blackshirt5
First Post
Yeah, so far I'm thinking of maybe one called "Thad Jantis", which is a play on a guy we used to game with. I'll even affect his mannerisms.
Do you think that it's alright for a DM to do this?
- Thread starter blackshirt5
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Djeta Thernadier
First Post
I would say , under most circumstances, no. It's not ok. The only reason I could see the DM getting a say in your PCs personality would be if it became problematic and disruptive for the other players and ended up being a hassle to the game. If it became problematic, you and the DM should work together to reach a compromise.
Done right, what you described seems like good , creative role playing and I wouldn't want to play in a game that did not encourage that. It's a game. It's supposed to be fun.
I'm probly going to take some slack for that, since I know that there are people who are more into playing for combat, stats, etc. That's fine as well, I'm not putting that style down at all. It's just not my style.
Done right, what you described seems like good , creative role playing and I wouldn't want to play in a game that did not encourage that. It's a game. It's supposed to be fun.
I'm probly going to take some slack for that, since I know that there are people who are more into playing for combat, stats, etc. That's fine as well, I'm not putting that style down at all. It's just not my style.
rushlight
Roll for Initiative!
In the game I run, I also try to keep the names of characters "in game" and not pull things from modern culture. I do allow modern, averege "Joe" type names, as these all have roots in ancient cultures. I do not usually allow pop culture icon names, or outragously stupid names, or anything that doesn't fit with an "in game" reference.
Here's why: While you are playing the game, the DM is also playing the game, as are several other people. I prefer that while playing the players refer to each other by using their character names (not a rule, but as the DM I use their character names, and usually they follow along). This tends to preserve the atmosphere, and mood of an RPG, and keeps everyone "in character". When your character is using a name from a famous person, or the like, that distracts from the game. A DM wants as few distractions as possible, since it can be difficult sometimes to keep everyone focused on the task at hand.
I imagine that your DM feels similar, and probably the other players do as well. While it might amuse you to go around as "Mr. Rimthruster" it probably annoys others, or perhaps they feel that you don't take the game as serious as they might. Talk with your DM, ask him WHY he doesn't want you to use those names, and ask the other players if it bothers them. If naming your character means little to you (I would imagine that's the case, since you've chosen some rather obviously non-FR style names) then just pick a name that's more in line with the names of the other players, and NPCs, and everyone will be happy.
Of course, if the party is full of names that are obviously non-fantasy in style, then the DM should refrain from telling you how to play your character. If you've got Nugent the Wizard, Danzig the Cleric, a fighter named HULK, and a thief named Mr. Squiggly, then the DM has obviously accepted this naming convention, and it's a bit late to go changing the rules...
By the way, I really like the idea of a thief named Mr. Squiggly.
Here's why: While you are playing the game, the DM is also playing the game, as are several other people. I prefer that while playing the players refer to each other by using their character names (not a rule, but as the DM I use their character names, and usually they follow along). This tends to preserve the atmosphere, and mood of an RPG, and keeps everyone "in character". When your character is using a name from a famous person, or the like, that distracts from the game. A DM wants as few distractions as possible, since it can be difficult sometimes to keep everyone focused on the task at hand.
I imagine that your DM feels similar, and probably the other players do as well. While it might amuse you to go around as "Mr. Rimthruster" it probably annoys others, or perhaps they feel that you don't take the game as serious as they might. Talk with your DM, ask him WHY he doesn't want you to use those names, and ask the other players if it bothers them. If naming your character means little to you (I would imagine that's the case, since you've chosen some rather obviously non-FR style names) then just pick a name that's more in line with the names of the other players, and NPCs, and everyone will be happy.
Of course, if the party is full of names that are obviously non-fantasy in style, then the DM should refrain from telling you how to play your character. If you've got Nugent the Wizard, Danzig the Cleric, a fighter named HULK, and a thief named Mr. Squiggly, then the DM has obviously accepted this naming convention, and it's a bit late to go changing the rules...
By the way, I really like the idea of a thief named Mr. Squiggly.
blackshirt5
First Post
Re: Re: Do you think that it's alright for a DM to do this?
The idea is that he tries to disguise who he is...very, very poorly. He's never lived outside of his home city(which is pretty much all Avariel), and though he's studied the human languages, he's not quite sure what a normal human name sounds like. Thus, he introduces himself with very poor human names. I'm honestly not trying to disrupt things, I just don't feel like playing the vanilla elven ranger, with the addition of being Avariel, ooh, I've got wings. I don't like vanilla characters, I wanted to give him a weird twist, I thought a healthy dose of paranoia and a penchant for bad false names would be a new one.
DocMoriartty said:
The idea is that he tries to disguise who he is...very, very poorly. He's never lived outside of his home city(which is pretty much all Avariel), and though he's studied the human languages, he's not quite sure what a normal human name sounds like. Thus, he introduces himself with very poor human names. I'm honestly not trying to disrupt things, I just don't feel like playing the vanilla elven ranger, with the addition of being Avariel, ooh, I've got wings. I don't like vanilla characters, I wanted to give him a weird twist, I thought a healthy dose of paranoia and a penchant for bad false names would be a new one.
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Oh, I'd kick your butt for trying that in my game (figuratively speaking, natch).
I work extensively with players, giving them plenty of control over the direction of the game. At the same time, I expect them to play personalities appropriate to the campaign world. I've come close to forbidding a sacriligious character, even, because the sacrilige would've been unthinkable in that society.
That said, if you wanted to introduce yourself with different names, Men in Black style, I'd be okay with that -- as long as the names were all names that a PC in the campaign world would come up with. No Ted Nugent at all.
And if you did that, you'd expect flak from fellow group members and from society in general. Imagine that you were doing business with somebody, and later found out that they'd introduced themselves to you by a different name than they used with your next-door neighbor. You'd likely be suspicious of them and think them a jerk. You'd be unlikely to cooperate with them next time they came around.
But if you were okay with that, I'd say go for it. We do, after all, have a Cha6 PC in our group who manages to piss off just about every merchant he encounters through his insults and boorishness, and he's a great PC. Keep it campaign-world-appropriate, be willing to suffer the consequences, and enjoy.
Daniel
I work extensively with players, giving them plenty of control over the direction of the game. At the same time, I expect them to play personalities appropriate to the campaign world. I've come close to forbidding a sacriligious character, even, because the sacrilige would've been unthinkable in that society.
That said, if you wanted to introduce yourself with different names, Men in Black style, I'd be okay with that -- as long as the names were all names that a PC in the campaign world would come up with. No Ted Nugent at all.
And if you did that, you'd expect flak from fellow group members and from society in general. Imagine that you were doing business with somebody, and later found out that they'd introduced themselves to you by a different name than they used with your next-door neighbor. You'd likely be suspicious of them and think them a jerk. You'd be unlikely to cooperate with them next time they came around.
But if you were okay with that, I'd say go for it. We do, after all, have a Cha6 PC in our group who manages to piss off just about every merchant he encounters through his insults and boorishness, and he's a great PC. Keep it campaign-world-appropriate, be willing to suffer the consequences, and enjoy.
Daniel
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Re: Re: Re: Do you think that it's alright for a DM to do this?
With that said, lemme modify my point: this does sound like a reasonably fun running gag, as long as you keep to the premise.
Somebody who's heard names like "Elminster" and (I don't know any more FR names, sorry) "Bigby" and "Mordenkainen" but isn't good at recognizing others might start coming up with fake names like, "Elmee...igby?" and "Morkaduh...inster?" and such. In other words, base your poorly-made-up names off Forgotten-Realms names, not off real-world names. Somebody who's heard "Elminster" isn't likely to come up with the name "Ted Nugent": to do so gets away from the (actually kind of funny) joke in his character background, in favor of making another (not very funny to me) joke involving breaking suspension of disbelief.
Daniel
blackshirt5 said:
With that said, lemme modify my point: this does sound like a reasonably fun running gag, as long as you keep to the premise.
Somebody who's heard names like "Elminster" and (I don't know any more FR names, sorry) "Bigby" and "Mordenkainen" but isn't good at recognizing others might start coming up with fake names like, "Elmee...igby?" and "Morkaduh...inster?" and such. In other words, base your poorly-made-up names off Forgotten-Realms names, not off real-world names. Somebody who's heard "Elminster" isn't likely to come up with the name "Ted Nugent": to do so gets away from the (actually kind of funny) joke in his character background, in favor of making another (not very funny to me) joke involving breaking suspension of disbelief.
Daniel
blackshirt5
First Post
Good point.
"Hi, I'm Drizz-minster. Pleased to make your aquaintance."
"Hi, I'm Drizz-minster. Pleased to make your aquaintance."
