- Mystic
- Incarnate
- Totemist
Ardent
Armiger
Partisan
Clarion
Vigilant
Exarch
Stalwart
Erudite
Militant
Sapper
Pioneer-in the military terminology
Artillerist
Vanguard
I have it. Also please excuse my following forthrightness, I am either insane or I am onto something.
But first, a little aside for you all: In trying to deconstruct Gish, I posit that Charles Stross was influenced by mythology when he first wrote ‘Gish’ for his Githyanki entry all those years ago, specifically this Gish. Given that the Great Gish is a God of War, I was searching for a suitable God that might fit the bill as a class name. Unfortunately, none of them fit the bill without adding a cultural flavour.
Not what I wanted.
This thread is eating away at my mind, I must say.
Now, in my apparent madness I came up with something. However it DOES BREAK THE RULES. It is not quite the mishmash of two names, rather segues from one word to another (similar to ‘Katanarchist’ from Mutants and Masterminds)
Are you ready for the word what astounds and amazes by stating ‘Yes! I am a Gish Fighter/M-U!’ when you say it?
No really! Are you ready?
WARCANE
‘War’ from ‘Warrior’ or ‘War’ if you like
--and--
‘Arcane’!
Warcane! Marvel at the segue! Boggle at the pronunciation (Is it wah-kane or war-kane? [Actually the latter is the correct] Drow/Drow pundits please feel free to fork this thread on ENworld and discuss)! Go on; try Warcane around your mouth and over your tongue. Warcane will grow on you. The name says what the class does.
Here it is in practice:
ICON THE UNGODLY
Male Human Warcane 5
LE Medium Humanoid
Init +1; Senses Perception +4
Etc, etc.
Please let me make my sincerest apologies for breaking the rules and to anyone if they had suggested it prior. Also, let’s get your jokes about ‘sword canes’ and the like out of the road now. :)
Quick! Use it before someone else yoinks it (Jonathon Green, I am looking at you.)
Andrew Gale
SAGAWORK STUDIOS
My contribution: Proteus or its adjective form Protean
Dictionary.com definition:
1. Classical Mythology . a sea god, son of Oceanus and Tethys, noted for his ability to assume different forms and to prophesy.
2. a person or thing that readily changes appearance, character, principles, etc.
Protean: –adjective
1. readily assuming different forms or characters; extremely variable.
2. changeable in shape or form, as an amoeba.
3. (of an actor or actress) versatile; able to play many kinds of roles.
If someone has mentioned them before, I apologize. I didn't see it on any of the lists on my readthru.
I think Stabracadabra has a certain je ne sais quoi as well =P
Warmancer?
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See, for me, when I hear Dragoon I think either Final Fantasy or Legend of Dragoon (which in itself had characters that were a sort of magic-using warrior. Very cool)
As for Athame, I'd prefer to stay clear of it. As a practitioner of a religion that uses such, it strikes me as kind of awkward, but I suppose that's just me.
A class name.
This just screams to me that you are in fact designing a gish base class. YES!
It is amazing to me how many of the suggestions on this thread violate one or more of the criteria I listed in the original post.
I would go with warlock if we don't like the mashed up names like mageblade
I like Vanguard a bit as well but there is nothing arcanist about it. Save that for a Scout like class or a ranger/rogue hybrid type
Just put "Gish" in the language filter. From then on, people will have to refer to it as "The class that dares not speak it's name". :-D
I think Stabracadabra has a certain je ne sais quoi as well =P
I look up; the DM’s minis are down
d20s are spinnin'
'Round and 'round
'Round and 'round and 'round it goes
Where it stops is my initiative throw
Every time those mooks calls me names,
I throw them balls of burnin' flame (burnin' flame)
Burnin' flame full of desire (desire)
Kiss my a$$; I’m also a fighter
Stabra-abra-cadabra
I wanna reach out and stab ya
Stabra-abra-cadabra
Stabracadabra.
I could not help myself.
paragon
paradigm
gallant
bard, oh....wait....nevermind
gotta say I like Warlock.
This, still. And the longer this thread gets, the more I like it. ;^)
you know, mystic is kind of cool too
Stabracadabra Alakazam Hocusnolongerfocused
Some good suggestions so far.
It also comes down to the form of magic the class would use. For example, once you know about the link with the unknown, the dark powers, it's easier to come up with witch as a name for the class. In our case, the fact that he studies his spells, that he imbues more than he casts, that he polymorphs or that he channels, would change the direction of my ideas. So I tried not to picture anything (!).
So here's my suggestions:
Aegis (Athena's shield)
Praetor (Feels military, feels more too)
Defender (Not my favorite)
Hussard (Wrong period perhaps, but there's something about the look and the name...)
Thanks for this. As others have said, it really sticks in your brain, and made me reconsider the other names in the current system, like cleric (prophet?) or sorcerer (mystic?).
Here's a few less likely to make the cut: quarterback, commando, glasscannon, Rambo...
Harrier maybe? I actually kind of like Harrier the more I look at it, but then again... that's me.
Adept would be good for this if it weren't a npc class already.
one more vote for mystic( for more of a zen/kensai thing)
This is a hard one, especially if following the rules (which I like, because amalgamated words as names is a personal annoyance).
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If we want to be old-school, lets consider the roots of the Gish concept:
1. Elric
2. Tolkien Elves
From Elric we get the following possibilities:
Stormbringer
Eternal Champion (Prestige Class title perhaps, since we want a one word base class name)
From Tolkien we get the following:
Sirdar
Maethor
From both we get the following:
Aelfric
Of the lot, I must say Stormbringer is the most evocative, and I think the one most free from baggage while still being iconic.
gotta say I like Warlock.This, still. And the longer this thread gets, the more I like it. ;^)
Same here.
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I think Stabracadabra has a certain je ne sais quoi as well =PI look up; the DM’s minis are down
d20s are spinnin'
'Round and 'round
'Round and 'round and 'round it goes
Where it stops is my initiative throwEvery time those mooks calls me names,
I throw them balls of burnin' flame (burnin' flame)
Burnin' flame full of desire (desire)
Kiss my a$$; I’m also a fighterStabra-abra-cadabra
I wanna reach out and stab ya
Stabra-abra-cadabra
Stabracadabra.I could not help myself.
That is so full of win. I can't get it out of my head!
Spellcastybeatstick! For the WIN! :)
Every time those mooks calls me names,
I throw them balls of burnin' flame (burnin' flame)
Burnin' flame full of desire (desire)
Kiss my a$$; I’m also a fighter
Those four lines just reminded me of Big Blue Dress
My two favorites are now "Alric" and "Warcane".
Can we add a rule?
4. No game terms that already mean something else in D&D or Pathfinder.
This eliminates warlock, erudite, psion, savant, archon, magister, protean, shaman, and all the rest of those.
And please, not "dualist." We already have a duelist prestige class, and about 2/3 of the people on the boards don't know the difference between "dual" and "duel" to begin with.
And please, not "dualist." We already have a duelist prestige class, and about 2/3 of the people on the boards don't know the difference between "dual" and "duel" to begin with.
... or the difference between Rogue and Rouge :(
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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So Erik any chance you will show us a small list and have everyone vote on it?
Probably not. I think people have been "voting" the whole time, and I've seen lots of good suggestions.
I'm going to let it percolate a bit longer, but I'm definitely leaning toward one choice over the others.
I'm guessing I will make the final decision some time before Paizo Con...
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So Erik any chance you will show us a small list and have everyone vote on it?Probably not. I think people have been "voting" the whole time, and I've seen lots of good suggestions.
I'm going to let it percolate a bit longer, but I'm definitely leaning toward one choice over the others.
I'm guessing I will make the final decision some time before Paizo Con...
Hint?
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Okay, here are my serious suggestions:
ExcaliburStill liking this idea, of finding a word that is associated with both magic and weaponry, such as the name of a famous magic weapon, like Caliburn or Durendal (or a weapon associated with magical practices, like the Athame).
Okay, yeah. Can I change my vote to "Name of a magical weapon"?
Personally I like "Durandal."
Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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Let's pursue this "name of a magic sword" idea.....
And from the tale of Arthur (from wiki)
Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain is the first non-Welsh source to speak of the sword. Geoffrey says the sword was forged in Avalon and Latinises the name "Caledfwlch" as Caliburnus. When his influential pseudo-history made it to Continental Europe, writers altered the name further until it finally took on the popular form Excalibur (various spellings in the medieval Arthurian Romance and Chronicle tradition include: Calabrun, Calabrum, Calibourne, Callibourc, Calliborc, Calibourch, Escaliborc, and Escalibor
Hmmmmmm.
What about Gemini? (The Twins)
This seems like a two sides to the same coin problem to me. You are a warrior (heads) and a caster (tails) or visa versa. They are similar yet different, and still connected. Seems very fitting to me.
...Excalibur (various spellings in the medieval Arthurian Romance and Chronicle tradition include: Calabrun, Calabrum, Calibourne, Callibourc, Calliborc, Calibourch, Escaliborc, and EscaliborCalibourne isn't a very descriptive name, but it's somewhat catchy. It's got that whole "-bourne" thing going on (compare to "dragonborn").
Though, again, it's gotten much harder to pin down names now that we know Erik wants it for a specific class. There are dozens of different ways to build a gish, and not all of them should use the same class name.
Actually makes me think of "Caulborn", which despite being many centuries older than dragonborn suffers the stigma of association. Independent of that, it would be kind of cool.
Glendower, after the Welsh princes (and later rebels) who combined martial might with rumors of fortune casting and spellcasting.
Really, Welsh myth, and Finnish, are the bastions of 'men who are good with a sword and possessed of eldritch capability'
I firmly believe that base class names should be "titles".
Each of the base classes, including the APG classes, are a title or epithet held by some figure in history. Some are less accurate than others (Barbarian, Fighter, and Monk are spot on. Paladin, Cleric, Bard, Druid... less so.)
Warlock is a strong contender simply because it fits among these terms. Some of the suggested terms are metaphors or proper nouns, and while these might be fine for prestige classes even, I think a base class demands a certain simultaneous precision and ambiguity that only an obscure real-world title can provide.
"Paladin" is a great example. Pathfinder paladins (and D&D paladins, and WOW paladins) are now at significant remove from their real-world counterparts. However, the word is just accurate enough for the fantasy trope. It's a great class name, and I think it sets the benchmark for using real-world titles as class names.
My favor is still with "Dragoon" for a martial caster class, but I hope the above insight will inform the suggestions of others. I'm still hoping to see a dark horse enter this race.
I firmly believe that base class names should be "titles".
Each of the base classes, including the APG classes, are a title or epithet held by some figure in history. Some are less accurate than others (Barbarian, Fighter, and Monk are spot on. Paladin, Cleric, Bard, Druid... less so.)
Warlock is a strong contender simply because it fits among these terms. Some of the suggested terms are metaphors or proper nouns, and while these might be fine for prestige classes even, I think a base class demands a certain simultaneous precision and ambiguity that only an obscure real-world title can provide.
"Paladin" is a great example. Pathfinder paladins (and D&D paladins, and WOW paladins) are no at significant remove from their real-world counterparts. However, the word is just accurate enough for the fantasy trope. It's a great class name, and I think it sets the benchmark for using real-world titles as class names.
This is a really excellent point, which mirrors the thinking I'd been woefully unable to articulate. By this logic, Warlock, Armiger, Dragoon are all solid contenders. I'm omitting titles that mean some variant of "studious" (Savant, Erudite, etc.), because I really don't think they fit this class concept . Barring warlock due to an overload of past game connotations, and barring Vanguard because it's Van + Guard, we're still left with two very solid choices.
I missed Armiger earlier. I rather like that one.
I think there were more valid "titles"/"epithets" (barbarian is an epithet) somewhere in the thread. I think each of those is worth a second look.
...
Also, I just thought of another reason Dragoon works. In reality, they were mounted infantry who would have to dismount in order to use their firearms effectively. Likewise, a martial caster would need to dismount to leverage his artillery (spellcasting) without concentration checks. I guess I'm fixated on it now.