Comments on: Verisimilitude: The Importance of Names

By: John Lewis

John Lewis — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:30:27 +0000

Whether it’s your character’s name or any of the hundreds of names the GM has to come up with, names are powerful, especially in an RPG. Use them as much as possible. I always feel that one of the best accessories a good GM can have is a big list of names. NPC names, cool location names, inn and tavern names, etc.
John Lewis recently posted…101 Player Character Background Hooks (1-50)

By: Mike Bourke

Mike Bourke — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 08:27:05 +0000

Thanks, Samuel! Stop by anytime, and bring your friends 🙂
Mike Bourke recently posted…Race To The Moon – a lesson in story structure

By: Samuel Van Der Wall

Samuel Van Der Wall — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 02:15:00 +0000

Well said, Mike. After reading your article series “A Good Name Is Hard To Find” and John’s article here, I will work hard to find that perfect name. It’s so true. All of my memorable character had great names (whether that was by design or accident). But I definitely think that there was a correlation there.

And, love Campaign Mastery. Keep up the great work.
Samuel Van Der Wall recently posted…101 Player Character Background Hooks (1-50)

By: Mike Bourke

Mike Bourke — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 00:03:06 +0000

I don’t think it’s possible to *over* -estimate the power of a good name. Or to under-estimate the harm that can be wrought with a poorly-chosen one.

Bringing PCs and NPCs to life is already hard enough. Giving one a big step forward may not do the job forward, but it lays foundations for everything that follows, making the job that much easier. That’s what a good name does.

Compare that with attempting to run a marathon (i.e. stay the distance) with a character who has one foot sealed in a bucket of concrete. That’s the impact of a bad name – it’s a crippling handicap that has to be overcome each and every time the character’s name is mentioned by *anyone* at the game table. And even your most serious moments can be derailed in tone and credibility simply by someone mentioning the name of that character.
Mike Bourke recently posted…Race To The Moon – a lesson in story structure

By: Samuel Van Der Wall

Samuel Van Der Wall — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:40:45 +0000

In retrospect, I think I’ve often underestimated the power of a name in gaming. I’ve often tried to just quickly pick a name that fit the flavor of the campaign or sounded ‘cool’. But my most memorable characters were the ones that I actually thought of a name that really fit the character. Gorm the Glorious, my Conan the Barbarian knockoff, always fit his name…
Samuel Van Der Wall recently posted…101 Player Character Background Hooks (1-50)