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View Full Version : Ever accidentally give the BBEG a stupid name?



The Cats
2016-12-27, 02:12 AM
After a memorable random encounter the party let a mysterious fellow travel with them. He was heading west to meet "The Andrews." (It was late. I was tired. I didn't expect them to interact with him that way. Etc. etc. etc.) A couple sessions later, the man does some things the party is not a fan of and disappears, the party uncovers evidence that "The Andrews" are an organization of mercenary 'monsters for hire' and the man was a werewolf the whole time (They found him naked and dazed surrounded by the corpses of animals the morning after a full moon. And decided to trust him o_0 ). So obviously The Andrews have something to do with the demonic assault on the village of Greenbrook and that red dragon that attacked the nearby centaur settlement was probably an Andrew too!

I mean, they don't HAVE to be the BBEG but I'd hate to disappoint my players.

Maybe they've just been mispronouncing it this whole time.The Un-Drow? Sigh...

DoomHat
2016-12-27, 04:16 AM
I mean, it's an obvious alias, and a fairly subdued one at that. Perhaps a lot of these abominations don't have pronounceable human names, nor are they anywhere near smart enough to be able to keep track of a bunch of different alternate identities, so while they're shape-shifted or glamoured, they just lazily go by "Andrew".

So "Andrew" over time becomes a sort of synonym for what they do. It's a job title. Something so humble begins taking on a sinister connotation.

It seems you're party is now embroiled in some sort of conspiracy of monsters. Is some lich or other pulling the stings? Or are the monsterious races gearing up for a combined assault against the "humanoid realm"? It seems to work so well for the elves, dwarfs, men, half-lings, and so forth to combine forces, what happens when werebeasts, gobliniods, drow, and dragoniods take up the same idea?

"The Andrews" isn't an impressive name, but then it isn't meant to be, and it doesn't have to be. They're clearly just a vanguard for something much, much, worse.

Dimers
2016-12-27, 09:58 AM
Yeah, other story creators have made some unfortunate naming choices too. (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1140)

The Cats
2016-12-27, 10:56 AM
An interesting exposition that makes me feel less stupid and a link to a hilarious comic I've never seen before. I love this board.

Mastikator
2016-12-27, 11:22 AM
By accident...? No.

Hawkstar
2016-12-27, 12:22 PM
An interesting exposition that makes me feel less stupid and a link to a hilarious comic I've never seen before. I love this board.

You've never read DM of the Rings? Read it NOW. It's hilarious.

eru001
2016-12-27, 12:37 PM
Off the top of my head (several of these by rolling a chart, several accidental, several on purpose)

Darth Roberto (Chart)
Karl von Jurr (accidental, players started calling him Carl's Jr)
Lord Earl Knightsby Duke of Kingsbury (On purpose)
Sir Walter Render (Accidental, Sir Render sounds like Surrender, led to a pretty funny incident when a player who's character spoke with a french accent answered one of his questions with Oui Sir Render)

Calthropstu
2016-12-27, 01:24 PM
...

Final fantasy 5: X-Death.

Great game, fun engaging... but the villain name is retarded.

Freed
2016-12-27, 01:30 PM
Make their leader "One-Eye" Andrews or something similar. The Andrew's full name is actually Andrew's Blades for Hire.

John Longarrow
2016-12-27, 02:31 PM
Current BBEG I've got. Didn't plan on them being introduced so quickly so I kinda panicked. Their name is Lauldan... I regretted it the moment I said it.

Hawkstar
2016-12-27, 02:53 PM
Make their leader "One-Eye" Andrews or something similar. The Andrew's full name is actually Andrew's Blades for Hire.
... I think this sounds dumber than a Monstrous Mafia known simply as "The Andrews"

Stealth Marmot
2016-12-27, 03:25 PM
By accident...? No.

Yeah, this.

Freed
2016-12-27, 03:46 PM
... I think this sounds dumber than a Monstrous Mafia known simply as "The Andrews"
Well if he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to use it.

LibraryOgre
2016-12-27, 04:27 PM
No reference to "The Andy's" from Hot Fuzz? For SHAME! For SHAME!

And one of my friends always gives BBEGs the names of mathematicians. If they're good, they have the name of engineers.

Flickerdart
2016-12-27, 04:29 PM
Maybe they've just been mispronouncing it this whole time.The Un-Drow? Sigh...

Obviously the space is in the wrong place, and the true BBEG is named Thean Druze.

Anonymouswizard
2016-12-27, 05:32 PM
"The Andrews" are an organization of mercenary 'monsters for hire'

To me this doesn't actually sound stupid. I mean, it sounds like an organisation that named itself specifically so it doesn't stand out. I think I might actually steal the entire concept for my next fantasy game.

To answer the thread question, all the time. I specifically avoid 'cool' names now, because they won't be cool by the time my players get their hands on them.

So for the Transhuman Space game I'm planning, the villain is Alan Smith. He runs a bioroid smuggling operation, currently nicknamed the 'Smithees' in my notes, but I plan to come up with a new name before the game starts. I've just found that names people could have tend to not stick out and come across as stupid, even if the players might need to note them down.

Actually, this is half the reason I like Science Fiction and Urban Fantasy games so much. I can use everyday names and they'll fit pretty well, it makes it a whole of a lot easier if I can just use 'John Smith' when an NPC needs to have an obvious alias.

Vinyadan
2016-12-27, 06:23 PM
Did nobody say "Palpatine"? I know a big production with a BBEG called this way.

Kurald Galain
2016-12-27, 06:24 PM
One that comes to mind is that in the classic hack-and-slash arcade game Golden Axe, the villain's name is Death=Adder. Not "death adder" or "death-adder" but "death equals adder". His master, of course, is named death equals bringer. I blame crappy translations but it's still pretty silly :smallamused:

Templarkommando
2016-12-27, 07:59 PM
The party that I'm in goes out of its way to make fun of the DM's character names.

Noje
2016-12-27, 08:15 PM
In a 5e campaign a few years ago I ran I put "Phil Deadhands" as a filler name for a lich until I could think of a real name. I never got around to changing it. The players have never let me live down the time that I made them fight "Dr. Phil" as a lich.

other than that I have had a few cliche names for assassins' guilds like "the Scarlet Roses" and "Silent but Deadly"

JAL_1138
2016-12-27, 10:25 PM
Make their leader "One-Eye" Andrews or something similar. The Andrew's full name is actually Andrew's Blades for Hire.

It's the fact that it's monsters that throws it off. It's not bad, nor without precedent, for a human mercenary(-ish) band. There's a rather famous one with a somewhat silly name: Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which was often used as armed private security, sort of a precursor to Blackwater-style PMCs, and whose employees were often just called "Pinkertons."


Obviously the space is in the wrong place, and the true BBEG is named Thean Druze.

That's actually a pretty good save. Coud also be a wizard from Thay named Druze (Thayan Druze).

Freed
2016-12-27, 10:39 PM
Obviously the space is in the wrong place, and the true BBEG is named Thean Druze.

The problem, though, is that they know that The Andrews are a group of mercenary monsters, not just one person.

Red Fel
2016-12-27, 11:54 PM
The problem, though, is that they know that The Andrews are a group of mercenary monsters, not just one person.

"Ah, but you don't understand. The Andrews is everywhere. The Andrews can never die. For when one falls, another rises to take his place. We are all The Andrews."

It can be a mercenary group with a single, powerful, terrifying, charismatic leader who gathers followers like a cult. They all take on his name, or at least do so symbolically, as a showing of loyalty.

And it is confusing right up until it becomes terrifying.

(Substitute "I am Spartacus," "I am Negan," or what have you.)

That said? They don't have to be the BBEG if you don't want them to be. Planning the BBEG is a lot like planning a wedding - the guests won't know what you didn't do, only what you did do. All you have to do is give them the show they've been waiting for, and they'll ooh and gush about how beautiful the bride was, how great the food was, how terrifying the dragon was, how lovely the music was - but they never have to find out the last-minute changes you made behind the scenes. So keep that in mind.

Fri
2016-12-27, 11:55 PM
"Ah, but you don't understand. The Andrews is everywhere. The Andrews can never die. For when one falls, another rises to take his place. We are all The Andrews."

It can be a mercenary group with a single, powerful, terrifying, charismatic leader who gathers followers like a cult. They all take on his name, or at least do so symbolically, as a showing of loyalty.

And it is confusing right up until it becomes terrifying.

(Substitute "I am Spartacus," "I am Negan," or what have you.)

And Red Fel is a pretty stupid name as well, if you think of it.

Red Fel
2016-12-27, 11:56 PM
And Red Fel is a pretty stupid name as well, if you think of it.

... I have feelings, too, you know.

Like malice. Hatred. A thirst for vengeance.

Freed
2016-12-28, 12:02 AM
... I have feelings, too, you know.

Like malice. Hatred. A thirst for vengeance.

There, there. At least it's not as bad as Green Fel.

Red Fel
2016-12-28, 12:08 AM
There, there. At least it's not as bad as Green Fel.

That eco-friendly do-gooder keeps ruining my bad name!

Also my plans!

Freed
2016-12-28, 12:20 AM
That eco-friendly do-gooder keeps ruining my bad name!

Also my plans!

But no offense, do you really think you measure up to Beige Fel? Do you feel that you compare to him deep in your cold, black heart?

Hawkstar
2016-12-28, 12:38 AM
The problem, though, is that they know that The Andrews are a group of mercenary monsters, not just one person.

They might not have always been monsters. Originally a mercenary band that started taking on monsters to bolster their ranks, and things got out of hand.

Plot twist - Don't make them the villains. Make them the 'first responders' to the situation. They're monsters trying to legally exist in society, but they're having problems with things getting out of hand - both in biting off contracts they're not quite fit to handle (Either more sophisticated or more deadly than they were expecting), and dealing with internal issues because they're monsters.

Freed
2016-12-28, 12:42 AM
They might not have always been monsters. Originally a mercenary band that started taking on monsters to bolster their ranks, and things got out of hand.
Maybe so, but I was more referring to the fact that Thean Druze, while an awesome name, was a name for a single person, not a group.

Hawkstar
2016-12-28, 12:43 AM
Maybe so, but I was more referring to the fact that Thean Druze, while an awesome name, was a name for a single person, not a group.

It's late, I'm tired, and I grabbed the first post that seems to have struggled with the 'they're monsters, not humans' problem.

RazorChain
2016-12-28, 12:45 AM
Well I can say one thing, never name a villain Bates....there is always some player tha will come to the conclusion to put master before his name.

Pex
2016-12-28, 01:16 AM
Its a whole family of BBEGs.

Archie
Julie
Laverne, Patty, and Maxine
Dana

DoomHat
2016-12-28, 01:22 AM
It occurs to me that frankly, no name survives contact with the players anyway.
I'm currently in a campaign where our BBEG is, "The Lich King". Our character have started relentlessly calling him "Steve".

BWR
2016-12-28, 03:41 AM
In one game I played we met Zordar the Reaper. He wasn't a BBEG, just a Medium BEG, but for some reason we all just cracked up when we heard his name. It was so 80's Saturday morning cartoonish, and we totally ruined the encounter by laughing every time it was his turn to act. Years later it's the name we snigger at when we come across a baddie who has a name that's trying too hard.

Asha Leu
2016-12-28, 04:39 AM
I can come up with some incredibly dumb names when put on the spot. A recent one that comes to mind was Monai, a sewer-dwelling wererat. So named because I had the equipment section of the Player's Handbook open when the PCs asked him for his name and my eyes immediately locked onto the word "money".

The same campaign also featured an elven ranger named Marcus. I managed to get around that one by retconning him in the next session to be a half-elf with especially elven features.

To avoid this, I tend to just poach names from TV shows or obscure Australian politicians when I need to come up with something at short notice.

As for the OP, I actually like "The Andrews" as the name for an evil organisation. Something that mundane can be made really sinister in the right context. Nor do I think its a big deal that it is comprised of monstrous races - perhaps they specifically chose a "human" name to stay under the rader.

Anonymouswizard
2016-12-28, 05:00 AM
It occurs to me that frankly, no name survives contact with the players anyway.
I'm currently in a campaign where our BBEG is, "The Lich King". Our character have started relentlessly calling him "Steve".

Fort my current game one of the main villains, the Crimson Spectre (it's a superhero game, my character's story name is Autocop) has been referred to as the following:
-Scarlet Spectre.
-Crimson Ninja.
-Teleporting Girl.
-Her.

Professor Gadgets, who appeared in the same session, has had his name survive the mocking process, but that's because a) we find the mad scientist adorable, and b) we always start singing the inspector gadget theme tune.

We also literally had a minor villain named Steve. He appeared in a follow-up investigation to a guy called pinhead giving his story (the GM didn't like my suggestion of 'bulk' for the Hulk-esque guy).

Stealth Marmot
2016-12-28, 07:03 AM
-Her.

...Her?

/ArrestedDevelopment

Sariel Vailo
2016-12-28, 01:28 PM
i made a bbeg called bob thats it high tier sorceror of wild magic lets just say bob the potted plant was handled by being put in a bag of holding

Necroticplague
2016-12-28, 02:05 PM
For one part of a campaign, we were trekking through what, to my memory, was basically 'ominous forest type 2; subtype haunted bog'. The DM, in keeping with the low-effort creepy theme, went with the name 'Mourningwood Forest', having not considereed how that sounds out loud. Naturally, our enemy was the self styled ruler of these woods, title 'Lord of Mourningwood'. The resultant jokes that completely killed the mood practically wrote themselves.

Velaryon
2016-12-29, 10:34 PM
Not a BBEG, but I had a situation where an on-the-spot NPC needed a name and I couldn't come up with anything, which led to some amusing results.

The party had traveled some distance to a major city to buy a high-level scroll they needed. Since the scroll was actually being used to solve a major plot point, it needed to be a little more interesting than just buying it off the shelf at Ye Olde Corner Magick Shoppe. I had them do some Gather Information checks to find out where they could buy it, and they learned that there was a mighty black wizard who had a tower at the edge of town who might be able to help them.

They get to the tower, and I still haven't come up with a name (I'm really bad at coming up with names on the fly, ask literally anyone who's ever gamed with me), so I just keep referring to him as the Mighty Black Wizard. Somehow that stuck, and then my brain linked him to Black Dynamite and I ended up with a blaxploitation-style evil wizard that the PCs needed help from. Shortly thereafter, he began referring to himself in the third person and calling them jive turkeys.

He ended up sending them on a quest to kill a brown dragon who had angered him. They were instructed to bring back the dragon's hide so he could have a dragonhide leather couch installed in his tower.

Best of all, the party ended up double crossing him by making a deal with the dragon: they needed proof of his death, so they did kill him, but then after harvesting the corpse they resurrected the dragon. One of the players even made a dragonpact with him. Then they turned over the hide to the Mighty Black Wizard, who was none the wiser. He got his couch and thought one of his enemies was taken out, but the dragon is still out there and has some decently powerful PC allies now.