Archpaladin Zousha
2015-06-16, 12:52 AM
I've got a character I'm working on, and I want to give him a cool name. He's for the Pathfinder Campaign Setting.
This character is a Kellid, a human ethnicity with overtones of various barbarian peoples like the Germanic and Celtic tribes of Europe. More simplistically, they're the "Conan the Barbarian" people of the setting, Robert E. Howard's Cimmerians and his version of the Picts with Bran Mak Morn being major inspirations for them according to the developers.
Here's what the setting books say about Kellid naming conventions:
"Kellid names often sound brusque and harsh, with guttural sounds and hard consonants. Usually consisting of no more than two syllables, Kellid names are brief by necessity. In the unforgiving and violent wastes of the North, the half-second it takes to bark a Kellid name can often mean the difference between survival and death. Kellids make little use of second names within their own communities, though renowned figures can earn descriptive titles befitting their deeds and accomplishments. Traditionally, Kellid children are unnamed until they survive their first winter" (People of the North 6).
The catch is that I'm interested in using a name from Celtic mythology that sounds nothing like what's described above: Belenus, a Celtic god of light associated with the Beltane spring celebration.
What I want to do is take the name "Belenus" and Kellidize it, if you will, make it more harsh and quick to say, while still being somewhat recognizable as its root form.
Any suggestions?
This character is a Kellid, a human ethnicity with overtones of various barbarian peoples like the Germanic and Celtic tribes of Europe. More simplistically, they're the "Conan the Barbarian" people of the setting, Robert E. Howard's Cimmerians and his version of the Picts with Bran Mak Morn being major inspirations for them according to the developers.
Here's what the setting books say about Kellid naming conventions:
"Kellid names often sound brusque and harsh, with guttural sounds and hard consonants. Usually consisting of no more than two syllables, Kellid names are brief by necessity. In the unforgiving and violent wastes of the North, the half-second it takes to bark a Kellid name can often mean the difference between survival and death. Kellids make little use of second names within their own communities, though renowned figures can earn descriptive titles befitting their deeds and accomplishments. Traditionally, Kellid children are unnamed until they survive their first winter" (People of the North 6).
The catch is that I'm interested in using a name from Celtic mythology that sounds nothing like what's described above: Belenus, a Celtic god of light associated with the Beltane spring celebration.
What I want to do is take the name "Belenus" and Kellidize it, if you will, make it more harsh and quick to say, while still being somewhat recognizable as its root form.
Any suggestions?