On The Horrible Naming

[BadMojo]

They have developers and designers. Developers make the rules, designers write the fluff.

So, who are the uh...fluff guys?

I've been digging almost all of the 4E crunch stuff I've heard but the names are just way out there. I don't think I'm particularly grognard-ish but the flavor stuff in the new PHB doesn't sound like it fits ANY of WotC settings. That seems very odd to me.

 

[VirgilCaine]

As I said in the other thread, perhaps it could be an obfuscation system designed to hide the actual names of feats.

You'd just need a list of A-Z adjectives, A-Z nouns, and A-Z verbs.
Put one in each slot and you get a stupid name. Like Lightning Panther Strike.
But perhaps the real feat name is Leaping Power Slash or something...

Lightning Panther Strike is a much better name than Leaping Power Slash.

 

[werk]

Lightning Panther Strike is a much better name than Leaping Power Slash.

Disagree.

 

[Masquerade]

Lightning Panther Strike is a much better name than Leaping Power Slash.

But Leaping Panther Strike is better than both.

 

[BryonD]

There's also only so many purely descriptive names one can use before you've started adding levels upon levels of "greater, lesser, even more greater" descriptors. Leaving aside the issue as to whether the specific names chosen are good or bad, I certainly understand the need for flavorful names over purely descriptive ones, given the vast array of powers and feats presented.

I have a hard time accepting the thought that the WotC guys have used up every descriptive name they can think of. I wouldn't buy that for a new 3E book, much less the one and only 4E book that will exist with feats in it when this one comes out.

 

[BryonD]

Disagree.

Agree (with werk)

 

[KingCrab]

Lightning Panther Strike is a much better name than Leaping Power Slash.

Also disagree.

 

[KingCrab]

I have a hard time accepting the thought that the WotC guys have used up every descriptive name they can think of. I wouldn't buy that for a new 3E book, much less the one and only 4E book that will exist with feats in it when this one comes out.

Agree. They have to be capabale of something better. I imagine if you went to an arbitrary gaming convention and gave 10 random gaming tables 5 minutes each to come up with a name for the feat, all ten would be better than lightning panther strike.

 

[PoeticJustice]

The problem is that I think that's how it works at WotC now.

They have developers and designers. Developers make the rules, designers write the fluff.

Personally, I'd rather have developers write the rules and choose a mundane or generic name as the "fluff". Personally, in a core book, generic should be the fluff.

Can you speak on any kind of authority or from experience in stating this? Because as I understand designers create material and developers playtest and edit that material. At least, that's the way magic works.

 

[PoeticJustice]

But aren't all game developers just frustrated novelists at heart? It certainly seems that way to me.

Then our public school system needs to hurry up and CRUSH the dreams of every single aspiring novelist so we'll get more DMs.

Seriously.

More DMs.

We need 'em.