D&D 5E Do you love Awesome Names?

[Scrivener of Doom]

I have to ask: is this serious or just hyperbole? Like... you haven't actually killed a PC because you didn't like their name... right? Because, and I'm just spit-balling here, if you were that "offended" by the name it'd make more sense to say something rather than strike the character down. So yeah, hoping this is some sort of extreme exaggeration for emphasis.

I've gotta say, some of you guys really have a hard-on for this kinda thing more than I'd ever thought possible. Not criticizing to be clear, just having one of those "Huh... alright..." sort of moments.

Hyperbole, of course.

I learnt to talk to my players about 36 years ago.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Yes, but you're confusing the real Realms with that horrible pastiche written by R A Salvatore. A big part of being a Realms snob is holding Salvatore's characters in the same contempt with which Star Wars fans hold Jar-Jar Binks who, like far too many Salvatorean characters, also has a speech impediment.

Allow me to rephrase:

You're opposed to superfluous diacritics and you run a campaign in Faerûn?

 

[Knight_Marshal]

I don't mind "awesome" names as long as some thought has gone into it.

I mean, you can't get better than a Cavalier named Sir Kalvin of Hobbes.

But alas, that one wasn't mine; I merely had the honour of DMing it, many years ago.

Best one I've done in the last while for my own was Elena. Simple, normal name - right? - except in this case Elena stood for Elvish Lawful Evil Necromancer Assassin, which is exactly what she was...well, except for the Lawful part which didn't really survive contact with my playing of her.

Lanefan

I made Sir Lionel of Richie in high school.

 

[gyor]

"Awesome" names are good for character nicknames, like iceman, but usually not for actual names, unless your playing a kender.

 

[Jester David]

I did once play a swashbuckler in 4e with a French accent called Major Dumas Diquehed.

Funny/ silly names are fine if everyone at the table is on board. If the game is that little bit silly and happy embracing the absurdity that D&D can often be.
But if the party is Ser James Lochspeare, Roderick the Green, Khalax Bladeward, and Flerd Dumpling then the last player is being disruptive.

 

[MostlyDm]

I did once play a swashbuckler in 4e with a French accent called Major Dumas Diquehed.

Funny/ silly names are fine if everyone at the table is on board. If the game is that little bit silly and happy embracing the absurdity that D&D can often be.
But if the party is Ser James Lochspeare, Roderick the Green, Khalax Bladeward, and Flerd Dumpling then the last player is being disruptive.

Not necessarily. If the other three are a human, a half elf, and a dwarf, and Flerd is a halfling, we could chalk it up to cultural differences.

Flerd Dumpling is a far cry from Fighter McFightFace in my view.

But I guess I'm forgiving. One of my players had a water genasi named D'Sanii. And I helped round out a 2 man party with a meek DM-run human urchin cleric named Kit.

As I said upthread, I guess I'm more forgiving of goofy names than I thought. Meta jokes that are funny to us are fine... As long as the name isn't a joke within the context of the game world, I'm okay with it.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Not necessarily. If the other three are a human, a half elf, and a dwarf, and Flerd is a halfling, we could chalk it up to cultural differences.

Flerd Dumpling is a far cry from Fighter McFightFace in my view.

Yeah, halflings have a lot of latitude. In the first campaign I ever played as a kid with my friends, the obligatory psychotic little halfling was called Chives Tealeaf straight out of the sample names in the PHB.

I did once play a swashbuckler in 4e with a French accent called Major Dumas Diquehed.

From the same campaign: Antonio Alfonso el Ponce (pronounced pown-SAY).

 

[Lanefan]

I made Sir Lionel of Richie in high school.

Nice!

And Sir Ritchie of Lionel has a decent ring to it, too.

But I guess I'm forgiving. One of my players had a water genasi named D'Sanii. And I helped round out a 2 man party with a meek DM-run human urchin cleric named Kit.

The name 'Kit' will now forever be associated in these parts with a brawny no-nonsense Fighter (now retired) from my current game; one of her hobbies (and occasional battle tactic) was breaking magic items to see if she could make them go 'boom!' in creative and useful ways...
[MENTION=40177]Wik[/MENTION] did I about get that right?

Lanefan

 

[Bigsta]

My wife names all of her RPG characters after professional wrestlers. That is how we wound up with priest Shinsuke Nakamura in a western medieval setting.

I could suggest she pick a more appropriate name on such occasions, or I could keep my mouth shut and appreciate the fact I have a wife who plays RPGs, watches professional wrestling, and actually knows what she wants to name her character.

Her current character is a Dark Sun Halfling "vegetarian" (she doesn't eat humanoid) Barbarian named and modeled after WWE Smackdown female wrestler Alexa Bliss.

 

[MostlyDm]

[13][/13]

The name 'Kit' will now forever be associated in these parts with a brawny no-nonsense Fighter (now retired) from my current game; one of her hobbies (and occasional battle tactic) was breaking magic items to see if she could make them go 'boom!' in creative and useful ways...

Hah, that's far more impressive than my Kit. He's just there to provide some buffs and Cure Wounds for the PCs.

He's more of a healing Kit.