Names

[mabon5127]

This a good site for names from a variety of ancient and modern sources. www.behindthename.com/

Given my weakness for generating clever consistent NPC names I will use the site extensively. I think I will use ancient Greek for amazon and hyperborean names. The Kelts will use ancient Celtic names (duh). The Kimmerians will perhaps be ancient German. American Indian for Esquamaux and Ancient Scandinavian for Vikings. The ixians will be Persian and Picts from ancient scots although there are ancient pict names on other sites. Not sure about the Atlantians, or Men of Leng. The Common Men will probably draw from the medieval list. I think names are too important to rely on spur of the moment creativity! Well at least mine...

Morgan

[Ghul]

In the past I have found Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names to be useful. A quick google to provide you this link has shown me that I should perhaps sell my copy.

[mythos]

Mabon,
Thanks for the link. You'll also find that doing a google search for names using the character historical races as a search world will give you sites specific to that culture.
I'm still looking for a site to base Atlantean names on.
As for the Hyperboreans, I'm using the name list in the pdf for the free D20 Zothique game, based on CAS stories. You can find it Here.

Another good source is this Glossary based on the Hyperborean stories of Clark Ashton Smith.

Actually, looking them over again, I think I'll use the Zothique names for the Atlanteans and the other for the Hyperboreans.

[mabon5127]

Aug 22, 2012 0:49:28 GMT -6 mythos said:

Mabon,
Thanks for the link. You'll also find that doing a google search for names using the character historical races as a search world will give you sites specific to that culture.
I'm still looking for a site to base Atlantean names on.
As for the Hyperboreans, I'm using the name list in the pdf for the free D20 Zothique game, based on CAS stories. You can find it Here.

Another good source is this Glossary based on the Hyperborean stories of Clark Ashton Smith.

Actually, looking them over again, I think I'll use the Zothique names for the Atlanteans and the other for the Hyperboreans.

Thanks for the links! I forgot about looking at the source duh!

Morgan

[kesher]

Wow---excellent resources!

[mabon5127]

Aug 21, 2012 20:26:02 GMT -6 Ghul said:

In the past I have found Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names to be useful. A quick google to provide you this link has shown me that I should perhaps sell my copy.

I'm so glad you mentioned this. This is a resource I bought several years ago packed away and forgot I had. I had no use for it right then. What a great book!

Morgan. BTW don't you dare sell your copy!

[mythos]

Thought I list up some of the sites I'm going to be using for character names from the various races of Hyperborea. Some of these will not be perfect matches to the human races listed, but I feel that the variances will not detract from my players enjoyment.

Common Man, For the areas where interbreding and cross culture communication are common, and for the characters who may be born into these areas, I.m allowing the players to pick and chose from the sites listed. I will be encouraging mixing names, using variations in spelling, and alterations based on personal preffrence.

Amazons, Little need to figure which real world culture to use here. Classical Greek names will be the standard for the Amazon race. In this case I'm going to This Site for names. A good cross selection and it provides the meanings.

Atlanteans, A little more diffacult to find a site for these. If you go back to my first posting in this thread, you'll see that I am using the Zothique name list in the D20 Zothique pdf for the foundation of Atlantean names. I will be urging my players to mix and match two or three names together. Thus creating the feel of a people with slightly different naming conventions.

Esquimaux, an older term used to refer to Eskimos. It was a little hard to find a site until I recalled that the modern term in Inuit. After that it was easy to find [url= babynames.merschat.com/index.cgi?function=Search&origin=Inuit, Inuit Names, Since these rarely come up in rpgs, I'm asking my players to stick withthe names as presented.

Hyperboreans, Again I'm going to refer to my earlier posting. Here I plan on making use of the Hyperborean Glossy derived from CAS's stories. Mixing and matching names, and parts of names, in order to create something the plays can enjoy.

Ixians, here was a group that seems to be mixed from several different real world cultures. So i decided that I'll allow my players to use names from the following, Parsi, and, Classical Egyptian.

Kelts, this one is fairly easy and most players, and gamers, who use real world names have a site or two on their computers. In this case I decided to go with, www.behindthename.com/names/usage/ancient-celticThis Site, for my list of names.


Kimmerians, this one was a bit tougher. The majority of searches came up with names from REH's Conan stories. But there was an actual culture/race know as the Kimmerians. But it seems that no know language remains from them. So I decided to go with babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/assyrian-names.html, Assyrian Names. I found mention that it is believed that the Kinnerians may have been displaced by the Assyrians. So I decided that the Assyrian names would make a good substitute.
If anyone does find a site that lists authentic Kimmerian names, please let me know.

Kimmeri-Kelts, a mix and matching of names provided already.

Picts, Another language and culture which has faded into the past. I did find This Site which provides a number of male Pictish names. For my players who want female names, I'll create a some femine suffexes that can be added to the existing names. I may also allow variant spelling of Keltic names to be used for female names.

Half Blood Picts, since there seems to be very little on the naming of the actual Tlingit people, yes they are/were a real world culture, I decided to go with a mixing and matching of www.bronsonbattlecreek.com/services/birthcenter/nativeambabynames.shtml, Amercian Indian Names, and the Picts listed above.

Vikings, I'm just adding a site for completeness. Any gamer worthy of the term will have a listing of Viking names somewhere. So here are some Viking Names
But seriously, do a google search under "Viking names" and you'll get a number of choices.

Other Races, again, a simple google search under the race name i.e. "Angles", "Saxons", "Moors", etc. should provide you with a list of names.


Edit, Don't know what happened when I typed out the links for some of the sites. Sorry for the inconsistency.

[stevemitchell]

For Kimmerians, you might consider using Scythian or Sarmatian names. That's a lot closer, historically and linguistically, than using Assyrian names.

[mythos]

Steve, thanks for the tip.

[mabon5127]

Aug 27, 2012 12:18:47 GMT -6 mythos said:

Thought I list up some of the sites I'm going to be using for character names from the various races of Hyperborea. Some of these will not be perfect matches to the human races listed, but I feel that the variances will not detract from my players enjoyment.

Common Man, For the areas where interbreding and cross culture communication are common, and for the characters who may be born into these areas, I.m allowing the players to pick and chose from the sites listed. I will be encouraging mixing names, using variations in spelling, and alterations based on personal preffrence.

Amazons, Little need to figure which real world culture to use here. Classical Greek names will be the standard for the Amazon race. In this case I'm going to This Site for names. A good cross selection and it provides the meanings.

Atlanteans, A little more diffacult to find a site for these. If you go back to my first posting in this thread, you'll see that I am using the Zothique name list in the D20 Zothique pdf for the foundation of Atlantean names. I will be urging my players to mix and match two or three names together. Thus creating the feel of a people with slightly different naming conventions.

Esquimaux, an older term used to refer to Eskimos. It was a little hard to find a site until I recalled that the modern term in Inuit. After that it was easy to find [url= babynames.merschat.com/index.cgi?function=Search&origin=Inuit, Inuit Names, Since these rarely come up in rpgs, I'm asking my players to stick withthe names as presented.

Hyperboreans, Again I'm going to refer to my earlier posting. Here I plan on making use of the Hyperborean Glossy derived from CAS's stories. Mixing and matching names, and parts of names, in order to create something the plays can enjoy.

Ixians, here was a group that seems to be mixed from several different real world cultures. So i decided that I'll allow my players to use names from the following, Parsi, and, Classical Egyptian.

Kelts, this one is fairly easy and most players, and gamers, who use real world names have a site or two on their computers. In this case I decided to go with, www.behindthename.com/names/usage/ancient-celticThis Site, for my list of names.


Kimmerians, this one was a bit tougher. The majority of searches came up with names from REH's Conan stories. But there was an actual culture/race know as the Kimmerians. But it seems that no know language remains from them. So I decided to go with babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/assyrian-names.html, Assyrian Names. I found mention that it is believed that the Kinnerians may have been displaced by the Assyrians. So I decided that the Assyrian names would make a good substitute.
If anyone does find a site that lists authentic Kimmerian names, please let me know.

Kimmeri-Kelts, a mix and matching of names provided already.

Picts, Another language and culture which has faded into the past. I did find This Site which provides a number of male Pictish names. For my players who want female names, I'll create a some femine suffexes that can be added to the existing names. I may also allow variant spelling of Keltic names to be used for female names.

Half Blood Picts, since there seems to be very little on the naming of the actual Tlingit people, yes they are/were a real world culture, I decided to go with a mixing and matching of www.bronsonbattlecreek.com/services/birthcenter/nativeambabynames.shtml, Amercian Indian Names, and the Picts listed above.

Vikings, I'm just adding a site for completeness. Any gamer worthy of the term will have a listing of Viking names somewhere. So here are some Viking Names
But seriously, do a google search under "Viking names" and you'll get a number of choices.

Other Races, again, a simple google search under the race name i.e. "Angles", "Saxons", "Moors", etc. should provide you with a list of names.


Edit, Don't know what happened when I typed out the links for some of the sites. Sorry for the inconsistency.

Great work! I like a lot of your choices, some better than mine so I will steal them! Exalt!

Morgan

[mythos]

Thank you Mabon.

[Ghul]

Aug 27, 2012 14:31:45 GMT -6 stevemitchell said:

For Kimmerians, you might consider using Scythian or Sarmatian names. That's a lot closer, historically and linguistically, than using Assyrian names.

Mythos, a great well thought out post, and you've obviously spent some time researching to provide some authenticity. I just want to say I tend to lean toward Steve's tip, above.

[mabon5127]

Aug 28, 2012 6:59:01 GMT -6 Ghul said:

Aug 27, 2012 14:31:45 GMT -6 stevemitchell said:

For Kimmerians, you might consider using Scythian or Sarmatian names. That's a lot closer, historically and linguistically, than using Assyrian names.

Mythos, a great well thought out post, and you've obviously spent some time researching to provide some authenticity. I just want to say I tend to lean toward Steve's tip, above.

If Kimmerians speak a dialect of the Hellenic language would they adopt Hellenic names? Much like the subterranean Kimmerians speak a dialect of Thracian, would they adopt Thracian names?

Morgan. Just asking cuz I'm not an expert in such things...

[Ghul]

Aug 28, 2012 7:05:57 GMT -6 mabon5127 said:

Aug 28, 2012 6:59:01 GMT -6 Ghul said:

Mythos, a great well thought out post, and you've obviously spent some time researching to provide some authenticity. I just want to say I tend to lean toward Steve's tip, above.

If Kimmerians speak a dialect of the Hellenic language would they adopt Hellenic names? Much like the subterranean Kimmerians speak a dialect of Thracian, would they adopt Thracian names?

Morgan. Just asking cuz I'm not an expert in such things...

Well, I think what we need to consider language genesis. Many of these cultures have been present in Hyperborea for a few thousand years, and like a great melting pot they have been thrown in proximity to other cultures and other languages; things change. Some cultures, however, such as the Ixians of Scythium, have been isolationists, so although their language may have evolved over time, differences would be subtle.

As far as your questions go: I think for the Kimmerians, there will be traditionalists who assign traditional names to their children, but in other cases, perhaps Hellenic names are assigned, particularly in the case of a name that is related to a thing, such as "river" or "mountain", using the Hellenic form.

I must admit, the use of Thracian is a rather ambiguous root as far as naming conventions go; some of what mythos suggests above provides a more concrete sample of naming conventions for all the cultures.

[mythos]

I want to thank everyone for the feedback provided.
I'll have to do some research on Scythian and Sarmatian names when I get back home.
Jeff, thanks for the complement.
Everyone, my listings are a work in progress. If you find a site that you feel works better then the ones I linked to, please place it here.
I'm always looking for sites that incress the data base I use for my games.

[Ghul]

Another fellow is performing a similar exercise, but he's been sharing it with me via email. He has a working name generator list using percentiles. I've encouraged him to join us over here.

[Falconer]

If you’re going by Howard, then:

Cimmerians = Gaels (Irish)
Picts = Native Americans (Iroquois)

Obviously this is different from the historical identifications.

[mabon5127]

The feedback on this thread has been incredibly helpful. Thanks to Mythos for the link to Zothique d20. Lots of great nuggets in that one.

Though I like to be historically accurate when possible being consistent is more important to my players. They will love to be able to pick out a real and relevant name vs trying to guess an appropriate name for their race. Meeting NPC's in the world with similar sounding names will add greatly to the immersive feel.

Thanks all!

Morgan

[mythos]

Aug 28, 2012 10:06:05 GMT -6 Falconer said:

If you’re going by Howard, then:

Cimmerians = Gaels (Irish)
Picts = Native Americans (Iroquois)

Obviously this is different from the historical identifications.

That was actually a problem when I was doing my research. When I typed in 'Kimmerians' the first several listings were for Howard's 'Cimmerians'. The same thing when I typed in 'Picts'.
Although I will mention that if you look at Howard's Kull and Bran Mac Morn stories the Picts in there do not use Iroquois naming convenctions. Even though all three sets of stories do deal with the Picts at different points of their history.

[mythos]

For anyone wanting an alternative to the lists I use for Atlantean names, This Site contains a breakdown of the two Atlantean languages. Yes, you read that correctly. Although very little is given on personal names, clicking on any of the links on the page will take pages providing various words and terms that should easily be converted into names.
In addition, clink on any of the historical periods listed at the top of the page and you will have several royal names to chose from.

[jasonzavoda]

From Del Rey's The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (and I cannot recommend Del Rey's REH series highly enough):

Hyborian names and countries (a very short list from 1932)

Aquilonia King Conan
Cimmeria King Cumal
Hyrkania
Hyperborea King Tomar
Asgard King Tyr
Vanaheim King Horsa

Cimmeria gods:
Crom
Badb
Morrigan
Macha
Nemain, war-goddess
Dianecht
Dagda

Cimmerian Names:
Eithriall
Eanbotha
Rotheachta
Giallchadh
Cruaidh
Eamhua
Criomnthan
Tuathal


Aquilonian names:
Prospero
Demeter
Deucalion
Numa
Pallantides
Enarus
Dion
Pomero

Aesir-Vanir names:
Bragi
Heimdal
Njord
Wulfhere

I believe there is also some talk in the Hyperborian Genesis appendices about the sources for some of REH's names, but I need to look it up.

Basically they are literary and historical sources with small changes.

[jasonzavoda]

REH's Conan stories list of names and ethnicities

(Hopefully I haven't missed to many names or gotten the ethnicities wrong)

Abbreviations of Ethnicities

Acheron = Ach
Aesir = Aesir
Afghul = Afg
Aquilonian = Aq
Argossean = Arg
Bakalah = Bak
Brythunian = Bry
Corinthian = Cor
Dagonian = Dag
Hyrkanian = Hyr
Keshan = Kes
Khauran = Kha
Kothian = Kot
Kozaki = Koz
Kshatriyan = Ksh
Kushirte = Kus
Kutchemesian = Kut
Messantian = Mes
Nemedian = Nem
Ophirean = Op
Pelishtim = Pel
Pict = Pict
Shemite = Shem
Stygian = Sty
Tlazitlans = Tla
Turanian = Tur
Vanir = Vanir
Xuchotlan = Xu
Yimsha = Yim
Zamboulan = Zamb
Zamoran = Zam
Zingaran = Zin
Zuagir = Zu


Acheron
Xaltotun - Ach

Aesir
Gorm - Aesir
Horsa - Aesir
Niord - Aesir
Wulfhere - Aesir

Afghul
Yar Afzal - Afg

Aquilonian
Albiona - Aq
Altaro - Aq
Arpello - Aq
Ascalante - Aq
Athemides - Aq
Balthus - Aq
Dion - Aq
Epemitreus - Aq
Gromel - Aq
Hadrathus - Aq
Namedides - Aq
Numedides - Aq
Orastes - Aq
Pallantides - Aq
Prosepero - Aq
Publius - Aq
Rinaldo - Aq
Servius Galannus - Aq
Soractus - Aq
Thespius - Aq
Tiberias - Aq
Trocero - Aq
Valannus - Aq
Valeria - Aq
Valerius - Aq
Volmana - Aq
Zelata - Aq

Argossean
Bracus - Arg
Demetrio - Arg
Galacus - Arg
Strom - Arg
Tito - Arg

Bakalah
Aja - Bak
Bajujh - Bak

Brythunian
Aratus - Bry
Natala - Bry

Corinthian
Ivanos - Cor
Muriela - Cor

Dagonian
Khosatral Khel - Dag
Yateli - Dag

Hyrkanian
Amurath - Hyr

Keshan
Gorulga - Kes
Gwarunga - Kes

Khauran
Ivga - Kha
Krallides - Kha
Salome - Kha
Taramis - Kha
Valrius - Kha

Kothian
Almuric - Kot
Arbanus - Kot
Constantius - Kot
Khossus - Kot
Sergius - Kot
Shupras - Kot
Strabonus - Kot
Taurus - Kot
Thespides - Kot
Tsotha-Lanti - Kot
Vateesa - Kot
Yasmela - Kot
Zorathus - Kot

Kozaki
Olgerd Vladislav - Koz

Kshatriyan
Bunda Chand - Ksh
Chunder Shan - Ksh
Devi Yasmina - Ksh
Gitara - Ksh

Kushirte
Ajaga - Kus
Ajonga - Kus
Laranga - Kus
Shukeli - Kus
Yasunga - Kus

Kutchemesian
Thugra Kohotan (Nathok) - Kut

Messantian
Publio - Mes

Nemedian
Alcemides - Nem
Amalric - Nem
Arideus - Nem
Arus - Nem
Aztrias Petanius - Nem
Demetrio - Nem
Dionus - Nem
Enaro - Nem
Kalanthes - Nem
Kallian Publico - Nem
Nimed - Nem
Numa - Nem
Octavia - Nem
Posthumo - Nem
Promero - Nem
Tarascus - Nem
Taurus - Nem
Zenobia - Nem

Ophirean
Akkutho - Op
Amalrus - Op
Khossus - Op
Livia - Op
Olivia - Op
Theteles - Op
Tina - Op

Pelishtim
Bit-Yakin - Pel

Pict
Zogar Sag - Pict

Shemite
Belit - Shem
Gebal - Shem
Gilzan - Shem
Khumbanigasa - Shem
Servio - Shem
Zargheba - Shem

Stygian
Ctesphon - Sty
Kutamun - Sty
Rammon - Sty?
Tascela - Sty
Thalis - Sty
Thoth-Amon - Sty
Thothmekri - Sty
Thothmes - Sty
Thutmekri - Sty
Tuthamon - Sty
Yara - Sty?

Tlazitlan
Chicmec - Tla
Olmec - Tla
Tachic - Tla
Techotl - Tla
Tecuhltli - Tla
Topal - Tla
Xamec - Tla
Xecelan - Tla
Xotalanc - Tla
Yanath - Tla
Yasala - Tla
Zlanath - Tla

Turanian
Alafdhal - Tur
Ghaznavi - Tur
Jehungir Agha - Tur
Jelal - Tur
Jungir Khan - Tur
Kerim Shah - Tur
Khosru Khan - Tur
Yildiz - Tur
Yezdiderd - Tur

Vanir
Bragi - Vanir
Heimdul - Vanir
Xuchotlan
Tolkemec - Xu

Yimsha
Khemsa - Yim

Zamboulan
Aram Baksha - Zamb
Ghanara - Zamb
Nafertari - Zamb
Totrasmek - Zamb
Zabibi - Zamb

Zamoran
Shevatas - Zam

Zingaran
Belesa - Zin
Beloso - Zin
Galbro - Zin
Gebbrelo - Zin
Sancha - Zin
Tranicos - Zin
Valbroso - Zin
Valenso - Zin
Zaporavo - Zin
Zarono - Zin
Zingelito - Zin

Zuagir
Djebal - Zu

Misc. and Unkown
Akivasha - ?
Astreas - ?
Athicus - ?
Joka - ?
Murilo - ?
N'Gora - Island Kingdoms?
N'Yaga - Island Kingdoms
Nabonidus - ?
Ortho - ?
Pelias - ?
Petreus - ?
Satha - Giant Snake
Thak - Ape-Man
Tiberio - ?
Vathelos - ?
Yag-Kosha (or Hogah) - from the green planet Yag
Yelaya - ?
Zang - ?
Zarallo - ?


Compiled from Del Rey's The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian


The Phoenix in the Sword

Ascalante - Aq
Ctesphon - Sty
Dion - Aq
Epemitreus - Aq
Gromel - Aq
Numa - Nem
Numedides - Aq
Pallantides - Aq
Prosepero - Aq
Publius - Aq
Rammon - Sty?
Rinaldo - Aq
Thoth-Amon - Sty
Trocero - Aq
Volmana - Aq


Frost-Giant's Daughter

Bragi - Vanir
Gorm - Aesir
Heimdul - Vanir
Horsa - Aesir
Niord - Aesir
Wulfhere - Aesir


The God in the Bowl

Arus - Nem
Aztrias Petanius - Nem
Demetrio - Nem
Dionus - Nem
Enaro - Nem
Kalanthes - Nem
Kallian Publico - Nem
Posthumo - Nem
Promero - Nem


The Tower of the Elephant

Taurus - Nem
Yag-Kosha (or Hogah) - from the green planet Yag
Yara - Sty?


The Scarlet Citadel

Ajaga - Kus
Akkutho - Op
Amalrus - Op
Arbanus - Kot
Arpello - Aq
Athemides - Aq
Khossus - Op
Namedides - Aq
Pelias - ?
Satha - Giant Snake
Shukeli - Kus
Strabonus - Kot
Tsotha-Lanti - Kot

Queen of the Black Coast

Belit - Shem
N'Gora - Island Kingdoms?
N'Yaga - Island Kingdoms
Tito - Arg


Black Colossus

Amalric - Nem
Khossus - Kot
Kutamun - Sty
Shevatas - Zam
Shupras - Kot
Taurus - Kot
Thespides - Kot
Thugra Kohotan (Nathok) - Kut
Vateesa - Kot
Vathelos - ?
Yasmela - Kot


Iron Shadows In The Moon

Amurath - Hyr
Aratus - Bry
Ivanos - Cor
Olivia - Op
Sergius - Kot
Yildiz - Tur


Xuthal of the Dusk

Almuric - Kot
Natala - Bry
Thalis - Sty


The Pool of the Black One

Sancha - Zin
Zaporavo - Zin


Rogues in the House

Athicus - ?
Joka - ?
Murilo - ?
Nabonidus - ?
Petreus - ?
Thak - Ape-Man


The Vale of Lost Women

Aja - Bak
Bajujh - Bak
Livia - Op
Theteles - Op


The Devil in Iron

Ghaznavi - Tur
Gilzan - Shem
Jehungir Agha - Tur
Jelal - Tur
Khosatral Khel - Dag
Octavia - Nem
Yateli - Dag
Yezdiderd - Tur


Compiled from Del Rey's The Bloody Crown of Conan

The People of the Black Circle

Bunda Chand - Ksh
Chunder Shan - Ksh
Devi Yasmina - Ksh
Gitara - Ksh
Kerim Shah - Tur
Khemsa - Yim
Khosru Khan - Tur
Yar Afzal - Afg


The Hour of the Dragon

Akivasha - ?
Ajonga - Kus
Albiona - Aq
Altaro - Aq
Amalric - Nem
Arideus - Nem
Beloso - Zin
Demetrio - Arg
Gebal - Shem
Hadrathus - Aq
Laranga - Kus
Nimed - Nem
Orastes - Aq
Publio - Mes
Servio - Shem
Servius Galannus - Aq
Tarascus - Nem
Thespius - Aq
Thothmekri - Sty
Thothmes - Sty
Tiberias - Aq
Tiberio - ?
Tuthamon - Sty
Valannus - Aq
Valbroso - Zin
Valerius - Aq
Xaltotun - Ach
Yasunga - Kus
Zelata - Aq
Zenobia - Nem
Zorathus - Kot


A Witch Shall Be Born

Alcemides - Nem
Astreas - ?
Constantius - Kot
Djebal - Zu
Ivga - Kha
Khumbanigasa - Shem
Krallides - Kha
Olgerd Vladislav - Koz
Salome - Kha
Taramis - Kha
Valrius - Kha
Zang - ?


Compiled from Del Rey's The Conquering Sword of Conan

The Servants of Bit-Yakin

Bit-Yakin - Pel
Gorulga - Kes
Gwarunga - Kes
Muriela - Cor
Thutmekri - Sty
Yelaya - ?
Zargheba - Shem


Beyond the Black River

Balthus - Aq
Soractus - Aq
Tiberias - Aq
Valannus - Aq
Valerius - Aq
Zogar Sag - Pict


The Black Stranger

Belesa - Zin
Bracus - Arg
Galacus - Arg
Galbro - Zin
Gebbrelo - Zin
Strom - Arg
Thothmekri - Sty
Tina - Op
Tranicos - Zin
Valenso - Zin
Zarono - Zin
Zingelito - Zin


The Man-Eaters of Zamboula

Alafdhal - Tur
Aram Baksha - Zamb
Ghanara - Zamb
Jungir Khan - Tur
Nafertari - Zamb
Totrasmek - Zamb
Zabibi - Zamb


Red Nails

Chicmec - Tla
Tascela - Sty
Techotl - Tla
Tecuhltli - Tla
Tolkemec - Xu
Olmec - Tla
Ortho - ?
Tachic - Tla
Topal - Tla
Valeria - Aq
Xamec - Tla
Xecelan - Tla
Xotalanc - Tla
Yanath - Tla
Yasala - Tla
Zarallo - ?
Zlanath - Tla

[Ghul]

That is some great (and painstaking) work, Jason. A wonderful resource for players seeking to evoke a Howardian flavored lineage. You are to be exalted.

[jasonzavoda]

Aug 30, 2012 7:30:10 GMT -6 Ghul said:

That is some great (and painstaking) work, Jason. A wonderful resource for players seeking to evoke a Howardian flavored lineage. You are to be exalted.

Thanks, Jeff!

I plan on doing a quick review of Del Rey's Kull and Bran Mak Morn for some Atlantean and Pict names and ideas. CAS is a combination of names and ideas and anyone looking for module ideas for Astonishing Swordsmen (of the weirder kind) need look no further than CAS. A. Merritt has some great ideas in his stories. I just finished re-reading The Face in the Abyss and the entire thing would make a fantastic adventure and setting.

Astonishing Swordsmen has tapped into an amazing wealth of possibilities. I normally just run either Gygax's World of Greyhawk or my own setting, but I am adding your Hyberborea now as a third.

I definitely see Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar books as inspiration here, and Wagner's Kane, but also H. Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle. I've recently picked up a huge amount of Talbot Mundy novels for free on kindle and I have a feeling they will add something to what I want in the setting.

H.P.L should be great for story ideas if not lists of proper names and I can picture adventure ideas from Hodgeson's The Boats of the Glenn-Carrig. I need to get back to writing some adventures, though I plan to adapt some AD&D/OD&D material such as The Village of Hommlet to Hyberborea.

[Ghul]

Aug 30, 2012 10:25:07 GMT -6 jasonzavoda said:

Aug 30, 2012 7:30:10 GMT -6 Ghul said:

That is some great (and painstaking) work, Jason. A wonderful resource for players seeking to evoke a Howardian flavored lineage. You are to be exalted.

Thanks, Jeff!

I plan on doing a quick review of Del Rey's Kull and Bran Mak Morn for some Atlantean and Pict names and ideas. CAS is a combination of names and ideas and anyone looking for module ideas for Astonishing Swordsmen (of the weirder kind) need look no further than CAS. A. Merritt has some great ideas in his stories. I just finished re-reading The Face in the Abyss and the entire thing would make a fantastic adventure and setting.

Astonishing Swordsmen has tapped into an amazing wealth of possibilities. I normally just run either Gygax's World of Greyhawk or my own setting, but I am adding your Hyberborea now as a third.

I definitely see Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar books as inspiration here, and Wagner's Kane, but also H. Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle. I've recently picked up a huge amount of Talbot Mundy novels for free on kindle and I have a feeling they will add something to what I want in the setting.

H.P.L should be great for story ideas if not lists of proper names and I can picture adventure ideas from Hodgeson's The Boats of the Glenn-Carrig. I need to get back to writing some adventures, though I plan to adapt some AD&D/OD&D material such as The Village of Hommlet to Hyberborea.

We share many of the same literary influences and likes, Jason, but I must admit, if there are similarities at all with H.R. Haggard, they are purely coincidental, because I've never much read his stories, except one several years ago that was in a collection of "masters of horror" stories. But A. Merritt I can't say enough about. I absolutely love his work, and in fact I'm due to read another. To this date I believe I've read 5 of his books.

I'm flattered that you would consider Hyperborea as another setting to use in addition to GH and your home-brew material. That's very kind of you to say, and much appreciated.

Oh, back to the names: I think you will find a bit of paradigm shift with the naming conventions in Bran Mak Morn; of course, be sure to read the end notes, as they are fascinating.

Cheers,
Jeff T.

[Cthulhu Colin]

Aug 28, 2012 9:11:35 GMT -6 Ghul said:

Another fellow is performing a similar exercise, but he's been sharing it with me via email. He has a working name generator list using percentiles. I've encouraged him to join us over here.

That would be me. Hey all. I'm something of an old hand at putting together and researching Names from fantastical and historical resources, as I put together this example for JRRT's work:
Middle Earth Names

Thus far I've done the Amazonian, Esquimaux, Ixian, Pictish, and Viking entries including numbers for random generation, and begun work on the Common and Keltic entries.

Obviously, I've been discussing the work with Jeff to ensure it fits his vision closely, but here're some notes to let you know what sort of approach has been taken.

For Amazonian, I (obviously) went with Hellenic Greek names. However, simply grabbing a list of such names was not appropriate. Instead, I tailored the gender-based listings to reflect the matriarchal society, stripping the female list of most names based on "weaker" elements such as flowers/beauty in favour of stronger meanings. In contrast, the male list was stripped of names meaning strength/hero/courage/warrior, etc.

For the Esquimaux, I used Inuit names, but again, tailored the selection, removing many of the names with nicer meanings while keeping many with darker ones. These were/are Kthulhu cultists after all. I also explained the genderless aspect of many Esquimaux names as being a result in Hyperborea of them seeing all people as equally worthless in the eyes of Kthulhu.

The Ixians required a lot more work. History has left us with very little in terms of actual Scythian names beyond their monarchs, so I used Sarmatian names instead as it's part of the same region and Scytho-Sarmatian dialect. Again, I was selective in choosing which names to use, favouring the earlier names over the later ones.

The Picts were relatively straightforward insofar as I used 1st century names rather than later ones. This had the advantage of giving them a distinct feel linguistically and in terms of nomenclature from the Kelts, as well as making them feel more antiquated.

The Vikings involved going right back to Old Norse, and stripping the names of any Christian and modernizing elements as well as any names that did not appear until the Middle Ages. The result is a selection that will feel at once familiar and different to many gamers.

cheers!
Colin

[Cthulhu Colin]

A few more notes on what I'm working on:

The Half-Blood Picts will use Tlingit names (possibly blended with Iroquois) with only a few loyalists continuing to use traditional Pictish names.

Kelts will use a mixture of older Irish/Scots/Manx names (again, stripping them of Christian influences).

Atlanteans will use Hellenic names (though I'll be giving them some kind of twist).

More to come.

Colin

[mabon5127]

Aug 30, 2012 18:22:31 GMT -6 Cthulhu Colin said:

A few more notes on what I'm working on:

The Half-Blood Picts will use Tlingit names (possibly blended with Iroquois) with only a few loyalists continuing to use traditional Pictish names.

Kelts will use a mixture of older Irish/Scots/Manx names (again, stripping them of Christian influences).

Atlanteans will use Hellenic names (though I'll be giving them some kind of twist).

More to come.

Colin

Sounds like you are off to an awesome start. This work would be an incredible boon to beleaguered referees everywhere! Thanks so much!

Morgan

[jmccann]

Aug 28, 2012 9:11:35 GMT -6 Ghul said:

Another fellow is performing a similar exercise, but he's been sharing it with me via email. He has a working name generator list using percentiles. I've encouraged him to join us over here.

That sounds very much like a project I have had around for years which lets me define a set of phonemes, and then syllable templates with probabilities of the various classes of phonemes in allowable positions. I use this to generate a list of syllables for the language which I use to fill out a standardized word list. I have plans to write evolution and assimilation programs, but I don't know if I will ever get to that. Ideally I would like to have several ancient languages which branch and influence a set of old languages which then evolve to current day languages.

Here is a brief example of the syllable output:

as
as.
at
at-h
ay
az
bA
bA-e
bA-ed
bA-eg
bA-ep-h
bA-er

It looks a little odd because I am using capital letters and letter/ punctuation combinations to represent various sounds. That is not required though, it would be possible to use all lower case letters since the phonemes are defined by the user.

[Cthulhu Colin]

Aug 30, 2012 19:24:39 GMT -6 mabon5127 said:

Sounds like you are off to an awesome start. This work would be an incredible boon to beleaguered referees everywhere! Thanks so much!

Thanks for the kind words.

The Kimmerians present an interesting case. On one hand, folks want Kimmerians ala Conan. On the other, historically they had a lost language that could be replaced with Thracian for Hyperborea. On the third hand (mutant!), the surface Kimmerians of Hyperborea have long adopted Hellenic Greek. Fortunately, we can do all of these:

Kelt-Kimmerians: Celtic names
Kimmerians: Hellenic names
Krimmean Kimmerians: Thracian names

Colin