How do you come up with character names?

Flagg

Flagg

The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment
I never seem to have a problem naming my characters, but a few of my players really SUCK at it. They're almost incapable of thinking of a name, and often resort to random-name generators. I had one player who would roll a d20 over and over again, assigning letters to the various numerical values (A = 1, B = 2, etc) -- it resulted in some odd names.


Any tips for the handicapped?
 
1. Titles. Anyone can be given a speaking name or a title in exalted and it is common naming practice. Big strong brawler? Crashing Thunder. Agile Hunter? Seven Lions Quick. And my alltime favourite from exalted: Laughing Rain.


2. Take a word whose sound you like and go from there.


I went from Serafim to Saphim when naming one of my characters. I kept much of what sounded good about the word and it is different enough to go with it. From there you can of course go on a real naming spree.


Safim, Salim, Sakhim, Sefir, Raf'im...


given, not all of those sound great to everyone, but you are bound to like one of them ^^
 
Hmm. I generally go with names or sounds I like. I also often look at where my character is from to get an idea of what names they might have. I've had Yuriko from the Realm (which struck me as Japanese), or Tsaolin from Lookshy (which has more Chinese connections), or Vigmundr from a barbarian tribe that had a fair Nordic feel...I often use baby name sites for names, really. Here are a few I use:


http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/


http://www.20000-names.com/


http://www.babynameworld.com/


Those  have real world names, so some may not like them. Though, if you want titles...this can be fun. :)


http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate. ... =weirdname


It's also simple to put an adjective with a noun to get an Exalted name, or other such. Something like Jade Raven, Luminous Blade, Heaven's Thunder, Crystal Wind....stuff like that. *shrugs* There's an Exalted name generator that does stuff like that my group found...but I think I lost the link. I can't seem to find it in my favorites anyhow.
 
Looking at a katakana chart and sticking syllabuls together can work better than randomly choosing letters of the alphabet, as you'll get more easily pronouncable words rather than long streams of consonants.


I tend to just pick names though. Depending on where the character is from that can be hard or easy. For Realm or Lookshy characters I just go with vanilla japanese names.


Deed names can be fine too, and are easiest if you get completely stuck.
 
For Realm Dynasts I've been known to use combinations of the Hirigana sounds...though with the Players Quide about I've tended to instead combine sounds from the Realm writing system. Since most of the Non-Dynast NPCs listed for the Realm have names like Bright Cloud or whatever, I usually combine two words for them. For Lookshy, after looking at the names used for existing NPCs they have had a more Chinese feel in names to me than Japanese (despite being Spartan Samurai with powered armor and sky ships). Generally if there is information on an area, before making a character from that region I look at names already chosen by the writers from that region and use something with a similar feel. If detailing an area of my own, or one with few linguistics details, I create a local set of naming conventions, like those used in a Northern barbarian game where people used Nordic names almost exclusively.
 
a simple rule that you could use is:


Add a color and a "thing noun"


then add:


Japanese names for Dragon-bloods


German names for Abyssals


Arabic names for Sidereals


Greek or French names for Solars


Slavic Names for Lunars


(like for Deities & demons use Chinese, or East indian names.)


and if you want to make it even longer add a locale at the end. using the appropriate van, de, von, from, of... depending on where he is from.


for a young solar=


example: The Cerulean Gauntlet: Makedon of Cherak.


(also its easy to change the rules up, instead of a color and a thing you can a title of nobility. And instead of using certain ethnic names for exalted, use ethnic names according to which region they are from.


Realm: Romantic


North: Celtic


South: Arabic/ Persian


East: Far East


West: Mediterrenean


Barbarian:


North: Germanic


South: Tribal African


East: Native or meso american


West: Polynesian)


exmpl: Marquis Ceranus de Juche


lastly just combine the two different rules to make a new one.


i dont use that guideline myself but it seems to work and keeps things exotic and different.


my personal favorite name i designed was:


Plumes of Empires


its simple, easy to remember, but still has that WTF exalted Flair.


frankly all i remember was trying to find some sort of insignificant item ( plumes), and combining it with a noun of power ( empires)
 
As a german I would strongly object to using german names for any kind of exalt.


Hans Bauer has NO and I repeat NO mystic flair to it ^^
 
I have different naming conventions for different exalt types, some examples:


For Lunars I make the character first, and once I get a feel for the character and how the dots work together to make the desired effect I pick the best three or four word phrase that describes what they're best at (3 words works best). But then, I prefer names to kinda tell what said lunar is good at. (Runs In The Rain, Laughs at Death, Kills Without Mercy, Dashing Through Shadows)


For Solars I tend to stick with just [adj.] [noun]. It seems most common and I like how it can be shortened down to just one or the other. (Harmonious Jade, Sagacious Falling Star, Crimson Stalker, Ravious Snow Cat,) or I like to add real sounding names to them, (Laina the Vivacious, Wren the Shrew) I sometimes use Voidstate Name Generator for his massive list of adjectives.


For Dragon Blooded I take basically the high realm alphebet from the back fo the PG and put sounds together in their previously stated naming conventions listed in the original ST companion. C-V-C-V-C or extend or shorten that as desired. It comes out with some 'normal' sounding names. (Ledaal Sahara, Cynis Tikisha, Trali, ect.) It may have only been said that it's done in the Realm, but I do it for most DBs. If they're not from the Realm they get a title added to it. (Trali Many Kills, Tikisha The Savior, ect)


For Abyssals and Autobots I stick to generators because they generally have titles to them and I suck at creating decent titles.  If I'm going for a joke facotor I will sometimes take Lyrics from songs I like and use them. (Emobyssal: Gently Weeping Guitar)


I have only played one Sidreal, but for NPCs they take names as dictated by the 'mask' they're wearing.


For Mortals I use most often one word nouns or adjectives that appeal to me as 'odd' names. (Random, Silhoutte, Aurora, Wild-Cat, ect)
 
Safim said:
As a german I would strongly object to using german names for any kind of exalt.
Hans Bauer has NO and I repeat NO mystic flair to it ^^
Click to expand...
:-D :-D :-D


And come on - an Abyssal with the name The Bulging Hans Bauer of Power has some........


Okay. Nevermind.


;)
 
Safim said:
As a german I would strongly object to using german names for any kind of exalt.
Hans Bauer has NO and I repeat NO mystic flair to it ^^
Click to expand...
not to you maybe, but to a asian or a middle easterner it sounds exotic and western. just like how some of you japanophiles get your hardons through japanese names. which to them are common and plain.
 
I get a whole bunch of little plastic letters, stuff them up my nose, and then get some pepper.


However they land when I sneeze, that's how I name 'em.


:D
 
Wow... how many times did you need to do that before they spelled "Thorn Darkblade"?


And how did you fit 14 letters up your nose?
 
I get a whole bunch of little plastic letters, stuff them up my nose, and then get some pepper.
However they land when I sneeze, that's how I name 'em.


:D
Click to expand...
Sounds painful. Perhaps you should try random calligraphy with sharp objects?
 
Safim said:
As a german I would strongly object to using german names for any kind of exalt.
Hans Bauer has NO and I repeat NO mystic flair to it ^^
Click to expand...
no


But Ingram Borg would be a cool name for an alchemical
 
Safim said:
As a german I would strongly object to using german names for any kind of exalt.
Hans Bauer has NO and I repeat NO mystic flair to it ^^
Click to expand...
Oi! Thou shalt not use my last name in vain!
 
I try to be as eclectic as possible with my naming styles, since those are the name styles depicted in the source material are entirely eclectic. In general, for Dynasts, I tend to use flowery names for females and harsh-sounding names for males, sometimes reversed. Examples: Lilandra, Fuyumi, Anastria for females, and Severus, Tormn, and Scelius for males. Since Lunars choose names for themselves, I tend to pick something assosiated with their personality. A vengeful, warlike barbarian leader calls herself Devastina Obsidian Claw to inspire respect and fear, whereas a playful trickster type calls himself Iridescent Kitsune. Abyssals have their own, very specific naming rules to follow.


Anyone else I just consider the following factors: Place of origin, personality, appearance, and history, and figure out what an appropriate name would be, preferably something memorable over something generic.
 
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