Fear Names.
Names have power in identity.
Others can use names as weapons.
Names are a hook that can be used to track you...
Remain nameless, and you shall be safe.
~ Planescape: Torment
Multiple D&D subclasses inform the DM about aspects of their world. A cleric's domain informs what deities or forces are present in the world, as does a warlock's patronage. The presence of glamour bards informs one of the many roles of fey in the world, and draconic ancestry sorcerers inform the potential for bloodlines of humanoids and dragons to intertwine.
This list has been further added to with the most recent UA's addition of the School of Onomancy, a wizard subclass that focuses on the role and control of true names. Their flavour text states:
Something that is named stands out in the multiverse, distinct from the tapestry of creation all around it. That distinction creates power that onomancers seek to tap.True names - the concept that knowing an individual's name gives you power over them - are found throughout fiction. From the fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin to the multiple applications of true names in White Wolf's World of Darkness games, to the banishment of DC Comics's Mr Mxyzptlk, the power of names comes in many forms and with many depictions. Dungeons and Dragons has used it multiple times in the past, but this has declined since 3rd edition. In 5th edition published content, the arcane usage of true names is mostly limited to flavour text; the most it can be seen mechanically is with devil summoning:
A mortal who learns a devil's true name can use powerful summoning magic to call the devil from the Nine Hells and bind it into service (MM, pg 67)
On each of your turns, you can try to issue a verbal command to the devil (no action required by you). It obeys the command if the likely outcome is in accordance with its desires, especially if the result would draw you toward evil. Otherwise, you must make a Charisma (Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion) check contested by its Wisdom (Insight) check. You make the check with advantage if you say the devil’s true name. (Infernal calling spell)Personally, I love the idea of true names. It's an evocative concept that has made its way into multiple forms of fiction, and creates great opportunities for interesting adventures and roleplay. If players want to defeat a powerful enemy, they can go out of their way to seek the villain's true name, learning about their history and the choices they made to get to where they are, then use this knowledge to compel the villain to surrender or change their ways. It also flows in well with the general idea that words and magic are intermingled, as with bards and their songs, paladins and the oaths they swear, and the words of power within the D&D spell list.
I fully support the presence of true names in D&D, and that's why I cannot say I'm the biggest fan of the onomancy wizard.
Don't get me wrong: if given the option, I would jump at the chance to play this subclass. It looks fun and has a bunch of flavour to it that I'd love to revel in. But that reason is in itself also the justification for why I think there is a better way to use true names than with a subclass: true names are something that should be available to be utilised and enjoyed by everyone, not just one small group.
Subclasses inform the DM about the world, but they also restrict it. A subclass's unique abilities and lore becomes solely their domain and their speciality. By making onomancy the domain of a specific subclass, the potential for true names becomes limited for other characters to interact with. Furthermore, within the subclass itself the potential for interesting adventures and quests to come from these interactions is also further limited, given that the subclass has the potential to learn an entity's true name as early as second level.
With that in mind, I want to propose an alternative system to true names that could be incorporated into a game instead of the onomancy wizard.
True Names are owned by any creature that understands at least one language (this includes animal companions that understand what sound to associate with them as an individual). A creature's true name can be evoked by another in order to compel them or make them more vulnerable.
Knowing a creature's true name allows an individual to do several things. Firstly, it makes summoning and scrying on such creatures easier - summoning spells can forgo the DM choosing what is summoned and instead have a named creature summoned instead, and scrying on a creature when you know their true name counts as a likeness or picture (-2). Using a creature's true name with banishment causes the creature to roll at disadvantage.
A creature's true name can also be evoked to attempt to compel them to fulfil a task - creatures who are confronted with their true name have disadvantage on saving throws against spells such as charm person, fear, geas, and dominate person; alternatively a creature, regardless whether they are magical or not, can attempt to use a true name in the same way as the command spell. In these scenarios, creatures immune to the charmed condition can still be affected by these spells as if they had no charm immunity.
Using the power of true names is not without risk: each time a true name is evoked, the creature takes 1d6 damage per hit dice of the true name's holder. This damage cannot be reduced or resisted, and cannot be healed until the purpose of the evocation has ended. Whilst the damage cannot be reduced, it can be redistributed if more than one individual takes part in the naming. For example, a group of cultists summoning a powerful fiend with its true name may split the hit points of damage between them.
In addition, some powerful entities can detect when their true name is spoken, even in general conversation - this is how gods know when their followers call to them in prayer. Be careful whom you speak of, or they may just come and find you.
On a side note, kenku have little to fear from true names. Try compelling someone into servitude when their name is the sound of running water. Pronounce it, I dare you.
No comments:
Post a Comment