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The ‘Critical Role’ of voice quality in Dungeons and Dragons: A case study of non-player characters voiced by Matthew Mercer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2025

Zac Boyd Open the ORCID record for Zac Boyd [Opens in a new window]  and
Míša Hejná Open the ORCID record for Míša Hejná [Opens in a new window]
Zac Boyd
Affiliation:
Aarhus University, Denmark
Míša Hejná*
Affiliation:
Aarhus University, Denmark
*
Address for correspondence: Míša Hejná; Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark. Email: misa.hejna@cc.au.dk
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Abstract

The current study provides a holistic analysis of voice quality and how it is employed via affective stancetaking through high performance of non-player characters on Critical Role, a popular Dungeons and Dragons digital media ‘actual-play’ series. Specifically, we ask how a character's moral stance is indexed through improvised performed speech. We show that current acoustic methods for voice quality have the potential for underrepresentation of sociolinguistically meaningful variation when relying solely on acoustic data. By incorporating both acoustic and auditory data, we find that constricted laryngeal settings (and whisperiness in particular) are used to signal evilness and negative moral stance, while unconstricted laryngeal settings (breathiness in particular) are employed to signal friendliness and positive moral stance. The two general vocal settings show nuanced variation linked to affective stancetaking, including one-off changes in characters’ stances as well as their habitual styles. (Voice quality, stance, methods, affect, morality)*

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Article
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Language in Society , First View , pp. 1 - 26
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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