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AttilaTheGeek
2013-01-05, 12:45 AM
I usually use names two or three times, but never more than once with the same people. For example, I usually go by Kigaltan in long-term games, after my first WoW character (I don't play anymore, and don't want to, but I enjoyed it when I did). Does the rest of the playground reuse names?

Snowbluff
2013-01-05, 12:54 AM
All of my companions (Familiars, wights, etc.) share the name Larry, save for my later Fleshrakers. Other than that, no.

NikitaDarkstar
2013-01-05, 01:17 AM
I try to avoid it. Well I've taken character names from MMO's and used them on D&D characters but that's been a case of laziness and needing a name on-the-spot. (*And in one case actually importing an mmo rp character to D&D.) But as I said, I try to avoid it, it makes me feel bad when I do.

Dienekes
2013-01-05, 01:18 AM
Only when I had a character that I think didn't get the run they deserved. For example I think I've tried to insert 1 character Gerric into 3 games that died shortly after. But except for some details changed do to the campaign setting they have all been the same character so not sure if that counts.

I also once played a legacy character who was a descendent who shared the last name of an earlier character, but again not sure if that counts.

Sacrieur
2013-01-05, 01:33 AM
I sometimes throw in last names -- or references to last names -- in relation to a specific bloodline. It's supposedly legendary, or I made it so. My favorite may be a bloodline passed down from a mythical warrior race from another plane, gifted into a nymph, and then passed into humans.

It's the line of Auvryett, and they have taken many roles over the years, as valiant protectors of good or perhaps more accurately, defenders against evil. I imagine a new campaign as someone else along the bloodline, rising to fulfill the heroic urges passed down from ancestors.

I have another well developed on, of the Kyre. In contrast to the above they are demon slayers with a twist: the same demon blood that they spill flows through their veins. It began with a barbarian who was possessed by such a creature, and later learned to control it. He rose to the challenge of slaying his own kind.

The Kyre are far more sophisticated than the Auvryett, in that their teachings are passed down to just one successor. This successor must then pass down the teachings to another. Fresh infusions of demonic energy into the bloodline do occur, as some of the more powerful conquer demons just as the first did.

The most fun, however, is the Kyre mansion: an extradimensional space teeming with resources and tools for demon slaying.


So yes, my characters share names.

Deathkeeper
2013-01-05, 01:56 AM
It depends. I've used Zebes and Lexington as names in multiple games/RPs, but I don't usually repeat them in the same medium (since they're often the same characters).
That being said, both my PF Tengus had the last name Moore, as a little self-reference.

The Bandicoot
2013-01-05, 02:56 AM
Just about any gnome or halfling I play is named Flarg in homage to a pants-eating gnome character I saw someone play in World of Warcraft.

TuggyNE
2013-01-05, 04:40 AM
I avoid name reuse almost entirely. And since I name characters according to a particular scheme, and give names to characters in any RP-ish game of whatever type (tabletop, PbP, video game, MMO, flash, whatever) I have a lot of names.

Fortunately I have them all written down so I don't accidentally repeat. :smalltongue:

Hyena
2013-01-05, 05:00 AM
Almost every my male character bears the name of Jack.

Hyena
2013-01-05, 05:01 AM
Many of my male character bears the name of Jack, though quite a few do not. Although there is that character of mine called Justas Archibald Kassius, who is nicknamed "Jack".

Raimun
2013-01-05, 07:47 AM
Never. I always make the effort to come up with a new name for all of my tabletop RPG characters. ... Even if they are really uninspired and made up on spot:

"Let's see, I need a name for a warrior. ... What kind of viking names do I know, now?"

I only reuse names in computer- or videogames.

Hironomus
2013-01-05, 07:55 AM
Never. Coming up with names is one of the most enjoyable parts of character creation process. However some people I play with find that part very difficult. They are more inclined to give their characters a quick and lazy name than reuse one.

Concrete
2013-01-05, 07:59 AM
MOst of my characters are anmed along the same scheme.
I take the bird that best represents their personalities, then I look at whatever real world language is most like the characters nationality, and goes from there.
For example, a barbarian in a kingmaker campaign. Barbarians are cruel, have flexible morals and he was rather cunning. Therefore, Raven+russian inspired setting=Voron.

Or I just name them Theodor, because I somehow find the name strangely badass.

Crossblade
2013-01-05, 08:35 AM
I use the same names most of the time; I just don't have many times/chances to play characters though.

Ryal Crossblade is a thief/rogue/dexterious cunning ninja. (Mostly MMO classes, but one in a irl DnD game as a PC, once as an NPC and once as a PbP)
Zaydus has been used 3 times. MMO archer, PbP paladin and DMPC for a solo game I did for my gf where he was a cleric/fighter... with Monkey Grip.
And Lojjin for any Star Wars game (video game or pen and paper) where a Jedi is played.

North_Ranger
2013-01-05, 08:47 AM
I never reuse names, since I consider naming a character an intrinsic part of their personality, the culture they grew up in and their place in the world. Then again, I take time thinking about such things every time I make a character... and why I pretty much hate pre-made characters. They just feel like you're wearing someone else's shoes.

Malak'ai
2013-01-05, 09:00 AM
I have reused names a couple of times, mostly from characters that only got to see a couple of sessions before the game falling apart.

I have used one name for an NPC multiple times though, but that's because the games have all been in the same setting and he is one of the Big Cheeses in one of the countries.

ghost_warlock
2013-01-05, 10:15 AM
Several of my characters have used the surname Sorn since the Eberron campaign I played back in 2004. Attax and Cyanblade have been reused surnames, although less frequently than Sorn, as far back as the late '90s.

Given names tend not to be repeated except when recreating the same character in a different edition or game. For example, I've used the name Quoran for a gnome spellcaster in 3.5 D&D (shadowmage), 4e D&D (illusionist mage), and World of Warcraft (warlock).

Guizonde
2013-01-05, 12:18 PM
if i can get away with it, variants on "pink terror" are my usual nicknames, although with my friends' apparent hatred of the color, it gets banned quite often.

monster races (trolls, minotaurs, lizards) usual have names without vowels, implying their name is burped or growled

halflings tend to have "nordic" (north of Bordeaux, France) names: thorsten, cedric, elric, alnis, brutehilde, etc...

my paladins tend to be named "brutehilde", showing exactly how subtle i am, whereas my orks follow the standard naming convention of the elder scrolls (melna gra-urgrok, for example, lokir gro-facelift due to a backstory accident)

i call it "personnal universe consistency", but it's by no means obligatory.

DeIdeal
2013-01-05, 12:54 PM
I don't actually reuse names, but I have noticed that I have a semi-conscious habit of having my character names (and online account names etc., cf my name on the left...) start with the latter D.

PaperMustache
2013-01-05, 01:53 PM
I use the names for different roles. Casters for a long time have been Kepesk or Mags. Divine casters are called Ava. Melee anything is Talenden after my favorite WoW character.

Admiral Squish
2013-01-05, 02:29 PM
I reuse a couple of my favorite names, but usually only for characters of similar design. For example, I use the name Oggy several times, originally for a satyr ranger, and since then, for several ranger and scout characters. Maekrix Tuor Okarthel is a draconic being of one sort or another, usually a leader sort of character whose goal is to create a draconic nation. Vorel (Vrak di Thurkear Svaust Hysvear Shafaer Altiuiri di Marfedelom, Bapriv Plisoiv di wer Arcaniss di vi Kothar) Is a pseudodragon character I've played several times. The name changes sometimes based on the exact build and goals, but the name translates from draconic into something like 'beautiful child of night who soar on wings of death, immortal mistress of the demon's magic'.

Templarkommando
2013-01-05, 03:09 PM
One of the guys that I play with is terrible at coming up with names. We bothered him so much about what his character name was he decided to just make one up. Our party cleric was thenceforth named Pikachu Lord Larry.

snoopy13a
2013-01-05, 04:36 PM
I'm inspired by the great boxer (and grill salesman) George Foreman. He named all of his sons George. Thus, I've named all of my characters, Awesome McAwesome Pants.

Thiyr
2013-01-05, 04:40 PM
Sometimes. I've got a few stock personalities that have varying degrees of how they're built and how they got to the point their at, so depending on all that they use the stock name. Sometimes I go for odd things that I have to name on the fly.

And then there's my current consistent character. Nicknamed Isopropanol, because each session her name changes by about one letter, and it's easier than listing her long list of names by now. (It's online, and a fairly serious game in tone. She doesn't realize it's happening.)

navar100
2013-01-05, 04:45 PM
I've used other player character's names in a different gaming group. Doing that now with a new group. I do it to honor the character and player.

Hiro Protagonest
2013-01-05, 04:55 PM
Yes.

I'm terrible at coming up with names in a non-modern setting. It's also not included when I think up a concept, it's not until I actually start writing up the character that I notice he doesn't have a name.

For some reason I'm better at coming up with girl's names.

Kiero
2013-01-05, 06:46 PM
No, never. Each character is bespoked and different to the last, their name is a part of that differentiation.

The closest to this I ever did was a character who was a distant descendant of the first (in two Star Wars games, one set in the Dark Times, the other in Legacy era).

some guy
2013-01-05, 08:23 PM
Any rogue-type I play share the same last name, because they all come from the same orphanage.

Anderlith
2013-01-05, 09:56 PM
I have a stable of different characters/archetypes, that I will port into a game I am playing, & wear down the edges to fight the campaign. I've made a ton of other characters but they are all in games that didn't last long, or are too campaign/system specific. Ultimately it was just too many characters to have without them stepping on each others toes. I still make new ones all the time, but these are the ones I love to reuse

Such as,
Rovert Darkly, spellsword/battlemage
Andin Archfire, soldier type, used only in sci-fi games
Flinton Steele (yes it's a bad pun), deadeye sharpshooter (usually assault rifles not revolvers)
Eldrith Hawkflight, knight/paladin
Aermas D'Anderlith, Mage
Sorus, priest/cleric
Valar Ar'Kendric, dragonblooded warrior
Surname Ar'Kendric, a bloodline of supposedly dragonblooded humans

KillianHawkeye
2013-01-05, 11:14 PM
Usually I don't reuse names.

However, there's an exception. When the 3E psionics book first came out, I really enjoyed using it. So when my first psionic character died, I replaced him with another psionic character who was the first guy's cousin, and had even more fun with the second character. Since they were related, I gave them both the same last name, and since then any time I play a psychic character in any game they have the same surname, even when it's a completely different game setting.

Kobold Esq
2013-01-06, 03:16 AM
Never for PCs. Constantly for NPCs.


For some reason players that I've played with for years always get a kick out of meeting NPCs in different games which, even if not actually the same NPC, are homages to NPCs from past games.

I've had a certain kobold show up in multiple games across multiple settings with the same name. He's been everything from a tribal shaman, to an urbane, top hat wearing stage magician, to a Victorian barrister.

Jay R
2013-01-06, 10:18 AM
My PCs couldn't share names; they're too different. Darkstar, Endora, Nabonidus, Robin Banks, Fflewder, Eiddileg, Morgan, David, Julius, Cornelius, Ragnar Rabbit, Leprechaun, Jean-Louis, Cal Young, Hyperion, Dr. MacAbre, Paragon, Dynamo, Shadowmonk, Gwydion, Ornrandir, and Pteppic are far too different.

I usually can't re-do NPC names, because the same names don't work in 17th century Paris, Celtic England, medieval England, the pre-Columbian Sangre de Cristo mountains, and 20th century Metropolis.

One character - Lord Victor - has been in every campaign I've ever designed. Most players have never interacted with him, and it's not several versions, He's the same character, who is a time-traveling universe-hopping schemer who has learned to combine magic and technology, and uses both while wearing technologically enhanced full plate.

EccentricCircle
2013-01-06, 12:53 PM
I only really reuse names if its intended to be the same character, albeit adapted to the world. I've played Caeran Esgalian in about four games now, each with a different DM. I consider all of his adventures to be canon dispite them taking place in worlds ranging from Eberron to Dragonlance, with none being in the same campaign. He's not a plane hopping universe traveller, its just that when taken from his point of view none of those games was distinctive enough to not fit in broad strokes with the others.

I intended for my current Pathfinder/ Rise of the Runelords character to be a reprisal of a previous character from a short lived (literally) Tomb of Horrors game. but in Practice Aeclynn has turned out to be totally different to Aecya, so the fact that they have similar names must just be coincidence.

There was one time when several similar characters who I played in multiple different campaigns including Eberron, the Forgotten Realms and the Warhammer world suddenly retroactively became the same person. When i played someone of that name in a rotating DM Spelljammer/ Planescape game. He fell through a portal to the Warhammer world and I decided, having only a split second to decide what to say to the secretary who'd just seen an extraplanar portal open in the foyer of one of the colleges of magic. (which, this being the warhammer world, is not usually a good thing) Suficeit to say I went with "I have returned!" After that it made sense for all of his apearances to be part of the same story.

Hyena
2013-01-06, 01:05 PM
Gwydion, Ornrandir, and Pteppic .
Wait, wait, hold on a second. Did you actually play Pteppic?

ScionoftheVoid
2013-01-06, 01:13 PM
I avoid it unless it was (intended to be) the same character, personally. And a character name usually ends up being tacked on to a concept, rather than having one bring to mind the other. A lot of the time I'll have ideas written down (as a player or a DM) for future characters and there are no names, everyone being referred to by their concept or just as "they".

Jay R
2013-01-06, 01:49 PM
Wait, wait, hold on a second. Did you actually play Pteppic?

The DM told us that the PCs were all sons of the pharaoh. What other name would I use? He's not the same charactyer, but yes, I took the name from Pratchett.

For awhile, I was even designing him as an assassin, but 1E rules won't let one be Good. So he eventually became a Magic-User.

Almost half the PC names I listed came from the literature, although some are pretty obscure, and none have the exact character of the literary figure.

Felandria
2013-01-06, 02:08 PM
I never reuse names, I often have characters with similarities but I always differentiate them.

Remmirath
2013-01-06, 03:19 PM
I hardly ever reuse names. I won't say never, because there have been some times where I've either forgotten that I used the name previously, or remembered that I used a name that I liked for some character who didn't last very long and then later reused it.

Anything that doesn't seem at all believable that it might be a common name, though, I won't use again for a different character. It seems strange to me. I do sometimes reuse surnames, although unless it's a case of forgetting that I've used it before, I'll probably come up with some way the characters are related or at least leave it open that they might be.

SgtCarnage92
2013-01-07, 12:39 AM
If i have to randomly name an NPC on the spot I tend to gravitate toward Steve...

Steve has been a soldier crushed by an abnormally well-aimed bolder being flung from a trebuchet operated by undead. (this is now a recurring joke).

Steve has been our knight's long lost compatriot from battle that he happened to have as a contact.

Steve was hard-studying young wizard at a mage's academy that the party asked for directions from.

I'm sure there are a couple more that weren't so memorable.

I once had a GM who named a series of gladiators random numbers. However in the lore they were all from one big family who apparently didn't take the time to name all their children individually...

edit: Misspelling(s)

Arcane_Snowman
2013-01-07, 07:35 AM
I avoid reusing names a much as possible, and I also tend to go to great extends to get an accurate name if the setting has some kind of name convention (or even something that's close to an actual real-life naming convention), other times, I'll just make stuff up.

Granted I do on rare occasions recycle a character, if I liked her or him enough, and they didn't get a long enough run in their conceived campaign.

Thialfi
2013-01-07, 10:26 AM
I started playing D&D in 1979. In all that time, I can honestly say that I don't remember ever using the same name twice and I have played children and grandchildren of former characters, where a Junior or the third would have made perfect sense.

Now I have used my D&D character names as character names in video games, most notably the when I used to play World of Warcraft. I also may have taken on the moniker of one of my old characters as a log in name for this forum site.

supermonkeyjoe
2013-01-11, 11:02 AM
No, never. Each character is bespoked and different to the last, their name is a part of that differentiation.

The closest to this I ever did was a character who was a distant descendant of the first (in two Star Wars games, one set in the Dark Times, the other in Legacy era).

I am exactly the same, never use the same name twice for characters but like you I did reuse an under-used star wars character name and concept from one game to another. Rebellion era to Old Republic Era, they were related. The first in the rebellion era was trying to uncover his Mandalorian heritage, the other in the old republic era was a Mandalorian :smalltongue:

Slavaa
2013-01-14, 11:37 PM
I have a few go-to names, but Slavaa is my favourite. I only use the name for ancient Gandalf-like wizard characters, though.

jaybird
2013-01-14, 11:40 PM
Guy Montag. The first one was an Evoker, the second one was an ME Engineer, the third one was a Skyrim mage, the fourth one was a Wilder, the fifth one was a Sorcerer, and the sixth one was an Alchemist. There's a common theme here... :smallamused:

SgtCarnage92
2013-01-15, 03:25 AM
Guy Montag.

It was a pleasure to burn.