Realm Names

Tavern, shop and ship names

Three generators for the places a party walks into and the ship it sails on. These names are made of whole words in sign-board patterns, so each generator has its own creatures, goods and sea words.

Tavern and inn name generator

Sign-board names from creatures, tankards, keepers and travellers for inns and alehouses.

e.g. The Goose & Plough / The Drowsy Pipe / The Queen's Bucket

Fantasy shop name generator

Owner, trade and goods patterns for smithies, apothecaries, outfitters and curiosity shops.

e.g. Oona of the Honest Grindstone / Definitely Not Stolen Cloaks / The Bottled Provisions

Pirate ship name generator

Ship names from sea creatures, storms, corsairs and a crew's boasts.

e.g. Corsair's Promise / The Noble Dorothea / The Majestic Albatross

How to name the places where a session starts

A tavern, a shop and a ship have one thing in common: the name is painted on something. A good one could be drawn as a picture, because in a world where few people read, a sign is a picture first. That is why the main patterns here pair a describing word with a thing you can paint, or join two things with an ampersand.

The name is also the first hint your players get about what is inside. A cosy name promises a warm fire and a talkative innkeeper, a grim one tells them to keep a hand on their purse. Use the mood filter to match the scene you have planned, and use it the other way round when you want a surprise: a cheerful name over a dangerous door is an old and reliable trick.

Keep a short list ready. Players walk into more shops and inns than any game master plans for, so heart ten or so names in each generator and download the list before a session. When someone asks what the place is called, you read the next one out.

If a place will come back, lock the word you like and re-roll the rest until the whole name is easy to say. Names that are fun to say aloud are the ones a table remembers three sessions later.

A taste of each generator