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<blockquote data-quote="Greatwyrm" data-source="post: 5882041" data-attributes="member: 479"><p>Like magic itself, how important names are varies from setting to setting. In worlds where they're important, like <em>Dresden Files</em> or the <em>Eragon</em> series, they're big. In those two, if you can use a person's true name as part of a spell, they have essentially no defense whatsoever. The times I've seen rules introduced in various versions of D&D, it's usually as some penalty to saving throws.</p><p></p><p>How hard they are to discover varies as well. In the <em>Dresden Files</em>, Harry has four names and is very careful to never say them all together. There, you have to know the name and know <u>exactly</u> how the target says it. With <em>Eragon</em>, true names are a mystic word. Most people never know theirs and discovering it by accident is almost traumatic. They can even change over time if a person radically changes who they are, such as a major good/evil shift.</p><p></p><p>In game terms, it can be as powerful as the DM wants. You just need to consider how powerful it is compared to how easy they are to discover. If they're powerful and easy to come by, you're giving your spellcasters the equivalent of a +5 Holy Avenger with no strings attached.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greatwyrm, post: 5882041, member: 479"] Like magic itself, how important names are varies from setting to setting. In worlds where they're important, like [I]Dresden Files[/I] or the [I]Eragon[/I] series, they're big. In those two, if you can use a person's true name as part of a spell, they have essentially no defense whatsoever. The times I've seen rules introduced in various versions of D&D, it's usually as some penalty to saving throws. How hard they are to discover varies as well. In the [I]Dresden Files[/I], Harry has four names and is very careful to never say them all together. There, you have to know the name and know [U]exactly[/U] how the target says it. With [I]Eragon[/I], true names are a mystic word. Most people never know theirs and discovering it by accident is almost traumatic. They can even change over time if a person radically changes who they are, such as a major good/evil shift. In game terms, it can be as powerful as the DM wants. You just need to consider how powerful it is compared to how easy they are to discover. If they're powerful and easy to come by, you're giving your spellcasters the equivalent of a +5 Holy Avenger with no strings attached. [/QUOTE]
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