Names Are Hard...

[JBPuffin]

So role-playing games use a lot of words. I mean, a lot of words. Sometimes, finding the right words requires hours hip-deep in archaeological digs of thesauruses (thesauri? I like that one better, even if it is pseudo-Latin blasphemy) and dictionaries, tracing phonetics and syntax along dark and winding roads, twisting metaphors and imagery into abominable half-man half-horrors...Words are hard, and I think it'd be nice to have a general name/word thread for those needing a literary kick to the keester.

I'll start this off with my current concern - I'm in the process of making a Totem Knight class for 5e (base class, not a primal berserker or woodsy paladin variant), but the name Totem Knight sounds too specific and Totemist was taken 2 editions ago by Incarnum (the one time Incarnum has ever screwed me over...) Any better ideas for a class name?

Also please, drop off any queries of your own and help sow this thread into a proper garment!
I have got to stop with the mixed metaphors. They're more confused than my coffee-hot chocolate fusion drink...

[John Longarrow]

What is the fluff for the class and what are its salient features?

[Anderlith]

Totem Warrior
Totemic X (x being knight or warrior or othe word implying fighting man)
Warden
Spirit Warrior
Spirit X
Udyr the Spirit Walker
Power Ranger: Totem Force
Totem Binder
Patronus Sword Man
Shaman Warrior
Listeners
If you dont like any of the above i have more

[Ywvbevlin]

Ywvbevlin.

[RazorChain]

Guy/gal that receives powers from his totem animal. May or may not be knighted.

I love how knight gets thrown around, next time I'll be an Eldritch Samurai instead or Totem Cavaliere

I wonder if Elton John had to multiclass from his Bard class to get that sir in front of his name

[Mutazoia]

Well, another type of totem is a Fetish.

....Scratch that... you do NOT want a Fetish Warrior. Just had a mental image of a class that can only wear studded leather armor and starts whip proficiency for free....


There are also Foci (plural of "Focus") for casting magics.

[Mastikator]

Names are not all that important, as long as people know what you're talking about. Go with totem knight.

[Jay R]

What is the fluff for the class and what are its salient features?

Also what kind of culture is it? Are we looking for a phrase that would work for a Viking, a Samurai, or a Comanche?

[Beleriphon]

Totem Boogaloo: The Spirit Part Two?

[The End]

Shamanic Avenger
Totemjack

[Strigon]

Totem Boogaloo: The Spirit Part Two?

I prefer "Sprit Fighter 2: Totemic Boogaloo"

[Herobizkit]

Visionary.

Spoiler

Show

Knights of the Magical LIIIIIIIGHT!

[Beleriphon]

I prefer "Sprit Fighter 2: Totemic Boogaloo"

Oh man, that's so much better than mine.

[JBPuffin]

Welp...this got fun .

The idea has morphed into a primal warrior bound to a premature spiritual creature - ghosts of normal folks, elemental wisps, weak fiends and celestials, et cetera (these being the first 3 archetypes of the class). From there, they start collecting Talismans which provide Warlock Invocation-style abilities; skill proficiencies, nifty abilities, limited spellcasting, and so forth. Since the Spirit Guides are pretty varied, I'm not sure where to take the exact fluff. It should be compatible with other 5e stuff, though.

Culture and such...that's not for classes, really. That's background to me, so I try to make stuff that's setting-independent beyond accepting that there's more magickamal stuff than you realized going on. Ergo, the name needs to be open-ended culturally.

I did think of using Warden, and Spirit Walker sounds cool. Also, Razorchain, it's funny how spot-on you were, and yet not (that made sense?).

As for Mastikator...for functionality, yes. For making something appealing, names totally matter; just look at the research done into the correlations between names and employment for a taste of that.

Anyone have their own naming conundrums? Anyone?

[Herobizkit]

An old PS2 game called Shadow Hearts had a lead character who used Spirits to enhance his fighting abilities. He was called a Harmonixer.

Naming can be fun. :)