Postby Wolfsong » Mon Sep 28, 2015 7:12 am
First account: Everybody started with names. The names were pretty random, but usually analogous to real world names - Malachi, Hank, Dirk, Kate, Tucker, Addie, etc. One character, a later spawn, was spawned with the name 'Trouble' but introduced as 'Trevor Bell' because of how similar it sounds to Trouble IMO, in keeping with the whole real world names thing. I did have a character named Mackrel (retarded, so he didn't get a real world name) and then another character who spawned in the wild and was renamed She-Wolf by a sailor who found her roaming around on Fu... But that one wasn't my choice. [Edit: I think Tank was a first account character, too, and I guess that's not really a "real name" - more of a redneck name, or a dog's name, but he was a fun character.]
Second account: Mostly in line with the first, though a few characters didn't spawn with names to start with (Flask is one such example - he was my swamp spawn who went a bit feral and anti-social. Travelers stopped in the swamp, he spawned, and they left. He had to make his way to civilization and beg for food, dismantle machines for parts, etc., etc. He named himself Flask after finding... a flask on the ground. Tada.) I did have a character named Sagely, which isn't exactly a "real name" but he did occasionally call himself Sage Lee, though ended up as Sagely James in the end, anyway, due to taking on a lover's last name. A few of these characters (the women, I think, mostly) didn't spawn with names but were named later on, or chose names later on. Another unnamed character was told they hit hard enough to shatter someone's shield, so they ended up as Shatter - which fit, because personality-wise, that character was sort of designed to be easily and irreparably broken.
Third account: Most spawned characters did not spawn with names. A few have, but these names are usually pretty out there and not exactly analogous to real world names - the names of mythical rivers, animals, or emotions. The majority, however, spawn nameless and usually choose their names within an hour or two. In most cases, it's as simple as having them look around and spot something notable. In one case, the character spotted two statues and took the names off both statues, combining them to create his own name. (In memory of so-and-so, and in memory of this-and-that becomes so-and-so this-and-that.) In other cases, they spot resources and name themselves after a resource, or an object, etc. I've had a few characters who name themselves after the recently deceased, adopting their name in lieu of their own. A few of these nameless characters were named by others. One nameless character in particular has remained stubbornly unnamed after 4 IC years (so far.)
