I Need A Motif

[ColourDeaf]

Well, basically, I'm hoping to start a Kill Bill inspired game of Feng Shui soon (mostly to get people used to the system before a full blown, backstory-including campaign I may or may not start), called Zed's Dead (as yet another nod to Tarintino). I've got a barrel load of pointless (but hopefully entertaining) fights to keep the players occupied, a idea for a few colourful bad guys and their mooks, but one thing still eludes me:

I need a motif, a group of names that tie the players and their former organisation together... Grecian Heroes aren;t quite gritty enough, Zodiac and Constellations are... meh, so I'm a touch stumped. Can anyone help me?

[Fhaolan]

You could always have something silly as a theme, and then just present it as the bad guys and the mooks taking it *very* seriously.

Such as 'American Presidents'... or if you want *really* silly, 'Canadian Prime Ministers'..

Or if you want something more serious, like Kill Bill doing the snakes business, chose another group of animals. Spiders. People hate spiders, and there are lots of different kinds to choose from for names.

[Telonius]

Colors. But you assign them. Don't want anybody getting killed trying to be Mr. Black.

[Dark Tira]

Drawing from Hudson Hawk, I'm gonna suggest Diseases or Candy Bars.

[YPU]

Drawing from Hudson Hawk, I'm gonna suggest Diseases or Candy Bars.

mr. mars? mrs, lion?

[ravenkith]

1. Body parts. Either as in, their favorite one to attack, or which one the represent to the organization....(Hands, Eyes, Foot, Knee)

2. Solar bodies (perhaps too sailor moon)

3. Stars that form up constellations like The orion group would have the teins Pollux and Castor as members....they would use complimentary fighting styles, being more deadly together than apart....

4. Moons of jupiter? (titan, ganymede, etc.)

5. Monsters of greek legend? (Hydra, Chimera, Manticore)

6. Styles of Kung fu (Crane, Tiger, Monkey, Snake,)

Ah, Kaplan and the candy bars....
Almond Joy, Kitkat, Butterfingers....
good times, good times...

[Attilargh]

Talk show hosts. Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Leno, Mr. Letterman, etc. Alternatively, names of cars, like Mustang, Charger and Maverick.

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Blades/weapons. Mr. Katana, Mr. Dagger, Mr. Scimitar, Mrs. Scythe... Might work nicely. You already know their weapons, and some of their fighting styles!

[Dizlag]

You could give yet another nod to Tarantino and call their group "The Nutty 99s" ... instead of "The Crazy 88s". They left their group behind but took their names with them:

Onyx One
Tourette's Two
Throttling Three
Fingers Four
Fabulous Five
Psycho Six
Lucky Seven
Easy Eight
Nuckles Nine
Terrible Ten
... and so on ...

[Darrin]

I need a motif, a group of names that tie the players and their former organisation together... Grecian Heroes aren;t quite gritty enough, Zodiac and Constellations are... meh, so I'm a touch stumped. Can anyone help me?

I take it the players aren't associated with one of the established Secret War factions, then, like the Dragons?

How about: "The Tarantinos" or "Irrigation Pooches", a somewhat loose-knit triad/mob gang that refers to themselves by colors: "Mr. Pink, Mr. Brown, Mrs. White, Ms. Periwinkle", etc.

A popular boardgame like Clue or Monopoly: "Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, That Guy From Rocky Horror", or "Dammit, I don't want to be The Shoe! Why do you always get to be The Car?"

The Metal Gear Solid method: Weapon/Adjective + Obscure Animal, like "Guillotine Walrus", "Translucent Pangolin", or "Tripwire Platypus".

If you can't find anything appropriate, then the way the organization refers to itself could be intentionally vague: "Blue Sigma" (i.e. Delta Green), "The Agency" (Deadlands), or Dilbert's "TTP stands for The TTP Project".

[Attilargh]

The Metal Gear Solid method: Weapon/Adjective + Obscure Animal, like "Guillotine Walrus", "Translucent Pangolin", or "Tripwire Platypus".

Maybe I'm a bit tired, but I so would like to play a guy named Tripwire Platypus!

[Dizlag]

No, you're not tired ... or we both are because I just found the name of my next major NPC who runs an entrance to a dungeon.

"Tripwire Platypus is the name and sending adventurers to their death is my game!"

LOL

Time to head home ... a nice snow storm here in Minneapolis, MN is forming. Gonna be a nice weekend up here.

[Viscount Einstrauss]

The Breakfast Club. I mean this as the classic piece of cinema/literature or as in cereals. Either way.

[Darrin]

The Breakfast Club. I mean this as the classic piece of cinema/literature or as in cereals. Either way.

Count Chocula.
Booberry.
Captain Crunch.
Sugar Smacks.
Frosted Flakes.

Wow, that works really well. Hudson Hawk is obviously a misunderstood work of genius, but I like that a lot better than candy bars.

...ook. Who gets stuck with "Grapenuts", though?

[Zeb The Troll]

...ook. Who gets stuck with "Grapenuts", though?

Obviously, the one who most looks like he might be on steroids.

[Arceliar]

4. Moons of jupiter? (titan, ganymede, etc.)

Last I checked, Titan was a moon of Saturn.

[Mooseman]

Monstrous Literary Reference Gang! Mr. Caliban, Mr. Jabberwock, Miss Grendel, Miss Leviathan, Mr. Trogdor....

[UglyPanda]

Mr. Vehl, Ms. Danvers, Ms. Grey, Ms. Summers, Mr. Batson, Mr. Freeman, Ms. Batson, Ms. Ventura.

Fifty points to whoever gets the reference.

You could name them all after types of spiders, if they're actively trying to defeat the PCs.

[Dareon]

Breeds of domestic cat.

Codename: Russian Blue.
Codename: Scottish Fold.
Codename: Cornish Rex.
Codename: Norwegian Forest Cat.

Mr. Korat.
Mr. Ragdoll.
Mrs. Sphynx.

Also possible: Names of counties/districts/whatever sort of geopolitical subdivisions below the country/state level you like.

[The_Snark]

Shakespeare. Don't take the title characters—you don't want Hamlet and Macbeth, you want Ophelia, Banquo, and Ross. It might not be what you're looking for, but the incongruity should be creepy after a while.

Particularly if you only take names from the tragedies, and select people who were either murderers or met grisly fates. There's plenty to choose from in there.

Alternatively, use places. Countries could work, but I think dangerous or supposedly dangerous areas would be better; think Bermuda, Sahara, and Roswell here.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Mr. Vehl, Ms. Danvers, Ms. Grey, Ms. Summers, Mr. Batson, Mr. Freeman, Ms. Batson, Ms. Ventura.

Fifty points to whoever gets the reference.

You could name them all after types of spiders, if they're actively trying to defeat the PCs.

The Batsons, Grey, and Summers (albeit wrong gender) bring to mind Marvel comics. I could be wrong, however.

[kamikasei]

Mr. Vehl, Ms. Danvers, Ms. Grey, Ms. Summers, Mr. Batson, Mr. Freeman, Ms. Batson, Ms. Ventura.

Fifty points to whoever gets the reference.

Linda Danvers? Billy and Mary Batson? Freddy Freeman? Jean Grey? Scott Summers? Mahr Vehl (Ultimate Captain Marvel)? Sharon Ventura (Miss Marvel)?

[Nerd-o-rama]

Yar, I saw it foist.

Although your answer is more complete, and makes me feel better about my vague guess.

[Ramza00]

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jegudiel, and Barachiel. There are also some more some faiths consider archangels, some don't just google Archangel Wikipedia

[SpiderBrigade]

Name them all after the Mr. Men. Mr. Tickle, Mr. Greedy, Mr. Fussy, Mr. Tall, etc. Of course you run into the problem that all the ladies have to be "Little Miss X," but if done right that could be just the creepy/funny flavor I think you're shooting for.

Edit: this only gets better if they actually wear masks to look like the characters. OMG.

[cupkeyk]

I once had a party comprised entirely of females who had nicknames based on make-up. The Tank was named Foundation, LOLz. Then there was Blush, Rouge, Mascara, EyeShadow, LipLiner, Concealer, Shimmer and Powder.

[Attilargh]

Rouge

Was she a rogue?

[UglyPanda]

It's Carol, not Linda, and Rachel, not Scott. Much easier reference now.

Norse gods work pretty well, as do nouns that share the same first letter. i.e. Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, Delirium, Delight. Signs of either zodiac is an old standard.

[Were-Sandwich]

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jegudiel, and Barachiel. There are also some more some faiths consider archangels, some don't just google Archangel Wikipedia

I like this idea best. You could theme their fighting styles around their "spheres". For instance, Michael (Archangel of Wrath) could be a bezerker, etc

[mikeejimbo]

Name them all swear words in other languages. Particularly Latin, your players are less likely to know it.