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<blockquote data-quote="Wyvern" data-source="post: 431446" data-attributes="member: 2374">Re: Earthdawn and NamesAnother interesting feature of Earthdawn is the idea that using names is the mark of sentience; the sentient races are referred to as &quot;Name-givers&quot;.This is best reserved for artifact-level items, otherwise magic items become much less useful.In &quot;Charmed Life&quot; by Diana Wynne Jones (my favorite author) there's a very powerful enchanter who always comes when he's called.&nbsp; No matter where he is or what he's doing, he just shows up.&nbsp; There are several scenes in which people avoid referring to him by name because of this, and his enemies eventually use it against him by luring him into an ambush.On a related note, I once invented a type of magic item called a token for a homegrown RPG.&nbsp; A token can be any small item -- a coin, a feather, a stone, etc. -- and the magician can give it to whoever he likes, but once it's given to someone (directly or indirectly), only the person it was given to can use it.&nbsp; When they hold it and speak the magician's name, he'll instantly know who's calling him and exactly where they are.Wyvern</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wyvern, post: 431446, member: 2374"] [b]Re: Earthdawn and Names[/b] Another interesting feature of Earthdawn is the idea that using names is the mark of sentience; the sentient races are referred to as "Name-givers". This is best reserved for artifact-level items, otherwise magic items become much less useful. In "Charmed Life" by Diana Wynne Jones (my favorite author) there's a very powerful enchanter who always comes when he's called. No matter where he is or what he's doing, he just shows up. There are several scenes in which people avoid referring to him by name because of this, and his enemies eventually use it against him by luring him into an ambush. On a related note, I once invented a type of magic item called a token for a homegrown RPG. A token can be any small item -- a coin, a feather, a stone, etc. -- and the magician can give it to whoever he likes, but once it's given to someone (directly or indirectly), only the person it was given to can use it. When they hold it and speak the magician's name, he'll instantly know who's calling him and exactly where they are. Wyvern [/QUOTE]

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