Spell names in Dungeons and Dragons

April 10, 2008 · Filed Under Dungeons and Dragons

While we’re on the subject of magic, I thought it’d be worth it to revisit a topic I covered on the articles side of the blog a while back, but haven’t done here:

Here’s a list of some of the names in Dungeons and Dragons that have been passed down to the present day. For most of them, we have Gary Gygax himself to thank. Most of the names came from the original Dungeons and Dragons Greyhawk campaign in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, when Dungeons and Dragons was in its infancy.

Bigby - as in Bigby’s Crushing Fist. Bigby was one of Gary Gygax’s Player Characters.

Heward - as in Heward’s Handy Haversack. Heward was a nickname for Hugh E. Burdick, a cousin of Gary Gygax.

Kas - as in Sword of Kas. Kas was short for Tim Kask, the original editor of Dragon Magazine.

Leomund - as in Leomund’s Tiny Hut. Leomund was the Player Character of Len Lakofka, of the Lake Geneva Greyhawk game.

Mordenkainen - as in Mordenkainen’s Disjunction. Mordenkainen was another of Gary Gygax’s Player Characters.

Nystul - as in Nystul’s Magic Aura. This one is especially interesting. Nystul was the name of a real-world magician, named Brad Nystul. Brad Nystul suggested the spell to Gary Gygax.

Otiluke - as in Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere. Otiluke was a combination of the names Otis and Luke. Luke refers to Luke Gygax, one of Gary’s sons. Otis was the Player Character luke played in the original Temple of Elemental Evil.

Rary - as in Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer. Rary was a Player Character run by Brian Blume.

Tasha - as in Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. This one is cool, too. Tasha was a young Dungeons and Dragons player who wrote a letter to Gary in crayon suggesting a laughing spell.

Tenser - as in Tenser’s Floating Disc. Tenser was short for Serten, a Player Character belonging to Ernie Gygax (Gary’s oldest son). Tenser is also an anagram for Ernest.