World of Samardan: Random Character Name Generation...

Good Afternoon, Everyone:

As I've mentioned before, one of the goals I cited for this project was to use a naming language to create consistent names for the World of Samardan campaign setting. Pulling from the PDF article mentioned in the link I just provided, I came up with a set of random charts I believe I can use to create personal names as I detail the NPCs that populate the locales I'll be describing. Below are the basic tables:

Table: Random Proper Name Generation

d6	Name Generation Method
1	[Adjective]
2	[Adjective]+[Adjective]
3	[Adjective][Adjective]+[Noun]
4	[Adjective]+[Noun]
5	[Adjective]+[Noun]+[Noun]
6	[Noun]+[Noun]

Table: Random Proper Name Adjectives

d66	Adjective
11	bamo ("flowering")
12	bana ("raptor-like")
13	bura ("bear-like")
14	deva ("divine, holy")
15	draka ("serpent-like")
16	forta ("strong-willed")
21	gata ("feline-like")
22	gran ("famous")
23	hada ("young")
24	hiko ("laughing")
25	hura ("free")
26	kana ("wolf-like")
31	kasa ("victorious")
32	kina ("sharp")
33	kudisa ("blessed, sacred")
34	loba ("beloved")
35	loga ("compassionate, kind")
36	lusa ("shining")
41	mal ("small")
42	muda ("wise")
43	mur ("bitter")
44	nagan ("of war")
45	peka ("strong")
46	pod ("powerful")
51	raga ("noble")
52	rana ("manly")
53	rapa ("swift")
54	reka ("wealthy")
55	sada ("happy")
56	safa ("pure")
61	sana ("protecting")
62	sema ("first")
63	smara ("bear-dog-like")
64	suma ("devout, loyal")
65	tama ("valuable, worthy")
66	vira ("brave, valiant")

Table: Random Proper Name Nouns

d66	Noun
11	bal ("spear")
12	bam ("flower")
13	blad ("sword")
14	dan ("earth")
15	devi ("Gods")
16	ganan ("mercenary, warrior")
21	haran ("runner")
22	hen ("son")
23	kad ("arrow")
24	kan ("wolf")
25	keran ("steward")
26	kusan ("diplomat")
31	loban ("lover")
32	logan ("healer")
33	lus ("brightness, light")
34	madan ("smith")
35	mader ("forest, woods")
36	minan ("leader")
41	mit ("hammer")
42	mot ("pearl")
43	nakan ("maid")
44	natan ("farmer")
45	par ("gate")
46	ragan ("ruler")
51	ran ("man")
52	rani ("people")
53	sam ("battle, skirmish")
54	sanan ("defender, protector")
55	shand ("staff")
56	sumaran ("honorable warrior")
61	sunan ("giver")
62	tor ("rock")
63	tur ("stronghold")
64	yaran ("counselor")
65	yatan ("traveler, wanderer")
66	yevan ("bearer")

You should be able to use this system to generate a lot of different names. For example, here are some common male and female names from the United States, translated by meaning into the Samardan tongue:

Table: Common Names Translated

English Name	Meaning	Samardan Name
Addison	"Daughter of Adam (Man)" or "Earth"	Rankahena or Dankahena
Alexander	"Protector of Mankind"	Ranikasanan
Andrew	"Valiant"	Vira
Anthony	"Priceless, valuable"	Tama
Ava	"Blooming" or "Bird-like"	Bamo or Bana
Avery	"Counselor"	Yaran
David	"Beloved"	Loba
Elijah	"The Strong God"	Pekadevi
Elizabeth	"Consecrated to God"	Devikudisa
Grace	"Blessing"	Kudisa
Isabella	"Consecrated to God"	Devikudisa
Jason	"Healer"	Logan
Lily	"Flower"	Bam
Madison	"Mighty Warrior's Son"	Sumaranhen
Mason	"Stoneworker"	Tormadan
Matthew	"Gift of God"	Devikasun
Mia	"Bitter"	Mura
Michael	"Who is Like God" -> "Holy, divine"	Deva
Noah	"Wanderer"	Yatan
Olivia	"Kind One"	Loga
Sophia	"Wisdom"	Muda
William	"Valiant Protector"	Virasanan

Female Names: Female names must always end in -a. If a generated name ends in a consonant, simply add the -a suffix. (Ex. "Yaran" -> "Yarana") If a female name ends in a vowel other than -a, add a suffix of -ba to the end of the name to signify femininity. (Ex. "Bamo" -> "Bamoba")

Male Names: Male names cannot end in -a. If a generated name ends in -a, change the -a ending to a -o, instead. (Ex. "Vira" -> "Viro") Alternately, you could try adding a -r to the end of the name, if it sounds better. (Ex. "Tama" -> "Tamar")

Full Names

In the World of Samardan, as in our own world, people are often known by more than just their proper name. I suspect that I'll end up sticking with the tried and true fantasy conventions for names:

Table: Full Name Format

d4	Full Name Format
1	First-Name (the) Nickname (or Nickname First-Name)
2	First-Name (the) Occupation
3	First-Name (of) Location
4	Title First-Name (or First-Name (the) Title)

While you can use a naming language to create nicknames, occupations and certain titles (like Devalogan for "Holy-Healer"), most of the Planetary Romance literary sources doesn't really carry names out that far. Aside from a handful of noble titles, authors typically use English words in a majority of cases. When a true surname is desired, simply generate a second first name, modify for flavor and arrange to taste. For the most part, though, my efforts here will typically fall in the above patterns.

With that in mind, it's time to turn my attention to some forward motion on this project. It looks like I need to get organized, so I can tackle the rest of the campaign development with a stronger sense of focus and direction.

More Next Time,
Flynn