| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Gouf
Seeker
USA
75 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Jun 2011 : 18:32:23
|
Loosely based on FR11, Ive 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?
|
"Why is the torch burning blue?" |
|
|
Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
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. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
 |
|
|
Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
729 Posts |
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
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
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... |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
|
|
|
Hawkins
Great Reader
USA
2131 Posts |
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. |
Errant d20 Designer - My Blog (last updated January 06, 2016)
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back. --Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
"Mmm, not the darkness," Myrin murmured. "Don't cast it there." --Erik Scott de Bie, Shadowbane
* My character sheets (PFRPG, 3.5, and AE versions; not viewable in Internet Explorer)
* Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document (PFRPG OGL Rules)
* The Hypertext d20 SRD (3.5 OGL Rules)
* 3.5 D&D Archives
My game design work:
* Heroes of the Jade Oath (PFRPG, conversion; Rite Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 1: Cantrips & Orisons (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Compendium Arcanum Volume 2: 1st-Level Spells (PFRPG, designer; d20pfsrd.com Publishing)
* Martial Arts Guidebook (forthcoming) (PFRPG, designer; Rite Publishing)
|
|
|
|
Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jun 2011 : 16:23:05
|
| Knowing how much Elaine loves research, I'd bet she did. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
|
|
|
Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3738 Posts |
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. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
|
|
|
sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11701 Posts |
Posted - 05 Jun 2011 : 18:53:12
|
| Ever heard of the famous dwarven courtesan - Redrock Knobpolisher? |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
|
|
|
Daviot
Senior Scribe
USA
372 Posts |
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.  |
One usually has far more to fear from the soft-spoken wizard with a blade and well-worn boots than from the boisterous one in the ivory tower.
My Tabletop Writing CV. |
|
|
|
Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
|
|
Khondar
Acolyte
USA
33 Posts |
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. |
|
|
|
Gouf
Seeker
USA
75 Posts |
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.... |
"Why is the torch burning blue?" |
|
|
|
BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
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!!! |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
|
|
|
Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3738 Posts |
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. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
|
|
|
Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
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... |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
|
|
|
Alystra Illianniis
Great Reader
USA
3750 Posts |
|
|
The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
|
|
Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3738 Posts |
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.  |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
|
|
|
BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
|
|
Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3738 Posts |
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. |
(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)
Elves of Faerūn
Vol I- The Elves of Faerūn
Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
About dwarven naming conventions
