D&D 5E Do you have trouble with NPC names?

AriochQ

Adventurer
One of my SCA friends just posted a link to a website that has a dictionary of medieval names from European sources from 600 to 1600 A.D. It seems like a good resource when you are looking to come up with a name for NPC's on the fly. Thought I would share the link!

http://dmnes.org/names
 

log in or register to remove this ad




neobolts

Explorer
The best names random come after a night of D&D and drinking. Typically in the format:
First name: obscene adjective + body part
Last name: obscene object + obscene verb + "er"
 

Umbran

Mod Squad
Staff member
Supporter
I once played in a GURPS game that was set in the year 900, and went looking for a period-appropriate name. I found a list like the one above.

It included the name "Frotberga" as being fairly common. Thus was born an in-joke, "St. Frotberga's Home of the Eponymically Challenged".

(No, I did not call my character "Frotberga")
 


Blue

Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal
There was a tool around a decade ago called the Everchanging Book of Names (EBoN) that had rules for different types of names (including both historical cultures and fictional ones) plus easy to add in your own. Part of my "perpetual prep" was to have a dozen names for each race and sex and whenever I needed to name an unnamed NPC I'd just grab one from the list and cross it off.

I still do the list, though sadly EBoN was several computers back. There's gotta be something I can run on my tablet, haven't looked for it yet.

For my session last night, I had names for: Enfranchised families in the Empire (Italian and Roman flavored), others in the Empire, dwarven names (rather homogeneous block regardless of where from), three different flavors of elves as well as elven botanical "use-names" for Orthodox elves who won't let their real names be sullied by other races. Came up with them once, now I only have to worry about it if the list starts getting short. Elves were easy because I didn't split by gender.
 


redrick

First Post
One of my SCA friends just posted a link to a website that has a dictionary of medieval names from European sources from 600 to 1600 A.D. It seems like a good resource when you are looking to come up with a name for NPC's on the fly. Thought I would share the link!

http://dmnes.org/names

This list would be a lot more helpful if names could be indexed by language or culture. I usually start with the "kind" of name, and then go from there. And I like to keep a list of several new names on hand for each culture, in case I need to make up an NPC on the fly.

I often just end up using a Wikipedia history article. Kudos to anybody at the table who realizes that the local merchant shares the name of a 7th century Bulgar ruler.
 

Remove ads

Top