“Highbulp!” Bupu glared at him. “Highbulp Phudge I. The great.”
There are no great insights to be drawn from this passage from Dragons of Autumn Twilight, except maybe one about how not to do comic names in fantasy. Don’t have a name be a misspelled version of a comically non-genre word.
I first ran across this advice in the 2e Campaign Sourcebook: “Keep the names consistent with the world. Fearless Phred, may seem cute initially, and generate a few chuckles, but eventually, the joke wears thin and the DM is stuck with an NPC who has a stupid name. Regardless of Fearless Phred’s prowess or power, the PCs will never take him seriously.”
Let’s overlook the obvious point that such a name is dumb, dumb and stupid. The other issue is that D&D is a spoken game. When spoken, Phudge sounds like Fudge. There’s really no reason to spell it differently except to amuse the DM.
Another comic-misspelling offender: R. A. Salvatore, who has a dwarf named Pikel. (Doesn’t he also have another dwarf with a stupid name, like Hiyaa or Kaboom or something? What is it with people and their rank contempt for dwarves?)
Also, how do Weis and Hickman think “Highbulp Phudge I” is pronounced? “Highbulp Phudge The First”? “Highbulp Phudge One?”
They’re frickin’ gully dwarves. It’s probably “Highbulp Phudge Eye.”
I think dwarves have always had dissonant presentation, what with being both Proud Warrior Race Guys and the Comic Relief. Peter Jackson’s presentation of Gimli is of course the most famous case, but you’ve pointed out others even within Dragonlance.
It’s pronounced “Thibbledorf Pwent,” which itself is pronounced “The Author’s Drunk Again”.
Agree with shieldhaven; he’s a gully dwarf. They are comic relief.
As to Salvatore, I don’t think it’s Pikel, maybe one of his friends, but there’s a dwarf who’s the world’s first dwarvan “doo-ad.” It took me forver to realize he was druid. ~sigh~
Hm. You may remember a character of mine named “Mick Manley”. You may not have known it was spelled that way, but it wasn’t just a comical misspelling for my own amusement; Manley is a real surname, belonging to an acquaintance of mine from my college days. What is your judgment on this?
Another character of mine you may remember, Dredlor, is a worse offender. But he was a priest of a death cult! Death-cult priests always have stupid names like that!
@Anthony N Emmel
As a big fan of that particular series, I can confirm that it is Pikel who is the first dwarven “doo-dad.”
He also has a green beard, which I don’t think anyone has mentioned.
Great point about drunken naming: Finbikkifin!
BAF I like yours except I would have gone all the way: Dreadlor D
A to gully dwarf naming:
Highbulp Eye
Highbulp Aye-aye!
Highbulp Aii-yi-yie
I don’t get how wizards work. Could somebody throw me a hint?
Both Mick Manley and Dreadlor remind me of Homer Simpson’s spy name, Max Power, which he got from looking at a blowdryer setting. They’re jokes, but they’re Dickensian in that they describe the character, and, in a way, the characters are in on the jokes. Mick believes that he is manly, Dreadlor believes that he is to be dreaded. I’m not sure that Highbulp Phudge is anything more than a silly name. He might as well be Whipsqueak Q. Foofaraw Jr.
Suddenly “Yrag” and “Xagyg” and “Belric of Telefone” and “Gronan of Simmerya” look good in comparison.
I agree that it’s probably pronounced as Shieldhaven suggested. But when reading the books initially, I think I just assumed “the first” and moved on. Or didn’t bother pronouncing it mentally, as you do when authors make up to many words.
Anyone else do that? Especially with names. Just recognizing the name based on how it looks rather than trying to pronounce it.
I HOOPSTER LEVITTOWNE AM OFFENDED BY THISSE POSTE. IN THE WORLD OF HUMES I AM TOLD THE NAME OF HOOPSTER IS COMICALL THROWRE OF ROUND DUTCHECOLLORED BALLE AND LEVITTOWNE IS SHAMEFUL TOWNE MADST OF PREFABRUECATED PALYWOODS FOR SHAMEFUL RETURNING SOLDIDDERS WHOD IDST NOT DYE IN BATTEL AND WANTE TO GRILLE BURGERS WITH BLONDE WYFS INSTAED OF EATING BURGERS RAWE AND MAKEING LOVE TO SPINACHES. BUT I HOOPSTER LEVITTOWN CARE LYTTLE FOR THE DUMB TRADITONS OF HUMES EXCEPT FOR THEIR GRATE EPIC POETRY I CAN RECITE. AND HOOPSTER LEVITTOWN IS A PROWDE ORCISH NAME EVEN THOUGH I HOOPSTER LEVITTOWNE WAS INDEED BORNE IN A SHAMEFUL TOWNE COMPOSED OF OVERDOMESTICATED ORCS TRYEING TO HOLD ON TO ORCHISH CULTUR AND NOT ASIMILITE TO HUME MEIDIOCRTY. BUT IN NO ADVENTURE HAST MY NAME HOOPSTER LEIVTOWNNE NOT MADE THE ADVENTURE MORE FUNNE EVEN THOUG RYIAN KEPTE SAYING IT WAS HIPSTER
Dragonlance is one of my favourite series!! Great saga!
Hereby claiming Whipsqueak Q. Foofaraw Jr. for the next ratling adventure.
(I’m imagining him as eager to prove himself as an adventurer because he’s tired of living in the shadow of Whipsqueak Q. Foofaraw Senior.)