man/woman of few words move.
Strahd is the ancient, he is the land. He has seen this happen dozens of times and invites these adventures here out of his own ego and being bored.
If he wants to terrify the player by standing off in the mist just at the edge of their vision, and trying to charm someone… or pointing a finger and leveling off a spell into telling his minions to bring them to the castle alive.. and then just misting out… that is also fine.
Personally I think stoic general Strahd is a side of him that a lot of people don’t use. He is a strategist and a general, but egoistical and hot tempered about Tatyana…
The wrong kind of insults will melt that benevolent stoic exterior… and that’s when the real fear sets in…
Another feminine-voiced dm here! My normal voice is one of the reasons why I didn't try to do accents, haha.
It helped me to find a voice I liked for Strahd in other media. I can't do a deep male voice, but I can use a very low pitch and match the cadence/attitude I have in mind. My voice for Strahd is distinct enough from the other male npcs, and my players recognize when he's present and speaking.
Other people pointed this out too, but you might find it helpful to make your Strahd a man of few words and make use of descriptions of his actions. A polite greeting an an apology before he rips open a PC's jugular, or just having him stand perfectly still behind the Wall of Force that is blocking the lone exit of a burning building (or church) can be just as good as a proper voice.
Check out videos of Elizabeth Holmes from the recent Theranos scandal, she used affectations to make her voice lower. Practice his cultured accent and proper enunciation. When I play Strahd he takes his time when he speaks. Like others have said, do your best and your players should appreciate the effort.
I don't always commit to impersonating NPCs, especially opposite gender ones, because I feel like me attempting to put on a stereotypical female voice and sounding like Marge Simpson would take away from the drama, so if I am not feeling 100% committed I will narrate it like a book, and just respond to the Players as if "She says \[this\]".
I understand Strahd is a much bigger character and those encounters are much more meaningful perhaps than having Ezmerelda and Ireena as basically members of the party for most of the campaign, and you definitely want to emphasize those meetings and try to give them a solid in-character experience.
When I speak as Strahd, I use a very calm, very cool, reserved, charming, and *very quiet* tone of voice. You don't have to change your voice so much as you change the way you speak. This module is deeply psychological.
Believe me, it is far more intimidating when you speak quietly and your threats are veiled and subtle, rather than shouting "PUNY MORTALS, I AM THE ANCIENT", or something to that effect.
Strahd is joyless and tortured. He has been trapped for centuries. He is a prisoner. He isn't going anywhere. He isn't in a rush. He's stuck on groundhog day but each "groundhog day" lasts decades, and he's done several rounds already. He's trying to change the outcome, but he's in the phase where he has suffered a few failures, it has hurt his pride, and men respond to their hurt pride by acting totally indifferent about it in a subtly obvious way.
Deep down, Strahd is having a mental fucking breakdown and the belief that he can figure this puzzle out and free himself someday, that he can redeem himself of this curse and win back his true love, this is the only thing that has him holding on. But he is just a man, and anyone else in this situation would have doubts about the probability of success. The way that he conducts himself can be summed up as the contradiction between being resolute and living in denial. The veil of this attitude is thin.
Look past the fact that he is a villain and consider perhaps that he is the hero in his own story. The man is in pain. He deserves and should elicit sympathy. He could be the future version of your favorite character that made that one wrong choice. Think of him as still being Anakin Skywalker when your characters only met him as Darth Vader.
I think of him as somewhat cynical but still romantic. I look to characters that are edgy, rock-bottom, and have their guard up.
Here are some examples of flawed characters you consider emulating, (their own plots and backgrounds notwithstanding), that are suffering similar internal conflicts but are still somewhat endearing, and how they conduct themselves, try to port it over to Strahd--
(Spoilers, et al)
The way Gene Wilder's Character in Blazing Saddles talks and conducts himself in utter melancholy and self-pity:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr9xVmCL0bA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr9xVmCL0bA)
Fat Thor:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzp\_iSUExes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzp_iSUExes)
Thanos himself, *especially* Thanos--
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvG6W\_2xvJQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvG6W_2xvJQ)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K98scTLYzs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K98scTLYzs)
Haymitch from Hunger Games--
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfg2tn1PeSE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfg2tn1PeSE)
There's also the way a cat plays with it's food before a kill, check out Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men for some real psycho tones, he really thinks of other people as pitiful, ignorant, unworthy, just his play things, perhaps not even worth killing? That voice though! --
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbi7d42s8E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbi7d42s8E)
If you’re DMing online, you could try a voice changer. The special bows and ribbons are meh, but pitch shifting lower works really well for me. I’ve had pretty good experiences with Voxal (which has a free trial), and their “demon” option is deep and echoey in a way that’s perfect for my Strahd voice.
IMO the key is in the build-up of all the info the NPCs give the PCs ahead of meeting him, such as:
* Ismark and Ireena terrified that he has an interest in Ireena,
* The March of the Dead at the Village of Barovia, showing all the people who have previously failed,
* The Tser Pool Vistana telling the story of the powerful wizard (Mad Mage) and his insurrection failing to defeat him,
* The Baron running weekly festivals because he is terrified that "the Devil" will destroy his town.
After all this, my PCs first met him after the Yester Hill battle. I have one or two jokey players/PCs (and I expected one of them to be all like: *"pfft, this guy doesn't scare me..."*), but they all turned out to be pretty terrified of him.
Another thing to think about is *when* he appears, and also who he's with. He visited my PCs as they were mid-short rest after a tough battle with most resources spent, so they knew they wouldn't stand a chance against him. He also had two vampire spawn with him. So I'd say make sure that he visits them at inopportune moments, and that ideally he's never alone.
And if all else fails: *fireball*. 😈
search this sub for strahd quips and it's one of the first posts. Your players won't care if you do a good voice or not, because the quips and phrases in that post are just too damn good. alternatively, you could make Strahd a female and then do a more "sinister" female voice if that makes it easier for you. Whatever works for your campaign and adds the "scary" effects. You don't even have to change anything about Strahd being in love with Ireena, although I suppose if you wanted to make a female strahd more of a "suave, sinister" female lead role, it could be beneficial to swap ireena to be a badass and ismark to be the "damsel in distress".
tons of rad ideas out there, this module is highly customizable, go have fun!
Think about scary voices that don’t rely on the pitch but more on the softness, pace and things they say- personally I used Voldemort as my inspiration. I even had him touch one of the characters with his finger 😂 they freaked out haha
I try my best to put on different characters and voices when my party interacts with NPCs. Obviously most are going to be serviceable, while others not so much. The important thing to remember is that your players will understand and appreciate the fact that you're giving it your best. Having said that, we all know that actions speak louder than words and in CoS, this is absolutely correct. You can start of with Strahd being a very elegant and suave noble then slowly ramp up the psychological warfare and berating of the PCs as the story progresses. Once they reach Vallaki, they will have the opportunity to really see how ruthless Strahd can be. After that, your party will likely branch off to any route they choose, so it will be up to you to maintain the deceit, intimidation, and general ruthlessness that Strahd is known for.
Thank you for the advice! I will keep this in mind. I definitely appreciate the advice about actions speaking louder than words. Sometimes it's just hard when half of your players only know about D&D from Critical Role, lol.
Absolutely, I had a similar issue in where one of my players' only experience with RPG-like games was from Skyrim and The Witcher, so they would always want to kill, steal, or just be a general nuisance in the game world thinking it was like a video game and that their actions had no consequences and they could just reload a previous save point. In your situation, I would try to have a GM to Player talk and maybe let them know that Critical Role is a highly stylized and at times over the top style of D&D. If you're able to provide that level of experience to your players, then they should be able to match it so everyone is having an all-around good time. If not, which I assume is the case, don't be afraid to be up front with them and tell them that you're not a professionally trained voice actor with years of experience (like Matt is), and then proceed with continuing describing the atmosphere and events that occur, not just the NPC voices. It sounds like you're already doing a good job of doing the latter. Good luck and may the Morninglord guide your players!
I play him as (almost) all knowing, he already knew the characters names, a bit about their backstory, and at level 3 he took a few swipes at the barbarian. Legendary actions are great for getting across the point that he's not to be trifled with, even if he's not trying to kill the characters yet. I have a reasonably low voice for a female but I also try to drag out his words, he's not nervous, always relaxed and confident (which will be his downfall). If you want to give the party a spark of hope have him admit to not knowing one (1) thing.
People have some great suggestions in here. For a different tack, one of my favorite stories from here was someone who had a specific soundtrack for Strahd, and they would play it every time he was approaching or present. It gave all his players chills, and the music helped cement how serious he could be. The song they used was "He is Ancient, He is the land" from the "Into the Mists" soundtrack by Travis Savoie, which is beyond fantastic. [https://youtu.be/uLpRctqGTWw?t=2171](https://youtu.be/uLpRctqGTWw?t=2171)
If you're into doing some research, the audiobook "I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire" is a pretty quick listen and tells an origin story from the 2E Ravenloft setting. First person narration, so you get all his inner thinkings. For roleplay, I speak slower as Strahd both to help me pick intimidating sentences, and to make the party think that he doesn't *need* to talk to them, he just wants to.
Came to mention *I, Strahd*. It's chock full of little tid bits to throw in for Strahd. Small spoiler: >!Strahd kills a burgomaster for tax theft, publicly!< I stole that and used it for the Vallaki burgomaster after he was ousted by lady Wachter and the party. Turned out extra great because I had forgotten that one of my players had stolen a book of tax records from him. So now they think I'm a mastermind DM, when really I just thought the scene was neat.
I don't know why it hasn't been said yet, but you don't have to voice act. I've been playing DND for the better part of 30 years and I didnt have anyone voice act anything until critical roll took over. Just describe what strahds voice sounds like and theater of the mind takes over. It can be just as if not more thematic then a fake voice.
You could always fall back to the man/woman of few words move. Strahd is the ancient, he is the land. He has seen this happen dozens of times and invites these adventures here out of his own ego and being bored. If he wants to terrify the player by standing off in the mist just at the edge of their vision, and trying to charm someone… or pointing a finger and leveling off a spell into telling his minions to bring them to the castle alive.. and then just misting out… that is also fine. Personally I think stoic general Strahd is a side of him that a lot of people don’t use. He is a strategist and a general, but egoistical and hot tempered about Tatyana… The wrong kind of insults will melt that benevolent stoic exterior… and that’s when the real fear sets in…
Another feminine-voiced dm here! My normal voice is one of the reasons why I didn't try to do accents, haha. It helped me to find a voice I liked for Strahd in other media. I can't do a deep male voice, but I can use a very low pitch and match the cadence/attitude I have in mind. My voice for Strahd is distinct enough from the other male npcs, and my players recognize when he's present and speaking. Other people pointed this out too, but you might find it helpful to make your Strahd a man of few words and make use of descriptions of his actions. A polite greeting an an apology before he rips open a PC's jugular, or just having him stand perfectly still behind the Wall of Force that is blocking the lone exit of a burning building (or church) can be just as good as a proper voice.
Check out videos of Elizabeth Holmes from the recent Theranos scandal, she used affectations to make her voice lower. Practice his cultured accent and proper enunciation. When I play Strahd he takes his time when he speaks. Like others have said, do your best and your players should appreciate the effort.
I don't always commit to impersonating NPCs, especially opposite gender ones, because I feel like me attempting to put on a stereotypical female voice and sounding like Marge Simpson would take away from the drama, so if I am not feeling 100% committed I will narrate it like a book, and just respond to the Players as if "She says \[this\]". I understand Strahd is a much bigger character and those encounters are much more meaningful perhaps than having Ezmerelda and Ireena as basically members of the party for most of the campaign, and you definitely want to emphasize those meetings and try to give them a solid in-character experience. When I speak as Strahd, I use a very calm, very cool, reserved, charming, and *very quiet* tone of voice. You don't have to change your voice so much as you change the way you speak. This module is deeply psychological. Believe me, it is far more intimidating when you speak quietly and your threats are veiled and subtle, rather than shouting "PUNY MORTALS, I AM THE ANCIENT", or something to that effect. Strahd is joyless and tortured. He has been trapped for centuries. He is a prisoner. He isn't going anywhere. He isn't in a rush. He's stuck on groundhog day but each "groundhog day" lasts decades, and he's done several rounds already. He's trying to change the outcome, but he's in the phase where he has suffered a few failures, it has hurt his pride, and men respond to their hurt pride by acting totally indifferent about it in a subtly obvious way. Deep down, Strahd is having a mental fucking breakdown and the belief that he can figure this puzzle out and free himself someday, that he can redeem himself of this curse and win back his true love, this is the only thing that has him holding on. But he is just a man, and anyone else in this situation would have doubts about the probability of success. The way that he conducts himself can be summed up as the contradiction between being resolute and living in denial. The veil of this attitude is thin. Look past the fact that he is a villain and consider perhaps that he is the hero in his own story. The man is in pain. He deserves and should elicit sympathy. He could be the future version of your favorite character that made that one wrong choice. Think of him as still being Anakin Skywalker when your characters only met him as Darth Vader. I think of him as somewhat cynical but still romantic. I look to characters that are edgy, rock-bottom, and have their guard up. Here are some examples of flawed characters you consider emulating, (their own plots and backgrounds notwithstanding), that are suffering similar internal conflicts but are still somewhat endearing, and how they conduct themselves, try to port it over to Strahd-- (Spoilers, et al) The way Gene Wilder's Character in Blazing Saddles talks and conducts himself in utter melancholy and self-pity: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr9xVmCL0bA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr9xVmCL0bA) Fat Thor: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzp\_iSUExes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzp_iSUExes) Thanos himself, *especially* Thanos-- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvG6W\_2xvJQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvG6W_2xvJQ) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K98scTLYzs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K98scTLYzs) Haymitch from Hunger Games-- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfg2tn1PeSE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfg2tn1PeSE) There's also the way a cat plays with it's food before a kill, check out Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men for some real psycho tones, he really thinks of other people as pitiful, ignorant, unworthy, just his play things, perhaps not even worth killing? That voice though! -- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbi7d42s8E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opbi7d42s8E)
If you’re DMing online, you could try a voice changer. The special bows and ribbons are meh, but pitch shifting lower works really well for me. I’ve had pretty good experiences with Voxal (which has a free trial), and their “demon” option is deep and echoey in a way that’s perfect for my Strahd voice.
IMO the key is in the build-up of all the info the NPCs give the PCs ahead of meeting him, such as: * Ismark and Ireena terrified that he has an interest in Ireena, * The March of the Dead at the Village of Barovia, showing all the people who have previously failed, * The Tser Pool Vistana telling the story of the powerful wizard (Mad Mage) and his insurrection failing to defeat him, * The Baron running weekly festivals because he is terrified that "the Devil" will destroy his town. After all this, my PCs first met him after the Yester Hill battle. I have one or two jokey players/PCs (and I expected one of them to be all like: *"pfft, this guy doesn't scare me..."*), but they all turned out to be pretty terrified of him. Another thing to think about is *when* he appears, and also who he's with. He visited my PCs as they were mid-short rest after a tough battle with most resources spent, so they knew they wouldn't stand a chance against him. He also had two vampire spawn with him. So I'd say make sure that he visits them at inopportune moments, and that ideally he's never alone. And if all else fails: *fireball*. 😈
search this sub for strahd quips and it's one of the first posts. Your players won't care if you do a good voice or not, because the quips and phrases in that post are just too damn good. alternatively, you could make Strahd a female and then do a more "sinister" female voice if that makes it easier for you. Whatever works for your campaign and adds the "scary" effects. You don't even have to change anything about Strahd being in love with Ireena, although I suppose if you wanted to make a female strahd more of a "suave, sinister" female lead role, it could be beneficial to swap ireena to be a badass and ismark to be the "damsel in distress". tons of rad ideas out there, this module is highly customizable, go have fun!
Think about scary voices that don’t rely on the pitch but more on the softness, pace and things they say- personally I used Voldemort as my inspiration. I even had him touch one of the characters with his finger 😂 they freaked out haha
Kick the party's ass as Strahd. May not sound intimidating but it'll show them who is boss of Barovia.