I was trying to think of a character name on the fly yesterday and it got me thinking about what other people called their characters and why.

All of my mates have nicknames (is this an English or worldwide thing?) of one description or another that suits a particular trait of theirs -
"The legend", "sawnoff" and "bigbad" to name but three. When doing my original character I tried to apply the same thinking and I subsequently tried to give him a name that would suit him and emulate something about him. My original plan was to use a fighter with a warhammer and I called him Deadblow (a form of hammer.) My first character therefore became Deadblow a hammer weilding fighter.
Yesterday I made an Elven fighter/thief and was trying to think quickly. He became Oakleaf, just because he's Elven (or is it Elvish) and trees immediately sprang to mind.

So there you have my characters and the reasons behind their names.

What have you called your characters and why?

well now.. i remember a topic like this before but im happy to answer again...
my char name is Zoratorak... or for short Zor... but i originaly got mine from the book of Terry Goodkinds ... Zorander (a powerful wizard with an attitude) ... but when creating my char... i decided that Zoratorak sounds better for me...

my other chars
Merci Hellspawn
Averon Baltmoon

it just came into my mind... so thats original for me

In my first game my main character was named Winston Churchill (no I'm not joking )and he was a fighter level 19. However I wasnt satisfied with the way I did that game with a fighter so on my second and current game I am once again a fighter(level 20 as of today after a bit of a struggle)named....yes Ozzy Osbourne!!! Ozzy is God! Ha! On my next game though I am planning on being a mage because I cant seem to use them right. Practice,practice,practice! I'm thinking of naming him Barbara Streisand, any thoughts on that?

I go with the timeless "spell it backwards".....

Srooc (Si rock)......Coors
Xolaam(Z O lum)......Maalox
Adnama(Ad nam ma)....Amanda
N'nor (N nor)........Ronn

...try it, it's awesome...

Hmmm... when I saw the name of your thread I feared its content...I heard all men carry Bruno's, Biggy's and others of that kind around in their pants but luckily you're talking CHARACTER NAMES

OK I usually use corny unoriginal ones from either literature, legend or fantasy
such as Garion (belgarion from Eddings), Gawain (Arthurian legend), Ehlana (Eddings again), Ligeia (among others from a E.A. Poe short story), Morgaine (from Marion Zimmer Bradley), Artemis (Greek Mythology), Beowulf (from the first Old English manuscript to be found) and even Melusine is from a French legend. I do consider the backgrounds of the names I choose (so that Morgaine is a sorceress or cleric, Artemis an Archer and any names from Round Table Knights will probably be paladins)
So maybe the nickname-of-a-trait thing is typically English because I never do it. We had a couple of enormous threads on namegiving but i think most of them got lost in some crash or other
BTW Oakleaf sounds nice!

Lord of Alcohol isn't that just a bit silly? What does Barbara Streisand do in a Fantasy Roleplaying World!!!
I can't imagine someone saying: Yes Barbara Streisand we have heard a lot of your chivalrous deeds and now Trademeet needs your help to beet a pair of Genies...

erm I mean beat not beet
Anyway Zoratorak I notice that your name would then actually be a combination of Zorander and Kal Torak from David eddings but I don't know if that was on purpose or accidental

For male characters, I usually used Ricky (my real name), for female characters, I usually used Sylvia (my car's name). Other names I usually gathered from WarCraft 2's expansion packs' NPCs.

I was joking Melusine, sorry

Melusine.

I note that even though you thought you might unleash a monster you couldn't help peeking . I'm flabberghasted that you think I would even contemplate posting something of that ilk. I meant to write wielding in my post btw (I dislike my using poor spelling although I often do.) Incidentally did you ever see the film Excalibur Melusine? I did ask before but was unsure if you'd seen the post. If not I'd recommend it.

I just popped into another forum btw, nowhere near as civillised as this one, scared me so much infact that I scampered back here as fast as my little browser would carry me...terrible experience.

"I note that even though you thought you might unleash a monster you couldn't help peeking"
Owww you got me there Charlie!!!
Anyway I was joking I would never believe you started a thread like that!
No sorry I missed your post on Excalibur and I believe I didn't see the movie... tell me some more about it?
Ohh and I think your BG-obsession clearly shows from your spelling of flabbergasted

Lord of Alcohol: I knew you were (joking I mean)
Gosh there should be a smiley depicting "I know you're joking but I'm going along with you"

Mine generally come from SciFi/Fantasy. Robert Jordan's Rand was my last Sword-weilding Paladin. Sturm Brightblade from DragonLance . . . and on and on . . .

I was slightly scared to open this topic, but I figured what the heck. At least I'm not at work. (You're were not alone, Melusine . . .)

BK

Hi Melusine.

Excalibur the movie sticks closely to the Arthurian tale and is a great film. Violent in a lot of places but then again this is a depiction of medieval England/Wales and it is not gratuitously done. I wish I could remember the actors etc but I'm not a film buff and just "watch" the film rather than taking any real interest in who's who. I really would recommend the film very highly and I'm sure it's available on video. Try to see/find it...you won't be disappointed.

Sorry melusine what's the bg obsession and flabberghasted connection? (politely asked.)
I will stand by my spelling of the word flabberghasted for now although I may be incorrect and my dictionary is now missing the instant I decide I want it...always the way uh. I'm guessing it admittedly but deriving my spelling from the word aghast.

PS. I was only pulling your leg with my opening comments in the previous post (I'm sure you knew that.)


LofA - so what do you call your characters?


PPS. Yes in hindsight maybe the title could have been better worded, unfortunately I can't edit it...sorry.

Well on a further note I'll go ahead and break the ice, mines called Mr Happy but he is underused and underappreciated and theres gotta be something that can be done for the little fella. I tried to get something from Charlies shite store but 3 millimeters didnt help much. No fault of Charlies, but you would think his distributers would have better . Just another load of shite I guess

LOL @ LoA

I normaly play as an elven mage by the name of Gabriel Touel'alfar or a Dwarven fighter who goes by Uther Pendragon. The first name comes partily from a book by R.A.Salvatore and the later should be well know.

First game, solo multi:

Bubbles (Human Cavalier)
Glod (Dwarven Fighter/Cleric)
Coin (Sorceror)
Gnina (Gnomish Thief/Illusionist)

Clearly influenced by Terry Pratchett.

Recent games I've been using variations on Bhaal to make some of the dialogue slightly more amusing. E.g.: "Yes, Bhaal Jr., I know you are a child of Bhaal!"

My favorite of that type has to be the Totemic Druid I just started, named Bhaalance. Others have been a Halfling Bounty Hunter (Minibhaal) and a Half-Orc Barbarian (Bhaalissimo).

IMHO bad puns are always the way to go.

Darcey de Ramsay. Used my ancestry for the last name. They were Scottish, though not Highlanders. They were thought to be of Norman descent and settled southeast of Edinburgh in the 1100s. Darcey just sounded good.

Oh by the way Melusine, mines called Harry.

Vicotnik is something I got from playing a swedish type AD&D.

He is 12000 year old humanoid called Grähe. He calls himself the archmage of darkness and is set to "cleanse" the world with his armies in a docen docen (sic) years. A better mage you will not find anywhere...

Memnoch, because I'm Memnoch!

sorry for not repling right away Melusine
- anyway.. im a bookworm (well kinda but not a fanatic) and i like to read different fantasy novels... i have read Terry Goodkind and David Eddings... but i dont know if i got the Kal Torak to fit Zoratorak ... im not sure but sometimes my inner conscience (which knows alot on what i have fogotten) tells my rational mind something by means of inspiration... so i have no idea if i truly got it from Kal Torak ... but i do know i got my Zor.. from the great wizard Zorander...

Geedubya for a half orc because he's dumb and likes to use force. Actually he's not too dumb (12 intelligence).

Dylan Lonelyheart for the blade. Seemed like a semi-appropriate fantasy name.

Akbar for the kensai mage I have, after the life in hell character of the Akbar and Jeff duo.

Countessa d'Arbelesk for the aborted wizardslayer I made. Name seemed to match the IWD pict (though how someone could be an orphan raised by Gorion and a countess, I'm not quite sure I understand). Funny thing was when she won the fighter stronghold she said "Lady Countessa d'Arbelesk, I like the sound of that."

Hi Charlie, names names names...
Well My present character a male elf ranger is called Wolven, another little insignia of mine.
Had an elven Fighter called Aelph the Smasher, my first character from pen and paper AdoD
First time around I beat the game I had a female assasin/fughet called Alitha Sweetnoose, Alitha from a Manga Character I like and Sweetnose cause of the BG portrait.. =)
Also had an Undead hunter plaladin or named Garrick Sternface cause well if hunting undead in the name of good, you probably have to be stren and not laughing that much ,..

I use many names

Some of them are not original (Ertai from Magic TG, Elrond from The Lord of the Rings...)
Others are (Adhrael, Lasdar, Elandra... i notice that those are much worse than the others)
Others i make them with the elvish dictionary found in The Silmarilion (by Tolkien), for example Daegul (which means Shadow Magic or Dark Magic, Nimadan (which means white man, this was for a completely pale-white hair-white dressed guy that i made once) etc.

I like to try and think of new names which haven't been used before. Hence Suul-Yinn for my last character which came verrrry loosely from 'the Simbul' of Forgotten Realms fame, which I love as a mage name. I have also used Nemari, an anagram of my wife's name, Marnie, in a vain attempt to appease her for the amount of time I spend on my computer. Currently I am using Cervantes for my Kensai, in respect to my spanish heritage. Finally I have used Zorrillo( dimunitive of zorro, meaning little fox) for characters in other games.

Draggor is also the name of my main fighter character. I've also used my own name or names borrowed from other fantasy books like Gotrek and Grimcrag for Dwarves or X-men characters names like Xavier, Raven, Ororo or Rogue.
PS LoA You think yours is bad. I've started calling mine useless.

Vicotnik.... that swedish game you mentioned..... it wouldn't by any chance be Aeon? Or is it the more dreaded Drakar och Demoner? Just curious...... played a bit of Aeon lately myself... that's why I ask.

And my name... to stick to the thread..... Well... Ash is a given.... Just love the antagonist (or protagonist maybe) from the Evil Dead movies and Army of Darkness..... and Wyrmspawn.... just because he is the fruit of his father's loin...... easy. Don't know what my female paladin will be called. (finished the game, and will start a new one soon). Maybe I'll call her Petunia....*L* That's what I call my lil' niece!

Oh, well.... that's my two cents worth!

Firstly, I wanted to say how much I admire and love many of the character names I've come across on this board. The folks on this forum have terrific (and sometimes v. way out) imaginations. Maybe a future poll on best character names???

Anyway, back to the topic. I spent several days trying to come up with names for my m-p party. I didn't want to clone names from fantasy novels, movies, folklore or history, so that narrowed the choice from the start. I was surprised just how difficult it was. My mind appeared to be pre-programmed to go down this route, and even after coming up with what I thought were original names I later realised some of them are derived from fictional or historical characters.

Then of course you have to match the name to the character you've created, what works for a female, evil, elven cleric is useless for a female good, drwarven fighter. Plus its got to match the limited no. of character portraits/graphics supplied with the game (I haven't gotten around to scanning or downloading any of my own yet).

As it stands I'm only half satisfied with the names I came up with. The ones I like best are my own - Falk Gorionson, a human assassin; Falk is derived from the old greek work for scythe "falx", and that ancient symbol of death seemed appropriate for an assassin. (Hopefully the reasoning behind the surname is self-evident ).

I also adore the name I found for my half-elf thief - Molly Moonface - she's the half-elf thief in purple in the character portraits and is a suberp pickpocket. She has a real gruff voice, and I've just grown to love her. I hope she'll stick around for a long time! The name I gave to my sorceror, Quinn Firewind, also seems to fit the character I created, but I haven't grown to appreciate him as much as Molly!

Right at the beginning I tried to create a party based on my workmates, but it didn't really work, while I had great fun in categorising them into races/class/alignment, and could normally match up a portrait, the overall combination just didn't feel right. I guess it's best to create your character first, and then find the name that you think best fits that individual. But once you've created that special character who feels real to you then the game really takes on a vital added interest.

To Ash, yes you're right, it is the "dreaded" Drakar och Demoner, jag tror att boxen heter Nidland och äventyret kallas "Den Nidländska Reningen".

Why the "dreaded"?

Vicotnik:
Tufft, spelar du fortfarande? I så fall har du kollat in den 6:e utgåvan? Och för det andra har du testat Drakar och Demoner datorspelet??

My current character is Connor, a fighter/thief. The name comes from Leon Uris' book "Trinity," the main protagonist being Connor Larkin. After playing Icewind Dale, when I set up a female character, I believe she'll be an elven fighter or ranger with the name Kaylessa (sad story - the "Hand's" and hers).

BTW, the main reason I enjoyed IWD was being able to create the whole party. Could really play to their strengths. That party consisted of me, a human male ranger named Sorrowblade (don't ask, just couldn't get it out of my head), a dwarven male fighter named Thorvald Bloodaxe (his greatest line: "Oh SURE, when all else fails put the dwarf up front."), a female Paladin named Darwynna, a gnomish male thief named Syngyn Lytefinger (not too original, huh), a female mage named Ygraine (from Arthurian legend) and a female cleric named Moira Palefyre (how'd I come up with that??).

I tend to go for variations on Arthurian names with a lot of Irish, Welsh and Nordic influences. I actually have a list of names for future use. Hmmm... mayhaps I have a little too much time on my hands... LOL

Tyvärr inte. Flyttade ifrån Sverige för 10 år sen och mina nya "halvdumma" kompisar förstår sig inte på rollspel!

Attans! ;-(

Det var ju synd, som gammal Drakar & Demoner fan hade det varit kul att se hur det utvecklat sig, har ju inte gått så bra för pojkarna på sistånde men nu tillverkas det på licens. Nåja, var bor du nudå? Finns det ingen chans att banka lite vett i dom?

Har flyttat hem till den lilla ön i norra Atlanten, men var nånstans bor du i Sverige?

Menar du Island?

Jag bor i Göteborg.

Spot on Wolfgir!
Förr var det Helsingborg

Heheh I was afraid to open this topic as well BTW, my husband calls his Fred!

Character names:
(Solo multiplayer party imported from BG1)
1. Lillie - Paladin (my RL name)
2. Rena - Thief (my RL middle name)
3. Hex - Mage (short for Hexakis Ankylbytyr), the name of my main character when I played EverQuest.
4. Slash - Fighter (named for what she does best)
5. Twinkle - Cleric (didn't know about the weapon of the same name when I created her)
6. Biff - Druid (only male in the party, he's a happy boy )

I based my name on the elven language Tolkien used in his books. It is a elven translation of "bladesinger". I thought it sounded very elven warriorish.

a Necromancer named Rikard T'Aranaxz Rikard i got from twisting my name (Chao Kang can you find it back?) and T'Aranaxz is a good end for a wizard

a figher/Mage called Kaël Rashid - also by twisting my name (chao became carlos and carlos becam kaël)

a swashbuckler mage named Onera Sinistrad- got that from portal of death by weiss and hickmenn

a blade called Paithan Quindinair same story

a sorcerer named Aleatha Quindinair same story

a ranger/clertic named Landon can't remember why

a Avenger called Lyria don't know why

a rnager called Gheaven Goodheart twisted Kevin and added Goodheart

a paladin called Christian becoz well i think that's a real Paladin name

a fighter/assassin called Iason also from twisting my own name

Thats ten people 2 parties with Rikard and Paithan in both

Vicotnik......... Vel... kan ikke akkurat si at jeg har spillt Drakar & Demoner selv..... men det har liksom alltid vært et skjellsord her i Norge. Folk ville lage korsets tegn og holde to pinner i kors for å holde folk som nevnte Drakar & Demoner langt unna seg! *L* Så jeg har ikke noe personlig imot det. Som sagt.... nesten bare en refleks. Aeon derimot er veldig bra.