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View Full Version : ARGH!! Why can't I come up with a half way decent name?



Bryan1108
2013-02-23, 08:57 PM
I hardly ever come to the forums for help but I am really stuck on this one stupid detail.

My campaign is a D&D/d20 Modern hybrid based loosely on a Matthew Riley adventure novel.

The team has been traveling all over the world, retrieving the Pyramid of Giza's golden cap stone which was separated into seven pieces centuries ago. It has been mostly dungeon crawling and I thought it would be fun to do something different and have them targeted by a serial killer who targets adventurers.

The team has several NPC followers so it is a target rich environment to introduce the concept that this killer is stalking them as they are going about their business.

What's killing me is that I came up with the idea three days ago and have been completely unable to come up with a decent name. I want the killer to have some notoriety in adventuring circles but I can't think of what he is called in the stories they tell about him.

I got the yips, guys.

FreakyCheeseMan
2013-02-23, 09:19 PM
I know how frustrating that can be.

I like "Mr. Coal", "Emanuel Grey" or just "Ladysmith."

Bryan1108
2013-02-23, 09:27 PM
Mr Coal might work.

I know what his real name is but I need a "Headlines name" for him. Maybe Mr Coal. It implies just a dark figure.

I only have three female players and with NPCs, less than half a dozen out of about thirteen characters so Ladysmith wouldn't work as well.

The only thing I could come up with was the Total Party Killer, shortened to TPK but every time I started to say it, I got as far as TP... and thought, "Toilet Paper Killer" and scoffed.

ArcturusV
2013-02-23, 09:30 PM
Yeah. This is frustrating. The most important piece of advice I'd have for it is "Don't try too hard". It's like in baseball your coach will almost never say "Go for a homerun" they'll say "Make good contact with the pitch". If you get a homerun, good for you. Otherwise? Least you get a base hit.

This applies a lot to RPGs. Where you end up with names that can't be pronounced. For example, I played in one with a city we were supposed to be based out of was called Tzenjkgarsen. Or something kinda like that. No one knew how to pronounce it so we just nicknamed it "Tristram" due to the demon apocalypse that happened there.

So I'd focus on picking a normal-ish sounding name for your setting. Something like Lukan, or Alexander, or whatever is appropriate though a tend towards a formal name fits the idea better of a Hunter. And he does sound like a "hunter", rather than a killer. Least that's what I'm getting. If he's notorious among adventurers, it means he makes a pattern of killing off adventurers of some sort. For sport, for revenge, whatever. But he's not just a Killer, he's a Hunter. He doesn't want to be chummy with people, so it's never "just call me Al" or something, it's always Alexander.

Bryan1108
2013-02-23, 09:39 PM
So I'd focus on picking a normal-ish sounding name for your setting. Something like Lukan, or Alexander, or whatever is appropriate though a tend towards a formal name fits the idea better of a Hunter. And he does sound like a "hunter", rather than a killer. Least that's what I'm getting. If he's notorious among adventurers, it means he makes a pattern of killing off adventurers of some sort. For sport, for revenge, whatever. But he's not just a Killer, he's a Hunter. He doesn't want to be chummy with people, so it's never "just call me Al" or something, it's always Alexander.

That's not bad. The guy's real name is James Govel. I was looking for something like "Hash-Tag Killer" because nobody knew his real identity but there something scarey about knowing the name and having it live in infamy. Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, etc.

ArcturusV
2013-02-23, 09:42 PM
Ah yes, the big tagline for the media types. Usually they are based around some calling card or notable similarities between the crimes. In reality and in fiction. I mean look at say, the original "Terminator" movie. They were calling the T-800 the "Phone Book Killer" because he killed everyone names S. Connor in the phone book, in order.

So what is James Govel's calling card or connecting theme?

snoopy13a
2013-02-23, 10:07 PM
1) For your first name, take the name of your first-ever pet
2) For your last name, take the name of the street you lived on as a kid

For example, if you had a dog named Spike and lived on Chestnut Street, you'd be Spike Chestnut.


Oh wait, that's how you get your porno name :smallsmile:

Bryan1108
2013-02-23, 10:07 PM
Well, the quickest description for the setting is Dresden Files (or Buffy the Vampire Slayer) meets Indiana Jones. The point being that most of this is happening out of the public eye.

Within the "supernatural community", The guy is known for targeting high level adventurers, especially when they are on a quest of significant importance (the PCs are tracking down the Capstone because putting it back on the pyramid is the only way to stop a world-altering solar event)

His MO is to initially target lower level followers and then announce his presence. I hadn't thought of a calling card per se but that his presence was felt when party members start dropping off.

(You arrive in Paris because you need a key to a magically sealed vault that contains a map to the treasure you're questing for. The key is located in the catacombs under the city. You check into the hotel to get a start at first dawn. In the morning, Your cohort is missing. You look all over but there is a time element to the quest so your team pressures you to come along and you can locate your guy afterwards.
Your team is planning to slip into the catacombs through the basement of an old pub but when you get down there, you find your cohort hanging from the rafters.
From that point on, you and your team are plagued by traps and sneak attacks periodically (don't get me started on anyone dumb enough to split from the party). Never more than once a day but in a way to let you know that it isn't part of the original adventure (a modern land mine in an ancient Aztec lost city and so forth))

Slipperychicken
2013-02-23, 10:47 PM
Here you go. (http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php) Seriously, this thing helps so much with making good names.

What do the cops and reporters see when they investigate the crime scene? If the targets are all shot with sniper rounds or generally killed in the same manner, they might call him "The [something] Sniper", or "the [something] slasher". If one of his victims is killed on a holiday, he might be named for that ("Valentine's Day Killer").

If he leaves a signature at crime scenes, he'll become known for that and his title will have something to do with it.

Some prolific killers in wartime just become known with something generic like "The [location] Devil", "The Beast", "The Terminator".

NikitaDarkstar
2013-02-24, 05:52 AM
Here you go. (http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php) Seriously, this thing helps so much with making good names.

What do the cops and reporters see when they investigate the crime scene? If the targets are all shot with sniper rounds or generally killed in the same manner, they might call him "The [something] Sniper", or "the [something] slasher". If one of his victims is killed on a holiday, he might be named for that ("Valentine's Day Killer").

If he leaves a signature at crime scenes, he'll become known for that and his title will have something to do with it.

Some prolific killers in wartime just become known with something generic like "The [location] Devil", "The Beast", "The Terminator".

I get the feeling the media wouldn't notice. If the whole adventure thing is fairly secret and they go across the world... well why would the police in France connect a "random" murder with one that MIGHT have one or two things in common with one in Peru? Or another one in Hong Kong? Especially if he doesn't do things in a unique enough way to really stand out to anyone who isn't an adventurer.

So what would adventurers call him? Obviously the guy has a name, but does he give it out to just anyone, and if so does he give his full name or just his first name? And does he keep it a secret until you're practically dead already?

He'd obviously get a nickname. Personally I like the sound of Mr. Coal because it's not completely cliché (like Mr. Black or Shadow which were my two first ideas :p) but it still has a certain feel to it.

Jack of Spades
2013-02-24, 08:10 AM
Well, if you're looking for a "headline name," those are relatively simple. It's generally the location of the first murder or where the body is found (or the name of the area where most of the murders take place, once two and two are out together) followed by butcher, killer, ripper, or some other brutal-sounding synonym. If the name isn't geographical, it will be either a known alias, a common name (Jack), or whatever the character's calling card or most easily discernible (read: superficial) MO is.

Quest-Line Cutter?
Catacomb Killer?
Final Boss?
Why-Haven't-We-Scryed-On-This-Dude-Yet Murderer?
I'm going to stop now, because I'm unable to approach this list seriously.

RolandDeschain
2013-02-24, 10:18 AM
Well, the quickest description for the setting is Dresden Files (or Buffy the Vampire Slayer) meets Indiana Jones. The point being that most of this is happening out of the public eye.

Within the "supernatural community", The guy is known for targeting high level adventurers, especially when they are on a quest of significant importance (the PCs are tracking down the Capstone because putting it back on the pyramid is the only way to stop a world-altering solar event)

His MO is to initially target lower level followers and then announce his presence. I hadn't thought of a calling card per se but that his presence was felt when party members start dropping off.

(You arrive in Paris because you need a key to a magically sealed vault that contains a map to the treasure you're questing for. The key is located in the catacombs under the city. You check into the hotel to get a start at first dawn. In the morning, Your cohort is missing. You look all over but there is a time element to the quest so your team pressures you to come along and you can locate your guy afterwards.
Your team is planning to slip into the catacombs through the basement of an old pub but when you get down there, you find your cohort hanging from the rafters.
From that point on, you and your team are plagued by traps and sneak attacks periodically (don't get me started on anyone dumb enough to split from the party). Never more than once a day but in a way to let you know that it isn't part of the original adventure (a modern land mine in an ancient Aztec lost city and so forth))

End Game

The authorities use it as a pejorative aimed at the adventurer-types that keep getting killed.

As in, "That's what these jokers get for playing around with this stuff like it's some kind of game."

That's pretty much how I've always played law-enforcement types. In my adventures they usually have a pretty low opinion of adventurers.

It's a bit comic-booky or meta-gamey though...

Bryan1108
2013-02-24, 10:42 AM
Thanks guys.

I think that I'll probably go with Mr Coal (though I do like End Game) and let that be a reference to his first kill which I'll put on a group adventuring in a coal mine or something.

I'll figure out the back story later but thanks for all of your help :)

randomhero00
2013-02-24, 11:31 AM
I know you kind of already decided, but, what about having no name at all? Anyone who finds out his name, or coins a name that ends up in the papers ends up dead. So he is simply referred by his reputation. Figuring out who he is/if its even only one person vs a group and why he kills those who name him could be part of the mystery. Kind of like a Voldemort-esque character. People might most often refer to him, in low tones, as the guy that kills those who name him. Maybe shortened to, "The Namesake Killer" for those that are particularly brave.

Jastermereel
2013-02-24, 11:43 AM
Wait, is it a media name or a name used among the secret-society types? The former tend to have an artificial catchy sound to them, while the later can be a bit more cryptic sounding.

I've recently taken to keeping a text file with a list of possible future character names. Some are a bit eccentric and absurd, and most wouldn't work at all for this gentleman, but what about...

Aphophis - The Greek name for Apep, an evil Egyptian deity that personified darkness and chaos. It's also the name of the asteroid that had a significant chance of hitting the earth (odds now significantly diminished after a recent fly-by).

or

The Payara - an exotic fish that has massive fangs and eats Piranhas. Again...it eats... piranhas.

or

Kobai - It's a variety of Japanese Azalea. Sure, a flower name isn't intimidating in itself but it could be a calling card and the gentleman-killer is a trope with a good pedigree.


Edit: Gah, would have posted an hour or two ago save for some login issues. :smallyuk:

FreakyCheeseMan
2013-02-24, 03:20 PM
One proposal... why not let the party name him? Don't ask them out of character or anything, just let them make the connections, and come up with a name on their own.

Bryan1108
2013-02-24, 05:47 PM
One proposal... why not let the party name him? Don't ask them out of character or anything, just let them make the connections, and come up with a name on their own.

This might be the best solution. I hadn't thought of it before but if the killer performs a TPK while the group was adventuring, who would have told the story? Barring a lot of "speak with dead" spells, there wouldn't have been anyone to tell the supernatural community about it at all. People would just assume that the party died in the course of the adventure.

To answer an earlier question, the supernatural is a secret from the general public but there is a tabloid that is run by bards (sort of) and records the deeds of heroes that the supernatural community uses for its own news. The name was meant to come from their headlines. That may not make sense now unless I sort out that basic question.

Besides, it would be better, story wise, to handle the reveal with them slowly putting it together rather than just referencing something they read in the paper.