What's in a name?

[Jhaelen]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. IOW: Everyone likes different sorts of names.

I, for example, think 'gnoll' is an utterly stupid name. It's at least part of the reason why I've never used gnolls in my game.

I like names taken from mythology but only if the creature actually represents the mythological creature (somewhat).

I rarely like made up names, but there are exceptions. 'Illithid' is brilliant, imho, since it actually evokes a feeling of unease when I hear it: The first syllable 'ill' speaks to me of things bad and unhealthy.

Apart from that, I regularly create new names for creatures in my campaigns, especially if I made changes to their outlook or society/behaviour. So names are not _that_ important to me.

 

[EricNoah]

As to the original topic, good names in my opinion, like Eric said, are fairly joke proof. Which is actually fairly hard in my experience, because so many gamers seem to be keen on really bad puns.

Please don't besmirch my style of joking as "badwrongpun."

 

[Huw]

The right balance between familiarity and exoticness. Examples:

Bugbear - too familiar (though it is from folklore)
Ixitxachitl - too exotic
Gnoll - just right

 

[AllisterH]

Ixitxachitl - too exotic

I'm sorry, but if I can't pronounce the name, that's automatic failure right there.

Those flying cloaks/bats I NEVER used just because I couldn't pronounce the names...

 

[el-remmen]

Those flying cloaks/bats I NEVER used just because I couldn't pronounce the names...

Cloaker?

 

[Darrin Drader]

I generally like original names rather than descriptive names, and I like them to not include too many seldom used letters, like Q, X, and Z. Quarzarx is an example of a stupid name, in my opinion, unless you're trying to name a pulp era alien. So what I like is pronounceable and new for new races or creatures. I generally like character names to come from some sort of historical or modern context, or if its scifi, a futuristic bastardization of modern names, for example Michael, Mikhael, Mike, Mik.

 

[Cor Azer]

Please don't besmirch my style of joking as "badwrongpun."

I did not, in any way, mean to suggest bad puns are "badwrongpun". I count myself firmly in the camp of those loving the bad and good puns (in fact, my experience in DM's getting exasperated over punned names is mostly other DMs getting exasperated at me as a player).

I do try to limit it though; once a villain has been punned, he just can't be taken seriously anymore.

 

[Ipissimus]

Letter substitution is an auto fail, however. Particularly i -> y (Witch -> Wytch). No, you're not being clever. No, it's not cool.

c -> k has a certain precedent in some cases what with Russian language conventions.

I plan to stab the next person who transposes an 's' to a 'psi' or 'psy' in my presence.

Beginning or ending with 'z' also a bad idea in general.

I think the key is elegant simplicity. A name should 'sound cool' when you speak it, 'look cool' when it's written, be exotic enough to be 'new' and yet be simple enough to pronounce to gain traction. A good acid test is to see if people fight over the proper pronunciation: if they do you've got it wrong.

Orc is a great example. I've never met anyone who didn't 'get' the word Orc and what they represent frist time out. Ogre might have traction from faerie tales and such, but I've encountered a few people who pronounced it 'ORG' for some wierd reason. Guenhwyvar also, despite its historical background, has caused more contention than any name I know. I've encountered 'GOO-en-HI-vwar', 'GWEN-why-vern', 'GEN-wyvver'... it's a mood killer if ever there was one.

 

[jmucchiello]

As another example that's gone back and forth in D&D publishing history, I much prefer "mind flayer" to "illithid" (what they tried to prioritize in 2E). Granted there's no real-world myth this is based on. At least the first is descriptive and evocative, the second doesn't mean anything at all to an English-speaking audience. Stuff like that feels more like science fiction (recently made-up technical jargon).

I agree and disagree. Mind flayer is a great name used by humans who first encounter illithids. Illithid is a great name for a race of beings to call themselves. If illithids called themselves mind flayers that would be weird. It would be like humans calling themselves hunter-gatherers. Certainly hunter-gatherers is more descriptive (as is mind flayer) but no one would name themselves based on their primary social classification or eating habits.

 

[EricNoah]

once a villain has been punned, he just can't be taken seriously anymore.

4th edition should take care of this problem nicely!