Lighthearted character names?

[painandgreed]

Most silly names I've seen (that I've bothered to remember anyway) have been obvious nicknames for big dumb fighters such as Ball Breaker or Meat Grinder.

Currently, I'm running a pixie whose name is Nice Sunnyday. Course, it's an evil campaign, the pixie is a hit man, and enjoys that people can cast Zone of Truth and ask him questions and he can play dumb and respond "I'm Nice" and be telling the truth. Still, it's fun to watch people walk into the seedy bars we habitate and go to the bartender and say "I'm looking for a Nice Sunnyday."

 

[Turanil]

I've been resisting the temptation to hand out a magic sword called The Millenium Falchion for a long time now.

That's real funny LOL! (even if it wouldn't bring anything to a "serious" medieval D&D game).

 

[Li Shenron]

How do you feel about lighthearted character names?

Bad. I think it's extremely difficult to find a silly name which doesn't bother you already on the second evening, quite much like listening to the same joke over and over.

There could be some lighthearted names which work well, but they have to make sense in-character. Especially annoying for me is names with absolutely no place in the fantasy world (a gnome called Turnipnose is bad enough, but one called Rapper Gangster is 1000 times worse).

I think creating a name for characters is not easy, but to avoid ridiculous names is not too difficult. It may help to think, if you had a son, would you give him that stupid name? If you were given that horrible nick as a child, would you introduce yourself to strangers with that?

 

[Darthjaye]

Not even Larry the Kobold, Darryl the Xvart, and Darryl the Tasloi?

Nice Newhart reference. Wonder how many got it though?

And what, no one would let "Prezley the Elvish Bard" in their game?

Come on people!! A sense of humor and gaming should go hand in hand here. It's not a job, so have fun with it. Here's to hoping that all of you post some more inventive names for us to gleam and use as a homage in our own campaigns and character backgrounds. I remember one character I made up so long ago named "Gunn Blayhawk". He was a fighter who one time failed several consecutive rolls to kick in a door. Turns out the door swung out though......
So my friend (and one of our current GM's) mentions the name to someone else via email that he knows and bamm...now Gunn's name is being (or has been in the recent past) used in someone whom I have never even met's campaign. Kinda cool to think about.

 

[wedgeski]

Some of these examples are hilarious (Millenium Falchion - classic!), but I still don't allow punny names into my campaign, because they do immediately detract from any attempt to give the game some gravity or seriousness.

I think this rule came into effect about the time one of my players tried to name her elven wizard 'Scanty LeClad'.

 

[The Shaman]

I think it's extremely difficult to find a silly name which doesn't bother you already on the second evening, quite much like listening to the same joke over and over.

Well-said.

Lotto Rumblebottom was funny the first three or four times I said it, but after that the joke wore pretty thin - I was almost relieved that he got spitted on an orc spear on our first adventure.

The Garnet twins on the other hand alway make me smile, and they still appear as NPCs in my Wild West games, along with their stable hand, Slim Chance. Subtlety may be the name of the name-game.

Wuffa Weirdbeard? I never had a chance to run the character, so I don't know how well that one would play out over time, but as noted earlier, it's more of an exotic name than a silly one, so I don't think of it as a joke so much as it just sounds odd.

There could be some lighthearted names which work well, but they have to make sense in-character. Especially annoying for me is names with absolutely no place in the fantasy world (a gnome called Turnipnose is bad enough, but one called Rapper Gangster is 1000 times worse).

Again, very well-said.

For a one-shot or a really limited, narrow focus campaign, sure, I can blow off my sense of disbelief, but if the character is going to last more than a few sessions, then a nickname should at least fit the millieu.*

*Oh lawd, like an illithid's writing tentacles the thread on writing like Gygax has pierced my braincase!

 

[Mallus]

Once upon I time I avoided silly names, or even real-world names like the plague, believing they hurt the 'willful suspension of disbelief', and when I DM'em I, umm, "encouraged" players to do the same.

I filled my old 2ed. gameworld with the like of E'Kryliam of Vrax, Koram Mallenian, Sharar Sunspark, Enkor Lal, Dargor Razorhand, the mysterious Markovan of Argat...

Years later I came to the realization: they had silly names. In fact, a lot of fantasy characters do. Don't believe me? Try reciting some of Tolkien's names to a non-gamer/non-genre fan. Then explain they all belong to the same person. Or elf...

Fantasy nomenclature strives valiantly for gravitias, grandeur and myth, and (often) ends up with the likes of Skeletor. Even great namers like Tolkien and Moorcock start to sound dangerously like parody after extended reading sessions.

So as the years passed, I lightened up. I used real names, often from 2 or more foreign langauges (Delphine Laxshmi St. Sous, Mere-Pierre "M.P" Menboob). I dabbled in puns (the magician Dr. Mephisophocles, the violent monstrous humanoid abstract painter Brakton Molok) . I named my PC after a bottle of wine I'd recently bought (Grenache Shiraz).

Frankly, attempting to keep tight control over naming conventions often results in a world that's unrealistically homogenous and dull. I mash-up a hodgepodge of name sources (usuually until I start laughing) in order to increase the level of verisimilitude in my campaign, to trick the players into thinking my world is actually world-sized.

And let's be honest, better writers than any of us here didn't shy away from naming characters Bottom or Mistress Quickly...

 

[Scarbonac]

Once upon I time I avoided silly names, or even real-world names like the plague, believing they hurt the 'willful suspension of disbelief', and when I DM'em I, umm, "encouraged" players to do the same.

I filled my old 2ed. gameworld with the like of E'Kryliam of Vrax, Koram Mallenian, Sharar Sunspark, Enkor Lal, Dargor Razorhand, the mysterious Markovan of Argat...

Years later I came to the realization: they had silly names. In fact, a lot of fantasy characters do. Don't believe me? Try reciting some of Tolkien's names to a non-gamer/non-genre fan. Then explain they all belong to the same person. Or elf...

Fantasy nomenclature strives valiantly for gravitias, grandeur and myth, and (often) ends up with the likes of Skeletor. Even great namers like Tolkien and Moorcock start to sound dangerously like parody after extended reading sessions.

So as the years passed, I lightened up. I used real names, often from 2 or more foreign langauges (Delphine Laxshmi St. Sous, Mere-Pierre "M.P" Menboob). I dabbled in puns (the magician Dr. Mephisopocles, the violent monstrous humanoid abstract painter Brakton Molok) . I named my PC after a bottle of wine I'd recently bought (Grenache Shiraz).

Frankly, attempting to keep tight control over naming conventions often results in a world that's unrealistically homogenous and dull. I mash-up a hodgepodge of name sources (usuually until I start laughing) in order to increase the level of verisimilitude in my campaign, to trick the players into thinking my world is actually world-sized.

And let's be honest, better writers than any of us here didn't shy away from naming characters Bottom or Mistress Quickly...

Your gung fu is strong and you are very wise.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Depends on the game, players and the campaign I'm trying to run. I don't mind the occasional funny name but my players are actually very good, imo, at naming their characters. It's me and the names I give some of my NPCs that are the problem. Currently, in my group, we have the following

Fulmar Tundrawalker (a cleric of a northern babrbarian clan)
Kerrick (high elf fighter/rogue)
Merle Greenbottle (halfling wizard)
Agrog (half-orc Monk/Fighter)
Niar (wood elf ranger/fighter - sometimes referred to as Niar Jesus for the player's inability to pay attention sometimes)
Jorrak (Human fighter)
Sif Ferdanauch (Human Ranger - recently he died and was reincarnated as a forest gnome)

I guess the real problem is that a lot of them don't have last names.

Then we have the silly names. Both come from the same player (now not with our group due to life)
Duke Darlington (he saw it on a british comedy show and named his human rogue after it)
Beau Hunker (used for a human Fighter/Cleric in an old Dragonstar game)

My NPCs? I had one called Cistern once.

 

[Mercule]

What do you mean, Mer?

I hope no one misses Bare Nob. As soon as I find a good river, I'm afraid his posting may slow down a bit.