Character Names

[IstarinCale]

Just wanted to ask you:
How do you invent your character's name?
I know I use names from the PHB or some names from games I know and stuff.. Do you have a way to invent your character name?

[K Man]

Yes.

Personally, I pull from multiple methods.

Twists on video games. (Allessia Storm-Maiden is a twist on a Baldur's Gate character.)
Name Generators. (Found all over the web, including on Wizards.com Here.)
My Imagination, or lack thereof. (Just look at '...' in Dark Sun..how creative was that? :
Twists on words already existing. (Maulanuus, my minotaur is a twist on the word maul. Iclandaryl in The Hammer is a twist on Iceland [though pronounced differently.])
The D&D Supplement books or fiction in general. (A great resource for those lacking ideas.)
Sounds effects are great for monsters with names.
Make the stuff up. (Yax the Crippled-One, Marvule Axe-Banger)

Hope that Helps.

[TheUdjat]

I make mine up. I probably pull from inspiration from other sources, but for the most part I just invent the names.

[Japic]

Same boat here. On rare ocassion I am inspired by something or another, but usually I just pluck something out of the air.

More recently I have been using semi inventive names in the Shorts adventures that relate what a person is with their name.

Examples:

Ian Kyper (Inn Keeper)
Exba D'Gui (Ex-bad guy)
The Lady Medi Seine (Medicine, she's an apothacarist)
Logan Isasin (Logging is a Sin)

There are others I have used too, but I forget them as of now. The only bounds to character names is your imagination.

No shit, there we were in the original BOYD campaign. I played a human fighter that excelled at archery. Every archer feat there was to have, he took, and he was damn good at what he did. When asked his name during our first session, I couldn't think of one, so I picked up a packet of hot sauce from the table and read the ingredients. One of them was Benzoate somethingerother, so he was called Benzoate. True story.

[TheUdjat]

lol! I remember a friend of mine naming a character after his own name, backwards. Good stuff.

[IstarinCale]

LOL!! liked your method Japic!

Exba D'gui = EX-BAD GUY!!! ROFLed

[Toptomcat]

Graak just came to me.
Godric Proudmoore...Proudmoore I got out of 'Arthas Proudmoore' of WCIII...and Godric means 'Power of God,' a good name for a wizard.

I Tithen Curunír means "The Little God" in Tolkien's Sindarin.

Sigmund Dunlevy is a character I've used in several guises, including a now-running Shadowrun game. I don't know where the name came from, but the concept of the Dunlevey family, famed in martial pursuits, came before the character.

Llewelyn Clowes sounded rural, and I got it from a list of Welsch names.

Bryan Patrick was a corruption of my own name.

Off the boards, I've had a couple other characters.
Anmar, a highly mobile monk played in a cool homebrew setting, was an acronym of "Ranma."

Godric McCallister was a cocky d20Modern gunslinger...I liked the name "Godric" at the time, but I don't know where McCallister came from.

Mark B. Browning, my character in a short-lived Day of the Dead campaign, was based off Margaret B. Browning, a character in the webcomic College Roomies from Hell. Both were sorta survivalist freaks, that's why.

Nakahira Musashi is a kendo master in a still-running Urban Arcana campaign, as well as a PhysAd in Celebriel's short-lived Shadowrun campaign. I got the name from Miyamoto Musashi, a famed Japanese swordsman.

Benjiro Fujishima was a Japanese high school student in a Shadow Hunters campaign. I used a Japanese name list there.

Dr. Thomas Wright was a rip-off of Dr. Light of the Megaman games, and played in a homebrew future-set d20M campaign before d20 Future came along.

Arkady Katrinova is a Martial Artist/face-type in a still-running d20 Modern homebrew set in a traditional version of Dante's Hell: she remains my first female character. I got the first name from an Asimov story, I think one of the Foundations, and the last from a Russian name list.

Seppo Ilmarinen is a power-armorsmith in a still-running, nigh-unrecognizable d20 Modern homebrew set in Warhammer 40,000. His first name means "smith" in Finnish, and the second is that of a smith-god of some tradition or another.

Lei Wang Hu is an overt feline Moreau deserter from the People's Revolution Army in a just-started d20 Modern campaign. His name means 'Lightning Tiger Monarch' in Chinese.

Nikolai Ivanovitch is a fanatic Communist orc gang member who thinks Soviet Russia was Heaven on Earth: he's in a just-started Shadowrun campaign. I picked the name because it sounded stereotypically Russian.

And that's every character I've ever played!

[Hero]

TurnKey - I liked the idea of a thief who was named after what he did - pick locks. Kinda like calling a pcik pocket "fingers."

Hero - after the character in Much Ado About Nothing, but their personalities aren't similar. Hero isn't called Hero because she is one, she's called that because its a cool girl name.

Qwert - an elven mage I played in my PnP game named after the firt five keys on a keyboard.

Xa - a amazon type I played once - I had to think of a name in 3 minutes and ended up playing her for 3 years.

Link - I was 12 and I liked Legend of Zelda, so sue me. - My first D&D character, he was an elven fighter with a str of 18/00.

[Fangor the Fierce]

IN the campaign I am hosting in this town, I couldn't think of any names for the smithy's. Luckily, One was dwarf and the other was a gnome. They are now referred to as Longbeard and Shortbeard....

[Lin]

I usually get my character names from everyday names. Deidre is an everyday (though not terribly common) American name. Sahar is a pretty common Arabic name. Henry is a common American name. The only time I make up names is for an exotic character. An example

Siln: I discovered this name while combining random sounds. Pronounced sil-in' Her name is religious based for a completely fictional church that I couldn't find a real culture to base on.

I won't try to list every character I've ever played, because thats probably close to 100 =(

[Wizard]

Oh, you guys (excepting Kman will love my first character's name: Farathir, the human ranger.

Not as bad as Link the elven fighter, but still pretty bad. I was the only one in my group who'd read LOTR, so no one caught on for a few years.

Turin Stonedeep---one of the most awesome characters I ever played. A dwarven wizard with Con 19, he used gas cloud and burning hands like a suicide bomber. Both Turin and Stonedeep sounded dwarven...I ran with it.

Elxethan---I actually used the name in a pnp one-shot, but I liked the name so much I used it again in Marionettes. It just sort of came to me.

Quitheren Snowblythe---I wanted a suitably royal name, but if given a chance to rename him, I wouldn't have used Quitheren---it sounds too scholarly. Snowblythe was good though, as it puts a subtle tie to nature (snow) in his last name.

Callian---I'd just watched Sleeping Beauty with my little sister when we were making BOYD characters, so I wanted a paladin with a "pure" name. "The Kind" was an addition based on flavor. Currently, he's ", Paladin" to denote his subtle transformation upon receiving a mount and hitting 5th. I think all characters come into their own around 5th or so---I think that's when different mechanics choices start showing their differences, and when the DM starts using their backgrounds for plot hooks. It's also about when their persona becomes solidified in the player's mind.

Unalenth the Inscrutable---I wanted something that was a mix between a mind flayer and an elf, so...well, "Unalenth" is as good a mix as any, I suppose.

And then there's Denalion Brightfire, and his name is partially based on his character concept, which I can't tell you about because I may use him as a villain on these boards. More of a semi-neutral character, actually...

[VemuKhaham]

I'll follow with my character's names as the previous few posts. I have to admit though that the character names I come up with don't have such diverse backgrounds on themselves.

Board characters:

Romar Belamor: Simply something I came up with. Romar is a name I like because it's simple and to me sounds adventurous, and he is just a simple farmer's son with a wandering mind. Belamor was initially just an assembly of syllables I matched and switched etc, but later I actually realised if put in French and with a little imagination you can note: "Belle Amour" in it, which I liked cause it kinda symbolises his compassionate driving force.

Abbarehetta Raemorazjadi: I just wanted it to sound exotic, long and expensive. He was born as the son of the chief of an Arabic-oriented tribe, and since I'm no Arabic expert, I thought this just sounded like how I thought long Arabic names could be. Later most of us including me decided Abbar was enough though.

Daniel Tanner: Modern characters don't need to be much trouble I think when designing their names. Just like people call their children Daniel, Daniel was called as such. Tanner was nice and modest, the way it had to be.

Geert van Doornen: Common Durch name, as he was Dutch. Also, van Doornen somewhat resembles the corrupt behaviour of Geert, as it can be translated as: 'of Thorns'.

Furni Lobrok-Rûn: Furni was LotR-based dwarven name, as I noted their where more names ending with -i, like Gimli for example. Gimli kinda sounds comical to me, as does Furni, somehow. It wasn't ment that way though, and I'm sure Gimli was neither. Lobrok-Run sounded expensive, as was his heritage.

Not on the Boards:

I've actually only ever played one character myself, as I have dm'ed the first two years of my three-year D&D experience (we were an entire group of friends totally new to D&D and though I hardly knew the rules and no-one did someone had to do it and I was interested).

Now I have a character called Remi Serano. He is a halfling bard, and as the DM stated halflings would get a bit of an italian culture, I tried to make up something that sounded Italian to me. Remi also comes from a Dutch saying, and it refers to being entirely alone on the world. That was true with Remi as well, so it came naturally.

That's all I can think of. When I used to DM most of my character names came up out of nothingness, some examples are:
Esselas, the elven king
Irnûl, the big bad guy, evil power behind the throne, who is using his magics to dominate the true king.
Varduc, the true human king
Gorhan Uldomi Orix, another human king
Garth, a dwarven fighter friend of the pc's
Sassar, a human cleric friend of the pc's
Ferdurik, the charming human aid of Irnûl

[TheUdjat]

On the boards:

Jennifer Paige Langley - I loved this Tabloid Truths character. I've always liked the name 'Paige', so I stole that. Jennifer was just another name, thrown in to give a twist and make her go by her middle name. Langley is a bastardization of my own last name. I realized, after creating this character, that she also had my initials. *snicker*

Dalien Matthias - I have played this character in many, many tabletop games. For a while, one of the groups I played with couldn't settle on a game, so I just played Dalien every single time. He was a Wild Mage / Thief. Cursed, essentially. Very fun. I think I just took some regular names and abused them a little to create his (Darien = Dalien, Matthew = Matthias. Though Matthias is a fine name in its own right...)

Caelith e'Quis'norai mar Ilduroth - I liked the name Caelith, ever since I pulled it out of midair for another character, Caelith Elderath. I was originally planning to just recreate him ('cause I'm lazy), but I got inspired by the BOYD setting so I invented an entirely new character and just kept the name. Elderath became Ilduroth, and since he was nobility, and elven, I decided to give him the longest, most exotically 'flowing' name I could think of. Then I attached a meaning to it, in elven.

It was a fun name to create. I love that campaign.

The Udjat - ...I was lazy. He was a druid/monk with no real identity, raised in the wilderness, and he spied on civilization. So I saw nothing wrong with calling him The All-Seeing Eye.

And I won't go into detail about the endless characters offline I have... But yeah, most of the time I just invent it or twist it out of something from previously.

[IstarinCale]

The only name I even 'invented' in the for the forum (on PNP I don't remember any..) is 'IstarinCale' which is in elven - Wizard(s) of Light as my Sig says.

[Toptomcat]

I liked Jennifer, too. Very well-played.

[TheZebraShakes™]

Naming characters is usually the hardest part. But once you pick one, it sticks.

I went through a weather phase. Rayn Shalimar, my first character ever, now a level 16 thief, and Hail Sheridan, my alcoholic conjurer. Then there is Amaterasu Komei my iranger, Her name a result of taking far too many classes about Japan in college.

Some new ones, My bladesinger Effie, named after the girl who sat across from me in high school Ethics class, cause I thought she had a cool name. Oleander, my copper dragon, oleander, cause he LOVES poison. The lovely nymph Americe, (America with an "e" at the end instead of the "a ). Oh, and my bard Taylor. She is a tailor, or at least she was early on and kept at it. I think that's all my PCs. All still alive and well, and there's another in the works.

And on these boards, Tiffany Silverbranch, cause it just screams stuck up little snot, and Royale just because. And it reminds me of the Royal with Cheese. Though I played Royale as a first level PC in two sessions at home as well.

[RedCow80]

I tend to just write down random letters, one character a half orc, was named Urruck, but do to him being horribly ugly, and the fact that in that campaign, every single player, and most NPCs were only referedto by nicknames, he became Fathead. More recently I randomly wrote letters and had No'Goth, which is interesting, because I don't particularly like goths and the people I was playing with felt the same way. and now I have another half orc, but I named this one Petunia. I did this because she was a female half orc and I wanted the name to not quite fit.

[TheZebraShakes™]

Lin said:

I won't try to list every character I've ever played, because thats probably close to 100 =(

Since I can't cook and my people don't celebrate the holiday, I have little to do this thanksgiving until it is time to eat (I'd visit some French person's house to celebrate Bastille Day if they were giving away food). So I was re-reading some threads and I noticed this little comment. Rather then mention it and call this lie for what it is privately, I've decided to publicise the embarrassment. I triple dare you to try to even come close to a hundred characters. If you can name 91 and give at least one sentence describing them, so I know it's not just some two bit shopkeeper NPC, then you can consider yourself vindicated, but not in the Dashboard Confessional way. Otherwise the entire community of K Man's Adventures will know you are a liar, and by comparison, I am a paragon of truth.

Also, that turkey better be off the wall good. And where's my damn cranberry sauce.

[Lin]

Have no fears, the Turkey came out fine.

Alright, I'll try, but I'm not writing a complete sentance. Just a note of who they are.

D&D Characters

1) Ongorth: Orcish Clod turned bussinessman.
2) Pedro Alacazar: Human Fighter Mr. Average, now Page Alacazar.
3) Marneous: Human Knight, name stolen from WH40k
4) Destrinalous Coven: Human Paladin. Uses all 5 vowels and has a humble yet prentension last name
5) Leen Pistol: Human Diviner. He fought a werewolf once.
6) Rogar the Understated: Human barbarian with assertiveness issues
7) Pearson the Acerbic: Human barbarian/wizard with manners issues
8) Calvin, aka Tab: Human Abjuror with lechery problem
9) Jinryu: Human Cleric of Cecil, died in the Drow caves.
10) Keldon Mafeous: Human Fighter, likes his sister.
11) Galadriel: Elven Illusionist King, got ambushed by Killians
12) Monotheon the Pretencious: Gnome Rogue, betrayed a whole load of people
13) Trolley: Gnome Illusionist, still level 4 after 5 years.
14) Amp Lee Fyre: Gnome Bard started a band.
15) Dargo the Bloodcovered: Orc Fighter. Five pages of backstory for 2 sessions.
16) Cadan: Human Thief defines the phrase "died under unfortunately circumstances
17) Tiberious: Halfling Paladin sad about his fate.
18) Lyr: Human Fighter, died alone.
19) Skylark of Port Marlin: Human Cleric was the mayor for two terms, had problems getting dates
20) Hamlet: Human Fighter with the most amazing story that ended with him marrying a drow who had been cursed to be a door knob
21) Henry: Human Fighter, played in HoF trial
22) Caprite: Aquatic Elf Bard/Fighter/Rogue. Name means 'Capricious Sprite'
23) Faun: Human Druid had two reasons to like her
24) Emily: Halfling Druid/Rogue saved the party singlehandedly more than once.
25) Hera: Halfling Transmuter who likes to keep things private
26) Mika: Halfling Fighter who lives on in legends
27) Siln Highwall: Halfling Priest of Letermine that no one likes
28) Mason Kovac: Human Enchanter with a lust for power and a fear of death
29) Descendra the Reckless: Human Swashbuckler and self-surgeon
30) Serena: Human Fighter and Matriarch of the "Generations" characters
31) Eliste deVereau: Human expert along with Serena and Lyr, the only "Generations" characters that I played that were memorable, so I can't list the others as I don't know there names anymore
32) Genevieve Lortin: Human Templar, leader of the Church of Letermine and Tyrion's nemisis
33) Hanzo Fubuki: Elven Fighter, archer died to an arrow
34) Cel: Human Swashbuckler leads the pirate clan, killed by Fathead (I think)
35) Sahar: Human Fighter, Hand of Fate Character
36) Deidre: Kobold Dighter, WLD Character
37) Lin: Halfling Fighter no relation to my handle
38) Lisa (not sure): Human Apprentice might have been a "Generations" character actually, similiar style at least
39) Devon Rockford: Human Fighter/Rogue. Gets along with Mr. Stoneskin.
40) Isinabi: Elven Ninja, brother of Nagisa
41) The Purple Dude: Human transmuter changed women into men, men into dragons, and dragons into coconut pecan pie.
42) Princess Caroline: Human aristocrat currently kidnapped twice, working on a third
43) Alissandra Tristan: Human cleric of Cecil. Maybe the first character in history to take skill focus forgery.
44) Talker: Orc expert renowned for his ability to talk coherently to non orcs.
45) Amelia: Human fighter, a paragon of lawful neutrality.
46) Seth Simple: Human wizard who is very protective of his stuff
47) Slick McCallister: Elven Wizard/Thief and Keldon's cohort.

Update: Three more and I am out of D&D characters. My current projection is 76. I'll start WoD characters next, which isn't that long a list.

[IstarinCale]

TheZebraShakes said:

If you can name 91 and give at least one sentence describing them, so I know it's not just some two bit shopkeeper NPC, then you can consider yourself vindicated, but not in the Dashboard Confessional way.

Also, that turkey better be off the wall good. And where's my damn cranberry sauce.

Dude, he prooved himself.. you got screwed