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ngilop
2020-10-02, 07:03 PM
Hey guys, I am in the midst of finalizing my 2nd set of wargame rules.

One of the Kingdoms/Factions I have is one where It is sentient undead who long ago swore an eternal oath to stop the Netherrift, my games hell/abyss/void)

I do not want to call them undead though, but other than coming up with Undying... I cannot think of another term. Undead strictly mean either the mindless types of undead (skeletons, zombies, and such) or ones that are wholely anti-life (Read: evil) such as Ghouls, wraiths, vampires, and such.

Maat Mons
2020-10-02, 07:19 PM
The Imperishables
The Amaranthine
The Intransients
The Everlasting
The Unebbing
The Eternals

Edea
2020-10-02, 07:55 PM
Neth (singluar), Nethren (plural)?

Dienekes
2020-10-02, 08:40 PM
These are guys who swore to become an undead to fight evil? What would the organization that did that call themselves before making the oath?

The Oathkeepers, or the Eternal Oathkeepers if you want to lean into the undying bit.
The Grey Watchers
The Lonely Guard
The Martyrs
The Endless
The Immortals
The Awakened
The Spirit Guard
[God/Heaven/Creator/Leader]'s Chosen. Or just The Chosen.

GaelofDarkness
2020-10-02, 09:12 PM
Was going to put "Amaranthine" but was beaten to it.
Also "Perpetuals".

In Irish folklore, the Sluagh/Slua [pronounced SLU-ah either way] are spirits/fey/ghosts who form a restless undead horde that is welcome in neither heaven nor hell, this earth nor the Otherworld - as well as souls of all walks of life that got carried away with them. They're generally viewed negatively but not evil exactly. So if you're OK with a non-English term that could maybe fit. Their name is just the word for "crowd" btw.

BigDumbYak
2020-10-02, 09:53 PM
First thought was Oathsworn, but Dienekes's Eternal Oathkeepers has me on the fence. It might depend more on the theme and fantasy level of your world. For example, something low-fantasy & grimdark might use the Oathkeepers, a name that invokes honor and golden paladins juxtaposed by horrific skeletal warriors. Where as Amaranthine has a more ethereal, mystical sound to it (IMO) so it might work better in a high fantasy world, a setting where elven warriors ride their unicorns into battle against the mehca-goblins.

ngilop
2020-10-03, 03:23 PM
I like amaranthine. My world is high fantasy, but most certainly not magi-tech. So while there might be unicorns as mounts nobody is running around with mechs.

I like some of the other suggested names for particular units.

Thanks to all, I really appreciate the help.

Composer99
2020-10-03, 08:16 PM
3.5 book of exalted deeds had undead-but-not-really called deathless.

Alternatively, what about Eternals?

Amechra
2020-10-03, 10:42 PM
The T'lan Imass

More seriously, I agree that Amaranthine sounds pretty good.

sandmote
2020-10-03, 11:05 PM
I was unaware of this definition of Amaranthine. It sounds neat, but the connotation feels weird. Speaking of, if you go with this name one of the main colors for the faction should really be Amaranthine.

ahyangyi
2020-10-04, 03:16 AM
I'm actually curious about what kind of ritual and what kind of energy source is behind this kind of sentient undead. If we work on these questions, perhaps the name can be easily derived from them. I'm thinking about this because that's how the Aetherials get their name from the Aether energy in Grim Dawn.

For example: The Embalmed

Similarly, perhaps the nature of the oath could be reflected in their names... The Netherbane?

noob
2020-10-04, 05:02 PM
Undying?
The recurrent?
Reawakened?

sengmeng
2020-10-06, 02:27 PM
Of the other suggestions, I like the Undying, the Deathless, the Sworn, the Eternals, and the Oathkeepers.

I submit:

The Returned
The Reawakened
The Revenants
The Others
The Saints
The Unresting
The Between
The Marching Dead
The Honor Guard
The Unredeemed
The Grim
The Long Watchers

Another thought: the fairies, i.e., the Fair Folk, were named that because they were fearsome and unpredictable, and it was hoped that always referring to them in a complimentary fashion would help appease their wrath. It's possible that your "good undead" would have a name that only invokes their goodness in an over the top way to emphasize that they are not like zombies or vampires, which is why I included Saints in my suggestions.

sengmeng
2020-10-06, 02:36 PM
Of the other suggestions, I like the Undying, the Deathless, the Sworn, the Martyrs, the Eternals, and the Oathkeepers.

I submit:

The Returned
The Reawakened
The Revenants
The Others
The Saints
The Unresting
The Between
The Marching Dead
The Honor Guard
The Unredeemed
The Grim
The Long Watchers

Another thought: the fairies, i.e., the Fair Folk, were named that because they were fearsome and unpredictable, and it was hoped that always referring to them in a complimentary fashion would help appease their wrath. It's possible that your "good undead" would have a name that only invokes their goodness in an over the top way to emphasize that they are not like zombies or vampires, which is why I included Saints in my suggestions.