When I first got my copy of Dogs I was happy to see a list of appropriate period names included. For some reason, innapropriate names are something that really bugs me in games (possibly due to my teen experiences playing "Empire of the Petal Throne" with such memorable NPCs as "Fred" the Ahoggya). I was intrigued by the use of obviously meaningful words for women's names (as I often am, we almost named our daughter Faith, which is somewhat ironic since both parents are atheists). Seems like a New England thing, probably from their Puritan heritage. The name "Submit" particularly stood out.

The next week, I started work on a new project (I'm an archaeologist). The site was an abandoned farmstead in southern Maine that had been occupied from the 1790's to the 1830's. While doing deed searches, we found that the owners of the house were named Daniel and Submit Mitchell! Needless to say, Daniel, Submit, and their son Ira (all of whom lived the rest of their lives in Maine in reality) will be making an appearance in my upcoming Dogs game. I don't know if it helps in portraying NPCs to have rooted through their 200 year old garbage, but if so, these guys should come accross pretty believable.

John Marron

That's a great story. I'm also a stickler for appropriate names - I think it goes a long way toward immersing players in the setting.

Be sure to check out my "names among the faithful" at http://www.meekmok.com/sassy/dogs/tools.html . I didn't go down the Puritan path hinted at by Vincent's name suggestions in the book, but there are other resources out there if your Dogsmology leans that way.

Jason's play aids are invaluble, both the names and the Book of Life quotes.