D&D 5E Do you love Awesome Names?

[Wepwawet]

Gleep Wurp the Eyebiter (MU)
Fursh O'Suggill (F)
Faffle Dwe'omercraeft (M) (apostrophes and added e for your pleasure)
Roakey Swerked (C)
Redmod Dumple (Dwarf F)
Beek Gwenders of Croodle (1/2 E Ranger)
Cloyer Bulse the Magsman (T)
Flerd Trantle (C)
Fonkin Hoddyspeak (Elf F/MU) (and winner of Awesomest Name contest)

Probably I'm just very dumb, but I can't really see why those names are funny. Certainly silly (and appropriate for gnomes)... But if there are puns in there I can't see it. Could you spell them out please

 

[Wepwawet]

Luna Sae (the player didn't even realize what she'd done, but I couldn't unsee it).

I don't get it either...

 

[Mercule]

I don't get it either...

Luna Sae == Lunacy

The way she introduced herself just sounded like she had a slight drawl. Since the character was a shrink, it was too meta for me.


Sent from my iPhone using EN World mobile app

 

[Kabouter Games]

Since "Major" and "Sergeant" are both perfectly common and reasonable surnames in English, there were, of course, both a Major Major and a Sergeant Sergeant in the town guard in one of my campaigns way, way back. (Yes, I nicked "Major Major" from Catch 22, although IIRC the character was actually named "Major Major Major".). And the players remember them with some fondness. And remind me every time their players encounter a new group of town guards.

No lie, one my instructors in my US Army training was Sergeant Major. Not Sergeant Major Smith or something. His last name was Major, and he was a Sergeant.

Lots of push-ups later, we learned that he didn't enjoy the joke nearly as much as we did.

Silly names kill the mood for me. I stop caring about the game or group if my character is forced to associate with other characters that insist on being called something ridiculous. I just can't see any character I have played ever putting his or her life in the hands of somebody that they can't take seriously, let alone relying on them to complete any important task.

Hear, hear. Stupid names show a lack of creativity and commitment on the part of the player. I mean, "Sir Kalvin of Hobbes"? Really?

REALLY?

As a DM, I put a lot of work in my setting. That includes names. Frankly, I find it insulting if/when someone brings Fighter McFightface to my table. I work for weeks and months to carefully build a setting in which you can immerse yourself, and you can't even be bothered to spend a few seconds to look at the list of names in the PHB and move around some letters to come up with something similar? What is a person who does that but a raging wankpuppet? Nobody's asking you to memorize Noldorin naming practices in the city of Tirion upon Túna in the Undying Lands. They're asking you to exercise maybe - MAYBE - 30 seconds of creativity. FFS, if you can't be arsed to look at your PHB, there are any number of name generators on the Interwebz which will spew forth suitable names instantly.

It's one thing if everyone at the table is naming their characters something stupid or silly. It's another if you're the only one. If you show up with Fighter McFightface when everyone else has carefully selected appropriate names, you're not funny, you're not clever; you're just a jerk. You've proved but one thing: You don't give a flip about anyone but yourself, or you would have taken the couple of dozen seconds to come up with an appropriate name.

Thanks for the rant space.

Cheers,

Bob

www.r-p-davis.com

 

[Caliburn101]

Ah yeah... names do so much to immerse people.

A few from one of my current games (note: Knight of the Oak is from the Scarred Lands book for 5th Edition);

NPC Names

Pellian the Peacekeeper – Human Cleric of Light
Primus of the Argent Order (Paladins)

Darshen the Protector – Elven Oath of Ancients Paladin
Ruler of the war-torn Kyre Manthor Elven stronghold

Queldan Quickblade – Elven Knight of the Oak Fighter
Leader of the Wardens of Kyre Manthor

Hengist Galehammer – Dwarven Champion Fighter
Hero of Ironhall, and Champion of the Dwarf Lords

Grundar Runeaxe – Dwarven Eldritch Knight
Wandering hero of unpredictable character

Maloric Ninehands – Halfling Arcane Trickster Rogue
Infamous Halfling Rogue-Lord of the North

Yenva Crowhair – Human Druid of the Land
Half-mad protector of the broken Druid Circle in the northern Foulroot Forest

Loric Moontongue – Human/Werewolf War Bard
Wandering heroic Bard (Sireni/Stormwolf heritage)

Solon Doombringer – Tiefling Book Pact of the Great Old Ones Warlock
Infamous Oracle of Doom

Lianna Faeblade – Elven Fae Blade Pact Warlock
Guardian of the Prince in Sapphire (Ruler of Kyre Manthor)

Arioch Blackbow – Tiefling Hunter Ranger (Sharpshooter Feat)
Tragic hero mercenary who never breaks a contract

Osric Rimebeard – Dwarven Evoker Wizard
Famous for accidentally blasting his own beard when casting a Cone of Cold whilst drunk


They really don't only have to be comedy names to be 'awesome'...

 

[werecorpse]

Silly names work well for silly games. They add fun to those style of games but IMO they don't help in a game where you want a bit more immersion.
Awesome names can really add depth to a character. Those names put forward by Caliburn101 are all pretty awesome. I think I will use some of them.

 

[Kabouter Games]

Awesome names can really add depth to a character. Those names put forward by Caliburn101 are all pretty awesome. I think I will use some of them.

Agreed. Those are pretty epic.

Cheers,

Bob

www.r-p-davis.com

 

[JonnyP71]

Hmmmm, misspellings!!!!

Fonkin Hoddypeak - no 'S'
Frush O'Suggill - not Fursh

I did read a piece once which suggested how Gygax came up with those names, but Google is not my friend right now.

My groups vary, some serious, some not-so. One player currently has a character called Fiona Fromshrek, and another had a Ranger called 'Raymir' (after the TV presenter Ray Mears, famous for his 'Bushcraft')

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[alienux]

We like our D&D to be engaging and fun, light-hearted, and sometimes serious, just like real life. I couldn't imagine playing where everything had to be uber-serious all the time and where other players got upset over someone's silly name.

Having said that, if an entire group feels they want to take the game that seriously, more power to them. But that's not my preference when I run games or participate in them, and everyone I play with has pretty much the same attitude as me, so it works well for us.