1d51 Funny Words

 

You know, I've been running a Live Action Roleplaying Game this past year! I really ought to post about that more. Anyways, here's some words in Funny, or Faunny if you are being particular, the dialect that the cheerful and socially-unaware fauns speak. Stolen liberally from the dictionaries of Grose, Coleridge, and my girlfriend's extensive inside jokes.

 1. Acter: hunter
2. Athel: a noble, that is a king, lord, or knight
3. Awake: to know
4. Banaghan: a storyteller
5. Bell: The best, a victory (Wearing the bell: being the star of the show, five minutes of fame)
6. Bondy: a Human
7. Bosk: woods
8. Catath: a monster
9. Cockerel or Hen: a seer (before the cockerel crows: before we’re doomed)
10. Cukebine: An unwholesome woman
11. Drusy: Fuzzy; by extension, an animal, typically a sheep
12. Egg: a divination or riddle (to crack an egg: to resolve the same)
13. Finger: to hunger or want
14. Flyflute: a happy-go-lucky person
15. Foggy: Elf
16. Funny: Like a faun. Transferred into common meaning “humorous”
17. Gesten: to welcome or show hospitality
18. Gome: A person
19. Greeb: an old woman
20. Hint: an insult, or a person who insults, especially in a polite sounding way
21. Imps: Ruins, and by extension anyone or anything living in a ruin, especially a sorcerous creature
22. Ink-kindler: a scribe
23. Ink: to instruct
24. Inlow: To trick
25. Ire: Iron, especially weapons of iron. By extension, anger, or a fight.
26. Jangle: to entertain
27. Jett: a curse (to throw jett: to cast a curse)
28. Jettin: a cursed person
29. Kalk: write, think, or reckon
30. Kane: a knight
31. Keen: Dwarf
32. Keft: to catch
33. Kete: Bright, good.
34. Kindle: to attract or inspire (love, typically)
35. Lark: a fighter or adventurer, from Alaric Burning-hearted; later applied to certain songbirds, and was given a whimsical connotation
36. Lither: a wicked, violent person, or a drakkencursed.
37. Lordling/Ladyling: shepherd
38. Meer: Moon
39. Mudder: Farmer
40. Nitty: crazy
41. Onionsauce: Nonsense, or a social norm to which the faun refuses to abide
42. Samite: gold, or any kind of opulence; by extension, something beyond the expected
43. Selfname: Pompous person, or a new-made lord
44. Sing-song: a sorcerer, especially an enchanter
45. Sitling: one who lives in a settled area, a non-faun
46. Sooth: real, or very
47. Spinnandweb: a spider, a schemer or weaver
48. Thister: a Shade (to turn thister: To die, especially violently)
49. Thriven: honest and good
50. Vyss: Riverfolk
51. Woodpainter: charcoal-burner

And, to demonstrate their use, some examples:

“That foggy selfname, I’m awake that he’s a sing-song. I’ll jangle along, but not a way he’ll inlow us.” 
(That pompous elf, I know he’s a sorcerer! I’ll entertain him, but he’s not gonna trick us)

“I was gestened by an athel yesterweek. Flyflute fellow! Gave me some sooth-samite. Well, I kalk I owe him, but what does he finger from an acter?” 
(I was hosted by a noble yesterweek. Had his head in the clouds! He gave me way too much treasure. I reckon I owe him, but what does he want from a mere hunter?)

“There’s a sooth catath out in the bosk. Turned a vyss thister just yesterday. Dunno if its a lither, jettin, or some old imp, but I hope the athel sends some thriven kane before the cockerel crows.” 
(There’s a real monster out in the woods. Turned a riverman into a shade (i.e. killed him) just yesterday. Don’t know if its a dragon, a cursed person, or some summoned spirit, but I hope the lord sends a good knight before we’re all doomed)

These examples are a bit overwrought, just to display as many words as possible. Real examples would use a third as much or less, unless one was purposefully trying to hide the meaning of a phrase, or just had a particularly thick dialect. 

Here are the words sorted by category...

Races
Gome: A person
Bondy: a Human
Keen: Dwarf
Foggy: Elf
Vyss: Riverfolk

Professions
Athel: a noble, that is a king, lord, or knight
Acter: hunter
Banaghan: a storyteller
Ink-kindler: a scribe
Kane: a knight
Lark: a fighter or adventurer
Lordling/Ladyling: shepherd
Mudder: Farmer
Sing-song: a sorcerer, especially an enchanter
Spinnandweb: a schemer or weaver
Woodpainter: charcoal-burner
Cockerel or Hen: a seer

Other types of people
Bell: "The best of the best"
Cukebine: An unwholesome woman
Flyflute: a happy-go-lucky person
Funny: Someone like a faun
Greeb: an old woman
Hint: Someone who hides insults with politeness
Imps: Someone who lives in a ruin
Jettin: a cursed person
Nitty: a crazy person
Lither: a wicked, violent person
Selfname: Pompous person
Sitling: one who lives in a settled area, a non-faun

Descriptions
Bell: The best
Drusy: Fuzzy or soft
Kete: Bright, good
Nitty: crazy
Onionsauce: Nonsense
Samite: Opulent, ostentatious, or extra
Sooth: real, or very
Thriven: honest and good

Actions
(to be) Awake: to know
(to) Bell: To win
(to) Finger (for): to hunger or want
(to) Gesten: to welcome or show hospitality
(to) Hint: to insult, in a polite sounding way
(to) Ink: to instruct
(to) Inlow: To trick
(to) Jangle: to entertain
(to) Kalk: write, think, or reckon
(to) Keft: to catch
(to) Kindle: to attract or inspire (love, typically)
(to) Lark: to Adventure

Dangers and Oddities
Bosk: woods
Catath: a monster
Egg: a divination or riddle 
Jett: a curse 
Jettin: a cursed person
Lither: a wicked, violent person, or a drakkencursed.
Meer: Moon
Spinnandweb: a spider, a schemer 
Thister: a Shade 

Phrases
Wearing the bell: being the star of the show, five minutes of fame
Before the cockerel crows: before long, or before we’re doomed
To crack an egg: to resolve a riddle or divination
To throw jett: to cast a curse
To turn thister: To die, especially violently

I estimate a week before this nonsense just worms its way into my vocabulary and I become completely incomprehensible. I also expect my good friend Loch Nothicseye to tell me that this post is just an accurate lexicon for his aunt's daily speech. Sorry loch, that old greeb is funny, I don't make the rules.

Metasetting races; or, A Complete List of the Cool Races

 

This follows the same spirit set forth in my Metagods post. Like those, these are variables which define a setting of mine. You pick a set, change some things around, and see what comes out. Theoretically, that would be a setting I would make and enjoy. Think of it like Magic the Gathering planes. You have some things which are constant (5 colors of mana, for instance). Then you pick, choose, and remix creature types, local forces, geography, etc. and you have a Magic plane!

The important thing is to think out the consequences of the variables you are choosing. I'll give an example setting at the end of this post. Maybe more metasetting stuff to come!

The List

Humans

The rice of races. If you include them, its normally cool to choose certain things they are comparatively weirdly good at. Perennial favorites include: Religion, Breeding, Cooking, Orating, Farming etc. Develop humans as much as other races and make them just as big of mythic weirdos. I often like humans to be foreigners. Also its fun to have them just have pointy ears or colorful skin just because.

Fauns

Cooler than elves. Can't wear boots. Normally chill pastoralists, range from minor god weirdos to shire-dwelling farmers. If you must give them physiological abilities, they might be good at climbing (don't give them headbutt attacks that's really dumb). Other abilities vary by characterization.

Nymphs & Fairies

This one overlaps a lot with some of the others on this list. You're going to have to determine on a case-by-case basis what it actually means. Also cooler than elves

Elementals

Some very lame people would call these genasi. Normally consisting of Sylphs, Undines, (choose a fire one), (choose an earth one). I say this because it seems like people (including me) don't really like the names "salamander" and "gnome". Fire boys include: ifrit, flamekin, etc. Earth boys include: dwarf, kobold, etc. Sylph is also a cooler elf. Sometimes fun to have them have element hair (cloud hair, water hair, fire hair. Earth hair doesn't really work I dunno)

Skeletons

Either very quiet dreaming dead, or skeletor. There is no in between. Having any flesh on them makes them less cool, make sure you remember that. For some reason really fun to play around with government systems with these guys. Skeleton kings, skeleton parliaments, skeleton theocracies, etc. Just having skeletons makes politics fun.

Little Guys

Or Folk, in hypogeum. Just some weird little guys. Goblins, Gnomes, Kobolds, Halflings etc. are lame but if you throw them in a pot and mix 'em up you can get something cool. Waddle-Dees, Toads, Shy guys, to a lesser extent Minecraft Villagers. Just some pretty odd little guys. They run shops or wander around the woods or form cave tribes or whatever. This is a vibe based race.

Magic Guys

Made of magic, sort of amorphous. Wizrobes, Black Mages, also Shy-Guys, Novakids, Spell-Born homunculi, could probably also encompass weird godlings. "Why aren't they better at magic than humans" shut up they need to keep their magic to maintain their bodies. Might also be Weird Little Guys.

I made this one

Cat Boys

Also in Hypogeum. Not furries, but can get close. Furries or normal beastfolk are lame. These ones are just humans but fuzzy. Have weird ears (where humans have ears! not on top of their heads, that's gross). Not actually cat-related, I just think its funny.

Sheepfolk, Frogfolk, Bugfolk, Mousefolk

The exceptions to the beastfolk are lame rule. Obviously distinct, but grouped for simplicity. Don't call them "x-folk", give them each distinct and folk-lore-y names. You can also make beastfolk not lame by making them Weird Little Guys. I like little guy beastfolk that are incongruously from victorian to edwardian times. The sorts that wear little suits or coveralls or quilt dresses and for some reason the rabbit is neighbors with the fox. 

Cyclopes

Human sized. Sometimes cool.

You Can't Play Them But They're Here

Proper Fairies and Elves

Angels

Demons

Angel and Demon descended people

Aliens and Gods

I lied you can play some of those sometimes

Remember, the principle is pick a few and remix. The other principle is "would this game feel incomplete if the only available race was x?" if the answer is yes, Bad! Examples of bad-uns: Shadar-Kai, Elves but only the stereotype, Dwarves in general, actually I don't know if those are bad but I don't like to include them. Words for Yellow also has some good races. If you have good races, comment below, and I'll tell you they're bad maybe.

Setting: The Green Kingdom

The Green Kingdom is a small region, a watershed on the southern sea rimmed by mountains. The circular cities are the homes of the humans, who take pride in making clothes. The country is inhabited by both humans and fauns, who work the land together. The wild and deep places are the homes of the cyclopes (known for their magic) and living skeletons. Living skeletons also inhabit necropoli inside the cities, but humans don't enter those districts (they are quite unnerving!).

The Green Kingdom is ruled by the Green King, a man called Basil. The duties of the Green King are mostly in directing building projects and adjudicating disputes. Local priests honor idols, great and small, collect taxes, and distribute food. The Princes, regional rulers, organize armies when the need arises (and otherwise do fuck-all). Most wars are internal rebellions, but these are not large (oftentimes they arise over badly judged disputes, with ransom and cattle stealing being the biggest tactics). 

Dangers arise from bandits in the woods (often a mix of races), cyclopes sorcerers, territorial skeletons, dragons, sphinxes, and forgotten or malign spirits. It is said cyclopes worship shadowy gods of magic, and can summon strange celestial spirits or evil bogeys (they are respected, and sometimes feared, but only rarely hated). Fauns are only occasionally dangerous, when driven by passion, but otherwise they might cause problems by being lazy or pushy. Idols which are neglected, or spirits for whom an idol was never made, may become wrathful and bring curses or attack people (fauns take pride in honoring  idols deep in the wilderness).

Dungeons and other ruins are often inhabited by Skeletons and Cyclopes but one can enter if one is courteous. Often there are unexplored portions or dangerous monsters that even skeletons fear, so it can still be lucrative to explore them. Cyclopes don't kill monsters with their magic for fear of the wrath of their gods, but they will often reward adventurers who do (whether with treasure or magic. Many successful people have a spectral attendant, a gift from a cyclopes).

(Races: Humans, Fauns, Skeletons, Cyclopes)
(Metagods: Idols, Darkness)

Conclusion

Normally, these settings just detail one, maybe 2 small kingdoms and vaguely talk about their neighbors. This is great, because it leaves open the possibility of having other races if, for instance, you have a rotating cast of characters, flailsnails style. Also, the world is mysterious. Lord of the Rings focused on 3 kingdoms (the North, Gondor, and Rohan) and 4 races (hobbits, men, elves, and dwarves). Other kingdoms were mentioned, but not described. Other races were included, but were unknowns. What does the East look like? How do the southrons live? We don't know, because we were focused on the tight group of cultures which were almost folkloric blank slates to start with. Resist always the urge to include everything and the kitchen sink, but you can lean into the known and the cool.

Possible future metasetting posts: geography and features, Monsters, Magic, Factions and Politics, other dimensions.