Can bad character names kill the campaign.

[JacktheRabbit]

I agree with most of this but the effort part. I suck at coming up with names, I can write up a great backgound and then sit there for hours and have nothing for a name. I doubt i'm unique in that I suck at names.

Still though when someone has a really crap name the quesiton comes up why? Is it supposed to be disruptive, are they not taking the game serious enough, just trying to be funny, or does it actually fit the character?

There is a great website out there:


http://www.20000-names.com/index.htm


It has thousands of name male and female broken down by ethnic and national group. I find that Turkish and Russian names make great dwarves.

Give it a look.

 

[Desdichado]

www.kabalarians.com has always been a favorite of mine. Although the most recent site redesign has made it less friendly for what I like to use it for, unfortunately.

 

[diaglo]

...I find that Turkish...make great dwarves.

yeah, but you can't name all of them Mustafa.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

yeah, but you can't name all of them Mustafa.

Sure, if its the dwarven Clan Mustafa.

 

[King_Stannis]

As I said earlier, This is one area I insist the PC's take seriously. A few attempts have been made at interjecting some humorous names, but I won't allow it. We do enough clowning and joking around, anything else would totally ruin the suspension of disbelief.

I am a firm believer that names help set the tone of the campaign, because inevitably an important NPC will call on the PC's for some reason. The last thing you need is for your main villain to have to utter something like: "I have been watching you and your band of adventurers these last few moons, Finneaus T. Buttf#$k, and I have found you all to be worthy opponents".

Sorry, not in my world. Make any off color joke or juvenile reference you want - outside the lines. But I refuse to have my NPC's as part of some inane joke that ceased being funny before the first dice was rolled in the campaign.

 

[Teflon Billy]

It's been awhile since I let loose this particular EN World Battle Cry....

I Agree with King Stannis.

Seriously, I posted something in the Best.Name.Ever. thread concerning my dissapointment that what everyone considered to be their "Best name ever" seemed to be jokes/puns, and it applies perfectly well here, so I shall cut and paste it over

Quote attributed to my bad self

...If anyone showed up to my D&D game with a "Hairybutt Beerguzzler" or "Zoobilee Zoobilee Zoo" or "Gimmy Lotzagold" (or really anything that was intended to 'lighten the mood' of my game while ignoring my campiagn's naming conventions) I would not be happy....

Stannis' comment below makes a perfect coda to my above statement....

Quote attributed to King Stannis

...The last thing you need is for your main villain to have to utter something like: "I have been watching you and your band of adventurers these last few moons, Finneaus T. Buttf#$k, and I have found you all to be worthy opponents".

Sorry, not in my world. Make any off color joke or juvenile reference you want - outside the lines. But I refuse to have my NPC's as part of some inane joke that ceased being funny before the first dice was rolled in the campaign.

Amen Brother. Amen.

 

[GILGAMESH]

I started a new campaign in Greyhawk. One player choose Gilgamesh as name for his fighter PC.

I disallowed this name, because if somebody calls this PC I always think of the person out of the myth....

Just my 2 cents
yennico

Hey! I'm not a person out of no MYTH!!

 

[smetzger]

No more than Greyhawk names like:
The Gnarley Forrest
Zagyg
Duchy of Geof
etc.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

I've always been afraid to run an Oriental Adventures game, because I know everyone would name themselves "Wang Chung," "Hung Lo," "Fu King," or "Wu Tang."

Although, I actually know a guy named Long Thang...

 

[Chimera]

Shard just reminded me that South Carolina has a government official named Richard Puffer. But he goes by the name of Dick.

I bet he grew up to be one heckuva fighter!