Have you ever gotten stuck on naming a character? And if so, how did you get through it?
Pic not related.
>>47445433
Ask RNGesus for guidance.
>>47445433
> go to Seventh Sanctuary
> Randomize until something sounds nice
>>47445433
no, i have no idea how people have a hard time naming their character. i mean i just kinda have a random name generator in my head, idk if other people have difficulty with that
people get hung up on making it a "fitting" name or whatever, that doesn't matter, your character is going to be endearing to you if you play them well and the campaign is fun, their name will matter very little to you down the road
>>47445433
Take two objects, put them together, warp/mispronounce them to sound like real names.
>Wall Shelf
>Wallace Sherf
Boom
>>47445433
>Snake Plissken is my default character name if I get stuck.
>>47445433
When I'm not sticking to normalish names like, Paul, Francis, John, etc. I use a random name generator.
Honestly, my DM's love the fact that I'm the only "normal" one in the group, as my characters are generally great anchors for the party.
Group of vampires in modern times, all turned within the last 25 years?
>Galthros, former assassin
>松ひしゃく (Matsu hishaku), former stuntman/body guard
>Mingar Phantomreaver, Crazy serial killer
>Steve Baker, former doctor turned alcoholic, turned back alley doctor, turned vampire
>>47445433
No.
But my players always spend like, at least the quarter of an hour trying to find a name for their new first level PC. Which then proceeds to die in half an hour.
I usually use a random name generator, mostly for ideas. I kinda hate lore related names, since I can't remember those type of names even if I try.
>>47445499
that's pretty neat
>>47445433
References related to the character in some way like party role or personality. They can be literary, musical, doesn't matter. Nobody every gets them though
>>47445433
When I start a campaign my DM always has a list of maybe 20-30 common names from the regions our characters are from. It's pretty easy to make one up if you have the general feeling down.
If all else fails, just chop letters off from real names or swap them out.
Hank and Katherine stand out like a sore thumb in a fantasy setting, but Hanu and Katra feel suitably exotic while still sounding like actual names, and not some tongue-twisters with a lot of apostrophes.
>>47445728
I kinda hate references in fantasy.
I can never decide which is worse, someone not getting them, making them pointless, or someone getting them, making them feel cheap and gimmicky.
>You named your guy after (thing), wow, you're so clever.
>>47445433
>when the UN asks what happened to all the nukes
To the topic at hand, Dwarf Fortress name generator has some nice stuff for generic fantasy
I always begin with a name, I never progress further than it until I have one. I think the name of the character is the most important rp thing you can do.
A well picked name can completely reshape a character.
>>47446354
>I always begin with a name, I never progress further than it until I have one.
Because that's the first thing they make you pick in videogames?
>>47445433
I asked a friend. He usually comes up with stupid but this time I quite liked what he came up with.
Thus, Robyn Banks the bank robber is born.
>>47447572
That sounds like something out of a bad comic book, or an old Dick Tracy style detective story.
>Go to behind the name or babynames.com or something along those lines
>Pick a culture to draw from based on the campaign setting/what I know about the character (For example, my most recent character was royalty, so I made sure her and all her family had Roman/Latin names)
>Very carefully look for the exact meaning I want to convey/or something that sounds neat.>End up playing them completely different to my intial vision so the name I picked out doesn't really fit any more
>>47445433
Just about EVERY FRIGGIN TIME!
And I use the list of names most books have. Roll the names randomly.
>>47445433
>stuck on naming
Never. How? There are only 26 fucking letters, after lal. Only the chromosomally challenged would even have to ask such a monumentally stu- .... oh. Sorry, OP.
The answer is 'no.'
>>47447087
bait/kek
>>47451323
>"Only" 26 fucking letters
>26^length number of combinations
Pre-school math should be mandatory again
>>47450212
Better to use one of those fantasy name generators. Like the ones in Dwarf Fortress. It's just to good to pass up, imho.
>>47453056
Except the list of actually usable combinations gets pretty short when you ignore the ones that sound daft and the ones that are unpronounceable, doesn't it?
>This is my character, Tkssss Hh
>>47453442
>This is my character, Tkssss Hh
He's a snakeman sorcerer. Apply yourself
Just remember, not every mother/father knew their child would be an adventurer. Many a character have been named things such as Keith, John, and Mildred.
>>47453542
Greetins, mortals. I am the eternal king, ruler of the 12 holy domains. You can call me Steven.
>>47453506
Well in that case the pool of sensible names is even smaller, isn't it? Since it rules out everything that doesn't sound like spattering water on hot rocks.
>>47453622
>>47453542
WHY would you just use straight up normal people names in fantasy settings? It's not rocket surgery to just tweak them until they sound a bit exotic, having a party that consists entirely of people named straight up after bible protagonists is a little on the nose.
I suck at names so just steal names from 80s action heroes or pick something that sounds like it or just use a reference.
That gnome rogue? Hardcastle. The troll shaman? McCormick. The concealment specialized imperial agent? Fairbairn, named the legacy Sykes. Pretty sure I had a barbarian named John Matrix too once.
>>47453622
You got a problem with Steve Rogers?
A problem with AMERICA?
>>47454370
Don't you feel kinda shitty doing that? Like your DM has made a whole world full of interesting people for you, and you couldn't spend a few minutes extra to think of a name that won't make half the group roll their eyes because it's an obvious reference?
When I wanted to learn coding, I made a name generator
https://bitbucket.org/mdgts/namegenerator/
pls no bully regarding the quality of the source code, i know it's shit
>>47454513
This is mostly for MMO's, I don't get the chance to play tabletop RPGs that often. The most thought I have put into a characters name for an actual game was an online Halo game where I made a largely anonymous UNSC marine. I joined basically out of the blue and had to suddenly come up with a character in a couple of minutes and came up short. So I just rolled with having no idea, and just kept the helmet/balaclava on and made the LMG lugging androgynous marine Sasha, because it's an unisex name like that. Any kind of actual character would just have to come as natural character development. Sasha the became the rookie marine on the team that was discontent with never getting to kill anything or even getting shot at, because most rest of the team were Spartans, Elites, ODSTs and even a Hunter. Earned the OOC nickname Trombley.
>>47445433
You ever see MST3K? just make a name with minimum 3 syllables and you got yourself a character. like Blast Hardcheese. Peck Squatthrust. Big Mc'Largehuge...
>>47454430hail hydra
>>47445433
I draw inspiration from unusual phonemes, catchy gibberish, or by combining names I like (I named a John Rhys-Davies expy after an obscure character he played).
My current goal is to name a different character starting with each letter of the alphabet. If you're totally lost, you could start there.
There's no shame in using supplied names--some notable party members put a unique spin on them--but speaking as a DM and a player, putting in the extra effort is always appreciated.
I usually just use my steam name, I use that everywhere since its never taken. As for singleplayer rpg's, the name never matters so I might just name my characters "ass" or "homo"
