Whining & Complaining

[billd91]

When this drunken barbarian killed a bunch of aquatic beings, was it called the Kitty Mer Massacre?

I believe there is a special circle of Hell devoted to your punning ilk. Welcome!

 

[Oryan77]

But if a PC wants to call himself "Mortis Deathlord" (as happened IMC), well that's the player's right.

No, the player doesn't have the right to do whatever he/she wants. Sorry, I disagree with that 100%. A player can't name a Dark Sun character (or pet) Darth Vader just because it's his character and he has the right to do so.

The player has the right to do whatever he/she wants in the boundaries that a DM sets in the game that he runs (if that is the way he wants to run the game).

I don't think I do anything unreasonable as a DM and I am actually very open to player choices. But I refuse to let a player make a mockery of the game. I may let a dumb name slip by here and there if it doesn't bother me too bad. But idiotic names are not allowed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a DM asking players not to use silly names.

I really think that has to do with the social contract of the individual group. My group prefers to feel as immersed as possible,

I was going to XP you, but apparently I already like the way you think and I'm supposed to spread it around. So I'll reply instead.

I think about it the same way you do. Most of my friends are the same way, although I'm sure a few in my current group would be ok with silly names.

I approach D&D with a certain expectation, especially when I DM. I see nothing wrong with restricting idiotic names if it means I get to keep the game from being more goofy than I want it to be.

If someone criticizes me about this, that's perfectly fine. I just think it's amusing that I'm being criticized for it as if it makes me a bad DM. I already play a game of imagination. I'm not about to be even more childish by using childish names.

I honestly don't care what anyone thinks of me in regards to this. I see nothing wrong here. If you want to be childish in your game, that's great. If I was playing in that game, I probably wouldn't mind so much. But I don't care to run games like that.

Oryan77, have you considered what the common denominator with all 10 of your issues is?

That I'm a grown man playing make believe? Or that I shouldn't DM cause I can't deal with all of the people?

 

[Agamon]

No, the player doesn't have the right to do whatever he/she wants. Sorry, I disagree with that 100%. A player can't name a Dark Sun character Darth Vader just because it's his character and he has the right to do so.

The player has the right to do whatever he/she wants in the boundaries that a DM sets in the game that he runs (if that is the way he wants to run the game).

I don't think I do anything unreasonable as a DM and I am actually very open to player choices. But I refuse to let a player make a mockery of the game. I may let a dumb name slip by here and there if it doesn't bother me too bad. But idiotic names are not allowed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a DM asking players not to use silly names.

I'm right with you here. In the game, I follow the philosophy that the GM should never say "no, you can't do that." But when it comes to creating their PC, they need to stay within the confines set by the GM and the setting. If the GM says the game is core races, nothing can be used from splatbook X, and the PC's name should be something that fits with the setting, a player has no "right" to make a half minotaur/half drow from splatbook X named Funky Winkerbean.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

And you really don't have a problem with a paladin's warhorse named Butterfly?

Why would anyone? It's an outstanding internet meme reference, albeit a somewhat obscure one.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ek6XxH2SRc]‪Stupid Infomercial Host‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

But I refuse to let a player make a mockery of the game.

This is key to me. I prefer a much less silly tone than I used to. And intentionally choosing a name to frustrate me and the other players just to mock the game would cause an issue. Especially, as others have said, when it is a name chosen by the player that links to something outside the game. I would only have an issue with the familiar's name though if there were no such confection or plant in the game world.

Did you ever ask that player why she wanted to name her familiar Marshmallow? I had one of my current players name one of his previous characters, a half-orc barbarian, Biscuit. "Biscuit, really?!?" He explained his character's backstory and tied the name in really well to his concept. I discovered he wasn't trying to add a silly name to mock the game, but instead to embrace his character's upbringing. I'd be curious to know if you ever delved into your player's reasoning for 'Marshmallow.'

 

[billd91]

This is key to me. I prefer a much less silly tone than I used to. And intentionally choosing a name to frustrate me and the other players just to mock the game would cause an issue. Especially, as others have said, when it is a name chosen by the player that links to something outside the game. I would only have an issue with the familiar's name though if there were no such confection or plant in the game world.

Did you ever ask that player why she wanted to name her familiar Marshmallow? I had one of my current players name one of his previous characters, a half-orc barbarian, Biscuit. "Biscuit, really?!?" He explained his character's backstory and tied the name in really well to his concept. I discovered he wasn't trying to add a silly name to mock the game, but instead to embrace his character's upbringing. I'd be curious to know if you ever delved into your player's reasoning for 'Marshmallow.'

Along the Biscuit line, whether or not something makes a mockery of the game depends a lot on perspective. Naming a critter Marshmallow (even a familiar or animal companion) is small potatoes. I would generally consider interfering in that as being beneath my scope as a GM. What do I care what PCs name their pets? People in the real world name their pets (heck, KIDS) all sorts of stupid crap, would denizens of a fantasy world be any different?

I'd much rather have characters named mundane names with long pedigrees like John Smith, Ralph Andersson, Thomas Ford, or Jason Willowby or nicknames like Pitt (for an ex-pit fighter), One-Eye, or Beaumains, or with pets named like pets (Boots for a cat, dog, or horse with boot-like markings or Marshmallow for a white pet) than many of the weird fantasy names that people come up with Abraorx, Kalanthasala, Bamfiddle Ankleclicker, or Fonkin freakin' Hoddypeak.

 

[Oryan77]

Did you ever ask that player why she wanted to name her familiar Marshmallow?

Yeah, if I remember correctly, I think she had a pet named Marshmallow. Or an animal she cared for at the zoo was named that. I forget. This wasn't the first "cutesy" name she tried infiltrating into the game. Her previous character had a lion animal companion named "Mittens". I let that slide even though I hated it. But seeing a pattern here made me put my foot down. She was trying to make a mockery of the game even if she didn't mean any harm by it.

I had one of my current players name one of his previous characters, a half-orc barbarian, Biscuit. "Biscuit, really?!?" He explained his character's backstory and tied the name in really well to his concept.

My first reaction to Biscuit was "uhg". But hearing that there was an explanation makes me realize that I probably would be ok with that name. And thinking about it more (knowing there is a reason for the name) makes me actually like that name for a Half-Orc Barbarian. It reminds me of nicknames given to people I know from the deep south.

People in the real world name their pets (heck, KIDS) all sorts of stupid crap

People in the real world are not generally ok with their pets fighting people (or even other animals) to the death. People freak out when their pet is bleeding from the gums. Especially the type of owner that gives "cutesy" names to their pets. It conflicts with the role of the character in my eyes. It just doesn't seem realistic to me.

This isn't some house pet or farm animal we're talking about. If an NPC had a pet named Snookums, that's fine with me. Hell, if the PC had a pet that was NOT an animal companion, wild cohort, or a familiar that they put in danger on a daily basis, I wouldn't care if it had a cutesy name.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Naming a critter Marshmallow (even a familiar or animal companion) is small potatoes. I would generally consider interfering in that as being beneath my scope as a GM. What do I care what PCs name their pets? People in the real world name their pets (heck, KIDS) all sorts of stupid crap, would denizens of a fantasy world be any different?

They usually use something common to the world they live in though. And while I agree Marshmallow would be too small in scope, I would have an issue with someone naming their spirit companion Pikachu, for example. Why? Because that is a player naming his companion based on his love of (or desire to mock) Pokemon. His character would not know the word and would be unlikely to string those random letters together to form the name otherwise. I'm not as hardcore against such names as Oryan though. I would discourage such choices, but never go so far as to ban them. I'm not saying that anyone is a 'Bad DM' for doing so, that's just my style.

 

[billd91]

People in the real world are not generally ok with their pets fighting people (or even other animals) to the death. People freak out when their pet is bleeding from the gums. Especially the type of owner that gives "cutesy" names to their pets. It conflicts with the role of the character in my eyes. It just doesn't seem realistic to me.

This isn't some house pet or farm animal we're talking about. If an NPC had a pet named Snookums, that's fine with me. Hell, if the PC had a pet that was NOT an animal companion, wild cohort, or a familiar that they put in danger on a daily basis, I wouldn't care if it had a cutesy name.

Sounds to me that the name has to cross some kind of 'macho' threshold to be allowed. Frankly, I find that no less silly than a PC wanting to name their animal companion Marshmallow.

 

[Mark CMG]

People in the real world are not generally ok with their pets fighting people (or even other animals) to the death.

BBEG: Who will stand as champion for your party?

PC: I choose you, Marshmellow!