Hi Tom.
that is indeed a problem, however i don't think it's an insummountable one
though the solution may be a litle odd.
I've been listening to a lot of the Doctor who audio dramas from big finish,
and as you'll know doctor who has always been famous for it's monsters.
What they do is have an actual actor rather than generic clips to play each
monster, who's voice they slightly modify with pitch, echo or another
effect, often with some movement sfx thrown in.
You will sometimes in the audio drama get a small description, something
like "It's a wolf doctor, ---- and it's six foot high!" but certainly not an
absolutely ful description, and usually it's possible to tell a lot of the
monster by the sounds.
the key thing however is that the actors playing the monsters really! don't
hold back. When required to growl, scream, gurgling in the throat or moan
the actors put everything into doing it. pluss being professional actors,
certain vocal techniques like projection, changing the shape of the larinks
to deepen or alter the voice etc are all available to them.
another good example of this is Shelob in the bbc radio play of lord of the
rings, who is actually counted in the creddits but has no speaking lines at
all.
all you are told is that she is "in spider form" the rest you need to infer
from the rather eavil moaning she makes combined with the sounds of slime
and ratling.
In doctor who, similar things are done, for instance in the story absolution
there is a mutant bat woman, who they create with one of the actresses
screamming shrilling and deffinately with intent, with her voice slightly
modified, backgrounded with the sound of slapping wings.
In the story loops Garaux they do a similar thing with a warewolf.
thus I think if you could find some good enough actors to reccord the clips,
you'd end up with scary enough monsters.
For the undead sorceress you mentioned, I'd probably combine a rasping,
female voice whispering and doing a slight groul through a doubled tinny
effect, , along with the sound of slightly moving cloth and maybe a rattle
like metal amulets or charms..
I've actually been doing some voice recording for another game project
recently, so am well sorted with recording gear.
sinse It's six in the morning currently i can't really do a lot of reccord
(pespecially of monster sounds), but this afternoon I'll have a go at some
warewolf for you, ----- actually doing monster voices is something I've
always! wanted to do in a game.
Hopefuly if you take some actual human clips, add some reverb, echos, change
the pitch or add some doubling it would work.
Beware the grue!
Dark.
---
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