Hi, all!
I want to know where and how you take the inspiration for naming the characters, the place, a historical event in a adventure.
How do you create without using a name that is the property of an author or a corporation?
Thanks!
That's an excellent question, and the phonetics of names can add a great deal to the flavour of people and things.
I'm not an expert in this area, but I try to go for consistent naming approach for a given culture. My approach to this is usually very simple.
I take the culture in question and think of real-life nationality that carries a similar mood. Then I google a list of names from that country and name the characters and places from that list.
So, for example, I'm creating a barbarian nation and feel they are comparable in mood to a mythic Norse viking style. I run off a list of Scandavian names and go from there.
Some of the less popularised world cultures have great unusual names that you can use to create a seemingly 'original' yet consistent feel. Peruse a list of Ukrainian names for example for a very distinct mood.
Well thats my lazy approach, but even Tolkien borrowed names from mythology so at least I'm in good company - ha!
Nomenclature, like geography, is an unsung but critical element to world design. In high school, I played Morrowind and noticed that when someone's or some place's name was mentioned in a quest, I could almost always figure out what race they were/ what race built the site before ever actually getting there. I loved that and strive to have the same quality in my own world and games.
The way I see things, there are two primary ways to go about naming. The first is what I'll call phonetic creation. This is where you just choose a group of syllables that sound "right" and go with it. One of the cons of this method is that it can lack grounding and focus, and either lead to bizarre and poor names, or spending too much time focusing on a minor detail which, provided it isn't laughable, most players won't pay attention to, anyway. I primarily use this method for other races, as it allows me to create distinctly unordinary, even inhuman names, while allowing me to use the racial stereotypes to come up with an appropriate sound without spending too much time.
Then there is my preferred method of naming, which I'll term common construction. This is where you make a name by putting together common words in your own language; i.e., Whitestone, Redtree, Bluecloud, etc. This is quicker, typically more descriptive to the players, and therefore more accessible and even memorable. I tend to use this for place names with "modern" (as opposed to ancient, though it's not a hard rule) human sites. I even tend to use this for other races, as it makes sense (at least in my world) they would translate the name for the humans they interact with: an example would be Helm Thundershield, which is an appropriate name for a dwarf (I think). Sometimes phonetic creation and common construction can be mixed, such as for an orc named Grumshak Bleedingaxe, or an elf called Ilverien Crystalstar.
As stated, I'm a big fan of common construction, especially since beginning Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I believe there is a certain sense of poetic evocation mixed with practical description one gains through common construction, which can lead to even greater stimulation of the imagination (at least for me). There's something great about "simple" names such as The Black Boar, the Gates of the North, and the House of the Damned. Returning to Martin, I'm also a fan of the way he uses common names, sometimes with just a little alternate spelling to keep the fantasy feel: Jon, Robb, Alyn, etc. I've had players impersonate, either in character or out, peasants before, and they always end up going to a faux-medieval British accent. Many gamers (make the mistake of trying to) use an air of Elizabethan English when roleplaying. Embracing the use of such names as Thom and Derick and the like provides a world basis in which that makes sense.
So, to paraphrase Gandalf, when it comes to names I like to keep it simple, keep it safe.
I go about it a couple ways. For random names, I like to look at what turns up in my spam filter, and borrow those, sometimes changing a syllable here or there.
When I map out a place as the DM, I like to find a real language, translate stuff, then roll it around sounding it out to get a name that sounds very similar. When my kids were very young and learning to speak, I used to say a fantasy name at them, and use what they repeated back, which often had a unique and/or interesting change.
The biggest key is to say it out loud. Then think about how you might mock it at the game table if you were playing. If you get past those two, you're pretty good.