VOICE MODES
Quick-reference for playing Syd at the table.
Related: Sayings · New Sayings Workshopped · Titles and Introductions · The Phila-Veri · Veri Wordplay
Calm / Advisory (Zone 1 sayings): Measured pace, slight pause before the proverb. Finger to temple, eyes closed briefly. Register shifts up but not dramatically. Tone: wise uncle at a tavern. See Sayings.
Confident / Performative (Zone 2 sayings): Louder, more theatrical. Finger to temple held longer, dramatic head tilt. Register shifts way up — Moira territory. Tone: street preacher who believes his own press.
Combat / Disruption (Zone 3 sayings): Fast, loud, escalating. Standing up, pointing, physically imposing for a stout. Register starts high, collapses into gibberish, recovers. Tone: Wildfire on the stump, Shawn during a fake psychic episode. See New Sayings Workshopped for Zone 3 entries.
Introductions (meeting NPCs, entering scenes): Chest out, sweeping gesture toward self and companions. Full title delivery — improvised, never the same twice. Party members get elaborate fake titles with the same conviction as real ones. Register: high ceremony. Escalates over the session. See Titles and Introductions.
Scripture (quoting The Phila-Veri — obscure vocabulary): Same finger-to-temple but different energy. The word lands in the sentence like it belongs, no emphasis or pause. He doesn’t define it — if you don’t know it, that’s your problem. Tone: casual reverence. NPCs are confused, scholars are shocked.
Dead Serious (protecting children): Quiet. No theater. No finger to temple. No dramatic pause. Just says the proverb flat, looking the threat in the eye. Register drops DOWN — simple words, simple sentence. The comedy stops and everyone at the table feels it.
Panicking (Emergency Panic Mangle): Rapid-fire, proverbs crashing into each other. Physically flailing, pointing in multiple directions. Register oscillates wildly. Tone: Shawn when the con is falling apart in real time.