Truename Magic

[TDRandall]

Another thought - didn't BOVD and/or BOED (? is that the "good" one?) have some type of "words of ultimate creation/destruction"? Perhaps knowing someone/something's truename allows you to use similar major mojo on that level to that person/thing (after taking whatever related feats would likely be necessary to make it somewhat more game balanced)?

 

[TDRandall]

Sorry - bombed out of my thumbs-up on the prior post as the idea kept forming....

...truename, perhaps not for an individual, but for a group of creatures, like the truename of red dragons or the truename of balrogs, even the truename of dyrads (because they're living in our trees, just waiting, watching, plotting)

Certain creatues would have the individual truename, and that would be very powerful.

I really like this idea. It could even be used to create a semi-informed framework for deities in a campaign.

Working current day classification of "kingdom phylum class order family genus species" and adding something like "name" for an individual you can almost give a bit of rhyme or reason to the relative power of various deities. Truenames give control over that individual.

Backing it up a level or more, that means a demigod may have/control over "true-genus" or "true-family" power/words, intermediates could be "true-class" or "true-order", greaters all the way to "true-phyla" or even "true-kingdom".

So, "of course!" there is probably a god(dess) of koala bears or cheeses or diamonds (or whatever), you've just never needed to know his/her name before. Almost gets animistic to the point that "everything has a spirit".

 

[kigmatzomat]

Earthdawn is chock full of true names. In that system you have to find items of importance (Pattern Items) to a person/place/thing and study them to determine Key Knowledges that allow you to have influence over the object.

The whole magic item system is based on True Names. You have to learn Key Knowledges, the first of which is always the magic item's Name, make a skill check and then spend XP (Legend, to be precise) to tie Thread ranks. Magic items have predefined special abilities that are unlocked.

Pattern Items are treated as a kind of magic item. Each thread rank provides a +1 bonus to a single skill/talent/defense (of the user's choice) when interacting with that particular person/place/thing. I.e. finding a dragon's pattern item and making the 5 skill rolls to tie the thread and spend the legend to get a +5 bonus to Physical Defense.

All Named things (other than magic items) have at least one minor Pattern Item (max 3 ranks). Some items are always Pattern Items (casters' grimoires, some class-specific items that can only used by the creator) but most of the time the items appear totally random.

Furthermore ED Pattern Items are hard to destroy; in D&D terms they roll at least a 19 on every saving throw. Major Pattern Items will actually be recreated in some random location if they are destroyed.