D&D General What goes in your DM binder?

[O-Castitatis-Lilium]

I do think there is some benefit to going digital. Like I mentioned in my post, I do make use of my tablet.

I really prefer my curated name list. I spent a very long time crafting it, and I'm always adding to it. It exists as an easily printable Google Sheets doc. Cure, I can generate an infinite number of names at a click, and then read through them and hope I like one, or I can turn to my list that is broken down between names for a shady character, or names for a strong character, or names for a wise character. These are all names I've already liked enough to put on the list too, so there's no duds.
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I actually like the idea of having a crafted name list. I tend to use a lot of names, and honestly I find it takes a lot longer to sift through the digital spaces for names. If I had a curated list that I could use and just sift through, it might make things easier. Sometimes too many choices can leave you with not wanting to bother with choosing lol I might work on something like this lol. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Meech17]

I actually like the idea of having a crafted name list. I tend to use a lot of names, and honestly I find it takes a lot longer to sift through the digital spaces for names. If I had a curated list that I could use and just sift through, it might make things easier. Sometimes too many choices can leave you with not wanting to bother with choosing lol I might work on something like this lol. Thanks for the idea!

No problem. It's something I'm really glad I did.

I mentioned in that, or one of my other comments that I struggled with name generators. Either I wouldn't like the names and I'd just keep refreshing, or my least favorite thing was getting random, unpronounceable, gibberish names.

Secondly I got the idea from Dael Kingsmill to organize the list not by race but by characteristic or personality. Shady names, dopey names, wise names, etc.

Some sources I mined were Xanathars Guide. It has a lot of names.

Also this list

The Wizards Community > Wiki - Dnd:Iomandra/Pregenerated Names

WotC, Wizards of the Coast community

web.archive.org

 

[O-Castitatis-Lilium]

No problem. It's something I'm really glad I did.

I mentioned in that, or one of my other comments that I struggled with name generators. Either I wouldn't like the names and I'd just keep refreshing, or my least favorite thing was getting random, unpronounceable, gibberish names.

Secondly I got the idea from Dael Kingsmill to organize the list not by race but by characteristic or personality. Shady names, dopey names, wise names, etc.

Some sources I mined were Xanathars Guide. It has a lot of names.

Also this list

The Wizards Community > Wiki - Dnd:Iomandra/Pregenerated Names

WotC, Wizards of the Coast community

web.archive.org

Yeah, name generators seem good, but they just don't seem to give me what I'm looking for. What I might do is make a list of names that I can both use and alter if I need to. I feel I would be able to come up with a name easier than having to constantly click through generators and still get nothing. I like the names lists from Xanathar's but even then, they seem so...I don't know, limiting to me. I mean they are great to use to alter and come up with a different name, but just a quick "pick a name" type scenario, they seem lackluster to me. I guess that just comes from my taste in what names I like lol.

 

[RealAlHazred]

I remembered I'd started a thread about this a couple of months ago: GM Last Minute Prep Folder, where I mentioned gaming blogger Kenneth Newqvist's now-gone post about his "Book of Almost Everything," a set of articles he photocopied (or printed out) and kept handy in a binder when he was running, so that he could pull out an NPC, a locale, a situation, or whatever else he needed mid-session, if the players did something unexpected.

Here was his list:
Optional Rules

• “Bribes and Contacts,” from Chapter 11 of the Book of Roguish Luck by Malhavoc Press
• “Cards, Dice & Skulls,” Dungeon, April 2006
• “Swamp Dangers,” Dungeon, September 2005

People

• “Spells for Sale,” Dungeon, February 2005
• “Alert the Watch,” Dungeon, January 2005
• “Pilgrims on the Road,” Dungeon, January 2005
• “Bounty Hunters,” Dungeon, March 2005
• “Employers and Patrons,” Dungeon, April 2005
• “Unsung Heroes,” Dungeon, April 2005
• “Sages and Scholars,” Dungeon, June 2005
• “Seneschals and Majordomos,” Dungeon, August 2005
• “Specialists,” Dungeon, February 2006
• “Glimmerpane,” Dungeon, October 2005
• “Five-Second NPCS,” Dungeon, December 2004
• “Merchant Madness,” Dungeon, September 2005
• “Instant City Shopping,” Dungeon, January 2005

Locations

• “The Green Griffon Tavern,” Book of Roguish Luck web enhancement by Malhavoc Press.
• “Inns and Lodging Houses,” Dungeon, January 2006
• “Wet Your Whistle,” Dungeon, November 2005
• “Passages into Darkness,” Dungeon, October 2004

Random Encounters

• “150 Benign Urban Encounters” from RoleplayingTips.com.
• “100 Meals,” Dungeon, April 2006
• “100 Market Stalls,” Dungeon, June 2005
• “Graveyard Encounters,” Dungeon, December 2004
• “Abandoned Buildings,” Dungeon, November 2004
• “Art and Other Fancy Loot,” Dungeon, January 2005
• “One Hundred Useless Items,” Dungeon, April 2005
• “Essential Works,” Dungeon, May 2005
• “Beaker of Endless Potions,” Dungeon, August 2005
• “The Möbius Scrolls,” Dungeon, April 2006
• “Staffs of Power,” Dungeon, October 2005