PDA

View Full Version : DM Help Naming Techniques



KnotKnormal
2016-06-27, 09:49 AM
Hey everyone, I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with names for my NPCs. random NPCs are fine I just use a random name generator, but I need main characters, and I'm having trouble coming up with the perfect name. any tips, or even names you like? mainly these two.

1. God of civilization, and growth of society. I want to play on the God Enki but I'm having trouble warping the word to something cool.

2. A guild leader. tough old man, who has become all about the business of running the guild. he is inspired but Hiccup's Dad for Disney's How to train your dragon. has the heavy Nordic accent and everything.

Thanks guys.

SirBellias
2016-06-27, 09:58 AM
1: Ur-Engi? Karam? Noftul? Random syllables are fun. All I ever do for God's is pick two syllables that I would never put together to name a normal NPC. Gramfur, Halquen, the like.

2: I don't really know the source material. Things for a guild master, however... How secret is this guy? Because you could have everyone call him number one, and not have to worry about names for a while. I prefer short sharp names for these types. Jack Slade, Mr. Brown, Sam Vimes, etc.

hymer
2016-06-27, 10:03 AM
A lot of the time, I use languages that already exist. Names for a pantheon of gods? Throw their function into (say) a Finnish translator and use something that comes out, perhaps slightly warped for aesthetics. The names thus sound like they all belong together, because they do. For elves I use Sindarin or Quenya. Latin also sounds nicely pompous, and Greek too.
The harder approach is to make something of my own. For hobgoblin names, for instance, I recently created a bunch of prefixes (e.g. Taritti, Rash, Ka, Shak, Itti, Ritti and Ra) and suffixes (e.g. ritch, magg, tūl, chag, chet, chetti, cheg) with a similar sort of sound, and then put them together (weeding out the worst), for a total of nearly 50 names. I'll likely never use them all, but now I have them on short notice. And my players will soon get the hang of this. They will recognize a hobgoblin name for what it is, and an elven name for what it is, and so on.

Honest Tiefling
2016-06-27, 10:57 AM
Like the posters above, I steal names from real life cultures, because why do work? I have found that this webiste (https://tekeli.li/onomastikon/) is quite useful and has long lists of names.

KillianHawkeye
2016-06-27, 03:40 PM
I got a super useful book many years ago (when 3E was still the new thing on the block), it's called Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names. It has lists of names from dozens of different real world cultures including given names, surnames, and clan/tribe names, and also sections for your typical fantasy races (elves, dwarves, etc.) to round things out. I have found it to be an invaluable resource, not just for D&D but for writings in general, and it's one of the few books that I've kept after selling off most of my old RPG materials.

LadyFoxfire
2016-06-27, 11:35 PM
My dad likes to use anagrams of fictional characters or celebrities.

JohnTheSavage
2016-06-28, 12:18 AM
In my experience, nicknames and interesting titles tend to be more memorable to players than fantasy-ish names. Like for the second one, Oddlief Hrothgar isn't going to stick as well as Boss-Man or Big Ol' Bersi or something.

veti
2016-06-28, 02:25 AM
"God of civilization and growth of society" - this one is easy. Armitage Shanks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armitage_Shanks).

"Guild leader who's all about the business of running the guild" - trickier, without straying into politics. I suggest something like Nuttin per Sonal.

KnotKnormal
2016-06-28, 07:21 AM
"God of civilization and growth of society" - this one is easy. Armitage Shanks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armitage_Shanks).

"Guild leader who's all about the business of running the guild" - trickier, without straying into politics. I suggest something like Nuttin per Sonal.

LMAO, i just chokes on my drink a little. thank you for the laugh.

Bulhakov
2016-06-28, 09:35 AM
Nordic names are pretty easy with the XXXson construction of the last name: e.g. "Leif Runnarson"
You can also throw in the nordic term for chief which is "Jarl".

As for the god, why not just stick with the name Enki or the nordic equivalent "Rig"


In my experience players have an extremely poor memory to NPC names, that's why I always try to make the NPCs very easy to nickname or describe. ("you know, the old viking dude with a wooden leg")

Jay R
2016-06-28, 11:11 AM
1. Civus. His name is the origin of the word "civilization".

2. He's Norse, so use a Norse name. Destin Jarlsson, or some such.

Pugwampy
2016-06-28, 11:19 AM
I love using names that evoke a bit of comedy say like.... Tommy Twin Serpents . Giant snake pet and the even bigger snake in Tommy,s pants .

So many names from my past , from media , books , cartoons and memories . I dont have a problem finding a good name or even a bad one . I also like using names the DM guide says to avoid . My last PC hero was called Elfie the half elf .

When I create a cool monster I usually know what to call him / her .

Max_Killjoy
2016-06-28, 11:45 AM
A lot of the time, I use languages that already exist. Names for a pantheon of gods? Throw their function into (say) a Finnish translator and use something that comes out, perhaps slightly warped for aesthetics. The names thus sound like they all belong together, because they do. For elves I use Sindarin or Quenya. Latin also sounds nicely pompous, and Greek too.
The harder approach is to make something of my own. For hobgoblin names, for instance, I recently created a bunch of prefixes (e.g. Taritti, Rash, Ka, Shak, Itti, Ritti and Ra) and suffixes (e.g. ritch, magg, tūl, chag, chet, chetti, cheg) with a similar sort of sound, and then put them together (weeding out the worst), for a total of nearly 50 names. I'll likely never use them all, but now I have them on short notice. And my players will soon get the hang of this. They will recognize a hobgoblin name for what it is, and an elven name for what it is, and so on.


The deities of the setting I'm currently working on have names based on Sumerian and Akkadian.