Lighthearted character names?

[Buttercup]

Last game I ran included a guy who insisted on calling his human fighter Joe.

Then you wouldn't enjoy playing with my husband. His current character in my Freeport campaign is a fighter named Joe Green. It's an obvious alias, and the PC is obviously on the run from someone, but he's not sharing details with anyone yet. Using modern or joke names is his usual modus operandi, though I wish it weren't. Hey, at least I managed to talk him out of running a monk named Thelonius.

 

[Mercule]

Hey, at least I managed to talk him out of running a monk named Thelonius.

Now, that, I'd have probably allowed -- so long as he avoided actually saying the name of his class in a sentence with his name. Of course, TM isn't really someone that I think most people in my group have even heard of, so it'd quality as a subtle, cute amusement.

Generally, though, I don't care for humorous names. I'm not a big fan of slapstick, so it probably comes from that. Right now, the groaner in my group is Bo (Bodewin), the archer. "Bow, Bo. Get it?" It doesn't hurt so much, anymore, but for the first few gaming sessions it chaffed more than any other name I have actually allowed.

That actually touches on something else that I'm finding is starting to bother me, both in game and in real life -- people who insist on shortening every name they hear. But, that's another topic.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

It would have bugged me way less if he'd named the guy McDeath or something.

So you've met the LG dwarf clan of McDeath, then? I'm not joking.

 

[Alhazred]

Sometimes they can be funny, other times annoying. It really depends on the group and the type of adventuring you are doing. Pet names should be funny though. If a familiar has a funny name, that should always be appreciated!

-Shay

The first 3.0 game I DMed, the party bought a mule and named it Lucky. (The die used to represent Lucky on the battlemat was a player's lucky die throughout 2nd Ed.) Lucky survived fireballs, poison needle traps, rampaging trolls and the BBEG Mran. Even when half of the party lay dead on the group, Lucky stood tall and proud (at least for a mule).

Otherwise, I prefer serious names unless its a one-shot adventure. Silly names detract from the game, I find.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

After a particularly vexing TPK, I joked that I was going to name my next character Arnold Whorshakk (we were all emailing back & forth about the new characters we were making, so we'd have a good party mix). The DM informed me quite quickly that my character would have no such name. Which, naturally, made one of the other players beg me to use that name (but I didn't).

When I get stumped for names, I turn to Shakespeare. Stay away from the popular plays and pick a minor character from one of his lesser known works. The names are usually "exotic" sounding and fairly easy to pronounce.

 

[Barendd Nobeard]

That actually touches on something else that I'm finding is starting to bother me, both in game and in real life -- people who insist on shortening every name they hear. But, that's another topic.

What do you mean, Mer?

 

[kingamy]

When I roll up a characters I really try to think of a name that sounds OK. and cannot be made fun of.

Hmmm. Let's see:

Aart, Bart, Cart, Dart, Eart... Yup, Bart checks out OK.

Mike

 

[arscott]

-- Sganarel (A name associated with a French comical onstage play. Directly onto the wrong mood and ambiance when you try something inspired by LotR...)

Hey, there's already d20 Shakespeare, why not d20 Molière?

Seriously though, here's my thoughts:

If it's a pun or joke that the characters would get, It's fine by me. but if its something that requires a modern frame of reference (Phat Masta P the Rappin' Gnome Bard), then it just ruins the game. The only exception would be subtle references, like Rhadagast the Wizard.

 

[Caliban]

I actually have more of a problem with names that tax my ability to pronounce them while I'm running the game.

One player recently had to deal with me calling his scout "Scouty" until he went over his name several times.

Another player had an elf name "Amalthea". That inadvertantly got turned into "A mouthy elf" during one combat. The player changed the characters soon thereafter

What can I say, I was born and raised in Texas. I have something of a pronunciation impediment.

 

[Evilhalfling]

One Player- and we pretty much ignore it.
Pakin Heat ( Thief guildmaster, obviously an alias)
Duddly Dwright - Dwarf paladin int 6. mounted on Rocky the Dire Boar
Monk with funny name - died quickly
Heward P? (somand thing close to packard)

we get around it by never using his last name, most of the first names blend into the background.