In my homebrew world, which is largely based on Golarion, considering countries and such things, but also changed in large parts. First it's an E6 game, so most NPCs won't be high level at all, most actually will have NPC classes.
Another thing that's changed is magic items. They're rare. There aren't any "Ye olde magic shoppe" at every corner in a Hamlet. Heck there probably won't be one in a Metropolis.
The only magic things more or less readily available are potions and wands of a few select low level spells.
So most Magic Items have a history, and most likely a name.
I just have a hard time coming up with any names or history for them at all, and those that I do sound so cheesy that I can't even repeat them here.
So how do you come up with those things?
Also any advice on how to play up the rarity of magic items would be great.
I like poetic names myself. Think about the item's past, and any important event it was involved in.
Maybe a sword was owned by a knight who had to leave his bride, on their wedding night, to fight at the behest of the king. She made him swear by his sword that he would return to her. Though he suffered many strikes, he kept fighting all throughout the battle. When the battle was won, he rode immediately for home, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Summoning all of his strength, he dismounted and embraced his wife, before falling dead. His sword, the symbol of his dedication, is known as Steadfast Vow.
If you're going to name items, they need history to make them name worthy.
That ^
a history is what gives the best names. A name that tells how the item became magical or what its first user intended it for or even simply the first wielders customs.
I agree with Scythia. The history and events that took are very helpful and tend to make some awesome names. If it doesn't have much history, then intention, how it came to be, or even just a bit of play on words as to what it does in the first place should suffice I think.
If an items intention was to summon good aligned creatures (archons, angels, etc...) perhaps it would be called The Celestial Forge.
if an item was made specifically so that a vampire has adverse reactions to feasting on blood, then perhaps it'd be called Never-Thirst.
Items with history may gain it from an event like Scythia listed. They may also gain it from the person that wielded its power or created it. A wizard named Solomon created a single bracer that would dispel any and all spells targeted at him, then perhaps the item might be called, the The Suppressing Bracer of Solomon Levask.
As for playing up the rarity, I think that'd be done by the NPCs mostly. Criminals may tend to eye you, follow you, or simply get closer to you. Shopkeeper's might clam up, nervous about the possible massive deal they have on their hands. Good people may admire it, ask about it, even become fascinated by it, but link it to its current owner for future tales.
There's certainly an appeal to dramatic or poetic naming, but I find it can often be overdone.
To judge by some Norse Saga names - and there's no question that poetry and weaponry were two Norse specialties - weapons were intensely 'real', and were named as such. A weapon wouldn't be called 'Vengeance' or 'Retribution' or 'Solemn Vow' because an ancestor slew his bitter rival with it to fulfill his vow to avenge the family. It would be called 'Mail-Troll' or 'Fame-Wolf' because it was hefty and tore a fearsome wound right through the foe's hauberk; or it would be called 'Raven-Wing' or 'Blood-Raven' because it had a beautiful black pattern-weld blade like a feather, and in the famous duel it flew through the air with fearsome and dizzying speed.
I call it '+2'. I found it the other day in a cave, but we can afford something better in a few levels, so, eh.
You can also use Google Translate to run cheesy names through to see how they come out. Remember the swords in Lord of the Rings were named things like "Foe Hammer" and "Goblin Cleaver" in elvish, and Bilbo named his blade Sting after using it to kill spiders.
You can also name them after people. Easiest way to do that, IMO, is to steal ideas from your own previous characters. Got a favorite Rogue named... I dunno... Randy that used daggers? Put in Randy's Razor.
Or you can name them after locations. The Spear of Tar'Valon, or name it after a group that it came from, like the Blackhand Axe that came from the Blackhand orcs.
Heck, you could even make them personal in-jokes. Do you read Order of the Stick but the players dont? Elan's Crown of Intellect, Belkar's Mercy, and Starshine's Generosity.
Do you read Order of the Stick but the players dont? Elan's Crown of Intellect, Belkar's Mercy, and Starshine's Generosity.
Vaarsuvius' Outstanding Moral Compass.
Roy's Robe of Arcane Superiority.
Ars Magica has some excellent/pompous names to steal.