Fictional Name for a Molotov

[8BitNinja]

So in the current RPG I am making, I am going to add craft item rules to making molotov cocktails. The problem is that this is a completely different world from Earth, and World War 2, The Winter War, Finland, the Soviet Union, and General Molotov all do not exist. Do you know a name people would call Molotovs in a completely fictional universe?

[hymer]

A bottle bomb? I think that's one we use in the real world, too. Or a [name of fuel] bomb.

[Honest Tiefling]

1) Use other real life names, such as 'bottle bombs' because sometimes people are unimaginative and really need something easy to remember to scream at the appropriate moments.

2) Instead of insulting Russians with the name, find another group within your campaign that people don't mind insulting. Stupid goblins and their goblin bombs.

[FreddyNoNose]

Do you throw them and they fly in the air? Are they on fire?

How about Fireflies!

BTW, they can have multiple nicknames...

[Celestia]

How about alchemist's fire?

[Jay R]

I suspect that your players will wind up calling them "those Molotov cocktails with the funny name".

If English is the language they speak, then they will continue to use the English term.

[Nifft]

Sunshine -> it's moonshine, except hotter & brighter.

Bunko's Lamp -> you could get a similar effect by hurling an expensive lantern, so this is the bargain-basement version.

Free Potions -> if people re-use potion vials as the container, this is something the hurlers might say.

Arson Jars -> in the spirit of calling arrow slits "murder holes".

[Celestia]

Arson Jars -> in the spirit of calling arrow slits "murder holes".

Arrow slits and murder holes are actually two different things. Arrow slits are, basically, small windows that are good for shooting arrows out of. Murder holes are holes in the ceiling, usually in a gatehouse, that people on the second floor can use to drop stones, boiling water, burning pitch, or other deadly things onto attackers.

[Fable Wright]

How about alchemist's fire?

+1 to this. A glass vial that explodes into sticky flame on contact? Sounds like Alchemist's Fire to me.

Alternatively, Gutter Fire—that kind of Alchemist's fire that comes from less respectable pedigree.

[dps]

Depending on how appropriate it might be to the setting, you could just call them "homemade fire bombs".

Or you could be lazy and call them Votolom cocktails.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Well, the Molotov Cocktail was named for a famous use of the device. You could stick with that. Pick a major civil-military incident in your world's history and name it after that.

Or just leave the trivial detail alone. Do your players even know why it's called a Molotov Cocktail? If they don't know or care why it's called that in the first place, they won't care that you've changed it.

[Keltest]

I suspect that your players will wind up calling them "those Molotov cocktails with the funny name".

If English is the language they speak, then they will continue to use the English term.

This is my experience as well. Verisimilitude is all well and good, but ultimately if its a Molotov cocktail in all but name, then theyre quickly going to become Molotov cocktails in name as well. Much in the same way that nobody will remember the full name and title of His Lord Majesty, King Richard Hieronymus Umpwith Vermillion III, Lord of the Seven Towers and ruler of Thisland. He will be "the king" if youre lucky and "king dude" if you aren't.

[RazorChain]

Bottled Flame

Imp in a bottle

Pyromancers Piss

Fire Water

Liquid Inferno

Carafe of Conflagration

Devil's suprise

Blazing tears

Ignis Aqua

[Mr Beer]

Spicy Lights

But really everyone is going to call them Molotovs.

[Jay R]

Imp in a bottle

Most of your ideas will work, but I wouldn't use this in a game system with actual imps, unless the contents of the bottle included one.

[Mastikator]

Gandalf Cocktail

[RazorChain]

Most of your ideas will work, but I wouldn't use this in a game system with actual imps, unless the contents of the bottle included one.

Was just writing what popped up in my head withour thinking about the explicit Imp-lication of the system or the setting

[Blackhawk748]

How about just calling it a Firebomb? Cuz thats what it is

[Deophaun]

The problem is that this is a completely different world from Earth, and World War 2, The Winter War, Finland, the Soviet Union, and General Molotov all do not exist.

I hate to tell you this, but then English itself is a problem. Lots of English words are based off people or places. Armageddon? Is there a Megiddo Valley in your world? Macabre? Did the Maccabees exist? You're going to have lots of problems if you insist on replacing words that reference people, places, or events that never happened in your world.

[Nifft]

I hate to tell you this, but then English itself is a problem. Lots of English words are based off people or places. Armageddon? Is there a Megiddo Valley in your world? Macabre? Did the Maccabees exist? You're going to have lots of problems if you insist on replacing words that reference people, places, or events that never happened in your world.

That would be the argument's Achilles heel.

-- -- --

Anyway, back on topic:

Discount Druid - "it burns down houses", just like those nasty Druid people did last equinox.

[Raphite1]

How about alchemist's fire?

Yeah it's this. Lotta talk in this thread about a non-existent problem.

[Spore]

Who says there isn't a Dwarven general called Molotov?

[Xuc Xac]

A glass vial that explodes into sticky flame on contact? Sounds like Alchemist's Fire to me.

Alchemist's Fire costs 20gp per flask and spontaneously ignites when it breaks. A molotov is an oil flask with a burning rag tied around it. It only costs 1sp. You can get 200 molotovs for the cost of one flask of Alchemist's Fire. Before Alchemist's Fire was added to the list of standard equipment, we just used flasks of lamp oil. We called them oil flasks.

[Deophaun]

Alchemist's Fire costs 20gp per flask and spontaneously ignites when it breaks. A molotov is an oil flask with a burning rag tied around it.

An oil flask wouldn't work (and in 3.5 it was a generous 50/50 shot if it did) because room-temperature oil is difficult to ignite with an errant flame. A molotov uses gasoline or alcohol as a base instead; something flammable with a low vaporization point because it's a heck of a lot easier to ignite the gases than the liquid. Then there are various other things that can be added to it to turn it into something resembling napalm.

[Xuc Xac]

An oil flask wouldn't work (and in 3.5 it was a generous 50/50 shot if it did) because room-temperature oil is difficult to ignite with an errant flame. A molotov uses gasoline or alcohol as a base instead; something flammable with a low vaporization point because it's a heck of a lot easier to ignite the gases than the liquid. Then there are various other things that can be added to it to turn it into something resembling napalm.

That's still really cheap compared to Alchemist's Fire. You can get moonshine for the same silver piece that buys a flask of lamp oil. Even if you want to splurge on fancy bandy for small batch artisanal masterwork molotovs, it's still half the cost of Alchemist's Fire.

[Knaight]

I hate to tell you this, but then English itself is a problem. Lots of English words are based off people or places. Armageddon? Is there a Megiddo Valley in your world? Macabre? Did the Maccabees exist? You're going to have lots of problems if you insist on replacing words that reference people, places, or events that never happened in your world.

There are degrees of separation there though - digging into the etymology is a bit different than there being an obvious name front and center, with words like "bowlderize" or "fletcherize" filling in the middle. Sure, "labyrinthine" is derived pretty obviously from "labyrinth", which made its way into English primarily through one particular story, but it isn't a word that's going to stand out when referring to an area. Contacting someone in the area and saying something like "Minotaur, this is Theseus, where you at?*" is far more blatant.

*This is an actual quote related to actual navigation being done within a friend group.

[Eldan]

Terry Pratchett once wrote an essay on that. I think he started out with the word "Sandwich" arguing that there's obviously no Earl of Sandwich on the Discworld, but if he called them "Sto-Lats" after the Duke of Sto-Lat or something, no one would get it. Then he listed a few dozen others.

I think in the end, does it hurt anyone if you just use that name?

[Cespenar]

Terry Pratchett once wrote an essay on that. I think he started out with the word "Sandwich" arguing that there's obviously no Earl of Sandwich on the Discworld, but if he called them "Sto-Lats" after the Duke of Sto-Lat or something, no one would get it. Then he listed a few dozen others.

I think in the end, does it hurt anyone if you just use that name?

True, but you can easily whip up some "simple english" equivalents which could spice up your setting, directly convey the meaning, and at the same time be tiny bit more consistent.

Like, I don't know, "packed bread" instead of sandwich?

Oil bomb, or fire bottle instead of molotov cocktail.

Of course, trying to be 100% with it would be impractical if not downright impossible, but still, some conversions might not hurt.

[Incorrect]

Flammy Blammy

Hotter Potter

Burny Urny

Blaze Vase

[2D8HP]

"Flame cologne"