Funny NPC Names (spoilers for Sunless Citadel)

[RangerWickett]

Have you ever run into an NPC with a name that you just can't take seriously? I had a villain named Limoges, who became "Lemon Cheese" because the party had trouble remembering his real name. I played in a game where the fiendish dragon Sahkrekal became "Soccer Ball" because one of the players had way too much time on her hands to make up funny names.

And then, just now, I finished playing through The Sunless Citadel, from WotC. The party met the powerful Bugbear hunter, and managed to use his own ego and pride of his fighting skills to convince him to join them to defeat the main villain. They ask his name, and I'm about to reply, in character as the Bugbear: "I am Balsag, the Great Hunter of every tunnel within thirty miles."

Sadly, I only to get to say, "I am Balsag."

Say it out loud. Just try it. "Ball-sag." Now, maybe I have a dirty mind or something, but I just couldn't bring myself to say his name again for the rest of the game. He was 'the bugbear' or 'the hunter,' and at least one of the players managed to pronounce his name so the second 'a' sounds like the 'a' in 'father.' But . . . it made for an interesting evening.

 

[hong]

RangerWickett, I like your way of thinking. Let's go and get rip-roaring drunk, and think up new ways to make Eric's grandmother cry.

 

[Angelsboi]

like Yuusdrail (yous Drail? No Im drail! Is that Barbra and Louise Mandrail?)

I hated the name Belak and Balsag. I think i only liked Yuusdrail.

 

[bwgwl]

i played in a sci fi campaign once where our characters worked for a mysterious megacorporation called "Samantaka." which we always managed to mangle into something like "Summon Tonka" or "Salmon Taco," or such.

i think when i ran Sunless Citadel i changed the bugbear hunter's name... some names look fine written down, but fail miserably once spoken aloud.

i always try to speak out the names i make up just to make sure i don't have that kind of problem.

 

[ninthcouncil]

There's an NPC in one of the old Call of Cthulhu scenarios, called Drobny (a Transylvanian innkeeper, I believe). Having initally misheard his name, we insisted on referring to him as "Dribbly".

He didn't live

 

[Akhkharu]

I had made up a name for my step-father for my character's history. He is a powrful druid in our homebrew campaign and his name is Morbak.

Worst part was, I never even figured it out until after the rest of the players met him. Once they did, they always wanted to know how often he got more back.

 

[wolff96]

That happens a LOT in my games.

Most of the "variant" names can't be repeated here for fear of offending little old ladys.

One of my favorites, though, was a black dragon. His name was long and incomprehensible, but they never asked.

When the dragon started to lose the fight, he left the island they had been fighting upon and dove back into the water of the swamp, heading for his lair. After buffing up a bit with some water spells that would keep them alive, the PCs dove into the swamp and followed him into his lair. The dragon, on his way back to finish them (after getting several healing items from his lair and using them), suddenly realized these foolish creatures were coming to him.

So he stopped and taunted them in Draconic. The problem was in my description: "The dragon chuckles, stops swimming towards you, and says (something rude that I can't currently recall, about the brain power of heros)."

My players heard that last sentence as "The dragon, Chuckles, stops swmming..."

From that point on, the Black Dragon's name was Chuckles. You know, you just CAN'T inspire fear with a dragon named Chuckles.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Unless you make him Chuckles the Clown. Clowns are scary.

 

[ninjajester]

sunless citadel was just a bad module when it came to names. the one my players like to mangle the most is meepo.

meepo. that's funny sounding.

 

[Eternalknight]

I have a powerful NPC wizard ally in my campaign. His name is Shagar. I had intended his name to be pronounced as "Shay-gar". When my players recieved a note signed by him, they pronounced his name "Shag-ar". They often wondered just how many charm person and love spells this guy had cast in his life time.