Some of the most well-known Dungeons and Dragons characters and locations come from R.A. Salvatore novels and the fantasy author’s influence is also very important to Neverwinter. The latest module for the MMO is a collaboration with R.A. and Geno Salvatore and takes players back to the Underdark to explore Northdark Reaches during the time period between the first two Way of the Drow novels.

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Along with any R.A. Salvatore project comes not only some compelling characters, but some very tricky pronunciations. Many of the author’s most iconic heroes and villains have tongue twister names that have caused lots of debate from fans over the years. Luckily, the Neverwinter team has a good process for working through pronunciations before going to their voice over team.

Game Rant recently sat down with Neverwinter’s Narrative Director, Winter Mullenix and Principal Lead Game Designer, Randy Mosiondz to talk about Northdark Reaches and spent a bit of time chatting through those difficult pronunciations…

Game Rant: So you mention Drizzt and Menzoberranzan, so I have to ask. The Salvatores have come up with some of the best, most iconic character and location names in DnD history. Did they give you a pronunciation guide though?

Winter: We do get some guides, but I feel like there is a base unification pass thats always happening. When you have a world that’s so expansive it’s impossible to keep track of everything. And when it’s a fantastical world in your head, it’s not your day-to-day life, ya know? It doesn’t really come naturally most of the time and sometimes we do have to get refreshers before going to VO.

Randy: Right, that’s typically our process. Since our license is with Wizards, we can go to them and ask ‘What’s the official Wizards pronunciation of this word?’ And they usually have the final say since they are the people in charge of the property.

Game Rant: Well that’s a nice number to have on speed dial, I’m sure.

Randy: It’s great. We have a great working relationship with Wizards and we meet every week and talk about what’s in development and they give us a heads up about some of the stuff they’re working on so we can start planning future modules.

The average Dungeons and Dragons player obviously can’t just have Wizards of the Coast on speed dial, but it’s good to know that the voiceover work in Neverwinter is a nice, reliable source for players who are curious about various pronunciations.

Neverwinter is free-to-play on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles. Northdark Reaches launches on November 8, 2022 on PC.

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