Archpaladin Zousha
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In the three articles that discuss androids as a race ("Ecology of the Android" in the first volume of Iron Gods, "Androids" in People of the Stars and "Androids" in Inner Sea Races), there's notably no list or even mention of possible names for android player characters. This is obviously a stumbling block for would-be players of android player characters like myself.
According to James Jacobs, android names should have a "science-fictiony" feel to them, and using the names of android NPCs in Iron Gods is a good starting point. However, I feel that "Meyanda" and "Casandalee" aren't exactly a large enough sample size to extrapolate from, especially if designing a name for a male android. What do you, the forum, feel would be good resources for players looking to name their android player characters?
| Simeon |
There's actually a small box in "Ecology of the Android" that states
For the mostpart, androids who move to particular regions choose names common among humans native to those regions, typically taking Kellid names. Renewed or newly born androids receive their names from fellow androids, including natural features, names of other cultures, or collections of sounds htat are pleasing to the ear."
Archpaladin Zousha
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I see. Shows that I haven't read the Iron Gods books in a while. I think what I'll do is have my android character make up his own name as a mashup of the names of the people who discovered him.
Archpaladin Zousha
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On the other hand, that whole "natural features" name idea makes me wonder if maybe an android PC could use the "virtue names" that are an option for tieflings in 4e D&D, where they use nouns for their names like "Compassion," "Ashes," "Euphoria" or "Light." Part of me likes the idea of naming an android "Witness" as a nod to Mad Max's influence on Numeria!
| Dale McCoy Jr President, Jon Brazer Enterprises |
Excerpt from Book of Heroic Races: Advanced Androids
Names: Android common names vary about as widely as those of humans do, since most of them take human names to blend in among them. An android’s name is normally self-chosen once the individual has become accustomed to her synthetic body. In addition to this chosen name, each android has another appellation: the identifier for her body and the processes that maintain it. While the chosen name used by the soul inhabiting an android body normally changes over the centuries, this identifier is constant, conveyed to a new soul sometime after its awakening as an android by the body itself. These “names” vary considerably. One android’s body might be identified with a simple unit number, while another might be named for an animal or plant, and still another could be identified with a flowery turn of phrase or an enigmatic word pairing. Whether androids share their identifiers varies from android to android, with some never feeling cause to and others using them as nicknames, substitutions for surnames, or even as their primary name.
Identifiers: #60091, Blue Fox, Ghost, Last Horizon, Prophet, Willow.
I hope this helps.