How do you come up with names to your PC's and NPC's?
>>48179091
Name generators, mythology, occasional memes...it takes all sorts.
Artistic plagurism. We've had Dangalf, the wise wizard. Lorax, the ent. And Parnald Almer, an STD where you piss half and half for the rest of your life, doesnt hurt until your 40 or so, kills at 60.
>>48179091
Find lists of babynames, preferably from a country that fits the setting and character. Sometimes I'll take a name straight from the list, sometimes I'll combine parts of multiple names, sometimes I'll create an original name inspired på something from the list.
Take a musical act or song title and tweak, twist, anagram and otherwise mangle the shit out of it until you can say it to someone without them instantly accusing you of ripping off Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
>>48179091
I read a lot. I generally have names just roll off the tip of my tongue without too much effort. Locations, society and worldbuilding in general are easy too because i have a passing interest in geology and geography and sociology.
>I have too much time on my hands
>>48179344
>MFW I wait about 6 months so far for the opportunity to make a character named Joseph the Jouster
>>48179091
Name lists from culture I'm Deming most pertinent. Occasionally generators.
>Take a word or name
>Spell it backwards
>Make it pronounceable/clean it up/just use it as a base to build on
Example
>Backwards
>Sdrawkcab
>SakabWhenever I play the elf in Talisman I name him Salogel
>>48179091
They come to me and I get a good amount of approval.
>>48179991I bet you jerk off JRR Tolkien every night, you bastard
>>48179991
>Salogel
I would use this name as a kid running around the forest pretending I was Legolas' friend or brother or something... dude...
>>48179991At least half of the people have noticed but aren't saying anything. The fact that you think you're being clever is sort of funny but also sort of sad.
Think of a color
Look up words for that color in various languages
Replace "color" with generic subject relating to that character (e.g. "weapon" or "activity") if I don't feel like naming a character Blanco again
I work with case files, and though unethical, you get the best fucking ideas from those. For example
Chandelier Gaines
Alice Goolsbee
Christopher Shade
Time Pablo Time
Cleanthony Baby Jimerson
Joshua D Everybodytalksabout
Ranson Riklon
All are real plaintiffs, with wonderful compaints
>>48179344
My GM takes all his Campaign Names directly from album titels
>>48179991
Talisman?
The names of family, friends and coworkers with small changes to spelling or pronunciation to make them sound unique. Luckily I live in the American south and there are a surprising amount of names that fit the fantasy archetype.
>>48179091
I make them up?
>take real name from culture with similar sounding language to fantasy culture
>change spelling 90's suburban mom style
The GRRM method
>>48179091
I take a piss ton of homemade peyote and channel my spirit animal. Usually its not JUST for a character name as last time i did my taxes, gave a lecture, stopped a robbery, somehow won a great deal at canterbury, and then thought up a character name.
>>48179091
I just take a bunch of words relevant to the character and jumble them up to the point they're not even recognizable. Then I just simply hope that by the sound of the name it fits the character's personality.
I am not very good with names.
>>48181585
Example please?
>>48182050
Joffrey, Yohn, Alliser
>>48180352
It's not like I keep it a secret. It's my friends that keep insisting on naming the characters. I'm actually being more of a Ironic Contrarian™ than thinking that I'm clever. Was meant more as a dumb example, though, in hindsight, I see how it came off in the comment. My bad, should have explained context.
>>48180975
pic related, it's a board game.
>>48181999
I once just actually named the third character of a trinity of important npcs "Three". No one even questioned it.
>>48179173
>Spend six sessions running around with Larry Munich and Henry Berlin
I killed Mr. Berlin, but Larry was way out of my league. I still got the last laugh since I don't have to listen to those two anymore.
Like that
>>48180315
>he doesn't
faggot
I'm constantly giving my players NPC called "Kevin" or "Bob" or something like that when I need to find a name quickly. My players started to recognize those NPCs as 'basically nameless NPCs', shopkeepers, people to talk to about the world, whatever. Til one of them stabbed them literally in the back. To this day nothing shocked them as much as the day Kevin turned out to be evil.
The last Bob they encountered meanwhile has developed a deep friendship with PCs based on their shared love of beer... well, it can go both ways.
>>48179091
Just start throwing out random syllables until I get something that sounds decent.
>>48179091
i just take a latin name or a middle eastern name and adapt it, my current character is called Khalid Alazhred, an other one Arthur Cornelius, etc...
except for dwarves, then i just put the worst sounding letters togheter, like spatatrack, track, spatrack, krakadrak etc...
>>48179091
For fantasy names I typically just mash syllables together until I come up with a result that sounds good. Occasionally I'll take names from obscure languages (my elves have Welsh names, for example) or occasionally just rip off mythology wholesale (a not-Viking female Barbarian named Freya).
It's a bit more difficult for games set in the present day/future, but I usually find a nickname or name that sounds fitting to what their station should be (A Shadowrunner's fixer who goes by Deep Pockets).
>>48183011
Funny fact: one of my PCs is gay. Everyone in the group is ok with it, except is XVII century and you know, let's pretend we don't know so he doesn't spread the disease.
In his backstory, he lost his first lover to some incurable disease, so he became a dangerous evil scientist for life. Everytime he encounters NPCs in a specific age range (16-25 I guess) he rolls 1d100 to see if he falls in love with the guy.
Now, campaign is almost over, he rolled PLENTY of times and not a single friendly NPC turned out to be his new obsession.
Two sessions ago, a skilled hitman was hired by the BBEG (not really big, bad or evil, just a regular Governor they robbed and humiliated long ago) to spy on them and possibly sabotage and kill them during the final showdown. He introduced himself as a regular crewmember (pirate campaign) and, as usual, the doctor rolled. He immediately fell in love with the assassin, tried to seduce him, and well, the assassin actually endured gay sex to buy his trust.
Next session will be the last, and I am expecting something awfully epic to happen with all this.
>>48179091
I usually just go with one Letter as their name for easy remembering
>>48179091
Literally just think for like five seconds.
>>48179091
When I was 14 my mom needed to do some flower arranging at a funeral home or something.
I wrote down the names on the gravestones.
I tend to keep lists of names. I currently have a few pages in my journal devoted to names. Just a random assortment of names haphazardly written on unlined paper surrounding a gender symbol. I really need to fill it out more. I was doing it while walking through a grocery store with family, so the only ones on the surname page are things like "Hillshire", "Stouffer", "Kroger", "Walton", "Tyson", "Shoney"...
