Players giving nicknames to your NPCs Annoying or no

[Hama]

I take anything that takes up a truckload of my spare time as serious business. Otherwise, what's the point?
And I aim to have fun. SERIOUS FUN :D. But fun nonetheless. IMHO, if you don't take something you do even a little bit seriously, you're doing it wrong.

[strayshift]

As a rite of passage for any player's character in our group there is the acquisition of a nick-name, usually derogatory, but intended affectionately. This is given by the other pcs and so, as a DM, I know that if an NPC acquires a nickname, they also 'have arrived' as a character.

[Calybos1]

Players will always give silly nicknames to NPCs. It's unavoidable, it's often annoying, and it's completely unstoppable by any means short of ending the game.

It's a bear every GM has to cross.

[Josh M.]

My character in a PF game is named Vessek, which I thought sounded pretty cool...

...Until one of the players at the table reminded me of why I thought it sounded cool, and started spouting off Princess Bride quotes all night(rhymes with Fezzik).

[Josh M.]

Hama wrote:

I take anything that takes up a truckload of my spare time as serious business. Otherwise, what's the point?

And I aim to have fun. SERIOUS FUN :D. But fun nonetheless. IMHO, if you don't take something you do even a little bit seriously, you're doing it wrong.

I used to take gaming deadly serious like you do, and it burned me completely out. You gotta be able to sit back and smile at things a bit, man.

I used to absorb every little detail, every piece of every setting, and now the only way I have any fun is to scale it all way back and just play loose, casual as can be, just roll dice and laugh with my friends.

Every person's different and I'm not trying to say your experience will mirror mine, but no matter how intense or detailed your game is, never lose sight of the fact that is a game.

There's nothing wrong with taking the game not the least bit serious, if the entire group is doing it, and everyone is having fun. "Doing it wrong" doesn't apply here.

[Uncle Teddy]

Not so much an NPC but one of my PCs where I gave them a nickname and the other players ran with it.

Back in 2E days in a Forgotten Realms campaign I had a battlemage named Alexander Jaxius Northwind Harpell Singer, or Ajax for short, from the village of Longsaddle. He was a human who's great grandfather on his mother's side was an elf (the Northwind part of the name). His mother was Harpell (a family of powerful and eccentric wizards). His father was a Singer and a member of the Longriders. Our DM used Rolemaster's Arms Law/Claw Law for combat and allowed our characters to learn Kung Fu if we spent fighter weapon and non-weapon proficiency slots. Since my battle mage could take both he learned Kung Fu and, with his use of spells, became one of the best melee fighters in the game. It didn't take long for the "Ajax was here!" jokes to pop up from the other party members after he started "cleaning up" the bad guys. For some strange reason that joke never got old.

[LazarX]

Hama wrote:

I take anything that takes up a truckload of my spare time as serious business. Otherwise, what's the point?

And I aim to have fun. SERIOUS FUN :D. But fun nonetheless. IMHO, if you don't take something you do even a little bit seriously, you're doing it wrong.

No your players aren't doing it "wrong". Nor is there a "right" way to play. Your problem isn't that one group doing it wrong, it's that you're not coming together to play the same game.

Now you have two choices, either pout in frustration and make the useless activity of venting your spleen on messageboards, or try to engage your players as a group of presumed adults, and discuss the problems you have. Together you'll either work out a compromise that makes you both happy, or you'll go on to do different things.

When and if you do come together to have your talk, be at least open to the possibility that some of the movement needs to be made from your side as well.

[3.5 Loyalist]

Hama wrote:

My players constantly give nicknames to my NPCs even though i really try hard to give them regular names that are easy to remember. But no. They have to go around and give them silly or annoying nicknames.

In a previous campaign, a warrior named Neil ended up being called Shaq and a drow priestess called Ashassa (Ok not really a regular name but still) ended up being called chassis.
And let's not even begin with players naming most of the NPCs 'that guy with the beard' and some such.
Any horror/funny stories, nicknames from you?

I laughed at chassis. As a dm I try not to be too serious, so if they are naming the npcs, it shows they are involved. Now what the npcs think about their new names, well that will come down to rp. Cause and effect.

[3.5 Loyalist]

strayshift wrote:

As a rite of passage for any player's character in our group there is the acquisition of a nick-name, usually derogatory, but intended affectionately. This is given by the other pcs and so, as a DM, I know that if an NPC acquires a nickname, they also 'have arrived' as a character.

Yeah, I agree.

[3.5 Loyalist]

Josh M. wrote:

My character in a PF game is named Vessek, which I thought sounded pretty cool...

...Until one of the players at the table reminded me of why I thought it sounded cool, and started spouting off Princess Bride quotes all night(rhymes with Fezzik).

Anybody wanna peanut?

[Calybos1]

In a 7th Sea game I ran, I introduced a villainous French nobleman who earned the group's immediate hatred with his arrogance, superior swordsmanship, and unlimited wealth. I gave him a perfectly simple, easy name: Jean Moreau.

Then I made the mistake of describing his spotless white outfit complete with elegant gold trim. They immediately dubbed him "Monsieur Fruity-Pants," and he was known by that name forever after.

[3.5 Loyalist]

I've got to throw Fitz Clarion into a game of mine as a villain. This dodgy fellow features in the Lace and Steel game. He was so dodgy, he was French AND German.

[David knott 242]

If you want to have a bit of fun from the DM side -- set up a situation where the player characters overhear some NPCs talking about them. Have the NPCs refer to the PCs by various derogatory nicknames. You will know that you chose the names well if there is no confusion on their part as to who is being insulted each time.

[Ansel Krulwich]

My players do the nicknaming of each other's characters quite well. Donovan DeBonne, the valiant paladin is now known as Donovan Von Bon-Bon.

[kmal2t]

Hama wrote:

My players constantly give nicknames to my NPCs even though i really try hard to give them regular names that are easy to remember. But no. They have to go around and give them silly or annoying nicknames.

In a previous campaign, a warrior named Neil ended up being called Shaq and a drow priestess called Ashassa (Ok not really a regular name but still) ended up being called chassis.
And let's not even begin with players naming most of the NPCs 'that guy with the beard' and some such.
Any horror/funny stories, nicknames from you?

Pretty much inevitable. You'd get pissed at me because I'm notorious for giving silly nicknames to characters, even PCs. I wouldn't let it get you butthurt, but you can make sure they know the correct names by not letting them go find Person X or Y without using his proper name i.e. if you ask the blacksmith where Person X is you can't ask where Dinglenuts is (or whatever his nick is) and you'd need to use his real name when asking his location.

[Hama]

Oh i actually solved that problem (partly) by having NPCs react very violently or with anger towards PCs if they actually use nicknames in game. (while we are playing everything they say is considered ingame, so when somebody forgets and starts talking about phones and computers (it happens) everyone thinks they are spouting gibberish). There was a very important NPC that the PCs managed to alienate enough to make him almost hostile towards them, and in the end to acquire his help, they pretty much had to empty their pockets and give up some prized possessions.
I wouldn't get pissed per se, mildly miffed more likely. I hate when all the hard work i put in naming NPCs gets relegated to sir drinksalot or lady pussboots. And i use mostly common names like Bob or Steven.

[kmal2t]

lol I think you need to lighten up a bit and not go after players for making jokes.

Hell, my current character is actually named after a type of potato chip.

[Hama]

I can't stand that. That's why i generally don't play with goofball players. I like humor, but inside the game. I don't want barbarians named Haggis McMutton running around with a long string of sausages wrapped around their waist swinging a greataxe named Princess Sophia. Sorry. Too much. And that was a real character.
I have a player, he made every single one of his characters into puns. He plays them damn well though, and you only notice the puns when someone says their name or when their descriptions is made.
I take the game seriously enough to respect the source material and not make an idiot punny character in a Ravenloft game. Now, when we played We Be Goblins? Totally different story.

[3.5 Loyalist]

Bwahahahaha Haggis McMutton!

Ravenloft is dead serious business though.

[Nymian Harthing]

Er...this happened again (unintentionally) last game.

I could NOT for the life of me remember the major town priest of Sandpoint. Now poor Father Zantus is known unofficially as "Dr. Zaius" in our group. Whoops.

And every time one of us says "Dr. Zaius" we end up breaking out in song. (Ah, Simpsons--is there a fake musical you put out that doesn't have the catchiest tunes??)

[Kirth Gersen]

I'm really not one to talk, because I tend to name all my characters after alcohol: Remy the Magician (surnamed Martin), the knight Brut de Korbel, Leinenkugel the Rogue, etc.

[Hama]

Johny Walker there?

[Kirth Gersen]

Hama wrote:

Johny Walker there?

No, but at one point we had the bard Talisker trying to find out what happened to Lagavulin the Archdruid.

[Uncle Teddy]

In my opinion I think it depends on the purpose behind the nickname. If it adds to the story I say go for it. If it's more of a distraction then do what you can to discourage the players. If they need help remembering names feel free to write them down or encourage the players to do just that. Remember, just because the players forget doesn't mean their characters necessarily have, especially when you consider how much time may pass between sessions.

Spoiler:

For example, in a Carrion Crown game I am running one of the PC's (a goblin sorcerer) named the Beast of Lepidstadt Sloth, after the character in The Goonies. Why did he name the NPC in the first place? Because he thought it needed a name as he didn't view it as a monster. The name has stuck. I now have the beast calling itself Sloth. Sloth even told Count Caromarc to call him that as that was his name.

[kmal2t]

Sometimes the nicknames help you remember people as well. We do it in real life as well until we learn people's name like "Captain Sweatpants in Accounting" etc. And there's always a time and a place for humor. As long as they aren't derailing the whole game by running through the combat scene naked or something I say let it be. Even in grim situations there are still jokers. Look at the example of Veccio in the movie Saving Private Ryan. He is an off-screen character that provides comic relief by being a clown.

Hell, my current character's name is actually based on a brand of potato chip.

[Ximen Bao]

My campaigns are supposed to be the more adventure-movie heroic fantasy, so I can take some lightheartedness.

If the name isn't completely goofball, I bring it into canon and everyone uses it.

That's my line, lighthearted vs goofball. Fezzik and Vizzini might have bickered over a rhyming game, but neither put on a clown suit, dropped their pants and demanded Wesley pay homage to Emperor Buttface.

Most of the cultures in my game use descriptive or epithet/sobriquet based naming conventions, so I often beat my players to the punch.

[Big Lemon]

I take it as a sign that my players are enjoying themselves, which is a good thing.

Out of character, they gag about eachother's names or make jokes about things going on. I see nothing wrong with that. There's a limit of course, but in-and-of-itself I see no problem.

[Threeshades]

Surprisingly my players have been going out of their way to call NPCs (and even the other PCs) by name.
All the more interesting that they seem to be unaware that they have no idea what the names of the ship or any of its crew are, that they are travelling with.

[strayshift]

When running a Rolemaster session in Middle Earth (the Dead Marshes supplement, this is an actual MERP npc) I introduced the pcs to an npc, his name Uirdics (or something closely approximate) pronounced 'Were-dics' - lets just say the players had quite a bit of fun with that one...

[kmal2t]

Do you like Fishsticks?

[Josh M.]

3.5 Loyalist wrote:

Bwahahahaha Haggis McMutton!

Ravenloft is dead serious business though.

Ravenloft is pretty srs bsns, but can be funny at times. In one game I ran, two of the players came up with a pair of rogues, modeled after Jay and Silent Bob; named Jinn and Silas Barnes.

I was weary of comedic antics in my super-duper scary game, but actually they added a bit of brevity and helped add contrast. the dark stuff seemed even darker, and the players in turn had some fun on the side. It's all good.

[Wolf Munroe]

It annoys me when the players give NPCs nicknames if they are complete nonsense. (I don't mind if it is appropriate in-character.)

I'm GMing an Ustalav campaign presently.

In the second session of our game, the party went to a disused old inn owned by the family of the captain of the guard. He informed them that the building had a guardian spirit (actually a lare, an LG invisible, incorporeal native outsider that can possess objects) that would need to be appeased. He told them it answered to the title of The Argent Chamberlain, and they could make an offering of weapons to it at the hearth in the family wing of the inn. (I'm using the Country Inn Flip-Mat.) They made an offering of a couple mundane daggers so the lare inspected them with its continuous Detect Evil ability, and since one of them was evil it remained silent. They took to calling it Steve, presumably because they couldn't remember "the Argent Chamberlain." Later, when the good-aligned PC was alone, the Argent Chamberlain communicated with him telepathically and told him not to call it Steve. He told the others not to call it Steve either, so now they only call it Steve behind its back. I despise that they call it "Steve" as there's absolutely no reason for it, but on an OOC level I have to struggle not to OOC discuss it as "Steve" as well.

In the second session we also had a new player join (new to the campaign and having never played Pathfinder before) and he didn't have a name for his character yet so she joined the game with memory loss. She was generated in HeroLab and was jokingly named Philip. In the second session the player announced her name would be Shiva, but people occasionally still jokingly call her Philip OOC.

Aside from those two instances, the players have been pretty good about not using nicknames, but they do commonly refer to people by their job rather than their name. (The hedge witch NPC, named Katla Maleva, was so popular that one of the PCs refused to buy his general goods at the general store, and pays her extra to do his general shopping for him so he can buy from her, but still most of the time she's referred to as "the hedge witch" or "our favorite NPC.")

The party generally remembers the names of both the town's guard bailiff Everett Racivado (who is also captain of the town guard), and their NPC boss Ari Russov, but they'll occasionally say one surname when they mean the other.

There is one NPC they call "the werewolf b!7ch," and don't like very much, but it's entirely justified. (Her name is Tarabitha Czelnai, and she's a human cultist (cleric) of Jezelda who does not have lycanthropy.)

I also have an NPC named Rukalla the Quiet that I've used a few times. They don't know his title is "the Quiet" and last session they started calling out "Ricollah!" whenever I'd say his name, and joking about whether he had a big horn. That was annoying, a bit, but admittedly now that it's been pointed out, his name was asking for it a bit.

Rukalla the Quiet:

Oh well, he's a ghoul rogue passing himself off as human with the Civilized Ghoulishness feat, so he'll just eat their livers later. (He has a Ring of Mind Shielding to protect him from Detect Alignment, and nobody has actually used Detect Undead yet in this campaign.)

[Iron_Stormhammer]

This is a hot button topic for me. Its a big problem in my games. I find it extremely annoying as both a player and a DM. In the campaign I run, I keep the names relatively simple, usually historical and avoid using long or overly difficult fantasy names. That still doesn't stop players from purposefully mispronouncing the name to turn it into some tongue in cheek reference, or applying a nickname to someone based on some pop culture reference. Eventually, you become afraid to name anyone anything for fear of it becoming a joke. It breaks the ambience and disrupts the role playing, and it often lead to disruptions, endless side comments, inane potty humor, and distracting jokes. After numerous times, I find the players no longer take the NPC seriously, and go as far as calling the NPC by the nickname while role playing because they can't remember what their actual name is. As a player, it's annoying when you're trying to respect the DM and role play to their NPC, only to have someone next to you making stupid comments every time the NPC is mentioned.

There's really no way around it that I've seen work, except to show your displeasure and say something about it. Lately I've taken to having NPCs take insult to it when it happens in character. That's soured many an NPC relationship and cost them a few allies. When the do it to an enemy, I bounce their CR up one or two until they take them seriously. Still, it happens. When it leads to disruptive behavior I stop the game and go do something else until they get the point. Or I just come out and ask them how old they are and if they're finished.

In-character nick names are fine if they are legitimate (not pop culture or stupid references to potty humor) and role played.

[Kirth Gersen]

I can't help but feel like some people get really worked up over the most unimportant stuff.

[Orthos]

^ +1 ^

[TOZ]

Kirth Gersen wrote:

I can't help but feel like some people get really worked up over the most unimportant stuff.

How to properly have fun is a matter of national security and no joking matter.

[Agent Superball]

TOZ wrote:

Kirth Gersen wrote:

I can't help but feel like some people get really worked up over the most unimportant stuff.

How to properly have fun is a matter of national security and no joking matter.

That's why we're here, sir.

[Hama]

Kirth Gersen wrote:

I can't help but feel like some people get really worked up over the most unimportant stuff.

I tend to treat little stuff as very important, because they by large tend to ruin my day. I don't get upset over the big stuff, i just work to have them happen good.

[Vincent Takeda]

Just beat them to the punch and give the BBEG a funny name to begin with. Your mission is to journey to the depths of hell, track down and exterminate the pit fiend known only as 'Bieber'...

[lucky7]

My PC has been deemed Live Bait, due to his unnaturally high AC.

[Turin the Mad]

Vincent Takeda wrote:

Just beat them to the punch and give the BBEG a funny name to begin with. Your mission is to journey to the depths of hell, track down and exterminate the pit fiend known only as 'Bieber'...

I thought you said a funny name, not a justifiable in-game reason to grant everyone in the party Smite Evil for the entire encounter when they meet it. ;)

Now, Snuffleupagus the Pit Fiend ...

[Vincent Takeda]

Turin the Mad wrote:

Vincent Takeda wrote:

Just beat them to the punch and give the BBEG a funny name to begin with. Your mission is to journey to the depths of hell, track down and exterminate the pit fiend known only as 'Bieber'...

I thought you said a funny name, not a justifiable in-game reason to grant everyone in the party Smite Evil for the entire encounter when they meet it. ;)

Now, Snuffleupagus the Pit Fiend ...

I can't help feeling that Snuffalupagus would make a much better Nalfeshnee than pit fiend. Perhaps I find the possibility that Bieber's petty attempts at being a 'bad boy' could produce such inexplicable drastic success in hell as it has here in real life funnier... But you're totally right. If I learned that his feeble attempts at relevance paid off both here and in hell, I probably wouldn't find it so funny as even more incredibly annoying. Touché!

[Tubstout]

I know there have been a good handful, and not all of them are in Pathfinder necessarily.

In our Rise of the Runelords game, Aldern was subsequently named Mr. Fancypants.

RotRL:

They stopped after Misgivings, for the most part.

Also, our players love to nickname the players, mostly to their chagrin. Our half elf cleric is named Nora, so after they visited the Hagfish, and met the barkeeps own Norah... "Don't you dare start calling me a hagfish!"

Shalelu was too hard to be remembered, so they called her "Sha-nay-nay" and "Sha-le-lu-le-lo" but spelled her name differently every time on the initiative chart. (They had an easier time with Malfeshkenor.)

Outside of Rise of the Runelords in our World of Darkness games. One of the PCs was named Cam, but one of the others immediately started calling her "Cambles".

One of the characters was attacked at his college campus, and his friends heard his cries for help and all decided to help him. Unfortunately, the person who had attacked him was actually a giant snake in disguise, and they didn't stand a chance. The first person who got truly hurt in combat was poisoned by the snake, and he stumbled into a corner and made his saving throw every turn as all the other friends fell. When the PC managed to kill the snake and rush to his friends' side, he finally failed his roll and died. Everyone at the table was very upset, and started lamenting, "Friend number 1! Why? He was the cool one. He wore the leather jacket!"

But the most ridiculous of all, was when they fought against a giant spirit, who was in the form of a rusty tank with blood oozing from the rivets. I had an actual name but it's been lost because what the players named him easily overrides my memory. They were so certain they were going to get killed, one of the players wrote on the white board we used to use as a gaming mat, "Rape Hungy". They ran away after a few rounds, but Rapehungy is immortal to this day at the gaming table.

[Interjection Games]

Every kobold chieftain is Dudeface.

[3.5 Loyalist]

Duuuude!

[Ivan Rûski]

My wife's character in our Runelords game refers to the other members of her party as Man-in-Hat, Gypsy Girl, and Horny Man. Man-in-hat is a half-elf who wears a wide brimmed hat to hide his ears (he's ashamed of being a half-blood), Gypsy Girl is a Varisian, and Horny Man is a Tiefling. It should probably be noted that her character is a gnome, and the Varisian and Tiefling call her Short-Stuff and Shorty. As far as NPCs go, it usually doesn't happen.

[Ultradan]

I don't mind if they give my NPCs nicknames. I'd rather they do that than FORGET about my NPCs.

Ultradan

[Zahubo]

A friend of mine made a cleric called Flan. Poor sod he had to go through a entire campaign as brother Pudding.

[Rynjin]

Interjection Games wrote:

Every kobold chieftain is Dudeface.

Sometimes I forget NPC names mid-combat and I'm like "Well, uh, Dudebro over there charges you."

[Riuken]

A gillman sorcerer in a game I run has been nicknamed "Mr. Grumpygills", and a fellow PC in a Kingmaker game was named "King Duke Barron Von Halfling" (titles added as they were gained, never replaced). Other than that, most NPC just get called some title (the king, the rock star, the d**k who keeps beating us up and running away, etc.). PCs are almost called by their class, or occasionally their race.