Kalamar - first published 4e setting?!?

[hong]

Why?

To defend against the thesis that although taste may be a subjective thing and there is no universally-agreed scale by which to measure the acceptability or otherwise of a naming scheme, some collections of syllables can indeed be stupider than others.

"Sound stupid" is a very subjective term. You don't like the names, others like them. And by now everyone knows you dislike the names.

That doesn't even remotedly make your claim that they are stupid true.

If enough people think they sound stupid, then they are.

 

[Heselbine]

This

OMG that's my first ever This!

Yeah, I bought 3e Kingdoms of Kalamar, but the moment I saw Principality of Pekal, I knew Kalamar and me were not going to be friends. The names are just appalling. If I were them I'd reissue the setting with all the names 'translated into English' - instead of Tumufido and Naka'akido, for gods' sakes give me the White Bone Hills and the Land of Two Lakes. Or anything, anything but those endless collections of silly syllables.

Just goes to show that people are different. The language thing is one of the things I love most about Kalamar - because someone's thought through a complete picture of the different languages. Character names mean something and have a context, so no more Joe the Fighter. Sure, some of them are a bit unpronounceable, but if you get the point of having an overall scheme it's all worth it.

How many campaigns have you played in where the names make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE whatsoever? Sorry, but that really bugs me and destroys the reality.

 

[WhatGravitas]

...especially since pronouncing those KoK words isn't an issue for most German speakers.

The question isn't being pronouncable, but whether they're easy to remember or not. Plus, even if they sound fine for a German, what does it tell us? Bad localisation?

Cheers, LT.

 

[Heselbine]

This is all making me think about running 4e Kalamar again - but I'm not buying a PDF. Are Kenzer ever going to produce physical Kalamar products again? Or is it simply not commercially viable?

 

[Fenes]

If enough people think they sound stupid, then they are.

If enough people think 2+2 equals 5, it still doesn't.

 

[hong]

If enough people think 2+2 equals 5, it still doesn't.

This is where the

taste may be a subjective thing and there is no universally-agreed scale by which to measure the acceptability or otherwise of a naming scheme​

bit comes in.

 

[Fenes]

This is where the

taste may be a subjective thing and there is no universally-agreed scale by which to measure the acceptability or otherwise of a naming scheme​

bit comes in.

So, why contradict yourself then in your next line, where you state such a measure?

 

[hong]

So, why contradict yourself then in your next line, where you state such a measure?

Because while taste may be a subjective thing and there is no universally-agreed scale by which to measure the acceptability or otherwise of a naming scheme, this does not rule out meaningful discussion of preferences, the ability to rank said preferences, or the ability to make decisions on the basis of said rankings.

Trust me, I'm a statistician.

 

[Fenes]

Because while taste may be a subjective thing and there is no universally-agreed scale by which to measure the acceptability or otherwise of a naming scheme, this does not rule out meaningful discussion of preferences, the ability to rank said preferences, or the ability to make decisions on the basis of said rankings.

Trust me, I'm a statistician.

Even if statistics would say that 90% of the population believe the earth is flat, it doesn't actually make the earth flat.

 

[hong]

Even if statistics would say that 90% of the population believe the earth is flat, it doesn't actually make the earth flat.

This is where the

taste may be a subjective thing and there is no universally-agreed scale by which to measure the acceptability or otherwise of a naming scheme​

bit comes in.