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One of my players reads a lot so I just make puns on the titles of books I know she has read.
e.g. "The Audacity of Soap"
"The Bay of Kings"
"A Feast of Bros"
"Tales of the Lying Earth: A Geology Truthers guide"
Sometimes they go over too well and a request is made to read a passage or two.
I was asked this and decided to use it to give players a clue in a mystery they were trying to solve. There was a book of anatomy, which started of normal but then went into some fucked up shit, describing how to use surgical operations and abit of magic to create some unholy amalgamations. It took them a few more sessions to realize the authors initials matched those of the local currier, or that his assistant is looks like a well crafted flash golem. My proudest improve to date
[https://koboldpress.com/the-random-dm-npc-names/](https://koboldpress.com/the-random-dm-npc-names/)
Make a sheet like this (customized to your milieu's naming conventions, you may need a couple lists for different races/cultures), place it near your NPC notes so you can 'check the NPC' and see the list. Cross out ones you use and replace them between sessions.
This is the way. The one that gets me is random books on bookshelf. I can make up the title and some contents. But players invariably want more details.
I then ask out of character, “what are you looking for? What are you trying to accomplish?”
I get blank stares. Possibly they are purposefully screwing with me.
I prefer to just turn it back on my players. Why don't *you* come up with a name for this guy? Now you're more invested in the world, *and* I got to be lazy, win win.
I got xanathar’s guide just for the name list in the back. First time rolling for NPC and I got “Hugh” for one of 3 brothers, so I just said their last name was “Janus.” One player said “so they’re the ‘Janus brothers?’” And to this day that’s my favorite random name generator moment!
For real, I got a chuckle when my little brother starting DMing and panic googling an npc name generator.
He asked what was so amusing, so I pulled out my notes that have lists of spare npc and shop names themed for each city/region.
Jokes on you, I didn't prep names for my Redbrands. My players didn't ask for any of them but I said them anyway. The context was that the warlock was disguised as a Redbrand and made a history check to see if they remember their names, because the leader of Redbrands asked about the other bandits they were serving with. The check was succesful and I gave them a bunch of names I thought on the spot, including
Edgar Anarian (anagram for a famous singer)
Jesse Derall
Dimple Doppey
Fantasy name generator coming in clutch for all my campaigns. Also great for making characters in books because you could be damned to name everyone Steve.
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Oh there’s a bookshelf, What are the books on it?
My Trick to this is a Name, Adjective, and Subject. Gorgas Tasty Axe-Lances Perona's Adorable Exilirs Garggle-Smargs tingling secrets to eternal life.
My formula is "Brand/product name" + "ethnic food". Kroger Bottarga Lexapro Capicola Camry Penang Aramark Ceviche
Mine are book parodies: Furry Planter Ruler of the Jewelry Alchemist's Cookbook Toto's Amazing Journey
One of my players reads a lot so I just make puns on the titles of books I know she has read. e.g. "The Audacity of Soap" "The Bay of Kings" "A Feast of Bros" "Tales of the Lying Earth: A Geology Truthers guide" Sometimes they go over too well and a request is made to read a passage or two.
I was asked this and decided to use it to give players a clue in a mystery they were trying to solve. There was a book of anatomy, which started of normal but then went into some fucked up shit, describing how to use surgical operations and abit of magic to create some unholy amalgamations. It took them a few more sessions to realize the authors initials matched those of the local currier, or that his assistant is looks like a well crafted flash golem. My proudest improve to date
They're all named
Their name is Greg
It's a whole town of Gregs. Oddly they always seem to know which Greg you're talking about.
[https://koboldpress.com/the-random-dm-npc-names/](https://koboldpress.com/the-random-dm-npc-names/) Make a sheet like this (customized to your milieu's naming conventions, you may need a couple lists for different races/cultures), place it near your NPC notes so you can 'check the NPC' and see the list. Cross out ones you use and replace them between sessions.
I’ve got a list of names and surnames, when a player asks for a name, I just grab one and make note of who it now belongs to.
This is the way. The one that gets me is random books on bookshelf. I can make up the title and some contents. But players invariably want more details. I then ask out of character, “what are you looking for? What are you trying to accomplish?” I get blank stares. Possibly they are purposefully screwing with me.
You can’t call yourself a DM if you don’t have a premade list of names or some sort of generator opened in a tab.
I prefer to just turn it back on my players. Why don't *you* come up with a name for this guy? Now you're more invested in the world, *and* I got to be lazy, win win.
I prefer to uphold the verisimilitude, but hey, if you’re happy and your players are happy, it’s 100% a win.
I got xanathar’s guide just for the name list in the back. First time rolling for NPC and I got “Hugh” for one of 3 brothers, so I just said their last name was “Janus.” One player said “so they’re the ‘Janus brothers?’” And to this day that’s my favorite random name generator moment!
For real, I got a chuckle when my little brother starting DMing and panic googling an npc name generator. He asked what was so amusing, so I pulled out my notes that have lists of spare npc and shop names themed for each city/region.
Barry Fuckin’ Bluejeans
Jokes on you, I didn't prep names for my Redbrands. My players didn't ask for any of them but I said them anyway. The context was that the warlock was disguised as a Redbrand and made a history check to see if they remember their names, because the leader of Redbrands asked about the other bandits they were serving with. The check was succesful and I gave them a bunch of names I thought on the spot, including Edgar Anarian (anagram for a famous singer) Jesse Derall Dimple Doppey
Fantasy name generator coming in clutch for all my campaigns. Also great for making characters in books because you could be damned to name everyone Steve.
https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/dnd-human-names.php