How do YOU come up with . . .
| Author | Topic: How do YOU come up with . . . |
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Warrior
Member # 1460
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 03:51
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. . .names for the many different things that need names in your scenarios? People, governments, cities, locations . . . . there are so many things to name, it just gets hard to be original. I guess there is lots of resources to look at; mythology, foriegn names, name books of some kind, or one of my favorites; just thinking of some kind of random grunt, (for monsters and such that no scenario can be without) and making it into a name like Urgon, Morg, and Yort. Lol, no really those names are pure gold. Its just as easy as lifting something heavy. So editors, how is it that YOU think up original names for the nameable things in your scenario worlds? . . . and maybe give a few examples. -------------------- If you don't drink milk from your mother, why drink it from a cow? Posts: 72 | Registered: Monday, July 8 2002 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 4682
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 04:14
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I'm not a senerio designer, I'm a writer, but I have a lot to name as well. For some of my characters I look at names of gods and goddesses and what they represent. I also subconciously associate tempers with names. For example, my sister has a cat named Mica who runs around the house looking out windows, then jumps up on your lap to snuggle. Now I associate the name Mica with a very playful and sweet character. I'm currently using this name for a character who's teasing his sort-of friend(this may sound normal, but when you consider that they are among four kids who were recruited by giant cats for a war against the government, it gets pretty weird :D ). -------------------- Do not underestimate the power of the mechanical pencil. Join the Dark side. We have cookies. Played in: Fiddler on the Roof Bye Bye Birdie "Hey, Patrick, feel this random pipe. It's squishy"-Nils Posts: 834 | Registered: Thursday, July 8 2004 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 4152
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 05:14
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Ha! I use words from other languages. Currently i'm using Finnish words (examples: Alarinne, Ankara, Katosin...). I also use anagrams (Indoor Hob = Robin Hood). I also convert words together. Herbalist could be named to Joyweed. -------------------- avavavavavavavavavavavava Posts: 26 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 06:08
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For characters' names, it's probably fairly safe to use the names of people you know, or names taken from old newspaper articles (the Births, Deaths and Marriages columns are a good place to look). You can even consult a dictionary of first names if you're really stuck. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 09:15
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I have my trusty Reader's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook, but I haven't been using it for Blades. I have a rather odd situation: virtually all of my characters are sliths, so I've chosen a relatively limited set of sounds (S's, K's, T's, A's, O's, P's) and tried to make relatively distinct names out of new letter combinations. The consonants tend to be unvoiced to get a sort of hissing effect. For monsters, I do much the same thing but with voiced consonants, so I get letter combinations of G's, B's, D's, and rougher sounds like R's and N's. For humans, though, I use the Sourcebook. Choosing names by linguistic origin is pretty handy (Latin or Greek if you want a classical feel, English or Celtic if you want something that sounds very normal to an English-speaker, Hindi if you want something that sounds exotic, etc). -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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BANNED
Member # 4
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 13:44
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http://geocities.com/terrorsmartyr/boe/citynames.html -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 4793
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 14:01
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A bigger editor for BoA. I have created a editor that makes it possible to edit ALL your floors in your adventure, at once. At this moment only floors, and only outdoors. But. No more problems with overlapping, and border errors. And you have a great oversight too. Mail me if you need a copy of it. Oscar -------------------- Mene mene tekla ufarsin Posts: 2 | Registered: Thursday, July 29 2004 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 4682
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 15:40
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oscarcarserud, that sounds really great, but this isn't the right thread for it. -------------------- Do not underestimate the power of the mechanical pencil. Join the Dark side. We have cookies. Played in: Fiddler on the Roof Bye Bye Birdie "Hey, Patrick, feel this random pipe. It's squishy"-Nils Posts: 834 | Registered: Thursday, July 8 2004 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 169
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 16:02
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Tolkien. Not his names directly, but try putting some together using the elvish words supplied in various places. (e.g. Silmarillion appendix) I suggest selecting a meaning for a name, and then finding a string of words that fit it. This can produce great results. (And truly bizarre ones.) String sylables together. Consult a book of names. Posts: 422 | Registered: Tuesday, October 16 2001 07:00 |
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BoE Posse
Member # 112
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written Thursday, July 29 2004 18:49
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I start with a descriptive word for the character, and then delete letters until I've got something that looks good. -------------------- Rate my scenarios! Areni Revenge To Live in Fear Deadly Goblins Ugantan Nightmare Isle of Boredom Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sunday, October 7 2001 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 4202
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written Friday, July 30 2004 01:37
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I put together letters and sounds randomly until I get something that sound okay. Or when I'm not feeling like doing that, I take a real-world name that doesn't seem too out of place. -------------------- Creator of the 3D Blades of Avernum Editor for Mac. Get it at Ingenious Isaac's Illusion, my web page. Better yet, get Battle for Wesnoth, a wonderful free TBS game. Posts: 192 | Registered: Sunday, April 4 2004 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 3905
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written Friday, July 30 2004 08:16
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There's a bookshelf just to my right when I'm sitting at this computer. I generally pick last names of authors at random. Posts: 56 | Registered: Tuesday, January 20 2004 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4154
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written Friday, July 30 2004 15:09
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If I want a name to depict something, I make it similar to a word that depicts that. I think (my memory sucks) that I named a swamp in CoNR "Mogrim Marsh". So, "grim", "Mogrim", you see the connection. Otherwise I just make up something that sounds right. It takes a while. I do the worst at making up RPG-like female names. -------------------- You're a moron if you think I'm not. Posts: 213 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |