Name Generator

Unknown
edited June 2015 in Feature Requests
*tl/dr - scroll down to the next bold text area*

So, I am posting this quick as I want to get some ideas from other members of the active community here. I am doing what I can to assist the name generator project since it was mentioned by the staff that they would be willing to accept assistance on fleshing this tool out. I just submitted what I felt would be the next most urgent aspect of the generator to schwing, a Generic Elf Full Name generator in the code they are using. I did some manual testing of the code I wrote (since I only know the structure of the individual generators and don't have a viable test environment setup currently) and these are the results I got from it:

Taclaal Coldvine
Rodjeal Lighthill
Oroloaalar Nightflower
Cilkawen Redwind
Lismoenor Nightwillow
Rewvewen Darkwillow
Canruwen Daybrook
Narriarin Blackflower
Monjeoaris Dawnhill
Rarmalor Redbow

I think they came out sounding generally elvish in nature, at least at a setting neutral level (which is what I was going for). So, I expect this feature should certainly keep growing if I have any say at least.

*Now, to the real purpose of this post.* I want to get a sense from the community of what types of generators would be most beneficial to them in the present to near future. I want to try and focus my development on this to what the community viably needs. My long term goal is to get a number of generic generators done and also get a fair share of system specific ones made to help GMs and players alike adhere to the overall lore presented in the world they are playing in. So, please comment back with suggestions on generators you could use post haste.

*LIVE AND IN USE*
Random Name (Full Name) - OP Staff
Random Name (Single - Version 1, varied length) - OP Staff
Random Name (Single - Version 2, constant length) - OP Staff
Generic Fantasy, Dwarf (Full Name) - OP Staff
Generic Fantasy, Dwarf (Last Name) - OP Staff

*CREATED AND SUBMITTED*
Generic Fantasy, Elf (English Surname) - Alex
Generic Fantasy, Elf (Elven Surname) - Alex

*IN PROCESS*
Generic Fantasy, Halfling (Full Name) - Alex

*CURRENT SUGGESTIONS*
Cultural, Saxon/Norse
Cultural, Latin
Cultural, Celtic
Cultural, Old English
Cultural, German
Cultural, Japanese
Cultural, Modern American
Cultural, Old Slavic
Cultural, Old West
Generic Fantasy, Gnome
Generic Fantasy, Kobold
Generic Fantasy, Orc
Generic Fantasy, Goblin
Generic Fantasy, Ogre
BBEG, Dragon
BBEG, Demon
BBEG, Devil
BBEG, Sorcerer/Wizard

_I also want to point out here quick, I don't work for OP their parent company, I am still just a member but am attempting to take an active role in assisting this community along. Please keep this in mind, as I can not ensure in any way that what I develop will actually see the light of day._

--
Alex
"Dragon Age: Requiem":https://da-requiem.obsidianportal.com/

Comments

  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    Good one, Alex!

    I like the idea of an Elven generator and the random name examples seem pretty good. I would just be slightly wary of having a bewildering array of Generator types, but maybe that is still OK. A drop down list should not be too large, I think. However, in the spirit of your self annointed task, I would say Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Humans, Gnomes and Kobolds. Perhaps a generic list of BBEGs (Big Bad Evil Guys) or just evil guys - maybe DEMONS AND DEVILS. And, oh hell, why not DRAGONS too!

    twigs

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Unknown
    That is something I have been considering too, but I leave that up to the devs on how they feel it would be best to approach having a good variety of generators available. I would think with some slick coding the Generics could always be available, and the system specifics would pop up like the dynamic sheets - if they are available they show in the list as well, otherwise not. That leaves the listings showing you generics and system specifics only at any given time.

    Well, I think with the ones they have already launched plus the one I submitted to them, we would presently have:
    Human (couple variants)
    Dwarf (Full name and last name)
    Elf (Full name)

    I think your mention of the other classic "humanoid" fantasy races might be the best route to hit next. Thinking right now that I might tackle Halflings and Gnomes next to round out the "humanoids" and then start moving into the classic fantasy "monster" races like Orcs, Kobolds, Goblins, and Ogres. From there I could look into the more esoteric "beings" such as Demons, Devils, and Dragons. I think I am focused on getting the generics rolled out first (as they serve the greatest margin of potential benefit), and then I will worry about hitting some system specifics.

    Of course, I will be keeping an eye on this thread to see if there are any others that folks might find beneficial.

    For some more details on some of the results I posted, the 10 names only give a small rundown of the potentially generated names. There are roughly 100 different last names that the system I wrote would generate. The number of first names, I honestly have no idea - math is not my strongest suit sadly, but I can ensure that it is a plethora of different potential results. Having not been able to test it live means it could need some degree of work, and the devs may very well tweak and adjust what I submitted to them so the end result could certainly vary as well. Either way, it should be pretty darned robust.
  • MachineGunHarry
    MachineGunHarry
    Posts: 115
    Evil sorcerer/wizard names to second Twigs' (BBEG) list.

    Also, dovetailing with an elven name generator, I love elven names that are pulled from an elven dictionary. Combining two or three words (i.e. cloud + glow, or horse + red) then pump them out as their elven counterparts. Similar to how the last names were generated, but if they were then translated into elven. Just me, but the English names are just too cartoony sounding. I really like some of the endings on your elven names.
  • Unknown
    The issue I ran into when approaching the elven names was keeping them more system agnostic, to translate them into elven one would need to consider which elven that is exactly (I suppose those from LotR would probably be seen as the staple in most eyes, but that is still technically pushing down a particular path). I think that is more the purview of some of the system specific generators I want to build. I suppose I could consider revamping the generics to use an assortment of elven (perhaps a few words from a each that I can track down) and replace the more generic English word combo last names while still keeping it essentially system agnostic. I'll take a look into that here and see what I might be able to cobble together from it. In the interim, assuming the devs opt to release what I submitted, one would be able to just ignore the outputted surname and just go with the trope of "elves use one name only" that pops up in fantasy.

    I think I will edit up the OP to start keeping a running record of some of the suggestions folks are kicking out, and maybe start giving myself a work path to address some of these.
  • NikMak
    NikMak
    Posts: 379 edited June 2015
    what is the preferred format for submission, and who where do we submit it to? I have several name generators (Saxon/Norse, Latin, Celtic etc) that I could submit at very short notice.

    something i have added to my random name generatros for NPCs on the fly is a bunch of random NPC traits (physical and social) that really help to flesh out those off the cuff creations, and also offer (IMO) great seeds when creating new stories - is this something any one else out there would be interested in?

    Cheers

    Nick
    Post edited by NikMak on
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    Wow Alex!

    I think you may have opened up a giant sized can of worms here but it all looks great. I like MachineGunHarry's idea, which also made me think of DROW NAMES, but I think I agree with your response in trying to keep it simpler. I think just the names (without literal translations) will do, but what you are proposing already is WAY TOO COOL, DUDE!!!!

    Very impressed Mr Twigs

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Unknown
    @Nik - pop a PM over to schwing and he will likely kick you all the details you need, that is what I did. The scripting language is CoffeeScript (a variation of JavaScript) and is extremely straight forward overall. I am not certain exactly how it will work out with converting already existing stuff over, but it is certainly worth a shot. If you do jump in on this (as I think so far I was the only one who did) then keep me posted so we can avoid working on the same things and help to get more content generated. Regarding the additional features, that is not something currently under the purview of the system but you can certainly bring it up to schwing and they may incorporate it - I think it could be a handy feature (worst case you would just ignore what it generates).

    @Twigs - yea, I was kind of expecting as much, but without some serious analytical data to determine the best approach for this project I felt the only real recourse was to broach the idea with the active members of the community here on the forums. I can certainly look into the Drow names, see if they will fit well in the Generics or if they would work better in system specific ones. As an aside, with those elven names that I did already I could always generate a second one (closer to what MGH was looking for) while leaving the original in tact - provides a little more option for GMs and Players alike.
  • Abersade
    Abersade
    Posts: 417
    I am all for this, but I think that for me anyways it would be useful to be able to import my own naming conventions. Not that I'm asking for that mind you because that would likely take a lot of extra work, just that I use a different schema for my names. My elven names tend to sound more like Kirae'Aera, Armantis, Nimreth, Telkaia, Fareal, and Llilian, although the less complex names are actually less common. Typing this up made me realize that I don't actually have many named NPCs that are elves. Huh.

    Anyways, it's great to see things like this being worked on and the community taking an active part. Dragon names are somewhat hard to think of due to their complexity, the dragons in Rise of the Durnskald are named Avrellos, Valoren, Skurilon, Landrustex, and Azzerial.

    GM of Rise of the Durnskald: Wrath of the Fallen Goddess - February 2016 CotM

    GM of Core: The Ashes of Alcarna - April 2020 CotM

    GM of Stream of Kairos

    Need CSS Help? It may be covered here: Abersade's CSS Hub

  • Unknown
    Yea, I know it will not work out for everyone. Heck, I fully admit the ones presently available and the one I have generated are not useful to me in any way, shape, or form presently. Running a DA campaign the naming conventions are rather specific, and I am also prepping for a Vampire: The Masquerade game that would need more common modern names than what the generators provide presently. But, I'll get there eventually. I would also be open on ways that the elven names in the generic generator can be potentially improved, much like MGH pointed out with the last names. Do you have some particular conventions you use when generating your elven names? I can always try to incorporate some options that should make it so the generator has the chance to kick out names you will be more of a fan of.
  • Abersade
    Abersade
    Posts: 417 edited June 2015
    Hmm. Let's see. I'll use Kirae'Aera as a starting point, since that would be an elven surname in my setting. Many names in my setting come from a hybridization of old-elven dialect and old-common.

    Character names are generally split into three pieces, a one piece name and a two piece surname (surnames are not exclusively two pieces though). Pieces, by this definition, would be words so Kirae'Aera is two words compounded together to form a surname with the apostrophe acting as a hard stop during reading and a much softer stop when pronouncing the name. Ahn'Azzex is the name of the plane and the name is structured the same way. In my setting Elven features a disproportionate amount of a's and e's. I've never really thought specifically about this before, it seems to me to be a mishmash of Elven and Slavic, with just a hint of Arabic thrown in. The important part is that the name flows, so that pronunciation sounds fluid. Internal slant rhyme is fairly common.

    Example names:
    Eldred Gan'Tsaroth
    Inisla Varin
    Onterra Karovost
    Telkaia Kirae'Aera
    Post edited by Abersade on

    GM of Rise of the Durnskald: Wrath of the Fallen Goddess - February 2016 CotM

    GM of Core: The Ashes of Alcarna - April 2020 CotM

    GM of Stream of Kairos

    Need CSS Help? It may be covered here: Abersade's CSS Hub

  • Unknown
    I think with the structure I developed for the Elven names currently, the a's and e's are both commonly used. I will take some looks at Slavic and Arabic structure some and see if I can try to incorporate that a little more into the naming conventions. One of the things you mention, though, is of some concern for me - the pronunciation of the names that are generated. I am going to have to see the system in place so more generations can be done than what I am able to do manually sitting here with a d100 to roll out my percentages on the naming conventions (that is why I only provided the 10 samples). I certainly have ways that I could potentially enhance this system already, it can get a lot of detail with a fairly simple setup.

    Either way, I thank everyone for the suggestions so far and I hope they keep rolling in. All very insightful.
  • Warenhari
    Warenhari
    Posts: 6
    Just another idea.
    Except maybe some custom-created-elven-naming-pattern most other fantasy-race-names are some foreign to author regional names that sound right to his vision to race, like German/Scandinavian dwarves, Irish halflings, etc.
    Because of that, it might be much more useful to concentrate on 'Germanic names' (not precisely German, but maybe just sounding in that way) than 'Dwarven names' that are who-knows-what, and everyone have different dwarves.
    This way if my dwarves have Latin-like names, I use Latin generator, if Germanic, I use German one.

    If you make 'Dwarven', it's mostly not a dwarven someone else have thought about - D&D? Tolkiens? World of Warcraft? Who's dwarven-names are more true to be called 'Dwarven'?

    And so, the suggestion itself, make ethnic-sounding names, for example:
    * Old English - probably good for generic fantasy human noble, Dragon Age noble names (at least as inspiration), etc.
    * German - good for Warhammer characters, some dwarven nobles or harsh-sounding-evil-overlords - nothing makes a better villain name that good 'von' in the middle.
    * Latin - nobility or ancient human civilization in many settings, great to Rome settings, both fantasy and Vampire, good for some saints or other church related settings.
    * Japanese - exotic guests and travellers, and of course Legend of the Five Rings.
    * Modern American - for cyberpunk, modern settings, word of darkness, etc.
    * Old Slavic - forest creatures, Slavic/Baltic myths, for Van Helsing or Ars Magica setting.
    * Nordic/Scandinavian - vikings of course, some dwarves and forgotten gods.

    That's just to name a few.
    If more thought to the idea will be given and more categories or examples needed, I'll gladly do some.

    Regards

    Warenhari
  • Unknown
    This would be something up to the devs, but it is a sound idea
  • Belrathius
    Belrathius
    Posts: 206
    One possible technique that you can also consider is to involve other people that already have name generators on the web, even if just to see if you can leverage their underlying lists (and possibly giving them credit somewhere). Here are some that I have bookmarked:

    "http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/medieval-names.htm":http://medieval.stormthecastle.com/medieval-names.htm
    The page itself has lists of odd but real medieval names, but in the body of the intro it also has links for elven and dragon name generators.

    "http://donjon.bin.sh/":http://donjon.bin.sh/
    This site has a pretty big array of different generators, but a quick skim indicates three name generators: fantasy, weird, and sci-fi.

    "http://www.mithrilandmages.com/utilities/Western.php":http://www.mithrilandmages.com/utilities/Western.php
    This page is primarily for Old West names, but the site has a link for name generators (at the top) that also includes medieval and modern names, as well as a variety of name generators for cities, different types of businesses, terrain features, boats, and so on.

    "http://www.rpgtools.us/elfname.aspx":http://www.rpgtools.us/elfname.aspx
    This page is for elven names, but it too has other pages that generate different names for different purposes.

    I am sure that others probably have other treasured name generator sites that they use as well. It seems to me that a tool that can combine the multiple efforts of all of the various sites would be even more incredibly well prepared for lots of diversity.
  • Unknown
    Another awesome idea to be sure, though that is another one that the folks behind the scenes at OP would need to address. Most of the generators that you linked are ones I have used in the past myself. It would certainly be interesting if something could be setup to leverage both the in-house and third party generators all at once. More choices are always better, after all, and it would provide the generator system with a stronger foundation to run on if these could be integrated. The more that I am considering this the more that I think a combo drop down and tabbed system would potentially be the best approach. Let me provide some example:

    The generator would essentially consist of tab options as such: Historical, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Weird, and potentially some others. Selecting a tab would open up a drop down menu that could contain the assorted generators that apply to that section (including some of the already existing ones assuming that OP is able to arrange it, denoting the difference between in-house and third party by some means such as denoting one type with an * or some such). This would keep the drop down menus a little cleaner as you could negate including certain options depending on the category selected in the tabs.

    I think that as long as folks keep working at this type of system it could eventually turn OP into one of the most robust generators available and be a real draw potential to the site and services.
  • Unknown
    edited June 2015
    Ok, so I wanted to get an idea here on how folks feel about these new elven names that I have cobbled together here. The change here has been to the last names only presently, otherwise the system is exactly the same. Regardless this will also show you 10 new first names that could happen with the same outputs described above. I will submit this to schwing if people like these results as a secondary Elven name generator. Now to the results:

    Durgearis Moriquinga
    Lupnaenor Ringilamban
    Remnailor Luureamban
    Akihooaris Narwaliantasse
    Nalcelor Ninquaamban
    Marmarin Morneerde
    Merkiearis Morneturu
    Rarmoenor Ringilsuume
    Nolltawen Aaraamban
    Nolnaal Narwaelen

    So, tell me what you all think of the revised Elven Names (same first name conventions with the new last name conventions).

    @NikMak - if you could let me know what all you are working on, I can add that up onto the OP as well so we can keep a good running track record going and avoid doing the same work as one another if possible (as we can get more rolled out that way).

    I have also updated the opening post to include suggestions from the thread and give a clearer idea of what is up with this project some.
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • twiggyleaf
    twiggyleaf
    Posts: 2,006
    Both sets are great!

    twigs

    "I met a traveller from an antique land....."

    CotM May 2016: Mysteria: set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.

    Previous CotM Aug 2012: Shimring: High Level Multiplanar Campaign

    Inner Council Member

  • Abersade
    Abersade
    Posts: 417
    Neat!

    GM of Rise of the Durnskald: Wrath of the Fallen Goddess - February 2016 CotM

    GM of Core: The Ashes of Alcarna - April 2020 CotM

    GM of Stream of Kairos

    Need CSS Help? It may be covered here: Abersade's CSS Hub

  • Unknown
    Awesome, glad folks like them, I'll submit the second set to schwing today.
  • Unknown
    I have submitted the generator for the elven last names after some further testing on it. Seems to generate in a fairly decent manner. Now, I think I am going to work on the generic Halfling names to keep the ball rolling.
Sign In or Register to comment.

March 2024
Wrath of the Highborn

Read the feature post on the blog
Return to Obsidian Portal

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Discussions