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

Random Chart: Quick Slavic Name Generator...

Good Morning, All:

My apologies for being non-responsive of late. I am being hit by a heavier than usual workload, accompanied by the fact that I just got a new Android tablet PC that I'm trying to set up for use at Gen Con. The first sucks, and the second rocks, but together, they've eaten up my time, leaving me without a few regular posts this week. I still need to make one more post tomorrow to bring myself up to three for the week, and then I'll be back in the saddle again. Gen Con in a few weeks will be my next major challenge, but I don't imagine it will be any worse than this week has been.

With that in mind, I apologize for not continuing the Mystic power posts on a regular basis, and I'll get back to that ASAP. In the meantime, please accept the following Random Chart as a peace offering.

This chart allows for quick Slavic Name generation, which should work well for anyone playing in the Kingmaker adventure path, as the locale has a somewhat Slavic feel to it. Using this chart is pretty easy. You simply roll once on the Prefix table and once on the Suffix table, putting the results together to make the character's name. The Prefix and Suffix tables are both d66 tables. Those familiar with this blog already know how to create a d66 roll. For those that aren't, roll two d6s and read them similar to percentile dice. The first d6 represents the tens digit, and the second d6 represents the ones digit. For example, rolling a 2 on the first d6 and a 6 on the second d6 would create a result of 26.

So, by way of demonstration, let's create a random Slavic Name. I make two d66 rolls, which are, in this example, 26 followed by 21. That gives us a prefix of "Fed" and a suffix of "ava", or the name Fedava. That could work.

This table was generated by parsing a list of Slavic baby names pulled from the web, and stripping down the resulting list of prefixes and suffixes by frequency and by flavor to arrive at the 36 best choices for each.

Table: Slavic Name Prefix

d66	Prefix
11	Al
12	Aleks
13	Alex
14	Anast
15	Andr
16	Bor
21	Dal
22	Dan
23	Dobr
24	Dor
25	Dus
26	Fed
31	Gabr
32	Jul
33	Kaj
34	Kat
35	Kol
36	Kryst
41	Luk
42	Mar
43	Mik
44	Mil
45	Mir
46	Nad
51	Nast
52	Nik
53	Rad
54	Rost
55	Svetl
56	Ter
61	Val
62	Vas
63	Vit
64	Vlad
65	Yul
66	Zor

Table: Slavic Name Suffix

d66	Suffix
11	a
12	an
13	ana
14	ar
15	as
16	av
21	ava
22	aw
23	awa
24	ei
25	ek
26	el
31	ena
32	eta
33	i
34	ia
35	ian
36	iana
41	ich
42	ik
43	ika
44	il
45	ila
46	im
51	in
52	ina
53	ita
54	iy
55	iya
56	o
61	omir
62	on
63	or
64	y
65	ya
66	yna

Enjoy,
Flynn

Planetary Romance: Some Short Word Lists...

Good Morning, All:

As an example of Planetary Romance world development, I have decided to follow my basic advice from my previous post and construct some words for the updated World of Samardan mini-setting I'm developing as an example of this genre. The following small word lists will prove useful in naming places, creatures and people, as well as add flavor and consistency to the setting.

Note On Pronunciation
Consonants are pronounced as they are in English. Vowels are pronounced as they are in Spanish, and are never doubled. (The words in parentheses below refer to the general shape/position of the mouth, tongue and lips, if it helps.)

a: as in "father" (open, central, not rounded)
e: as in "ten men" (open-mid, front, not rounded)
i: as in "ski" (close, front, not rounded)
o: as in "note" (close-mid, back, rounded or semi-rounded)
u: as in "truth" (close, back, rounded)

Body Parts, Monstrous

English	Samardan
claw, talon	kun
fang, tooth	dant
feather	resh
hair (pelt)	kal
hoof	pesun
horn	kar
shell	dafan
stinger	tanga
tail	lang
wing	krel

Creature Classes

English	Samardan
amphibian	barma
bird	oneth
fish	pesh
insect	kit
mammal	burun
reptile	pacha

Colors

English	Samardan
color	hu
black	hel
blue	sul
brown	bur
gray, grey	dusar
green	aber
orange (color)	jus
purple	thul
red	arun
white	zuwel
yellow	pil

Natural World

English	Samardan
bay	wan
beach, shore	kosh
cave	nadra
cliff	kif
cloud	gayen
desert	serer
earth (land, ground)	dan
grasslands, plains, savannah	kampos
fire	agon
forest	mader
hill	digara
island	jazira
lake	tal
lightning	chana
moon (dancing twins)	rasakamari
moon (general term)	kamar
moon (red)	arunkamar
moon (white)	zuwelkamar
mountain	gara
rain	barich
river	gwach
sea, ocean	yam
sky	sama
snow	him
star	tar
storm	jayu
sun	sor
swamp, marsh	mer
thunder	don
valley	balem
volcano	agongara

Quantity/Size, Relative

English	Samardan
biggest, greatest	gran
bigger, greater	bar
smaller, lesser	mal
smallest, least	di
half	pal

Titles, Common

English	Samardan
low noble	Pansanu
medium noble	Koranu
high noble	Doganu
sovereign	Rajanu
member of martial peerage, knight	Jen
member of mystical peerage, sage	Sen

Whew! I suppose that looks like a lot of nonsense. Well, it does, until you use it. Here are some examples of how we can put these simple lists to use:

Place Names
Suppose I need to name a small fishing village known for the brilliant blue fish they catch off their coast. Instead of calling the village Bluefish, I can now name it Sulpesh. Because I know the root words, I have a clue as to something about the location, and once the players learn enough of the setting, they could, as well.

People Names
The name Cornelius means "horn sun," deriving from Latin cornu "horn" and Greek helios "sun". The same name in the World of Samardan would be Karsor.

Creature Names
Let's say that you wanted to use a wooly mammoth against your PCs, but didn't want to call it a wooly mammoth. Instead, we could use "greatest"+"pelt"+"fang"+"mammal" to get Grankaldantburun. Optionally, we could look up the meaning of the word mammoth, which apparently comes from Russian roots meaning "earth horn", and go with Dankar. Personally, I'm good with either Kaldant or Dankar, myself.

You can also use the "environment" descriptors to distinguish between two similar beasts that occupy different regions. The dankar of the plains, which is the smaller and less aggressive of the two (although that isn't saying much), would be the Kamposdankar, while the larger and more ferocious mountainous dankar would be better classified as the Garadankar.

All we need is a few more short word lists for some specific adjectives and such, and we'd have a pretty solid naming language (and no real need to move much beyond that.)

With Regards,
Flynn

Random Chart: Quick Greek Name Generator...

Good Morning, All:

Here's another random chart, this time to allow for quick Greek Name generation. Given that Achea from the World Within setting is based on ancient Greece, I thought it would prove helpful to have a random name generator for characters and NPCs. I'm sure this random chart will have use beyond just the Hollow Earth campaign, as Greek character names are very popular in many settings, particularly for spellcasters.

Using this chart is pretty easy. You simply roll once on the Prefix table and once on the Suffix table, putting the results together to make the character's name. The Prefix and Suffix tables are both d66 tables. Those familiar with this blog already know how to create a d66 roll. For those that aren't, roll two d6s and read them similar to percentile dice. The first d6 represents the tens digit, and the second d6 represents the ones digit. For example, rolling a 2 on the first d6 and a 6 on the second d6 would create a result of 26.

So, by way of demonstration, let's create a random Greek Name. I make two d66 rolls, which are, in this example, 26 followed by 56. That gives us a prefix of "Char" and a suffix of "onius", or the name Charonius. Not bad.

This table was generated by parsing a list of Greek names pulled from various Wikipedia articles on Ancient Greeks, and pairing down the resulting list of prefixes and suffixes by frequency and by flavor to arrive at the 36 best choices for each.

Table: Greek Name Prefix

d66	Prefix
11	Ach
12	Act
13	Al
14	Alex
15	Andr
16	Ant
21	Arg
22	Arist
23	Artem
24	Athan
25	Cal
26	Char
31	Chrys
32	Cor
33	Dem
34	Ech
35	Er
36	Eum
41	Eur
42	Hel
43	Her
44	Kyr
45	Mar
46	Med
51	Mel
52	Nik
53	Panth
54	Pel
55	Soph
56	Spyr
61	Thad
62	Than
63	Theod
64	Theoph
65	Xen
66	Zen

Table: Greek Name Suffix

d66	Prefix
11	a
12	achus
13	as
14	ates
15	aus
16	e
21	ea
22	eas
23	edon
24	eia
25	ene
26	enes
31	eon
32	eos
33	es
34	etus
35	eus
36	ia
41	ias
42	ides
43	ina
44	inus
45	ion
46	ios
51	is
52	ius
53	o
54	ocles
55	on
56	onius
61	or
62	oros
63	orus
64	os
65	us
66	ys

With Regards,
Flynn

Random Chart: Generic Creature Names...

Good Morning, All:

It's been a while since I put out a random chart, so today I decided to post a Random Generic Creature Name chart. For this one, I have three parts, one of which is optional. The use of the optional descriptor is primarily to add some flavor to the creature, and perhaps inspire your imagination. After all, if this is a Crested Ridgeback, then what about a regular Ridgeback? The Hairless Frostspawn suggests that there may be a hairy version of the Frostspawn elsewhere in your campaign world. At any rate, I tried to make some interesting choices with the descriptor table. Approximately one-third of all creatures will have a descriptor. (You can adjust this to taste, if you so desire.)

The next two components are not optional. These are the prefix and the suffix of the monster name. For the prefix, I decided to take inspiration from a creature's origin by using terrain features for natural origins and other elements for extraplanar sources. Thus, the creature's name suggests something of where it came from. In some cases, the terrain features also resemble physical features, such as Ridge, and thus may play an optional role in the naming process. (Oh, and I mixed a few colors in there, when I ran out of inspiration that sounded good.)

As for the suffix, I took a number of different routes here. I looked for words that inspired a particular type of creature, such as referring to its attack preference (tooth, horn), its role (spawn, beast) or even its general type (drake, wolf). This was probably the hardest to come up with, but I also think it will lead to some interesting names.

The Descriptor, Prefix and Suffix tables all require the usual d66 roll: that is, roll two six-sided dice, treating one as the 'tens' digit and one as the 'ones' digit. So, a roll of a 2 and a 4 gives us a 24 as the result. As an example of how to create a Random Creature Name, I start by rolling a d6 to get a 1. Per the Creature Name Format table, that means I need to generate a Descriptor, a Prefix and a Suffix. Rolling six d6s in order, I get: 2,4,2,6,2,3. That's a d66 roll of 24, then 26, and finally 23. By consulting the Descriptor table (24), followed by the Prefix table (26) and then the Suffix table (23), I come up with a new creature name: the Deadly Godbug. Hmmmm, sounds like some kind of vermin that infests ruined temples, or given the Hammersong's Legacy setting, perhaps it is some form of scavenging vermin that feeds on the flesh of a fallen god. I immediately picture something the size and coloration of the deadly scarabs from The Mummy, only the size of a german shepherd. Ooo... I could do something with that.

Let's try it again, just to play safe and make sure it works. I start off with a 6, which tells me that I'm just going to roll for a Prefix and a Suffix. Rolling four d6s in a row, I get a Prefix result of 66, and a Suffix result of 54. Behold the Woodsnake, which could be a mobile plant or perhaps a camouflaged reptile that winds its way through the underbrush in a serpentine manner, is often mistaken for a simple vine when lying still, yet strikes swiftly and constricts its prey.

Okay, I'm comfortable that this will work for me. I hope it works for you. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to share them.

With Regards,
Flynn

Table: Creature Name Format

d6	Format
1	[Descriptor] [Prefix][Suffix]
2	[Descriptor] [Prefix][Suffix]
3	[Prefix][Suffix]
4	[Prefix][Suffix]
5	[Prefix][Suffix]
6	[Prefix][Suffix]

Table: Creature Descriptor

d66	Descriptor
11	Abberant
12	Arcane
13	Barbed
14	Bearded
15	Blessed
16	Bristled
21	Common
22	Crested
23	Cursed
24	Deadly
25	Divine
26	Fearsome
31	Feathered
32	Feral
33	Fiery
34	Finned
35	Flightless
36	Foul
41	Frilled
42	Greater
43	Hairless
44	Lesser
45	Maned
46	Miniature
51	Monstrous
52	Ornamental
53	Plumed
54	Quilled
55	Scaled
56	Shaggy
61	Shocking
62	Spiked
63	Tawny
64	Tufted
65	Woolly
66	Wretched

Table: Creature Prefix

d66	Prefix
11	Briar
12	Brown
13	Cairn
14	Cave
15	Chase
16	Crag
21	Demon
22	Ebon
23	Fey
24	Flame
25	Frost
26	God
31	Hell
32	High
33	Hill
34	Ice
35	Land
36	Lava
41	Moon
42	Moor
43	Night
44	Red
45	Ridge
46	River
51	Rock
52	Sand
53	Sea
54	Shadow
55	Star
56	Stone
61	Storm
62	Swamp
63	Tree
64	White
65	Wind
66	Wood

Table: Creature Suffix

d66	Suffix
11	ape
12	back
13	bane
14	beak
15	bear
16	beast
21	bird
22	biter
23	bug
24	calf
25	cat
26	choker
31	claw
32	drake
33	fish
34	gazer
35	ghoul
36	guard
41	hawk
42	horn
43	lord
44	mount
45	ooze
46	pouncer
51	rat
52	raven
53	render
54	snake
55	spawn
56	spitter
61	stag
62	talon
63	tooth
64	whale
65	wolf
66	worm

Random Chart: Quick Barsoomian Name Generator...

Good Afternoon, All:

Here's another random chart, this time to allow for quick Barsoomian Name generation. Barsoom-style games are becoming more and more popular, making a little generator like this one a nice addition for those who are running them, or even for players seeking names appropriate for their characters within that setting.

Using this chart is pretty easy. First, roll 1d6 to determine the format of the name itself. After that, roll on the appropriate table(s) as called for. The Prefix and Suffix table are both d66 tables. Those familiar with this blog already know how to create a d66 roll. For those that aren't, roll two d6s and read them similar to percentile dice. The first d6 represents the tens digit, and the second d6 represents the ones digit. For example, rolling a 2 on the first d6 and a 6 on the second d6 would create a result of 26.

So, by way of demonstration, let's create a Barsoomian Name. To determine the format of the name, I rolled a 3 on my d6. That indicates that the name should be formatted thus: "[Prefix] [Prefix][Suffix]". My three d66 rolls are, in order, 64, 26 and 51. That gives us a Barsoomian name of: Yerst Kantolian. Not bad, not bad. It's definitely not a name you'll see in a bog-standard fantasy game. (Okay, maybe Kantolian might make a good wizard's name, but I digress.)

This table was generated by parsing a list of names from the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and pairing down the resulting list of prefixes and suffixes by frequency and by flavor.

Table: Name Format

d6	Format
1	[Prefix] [Prefix][Suffix]
2	[Prefix] [Prefix][Suffix]
3	[Prefix] [Prefix][Suffix]
4	[Prefix][Suffix]
5	[Prefix][Suffix]
6	[Prefix]

Table: Barsoomian Name Prefix

d66	Prefix
11	Am
12	Banth
13	Carth
14	Dur
15	Flor
16	Gant
21	Haj
22	Ham
23	Il
24	Jad
25	Kand
26	Kant
31	Lan
32	Mat
33	Nast
34	Or
35	Pand
36	Parth
41	Roj
42	Sark
43	Sol
44	Sor
45	Tal
46	Tar
51	Tark
52	Tav
53	Thor
54	Thur
55	Thuv
56	Ul
61	Um
62	Val
63	Vor
64	Xax
65	Yerst
66	Zand

Table: Barsoomian Name Suffix

d66	Suffix
11	a
12	ab
13	ad
14	ah
15	ai
16	aj
21	ak
22	al
23	am
24	an
25	ang
26	ar
31	ark
32	as
33	at
34	ed
35	ek
36	el
41	i
42	ia
43	ion
44	is
45	o
46	ok
51	olian
52	on
53	or
54	oris
55	os
56	u
61	ul
62	um
63	un
64	ur
65	uren
66	us

Enjoy,
Flynn

Random Chart: Quick Demon Name Generator...

Good Afternoon, All:

Today's post is short and simple. I hadn't posted a random table in a while, so I thought I'd post a Quick Demon Name Generator table, just in case someone might have need of one. Simply roll d100 twice, once for the start of the demon's name, and once for the end of the demon's name. Fill free to modify the results to taste.

For example, if I needed to name a balor for my next adventure, I could simply roll two d100s on the following two tables. If I were to roll a 43, followed by a 62, that would give us "Hebin" for the beginning, and "ias" for the ending, or "Hebinias" as the demon's name.

You could also use this for any planar creature's name, but since demons make such great bad guys for PCs to kill, that's typically how I would use this table.

Table: Demonic Name Prefix

d100	Prefix
1-2	Abd
3-4	Agath
5-6	Al
7-8	Am
9-10	Amdos
11-12	As
13-14	Bal
15-16	Bel
17-18	Bor
19-20	Bun
21-22	Cher
23-24	Dax
25-26	Decar
27-28	Dev
29-30	Elig
31-32	Eshm
33-34	Forn
35-36	Geras
37-38	Ghor
39-40	Grem
41-42	Gus
43-44	Hebin
45-46	Ibl
47-48	Juril
49-50	Kul
51-52	Lam
53-54	Lesh
55-56	Mam
57-58	Mar
59-60	March
61-62	Meph
63-64	Mer
65-66	Nordr
67-68	Or
69-70	Orob
71-72	Phor
73-74	Pish
75-76	Ralesh
77-78	Saban
79-80	Sand
81-82	Tenebr
83-84	Thrax
85-86	Ukob
87-88	Ur
89-90	Val
91-92	Vald
93-94	Wrul
95-96	Xesh
97-98	Yamant
99-100	Zair

Table: Demonic Name Suffix

d100	Suffix
1-2	a
3-4	ach
5-6	ai
7-8	ak
9-10	aka
11-12	al
13-14	alor
15-16	am
17-18	amos
19-20	an
21-22	ar
23-24	as
25-26	asa
27-28	axus
29-30	e
31-32	ed
33-34	ek
35-36	el
37-38	em
39-40	emon
41-42	en
43-44	er
45-46	es
47-48	esh
49-50	eth
51-52	eus
53-54	ex
55-56	i
57-58	ia
59-60	ial
61-62	ias
63-64	ible
65-66	igo
67-68	il
69-70	im
71-72	in
73-74	ina
75-76	ing
77-78	ion
79-80	ir
81-82	is
83-84	ith
85-86	o
87-88	on
89-90	or
91-92	os
93-94	u
95-96	ubus
97-98	ula
99-100	us

How did I come up with these tables? I simply took a huge list of demon names from the Master Monster Index on the Sulerin website, and parsed them into prefixes and suffixes using a simple Java app I wrote. I then shortened the list of name parts down to the fifty most frequent, and when there were ties, I took only the ones that sounded really cool. I've done the same with a number of common languages, and with various monster names, for use in my own personal campaign. Over time, I may post more of these tables here, if there's interest, of course.

At any rate, I hope this helps. If you use this, please post one of your created names in the comments section, and give me a little bit of an idea how you will be using it. Inspiration for new adventures and NPCs comes from the most interesting places.

More Tomorrow,
Flynn