Silly Character Names

[Abraxas]

This is just a pet peeve of mine and I felt like ranting a bit. I'm sick to death of silly character names.

There used to be a time when names like Robin Graves, Barium Deep, Dog Wonder, Hung Lo, etc etc were entertaining - not anymore.

The last game had the Whacker triplets Paddy, Lily and Friggin, a gnoll fighter named Daisy, and a dwarf named Ioun Moregold. The new campaigns have Felony the rogue, Sunshine the Asimaar, and Leo Sarandon the cleric (this name is a personal jab at me by another player), Fiddledik the halfling, and Ranger Bob the ranger.

AARRRRGGGGHHHH - Does this bug anyone else?

Granted the over abundance of the weird consonant or sibalant heavy names can also annoying. The goofy names just bring me out of my suspension of disbelief lately - perhaps I'll take a break.

 

[Raven Crowking]

IMC, the current area generally uses Old English/Germanic names for humans, Norse/Germanic names for Dwarves, Tolkeinesque names for elves, and Slavic names for halflings (who are like mythic gypsies). PCs may have unusual names, but people tend to notice if they are really far out. Or, put another way, what reaction would you get in the real world if your name was Barium Deep?

That said, punning and/or clever names are used by gnomes and fey creatures. Thus a gnome might call himself Lowen Behold or Skillywiddle, though this is not his true name. Fey creatures (and dragons) are notorious for their reluctance to reveal their actual names.

RC

 

[Darth K'Trava]

For the most part, we don't have anyone using dorky or silly names for characters. Nor do we really use mundane names either. The only recognizable names we've had were, "Mark", "Jade", "Elwyn" (we spelled it "Elwin").

Mine have been the bane of one player who can never pronounce nor spell any of them: "Keldaren", "Valsherina" (she had better luck pronouncing this one or usually shortens it to "Val"), "Rozhena" (she shortened this one to "Roze"), and Kelstra. Used to I couldn't come up with a female name for anything! Keldaren is the only male character I play, the rest are females.

 

[WayneLigon]

The goofy names just bring me out of my suspension of disbelief lately - perhaps I'll take a break.

Take a break but then sit down with the other players and tell them how distasteful you find this. I've flat-out told some people 'no, that name is not acceptable in the campaign'.

 

[SinisterMinister]

Take it as a sign that your players don't want to take the game (or maybe you) seriously.

I did this once when I thought my DM was being ridiculous, and seemed to take glee in killing my PCs. After rolling up character number 5 in the campaign, I went to the bathroom, read the ingredients on a bottle of shampoo, and came out declaring that my new character's name was: Methylchloroisothiazolonone.

I demanded that all other PCs and NPCs call me by my full name. When the DM tried to call me out on this, I told him not to worry as my character would surely be dead in another session or two. I think he got my point.

I will add that I was 17 at the time, and will use that as a mitigating factor if you consider my actions to be overly juvenile.

 

[Teflon Billy]

AARRRRGGGGHHHH - Does this bug anyone else?...

Yes, it drives me totally crazy.

I took a bit of effort to document the different naming conventions in my game world. For example; the Barbarian tribes of the Slate Hills use the naming conventions "Clan Name" (1 syllable) + Given Name (1-3 syllables) + Gender Identifier (-Ar for men, -An for Women).

So Dhal, a male Barbarian of the Zhan tribe would be named "Zhandhalar"

Mellet, a female Cleric of the Quar tribe would be named "Quarmelletan"

My player's Barbarian PC? "Glordek".

Do what I did: Draw a line in the sand. Send them back til they can come up with something appropriate. Being able to identify characters nationalties by their names is a terrific aid for verisimilitude in a cmapaign world, but players are fundamentally lazy bunch

force them to use the tools you provide.

 

[Tuzenbach]

Some people find enjoyment in using silly names. I have a brother who delights in using the name Fondel The Wasted Wizard. Hey, it makes him happy, so why should anybody discourage it? Some persons won't play UNLESS they're allowed to be as silly as possible. I'd rather have them play then not. Besides, it's good to laugh.

 

[Alzrius]

Oh come on, who wouldn't respect a paladin named Sir Stomp-Evil?

 

[Neo]

I would have to add my voice to the chorus of "Players wanting pick silly names drives me crazy" crowd.

I do not allow silly names in my games... Past experiences have proven that they just promote distraction and disruption.

Besides if anyone needs a laugh with funny names just go play one of my all time favourite published adventures the Village of Hommlet... I mean Charboya, Spugnoir, Burne the Wizard, Rufus, Elmo... and the list goes on. My group just ekpt falling about laughing when we played this whenever I introduced an NPC.. in the end I started altering their names just so we could get something done LOL

 

[ElvishBard]

At least your players gave it half a shot. Mine always want the name "Master" even though they know it's a title and is no way a name. I eventually had to start naming all of their characters myself because they could not come up with anything at all after a few hours of thought. I usually just name them after Inuyasha characters, because the show is that cool.