Can you suggest me some D&D-ish names? [lazy DM]

[Gandariel]

What it says on the tin.
Basically, i need some names for a campaign i'll run, and i'm asking the magnificent power of the Playground to help me :P

I need names for 3-4 charachters (of whose, one is the BBEG and one is the Good questgiver NPC)
3-4 cities (of whose, one of elves, and one is the capital of BBEGland)
and a name for the continent.

And also, the name of an ancient powerful artifact, which is powered by 12 or so gems.
(named, for now, is The Staff of Mystra)

[missmvicious]

Are we going with totally made up names or names based on the FR setting?

I noticed you named an artifact after Mystra, an FR goddess, which is why I'm asking.

If it's a made up setting, then these questions may help:

What's the environment?
Who discovered it?
What's it's primary export?
Is it an ancient city or a newly developed one?
Is it war torn or peaceful?

A lot of times, a city would be named after it's surroundings. Other times, it would be named after it's discoverer.

If a Dwarf discovered a mountain, it might be called Holderhek Peak or it's mines might be called The Diamond Mines of Dankil; but if a human found it, it might be called Dragonspine Mountains and Shimmermine respectively. If a Gnome discovered a beach and build it into a Port town, it could likely be called Port Turen; but if a human found it first, it might be named after it's primary import: Havenport, Salt Port, or Port Arthur.

Check out the DMG, pg 136 and start with the Geography section. Answer every question the book raises, and you won't have to name the city. It will name itself.

[Dragonsoul]

Because I'm lazy too (http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/)

For place names, just us one of the more exotic options

[Gandariel]

yeah, there are a lot of details i didn't add because, well, i'm lazy :P

More seriously, i've named about half of the towns (also thanks for the name of the port city and the mountains)

I still need the name for a river that starts from the mountsins, goes through the elven lands (by the way, good name for a forest?), and finally goes in the ocean.

[JaronK]

Name the places realistically. Places are named after their founder (Rome), an aspect of the terrain (Highpass, Stoney Brook), or their discoverer (America... sorta), or a culturally important person (San Francisco). Occasionally, they're named something to attract new residents (Los Angeles, Greenland) or to keep others out (Iceland).

So, for each place, why does it exist? A town founded on a really nice bay or other really nice geological feature that someone might have found and taken credit for should just be named after that person. This is especially true if it's the first major settlement in the area... such as a capitol. If it's founded later, it should either be a name (the first owner of that land) or its geological function (Lakeshore) or a combination (Huntington Bay).

JaronK

[Gandariel]

to keep others out (Iceland).
JaronK

Really? i didn't know this!!

Thank you very much, anyway

[missmvicious]

If you're really not that into naming, why not just use Oerth or Forgotten Realms? I do it all the time.

Set it around Icewind Dale... made famous by Drizzt and friends.
http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/iwd2/info/maps/iwd_map2_s.gif

There's a quick map I pulled up. You've got lakes, a river, a mountain, and a forest. Primary inhabitants are Dwarves, Humans, Half-Orcs, Half-Ogres, Half-Giants, and monsters... lots and lots of monsters.

You can find a billion maps for FR with a quick Google search and drop it into your setting. You don't have to use the setting to use the maps. I do it all the time. A campaign I'm in now uses the FR map and all the names, but none of the actual setting (as far as gods, rulers and prominent NPCs are concerned).

[Alefiend]

Buy a copy of this (http://www.amazon.com/Gygaxs-Extraordinary-Gygaxian-Fantasy-Worlds/dp/1931275564). Many people, including my girlfriend, have made great use of it over the years. You can use the names therein or extrapolate new ones from their inspiration.

Online name generators are hit-or-miss, but they're easy enough to use that you can create a pile until you find something you like.

Don't be afraid to use common, real-world names from time to time. The D&D campaign I'm currently in has such exciting character names as Bob, Esther, and Leah. My character is Stieg, so chosen because I liked the sound of late author Stieg Larsson's name and thought it fit well.

[JoeYounger]

Don't be afraid to use common, real-world names from time to time. The D&D campaign I'm currently in has such exciting character names as Bob, Esther, and Leah. My character is Stieg, so chosen because I liked the sound of late author Stieg Larsson's name and thought it fit well.

This. My last 4 characters have been names Lucius B. Wiggly (named after a fallen soldier that we recently had a funeral for IRL), Louis J. Barone (Named in honor of a favorite coworker), Phillup Brown (named after a favorite cat of mine) and Jeff Malone (named after an old MMO friend.

[Mantarni]

Bonertown
It is a town primarily focused on boning of all kinds (whale bones, mammoth bones, etc), and is also home to some of the greatest pianists of the time. The Boners who live there are all strong, solid, industrious people with a firm take on life. The regional tracts of land are very recognizable thanks to a large ivory erection just outside the town limits, a great Tower which is the home of the town founder, Sir Mansfield Cummings.
http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-downsrim.gif

I can tell I need coffee, because this actually sounds like a good idea to use in a story. Don't internet while asleep.

[Arbane]

Cynical reply: Just do it the way most fantasy writers do: Grab a handful of Scrabble tiles and add a few apostrophes!

Possibly helpful answer: Kate Monk's Onomastikon (http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/) is a collection of names from all over the world, various historical periods, and a few fantasy cultures, as well. Very useful resource if you want to avoid the "Scrabble naming" or "Aerith and Bob" problems.

[JackRackham]

Harl, Dagmer, Alban, Dirk, Selwyn, Beogrud, Taelwyn, Borean, Telephus. I like to add descriptive titles instead of surnames for some characters: Half-God, The Bastard, The Overcompensater, The Rightly Guided (two of those are mine, others were a friend). For dwarves, a metal or adjective and a weapon/tool: Goldhammer, etc. Place names can be named for terrain features. Bleakshire, silvermarsh, etc. Dagon is also a nice city name (I've reused it in a couple settings, named after some ancient hero or other).

[Namfuak]

My current DM has taken to naming NPCs so they are alliterate with what they sell, and bartenders "a word for foul" "regular name." So, we get shops like "Wally's Weapons," "Terry's Tools," and "Shelly's Shields," and bartenders like "Smelly Pete," "Stinky Joe," and "Disgusting Dave." Also, one was named Andrew, but that's a different story.

[JackRackham]

A character I played (as an example) had no idea who his father was. He called himself Alban Half-God, as he believed (told himself) he was the son of Pelor. Everyone else where he was from called him Alban the Bastard. So, the name is a characterization, is my point. That's thefulness of the descrptive title as opposed to a last name. (FWIW, this particular quirk would work for a villain, though 'Alban' might be too good-guy.)

[Snowbluff]

Well, for Elves you can probably get away with a Latin noun then standard adjective-noun last name. For dwarves substitute the Latin for something guttural, gibberish even.

I like to use lots of meaningful names, personally. Is the guy a cold-based blaster? Name him Rain or Snow! Evil dude planning to spread a plague? Metus Viledeath! Dwarven weapon smith? Groth Wellforge!

[JaronK]

Really? i didn't know this!!

Thank you very much, anyway

Both Greenland and Iceland were named for marketing reasons. Iceland was so named so it might sound depressing and thus allow its discoverers to monopolize the area before anyone else figured out what was up. Greenland... they tried really hard to get enough settlers there.

JaronK

[Madcrafter]

Or you can always find any fantasy novel, open it to a page, and pick a name (preferably not one that is too crazy). This works well especially for things like elven names, which may not conform to the common conventions JaronK suggested (or at least, not in common).

[Diefje]

Don't forget Something McSomethingelse. Works especially well with dwarfs.

For places, an alternative idea is that they just don't have a name. It's just "the land of Lord Whatsisface". It's mostly in low-population/exploration settings though. They simply don't have a need to know the name of their city because it's the only city everyone has ever been to. That way you'll never have to come up with a place name again, you just need NPC names! The city of Baron von Moustache, the town of Lord Taxman the Oppressor, the river of High Elf Bob the Brick (who couldn't swim), the mountain of the McDwarfinator Clan, etc, etc

[Telok]

http://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=Special:Allpages (http://http://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=Special:Allpages)

There are multiple name generators in here.

Also: Drinking Binge! (http://www.random-generator.com/index.php?title=Drinking_Binge)