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Come up with some good names for the upcoming Pirates AP, taking place in the Shackles. The working title is Skull & Crossbones but their has to be a better, less generic, name.
1. Plunder of the Pirate Queen.
2. Rider's of the Eye
3. Sea Reavers' Flag
4. Rise of the Cursed Pirate's Council's Dark Carrion Kingdom of Fiery Jade Serpents
I like Skull & Bones, nothing wrong with it
Skulls and Shackles.
"Shackles And Bones?"
Wait, it sounds like title for TV series with two main characters...
"She's a Kyton, he's a Bone Devil; they're detectives"
And yet you missed the ever so pertinent closer: "...together, they fight crime."
"She's a Kyton, he's a Bone Devil; they're detectives"Skulls and Shackles."Shackles And Bones?"
Wait, it sounds like title for TV series with two main characters...
Nice.
"Shackles City Adventure Path" :)
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Creative Director
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Skull and Bones is more than a working title. It's pretty much THE title of the AP. We've already spent many, many hours thinking up names and so forth for the AP and we're pretty happy with Skull and Bones.
We wouldn't have announced the AP if we weren't.
Skull and Bones is more than a working title. It's pretty much THE title of the AP. We've already spent many, many hours thinking up names and so forth for the AP and we're pretty happy with Skull and Bones.
We wouldn't have announced the AP if we weren't.
But Skull & Bones is the exact name of Green Ronin's excellent pirate sourcebook from just a few years ago.
http://www.greenronin.com/store/product/grr1018e.html
I'd recommend something else to avoid confusion...
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Creative Director
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Skull and Bones is more than a working title. It's pretty much THE title of the AP. We've already spent many, many hours thinking up names and so forth for the AP and we're pretty happy with Skull and Bones.
We wouldn't have announced the AP if we weren't.
But Skull & Bones is the exact name of Green Ronin's excellent pirate sourcebook from just a few years ago.
http://www.greenronin.com/store/product/grr1018e.html
I'd recommend something else to avoid confusion...
Yeah; I'm aware of Green Ronin's book... and that's why I'm not 100% sure we'll go with "Skull and Bones" as the name of the AP, but an Adventure Path and a sourcebook are relatively different things...
Rest assured, if we DO change the name, we'll be doing so soon, and we'll be letting folks know just as soon.
Not that I technically get a vote, but I'm against "Skull and Bones". It feels way too generic to be AP title for my tastes. It lacks panache.
(Won't stop me from buying it though....)
Brethren of the Coast
Under a Dread Flag
Dark Shores
Crossbones
Seas of Blood
Golden Tide
King of Scoundrels
Not that I technically get a vote, but I'm against "Skull and Bones". It feels way too generic to be AP title for my tastes. It lacks panache.
Funny -- to me it's too specific, in that it reminds me of the "secret" club at Yale University. Similarly, I probably wouldn't give the name "Free Masons" to a module where you have to rescue enslaved Osirian stonecutters.
Why don't we just call it "GARRRRR!!!!!"
Your mean Arrrr.
I heard you, James, and I know from experience how creative teams tend to get accustomed to working titles and end up liking them so much that they stick with them. Until recently, I personally found most of the AP titles excellent choices from a naming / branding perspective. I mean, just say it out loud: Savage Tide, Age of Worms, Kingmaker, Legacy of Fire. Hell, even "Second Darkness"... I didn't particularly like Carrion Crown, though. I know it's been kind of an accident, and in my opinion the originally intended title would have been much better, but still it couldn't compete with earlier titles. Also, as much as I'm excited about the Jade Regent AP, I didn't find the title an exceptionally strong choice. And I find Skull and Bones even weaker. Not that it matters much in the end - I'd rather have a strong AP with a weak title than the other way around ...
If you still decide to change the name, how about:
"[Yourfavoriteadjective] Sails"?
Tattered Sails
Black Sails
...
Or "[Mostfearsomeadjective] Waters"?
Dark Waters
Hostile Waters
...
Or maybe something more dynamic, like "Into the Storm".
Am I the only one that heard the name was "Skull and Bones" and I thought it was an undead/necromancer AP?
I wonder if this would also be an issue for international customers.
1) Men in a Boat
2) Guts and Garters
3) Parrots Gone Wild
4) Peg Legs and Eye Patches
5) Dude Where's My Sloop?
6) Yo Ho
7) Peter Pan, Foiled Again!
8) Why is the Rum Gone?
Cap'n Fluff Vs. Cap'n Crunch
First thing that popped in my head when I heard "Skull & Bones": "A pirate themed AP? Didn't they already do that with Savage Tide and Serpent's Skull, kinda?"
Second thing: "Oooooh, but maybe it's about rival secret societies on Golarion!"
Just FYI.
There's a book about golden-age pirates called "The Many-headed Hydra". The title, I believe, is taken from a speech given on the evils of piracy... Perhaps this could be inspiration for the new AP?
A evocative phrase turned by some Chelaxian general on the evils of piracy?
I'd love it if the most obvious pirate clichés were side-stepped.
First thing that popped in my head when I heard "Skull & Bones": "A pirate themed AP? Didn't they already do that with Savage Tide and Serpent's Skull, kinda?"
Second thing: "Oooooh, but maybe it's about rival secret societies on Golarion!"
Just FYI.
Savage Tide was back in the Dungeon days, out of memory for a lot of new folks. Serpent's Skull never really had any piratey stuff in it.
...I'm going to have to make some serious Will saves not to bust out into Pirates of Penzance songs for this AP.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Funny -- to me it's too specific, in that it reminds me of the "secret" club at Yale University. Similarly, I probably wouldn't give the name "Free Masons" to a module where you have to rescue enslaved Osirian stonecutters.Not that I technically get a vote, but I'm against "Skull and Bones". It feels way too generic to be AP title for my tastes. It lacks panache.
That's actually what I thought of first time I heard it. :)
Second thing: "Oooooh, but maybe it's about rival secret societies on Golarion!"Just FYI.
According to some conspiracy theories the Skull and bones flag originates from templars turned into pirates, after their fleet escaped
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Creative Director
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Brethren of the Coast
Under a Dread Flag
Dark Shores
Crossbones
Seas of Blood
Golden Tide
King of Scoundrels
There are actually a few quite good suggestions here. I like Crossbones the best.
But looking at the other titles (not to pick on you specifically, HawaiianWarrior, but with Crossbones you've got the strongest title suggestion here yet so I feel like that compliment helps to soothe any good-natured deconstruction of the other titles I'm about to do...), there's some problems.
"Brethren of the Coast": Sounds too much like "Wizards of the Coast," and also, the word "Brethren" is really kind of obscure and not all that strong a word for a title.
"Under a Dread Flag": Pretty good, but evokes a "Dread Pirate Roberts" type thing in my mind which undermines it a bit.
"Dark Shores": A bit TOO gloomy. Especially so close to Carrion Crown. This AP is not going to be spooky.
"Crossbones": One word, immediate pirate vibe, everyone knows what you're talking about, DOESN'T duplicate the Green Ronin title of the older product... this is the best contender on the thread for a new title for the AP.
"Seas of Blood": This title's been used for a pirate-themed Fighting Fantasy book. If we abandon "Skull and Bones" it'll ONLY be becasue we're looking for an "unused" title, and so switching to this option isn't an option at all.
"Golden Tide": Sounds too much like "Urine Tide."
"King of Scoundrels": One of the main reasons we almost didn't go with Kingmaker as a title was because of the loaded gender issues there. That AP can just as easily be "Queenmaker." Same with this AP. I'd rather not imply again that you have to be a guy in order to succeed at the AP. Furthermore, I'd rather not re-use the word "king" in it, since we used that word in our second-most (or MOST, depending on where you look) popular AP.
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Creative Director
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First thing that popped in my head when I heard "Skull & Bones": "A pirate themed AP? Didn't they already do that with Savage Tide and Serpent's Skull, kinda?"
Enough time has passed since Savage Tide that we can go back to the pirate well. And I don't count Serpent's Skull as a pirate AP at all—in fact, I'd say that Second Darkness has more pirate stuff in it than Serpent's Skull.
I like "Crossbones", too. At first I thought when I heard about the new AP title, "shouldn't it be 'Skull and Crossbones'?", but just "Crossbones" works very well I think.
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Creative Director
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I like "Crossbones", too. At first I thought when I heard about the new AP title, "shouldn't it be 'Skull and Crossbones'?", but just "Crossbones" works very well I think.
Skull and Crossbones is in fact what Rob and I were just talking about.
Crossbones on its own doesn't automatically evoke piracy as much as also having the skull in there.
I'm very very very very much thinking that the AP will be the "Skull and Crossbones" adventure path. Since that makes it even more obviously pirates than just "Skull and Bones" which does kinda sound more like it's got some necromancy going on.
Don't you balk at all at the repetition of the "skull" which just appeared in an AP title with "Serpent's Skull"? If not, I'm all for "Skull and Crossbones".
Of course, the Jolly Roger is the other name of this emblem... as is the "Death's Head." The Shackles flag might be called the "skull and shackles" or "skull and chains."
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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I kinda dig Crossbones as the name for the AP, in part because is there ANY other context in which the word "crossbones" appears other than in the phrase, "skull & crossbones"? It seems like Crossbones evokes the entire phrase, and leaving the "Skull and..." part off avoids the repetition with Serpent's Skull.
Plus, it'd be kinda cool to have another AP with a single-word name. Seemed like the last one with just one name did pretty well. :)
Plus, it'd be kinda cool to have another AP with a single-word name. Seemed like the last one with just one name did pretty well. :)
And for better or worse, it could be taken as the first two points in a trend giving single word names to sandboxy APs.
is there ANY other context in which the word "crossbones" appears other than in the phrase, "skull & crossbones"?
There's a Marvel character who killed Captain America.
But yea, I'm all about the one-word AP name. "Crossbones" seems a good name to me. (And is no longer conjures as strong expectations of Necromancy.)
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Creative Director
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Don't you balk at all at the repetition of the "skull" which just appeared in an AP title with "Serpent's Skull"? If not, I'm all for "Skull and Crossbones".
Not really, no.
Although, like the word "Carrion," and a few others, we'll probably put the word "Skull" in the time-out bin from here on out.
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Don't you balk at all at the repetition of the "skull" which just appeared in an AP title with "Serpent's Skull"? If not, I'm all for "Skull and Crossbones".Not really, no.
Although, like the word "Carrion," and a few others, we'll probably put the word "Skull" in the time-out bin from here on out.
I like just "Crossbones". Come on, HawaiianWarrior came up with a good name give him the honor of using it. Don't just hijack it with a "+1" enhancement. ;)
Oh and, btw, Savage Tide is far from ancient history. People will remember it and compare it to "Crossbones". I'm sure you have some great ideas to make it stand out from it's older brother (not grandfather) though. Looking forward to more details in the future.
Actually I like Skull and Crossbones better and think it invokes more of a pirate feel to it then jet crossbones or skull and bones for that matter. Pretty much everyone knows what a skull and crossbones means.
I thought of pirates immediately when I heard "Skull and Bones", but it was just shy of that IT factor. "Skull and Crossbones", now that's got's the magic sound evoking high seas pirate adventure. Crossbones by itself could have an undead or danger/warning vibe to it. The jolly roger, the world-known pirate symbol can only be described as a skull and crossbones.
Long live Skull and Crossbones of the Shackled Isles.
Carrion Crew!
Scallywag's Skull?
Okay, maybe not.
What about:
- Buccaneer Flag
- Letters of Marque
- The Corsair Code
or
- Blood and Gold in equal shares?