Character Naming Conventions
- Thread starter nikolai
- Start date
Kroax
Explorer
Match? I don't think we have ever thought of that...
Well, sometimes some of my players name their character "x", or something almost as grandeur, until they come up with a good name (Usually takes a session or two). But that haven't happened in a while now.
The party (as it consists now) is composed of:
Enawar, the druid with his dog Voffe (previously known as Grunsh).
Tzantjibar, the exalted peace-loving bard.
Fitzgerald, the big fighter with the big sword.
Except for the Zs of the last two (the two that differs the most ingame), nothing about their names really "matches" the others.
And let's face it. It's not like thier fathers and mother was standing over them when they where newborn babies saying: "I wonder if Olaf matches the name of other adventurers."
Well, sometimes some of my players name their character "x", or something almost as grandeur, until they come up with a good name (Usually takes a session or two). But that haven't happened in a while now.
The party (as it consists now) is composed of:
Enawar, the druid with his dog Voffe (previously known as Grunsh).
Tzantjibar, the exalted peace-loving bard.
Fitzgerald, the big fighter with the big sword.
Except for the Zs of the last two (the two that differs the most ingame), nothing about their names really "matches" the others.
And let's face it. It's not like thier fathers and mother was standing over them when they where newborn babies saying: "I wonder if Olaf matches the name of other adventurers."
Buttercup
Princess of Florin
I'm not sure what you mean by "match" Nikolai. IMC al halflings have Russian or slavic derived names. Is that what you're after?
The two halflings in the party are Nadia Zeriavich and Gustav. They've encountered halfling NPCs with names like Ivana, Misha, Ludmilla, Sergei and so forth.
The other playable races IMC don'thave any naming conventions, because they're too numerous and culturally diverse. Just like real world people.
The two halflings in the party are Nadia Zeriavich and Gustav. They've encountered halfling NPCs with names like Ivana, Misha, Ludmilla, Sergei and so forth.
The other playable races IMC don'thave any naming conventions, because they're too numerous and culturally diverse. Just like real world people.
nikolai
First Post
By match I mean have characters names mesh together coherently; a group with names like - Vulrik the Slayer, Laerintyr Athalar, Sir Thomas of Seventrees and Grimbolt of the Many Faces - just doesn't mesh and is ridiculous.
I suppose it's an extension of forming a group of PCs with a coherent common background. How do you get character created seperately to work in a naturalistic way as a group?
I suppose it's an extension of forming a group of PCs with a coherent common background. How do you get character created seperately to work in a naturalistic way as a group?
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Li Shenron
Legend
I thought he meant to match the style of the names (realistic, nicknames, epic, humorous...), but maybe I was wrong... We had such problems in early gaming, when everyone wanted to name his PC with a different attitude: I don't remember those names, but an example of terrible mix could have been a Wizard called "Deathsummoner", a Rogue called "Denise Mayflower", a Paladin called "Sir Reginald de Bourgh of the Silver Lake", and a Fighter called "Bobo the Pig".
Li Shenron
Legend
Right
At least I can tell you: don't let players choose a resounding nickname at 1st level. "The Slayer" is very lame for example, like he's the only character in the world who slays enemy... it could be more appropriate if after level 10th he becomes known as "the" slayer since he has killed more than 300 humanoids in battle and the average fighter pale before him.
If the players love those kind of nicks, promise them that they will gain such nicks once they are famous and powerful to deserve them (which could be much earlier than 10th level if you wish!).
At least I can tell you: don't let players choose a resounding nickname at 1st level. "The Slayer" is very lame for example, like he's the only character in the world who slays enemy... it could be more appropriate if after level 10th he becomes known as "the" slayer since he has killed more than 300 humanoids in battle and the average fighter pale before him.
If the players love those kind of nicks, promise them that they will gain such nicks once they are famous and powerful to deserve them (which could be much earlier than 10th level if you wish!).
drakhe
First Post
Why should names mesh or adhere to a naming convention? It's basicaly one of the only aspects of a character that a player has true control over. And in real life, you also get a clash of names in your gaming group, office colleagues, coworkers or fellow students, ... . I've never heard of people being rejected for having a name that didn't mesh.
In my game: Unless a name is truely disgusting or ridiculous I allow any ...
The only conventions I would impose would be relevant to the race / setting /... , for example: in the Warhammer world you have very specific regions that relate directly to real world regions. So a character from Kislev should get a russian sounding name. The Bretonian knight would have a french sounding name and a soldier from the empire would get a german name. Other than that, my players are free to choose. And even if they want to deviate I'll allwo it if they give me a proper background for their character to explain the deviation.
My current group contains:
Quint Rydell (human wizard)
Andrinor (the halfling ranger, brought up as orphan amongst elves)
Arcturus Sendant (Human paladin)
Cebo Stonecutter (human rogue become dungeon delver and dwarffriend, hence the family name)
Alf (human bard, ex-cleric [long story ;-) ])
Ashimar of Sunndi (human sorcerer)
And all names were chosen by the respective players.
In my game: Unless a name is truely disgusting or ridiculous I allow any ...
The only conventions I would impose would be relevant to the race / setting /... , for example: in the Warhammer world you have very specific regions that relate directly to real world regions. So a character from Kislev should get a russian sounding name. The Bretonian knight would have a french sounding name and a soldier from the empire would get a german name. Other than that, my players are free to choose. And even if they want to deviate I'll allwo it if they give me a proper background for their character to explain the deviation.
My current group contains:
Quint Rydell (human wizard)
Andrinor (the halfling ranger, brought up as orphan amongst elves)
Arcturus Sendant (Human paladin)
Cebo Stonecutter (human rogue become dungeon delver and dwarffriend, hence the family name)
Alf (human bard, ex-cleric [long story ;-) ])
Ashimar of Sunndi (human sorcerer)
And all names were chosen by the respective players.
Desdichado
Hero
I've got your back, nikolai... as an amateur linguist, I like cultural groups to have names that somehow match.
One thing I like to do is refer players to www.kabalarians.com and tell them to look up names from the Gaelic list, or the Viking list, or some such. That way there's a cultural resonance between the characters.
One thing I like to do is refer players to www.kabalarians.com and tell them to look up names from the Gaelic list, or the Viking list, or some such. That way there's a cultural resonance between the characters.
nikolai said:
D00d, those names mesh perfectly well. Your stereotypical D&D adventuring group is made up of people from all over the planet (if it can even be called a "planet", and they can be called "people"), and varying naming styles is just something that comes with the territory. In your example, the names share roughly the same level of seriousness/levity, even if they suggest different places or cultures of origin.
For a bunch of names that DON'T mesh well, have a look at the example in the DMG. Although I, personally, would love to take part in a game some day featuring characters called Bob the Fighter, Aldrorius Killraven of Thistledown, and Runtboy.
Hong "because Runtboy is the WORST elvish name I've ever seen" Ooi
Calico_Jack73
First Post
I don't really follow a convention per se. I use the program "Everchanging Book of Names". With a click of the mouse it will generate 100 names from multiple literary styles. If you want to go with a Tolkien-esqe elven name it can handle it. If you want a Forgotten Realms name it can do that too. The shareware version already has multiple styles but with the registered version you can add styles to it later. I'll provide the URL so you can check it out.
http://ebon.uni.cc/
http://ebon.uni.cc/
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