| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Gouf |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 18:32:23
Loosely based on FR11, I’ve been trying a few naming conventions for dwarves.
Breaking it down into variations as a family name, familiar name, full name, surface name.
Examples;
Family Name:
-Torm Stonehammer, son of Dorn, grandson of Aligar Garn
-Durl Stonebreaker, son of Dorak
-Donara Stonebreaker, Daul of Abrin
-Blackstone
Familiar name: (to other dwarves in the same community)
-Torm the younger
-Durl the Steadfast
-Donara Stonebreaker, Daul of Abrin
-Blackstone the Decadent
Full name with multiple titles: (very formal)
Blackstone the Decadent, Blood of Shanat, Blade of the Brightaxe, the Heart of the Dragon
Surface names: (to travelers or those non-dwarves on the surface on the surface)
Torm of Everlund
Durl of the Dwarves
Donara Stone
Max Blackstone
I have encountered players that just come up with the worst names. Recently a player came up with the name: Glittertunnel … yeah, even at 40 my immaturity went places with that one. (Though the worst character names ever were done a friend back in college: Harley Dwarvenson and Elfin John) I understand every character is an expression of its player, but for continuity sake, I was hoping for some type of convention.
Opinions? Suggestions? How do you handle such things?
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| 19 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 25 Jun 2011 : 05:10:13
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
Maybe he had green eyes as a baby, or he really took to sucking on pickle slices or the juice?
-We'd have to get the translation of 'Pikel' into English, or 'green', 'pickle', or whatever else from English into Dwarven. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 24 Jun 2011 : 21:14:55
Maybe he had green eyes as a baby, or he really took to sucking on pickle slices or the juice? |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 20 Jun 2011 : 05:14:38
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
Because the dwarven druid wears green, he looks like a pickle, and so he was named...Pikel.
-Which, when you think about it, doesn't make much sense, given that when he was born and named, he was not a Druid, and did not wear green. Unless 'Pikel' isn't his actual name.
I think he refers to how the author named the character, not how the character's parents named him. 
-I understand that, I understand that.  |
| The Sage |
Posted - 15 Jun 2011 : 01:40:38
quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
I'd say more of a squash, with that pot on his head....
That's fairly close to how I imagined him, actually.  |
| Alystra Illianniis |
Posted - 15 Jun 2011 : 00:11:01
I'd say more of a squash, with that pot on his head.... |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Jun 2011 : 19:12:03
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
Because the dwarven druid wears green, he looks like a pickle, and so he was named...Pikel.
-Which, when you think about it, doesn't make much sense, given that when he was born and named, he was not a Druid, and did not wear green. Unless 'Pikel' isn't his actual name.
I think he refers to how the author named the character, not how the character's parents named him.
Though I'm personally not sure about saying he looks like a pickle... |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 14 Jun 2011 : 18:04:59
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
Because the dwarven druid wears green, he looks like a pickle, and so he was named...Pikel.
-Which, when you think about it, doesn't make much sense, given that when he was born and named, he was not a Druid, and did not wear green. Unless 'Pikel' isn't his actual name. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 14 Jun 2011 : 10:55:11
quote:
Originally posted by Alystra Illianniis
Hey, don't forget the Bouldershoulder brothers! For some reason I always think of bras..... And Pikel?! What kind of name is that? Athrogate is sort of iffy, too, come to think on it....
Because the dwarven druid wears green, he looks like a pickle, and so he was named...Pikel.
Now, given that, I have wondered how to pronounce his brother Ivan's name. Is it /EYE-vuhn/; or, given how Pikel's name is said, /ih-VAHN/?
Ain't no self-respecting dwarf gonna let peeps call him Yvonne!!! |
| Gouf |
Posted - 13 Jun 2011 : 06:56:45
quote:
Originally posted by Khondar
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
For the past several years I've been compiling what I hope will eventually be a master list of dwarven names in the Realms, subdivided by subrace....
I would be very interested in seeing this work - Could Candlekeep host it?
Far too little published lore on this subject, such a shame IMO.
Yes, this would be quite useful.... |
| Khondar |
Posted - 12 Jun 2011 : 05:03:30
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
For the past several years I've been compiling what I hope will eventually be a master list of dwarven names in the Realms, subdivided by subrace....
I would be very interested in seeing this work - Could Candlekeep host it?
Far too little published lore on this subject, such a shame IMO. |
| Alystra Illianniis |
Posted - 06 Jun 2011 : 19:54:18
Hey, don't forget the Bouldershoulder brothers! For some reason I always think of bras..... And Pikel?! What kind of name is that? Athrogate is sort of iffy, too, come to think on it.... |
| Daviot |
Posted - 05 Jun 2011 : 23:15:52
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
Ever heard of the famous dwarven courtesan - Redrock Knobpolisher?
Raised by gnomes, I'm sure. At least, given the last name and all.  |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 05 Jun 2011 : 18:53:12
Ever heard of the famous dwarven courtesan - Redrock Knobpolisher? |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 02 Jun 2011 : 17:01:36
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
Actually, I rather like Ebenezer Stoneshaft. "Stoneshaft" seems like a perfect dwarven double entendre, and "Ebenezer" is an older-English name, which harks back to the dwarven myths on Earth that D&D dwarves are based on.
-Ebenezer Stoneshaft sounds like a fine Dwarven name to me, too. Cordio Muffinhead, however...
-I don't know what it is, that make Dwarven names so hit or miss. On the surface, they seem easy enough to make, especially their surnames/clan names. Gnomes, too, to a degree. I don't see why too often, their names become so comic, when it's not that hard to make a Dwarven/Gnomish name that sounds normal. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 02 Jun 2011 : 16:23:05
Knowing how much Elaine loves research, I'd bet she did. |
| Hawkins |
Posted - 02 Jun 2011 : 15:25:02
quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
Actually, I rather like Ebenezer Stoneshaft. "Stoneshaft" seems like a perfect dwarven double entendre, and "Ebenezer" is an older-English name, which harks back to the dwarven myths on Earth that D&D dwarves are based on.
Runabout Kickastone, however...
"Ebenezer" is actually from the Bible, and means "stone of help" (I don't know if the author knew that or not). Looking at it that way, his name becomes even funnier. |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 02 Jun 2011 : 13:23:53
Actually, I rather like Ebenezer Stoneshaft. "Stoneshaft" seems like a perfect dwarven double entendre, and "Ebenezer" is an older-English name, which harks back to the dwarven myths on Earth that D&D dwarves are based on.
Runabout Kickastone, however... |
| Thauramarth |
Posted - 02 Jun 2011 : 08:29:54
quote:
Originally posted by Gouf
I have encountered players that just come up with the worst names. Recently a player came up with the name: Glittertunnel … yeah, even at 40 my immaturity went places with that one. (Though the worst character names ever were done a friend back in college: Harley Dwarvenson and Elfin John) I understand every character is an expression of its player, but for continuity sake, I was hoping for some type of convention.
Opinions? Suggestions? How do you handle such things?
On the issue of lowbrow dwarven names, just remember that the great and the good of the Realms have gone there before - Ebenezer Stoneshaft, anyone?
Personally, I prefer to have "non-silly" or "non-pun" names (a bad offender in this respect was Paul Jacquays in I12-Egg of the Phoenix, which featured an NPC names Mikael Gorchabeff). It depends on his serious the game is supposed to be. I try to maintain a Realms-flavour, and racial flavours for the races. No elves named Jake. No dwarves names Susan. On the other hand, the Old Grey Box stated that a character can basically pick its own name, regardless of the name(s) it was given. In the face of silly names, however, I'd have NPCs react in appropriate ways (which can range from indifference to mockery). |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 23:04:36
For the past several years I've been compiling what I hope will eventually be a master list of dwarven names in the Realms, subdivided by subrace. One of the things I've discovered is that in most sources, "house" and "clan" are pretty much inter-changeable. Both, however, are made up of families. So you would have "Dorn Auricairn of Clan/Family Brightblade." If necessary, they would throw in place of residence as well.
That tends to be the most standard, but as you've no doubt seen, there's a whole lot of variety. The fact that dwarves are in-canon reticent about revealing anything personal to outsiders doesn't help any. So sometimes you'll have their parentage thrown in. Many times the only kind of surname a dwarf has is something obviously assumed, like "Qarwill the Stoat."
My general rule of thumb is that every dwarf has a family name and is part of a house/clan, even if we don't have the least idea what they are. And they can also recite at least their recent lineage, including any notable ancestors, if you really want them to. But for the most part, they'll settle for either just the family name, just the clan name, or some sobriquet.
Which, yes, makes things somewhat confusing. But that's the way it is in canon, so I figure trying to come up with a unified system is probably pointless. |
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