We're here again with some more tips on running your tabletop roleplaying game! This time I want to talk about dialogue and voice!

If you're anything like me, you dream of being able to do really great and unique voices for every character in your game... and if you're like me, you have maybe 4 different voices you default to in your games. So how do you deal with this and make it clear who is talking in your games?

1. State it outright.

There is no shame in straight out telling your players: "The dwarf woman says to you "Help!'" There is no confusion here about who is talking to who. It can maybe feel a little cheat-y but it's a clear direct means of sharing information and making things totally unambiguous.

There is no shame in clear communication.

2. Different word choice.

One thing that can make your characters stand out for one another is their diction and the words they use. The elf professor of evocation probably will have a different way of explaining things than the goblin bartender. The way they talk, the words they use and the speed they share them in all make a big difference in keeping personalities clear too.

This is my favorite way of having characters stand out from each other and the one I tend to use the most.

3. Gestures and nervous habits.

During a lot of conversations, people are doing things while they're talking. What do your NPCs do while they're chatting with the players? Does the tavern waitress play with her hair or fiddle with the quill she's using to take the orders? The movements and habits of a character can really bring them to life and make them feel more relatable as well.

These are just three ways to make your NPCs stand out a bit more and feel different even if they all use the same one voice you can manage. There's no shame in not being a nerdy-ass voice actor :) .