Non-Awful Monster Names

[Venger]

Nature abhors a vacuum.

Whenever we have a worst x thread, eventually someone will make a best x thread, since people will start talking about it in the worst x thread anyway. We've reached that point in the awful monster names (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?559138-Awful-Monster-Names) thread, and at the behest of the master of morphology, the pharaoh of phonemes, the emperor of etymology himself, Zaq, here is that thread's counterpart.


OK, let's flip the script a bit. (This may warrant its own thread.) We've got complaints about monsters that pull their names from outside mythology/folklore, we've got complaints about monsters that just make up gibberish names, and we've got complaints about monsters whose names are basically just everyday words in some kind of combination.

Now, I recognize that not all of those complaints are coming from the same people at the same time, but still, that does seem to leave us with relatively few options. Just for the sake of discussion, what GOOD options are there for naming fantasy critters (which, I will remind you, do not exist and are often being made up on the spot with no real frame of reference)?

The complaints about the monsters whose names exist outside real-world mythologies (hydras, basilisks, dwarves, etc) isn't because they're from outside real-world mythologies. It's because there's something else wrong with them, usually because it's a keyboard smash like the quanlos or because it's two edgelord words smashed together at random like the wrackspawn.

I will happily own up to complaining about both keyboard smashes and naming things after random words. These don't make for good names, because it's not how we name things in real life. When we discover a new animal in the wild, we'll name it after either its function (venus fly trap) or some gross detail of its physical appearance (spotted owl) or behavior (sloth). The reason these names work and perform the function names should, being something to call that thing over there (kangaroo) and give you some kind of mnemonic to call them to mind.

If an elephant were called an oxtlahclour or a bellowstomp, you'd probably forget what exact creature that was, and when grasping for it might mistakenly refer to the axolotl in the former case, or think the latter name referred to hippos or rhinos

if a monster's name is a keyboard smash, then it's pretty clear why that fails as a name. if something's gibberish, you can't possibly remember it. if a monster's name is just two generic words relating to it, you might remember the name, but you won't remember what monster it's associated with. the boneclaw, for example. he is a skeleton with claws, but that describes about a hundred different monsters, so in actual practice, I'll inevitably refer to him as "the one in the lady gaga meat dress" because that will help people know what one I actually mean.

basically, for a name to be good, it should be:

1) Memorable: is the name intelligible, pronounceable, and specific?
2) Descriptive: does this name actually describe the monster's gross physical appearance in some way?
3) Indicative: does the monster's name suggest the monster's behavior?

at least 1 is good. 2 or 3 is better. if it doesn't meet any of these (and isn't already an extant monster name outside D&D) then it's probably not a good name for a monster

In my own humble attempts to guide discourse, I'll ask people not post monsters that D&D did not name (sphinx, cyclops, minotaur, etc) but if those are the monster names you like and want to talk about, hey there's nothing I can do about that.

if you know where a monster is from, it'd be cool to post what book it's in, so people can go look at it and learn about some new critters.

a couple of names I like:

bluespawn godslayer (mm4): may not be the most accurate name, but it's got a wonderful mouthfeel.
verdant prince (mm4)when I hear this name, I imagine a statuesque erlking like fey who probably looks like the male lead on the cover of a paranormal romance you'll pick up at the supermarket. he probably has some nature and druid themed powers. and lo, that's what the monster actually looks like and what it does. this is therefore a good name.
mockery bug (mm5): when their queen eats you, it excretes a centipede looks like you, but is just a hollow shell with a centipede attached to the inside of your facce that walks around like a pod person. checks out to me. good name. name aside, mockery bug is a really cool monster, and is the only example of good writing in the intro text hook. unnerving and successfully spoopy

[The Viscount]

A few names that I like.

Knell Beetle It's a big beetle and it makes loud noises. The name fits, and even has a bit of an ominous connotation.

Forestkith Goblin I'm a sucker for archaic words, and you know that there's going to be some tree-related abilities from the name.

Frostwind Virago Cool name for a cool monster. I'm sorry, that pun is horrible

[unseenmage]

Golem. Simple and to the point. Big artificial thing made of stuff that implacably follows orders.
Unlike its Poke-related counterpart.

Also like Homunculus. Always preferred the D&D version to those by the same name who associate with an alchemist of the fully metallic variety.

[BowStreetRunner]

I love the Zeitgeist from Cityscape. Not only is it an awesome monster concept, but I think the name really does encapsulate the flavor of the creature as well. While the term zeitgeist isn't an everyday term for most people, it is common enough that it should be easy for most people to come by the correct pronunciation and meaning too.

[heavyfuel]

My vote goes to the Tarrasque. Super cool name for a super memorable creature (though I make a point to swap the derpy artwork from 3.5 to the awesome one in 5e in my mind)

In second place stand the Clockwork Horrors. Giant insects made of metal is pretty much what I imagined when I first read the name.

While the Bullet with its terribly pronounced name did appear in the other thread, their casual name of Land Sharks is just plain awesome.

[The Viscount]

I agree Land Shark is a good name, inspired by a great SNL bit.

[Falontani]

1) Memorable: is the name intelligible, pronounceable, and specific?
2) Descriptive: does this name actually describe the monster's gross physical appearance in some way?
3) Indicative: does the monster's name suggest the monster's behavior?

Warforged (ECS/MM3)
1. Since I've heard it the first time I played dungeons and dragons online I haven't forgotten this creature. It is very memorable in my opinion
2. It was literally forged for war. When you think of a warforged you think of a Construct Soldier. This is what it is
3. Well up until recently they were soldiers. In a war. So yes?
Warforged Titan (ECS)
(See the warforged above with the exception that titan makes me think giant, which it is)
Ragewalker (MM3)
1. I'll admit, I have forgotten the Ragewalker exists from time to time. Mainly because it wasn't in MM1 and never was named elsewhere. With that said it is a pretty awesome name I think.
2.
These deadly fey emerge from a landscape torn and twisted by war, and they are nature's response to ravages of such battles. The ragewalker, also known as the war torn fey, exists to perpetuate combat, turning men and beast alike against one another... Check
3. Yea, yea it makes me think of rage incarnate, and that is what this thing is.
Angel of Decay (LM)
1. Its a decaying angel. Fairly easy to pronounce and remember
2. Its a decaying angel. It explains it as well as I could in a quick name, however it doesn't truly prepare you for the horror of what such a creature is.
3. Yes. Yes it does. And this behavior is frightening

[Troacctid]

Let's just take a moment and appreciate how great a name "Beholder" is. Man, what a great name. Okay, moving on.

Chuul: It's a nonsense syllable, but it feels right for the Lovecraftian trope the monster is playing off of.
Devastation Vermin: Perfect for a kaiju-sized bug.
Gelatinous Cube: Iconic.
Inspired: You can't deny it's exactly the sort of name they'd give themselves in-universe.
Magmin: It has the charming descriptiveness of a Pokémon name.
Mind Flayer: Evocative and creepy, and a good match for the flavor.
Soulspark: Great name for a minor creature made of soul-stuff. Resonates well with the adorable illustration too.
Skull Lord: A badass name for a badass monster.

Resonant monsters from real-world cultures are usually strong names. Dragon, vampire, zombie, sphinx, rakshasa, cockatrice, succubus, Hydra, angel, kraken, hag, etc. I'm assuming those don't count, though.

[Luccan]

Magmin. It's a small fire elemental (though not a Small Fire Elemental). Pronounceable and a portmanteau that is entirely descriptive.

Seems like an easy target, but Ogre Mage. It is an ogre with magic powers. Bam.

[Zaq]

I confess that while there are exceptions that veer into “keyboard smash” territory, I like many of the names for baatezu. They’re pseudo-Latin for the most part, but the good ones are intelligible pseudo-Latin, so they strike that balance between “I can remember what this is” and “this isn’t just a mix of common words.” Like the barbazu. Barba = beard (you don’t even have to speak Latin for this sort of thing—I certainly don’t—but you can recognize the cognate with “barber”), so it’s the bearded devil. But barbazu sounds cooler than just “bearded devil.”

The name of the ravid doesn’t bother me at all. If there’s any etymology to it, it’s dark to me, but it’s totally not a keyboard smash, and it’s easy to remember. Same with the xorn. Though I admit that it probably helps that the monsters themselves are memorable.

I’ll have to look up some non-SRD monsters later.


[Raw flattery]

This from the gentleman who routinely produces the best fiction found in an Iron Chef thread? You are too kind, sir.

[Dimers]

"Gibbering mouther" seems to work pretty well. And that kind of creature would normally be a prime candidate for a keyboard smash.

For that matter, the unrelated "gibberlings" are fine, too.

I feel conflicted about oozes in general ... I mean, I like how they use different nouns like "pudding" and "slime" and "jelly", but doesn't it kinda fall flat to finish the description with a color? Wouldn't it be better to say what the thing does?

[Troacctid]

Well, color is the easiest way to tell them apart, right?

[Falontani]

Well, color is the easiest way to tell them apart, right?

Just can get you in trouble sometimes irl, make sure you have a tolerant party before calling the black pudding black.

[Malimar]

Taking a glance through the SRD monster list, I like "pit fiend", "shrieker fungus", "Nessian warhound", and "shambling mound".

And somebody in the other thread nominated "Bonedrinker", which I actually quite like. Also "Vitreous Drinker". Pretty much anything that describes what strange thing it eats or drinks is fun.

"Duckbunny" is pretty great, both as a name and as a concept.


Also like Homunculus. Always preferred the D&D version to those by the same name who associate with an alchemist of the fully metallic variety.
It's just Latin for "little man", and has historical medical associations, so I'm not a huge fan (though I wouldn't be surprised to learn it has historical alchemical associations in addition to the medical ones).


I love the Zeitgeist from Cityscape.

My vote goes to the Tarrasque.

Warforged (ECS/MM3)

Let's just take a moment and appreciate how great a name "Beholder" is. Man, what a great name. Okay, moving on.
Mind Flayer: Evocative and creepy, and a good match for the flavor.

"Gibbering mouther" seems to work pretty well. And that kind of creature would normally be a prime candidate for a keyboard smash.
Seconding all of these.

[remetagross]

I agree with the three criteria Venger proposed. As an illustration, I love Clockroaches.

1. The name is simple, close to real words, and has a nice ring to it.
2. Cockroaches but made with parts of clock. Just picture the monster, and look at the illustration. You probably pictured pretty much what the illustration is, which is a sign of a good indicative name.
3. Cockroaches are harmless, invasive little annoyances, while clockroaches are harmful, invasive big annoyances. Good idea of what the monster does.

I have to second Frostwind Virago too. The name just encapsulates the concept of the monster so well, while still being unique enough to be remembered.

[Eldan]

It's just Latin for "little man", and has historical medical associations, so I'm not a huge fan (though I wouldn't be surprised to learn it has historical alchemical associations in addition to the medical ones).


It does. There's a bit about Simon Magus, but basically, Paracelsus came up with the idea. Wrote down a detailed recipe, too. They went around a lot of corners to get there, but basically: Putrefaction, as an alchemical process, is the degeneration of materials in a warm and wet atmosphere. Babies in the womb and chicks in the egg are also in a warm and wet atmosphere. Ergo, the growth of a sperm into a full human in the womb is a kind of putrefaction. Ergo, if you take sperm and compost, mix it carefully and let it rot for 40 days while gently heating it, you can make tiny protopeople. To make them useful as slaves, you also have to then feed them on human blood for the duration of a pregnancy. He was basically trying to invent an early form of IVF.

Then, as it goes, some alchemist or other claimed to be able to distill human organs from blood every other decade or so for the next few hundred years.

[Zaq]

Let's just take a moment and appreciate how great a name "Beholder" is. Man, what a great name. Okay, moving on.


You know, this is totally true. It really is a great name.

Is the fossergrim's name from existing non-D&D folklore? If so, we've already decided that it doesn't count, but if it does count, it's another example of a name that isn't necessarily descriptive but that I have no trouble remembering. Once again, though, I admit that it's easier when the monster is cool.

On the topic of descriptive names, I do like many of the names of the sample living spells, like glitterfire.

I'm okay with the name of the boneyard, from Libris Mortis; "boneyard" is an existing word, but when you put it in the context of "this is the name of a single beastie you're fighting," it's evocative enough that you can tell what it is.

As I kind of indicated earlier, I'm often fine with pseudo-Latin and/or pseudo-Greek names if they're using morphemes that I can recognize. So things like the myconid seem quite reasonable to me, as does the necropolitan.

[Dimers]

Well, color is the easiest way to tell them apart, right?

Yes and no. I mean, if I encountered a green slime and survived, I wouldn't be focused on the greenness, I'd be focused on the way my allies had been destroyed. Like, rust monster has a very distinctive look too, but that's not what people pay attention to about it. Eh. I can see the color-based reasoning, but it doesn't feel right intuitively.


As I kind of indicated earlier, I'm often fine with pseudo-Latin and/or pseudo-Greek names if they're using morphemes that I can recognize. So things like the myconid seem quite reasonable to me, as does the necropolitan.

And the formian!

[Eldan]

Fossegrim is Scandinavian. Aka Näcken (nixie?) or Strömkarlen. Mainly known for playing fiddle.

[HighWater]

Just can get you in trouble sometimes irl, make sure you have a tolerant party before calling the black pudding black.

Well, in a pinch you could rebrand it the Blood Pudding (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding).

My vote goes to the Skin Kite. It definitely checks the boxes "Memorable" and "Descriptive", you can also pretty much guess what its attack would look like (ever been "attacked" by a kite?) and finding out what happens after... Well, that's something that shouldn't be spoiled in the name, now should it? :smallwink:

[mabriss lethe]

I agree with the three criteria Venger proposed. As an illustration, I love Clockroaches.

1. The name is simple, close to real words, and has a nice ring to it.
2. Cockroaches but made with parts of clock. Just picture the monster, and look at the illustration. You probably pictured pretty much what the illustration is, which is a sign of a good indicative name.
3. Cockroaches are harmless, invasive little annoyances, while clockroaches are harmful, invasive big annoyances. Good idea of what the monster does.


I actually nominated it in the other thread. I agree that it fits the criteria here. It just rings as too much of a pun for me to take it seriously.

[Venger]

I actually nominated it in the other thread. I agree that it fits the criteria here. It just rings as too much of a pun for me to take it seriously.

Fair enough. Are puns in monster names in general a turnoff, or only for serious monsters?

[BowStreetRunner]

Fair enough. Are puns in monster names in general a turnoff, or only for serious monsters?
I could definitely see the in-game background of a creature actually supporting a pun name, to be honest. It wouldn't work for every creature, but with the right background it would suit.

Personally, I like creatures that have multiple names. There are a few you run across where the description states "also called" such and such. I think people in the game worlds would be just as prone to the same sort of naming conventions we use in real life. (Example from MM1: "Beholders are the stuff of nightmares. These creatures, also called the “spheres of many eyes” or “eye tyrants,” are deadly adversaries." Eye Tyrant is a fantastic alternate name!)

[Venger]

I could definitely see the in-game background of a creature actually supporting a pun name, to be honest. It wouldn't work for every creature, but with the right background it would suit.

Personally, I like creatures that have multiple names. There are a few you run across where the description states "also called" such and such. I think people in the game worlds would be just as prone to the same sort of naming conventions we use in real life. (Example from MM1: "Beholders are the stuff of nightmares. These creatures, also called the “spheres of many eyes” or “eye tyrants,” are deadly adversaries." Eye Tyrant is a fantastic alternate name!)

I agree

That's how it works in real life too, since people in a bunch of different places will encounter an animal for the first time, name it, and not know others do the same, which is why mountain lions, for example, have a bunch of names.

[tterreb]

Yes and no. I mean, if I encountered a green slime and survived, I wouldn't be focused on the greenness, I'd be focused on the way my allies had been destroyed. Like, rust monster has a very distinctive look too, but that's not what people pay attention to about it. Eh. I can see the color-based reasoning, but it doesn't feel right intuitively.

Personally I'd rather know what the slime does when I see it, rather than waiting for it to start devouring my face before I can identify it. But maybe that's just me.

[heavyfuel]

Let's just take a moment and appreciate how great a name "Beholder" is. Man, what a great name. Okay, moving on.


Moment taken. It's indeed an excellent name.


Fair enough. Are puns in monster names in general a turnoff, or only for serious monsters?

I like them. Clockroaches appeared in both threads, but I definitely think they belong here rather than there.

[ShurikVch]

My vote goes to the Tarrasque. Super cool name for a super memorable creatureIt's suffering from the same problem as Bulette - a french name in a book which isn't written in French.
The correct spelling, probably, should be "Tarasc" - because Tarascon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarascon) was renamed in it's memory (which also reflected on the coat of arms):


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Blason_de_la_ville_de_Tarascon_%2813%29.svg/218px-Blason_de_la_ville_de_Tarascon_%2813%29.svg.png

Oh, and why that "r" was doubled?

[heavyfuel]

It's suffering from the same problem as Bulette - a french name in a book which isn't written in French.
The correct spelling, probably, should be "Tarasc" - because Tarascon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarascon) was renamed in it's memory (which also reflected on the coat of arms):


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Blason_de_la_ville_de_Tarascon_%2813%29.svg/218px-Blason_de_la_ville_de_Tarascon_%2813%29.svg.png

Oh, and why that "r" was doubled?

It's just not the same problem because it doesn't have a stupid pronunciation.

Regardless of its origins, Tarrasque is a strong word that reflects the creature.

[ShurikVch]

It's just not the same problem because it doesn't have a stupid pronunciation.

Regardless of its origins, Tarrasque is a strong word that reflects the creature.Except for people who're don't know French: they're very well may be unaware about how, exactly, it should be pronounced

[Doctor Awkward]

Atropus.


From the Greek word "atrophy" meaning "withering and decayed".

When properly executed, there's nothing quite as memorable as that first D&D session in which the DM had the party fight against the undead equivalent of Ego, the Living Planet. (http://www.sciencemadesimple.co.uk/files/2017/05/EGO.jpg)

[atemu1234]

I find the key to a good name is to make it descriptive and under six syllables. If it's not based on a creature in real life, it needs a better name than a string of barely-pronounceable letters.

[Thurbane]

Here's some I like - they are generally evocative and/or interesting (IMHO):

All-Consuming Hunger (Und)
Angel of Decay (LM)
Assassin Vine
Caller in Darkness (XPH)
Charnel Hound (MM3)
Corruptor of Fate (MM4)
Crimson Death (MM2)
Frostwind Virago (MM5)
Ineffable Horror (Und)
Mageripper Swarm (MM4)
Mur-Zhagul (Demon Troll) (UE)
Ogre, Skullcrusher (MM3)
Painspeaker (ToM)
Reason Stealer (MM2)
Reth Dekala (ToM)
Sanguineous Drinker (MM5)
Scalamagdrion (MoF)
Shadow of the Void (ELH)
Spellgaunt (MM2)
Unholy Scion (HoH)
Winterspawn (Fr)
Worm that Walks (ELH)

[SimonMoon6]

Except for people who don't know French: they very well may be unaware about how, exactly, it should be pronounced

True story: I played with someone who pronounced it Terra-skew. I couldn't figure out how he came to that pronunciation and wondered if he ever went to an anti-kew (antique) store.

[georgie_leech]

Are specific monsters acceptable? Because of so, I'd like to nominate this gem. (https://www.reddit.com/r/DMDadJokes/comments/513py3/longi_once_spent_two_and_a_half_months_setting_up/) Putting the name here would spoil the reveal, so go check it out.

[Venger]

Are specific monsters acceptable? Because of so, I'd like to nominate this gem. (https://www.reddit.com/r/DMDadJokes/comments/513py3/longi_once_spent_two_and_a_half_months_setting_up/) Putting the name here would spoil the reveal, so go check it out.

in the interests of more content, I will happily say yes. better go check out this link. I love shaggy dog stories.

[Zaq]

I'll throw in the Ethereal Marauder. It's a dumb monster, but it's a fine name: not only is it descriptive, it also uses the word "maraud," which is one of my favorite words.

Because I've been told that it's sometimes enjoyable when I talk about etymology, let's add in the lich. Long story short, lich is basically just a very old Old English word meaning "form" or "body." It also meant "corpse," which is why it's used for an undead thing. (See also wight.) But it's interesting as a word because it started being used as a suffix to turn things into adjectives or adverbs (a similar morpheme today is -like). Over the centuries, this actually turned into the highly familiar morpheme -ly, which of course is one of the more common ways in English to indicate that something is an adverb (or sometimes an adjective, like manly).

So yeah. The lich is actually cognate with the majority of English adverbs. Given how liches are presented in D&D, I have to feel like this is some impossibly long-term plot of one of the earliest liches out there, and that ancient (original?) lich grows in power with each adverb used.

(Citation: Joseph T. Shipley's Dictionary of Word Origins, which is a phenomenally fascinating if highly incomplete text.)

[Venger]

I'll throw in the Ethereal Marauder. It's a dumb monster, but it's a fine name: not only is it descriptive, it also uses the word "maraud," which is one of my favorite words.

Because I've been told that it's sometimes enjoyable when I talk about etymology, let's add in the lich. Long story short, lich is basically just a very old Old English word meaning "form" or "body." It also meant "corpse," which is why it's used for an undead thing. (See also wight.) But it's interesting as a word because it started being used as a suffix to turn things into adjectives or adverbs (a similar morpheme today is -like). Over the centuries, this actually turned into the highly familiar morpheme -ly, which of course is one of the more common ways in English to indicate that something is an adverb (or sometimes an adjective, like manly).

So yeah. The lich is actually cognate with the majority of English adverbs. Given how liches are presented in D&D, I have to feel like this is some impossibly long-term plot of one of the earliest liches out there, and that ancient (original?) lich grows in power with each adverb used.

(Citation: Joseph T. Shipley's Dictionary of Word Origins, which is a phenomenally fascinating if highly incomplete text.)
solid monster. solid name.

oh boy, an etymology post. fascinating stuff. I didn't know any of that. definitely adding that to my amazon wishlist.

[Doctor Awkward]

I'll throw in the Ethereal Marauder. It's a dumb monster, but it's a fine name: not only is it descriptive, it also uses the word "maraud," which is one of my favorite words.

Because I've been told that it's sometimes enjoyable when I talk about etymology, let's add in the lich. Long story short, lich is basically just a very old Old English word meaning "form" or "body." It also meant "corpse," which is why it's used for an undead thing. (See also wight.) But it's interesting as a word because it started being used as a suffix to turn things into adjectives or adverbs (a similar morpheme today is -like). Over the centuries, this actually turned into the highly familiar morpheme -ly, which of course is one of the more common ways in English to indicate that something is an adverb (or sometimes an adjective, like manly).

So yeah. The lich is actually cognate with the majority of English adverbs. Given how liches are presented in D&D, I have to feel like this is some impossibly long-term plot of one of the earliest liches out there, and that ancient (original?) lich grows in power with each adverb used.

(Citation: Joseph T. Shipley's Dictionary of Word Origins, which is a phenomenally fascinating if highly incomplete text.)

Totally irrelevant to everything except the etymology of the worth "lich" but that reminds me of an old D&D joke:

DM (spoken with an incredibly thick Irish brogue): "You're wanderin' the darkened halls, and you come across a leak. What d'you do?"
Player: I... try sticking my finger it it?
DM (incredulous): "Why the hell would'ya do THAT??"
Player: "...To stop the water from flowing."
DM: "NO, ya dobber! I said a lich not a leak!"

...it's a lot funnier when spoken aloud but hopefully you get the idea.

[Venger]

That's a great joke. I'll tell it next time I play. "And that's how I got Lichloved by accident."

Sailsnake mm5 goofy monster, but at least I know what to picture when the gm rolls one on the encounter table.

[Pronounceable]

Resonating the love for beholder, mindflayer and frostwind virago. Those are some goddamn awesome names.

Throwing in the umber hulk, one of my perennial favorites. tsr was seriously cunning in picking the names to claim ownership over. Beholder, Gauth, Carrion crawler, Displacer beast, Githyanki, Githzerai, Kuo-toa, Mind flayer, Slaad, Umber hulk, Yuan-ti. These are all awesome, except gauth. That one's kinda crap.

In other news, DnDland wizards canonically have no sense of right or wrong and are the premier scholars everywhere, so some horrific monsters must be named as dumb puns or just silly whimsy. This is the real world and has no wizards, yet nerdy scientists have already named newfound species after Lolth and Shar (that I know of, there might be more). Imagine how much worse wizards would be.

[Venger]

Resonating the love for beholder, mindflayer and frostwind virago. Those are some goddamn awesome names.

Throwing in the umber hulk, one of my perennial favorites. tsr was seriously cunning in picking the names to claim ownership over. Beholder, Gauth, Carrion crawler, Displacer beast, Githyanki, Githzerai, Kuo-toa, Mind flayer, Slaad, Umber hulk, Yuan-ti. These are all awesome, except gauth. That one's kinda crap.

In other news, DnDland wizards canonically have no sense of right or wrong and are the premier scholars everywhere, so some horrific monsters must be named as dumb puns or just silly whimsy. This is the real world and has no wizards, yet nerdy scientists have already named newfound species after Lolth and Shar (that I know of, there might be more). Imagine how much worse wizards would be.
Yeah, like scientists naming the sonic hedgehog gene.

Man, I bet some of the keyboard smash names from the other thread are really just puns in like ancient Suelese or something.

gas spore (lords of madness)you know what you're gonna get

[Eldan]

Oh, we're soo good at that. Everything gets silly names.

There's species named after celebrities to spite them. There's an anecdote our botany professor told: when Carl Linné basically invented modern Taxonomy, a chap named Siegesbeck wrote a series of rather polemic articles saying that classifying flowers after their reproductive organs was some kind of sexual deviancy, especially when Linné wrote that one flower's pollen may end up on a lot of other plants. So Linné named the smelliest weed he could find Siegesbeckia. Linné seems to have disliked a lot of people and inspired a lot of dislike in turn:

Linnaea was named by the celebrated Gronovius and is a plant of Lapland, lowly, insignificant, disregarded, flowering but for a brief space—like Linnaeus who resembles it.

There's Warburgia crassa ("Warburg is fat").And just plain silly ones. (There's an Octopus named Wunderpus photogenicus. The name "Skeletorus" for a conspicuously coloured spider was turned down earlier. The Gorilla's Latin name is Gorilla gorilla gorilla. There's an entire genus of beetle named Colon, which includes Colon rectum, Colon forceps, Colon horni and Colon grossum. There's Ytu brutus and Abra cadabra.

As for non-Latin names, I present the Spiny Lumpsucker, the Raspberry Crazy Ant, the Hellbender, the Ice Cream Cone Worm, the Fried Egg Jellyfish, the Go-Away Bird, the Sarcastic Fringehead and the C.ockchafer.

There's hybrids, which take usually one letter or syllable from one parent, and then the rest of the name from the other: Liger and Tigon. In fact, there's tons of felines: Pumapard, Leoger, Leguar, Liguar, Jaglion, Jagger, Tiguar, Lipard... Or, more silly, Grolar Bear and Pizzly Bear. Yes, really. Also, the Cama (Camel/Llama), the Wholphin.

[Zombulian]

I can't believe no one's mentioned Inevitables yet. Sure, it's a classification of a type of monster (and while the specific monsters all end in "ut" I don't recognize any other etymology) but it's just so damn cool.
Robot Judge Dreads that will track you down across the multiverse to dispense justice for violating the natural laws of creation? Sign me up.

[ShurikVch]

True story: I played with someone who pronounced it Terra-skew.Maybe, he thought it skewing the terra? :smallamused:

[Psyren]

I love the outsider races Pathfinder was forced to invent because they couldn't use the closed content ones - i.e. Azata instead of Eladrin, Aeon instead of Rilmani, and Protean instead of Slaadi.

My favorite one out of that set though is found in both PF and 3.5 - Inevitable just says it all for a race of LN planar creatures really.

[The Viscount]

I always find it interesting how much the Inevitables represent LN to the extent that they're used in place of the actual LN outsiders, the Formians. Even Magic of Incarnum uses a Marut for Incarnate Avatar (though then again MoI also uses a Planetar instead of any of the Guardinals and definitely used the art of the Trumpet Archon as a reference for the artwork.)

[Luccan]

I think Inevitable is a good name, but I've always found their presence confusing. Supposedly they enforce all these universal laws, but that leaves the question of why any setting that has them has any intelligent undead or oath breakers or whatever the specific Inevitable is targeted at. Same problem as all the extremely powerful good monsters, really, just Lawful instead of Good.

Also, I too like the Formians as the Lawful outsider because they're bugs, which is a good contrast to the Chaotic Slaad.

I guess I'll put forth Duergar, being named for specifically Norse dwarves.

[Psyren]

I always find it interesting how much the Inevitables represent LN to the extent that they're used in place of the actual LN outsiders, the Formians. Even Magic of Incarnum uses a Marut for Incarnate Avatar (though then again MoI also uses a Planetar instead of any of the Guardinals and definitely used the art of the Trumpet Archon as a reference for the artwork.)

I'm guessing you're a fan of them too, going by the avatar :smallbiggrin:

Are Formians the LN race, or is that Modrons?

I think in 3.5, the issue with making Inevitables the true LN outsider poster child is that they aren't actually outsiders - they are extraplanar constructs. Pathfinder took the reverse approach - making them outsiders, and then giving them a racial ability that basically made them count as constructs too.

[Zombulian]

I think Inevitable is a good name, but I've always found their presence confusing. Supposedly they enforce all these universal laws, but that leaves the question of why any setting that has them has any intelligent undead or oath breakers or whatever the specific Inevitable is targeted at. Same problem as all the extremely powerful good monsters, really, just Lawful instead of Good.


I think the main issue is that they're not necessarily a race, just a force in the universe. As Psyren pointed out, they're not outsiders, they're constructs. This sort of creates the assumption that there are far fewer of them running around the planes than another group of beings that can propagate themselves. Alas, I've been in love with Inevitables ever since I first opened the Monster Manual, but I have yet to encounter one in play. Now that I'm DM'ing more often I'll try to integrate them.

I want to nominate the Thoqqua. Not because I'm particularly fond of the monster really, but because the name is pretty easy to pronounce and remember, and the monster itself is weird and unique enough that I remember the image any time the name is brought up.

[Malimar]

It's kinda weird to me that 3e replaced "perfect Platonic solid people" with "ant people" as the Lawful exemplar. So it makes sense to me that the Inevitables, who are objectively much cooler (and also arguably more Law-related) than Formians, often unofficially take up the position.

Of course, some of 3e's other exemplar decisions are also questionable (chaos being represented by "weird frogs" comes to mind). Pathfinder improved on some of these, didn't improve on others.

[Zombulian]

It's kinda weird to me that 3e replaced "perfect Platonic solid people" with "ant people" as the Lawful exemplar. So it makes sense to me that the Inevitables, who are objectively much cooler (and also arguably more Law-related) than Formians, often unofficially take up the position.

Of course, some of 3e's other exemplar decisions are also questionable (chaos being represented by "weird frogs" comes to mind). Pathfinder improved on some of these, didn't improve on others.

I dunno. I think colony-based insects are a great choice to represent law.

And I don't know what you mean, weird frogs are clearly representative of the degradation of society as we know it. (https://youtu.be/qUEy55r49fY)

[ShurikVch]

It's kinda weird to me that 3e replaced "perfect Platonic solid people" with "ant people" as the Lawful exemplar. So it makes sense to me that the Inevitables, who are objectively much cooler (and also arguably more Law-related) than Formians, often unofficially take up the position.What about the Visilights (Monster Manual III)?
Does anybody remembers them?

[Thurbane]

What about the Visilights (Monster Manual III)?
Does anybody remembers them?

About 3 or 4 weeks ago in the game I run, the party Paladin (of St Cuthbert) got zapped by a Prismatic Spray trap (he should have aced the save, but rolled a 1 or 2) and sent to Mechanus. He had a run-in with two Visilights, who drained some of his charisma (he got some epically bad rolls against them and was grappled).

While he was fighting the Visilights, the rest of the party back on the prime material used Summon Desert Ally to send a Dustform Dog in to see if the trap had reset (which it had): I rolled the plane completely at random again, and it came up as Mechanus! Just for giggles, I decided to have it materialize in the same general area as the Paladin; half way through the fight, a somewhat confused looking dog made of sand appeared, hung around for a bit, then disappeared again. :smalltongue:

He was then taken into custody by a colony of Formians. He diplomacied his way through, and they sent word to a servant of St Culbert (a Justice Archon), who arranged for his return to the Prime Material Plane by a Spectator Sorcerer (who requested payment in the form of a fetch quest).

Fun little side adventure which happened almost entirely through a series of random rolls! :smallbiggrin:

[No brains]

I'll throw in the Ethereal Marauder. It's a dumb monster, but it's a fine name: not only is it descriptive, it also uses the word "maraud," which is one of my favorite words.

Because I've been told that it's sometimes enjoyable when I talk about etymology, let's add in the lich. Long story short, lich is basically just a very old Old English word meaning "form" or "body." It also meant "corpse," which is why it's used for an undead thing. (See also wight.) But it's interesting as a word because it started being used as a suffix to turn things into adjectives or adverbs (a similar morpheme today is -like). Over the centuries, this actually turned into the highly familiar morpheme -ly, which of course is one of the more common ways in English to indicate that something is an adverb (or sometimes an adjective, like manly).

So yeah. The lich is actually cognate with the majority of English adverbs. Given how liches are presented in D&D, I have to feel like this is some impossibly long-term plot of one of the earliest liches out there, and that ancient (original?) lich grows in power with each adverb used.

(Citation: Joseph T. Shipley's Dictionary of Word Origins, which is a phenomenally fascinating if highly incomplete text.)

Awesome and interesting post! I love the idea of an adverb lich! They sound like an especially heavy metal antagonist for a PBS kids show.

I think Storm Giant is a pretty good name. The only thing about them that isn't evocative of that name is that they can live under water. Other than that, what you hear is what you get.

Not exactly true to the thread, but I like Ettercap because I can imagine an Ettercap making a noise like "Ettercap".

Maybe it's a coincidence, but Marids turned out to be absolutely badass in 5e and that sort of fits with some interpretations of them being the 'most powerful' of genies.

[Malphegor]

Okay, so this one is a folkloric one, but when you throw a bugbear and an owlbear at me in one session, I am not imagining a giant ugly goblin for the bugbear, but a bear with a tardigrade's head and big Scyther mantis-claws for arms