Array 50: Names, names, names. Where to get the names. Well, there are a few
ways to do it, Go to the local discount book store and pick up a book of them.
Baby names often have a long lisitng of names from many sources to pick from.
Another good trick is to get a dictinary of foran languages, and start
mixing and matching parts of words. Take anagrams of english words, or
simply mix and match Sounds. They are all ways to deal with the prob
simply and effectivly.
Opper:
There are
several things I do when making names for people and
places. Often for cities and towns I will check out a map of
a state
far from my own and pick out small town names and transfer them
to my
world. Sometimes town names even become NPC names… One
of my groups
fought the evil conjurer Modesto! California here they come
=) For
small towns and villages I try to associate the name by where
it is
or what its purpose is…
This is
often the most historically accurate
method IE Lakeville. If you are looking for some good surnames
find a
decent book on medieval lesser royalty and go crazy… They
had some
wacky names back then and don't be afraid to look up the ones
from
the Countries that don't speak a romance language… I really
like
Slovakian countries for this. Otherwise I keep a list of names
in a
notebook and when I finally do come up with a cool name I add
it to
the list for use in future campaigns. One of my personal favorites
is
a god in my world named Fezigosh.
SCA Bard : An atlas is a great resource for place names. If you keep an eye out
on the sale racks at the bookstore, you can sometimes get children's
atlases very cheap. Alternately, unusual last names of people can
make good place names.
For NPC
names, there are lots of sources. Try typing in "Baby Names"
to an Internet search and see all the pages and pages of names
that
come up. (A favorite of mine is http://www.kabalarians.com -
I don't
subscribe to their philosophy, but they have a huge list of
first
names sorted by gender and nationality). The "Everyone
Everywhere"
supplement is a little $5-$6 independently published booklet
that
contains first and last names for a variety of nationalities;
I keep
a copy in my GM binder for quick NPC names - and I often use
the last
names to make quick place-names.
Von Romig:SCA Bard gave me this website. It is great for names.
http://www.kabalarians.com/html/surf-by.htm
Just pick
the country you wish the kingdom to favor, and select
either male or female names.
Kristi
: I tend to pull names from my
everyday life. Maybe if I am traveling
I will jot down names of towns, stores, streets, etc. Also,
as
others have said, just look at a map. Lastly, the baby name
books
are great for general NPC names.
James
Radloff : I like to mix names.
I may find 2 names I like, and mix them
somehow. For example, I may choose Link and Mario, and make
characters named Larik and Mino. I works pretty well. Also,
taking
names from pop culture doesn't hurt, I have a paladin named
Sarek,
who I later learned was Spock's father on Star Trek.
Phil:
some of the tricks that I use are:
Mangle, misspell, mispronounce names from around you, Michael
= Mikhal, Chris = Khrys or Kyrss, Dale =
Dayle or Dhayl, Ray = Rea or Rhe or Rai or Rya join 2 short
names together Lee and Anna = Leanna or cut
a long name Alexander = Xander = Xan
also useful
are the names of:
the playtesters in the PHB3.0, names on albums (band, producers,
managers), in author's "Thank You" to
friends and relatives, names of actors in TV, or their characters
(TV shows have a habit of using
uncommon names for a lot of their characters) especially for
the solo appearance actors,
from movie credits (gaffer, monkey grip etc) newspapers, magazines,
comics people wearing nametags
the "correction" a spell-checker gives you for an
unknown name Aragorn = Erigeron
go to a
translation website and enter a couple of words that describe
what you are trying to name.
"cold blooded" "killer" in Portuguese =
"a snague-frio" "assassino" could become
Guenissa Frosnag, a
female gnomish assassin. use
names of streets, towns, maps, tourist brochures, especially
from other
countries where possible.
use scientific
names. Specific themes can be used for races: geology = dwarf
names, botany = elf, soils + animal = gnome
Array 50: Getting an old world feel for yours can be an interesting challange.
Tolkin manged it by building a mythology of his world, then setting
his story amoung it. So did many other fantisy writers. And I have
found that its the best, if a tough, way to deal with the prob. Sit
down, start from the gods and religions, and build a world of stories
and belives, steal them from other sources. The storie of the the
death bog from the two towers, with a bit of a change, can make a
facinating part of your own world. Wars and holy men make great
aspects of a world to dip into for background noise in the world. A
bit of real world history, with a few changed names, might make a
great story as well. Pick up an encyclopedia, and start to read, never
know where insperation might show up.
Opper : This is a large task as I have worked on my own campaign world for
many years… going on nine or so. Here are a few things that have
really helped me. In order to know where you are going you have to
know where you have been. Start with a history or a genesis story and
figure out how the world got to where it is. I started out by writing
a lot of myths and legends about the formation of the world and the
coming of the gods. Decide early on what the level of magic will be
and how it affects the daily lives of the people of your world. Last
but not least run multiple campaigns and always run them in different
places and times in your world, not only does this make for fun story
integration it forces you to flesh out different areas of your world
without stagnating or getting hung up in just one…. Now go forth and
create!
SCA Bard: First, your players may not have quite the enthusiasm for detail that
you as a world creator do. It can be frustrating to feel that one
needs a semester-long course to understand a game world. So, don't
worry too much about every little detail to start.
Sketch
out the broad and epic events of history. Keep them *very*
brief - what, when, where, a very few whos and hows, and why.
Start
with the ones that might actually affect your campaign. If the
PCs
are going to look for a relic from the Wyrm War, make up extra
details on the Wyrm War. If they are unlikely to ever venture
into
the Underdark, you do not have to detail the rise and fall of
drow
Houses. This saves you much work.
Focus your
efforts on the present - the current problem, the current
villian, the PCs' current location. How did they come to be?
This
is the history you want to know best.
I have
found that I get much more detail - and interesting detail -
if I leave things open and fit things together as the campaign
goes
on. Things you could never have foreseen as a world-builder
suddenly
click in compelling patterns. These patterns in turn suggest
a
history that instantly enriches your game world in an unexpected
and
novel way.
Von Romig: Don't try to create a set of kingdoms and other realms from scratch
and then try to tie them all together. Instead, take your world map
and write a history, several thousand years of it. Start with small
villages and family clans of the variuos races and work them up.
Make it rich with; conquests, empire building and fallings, city
rising and destructions, showing the ebb and flow of populations in
and out of different regions, show the unique ways kingdoms form,
prosper, and some fall. Include region wide epic eras, such as The
Age of Suchinsuch Empire, The Dynasty of Whathisname's, and the Fall
of the Big Alliance and Rebellion of the Serfs... etc.
I created
maps of each time period to better see the political,
regional, and economical picture as I went through the world's
history. (this also gives you nice historic maps that can be
used in
certain campaigns that deal with ancient legends and lore) Then
when
I reached the period of time that the campaigns would be played
in,
I had a map of the world, knew why it was that way, and the
relationships of all the realms due to historical events.
You may
surprise yourself in how much more 'realistic' your world
looks and feels doing it this way, instead of just throwing
a bunch
of kingdoms together.
Shadenwawa : well Ian, here are a few thoughts on this..
remember
first that history is a vague sort of thing, especially the
farther back you go. also important is the fact that everything
has
an effect on everything else eventually, even if it's long after
or
far from the original event.
a good
way to make a history for a world, especially if you've not
yet played in it extensively yet, is to photocopy off a copy
of a
rough physical map and vaguely outline your political stuff,
as if
you were making a finished world. then, make things happen in
it.
play out your own campaigns, making the really major npcs. obviously
you don't have to go to any great detail here, but figure out
if
there was a war here that changed a kindom's borders, destroyed
another race, etc. if there was a drought for a long time and
people
had to migrate, what happened when they imposed themselves on
their
neighbors? mark it all down, taking notes as you go (flowcharts
are
helpful for showing causes and effects). this is your map and
major
events for X,000 years ago. you don't have to go into great
detail at
first, an overview would do fine, since really ancient history
is
always sketchy
then do
it again with the new map and notes as a base. decide what
ongoing things continued to have a big influence in the next
major
sequence of events, what stayed the same, what changes in the
last
cycle have become status quo now. determine what random things
happen
that people would have to deal with, such as eruptions, quakes,
invasions from another plane, etc.
after you've
determined all the consequences of what happens, and
what the eventual changes are, how things reach balance again,
and
have taken notes on what happened in a notebook and on maps,
then do
the whole thing again with the new setup as a base.
repeat
this until you've built up enough notes to have all the
history you want. you'll need some ancient things, and more
events
with detail as you go. after a while, shorten your time scale.
make
each cycle represent 100 years instead of 1000, etc. the reason
that
history seems empty at first and so hectic now, is not because
more
happens now, but that we remember and have records/evidence
of more
of it now. history doesn't just happen, it builds up.
once you
have a good body of history for your world, decide how much
of it is known generally, which areas and races know more or
have a
better knack for/records of history. decide for each how accurate
the
records are, and where they go astray. lastly, make up some
things
that were legends, which are often based at least at some point
upon
true events, myth that never happened, and straight out lies
that
ancients told for whatever reasons (to look good, to justify
atrocities or ideologies) and that have since been accepted
in an
area as truth.
this might
seem a little labor intensive, and it can be, but general
outlines are going to be good enough for 60+% of your history,
unless
you do like i'm thinking of and make a campaign with a fair
element
of time travel.
however,
this seems to me to be a good way to build up a lot of
history that makes sense, and if you stop to look at consequences
for
things you create, a lot of it will suggest itself as you go.
so this
might be easier in the long run than making up a history for
each
area and then trying to hammer them together and make sense
of it.
also, if you stick with the cyclical idea, it is very conducive
to
the whole "epic history" feel.
if you
really want to get into it and gain extra credit, write a
few "major histories of the (world, elves, whatever) from
the
viewpoint of an appropriate historian in your world. make them
essay-
stories from a few pages to longer if you get carried away.
keep in
mind though that it's best if some of this becomes relevant
to the
PCs at some point.
anyway,
i hope this helps without putting you or your players to
sleep, or your social life to death
James Radloff
: If you mean to make it
seem more authentic, to give the world it's own personality,
You may choose to write a history to it. Not too long, but whatever
you feel. Also, you can use NPCs
to show your party around.
Array
50: After each
session, I ask my characters a few things to help my own
campain along:
a) Where do you think this campain is going?
b) What do you want your character to be able to do?
c) Do you have any concructive critiseum for me?
Opper:
Monte Cook
has a great players survey that used to be posted on his
website www.montecook.com I cannot find it there now but I am
sure
you could email him and grab it. If I find it in and amongst
my files
I will post it to this message board and give Monte Credit.
SCA Bard: The
7th Sea Player's Guide has a list of "Twenty Questions"
which are
excellent for this sort of thing.
Personally,
when generating a character history, I try to hit the
following questions:
What was
the PC's childhood like? Her family?
Does she keep ties to her family? How does she feel about them?
What was adolescence like? Did she fall in love? What happened
with
that?
How did she get started in adventuring? Does she like it?
What are her current personal goals?
Does she want a spouse and child(ren) someday? Why not today?
What sort of men (or women!) is she interested in?
Is there anyone in the world that she hates? Why does she hate
them?
Obviously,
I am a *big* fan of PC-PC and PC-NPC interactions.
Friendships, hatreds and loves are great dramatic motivators
that can
tap into much deeper emotions than the need to acquire more
treasure
can. If you can get your PCs to be emotionally invested in your
NPCs, you have instant hooks all the time, whether their loved
ones
are in danger or their hated foe has begun another nefarious
scheme.
Kristi
: I use general questions like
the ones others have mentioned. It is
very important to know the PC's family and possibly use that
as
storylines later on in the game. I also like to know what thay
have
done to earn money up to the begining of the game. It may be
something as simple as chopping firewood for the local smith,
or as
impressive as apprenticing for a local wizard.
James Radloff
: They can make stuff up
about their own character fairly easily, and
in fact, I usually ask people what kind of person their character
is
before what their class is, thus giving them an idea. Noble
protector
of the people=paladin, BA wants-to-take-out-the-bad-guy=fighter,
moral support=bard, and the like.
Array
50:
Im not sure about the 3e rules, but I have always played it
as the
magical control of a pc/npc does not extend beyond the limits
of the
plain, unless otherwise stated by the spell description. So
in this
case, the Vampire would lose control, though there might be
some kind
of post hypnotic thing set up for future uses....
Opper:A vampire's domination works as a Dominate Person cast by a 12th
level wizard. So this person would be dominated for 12 days.
Zalco:
I agree with OPpper in the first part
of the answer but not the 2nd
part. The vampire's domination works as a Dominate Person cast
by a
12th level, but it will not ceases to function just because
the
caster and the target are no longer on the same plane - it woundn't
even stop if the caster died.
The
Vampire would not be able to give
the Dominated Person new orders because it's on a different
plane,
but the Dominated Person would try to carry out the last order
the
Vampire gave before it left for the next 12 days or until the
task is
finished (he would still take time to eat and sleep).
Opper:
Actually
it specifically states in Dominate person in the PHB that it
ends if the caster and the target are on seperate planes...
It wasnt
really an interpretation thing on my part it was going by the
letter
of the law...
I would
play it differently myself but I thought it would be best to
give the proper and yet canned response.
that is
all...
Starlight
Storyteller :
I agree
that this is the literal interpretation. If it's good for
your story, then use the literal. If it means someone has to
sit out bound, gagged, or unconscious
for 12 days, then fudge the rules a little and let the dominate
"cease to function" after the vampire is
off the plane of his thrall. Whichever works for your game,
but if the first one (the literal rules
interpretation) works, then go with it because it's the letter
of the law. If that's going to cause a
large problem, though, or ruin the fun for people, then that's
what the bit in the DMG about the DM
bending the rules when it helps make a better game is for.
>>>>Actually
it specifically states in Dominate person in the PHB that it
> ends if the caster and the
target are on seperate planes... It wasnt > really an interpretation
thing on my part it was going by the
letter of the law...
I
would play it differently myself but I thought it would be best
to give the proper and yet canned
response. that is all...>>>>
You
are correct. It says range is unlimited "as long as you
and the subject are on the same plane". I
would interpret that to mean the domination is still there,
but does not function (as if the person
was affectd by a "protection from evil" spell). So
the spell "lasts" for 12 days, but no control can
be exercised, and the last command is not carried out, while
the vampire is on another plane...unless it
returns to the same plane...in which case resume of control
would be instantly.
Sorry about
previous post. I did not see that in the spell. But, yeah, it
appears that no interpretation
is needed to get your players out of a pickle of not having
to beat down their party member just to
make him not obey the commands for 12 days. :)
Zalco
: PH don't "specifically
states" that the spell end when you are on differnt planes,
but it
"specifically states" that you don't have the abillity
control the Dominated Person directly if you
are on a different plan than that Person.
The
spell effect is still on, so the Dominated Person still have
to do whatever the last command was and
you can still detect the spell with a detect magic, but after
the Person are done with what-every
the last command was that Person can act normally for the rest
of the duration ... as long as the one that
did the Domination don't return to this plan *evil grin*