D&D 5E World-Building DMs

[Hussar]

I don't think I've ever been in a bar with a DJ... I've been in US bars with jukeboxes (I even put
money in one once, but worried my choice of music might annoy other patrons), and I've been in US & UK bars and oubs with live musicians, who will sometimes take requests. DJs are found in nightclubs, not bars.

Bar, nightclub, potato potahto. I've been in many establishments that are more or less both - a bar with a dance floor for example. Not big enough for a night club. Besides, I've never heard a bar that plays country music called a nightclub.

But, the point remains, it's not unusual in a place where music is being played, for the guests to make requests of the music.

 

[S'mon]

Bar, nightclub, potato potahto. I've been in many establishments that are more or less both - a bar with a dance floor for example. Not big enough for a night club. Besides, I've never heard a bar that plays country music called a nightclub.

"honkytonk"

 

[ProgBard]

"Oh. Be-bop."

 

[Celebrim]

She chose to call her character Jigglypuff.

You mean you can have a horror character named Pennywise, but not one named Jigglypuff?

For a Ravenloft (setting) game I'd normally insist on an all-human party, or at least, no Tolkien races. I don't think it is in keeping of the Ravenloft setting for alien things to not be uncanny, and for things at are uncanny not to be evil.

But Jigglypuff suggests a clown, and as some have observed, clowns are scary. Also, Jigglypuff suggests the name of a childhood imaginary friend, and imaginary friends are also scary. Also, someone named 'Jigglypuff' suggests insanity, so that if someone introduced themselves to you as 'Jigglypuff' you'd be afraid simply because its an alien name happily sitting in the uncanny valley. Evil oft a pretty face wears, seeming fair but feeling foul.

This comes down to again whether I trust the player, but speaking as a DM, I'd be quite happy to have Jigglypuff the little person Dark Lord of her own realm. And I'm pretty sure she'd be freaky.

Whether or not a player is willing and capable of playing a PC named 'Jigglypuff' as a subtle character in a Gothic story without being nothing more than a distraction is a different question. And whether a particular group has too much preexisting experience with the word Jigglypuff to accept it in a new context is likewise a different question. In that sense, Jigglypuff is just as poor of a choice for a name in Ravenloft as Hon Solo.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Jigglypuff is a Pokeman.

It's also the nickname we gave to a chubby friend.

So for me, no way would I allow that kind of name. And I don't think it compares to Pennywise, but even if it did, reasons 1 and 2 would be more than enough for me to ban it.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[TwoSix]

Jigglypuff is a Pokeman.

It's also the nickname we gave to a chubby friend.

So for me, no way would I allow that kind of name. And I don't think it compares to Pennywise, but even if it did, reasons 1 and 2 would be more than enough for me to ban it.

Now that I think about it, Jigglypuff might be one of the few Pokemon names appropriate for Ravenloft...Jigglypuff's song does scare people!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FufVtVuPjWA

 

[delericho]

You mean you can have a horror character named Pennywise, but not one named Jigglypuff?

Apparently not.

 

[sleypy]

I could see having jigglypuff or pennywise as nickname--cruel and oddball childhood nicknames just stick sometimes. Pennywise would be fine for a last name as well.

I like odd names because they're easy to remember; I'm willing to consider if they can be made to fit the mood and tone before I reject a name.

My real concern is why a player would want a name like that. I "want" to give the player the benefit of the doubt, and not assume its a flippant attempt to undermine the mood/tone.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

I have GMed and played for 35+ years, and have always built my own worlds. I have never run a campaign set in someone else's world (that includes the D&D ones). Some worlds come with unusual restrictions. To the best of my knowledge, no one who has played in my games has ever had a problem with that.

When I play in someone else's world I create a character appropriate to the setting.