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<blockquote data-quote="NewJeffCT" data-source="post: 5396709" data-attributes="member: 10784">On details, make up a list of names, male and female, for the dominant races in town.&nbsp; I would go overboard on this – if you think 20 human male and 20 human female names are enough, make names 30 for human males and human females.&nbsp; If the city is primarily human, of course.&nbsp; If the city is diverse, make a list for each race.If your players are good at improv like you say, they may want to go into a tavern and speak with ten different people there – barkeep, serving wenches, the bard and her assistant, the merchant and his bodyguard, etc.&nbsp; Just having a list of ready names will make the setting come alive, as there is nothing worse than when I am caught off guard by, “and what is her name?” and then stumble to think of something that does not sound silly/stupid and it breaks the rhythm of the encounter.Then, get a list of a similar amount of adjectives that can describe people – the pretty serving wench, the plain serving wench, the bald barkeep, the beautiful bard, the quiet assistant, the fat merchant and his ugly man-at-arms bodyguard, etc.Then, have some names of taverns – a few high end ones, a few regular ones, and a few dives.&nbsp; “The Golden Griffon” and “The Roaring Orc” and “The Rusty Dragon” and whatnot.&nbsp; Of course, it also depends on the size of the town/city.&nbsp; A town of 1,000 people might only have one or two inns and taverns, while Waterdeep probably has hundreds.As you go through the list, check off the ones you used in terms of names.And, when you describe a new scene, just remember the five senses: What do the players see, hear, smell, taste and touch?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="NewJeffCT, post: 5396709, member: 10784"] On details, make up a list of names, male and female, for the dominant races in town. I would go overboard on this – if you think 20 human male and 20 human female names are enough, make names 30 for human males and human females. If the city is primarily human, of course. If the city is diverse, make a list for each race. If your players are good at improv like you say, they may want to go into a tavern and speak with ten different people there – barkeep, serving wenches, the bard and her assistant, the merchant and his bodyguard, etc. Just having a list of ready names will make the setting come alive, as there is nothing worse than when I am caught off guard by, “and what is her name?” and then stumble to think of something that does not sound silly/stupid and it breaks the rhythm of the encounter. Then, get a list of a similar amount of adjectives that can describe people – the [U]prett[/U]y serving wench, the [U]plain[/U] serving wench, the [U]bald[/U] barkeep, the [U]beautiful[/U] bard, the [U]quiet[/U] assistant, the [U]fat[/U] merchant and his [U]ugly[/U] man-at-arms bodyguard, etc. Then, have some names of taverns – a few high end ones, a few regular ones, and a few dives. “The Golden Griffon” and “The Roaring Orc” and “The Rusty Dragon” and whatnot. Of course, it also depends on the size of the town/city. A town of 1,000 people might only have one or two inns and taverns, while Waterdeep probably has hundreds. As you go through the list, check off the ones you used in terms of names. And, when you describe a new scene, just remember the five senses: What do the players see, hear, smell, taste and touch? [/QUOTE]

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