10thousands of names, 100shops (with each 50 weapons) and 100 taverns

fimp · Apr 29, 2002

What can a DM do when the party arrives at a metropolis?
You need to invent a name for every person they meet, invent prices at each tavern they come too and tell them which weapons the smith has in his shop.

ITS IMPOSSIBLE!!! At least to me, it has happened more than once the players laughed at the names i invented for some NPCs.
I know theres a lot of "computergenerators" out there, but i dont want to use a computer in my game...

Help!

[EDIT] I got another problem:

What do you do when the PCs want a description of the city?
Do you draw a map of every city?
Do you come up with something and let the PCs draw a map?
Or something else?

CRGreathouse · Apr 29, 2002

Use a computer to print out a list ahead of time.

fimp · Apr 29, 2002

CRGreathouse said:
Use a computer to print out a list ahead of time.

Maybe not a bad idea with names, but what about weapons at the blacksmith?

Teflon Billy · Apr 29, 2002

Or...just let it slide.

I've seen my players take a lot of joy in asking the name of every single NPC they cross paths with, asking the name of every shop they walk past etc.

Until I just tell them to STFU (ask your friends

).

I make up good names fo the important places, but "random" name generators are no good for me (as my names are culture specific)

There is a terrific little program called the "Everchanging Book of Names" that's generates culture-specific names.

Teflon Billy · Apr 29, 2002

fimp said:
Maybe not a bad idea with names, but what about weapons at the blacksmith?

Do you mean magic weapons? Otherwise just pick what's avaiable from the price list in the PHB.

As for Magic Stuff, I say it's rare and not in every shop...but if you feel differently, go to www.rpgsheets.com and check out their lists of magic items.

fimp · Apr 29, 2002

Do you mean magic weapons? Otherwise just pick what's avaiable from the price list in the PHB.

No, what i meant was that not every blacksmith can offer the same weapons. How do i know what this particualy blacksmith have on his shelves?

Crothian · Apr 29, 2002

fimp said:
No, what i meant was that not every blacksmith can offer the same weapons. How do i know what this particualy blacksmith have on his shelves?

Most will specialize. One is good with sword, this one good at creating horseshoes and nails, this one good with maces and flails. Some won't have weapons. Most blacksmiths make their money off of the common, everyday items that people need.

Also, there is not going to be a lot of blacksmiths in every town. And in the large cities they will be very spread out.

Storminator · Apr 29, 2002

fimp said:
No, what i meant was that not every blacksmith can offer the same weapons. How do i know what this particualy blacksmith have on his shelves?

Decide. Group weapons into broad categories (axes, swords, pole arms, knives) and have most weaponsmiths specialize. Then have most blacksmiths not make any weapons at all. A lot of smithing is shoeing horses and fixing hoes. Toss in the occasional weaponer that makes everything, and some that make armor, and some guys that only make armor.

Face it, gaming in the city is a lot of work. But get the EBoN that Teflon Billy mentioned, it gives great lists of names and you can send the names to a text doc and print out a giant list. I usually edit names for cool ones if the NPCs are important, but if they aren't I just go right down the list.

PS

DrSpunj · Apr 29, 2002

Ummm...

Could someone please tell us lost in ignorance where to find the Everchanging Book of Names? It sounds like a great resource as I commonly find myself looking for names for specific people/places/items/etc. Is it a webpage that randomly generates or a downloadable program that randomly generates or what? If it's downloadable, is it platform specific?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

DrSpunj

Errant · Apr 29, 2002

The Everchanging Book of Names

can be found here...

http://ebon.uni.cc/

10thousands of names, 100shops (with each 50 weapons) and 100 taverns

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