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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LurkMonkey" data-source="post: 5576701" data-attributes="member: 68949">I usually make up a few simple naming conventions for a fictional culture. It's fairly easy if you have a grasp on what last names were originally intended for. Let's start with a concept: The language is called 'Fessic' from the land of Fess. In Fessian culture, the sister's son (nephew) is the important heir. Thus a nephew will call his last name by his uncle with a prefix, say 'Fis'. So we have Scounge, and his nephew Torm. Torm's full Fessic name would be Torm FisScounge.  I also like to make up a basic vocabulary for any country. Last names are often indicators of profession. So in Fessic, we can assign a few basics:Trolo=MillerMarvir=BlacksmithGormo=Farmer Thus, if Torm didn't have an uncle, but he was a blacksmith, he might go by Torm Marvir. Royalty and lords often had their own set of conditionals. In Fessic, a knight might be connotated by the prefix 'Yir' and his feifdom. So if we assume that Torm was a knight, and his holding was called Chessik, he might go by Torm YirChessik. His serfs could call themselves by the place name also, with a simple prefix that means 'of' like, (switching it) 'fo'. So Kallik, a farmer on Torm's fief, could call himself Kallik FoChessik. I find it adds subtle clues for players, and helps you shape the area by just a few simple conventions. It took me about five minutes to type, and think up a few letter combos.</blockquote>

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