I steal from everywhere- music, art, obscure fiction, popular fiction, baby name books, and a home-made excel spreadsheet.
However, one of my favorite places to steal names from is the pharmaceutical industry.
I had to take a potassium supplement for a brief time. With a slight spelling change, the name of the supplement became the name of my Half-Orc Bounty Hunter: Klor-Kon.
A recent allergy med's name makes for a perfect wizard: Astelin.
And who could forget the furious northern tribe of seafaring barbarian raider/traders: the Vicodins!
You can probably find more in a second hand Physician's Desk Reference.
And I also use diseases & disorders for names as well. My Githzerai Monk/PsiWar/Lucid Cenobite is named Zjax. His yellow skin and the fact that he sailed into town on a wizard-cursed ship that had lost most of its crew earned him the name "Zjax the Yellow"...which quickly morphed into "Yellow Jack"- an old nickname for yellow fever.
However, one of my favorite places to steal names from is the pharmaceutical industry.
I had to take a potassium supplement for a brief time. With a slight spelling change, the name of the supplement became the name of my Half-Orc Bounty Hunter: Klor-Kon.
A recent allergy med's name makes for a perfect wizard: Astelin.
And who could forget the furious northern tribe of seafaring barbarian raider/traders: the Vicodins!
You can probably find more in a second hand Physician's Desk Reference.
And I also use diseases & disorders for names as well. My Githzerai Monk/PsiWar/Lucid Cenobite is named Zjax. His yellow skin and the fact that he sailed into town on a wizard-cursed ship that had lost most of its crew earned him the name "Zjax the Yellow"...which quickly morphed into "Yellow Jack"- an old nickname for yellow fever.
Last edited: