Beneath Foreign Planets

Monday, 21 September 2026

d200 Names - Puritan Style

"Look not so fearful my dear wife, Dribble Beauvoir is a goodly name, it is decided, hehehe"

That stolid bunch, the Puritans, how novel they were. Such onomastic masters, true namesmiths if ever there were. As you know, they had a trend of using little moral sentences or admirable qualities as forenames, such as 'Humility Brown', 'Humiliation Hynde' or 'Search-the-Scriptures Moreton'. Fabulous, no?

Why not use this method for naming characters? The formula is simple and has much power; REAL WORD+REAL(ISH) SURNAME. Through this we shall leverage both nominative determinism AND semantic satiation. The character's personality will be coloured by their word/name. Simultaneously, that word-name, through repetition, will become just like any other name.

These names have the advantage on pure fantasy names in that they immediately do a lot of heavy lifting and can be formulated expediently (see also my hit post Morpheme+Word+Epithet) whereas fantasy/pseudo-fantasy names can take much longer to come up with and not hit as hard (see the Onomasticon Quernorum and NOM-DE-GROTTE ~ d200 Caveman Names). Of course, both styles of names can be used to create clear cultural differences. Do what you like, I'm not the name police.

I have written 200 examples. There is no random generation here. They've been formulated to be phonoaesthetically pleasing (for me) to say aloud and hear again and again - or at least have a fun mouthfeel. I must stress, they are not Puritan, or Puritan in ethos, nor are they for Puritan characters (was Salacious Crumb a Puritan?). They range from more mundane to perhaps deranged. The names are presented in the order I wrote them but there are bangers throughout.

For maximum pleasure, read each name aloud:

d200 cool names you should definitely use in your games, no questions asked

Fortuitous Baldpate
Dead Thriftwell
Gaze-Upon Beesworth
Doleful Graves
Prostrate Caruthers
Lexicon Abelard
Darling Sallow
Pitiful Hicks
Sumptuous Cashman
Anguish Wilberforce
Floral Acres
Happy-Day Cromwell
Pinch Pigsbody
Bitch Wiseacre
Furtive Coxcomb
Guts Kennedy
Whistle Weston
Awfulness Armitage
Effluvium Whitelock
Stuporous Beavens
Furious Binks
Impertinence Hog
Influential Pax
Stalked Sidecastle
Goodwife Gardner
Frankness Pole
Youthful Wheeler
Obstinate Cook
Sour Trenchard
Ladylike Shrubb
Loveless Oak
Princely Rowbotham
Sacrilegious Sargood
Wistful Sheppard
Inebriate Blood
Pittance Pickwick
Dearth Skinner
Precious Staggers
Bitting Sykes
Incredible Thirdkill
Lost Marlow
Goodness Tyndall
Illness Trumble
Clerical Poe
Dreary Anderson
Illiterate Welsh
Witty Whitstable
Shrieking Faversham
Simpering Styles
Gnash Warren
Warring Begood
Throbbing Farrow
Friendless Floyd
Knife Lexington
Suckle Severus
Blow Wheatley
Gentle Perry
Prankish Black
Clench Portland
Auspicious Tunbridge
Cleft Cornwallis
Porcine Winters
Ignominy Carew
Suspicion Fitzpatrick
Predestination Sommers
Moral Norris
Spring Huntley
Innumerate Wolsey
Persuadable Walsh
Tough Cresting
Unassailable Reed
Inevitable Pointer
Preservation Havemore
Principles Locke
Fastidious Gage
Nothingness Piebald
Filth Driscoll
Panacea Nelson
Torrid Phillips
Foolish Tancred
Sunk Bathwell
Goodluck Caedmon
Shameful Glump
Travel Sidson
Endure Douglas
Truthful Fillet
Smell Hunterian
Flesh Sawyer
Imp Turner
Long-Suffering Dee
Truly-Loyal Cox
Fate Hastings
Misdeed Morgan
Sanguinary Fry
Trite Marten
Nicety Snakenborg
Inquisitorial Scrope
Sleep Stafford
Leer Walsingham
All-Time Tarleton
Flaccid Salzburg
Devilish Larou
Loquacious Pitt
Have-Not Lee
Ebullient Rodgers
Friend O'Brien
Purpose Palmer
Omniscience O'Finnigan
Dread Congrave
Saintly Hart
Goblin Teasmade
Dissipation Boyle
Fluff Bothwell
Hardman Peirce
Pry Goodwill
Deific Dogsbody
Dry Jackson
Doubtful Blanche
Farewell Pilchard
Avuncular Underbridge
Quaff Perkins
Pungent Hume
Industrial Kiss
Assiduous Kane
Dichotomy Glass
Innominate Hyde
Tempestuous King
Tyranny Koch
Crank O'Toole
Loss Featherstone
Noblest Brown
Surrender Winterbottom
Paragon Trotter
Grip Tottering
Mock Slowley
Leap Longford
Perfection Paine
Worm Paisley
Act Ogilvy
Revenge Forthright
Tug Whipstock
Surreal Van Koop
Regular Day
Proscribe Smiles
Gamble Grownow
Splendiferous Ogg
Odd Spilsbury
Ritual Myers
Switch O'Starr
Mendacious Jiggle
Snap O'Keefe
Ravenous Forcock
Feminine Moorcock
Millennium Müller
Poison Holmes
Ego Trollope
Predate Thackeray
Meek Maddox
Drinkblood Dampier
Delirium Hearne
Strike Scoresby
Probable Strang
Immodest Lear
Id Milligan
Apery Chase
Debauch Bofors
Ataxia Eden
Please Fitzroy
Brick Balfour
Damp Saxon
Exploit Narrows
Stiff Dirk
Impaler Dewitt
Slasher Crowley
Treachery Bosun
Piety Kettle
Minutiae Duke
Fabulous Pea
Spit Flemming
Astringent Stone
Tax Purser
Enquiry Stein
Stalwart Berry
Drown Patricks
Foul Gooser
Oblong Darnell
Sacristy Doors
Halcyon Mustard
Miserly Chalk
Eerie Bolangford
Scream Huxley
Tragedy Orleans
Calamity Staves
Malady Prunk
Drink Bickle
Sulphurous Moon
Medicine Shivers
Wrestle Dolightly
Angular Brand
Bile Derleth

Thanks to Prismatic Wasteland for this one

This post may be too late for the Names Bandwagon but check it out.

More Names:

1. Slobbish Carbuncle

2. Haggard O'Shay

3. Parabola Parsons

4. Garlic Goodnight

Tuesday, 1 September 2026

Meta-Drunkenness aka Drunk in the Dungeon

Carousing is its own thing, but a character that drinks during Dungeon or Wilderness time becomes drunk. The character suffers -1 to ALL rolls. Additionally, before making any roll the player themself must announce what they are doing in a drunken fashion or perform some minor drunken act (e.g, hic, slur their words, slump, squint, etc). If they do not do this, their character automatically fails the roll/attempted action in a humourous, drunken, ironic way. The inebriation lasts until the character has had a nice lunch or a good night's sleep, whichever occurs first.

Optionally:

Wait, you're drunk!: If another player reminds the drunken character's player of their drunkenness, they may roll as normal but must Save vs Poison afterward or pass out.

Uhhh, abusing alcohol is, ummm, cool actually: Characters that are drunk for more than half the session gain a personal bonus 5% XP to XP gained that session.

Drink, Drink, Drink!: Drinking more would lead to cumulative minuses to rolls.

The Drunkard's Cloak

For other META (or perhaps more accurately - Extradiegetic or Paratextual) rules check out my posts on:

- Meta-Narcotics - Experimental Rules for Extra-Diegetic Drugs in RPGs

- Meta-Illness and Extra-Diegetic Disease in RPGs

- Ritualised Spellcasting, Meta-Material Components and Performative Witchcraft

This was just a little tipple of a post to get me back in the blogging mood.

Friday, 24 July 2026

The Bridge at the End of the World

A science-fantasy hexcrawl for low-level adventurers, inspired by the forgotten hero of 1930's weird fiction, Tumithak of the Corridors and his ruined world. In your quest for the fabled Bridge at the End of the World, you must journey through a weird subterranean realm within the belly of a crashed generation-ship. A world where ape-men, mutants, monsters and alien insects vie for survival.

This hexcrawl is inspired by the minimal style of Luke Gearing's Pariah Hexfills. It is not suitable for beginner Game Masters.

Written for the Appendix N Jam, 2026, my 2025 entry, LOW TIDINGS can be found here. It won 1st place in the 'Appendix N Vibes' category*

Art Sources:

Cover: Super Science Stories 'Tumithak of the Towers of Fire'
Most other images: publicdomainreview.org
I drew the dungeon map myself.

Appendix N:

The Tumithak Quadrilogy by Charles R. Tanner. You can read all his published and unpublished works at tumithak.com
All Tomorrows: A Billion Year Chronicle of the Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man by C. M. Kösemen
The RPG: Metamorphosis Alpha

(*I'm not so hopeful for this one. Yeah, yeah. I get it. 22 hexes, an 18 room dungeon, lore - 4 a5 pages. I know how it is. I blame Luke Gearing for my hubris)

Sunday, 12 July 2026

More Lost Books of Appendix N

The author, engaged in some field research

Part One Here

It appears I was too soft in my research. There was more to be done, more lost texts of AD&D's Appendix N to be uncovered. Indeed, even the knavish oaf, Throne of Salt discovered yet another layer of texts, 100 of them! So, with utmost haste and in disguise (I am wanted by local authorities), I traveled to Lake Geneva, WI. There I have spent the last year engaging in a secondary round of 'research'. If your buddy didn't show to Gary Con, I apologise.

Prior to publication, I was informed that my methods of investigation are ineffective, illegal and immoral. I have come to believe this, I think those battered and bruised, elderly Midwestern nerds fabricated some of these titles so I would stop. Next year I must go harder. Nonetheless, here are my findings:

d46 Lost Books of Appendix N

Arxkanarx, get your Sword
When Among Vampires
Swords against Sasquatch
Belhazahaar - Country of Coffins
Caged by Kragaan Khan
To Kotow in the Court of Chaos
Dimension Oubliette
Spøgende Spøgelser
A World named TOMB
The Shango Quadrilogy - 'Shango! Shango!', 'Shango, Prince of Prohgongo', 'Shango: from the Void' and 'Blood for Shango'
Twelve Nights beneath Silver Mountain
The Blood, it Shimmers!
Thombok of the Cylinders
Titan, I strike at Thee!
The Day of the Spider (banned in 12 countries)
The Ghosts of Io
Laying Low in Laistrygon
Berserk, Beauteous, Baphomet
Gnomes for Gnorothrax
Dragon Planet
Maiden, Iron Maiden
Servants of the Mole
How the Vat-Thing came to Be
Wretched Alchemy!
A Guild for Gargoyles
Once a Warlock (lost Moorcock short story, one he wishes to forget and denies knowledge of)
Ploor - Warrior of Wence
The Last Argument of Wizards
Kiss of the Eel
Tribulations in Tsikic's Tomb (misattributed to Jack Vance)
The Corpseless Coffin, or, See it Crawl Towards Them!
My Queen is Death!
Grave Hunger
A Rat out of Hell
The Green Face of Horror
Twice Slain in Tragidore
The Crypts of Gorgonia (published in 1818)
Castle Venus
The Campaigns of Captain Bishterran
In the Service of Sultan Shamash
The Lemurian Larder
The Hideous Horrors of Hrothgar's Hold
The Battle for Basilisk Bay
To Dine among Ghouls
Dendradarazin cannot Die
The Accursed Amazon

By the way, did you know the Appendix N Jam is back?

I almost got that old nerd

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