The following is my response to a poll posted on WotC’s site.
When I first came to D&D back in 2nd edition, I was enamored with the named spells. Melf’s Minute Meteors, Tasha’s Uncontrollable Hideous Laughter, Tenser’s Floating Disc, and who could forget the various Bigby spells? It was a time of discovery for me, before we had the internet, when I first discovered the likes of the Circle of Eight. This, in turn, led me to learn about the city of Greyhawk and their role in it.
I know some people want to divorce the names from the spells. That’s something people have done for years. Want to take those spells into another world? Then switch out the Greyhawk names with ones from the Realms, Dragonlance, Pathfinder, or whatever world you are playing in. Or, you can port those wizards into your favorite world. Coming up with a conversion chart can lead to all sorts of fun. You may find your world full of a host of new NPCs.
To me, those names led to a greater understanding of the game’s lore and backstory. Who would know that Drawmij is Jim Ward’s name spelled backwards? Each of those names has a story, and to take that story away would be to rob D&D of a cherished part of its history.
So I implore the Wizards to keep this rich portion of D&D history. You’re doing so good at getting the flavor back in the game. Do not falter now.
Oh, and feel free to add some new ones. Malhavoc comes to mind.
