Xanathar's 18 Pages of What??

[TheCosmicKid]

I can literally think of hundreds of better uses they could have put those 18 pages to.

All right, two hundred or more ideas for eighteen pages of content. Go.

You could have found that for free with a Google search, better in fact, but you could find out what the name means too and family names, act...

Or, to save some time, you could pay someone to do it for you... oh wait.

 

[cbwjm]

You could have found that for free with a Google search, better in fact, but you could find out what the name means too and family names, act...

Sometimes it's just easier to use a physical copy rather than hunting around with a google search on your phone because you're at a game and you need to come up with the name of an NPC in the middile of a game, using the name table is quicker. I think it much more convenient to have the names in the book for a quick search for a name, I don't really need to know the meaning when I just want a cool sounding name that fits a specific region.

I get that you don't like the names, but there are plenty of us who do. I don't begrudge wizards for putting in the quirks, flaws, or bonds for the subclasses in Xanathar's even though I don't use them. Not everyone is going to be happy with everything in the book. If everyone is happy with a good chunk of the book then I think that the book is a winner.

 

[Zardnaar]

You could have found that for free with a Google search, better in fact, but you could find out what the name means too and family names, act...

I love me some AD&D type tables and references to the classical world.

 

[Yaarel]

What bugged me about the human section of the name list was that it was just first names?!

That is the norm for the premodern era. Most people only had a single name. To distinguish someone from someone else with the same name, people added a ‘son of’ or ‘daughter of’, a ‘from the place of’, or a nickname.

Family names inherited across generations did happen, but rarely.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

That is the norm for the premodern era.

...in most of the cultures D&D seeks to imitate. Rome being a notable exception.

 

[AmerginLiath]

Patrician Rome, that is. The vast majority of Romans didn’t have family names — we merely remember those members of the twentysomething families whose members are recorded disproportionately in history. Among commoners and provincials serving in the military, for example, literally “making their name” in terms of getting adopted into a patrician clan as an officer is why many went into service.

Depending on the culture in a game, that could easily be the reason for an adventurer to go off into the unknown: whether by deed or treasure to earn a family name and start a lineage to compete with the upper class with whom he seeks to find a position by merit of “making a name of himself.”

 

[StormbringerAUS]

I was dubious about the names when it was released, and of course would have liked more other stuff - be it crafting magic, extra archetypes etc and if the names weren't there I probably would not give it a second thought, but since they are I have found them very handy for naming NPCs. Even though I could Google it when I am working with the books it is simpler just to flick it open roll the dice and move on. I have also used them at the table - means in 5 seconds I have a new name rather than an endless list of Bob the Alchemist, Bob the Beggar, Bob the Cobbler for possible one off NPCs.

 

[Yaarel]

Even among the Romans, the use of a family name mostly fell out of use by the Medieval Era. The family name is moreso a ‘clan name’.

For comparison, many Europeans today have three names.

• personal name (first name)
• distinguishing name (middle name)
• clan name (last name)

But there are many variants. Some people prefer to use their middle name as their personal name. Some people include the clan names of both the father and the mother. Wives conventionally take on the clan name of their husband, but sometimes keep their own clan name, or include both of them. Some people add a sacred personal name. Some people add a nickname, sometimes in quotes. Some people add extra names in honor of a loved one or a sacred person. Or so on. Even so, todays three name system is typical enough.

Since before history, not later than the 600s BCE, Romans continued the then unusual custom of a personal name plus a clan name.

• personal name (praenomen)
• clan name (nomen)

There were many variants. After the two name system, individuals might add other names such as the equivalents of ‘son/daughter of father/mother’, or a nickname, a tribal name, or one or more distinguishing names.

Starting with the aristocratic families, by the 100s BCE, most Romans had three names.

• personal name (praenomen)
• clan name (nomen)
• distinguishing name (cognomen)

However, by the 00s CE, the cognomen increasingly functioned as the personal name. Therefore the praenomen became the distinguishing name. This earlier praenomen became a formality, and the choices for it formalized, narrowed, often abbreviated, if there was any praenomen at all. By the 400s CE, only the most traditionalist aristocratic clans preserved a praenomen.

• clan name (nomen)
• personal name (cognomen)

Interestingly, women were often politely referred to by their clan name, the nomen, calling attention to the significance of the family that she was born into and that she represented.

By the 600s, the custom of a clan name, a nomen, fell out of use. The extension of Roman citizenship to Nonromans in the 200s required the new citizens to gain a clan name, and many chose the clan name of the emperor that gave them citizenship: Caracalla of the clan ‘Aurelius’. But other imperial clans came into use too such as ‘Flavius’ (≈ Vespasian). Influential families often innovated their own clan names. Aristocratic families customarily conferred nobility to others by formally adopting them into their clan. Towards the end, the nomen came to serve more as title of status, rather than an actual clan name. Finally, the clan name fell out of use entirely.

In the Medieval Period, Romans normally had a personal name only.

• personal name (cognomen)

 

[Zardnaar]

Even among the Romans, the use of a family name mostly fell out of use by the Medieval Era. The family name is moreso a ‘clan name’.

For comparison, many Europeans today have three names.

• personal name (first name)
• distinguishing name (middle name)
• clan name (last name)

But there are many variants. Some people prefer to use their middle name as their personal name. Some people include the clan names of both the father and the mother. Wives conventionally take on the clan name of their husband, but sometimes keep their own clan name, or include both of them. Some people add a sacred personal name. Some people add a nickname, sometimes in quotes. Some people add extra names in honor of a loved one or a sacred person. Or so on. Even so, todays three name system is typical enough.

Since before history, not later than the 600s BCE, Romans continued the then unusual custom of a personal name plus a clan name.

• personal name (praenomen)
• clan name (nomen)

There were many variants. After the two name system, individuals might add other names such as the equivalents of ‘son/daughter of father/mother’, or a nickname, a tribal name, or one or more distinguishing names.

Starting with the aristocratic families, by the 100s BCE, most Romans had three names.

• personal name (praenomen)
• clan name (nomen)
• distinguishing name (cognomen)

However, by the 00s CE, the cognomen increasingly functioned as the personal name. Therefore the praenomen became the distinguishing name. This earlier praenomen became a formality, and the choices for it formalized, narrowed, often abbreviated, if there was any praenomen at all. By the 400s CE, only the most traditionalist aristocratic clans preserved a praenomen.

• clan name (nomen)
• personal name (cognomen)

Interestingly, women were often politely referred to by their clan name, the nomen, calling attention to the significance of the family that she was born into and that she represented.

By the 600s, the custom of a clan name, a nomen, fell out of use. The extension of Roman citizenship to Nonromans in the 200s required the new citizens to gain a clan name, and many chose the clan name of the emperor that gave them citizenship: Caracalla of the clan ‘Aurelius’. But other imperial clans came into use too such as ‘Flavius’ (≈ Vespasian). Influential families often innovated their own clan names. Towards the end, the nomen came to serve more as title of status, rather than an actual clan name. Finally, the clan name fell out of use entirely.

In the Medieval Period, Romans normally had a personal name only.

• personal name (cognomen)

Learn something every day. I liked the old D&D books for that with things like titles, troops etc in the dmg.

 

[Yaarel]

I am a fan of titles − especially correlating with the tiers. Make up your own. Think about your D&D class and the kinds of power that your character achieves.

Levels 1 to 4: student tier
Examples of titles: Student So-and-so of the College of Such-and-such. Page of Sire/Dame So-and-so. Apprentice So-and-so of Wizard So-and-so. Apprentice of the Such-and-such Guild.

Levels 5 to 8: professional tier
Examples of titles: Journeyer of Guild. Squire of Sire/Dame of Lord/Lady. Merchant of. Adventurer of. Artisan of. Soldier for Hire.

Levels 9 to 12: master tier
Examples of titles: Master of Guild. Knighthood of. Sire/Dame. Sir/Madam. Chief of. Councillor. Senator. Minister. Mageknight. Knight Mage.

Levels 13 to 16: leader tier
Examples of titles: Archon, Archwizard, Archdruid, Archon Wizard, Noble, Lord/Lady, Grandmaster, Prince/Princess. His/Her Holiness. Highness. Majesty. Jarl. Royal. King/Queen. Monarch. Imperial. President. Presider.

Levels 17-20: legend tier
Examples of titles: The Great. Magnificent. Marvelous. Wondrous. Exalted. Supreme. The Legendary.



Have great fun with titles. They can correspond to traditional cultures, poetic stylizing, or be idiosyncratic innovations to defines ones own personal power. For example, a Norse tradition apparently has the jarl of the elves go by the title ‘Songster’ (lióði), correlating to the elves as a democracy of mages, who choose a leader known to spellsing (gala) powerful songs (lióð).

Titles can be flamboyant or discrete. And a character can have MANY titles. All you need is other people to recite them for you.