Hello, everybody!

I like the setting of Desolation very much as far as I read it yet but there is one thing I didn't like: Ascondean names!
Some of the names mentioned in the book are okay but most of them (for example the names of the example characters or the ones of the NPCs in the example adventure) sound not well for me. They sound like classic uninspired English fantasy names without any "magic" in the sound. Other names, like the ones of the Rovers, which sound a bit like Chinese/Asian names are okay but I'm not happy with the common humans' names.

So for my campaign I decided to use Roman/Latin sounding names for Ascondean characters. I think it fits as the Empire seems to be strongly inspired by the Roman Imperium and I like the sound of Latin- or Greek-like names much more than the names I described above.

Now I thought it could be interesting to discuss and hear what you think about the names in the Desolation setting. What kind of names do you use for your characters resp. NPCs?

Generally, something I've found helpful is taking familiar names and switching a letter or two to make them sound a bit more exotic.

For example, Nathan becomes Nathyn, Mary becomes Meri, Alicia becomes Aleshia.

What I've found challenging is coming up with surnames. In some case, I can use a place name (Yan of Stonebrook) but that gets old quick.

Hm...sounds like a proper way of creating names. I prefer taking names from history or mythology and maybe modify them a bit. And the Ascondeans get Latin and Greek names now.

Nestor pretty much nailed how we came up with names... stolen, of course, from Mr. George RR Martin.

Replace vowels with Y's, toss in random H's and viola - Acscondean name. Right, Nhestor? Or is it Nestyr?

But in all seriousness, I think latin and roman names would be very appropriate - especially within the Empire. I will have to go back a read through the Codex Alera series from Jim Buthcer - it is a fantasy series set in a very roman-like setting.

I really like Gilgamesh's way to generate names, but I'm curious about the other races as well. are there any specific influences for the other races? For example, for Loranthians I chose African names due to the suggestion that Loranthian language is more chirpy. And for Kar'Danan I chose Gothic, for somewhat obvious reasons.

Most of the names will likely be altered slightly, I'm just seeking influences. What do you think of these and others?

I think African for Loranthanians and Gothic for Kar'Danish (or how do you call people from there?) are both very appropriate though I used indigenous Caribbean or Central and South American names for them in my games. But African also fits perfectly. I never had any Kar'Danish NPCs in my campaigns so I didn't think too much about their names yet. For people from the Warlands I chose Mongolian/Central Asian sounding names and for the Rovers some Chinese ones.

Yeah, I chose Korean and Chineese for the Rovers. For Warlanders I had quite an array of names to accomidate the multitude of cultures. I have a list on my other computer, just trying to cross reference, see if I understand the communities as much I think I do.

I was having a hard time finding names that I thought fit Elves, so I was thinking of resorting to much more fantasy influenced names. I think I gave Gnomes German. Any ideas for the territories for the empire? (Cashulain, Jherlind, Etc...)

Bear in mind that the Empire is pretty big, encompassing many smaller provinces that were once independent nations. Each maintains some part of their original culture, which can be reflected in the naming conventions you use.

In other words, whatever you like, as long as you're consistent. If you use "Russian-esque" names for the border region between the Empire and Kar'Danan, stick with that. That'll help build a unique sense of reality for your campaign.

That said, to Matt's point, the more common Ascondean names should have a familiar feel, as it it's a name that could come from our world, just with a twist or slight alteration.

Interesting discussion.When we start I will use a mixture of Greek and German names for Gnomes(the former because thats were the myth originates from and the later because of that industrial feel)

As far as elves are concerned I think nicknames based on more fantasy elven names are fitting, or even descriptive ones(seeing as to how they have fallen and roam other races territories)

Alhri the tall(from Alhorian Sovelith) etc