So I'm creating my first campaign which I will DM for the first time. For one of the first areas the PCs find themselves stripped of their belongings and locked up in a smeltering prison. As the PCs are dragged out of their cages to a gate they look upon a scorched open land with tall walls around it.
This area will be a pit fighting arena. Only problem is I don't what to call it. I've dabbled with cliche names like 'The Pit/Furnace/Crucible' but these names seemed too commonly used.
Can anyone help out with some name suggestions that are a bit more memorable?
Don't under estimate the power of a pedestrian name that is nakedly embracing it's trope nature. The minute you describe the scorched land and a NPC says "Welcome to the Furnace. You'll die here!" your players will have a fantastic mental idea of where they are. They get a mental picture of where they are, an idea of how they feel (hot), and what resources are around (dirt, walls) as they anticipate a fight.
You can make it more personalized to your campaign by adding in the place name. "The Furnace" becomes "The Furnace of Kalador" or whatever the city is named. Now it's not just vividly easy to imagine, it's specific. Even if there's another pit fighting arena called the Furnace, it's not the Furnace of Kalador.
If you would like to completely avoid tropes, I'd go in the direction of reinforcing the lore. What's the name of the most celebrated pit fighter in the arena's history? Did he leave a winner, or die? "The Ruin of Spartacus" becomes specific, and also tells the story of what happened there, giving you easy NPC dialogue when players ask about the name. Or, if they already know who Spartacus is, it (again) reinforces what to expect (if the greatest pit warrior ever died there, what hope does the PC have?).
I used to agonize a lot about place names. I wanted to be original, unique, clever - then I realized that my players really don't care about my well imagined four syllable place name. What they care about is the mental image I paint. When I do it right they can imagine the dry dust coating their skin, getting into their nostrils, and caked blood on the ground. When I get it wrong they ask "How do I spell that?" :)
Couple other simple names to instill fear, off the top of my head
The Sharktank (might be fun for an underwater arena)
Bloodlake (cool history could be written on this one I feel) "The Emperor kept calling for more warriors, his thirst for spectacle was unquenchable. When they ran out of Slave Warriors they started turning on each other, the Emperors Soldiers doing battle for his approval. By the time the last man fell the ground was so drenched in warrior blood the gravediggers had to wade in, and one small boy had to swim"
Slaughterhouse
Deathwatch (sort of a play on what the fans do) "Put the bread back, or they'll send ya to the Deathwatch boy"
Yeah, Agile_DM is spot on with his answer, as DM you have a lot of work for each session and these reference points are easily understood by everyone.
If there are locations you want to make a bit more special consider how street names come about- usually named after some feature or part of local history. Sometimes it's simple- a small town will only have one town square and will likely just refer to it as such (I'll meet you at the town square) where a city may have several that require differenciation (I'll meet you at Fountain Square). North bridge is the bridge furthest North, Gate bridge is nearest city entrance. This sort of simple short hand will also aid you when your players head somewhere you hadn't considered but allow you to add a very quick but of flavour to your environment without you needing to be a cartographer.
You don't need every name to be a jaw dropper. There's a lot to be said about how the place/area/arena is talked about and treated by the NPCs around the players. It could be named something simple and nuanced like "The Trials" or "The Training Ground" but if the locals talked about it in hushed tones or got upset when the players asked about it.......
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Old School original D&D/AD&D veteran.Started playing (@1977-78) before the original bound volumes or modules. Player/DM in the process of redeveloping my world atlas from memories. Avid Fantasy/Sci-fi fan. among those who used the original AD&D rules to re-enact The Hobbit (and yes most of the dwarves still died).
Star Wars fan with an old fan-fic blog for those interested: Tales from Soma III
So I'm creating my first campaign which I will DM for the first time. For one of the first areas the PCs find themselves stripped of their belongings and locked up in a smeltering prison. As the PCs are dragged out of their cages to a gate they look upon a scorched open land with tall walls around it.
This area will be a pit fighting arena. Only problem is I don't what to call it. I've dabbled with cliche names like 'The Pit/Furnace/Crucible' but these names seemed too commonly used.
Can anyone help out with some name suggestions that are a bit more memorable?
"Is it alcoholic?" - Victor
Don't under estimate the power of a pedestrian name that is nakedly embracing it's trope nature. The minute you describe the scorched land and a NPC says "Welcome to the Furnace. You'll die here!" your players will have a fantastic mental idea of where they are. They get a mental picture of where they are, an idea of how they feel (hot), and what resources are around (dirt, walls) as they anticipate a fight.
You can make it more personalized to your campaign by adding in the place name. "The Furnace" becomes "The Furnace of Kalador" or whatever the city is named. Now it's not just vividly easy to imagine, it's specific. Even if there's another pit fighting arena called the Furnace, it's not the Furnace of Kalador.
If you would like to completely avoid tropes, I'd go in the direction of reinforcing the lore. What's the name of the most celebrated pit fighter in the arena's history? Did he leave a winner, or die? "The Ruin of Spartacus" becomes specific, and also tells the story of what happened there, giving you easy NPC dialogue when players ask about the name. Or, if they already know who Spartacus is, it (again) reinforces what to expect (if the greatest pit warrior ever died there, what hope does the PC have?).
I used to agonize a lot about place names. I wanted to be original, unique, clever - then I realized that my players really don't care about my well imagined four syllable place name. What they care about is the mental image I paint. When I do it right they can imagine the dry dust coating their skin, getting into their nostrils, and caked blood on the ground. When I get it wrong they ask "How do I spell that?" :)
Thanks for answering, this helped a ton. I will definitely aim towards describing places rather than just going for memorable names.
Still very new to being a DM so I think I'm looking too deeply into things haha.
"Is it alcoholic?" - Victor
Upvoted Agile_Dm, great answer.
Couple other simple names to instill fear, off the top of my head
Yeah, Agile_DM is spot on with his answer, as DM you have a lot of work for each session and these reference points are easily understood by everyone.
If there are locations you want to make a bit more special consider how street names come about- usually named after some feature or part of local history. Sometimes it's simple- a small town will only have one town square and will likely just refer to it as such (I'll meet you at the town square) where a city may have several that require differenciation (I'll meet you at Fountain Square). North bridge is the bridge furthest North, Gate bridge is nearest city entrance. This sort of simple short hand will also aid you when your players head somewhere you hadn't considered but allow you to add a very quick but of flavour to your environment without you needing to be a cartographer.
That said, i like the name ' Blood Pit' myself 😉
Thanks for the replies guys it's a real help :)
"Is it alcoholic?" - Victor
Oooh. Here's a name: "The First Rule". Might use that one in my own campaign :D
The Snuggle Pit. The PC's first view of the Snuggle Pit? Blood everywhere, and a brutal fight just ending. :D
A dwarf with a canoe on his back? What could go wrong?
Agile_DM Nailed it !!
You don't need every name to be a jaw dropper. There's a lot to be said about how the place/area/arena is talked about and treated by the NPCs around the players. It could be named something simple and nuanced like "The Trials" or "The Training Ground" but if the locals talked about it in hushed tones or got upset when the players asked about it.......
Old School original D&D/AD&D veteran.Started playing (@1977-78) before the original bound volumes or modules. Player/DM in the process of redeveloping my world atlas from memories. Avid Fantasy/Sci-fi fan. among those who used the original AD&D rules to re-enact The Hobbit (and yes most of the dwarves still died).
Star Wars fan with an old fan-fic blog for those interested: Tales from Soma III
The Crimson Caldera
The Reaping Grounds
[Insert name here]'s Playground/Kitchen
The Panopticon of Pain