Dear WotC - You suck at names.

[Ulrick]

At least those names are better than some in the old modules...

Beek Gwenders of Croodle
Fonkin Hoddypeaks
"Ogre"
Edalsmirge

And they couldn't even think up a name for Erac's Cousin.

 

[Korgoth]

And yeah; the Normans as British and Viking? Uh, no---they were Vikings way back in the time of Rollo, but they were pretty "francofied" by 1066. They spoke a dialect of French and had pretty thoroughly intermarried with the French around them.

Interesting etymology:

The stinky animal the peasant has to deal with: "cow" (Anglo-Saxon root).
The delicious product of said animal: "beef" (Old French root).

It's good to be the (Norman) king!

Back on topic...

WOTC sux at teh namez!

"Pardon me, sir knight, what cut of dragon do you prefer this evening?"
"The dragon's tail cut, sirrah, and be quick about it!"

 

[Odhanan]

All names are bad, because players aren't forced to take any of them seriously.

Cheers, -- N

With a shotgun pointed at their heads, they might.

 

[Daztur]

Boy, that is really weird. I know that I've heard him called William of Orange before---and repeatedly---but I must be losing my mind, because now the only reference to a William of Orange I can find is the guy who came over in 1688 or so to supplant James in the Glorious Revolution. How in the world did I make that association between the two of them? Am I totally losing it here?

Well, actually those are the Bretons from Brittany. There's no group of people called the Brittains, although that sounds more like the British (from Britain.) The names are very similar.

And yeah; the Normans as British and Viking? Uh, no---they were Vikings way back in the time of Rollo, but they were pretty "francofied" by 1066. They spoke a dialect of French and had pretty thoroughly intermarried with the French around them.

1. Was misspelling Bretons. The Bretons were Celtic refugees from Britain who ran to France during the Anglo-Saxon invasions.

2. The Normans became heavily Francofied (they became sucky sailors for example) but they still kept some aspects of Viking culture, namely being very combative. Its no accident that you had Normans taking over England, Southern Italy and a good swath of the Holy Land the people knew how to fight...

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, I know who the Bretons are, I just wasn't sure if by "Brittains" you actually meant the Bretons or simply the British, or what.

 

[Elemmakil]

An alternative to Feywild

I admit that I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive me if someone already mentioned this.

I think that Feyweald or Feyweld (from Middle English "weald=forest or uncultivated/wild land") would be better that Feywild. Weald is pronounced weld, but I bet that most D&D players don't know that and would complain, so Feyweld is probably the better option.

If you wanted similar, but slightly less etymologically correct options, you could try Feywold or Feywald. All in all, I like Feyweld best.

-Elemmakil

Edit: EATherrian already mentioned this.

 

[Fifth Element]

I admit that I haven't read the entire thread, so forgive me if someone already mentioned this.

I think that Feyweald or Feyweld (from Middle English "weald=forest or uncultivated/wild land") would be better that Feywild. Weald is pronounced weld, but I bet that most D&D players don't know that and would complain, so Feyweld is probably the better option.

If you wanted similar, but slightly less etymologically correct options, you could try Feywold or Feywald. All in all, I like Feyweld best.

-Elemmakil

One little vowel makes a world of difference here. Feywild bugs me, but I really like Feyweld, or even Feywold.

It'll be Feyweld IMC, at the least.

 

[Desdichado]

If you wanted similar, but slightly less etymologically correct options, you could try Feywold or Feywald. All in all, I like Feyweld best.

Feywold wouldn't be less etymologically correct. Wold is a legitimate "daughter word" of weald.

 

[Gentlegamer]

And the Norse were a huge component of the English population and language. Tons of English words have a Norse root. Perhaps you've heard of Danelaw, for instance?

Try this one: niggard

 

[Desdichado]

That one's actually fairly obvious. Most words with a doubled up g sound have a Norse etymology. The doubled g was not a common native component of Old English.

Yeah, just looked it up: from Old norse hnøggr but cognate to Old English hnēaw.