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TheThan
2013-12-31, 09:52 PM
A classic fantasy and mythological troupe, weapons , armor and other objects are named for the great deeds they do in battle. Excalibur, Mjölnir , Hrunting, Glamdring, Orcrist, Andúril, and many other great and mighty weapons of fiction, myth, legend and even history. These are not just tools of warfare, they’re mighty in their own right with their own (usually fascinating) history, and are sometimes characters themselves.

And I LOVE it. It invokes my imagination, helps me think up things about my characters that I might not think up. How did he/she come to possess such a weapon, how the weapon earned it’s name, that sort of thing. (note to self, read up on weapons of legacy.)

Anyway I’ve started naming the weapons my dnd characters wield. Which is incredibly fun. The one major problem is that I don’t speak elf, dwarf or anything else besides English (languages is not my strong suit). So I’m stuck looking up dictionaries online, which wouldn’t be a problem except there are an awful lot of them and I’ve got no idea where to even start.

So I’m sort of fishing for good resources for naming weapons and armor, fantasy language dictionaries, real world language dictionaries, that sort of stuff. Aside from this, have you ever named the weapons of your characters?

Leon
2013-12-31, 10:05 PM
I have a tendency to name weapons after Power Metal song titles ~ Particularly Hammerfall ones

Angry Bob
2013-12-31, 10:16 PM
Words in real-world languages? I had an artifact black blade of disaster(basically an orb of annihilation, only a sword) named Eschatos which means "end." Everybody loves ancient Greek and Latin.

anacalgion
2013-12-31, 10:19 PM
I have a tendency to name weapons after Power Metal song titles ~ Particularly Hammerfall ones

That... Is not a bad idea actually, though I can't think of any hammerfall songs that would work. Any examples?

NowhereMan583
2013-12-31, 10:28 PM
You could always use Tolkien's elvish for D&D elvish -- there are plenty of English-Quenya (http://www.rialian.com/quenya-english.htm) or English-Sindarin (http://www.jrrvf.com/hisweloke/sindar/online/sindar/dict-en-sd.html) dictionaries online.

I also use this (http://draconic.twilightrealm.com/) page for good Draconic names.

It also makes sense (i.e., it's pretty easy to do and gives a language a consistent feel) to use real-world languages for various fantasy languages -- I tend to pull from the Indo-European language tree. In my campaign world, for instance, Orcish = Russian, Dwarvish = Anglo-Saxon, Neanderthal = Old Norse, Giant = Old High German, Goblin = Romanian, Infernal = Gothic, Celestial = Sanskrit... etc. There's no real rhyme or reason behind it, I just pick a language that's easy enough to look up words from and sounds kind of cool. If you're just naming swords and whatnot, you can look up words individually on Wiktionary and smush them together into compounds. It probably won't translate correctly to a native speaker of the language, but that's not really your goal.

Doing it this way also lets you take completely mundane terms and make them sound dramatic:
"Behold, the great Orcish blade Bolshoinoz!"
"That's quite a name... does it mean anything?"
"Um... 'big knife'. Look, don't ask questions."

JBPuffin
2013-12-31, 10:34 PM
It also makes sense (i.e., it's pretty easy to do and gives a language a consistent feel) to use real-world languages for various fantasy languages -


This. If I don't have an idea for a name, I plug things into Google Translate, and bam! Interesting name is born.

TechnoScrabble
2013-12-31, 10:48 PM
Donjon, chaotic shiny, plus anything linked on seventh sanctum.

I like naming weapons once they've earned it. Any item, really. Once had an oversized greatsword with a built in magic strength gauntlet so my chatacter coukd use it called Zweihandler Nichtverküzen-zweihandler being a mix of handle and zweihander and the name meaning No End, because the blade was longer than any sword deserves to be.

And yes I realize how badly that German is mangled.

Thinker
2014-01-01, 01:29 AM
Names are descriptive when they are made. They only change over time to become easier to say or when they are similar to a word in the language of a conqueror. Apply the same to your weapons. If the weapon is an ancient hammer used to fight off the Nightborn Fey, it might have the name of Nighthunter in its original tongue. Figure out what language you want the ancient people to have spoken and look up Night and hunter in a lexicon, translator, or dictionary. Finally, anglicize it by typing it in the easiest way you can to pronounce it. If it is awkward to say, adjust the word until it is easier.

Terazul
2014-01-01, 01:58 AM
I typically always name my characters "main" weapon if it's something they plan on keeping for awhile; Whether it's a point-based system that you keep upgrading or just a significant heirloom. It makes them more personal, in my opinion, or just adds a "signature" to the character in question. Plus having a nickname for something is always great for drama or intimidation factor. Hilariously, I've seen it in real life as a minor aside: Friend was at a bar, and almost got into a tussel when he called our other mutual friend over for assistance (calling him by his nickname). His assailant immediately backed off saying, "**** off, I'm not fighting a guy named Wraith!". Names have power. :smalltongue:

On one of my more recent characters, a martial bard, he's been upgrading this crystal blade he forged, and renaming it with each incarnation, using a combination of musical terms and italian. Originally it was Alla Breve, or "cut time", which was punny and also appropriate for the speedy shortsword. Then later when reforged into a class-specific weapon, it was A Capriccio, which is "following one's fancy", usually used in music for a free and unpredictable tempo; Fitting, since at this point it was basically like a chain-sword dealy. Currently it is Troppa Forza, or "Too Much Force", as it's more a crystal staff at this point that emits blades of sound. He also recently acquired an Animated Tower Shield, which he dubbed Smorzando, or "extinguishing/dampening". It's enchanted with deflect arrows because it's been a running thing where he gets shot in the legs with arrows.

The other character I've been having alot of fun naming weapons on is my Exalted character, if only because the system lends itself to the over the top names. If the character is Inexorable Righteous Havoc, it's only fitting that his golden artifact battle-jeep be The Indomitable Crusade, and his special giant shotgun crafted from his own essence is Inevitable Ruin.

I luckily have a bunch of non-native english speaking friends to help me get the wording right (that last bard weapon was Forza Troppo for awhile, which didn't mean much of anything), but I've found this glossary of musical terminology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_musical_terminology) on wikipedia to be useful on the whole, as well as their list of mythological objects. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mythological_objects) I generally have my names for things either be a description of how it's used, or I tend towards <Adjective> <Noune>, like Verdant Dawn, or Sanguine Lotus, etc.

TuggyNE
2014-01-01, 02:57 AM
The other character I've been having alot of fun naming weapons on is my Exalted character, if only because the system lends itself to the over the top names. If the character is Inexorable Righteous Havoc, it's only fitting that his golden artifact battle-jeep be The Indomitable Crusade, and his special giant shotgun crafted from his own essence is Inevitable Ruin.

Does he wear a Cloak of Untrammeled Dignity? :smalltongue: "Making fun of Obenn ship names is like shooting fish in the Barrel of Circular Swimming." -- Kevyn, Schlock Mercenary

OverdrivePrime
2014-01-01, 08:32 AM
I've been naming my characters' (and NPCs) gear since my very first game of D&D. Named weapons help carry the story and I feel it ties the character and his weapon even deeper into the game and setting. The easy way to tell how much I like one of my characters is to check how many named items he has. Even my Shadowrun characters will have 3-4 named objects.

When I started gaming I was taking German classes in high school, and so most of my characters had weapons with germanic names like Totstrecher, Donnerslied, Bergschlager and the like.

Many years later I've developed a love for many other cultures and tongues, and so have a long list of Scandinavian, Greek, Latin, Japanese and Celtic named gear for my various characters, depending on where they're from, or what sort of event led to them naming their weapon or armor.

Some recent favorites:
Brathutan - a bastard sword which slew a trio of fire giants in a fight I had no business winning
Gaoithe Casúr - a composite longbow with an unusually high number of criticals
Suhina - a throwing dagger with a particular hatred for mages
Kokoro Hogo-sha - a circlet made of platinum and diamonds which wards against emotional manipulation (perhaps the most valuable item I've ever owned)
Trotsig Fjäll - a battle harness made from dragon scales
Granor - a holy battle axe / electric guitar used by my power metal bard to slay demons (among dozens of other things)

TheCountAlucard
2014-01-01, 10:59 AM
Exalted's artifact weapons are often name-worthy as well; there's a regular treasure-trove of named weapons across the span of books, and there should be even more when Arms of the Chosen comes out for 3e. :smallsmile:

TechnoWarforged
2014-01-01, 11:06 AM
My Orcish Barbarian named his Two-handed Great sword "Peaceful Negotiations"(Shamless taken from another thread in this forum), the arsenal of weapons he carries also have names like "Epic Flail", "Precision F Strike", and "Mook Slayer".

Mind you this is an orc that often don a Top Hat, a cane, monocle, and Cape when he isn't expecting any combats.

Kitten Champion
2014-01-01, 01:32 PM
One of my characters made a hobby of thinking up names for her guns, she wanted ones which were suitably epic and awe-inspiring. She decided upon, after much deliberation, Temptress & Deliverer.

It was probably a waste of time considering that they were not exactly quality weapons. She made them herself on the cheap and were notorious for randomly jamming and twitchy trigger sensitivity.

I think for weapons with actual histories thought up, we had pretty good ones with one-of-kind divine weapons crafted by the setting's own gods and goddess. They granted whoever happened to have one in their possession the title of their Champion. All have serious drawbacks accompanying their power, making them cursed to an extent.

The Prisoner's Torment is a full body of armour that protects the user virtually completely from external attacks, but reproduces the feeling of pain from every blow done to it within the occupant's body -- and the sensation does not go away until the armour is removed.
The Maiden's Paradox is a bow which produces arrows magically and can send them flying at a blurring pace, but renders the user utterly blind.
The Wayfarer's Rhapsody is a scythe which can create a sort of omniscient three-dimensional map in the user's head and can rend holes in space to travel anywhere within it in a single step, but vanishes if the wielder stays more than three days in a single location.
The Fool's Lament is a small dagger which forces everyone who sees it to speak truly to the wielder, but the Champion has to to be perfectly honest him or herself by his or her own volition or be rendered with a sort of aphasia that makes them incomprehensible to all.
The Dreamer's Dirge is a wooden harp which produces enchanting, heart-wrenching, and unearthly music, but takes the player's memories as price.
The Raven’s Gamble is a katana and sheath, the longer it is left unsheathed the sharper it becomes. If the wielder fails to kill his or her target with it before the black bird engraved on the blade turns blood red they die in turn.
The Monarch's Decay is a great axe that consumes some of its Champion's sanity every time it draws blood, but makes them physically healthier, stronger, and even restores some youth with each body it adds to the count.
The Bastard's Grace is an ivory staff which allows the user to see the future and the past of the immediate area or that of anyone in it, but drives the user into greater and greater heights of euphoria -- which in itself seems to be a blessing until they lose touch with reality.
The Defiler's Elegance is a lacquered fan, once unfurled clouds start populating the sky until there's a sudden deadly storm -- the Champion is required to stand still with the fan exposed until the magic finishes or feel the angry brunt of the storm themselves.

Each relate to an Ancient Greek-like legend describing their god's particular strength and foil. These objects existing primarily to - on some level - have mortals empathize with them. As such they have a history going back to ancient times. I think the idea came from God Of War, although the setting is more Norse inspired.

Blackfang108
2014-01-01, 01:51 PM
My Thunderborn Barbarian, Goliath Alek Hardstone, is known as "The Unyielding Mountain" in the campaign setting, due to his ability to go blow-for-blow against pretty much everything, and survive through a combination of durability, luck, healing and sheer bloody-mindedness.

His Halberd is know as "The Mountain's Edge." Nothing special about it, (+2 Rending), but it's his.

The Fury
2014-01-01, 04:40 PM
I've really only started doing this kind of thing recently, I'll admit that it does add a lot to roleplay and it can inform how the character sees the world that they live in.

My character named her favorite sword "Arcadian," the idea was that she was from a pastoral farming village and she wanted a name that would remind her of home. With that said, the fact that the sword is described as being made of pitch-black metal, the name ended up being an accidental Ultima series reference.

I also made a knight NPC that named his sword "Joyous Dawn," in this case this was a deliberate reference to Charlemagne's sword, Joyeux.

The last good example I can think of is sort of vague-- an NPC that I made for someone else's game owns a 1911A1 pistol with a serial number stamped on the slide which is actually a cypher for "Ophelia." Whether this is the gun's name, whether it has any significance at all I've left up to the GM.

Slipperychicken
2014-01-01, 05:04 PM
I prefer to name weapons during play, if at all. I feel like that makes it more meaningful, much like how titles should be earned during play.

Cuaqchi
2014-01-01, 05:08 PM
My brother had a paladin who wielded the greatsword "Glacial Benediction"... As one would expect Holy & Frost were primary attributes.

The Fury
2014-01-01, 05:54 PM
I prefer to name weapons during play, if at all. I feel like that makes it more meaningful, much like how titles should be earned during play.

I think context accounts for a lot here. If your character is the weapon's first owner, then yes it should probably be named during play. However if the weapon already has a history or legacy of its own, it would almost be stranger if it didn't start play with a name.

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-02, 08:17 AM
Some names I've used include Veramorte (translates as "true-death") and Logos (as in the Word Of God which is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword).

nedz
2014-01-02, 10:31 AM
Take a normal phrase which describes the purpose of the blade and translate it into another language: Latin being a good choice.

E.g.
Terminus Est for the Executioner's sword from the Book of the New Sun — The Sword of the Lictor

ElenionAncalima
2014-01-02, 03:23 PM
In Pathfinder I had a half-elf Arcane Duelist Bard with a bastard sword named Carad-Duin. The names translates from Elven to Red River.

I named it this once I hit the level where I got bonded weapon. I got this level because our party of four, plus three NPCs took on an entire fortress where after fighting wave after wave in the courtyard, nearly 100 orcs and one of our NPC allies died...causing the river running through the courtyard to change color.

My character named the blade as a reminder of what the sword was capable of...as well as what they had to do to protect the city from the orc invasion.

OverdrivePrime
2014-01-02, 03:35 PM
That's kind of awesome. Go go duelist bards!

TheThan
2014-01-02, 03:52 PM
That’s cool. I like it, the sword earned it’s name. Now you can say things like “blood flows from Carad-Duin”, whenever you enter battle, or just to impress/intimidate someone that speaks elf.

Lord_Gareth
2014-01-02, 05:06 PM
Mythology is rife with ideas for weapon names, even if you don't rob it directly; look at it for themes!

The Fury
2014-01-03, 03:44 PM
Only tangentially related, but it occurred to me-- in what context would the name of a character's sword be revealed? I mean, it takes a certain kind of personality to draw one's sword and declare, "Behold! Caliborn!" or something.

Jlerpy
2014-01-03, 03:52 PM
I love naming stuff. Horses, weapons, locations, vehicles, it's all good.

Thinker
2014-01-03, 04:03 PM
Only tangentially related, but it occurred to me-- in what context would the name of a character's sword be revealed? I mean, it takes a certain kind of personality to draw one's sword and declare, "Behold! Caliborn!" or something.

If it has a name, it becomes important. If it is important, it becomes a plot device. It can be stolen, recovered, discussed, inspire hope, and instill fear.

Lorsa
2014-01-03, 05:38 PM
Some of the names you mentioned in the first post doesn't really mean anything as far as I know, they're just names. I mean, what does Excalibur mean? And in modern swedish, Mjölnir means... absolutely nothing. So you should be able to come up with something that is just a name if you want.

Or hey, if all players speak only english you could always name your sword "Klinga" and it would mean something in swedish. :smallsmile:

The Fury
2014-01-03, 06:03 PM
If it has a name, it becomes important. If it is important, it becomes a plot device. It can be stolen, recovered, discussed, inspire hope, and instill fear.

Oh yes. That's definitely right, I didn't mean to give any impression to the contrary. I only meant to remark on something potentially weird: If my character has an axe that she names "Joe," nobody else could know that her axe is called Joe unless she somehow tells them.

Just a strange observation that I hadn't really considered before.

The Oni
2014-01-03, 08:23 PM
In a campaign where we slay necromancers at the behest of a death goddess in exchange for our continued existence on the Material Plane (after she had us killed for this express purpose), my god-hating barbarian named the flying blade that has replaced his right arm "Legensiezur" - "Lay them to rest" in German.

By "they," he doesn't mean the undead. Apostasy, ho!

Subaru Kujo
2014-01-03, 08:44 PM
Didn't name my weapon this, but the 60ft long spiked chain my elf uses is called Agony. I found it fitting enough, because it makes it so the wielder eventually cannot feel pain at all.

Whether this weapon kills me because I can't feel a poison dart remains to be seen, but i think the flavor is awesome.

Joe the Rat
2014-01-03, 09:00 PM
Weapon naming - particularly for magical or artifact weapons - adds a little more depth to a setting. It's not a Sword +1, it's the Red Cleaver, the blade made for Dark Baron Martan by the famed smith Frallander, and used in Martan's bloody ascent to the throne of the Outer March. Even just an engraved name - 'Shadowkiller' - adds personality and a suggestion of history.

My first game since coming out of retirement, I decided to name my fighter's weapon. It was a mundane mace, a gift from his mercenary company's captain. It's called The Judge, because it settles arguments. Later in the game, he picked up a short-handled Maul and named it "Sprooghammer" - its 'heads' are made from the skulls of a Sproog, a common (and thick-headed) beast in the setting. Since then, the DM has had every magic weapon we've encountered inscribed with a name.

Buddha's_Cookie
2014-01-04, 12:57 AM
http://grey-starr.ca/Tools/random-male-elf-name.htm I use this for Elven names. it uses the article from Dragon magazine 251 and adds a random generator to it.

Fiery Diamond
2014-01-04, 02:11 AM
Weapon naming - particularly for magical or artifact weapons - adds a little more depth to a setting. It's not a Sword +1, it's the Red Cleaver, the blade made for Dark Baron Martan by the famed smith Frallander, and used in Martan's bloody ascent to the throne of the Outer March. Even just an engraved name - 'Shadowkiller' - adds personality and a suggestion of history.

My first game since coming out of retirement, I decided to name my fighter's weapon. It was a mundane mace, a gift from his mercenary company's captain. It's called The Judge, because it settles arguments. Later in the game, he picked up a short-handled Maul and named it "Sprooghammer" - its 'heads' are made from the skulls of a Sproog, a common (and thick-headed) beast in the setting. Since then, the DM has had every magic weapon we've encountered inscribed with a name.

The question is, does the DM do this because you convinced the DM it was cool, or because the DM is trying to prevent you from assigning your own names to things? :smalltongue:

Leon
2014-01-04, 07:00 AM
That... Is not a bad idea actually, though I can't think of any hammerfall songs that would work. Any examples?

Ones that i have used personally have been:
"Always Will Be"
"Stone Cold"
"Legacy of Kings"
"Lore of the Arcane"

UndertakerSheep
2014-01-04, 07:37 AM
Only tangentially related, but it occurred to me-- in what context would the name of a character's sword be revealed? I mean, it takes a certain kind of personality to draw one's sword and declare, "Behold! Caliborn!" or something.

An idea I had comes from Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. Richard (the main character) is the wielder of the titular sword, but he almost never names it when he draws it. Usually, it's written something along the lines of (but then with actual writing talent):

"The unique ringing of steel clearing scabbard filled the cold morning air, announcing the arrival of the Sword of Truth."
"The unique sound of the Sword of Truth being drawn caused some of the soldiers to take a few steps back."

I think something like this could work in D&D as well. Your character doesn't have to name his sword, you just have to describe him doing something iconic with the sword. If the enemy/NPCs know of the sword, they will recognize whatever it was that you did.

Macros
2014-01-04, 08:04 AM
I'm currently playing a campaign alongside an half-orc barbarian who called his greataxe "Gertrude". It's gotten to the point where we often require Gertrude's services ("oh, and the half-orc behind it, I guess. What's his name again?").

Socratov
2014-01-04, 08:48 AM
Seriously? 2 pages into a weapon naming thread and noone has linked this (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ICallItVera)? (warning TvTropes link)

Me, I'm a fan of descriptive (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) names, albeit in other languages. (another TvTropes link) Yet sometimes, in a rare moment I ventrure back to non-sensical namesjust to screw with everyone, or a pun to make them facepalm.

CoffeeIncluded
2014-01-04, 10:30 AM
And now I feel even sillier for thinking about having my dual-wielding roguebuckler name her dagger Pointy and her shortsword Stabby.

Brother Oni
2014-01-04, 11:41 AM
Interestingly enough, the Earthdawn RPG often has finding out the name of a looted recovered magic item a critical part of unlocking its full potential.

As the character unlocks more of its potential by researching its history or re-enacting key events in the item's history (such as its creation or legendary feats it was known for), it becomes more and more woven into the character's own legend, much like how Excalibur is now known as King Arthur's sword, despite it having a previous owner (Merlin or the Lady in the Lake must have got it from somewhere).



Me, I'm a fan of descriptive (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin) names, albeit in other languages. (another TvTropes link) Yet sometimes, in a rare moment I ventrure back to non-sensical namesjust to screw with everyone, or a pun to make them facepalm.

I'm a big fan of the names the Minds from the Culture series use, so I named my ships in Eve Online in the same fashion (for example, my Falcon was named Primary since when it uncloaks, any smart person shoots it first).


And now I feel even sillier for thinking about having my dual-wielding roguebuckler name her dagger Pointy and her shortsword Stabby.

Perfectly acceptable names - what a person names something reflects their character, so judging from those names, it suggests your character is a slightly frivolous person who doesn't take things seriously.

Terazul
2014-01-04, 12:20 PM
Does he wear a Cloak of Untrammeled Dignity? :smalltongue: "Making fun of Obenn ship names is like shooting fish in the Barrel of Circular Swimming." -- Kevyn, Schlock Mercenary
Ha ha ha, no. That would imply he wears a shirt. :smalltongue:


Interestingly enough, the Earthdawn RPG often has finding out the name of a looted recovered magic item a critical part of unlocking its full potential.

As the character unlocks more of its potential by researching its history or re-enacting key events in the item's history (such as its creation or legendary feats it was known for), it becomes more and more woven into the character's own legend, much like how Excalibur is now known as King Arthur's sword, despite it having a previous owner (Merlin or the Lady in the Lake must have got it from somewhere).

That's pretty much how Legacy Weapons worked in 3.5, though with all the mechanical fiddly bits of spending GP and whatnot. Do a ritual, unlock more powers, and learn more about the history. Some were really interesting albeit a bit mediocre. Shame about all the penalties with that system, though (but that's why most people run it without them).

In our games usually you can name stuff whatever you like for yourself if that's your thing, but it's possible you become known for things with enough time. With my bard guy, Troppa Forza basically has two things going for it: 1) it has not once, but twice overcome ridiculous antimagic bullcrap. The first was some giant beacon-sphere, and instead of going about it the smart way, he just swang for the bleachers, and somehow managed to beat the save by exactly 1, shattering it. The second time was versus some "artifact" shield wielded by a paladin with some kind of 1/day destruction effect that destroyed whatever hit it. And beat that save by 1, then crit and carved his initials into it. 2) basically every mission they've been sent on has been a suicide one because their superiors are trying to get rid of him, but they just keep succeeding. Word of this gets around, though the sword's actual name doesn't. So it's more that people just recognize it as the sword of "That guy who won't stop laughing and breaks all our stuff".

But that's slightly less catchy.

Drachasor
2014-01-04, 12:38 PM
And now I feel even sillier for thinking about having my dual-wielding roguebuckler name her dagger Pointy and her shortsword Stabby.

Yes, you should have gone with Acuminous and Transfixion.

Lord_Gareth
2014-01-04, 12:41 PM
And now I feel even sillier for thinking about having my dual-wielding roguebuckler name her dagger Pointy and her shortsword Stabby.

I'm a big fan of paired names. Lemme see, I've done (for various characters):

Shame & Blame
Piano & Fortissimo
Left & Right
Yes (sword) & No (shield)
Viceroy & Majordomo
Sight & Sound
Hope & Despair
Agony & Ecstasy
Crime & Punishment
Father & Son

Subaru Kujo
2014-01-04, 12:54 PM
I'm a big fan of paired names. Lemme see, I've done (for various characters):


Crime & Punishment

Oh damn. That's a far better name for my vibroblade/blaster pistol set than War and Peace.

Mind if I steal it?

Slipperychicken
2014-01-04, 01:04 PM
Viceroy & Majordomo
Sight & Sound
Hope & Despair
Agony & Ecstasy
Crime & Punishment
Father & Son

Not gonna lie, these sound pretentious as all hell.

Lord_Gareth
2014-01-04, 01:04 PM
Oh damn. That's a far better name for my vibroblade/blaster pistol set than War and Peace.

Mind if I steal it?

I'm flattered you asked! Go ahead.

Socratov
2014-01-04, 01:51 PM
I'm a big fan of paired names. Lemme see, I've done (for various characters):


Piano & Fortissimo


crap, now I'm reminded of Epic Rap Battles of History, specifically Mozart vs. Skrillex

But, yes, if the weapons are indeed a pair instead of 2 random pieces picked up to swing around, they should be named as such.

CoffeeIncluded
2014-01-04, 10:20 PM
Perfectly acceptable names - what a person names something reflects their character, so judging from those names, it suggests your character is a slightly frivolous person who doesn't take things seriously.

Haha, actually, that may not be the case; it might actually mean something entirely else, but with her speech impediment Pointy and Stabby are all she can call them.

As to the extent of her speech impediment? Instead of saying, "There's a time bomb set to blow up this gunpowder and the entire room!" She has said, and I quote, "Tick tock tick tock boom."


Yes, you should have gone with Acuminous and Transfixion.

Ha! Hm, maybe next time!


I'm a big fan of paired names. Lemme see, I've done (for various characters):

Shame & Blame
Piano & Fortissimo
Left & Right
Yes (sword) & No (shield)
Viceroy & Majordomo
Sight & Sound
Hope & Despair
Agony & Ecstasy
Crime & Punishment
Father & Son

I really like Yes and No, and Crime and Punishment.

Joe the Rat
2014-01-04, 11:02 PM
The question is, does the DM do this because you convinced the DM it was cool, or because the DM is trying to prevent you from assigning your own names to things? :smalltongue:

:smallbiggrin: Given that one of the NPCs we've encountered wielded Sodie, the enchanted club (It's the club Sodie), it's probably better that the rest of us name things.



As a tangent, how often do people name their other gear? Your horses, your vehicles, your armor, your lockpicks... what other tools of the trade get names?

Brother Oni
2014-01-05, 04:18 AM
As a tangent, how often do people name their other gear? Your horses, your vehicles, your armor, your lockpicks... what other tools of the trade get names?

It's dangerous to name living things as they might have their own ideas on the subject. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eURhm7Q0Kw) :smallbiggrin:

In my experience, the more likely something is to have a personality whether it's because it's actually intelligent or due to its quirks of operation, the more likely it's going to be named.

The Oni
2014-01-05, 09:21 PM
- On that note, the aforementioned Barbarian (Mad Dog archetype) has a dire vampire bat named Harker. But if I ever play a druid, I am absolutely going to steal that Doctor Who line.

OverdrivePrime
2014-01-06, 07:50 AM
Speaking of paired weapons, I really, really hope someone out there has a paired set of knives, pistols or whatever named Betty & Veronica.

paddyfool
2014-01-06, 03:22 PM
I mean, what does Excalibur mean?

"Beyond steel", using the mediaeval spelling of the Latin, Chalybs, for steel.

Mjölnir is less clear, but may mean simply "That which smashes".

Slipperychicken
2014-01-06, 03:45 PM
"Beyond steel", using the mediaeval spelling of the Latin, Chalybs, for steel.

Mjölnir is less clear, but may mean simply "That which smashes".

Yeah, that's evidence that names become more epic if you say them in a language you don't know. It makes me wonder how famous those tales would have been to english-speakers if King Arthur was wielding his sword named "Super-steel", and Thor his trusty hammer called "Smashy-thing".

paddyfool
2014-01-07, 06:10 AM
Yeah, that's evidence that names become more epic if you say them in a language you don't know. It makes me wonder how famous those tales would have been to english-speakers if King Arthur was wielding his sword named "Super-steel", and Thor his trusty hammer called "Smashy-thing".

Heh :)

(I can totally see Deadpool calling Thor's hammer "Smashy-thing" if he ever manages to somehow dupe it into letting him pick it up).

SanguisAevum
2014-01-07, 09:54 AM
My Dark Heresy Priest used a Chain-axe / Flamer combo... they became known in game as "Redemption" & "Purity".

As "Preacher" would say... 'That which cannot be redeemed, must be purged!"


A player in one of my warhammer fantasy campaigns had some masterwork weaponry made for his church sanctioned Witch Hunter... he even paid far much more than the book price to ensure they were exquisitly made by the very best craftsmen.

Ornate twin black powder pistols (with blade attachments), engraved with the names "Truth" & "Justice" And an ornate dueling rapier, engraved with the name "Deliverance"

The common folk learned to fear those names... he was one of the most corupt "officials" ever played in one of my campaigns :)

vhfforever
2014-01-08, 04:37 AM
In a rather long-running 3.0 D&D game, my Human Black Flame Zealot eventually purchased what came to be known as "Gondelagrim's Glove of Last Resort." A Glove of Storing that contained a Maximized Empowered Delay Blast Fireball (CL 20, purchased from one of Faeruns many epic spellcaster npc's) with the countdown timer at <1. Since it was 3.0 and the GoS actually held items in stasis (or that was how they were ruled by the GM), it was a hidden item of nearly mutually assured destruction (nearly due to Evasion, of course).

It came into play in an epic fight against a Balor, and the 'nearly' didn't quite pan out as well as it could have. But, the explosion was quite memorable for everyone on the periphery.

DigoDragon
2014-01-08, 09:16 AM
And now I feel even sillier for thinking about having my dual-wielding roguebuckler name her dagger Pointy and her shortsword Stabby.

Eh, my group rarely names weapons and if they do, it's usually a silly name. The ones I remember the most were named during the adventure due to some funny mishap or amusing moment~

Sparky: A tazer my FBI character carried around before she earned her gun license. Named such because it malfunctioned often, leading to sparks shooting out of the weapon.
Tax Man: An M249 SAW a PC group once carried around during a "LOST" campaign. Named because "You can't evade the tax man." The crowning moment of awesome for this weapon was mowing down three armed soldiers on the opposing side of a cubicle farm.
Betty: A .357 magnum with a Betty Boop decal on the handle. The owner had a thing for the cartoon character so she had the decal added. Anytime she crit with the weapon, she'd sing Betty Boop's signature "Boop boop de boop!" line.

Krazzman
2014-01-08, 10:57 AM
I tried it twice. My first character found a +2 Frost Longsword and couldn't decipher what stood there and determined to call it Garm's Fang.

Later I had prepared for one of two characters (full character sheet and so on).
One was a generic fighter wanting to get the vibe of the Yu-Gi-Oh card black dragon knight.

The other was a ranger with named weapons: Silver Bride and ??? (don't remember).

Also I always wanted to play an assassin with two daggers called White Noise/Black Silence.

OverdrivePrime
2014-01-08, 11:17 AM
Back in 3.0 my slatternly diplomancer Bard's most famous piece of equipment was named "Grond."
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqydbjjCHH1qz7ag7o1_400.png

eulmanis12
2014-01-08, 11:58 AM
I currently am playing in a game where my Characker dual wields a sword and a club. Backbite and Thumper respectively.


In a different campaign I wield a sword named Undercut,
In the same game a buddy of mine has a pair of swords named Memento and Anklebiter.

Another has a pair of blades named Tooth and Nail.

Local_Jerk
2014-01-08, 03:32 PM
Just do what Roy did and name your sword the "Trouser Titan".

Raimun
2014-01-08, 06:28 PM
Hmm, yeah. I've been doing this lately.

Especially if I'm making a high level warrior. But only if I'm pretty sure the weapon my character uses lasts for the whole game/campaign. I don't want the following to happen:

"Huzzah! My sword Anduril, Flame of the West, reforged from the shards of Narsil, the very blade that once vanquished darkness, struck true yet again and now we are victorious! But what is that sword my enemy carried? It looks like I could use it too and it seems to be... more shiny?"

There's a good reason heroes in fiction don't change swords very often.

Eitherway, I mostly think of a descriptive name or a feat the weapon is capable of. Then I just name it as such. Of course, I try to make the name sound cool and... weapon... ish?

Beleriphon
2014-01-09, 09:27 PM
"Huzzah! My sword Anduril, Flame of the West, reforged from the shards of Narsil, the very blade that once vanquished darkness, struck true yet again and now we are victorious! But what is that sword my enemy carried? It looks like I could use it too and it seems to be... more shiny?"

In fairness Anduril is probably the best sword in Middle-Earth at the time. So its not like there are a lot of swords for Aragorn to trade up for.

Gabe the Bard
2014-01-09, 11:00 PM
The most powerful named weapon I've ever seen in a D&D campaign was a mighty mace forged of invincible metal, made into a perfect sphere by extradimensional constructs, wielded by a giant six-armed warrior with deadly power attack bonuses. The name of this most fearsome and awe-inspiring weapon was... the Chupachups.

Raimun
2014-01-10, 12:03 AM
In fairness Anduril is probably the best sword in Middle-Earth at the time. So its not like there are a lot of swords for Aragorn to trade up for.

It was a hyperbole.

Point is that there isn't much point to naming your weapon and coming up with a detailed history and personal ties to your character if you're likely to replace your sword a few times during your adventuring career. Heck, some weapons don't warrant a name even from a roleplaying perspective. Only the exceptional weapons get a name... and I'm not talking about stats here.

Just imagine if Roy just bought a +3 greatsword right after Xykon shattered the greenhilt sword.

Gabe the Bard
2014-01-10, 12:37 AM
Roy's new sword is actually a good example of the kind of history that usually precedes naming a weapon. If you had to go through a quest to have your weapon forged or discovered it in some very special place, you're certainly more likely to name it than if you bought it from the corner store. And naming the weapon puts it one step closer to becoming more like a living character, even if it doesn't have an ego in game terms. If it has a name, it feels more like a companion than an item, just as an unnamed familiar which is only remembered for its stat boost could seem like less of a companion and more like an item.

Shyftir
2014-01-10, 02:48 AM
I had a Crusader/Favored Soul/RKV use a "daikatana" (great scimitar from sandstorm) named "Shinogimu" (which badly translates to "true duty") a heavily anime inspired campaign.

I had a custom classed PF character with a sword named "Shadowflash".

JW86
2014-01-10, 03:33 PM
My Level 22 Orc Barbarian has had the same Greatsword since Level 5 or so. His family was killed when he was a child, he was taken and sold into slavery. It is his mission to free all slaves, and kill all slavers. His sword is iconically named CHAIN-BREAKER.

Originally a +1 MW Greatsword, it is now a +6 Huge Valorous Wrathful Healing Flaming Greatsword. The Dragon Gods have infused it with progressively greater magic. :smallbiggrin:

Gemini Lupus
2014-01-30, 10:48 AM
I'm a big fan of named swords, they just give them so much more meaning than "longsword" or "bastard sword."

In my personal setting, there's of course an Excalibur (I'm a bit of an Arthur nut), but there's also the Angel's Wing, which is a full blade made from a homebrew material called Feather-Forged Steel, it was part of a series of minor artifact weapons that I gave to my players at the beginning of the campaign and essentially leveled up with them. There was also Xarta, a bastard sword, a scimitar, pair of chakrum, and a bow, whose names I've forgotten. It's been a while for that campaign.

But I like to give weapons names to get players interested in not only their history, but also keeping them and upgrading them, rather than selling them for upgrades.

Necroticplague
2014-01-30, 12:59 PM
A running gag in one campaign I was in was how I would name all weapons [beloved object][unpleasent fate]. And thus was born the Puppygrinder, Kittebsticker, Childslayer, and the GenitalMutilator.

SiuiS
2014-01-30, 01:33 PM
I'm currently playing a campaign alongside an half-orc barbarian who called his greataxe "Gertrude". It's gotten to the point where we often require Gertrude's services ("oh, and the half-orc behind it, I guess. What's his name again?").

And now I miss Dranko Brightshield :(


Not gonna lie, these sound pretentious as all hell.

If that's the point, though...

My favorite so far was a weapon based on stuff from 1e, a series of swords which always lose initiative but which unerringly strike the person who hit you that round if you attack them, and were Neutral aligned and semi-intelligent. It was Finality.

Plus, it happened in Legacy of Kain! What were his axes again? Havoc & Malice?


:
As a tangent, how often do people name their other gear? Your horses, your vehicles, your armor, your lockpicks... what other tools of the trade get names?

All the time! Elivaris was a twilight themed paladin who bore dawnscale, the black tower shield (an overly large escutcheon) and duskflesh, a full suit of black adamant plate armor (Maximilian style helmet). Both were heavily enchanted to avoid being destroyed (angering the DM who thought acid, rust monsters or the like could "solve the problem" of AC 30 DR 3/–) and had enamel designed so at the right angle, both had the flashing orange brightness of nightfall or sunrise.

The great sword Loricar was a measly +1 silver great sword, and only that because I had some money left. XD


"Beyond steel", using the mediaeval spelling of the Latin, Chalybs, for steel.

Mjölnir is less clear, but may mean simply "That which smashes".

To be fair, legbiter, footcleaver and skullsplitter are damn fine names and will defend their own honor against someone who do area say they didn't earn their names.

It's symbolism, really. 'Beyond steel' doesn't just mean super metal. Steel was basically the emblem of human power exerted over the natural world. It was a divine statement; We Are Mankind.

Excalibur may as well have been Manifest Destiny with the subtext "sun never sets on me".


It was a hyperbole.

Point is that there isn't much point to naming your weapon and coming up with a detailed history and personal ties to your character if you're likely to replace your sword a few times during your adventuring career. Heck, some weapons don't warrant a name even from a roleplaying perspective. Only the exceptional weapons get a name... and I'm not talking about stats here.

Just imagine if Roy just bought a +3 greatsword right after Xykon shattered the greenhilt sword.

You do realize it's cheaper to upgrade than to buy? And that the bad guy's shiny weapon can often be sacrificed directly, imbuing. It's powers into your own weapon as you overcome it symbolically?

That's... Actually pretty bad ass. A sword graveyard where the broken, twisted steel, rusting iron and splinters of the sovereignty of other nations was sacrificed in spirit to the thirst of your own sword.

Wowzers I can't stop now.

The players find the graveyard at the end of the second act, and the kensai willingly plunges his own sword into the dirt.

They clash, and at the end when only BBEG and kensai player stand, and Ra going against this domineering weapon with just fists, he makes a dramatic speech his sword collects the angry spirits of the fallen swords and, as the sword is part of the kensai and share the same power, he begins to dominate the enemy with his +8 Vorpal exploding sharpness brilliant energy fists, empowered by the rage of slaughtered peoples.

veti
2014-01-30, 03:56 PM
In my personal setting, there's of course an Excalibur (I'm a bit of an Arthur nut),

Sorry, but I can't get over that. Calling a sword in your campaign "Excalibur" is like calling your BBEG "Sauron". It just brings a huge bunch of baggage and player expectations with it, which is ridiculous unless you're actually playing in that setting.

Gemini Lupus
2014-01-30, 06:55 PM
Sorry, but I can't get over that. Calling a sword in your campaign "Excalibur" is like calling your BBEG "Sauron". It just brings a huge bunch of baggage and player expectations with it, which is ridiculous unless you're actually playing in that setting.

One of the areas in my campaign setting is heavily based on Romano-Celtic Britain, complete with an Arthur character, Merlinesque character, and a society based upon a combination of post-Roman Britain (historical), medieval Ireland (historical), and the myths and legends of those places, including the Arthurian legends.

It's something of a fantasy kitchen sink, but I've tried to reconcile everything so that it makes sense in the context of the world and doesn't break *too* much verisimilitude, including slightly altering the names of such characters to a more historically accurate form. My Arthur character is named Artos, Merlin is Myrddin, etc.

oudeis
2014-01-30, 07:35 PM
I've had good luck coming up with names by looking up the origins of some of the words that describe what the weapon was supposed to do. 'Mayhem' is the name of a famous war-sword in my canon; the name comes from the crime, which means to consciously maim another. From a long-ago dictionary search I came up with 'Cwellan', which is the verb 'to kill' in Old English. One of my favorite creations is the legendary sword known as Grief, named after the verse engraved into the blade: "I was made to take men's lives/I am the grief of Mothers, children, and Wives".

As others have mentioned, naming the weapon after a particularly memorable feat or feats in battle is helpful and evocative. ElenionAncalima's 'Red River' is one of the best names/backstories I've ever come across. In a long-ago game using a mix of various Chaosium rulesets my character named his weapon 'Headtaker' after he achieved an almost supernatural number of critical headshots in one battle. I've since modified the concept for D20 and it is now a weapon waiting for the right circumstances to appear. In the game world I'm building magic weapons aren't just lying around for characters to find: they are created by the feats and great deeds of the ones that wield them, either by divine blessings, if the PC serves a god, or by attracting the attention of unknown and/or inchoate forces that are drawn to acts of renown and great will. Essentially, anyone who replicates the feat of my old character will find his weapon has 'awakened' and feels the need to continue as it started. It will never dominate the character like swords with high Ego in D&D but it will start to make its identity more manifest. The player will be called upon to make location rolls when he land a critical or significant blow, and hits to the head will imbue the sword with increasing power.

Initially, each time the wielder draws the weapon he will hear a quiet voice saying 'I take heads' or somesuch. This will not feel like telepathy but no one else will be able to hear it. This declaration will get louder and more emphatic as the sword grows in strength. 'I take heads' will become 'I am the taker of heads' and then 'I am Headtaker' as the kill count rises and soon other people will start to hear the sword's challenge. Eventually, when the sword has reached its full power, as it is drawn everyone within N yards/squares will be rocked with a great psychic shout like a clear metallic voice, as if a trumpet or great bell had been given voice and were shouting in exultation "Beware! Despair! Headtaker is come!". The wielder will have to make a Wis/Cha roll to restrain himself from bellowing the same and any who hears the sword and fails a Wis roll will be struck with the overwhelming sensation of a blade cleaving through their neck. PCs and more powerful NPCs who fail will be shaken; lower levels will either cower in terror and shock or flee screaming in abject terror. Great for effect but perhaps not the weapon you'd want to bring when infiltrating the lair of the Big Bad. :smalltongue:

You can also borrow names from other sources and repurpose them for your own uses. I was always struck by the name 'Bellbane', which was a minor monster from the Elric novels. You know how swords in movies always ring like a struck chime when they are drawn? I know that doesn't really happen but putting these two elements together I came up with the great sword Bellbane, which peals out an challenge to all within hearing when it's drawn. Malleus Maleficarum is an actual historical document that caused of much of the superstitious frenzy about witches in Europe. Witchhammer, the English translation of the title, makes an awesome cold-iron weapon that inflicts physical and spiritual damage including loss of spells against arcane casters and inherently magical creatures.


"Beyond steel", using the mediaeval spelling of the Latin, Chalybs, for steel.
The etymologies I've read refer to the Celtic name Calad Bolg, which means either 'cut-iron' or 'hard-belly', depending on the scholar. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalibur) prefers a Welsh word with similar meaning.

Averis Vol
2014-01-30, 07:37 PM
Normally when I DM, I name special or personal weapons after either their function, like the warhammer Glyphbreaker, a +2 greater dispelling maul made of meteor rock that is owned by the Pirate Warlord Eribor, or after its crowning achievment, like Malbred the kingslayer, a +1 elf/human bane greataxe used to execute the royal half elf family of Falkren during the roil when the pirates took over the nation.

Or it can simply be something abstract like the Talon of Alceska, captain Gerard LeMonts +1 falchion, refluffed as a grosse messer.

Some other in game famous ones are:
Vandraren, the nevermelting ice blade of Caedus the wanderer, leader of the blackgate mercenary company.
cragshatter, the warhammer of the Dwarven king Bregga who used it to drop an avalanche on an army of orcs, stopping the invasion of his homeland

The Scalawag Skewer, a Large +1 pirate bane longspear used by the Half ogre-Aventi paladin of freedom Baernorn kelpbeard, defender of the inner sea.
the black needle, King Alsiro Igalia III's rapier. It's blade is a concentrated sphere of anihilation. it also has a contingency to be sent to the far realms should it fall out of his families possesion.
Crushing dispair, the pirate captain Arcen hernandes' +2 colliding spellblade awkpike

Figgin of Chaos
2014-01-30, 10:59 PM
In the first D&D campaign I played, we found a magical falcion incribed with the words "The name of this blade is Hammershlag." Our barbarian started using it exclusively upon finding it. We later found a largely superior magical bastard sword, and our DM said, "When you put Hammershlag next to the other sword, it appears to absorb its characteristics, transforming the bastard sword into a falcion. So for all intents and purposes you have a better sword but it's still called Hammershlag."

Skalfdir Never-Trousers, my Arctic Kitsune skald, wielded a Dragonbane rapier named Blood-Screamer while fighting against the Red Hand. His shield, depicting a hammer sparking with electricity, was named Thunder-Anvil. The last attack of the campaign was Skalfdir slaying the Aspect of Tiamat with a critical from Blood-Screamer.

Hida Reju
2014-01-31, 06:14 AM
In a game I am playing I named my Riffle for my Pathfinder gunslinger "Reason".

And yes I did make the comment that "Everyone listens to Reason"

Manga Shoggoth
2014-01-31, 09:58 AM
And now I feel even sillier for thinking about having my dual-wielding roguebuckler name her dagger Pointy and her shortsword Stabby.

It's better than the Sword of the Recaltrant Donkey...

For those who don't get it - Badass Sword.

geeky_monkey
2014-01-31, 11:05 AM
In a particularly long running campaign my Elf Ranger had an ancestral sword called Ti'isho Panad.

He refused to use any other sword, fighting unarmed if he had to rather than sullying his hand with a lesser weapon.

My DM kept praising me for my role-playing, and decided to let the sword ‘level up’ and gain new abilities so I didn’t fall behind the WBL of the party. He became almost as attached to Ti'isho Panad as my character, and used it as a major plot hook on more than one occasion.

I never had the heart to tell him that it was Welsh for “Would you like a cup of tea?”.

Jay R
2014-01-31, 11:11 AM
To be fair, legbiter, footcleaver and skullsplitter are damn fine names and will defend their own honor against someone who do area say they didn't earn their names.

Of course. One of the reasons to name a sword is intimidation.

"This is my sword Mohel. Flee, or feel its power!"

Pocket lint
2014-01-31, 02:13 PM
Possible house rule: You have to name your MW or magical weapon to gain the effects? Might go without one for the first fight just to see it in action, but after that a good weapon deserves a name.

I usually try to name personal belongings such as horses, weapons etc. Shields and armour, not so much.

In our Planescape campaign, my mummy paladin ran around in (admittedly masterwork but completely non-magical) bronze armour and a khopesh, refusing to trade them for anything else since that's what he was buried with. Then again, he was screwed up enough that equipment wasn't terribly important.

The sword was supposed to be called Sheteptawy, meaning "He who pacifies the two lands", but noone could remember that, so the usual party cheer when I critted was "Khopesh!"

OverdrivePrime
2014-01-31, 02:41 PM
Uuuugh. The mage in an old game had a staff of fire he referred to as his 'Boom Stick.' >__<

In fairness, the dude was kind of a primitive screwhead.

mikeejimbo
2014-01-31, 03:10 PM
A running gag in one campaign I was in was how I would name all weapons [beloved object][unpleasent fate]. And thus was born the Puppygrinder... -snip-

Egad, that gives the term "puppy mill" even more unpleasant connotations. :smalleek:

Lvl45DM!
2014-01-31, 09:13 PM
Mate named his +4 heavy mace Mercy after a Kobold asked for mercy.
The Peacekeeper. An axe that spoke Elvish, allowed the Dwarven wielder to speak to the elves in the party and smooth over 2,000 years of war.
Slitherbane, a sword +4 vs reptiles, that was later revealed to be an artifact of Joramy so it was renamed Slitherquake cos it caused earthquakes.
Celestial Wind +6 Katana forged to be the opposite of Stormbringer, Elric's blade. (Awesome campaign.)
Myew-Myew the Thunder Hammer. Not epic, but funny. 'By the might-might of Myew-Myew!'
Lily's Wail +4 Bastard Sword of Wounding that my half-orc assassin enchanted by plunging it into the breast of his wife. Had the special property of forcing anyone in love to save or die if struck by it.
Shortshank dagger +1, +2 vs Small creatures. Quite proud of that name heh.

Jay R
2014-01-31, 11:48 PM
Possible house rule: You have to name your MW or magical weapon to gain the effects?

I can't think of a more effective way to flood the game with silly, modern, mood-destroying terms than to force people to name their swords who don't want to.

But I might decide in the game I'm running now that every magical weapon already has a name, whether the players ever learn it or not.

Slipperychicken
2014-02-01, 12:53 AM
every magical weapon already has a name

People run out of good names pretty quickly, unless they repeat them or use some kind of Dwarf Fortress-esque naming mechanics. In the former case, you're getting ~1800 iterations of "Goblin-Cleaver". In the latter, you're getting names like "Pipebristled the Requiem of Socks".


EDIT: On reflection, in an actual game, you're only going to use the good names, even if it's somewhat improbable that all the magic items in the PCs' path are named well.

TuggyNE
2014-02-01, 01:44 AM
People run out of good names pretty quickly

It is difficult to overstate this point. Naming is hard. I like the joke that goes "There are two hard problems in Computer Science: naming, cache invalidation, and off-by-one errors." :smallwink:

But yeah, naming is hard because you have to balance euphony, meaning (or at least a mnemonic aid of some sort), concision, uniqueness, and ease of composition. In normal society, naming a baby is an occasion for quite a few (wo)man-hours of thought, and that's even with the usual pattern of reusing a third to three-fourths of the name from previous generations. (Or, in some families, simply borrowing names wholesale from ancestors.) For something like a legacy weapon, our intuitions of good human names don't work as well, there's no obvious group-derived structure to fall back on like a surname, and the sheer number of names needed is rather daunting, so most people are stuck with nothing but the horribly cliched as inspiration.

Jay R
2014-02-01, 10:30 AM
People run out of good names pretty quickly, unless they repeat them or use some kind of Dwarf Fortress-esque naming mechanics. In the former case, you're getting ~1800 iterations of "Goblin-Cleaver". In the latter, you're getting names like "Pipebristled the Requiem of Socks".


EDIT: On reflection, in an actual game, you're only going to use the good names, even if it's somewhat improbable that all the magic items in the PCs' path are named well.

First of all, I play 2E, and I don't flood the campaign with items. There won't be more than a dozen magic swords, and I can certainly come up with that many good names. I probably wouldn't even make them up. There are so many good names already out there. The next sword my party finds will probably be one of Dyrnwyn, Gram, Hrunding, Joyeuse, Tizona, Greywand, Scalpel, Ice, or Longclaw.

Second, I wouldn't name all the magic items, just the swords, and maybe a very few others which are legendary. (If I name an item, I will also invent its history.)

Noedig
2014-02-02, 01:05 AM
I've named plenty of weapons, but these are the most meaningful to me.

My first named weapon was Chained Lightning: an electrified, modified adamantium spiked chain with one end as piercing damage and the other as bludgeoning. I named it upon wresting control of a plane from an evil planeswalker and taking his place. It is a horrible pun, I know, and my gamer karma has suffered appropriately.

My second was Wraith Splitter, a ghost touch longsword made of a special resonating crystal that added +4 to your sunder attempts. It got eaten by a grey ooze in the session after I received it.

My third and fourth were Penance, a +2 Undead Bane Disrupting Morning Star, and Rumbler, a mace of smiting that I continuously rolled 20s with.

My fourth was Rebenok Anya (Baby Anya) a custom built Browning M2 for my Russian Heavy Weapons Guy for an XCOM game. I really liked Baby Anya.

TheThan
2014-02-02, 01:31 PM
I just named a +1 rapier Stocco, which is supposedly (according to Google Translate that is) "rapier" in Italian. I was going to name it "keen edge", also in Italian, but I realized I didn't have the cash for the keen enchantment.

it's for a dual wielding (rapier, dagger) rogue, En Guarde!

GrayGriffin
2014-02-03, 08:32 PM
My character is the only weapon-user in our PTU campaign, and even then her weapon is fluff. It basically acts as a "conduit" for the various moves she knows. It started out in her backstory as a simple walking stick (she likes hiking, and is also somewhat physically frail thanks to a genetic disease) but has now basically become infused with the partial power of a god. Even so, I haven't named it yet. Mainly because it's not really in my character's nature to do so.

Velaryon
2014-02-04, 02:32 AM
I've only done it twice, and both times were kind of silly names.

The first time, it was more of a nickname. I was playing a pirate that dual-wielded swords, and one of the other PCs was a gnome druid named Zook Ickabob McGee III Esq. The player's name, however, was Billy.

Zook had a +1 flaming spell-storing club that he used for awhile. Eventually though, Billy dropped out of the campaign. I forget what happened to the PC, but somehow my character ended up with his weapon. I immediately nicknamed it the "Billy Club," got an NPC cleric to put cure serious wounds in there, deactivated the flaming enchantment, and used it as a healing beat-stick. Whenever one of my important crew members (PC or NPC) got wounded badly in combat, I'd smack 'em with the Billy Club and they could go for a little bit longer.

The second time was in an epic campaign in which my warblade ended up with the lawful good equivalent of the Sword of Kas - a +6 holy keen vorpal bastard sword that gave +10 to Strength and could cast call lightning, holy word, and hallow 1/day and raise dead 1/week. Since it was no longer the sword of an evil epic vampire, it needed a new name. The problem was, neither I nor anyone else came up with anything good, so it ended up being called the Sword of Swords.

Knaight
2014-02-04, 02:57 AM
I can't think of a more effective way to flood the game with silly, modern, mood-destroying terms than to force people to name their swords who don't want to.

It depends on the game, really. If you're aiming for a less serious game which has modern elements, this could work well. There are games in which having a hammer and sickle named "The Means of Production" works perfectly, and other in which it is mood ruining. For the first, this seems fine.

Ossian
2014-02-04, 05:05 AM
Always ask yourself: how would I feel if i was piloting a giant robot instead?

Of course you'd have to shout the name of the blade before it popped out of nowhere of from your shoulder/thigh scabbard.

Vocal activation is the key to check if it works with the character concept, and of course that rules pretty much all rogues and seedy alley backstabbers.

Spanish works for duelist types, i find. Tizona (fire brand) was El Cid's sword.

Are you a paladin, jousting and going from field battle to field battle? French is there for you. Joyeuse (self explanatory, when you join the fray with glee and gusto) for Charles the Great and Flamberge (Roland, i.e. "the" ass-kicker of 9th century France).

Are you more the solo adventurer? English would be ok too. Something like

Biter / Scorcher / Death.

Epic weapon of legends that can slice hilltops? Greek.

Just say what the thing is in Greek. Like "big-ass scythe" (Megas Drepanon!!!!)

Rhynn
2014-02-04, 05:18 AM
First of all, I play 2E, and I don't flood the campaign with items. There won't be more than a dozen magic swords, and I can certainly come up with that many good names. I probably wouldn't even make them up. There are so many good names already out there. The next sword my party finds will probably be one of Dyrnwyn, Gram, Hrunding, Joyeuse, Tizona, Greywand, Scalpel, Ice, or Longclaw.

Piggybacking in this reply to respond to the comment it was a response to...

Sword names don't need to be "unique," and Greywand, Heartseeker, Scalpel, and Cat's Claw are great examples: Fafhrd and Mouser used the same names for their weapons, even if they weren't the same swords/daggers. Fafhrd isn't the man who wields Greywand - rather, Greywand is the sword of Fafhrd.

This actually works much better in D&D 3.5 and 4E than in many games, because you can keep improving the same weapon with new abilities.

The Fury
2014-02-04, 02:14 PM
Epic weapon of legends that can slice hilltops? Greek.



Really? I'd say Gaelic since "slicing hilltops" basically describes Caladbolg.

Isamu Dyson
2014-02-04, 05:11 PM
Naming swords in a game is cool. Naming guns in reality is bit creepy.

Slipperychicken
2014-02-04, 05:57 PM
Naming swords in a game is cool. Naming guns in reality is bit creepy.

Same goes for the extreme racism in these weapon names. Fantasy characters get to name their swords "Goblin-slayer" and "Elf-bane" and still be heroes, but an analogous name IRL (i.e. "[insert race here]-killer") would reek of hatred and ignorance. Even a fairly ordinary name like "Bessie" would draw some weird looks.

Necroticplague
2014-02-04, 07:00 PM
Same goes for the extreme racism in these weapon names. Fantasy characters get to name their swords "Goblin-slayer" and "Elf-bane" and still be heroes, but an analogous name IRL (i.e. "[insert race here]-killer") would reek of hatred and ignorance. Even a fairly ordinary name like "Bessie" would draw some weird looks.

That's because their's a difference between racism and speceism. Racism is wrong and stupid, easily proven false when other factors are accounted for. Speceism, on the other hand, is actually verifiably true. Yes, the orcs are indeed dumber on average than a human, and the halflings are usually weaker.

Isamu Dyson
2014-02-04, 07:02 PM
That's because their's a difference between racism and speceism. Racism is wrong and stupid, easily proven false when other factors are accounted for. Speceism, on the other hand, is actually verifiably true. Yes, the orcs are indeed dumber on average than a human, and the halflings are usually weaker.

Humans live shorter lives than elves and are less agile/magically adept compared to the pointy-eared folk. I suppose that since they are an "inferior" race...*ahem*, species, hating on them is okay, right?

Rhynn
2014-02-04, 07:03 PM
That's because their's a difference between racism and speceism.

Well, if you're using "playground definitions." If you're talking about the much more significant "racism as a social structure" then there's a lot more in common there. Orcs, goblins, etc. are usually considered free-to-kill, etc.

Of course, that's not really any different from the Peers of Charlemagne and similar heroes of legend. It's just orcs replacing saracens, etc.

Rover
2014-02-04, 07:07 PM
Had a pretty altruistic fighter once.

Named his sword illtskeri
(illt skeri is Icelandic for evil cutter)

Ravens_cry
2014-02-04, 07:17 PM
I had a Pathfinder Ninja named Chen, one of my favourite characters ever. Her backstory included taking the weapons of her fellow assassin and mentor, Master Fang, after he died on a mission.
Logically, I named the twin Agile Wakizashi 'Master Fang's Teeth.'
They bit well.:smallamused:

Meth In a Mine
2014-02-04, 07:54 PM
I had a +4 Greathammer in a 3.5 game once, I named it "Beninator's Baby Mulcher"

Humans live shorter lives than elves and are less agile/magically adept compared to the pointy-eared folk. I suppose that since they are an "inferior" race...*ahem*, species, hating on them is okay, right?
But humans grow up faster, master skills easier and are more numerous than elves. Those less tangible advantages have to count for something.

That's because their's a difference between racism and speceism. Racism is wrong and stupid, easily proven false when other factors are accounted for. Speceism, on the other hand, is actually verifiably true. Yes, the orcs are indeed dumber on average than a human, and the halflings are usually weaker.
But halflings are indeed more dextrous than a human, and orcs are much stronger...

Tychris1
2014-02-04, 08:02 PM
Humans live shorter lives than elves and are less agile/magically adept compared to the pointy-eared folk. I suppose that since they are an "inferior" race...*ahem*, species, hating on them is okay, right?

Ah yes, but Humans are more skilled then elves, more versatile then elves, and more numerous then elves. Not to mention Elves are fragile and Humans are just as magically adept as Elves.

Had a character name his +2 Vorpal Unholy Cold Bastard Sword once. He was a Dread Necro Scarecrow Lich, and without much else thought just decided to call it Muerte.

I then re-introduced his character in the succession campaign where the Lich had taken over a chunk of the world, and when he first appeared and drew his sword, I played intense spanish music the whole time. Twas quite the fun time.:smallbiggrin:

Ravens_cry
2014-02-04, 08:16 PM
A sufficiently above average in intelligence half-orc or strong halfling is still smarter or stronger than an average human, so it's still wrong to assume 'Oh, he's a half-orc, he must be dumber than drunk rocks' or since 'He's a halfling, so he must be weaker than an overcooked noodle'. What makes racism and fantasy specisim wrong is not that it's statistically inaccurate, but that it's wrong to assume that even if many share a trait, all must.

TuggyNE
2014-02-04, 08:54 PM
What makes racism and fantasy specisim wrong is not that it's statistically inaccurate, but that it's wrong to assume that even if many share a trait, all must.

Quoted for truth in general. A true observation ("orcs have -2 Int") is not wrong; it's the incorrect generalization ("all orcs are lacking in Int") and value judgements ("haha you're just a stupid orc") placed on that that are wrong.

Rhynn
2014-02-04, 08:57 PM
Quoted for truth in general. A true observation ("orcs have -2 Int") is not wrong; it's the incorrect generalization ("all orcs are lacking in Int") and value judgements ("haha you're just a stupid orc") placed on that that are wrong.

That, and systemic oppression where you enslave the orcs or force them to live in ghettos and suffer from poverty, crime, disease, and malnutrition. Sort of a bigger deal than personal prejudices, although those are part of creating and maintaining those systems of oppression.

Meth In a Mine
2014-02-04, 11:11 PM
Naming swords in a game is cool. Naming guns in reality is bit creepy.
Like this? :smallbiggrin:
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSI06F5o5l3lARyuE1oCYx-ZTf3fyCH0Km4pCgaX6oZrpZ9s60efA
oh my god someone touched Sasha... WHO TOUCHED MY GUN?!

Isamu Dyson
2014-02-04, 11:28 PM
But humans grow up faster, master skills easier and are more numerous than elves. Those less tangible advantages have to count for something.

Compared to humans, musca domestica does/are too.


Ah yes, but Humans are more skilled then elves, more versatile then elves, and more numerous then elves. Not to mention Elves are fragile and Humans are just as magically adept as Elves.

Special things usually are fewer in number than mundane things :smallwink:.

Tychris1
2014-02-04, 11:30 PM
Special things usually are fewer in number than mundane things :smallwink:.

Or because they're being driven extinct by superior things.:smallwink:

oudeis
2014-02-05, 12:50 AM
{{scrubbed}}

Isamu Dyson
2014-02-05, 01:22 AM
{{scrubbed}}

Two of these things, are not like the other :smallsmile:.

Seharvepernfan
2014-02-05, 03:20 AM
Yup. Transcendence and Sidhewrath (sheewrath).

Transcendence was a +5 Collision Force Glassteel Longsword; it was basically a lightsaber, because it could cut through anything. The name is because it "transcended other blades".

Sidhewrath was a +5 Anarchic Holy Fiendbane Mithril Longsword in a game where mithril counted as silver for overcoming DR. It was made by elves for use against devils. The name comes from the Sidhe, who were fey beings.

Lvl45DM!
2014-02-05, 04:26 AM
I actually took over Farfhrd in an epic campaign that lay waste to Newhon and named every sword I found Graywand, from the MW bastard sword he started with, the the +2 long sword he pulled out of a vampires hand and then beheaded him with, to the +4 two handed sword. But I changed it when he finally got a +5 life draining sword and renamed it Blackwand for thematics.
Heartseeker never changed its name though.

Joe the Rat
2014-02-06, 08:21 PM
Even a fairly ordinary name like "Bessie" would draw some weird looks.
Well yeah, that's wierd unless you've actually got a British Land Pattern Musket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bess).

If you're naming guns, the proper choices are "Sarah Jane," "Vera," and "Happiness." Bang bang shoot shoot

BootStrapTommy
2014-02-07, 10:08 AM
In several campaigns I've named various weapons of the sharp and pointy varieties "Maurg Ner" in Draconic, because I'm an immature twit.

Necroticplague
2014-02-07, 11:13 AM
On a slightly more serious note than my last entries, I've had a bow named Freak Accident. It was some kind of enchanted bow that didn't fire arrows. Instead, it fired energy bolts that did no damage, though it was still rolled. The next round, however, the opponent suffered some accident that would do the damage. First idea for the name was "bow of outrageous misfortune", based in the old line.

Zensunni
2014-03-12, 03:30 AM
I recently rolled a character who was a feral orphan on an island penal colony. The guards, who were basically just bandits and marauders, all ridiculed him, calling him a wild animal and a dog. Eventually, he got himself into a bind and a sword hermit saved him and took him in, teaching him to discipline himself and sharpen his mind that he could use his fury as a tool rather than be its pawn. Kakushi's training culminated in the crafting of a sword, a la jedi order ; he called it Marui Ko, which is a Japanese chastisement meaning "Bad Dog".

BWR
2014-03-12, 03:37 AM
We've never really gotten into the habit of naming swords. At best they just get titles like "the Rainbow Sword of Mealiden" or "the Sword of Earth". While names are fun, I'm also very fond of M. John Harrison's Viriconium stories, to the extent that now every time I try to think of a name for a sword, I get blinded by tegeus-Cromis, who considered himself a better poet than a swordsman and who didn't bother to follow the fad of naming your sword.


If you're naming guns, the proper choices are "Sarah Jane," "Vera," and "Happiness."
A friend of mine called his Lizzie Borden.

SiuiS
2014-03-12, 04:01 AM
Naming swords in a game is cool. Naming guns in reality is bit creepy.

What about naming swords in real life?


Same goes for the extreme racism in these weapon names. Fantasy characters get to name their swords "Goblin-slayer" and "Elf-bane" and still be heroes, but an analogous name IRL (i.e. "[insert race here]-killer") would reek of hatred and ignorance. Even a fairly ordinary name like "Bessie" would draw some weird looks.

The poetry behind it is often more important. Gypsybane would be fine if tacky; Romani slayer? Not so much.

Anything that could be an action movie line works well.


That's because their's a difference between racism and speceism. Racism is wrong and stupid, easily proven false when other factors are accounted for. Speceism, on the other hand, is actually verifiably true. Yes, the orcs are indeed dumber on average than a human, and the halflings are usually weaker.

Orcs are statistically dumber. Halflings are statistically weaker. Neither is objectively less worthy a creature due to these traits, nor is either objectively worthy of scorn, bias and oppression for any of these traits. That is the dividing line.


That, and systemic oppression where you enslave the orcs or force them to live in ghettos and suffer from poverty, crime, disease, and malnutrition. Sort of a bigger deal than personal prejudices, although those are part of creating and maintaining those systems of oppression.

To be fair, orcs do that to themselves.

TuggyNE
2014-03-12, 04:46 AM
Orcs are statistically dumber. Halflings are statistically weaker. Neither is objectively less worthy a creature due to these traits, nor is either objectively worthy of scorn, bias and oppression for any of these traits. That is the dividing line.

Hear, hear!

Stoneback
2014-03-12, 12:42 PM
A couple from my son's binder:

His gnome ranger has a +1 Elvencraft Defending bow that he named "regulator."

His half-elf paladin carries a scimitar and shield made of starmetal. He calls the shield "purity" and the sword "fury." (Terrible optimization but points for evocative imagery.)

I run a half-elf fighter cleric gish who uses a scythe that she calls her "beak." When she uses it, she talks about how shell peck you to death or peck your eyes out.

Rhynn
2014-03-12, 12:50 PM
To be fair, orcs do that to themselves.

Are you being ironic? Because that's an actual thing actual racists say...

Anyway, I guess you're speaking about a specific setting, and I wasn't: I was giving an example of institutional orc-racism.

SiuiS
2014-03-14, 01:43 AM
Are you being ironic? Because that's an actual thing actual racists say...

Anyway, I guess you're speaking about a specific setting, and I wasn't: I was giving an example of institutional orc-racism.

No, I was being literal. The parallels between racism declaring a creature to be inferior and a system in which a subhuman beast race actually is inferior is indeed ripe for irony, however.

E: hmm. Actually I suppose yes. I was being ironic. It just wasn't intentional.

The Oni
2014-03-14, 01:47 AM
I recently rolled a character who was a feral orphan on an island penal colony. The guards, who were basically just bandits and marauders, all ridiculed him, calling him a wild animal and a dog. Eventually, he got himself into a bind and a sword hermit saved him and took him in, teaching him to discipline himself and sharpen his mind that he could use his fury as a tool rather than be its pawn. Kakushi's training culminated in the crafting of a sword, a la jedi order ; he called it Marui Ko, which is a Japanese chastisement meaning "Bad Dog".

...That is literally the coolest. Thread is won, everyone go home.