Why don't Zalanthans name their children after "celebrities"?

[ShaLeah]

Recently Karieith asked the question of names in the Ask the Staff section and after reading it I thought how cool it is to be able to use a name that's been used already.

Then it got me thinking that I've never, not once in my years of playing, met a single character that has either been named after someone famous or is the child of famous people.

I played a very mild someone once who fell in love with a not so mild someone once and it was huge for me as a player and he died and she was left with a little care package that was born into a named family. I always wondered if I should have special apped playing their daughter to continue those characters in some way.  Especially since she had a really cool name.
Now I wish I had.


Shouldn't (wouldn't) we name our children after the (in)famous?

Thoughts?

[Nyr]

With regards to your particular scenario, that wouldn't be allowed, by the way.  Per family guidelines:

You may only play one member of a given family.  If your PC family member dies, you cannot create another character that is a part of that family.

As for the larger question about celebrities/famous names/naming characters, this has come up many a time before, as far as I can tell.

http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,38862.0.html
http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,4550.0.html
http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,3996.0.html
http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,12968.0.html
http://www.zalanthas.org/gdb/index.php/topic,17909.0.html

[Marauder Moe]

There's a few problems.

Firstly, given Zalanthas's stark caste divide, I think naming common children after nobles would be inappropriate (at least from the nobles' perspective).  It could be misconstrued as an attempt to elevate the child beyond their caste.

Secondly, due to the lack of written records, knowledge of common "celebrities" would be hard to maintain.

Thirdly, nobles tend to like to take the credit for great deeds, and they're the ones who do write the history.


That said, I'm all in favor of name re-use, and would encourage people to make new characters with the demographic-appropriate (first) names of old characters you've seen, celebrity or otherwise.

[ShaLeah]

With regards to your particular scenario, that wouldn't be allowed, by the way.  Per family guidelines:

You may only play one member of a given family.  If your PC family member dies, you cannot create another character that is a part of that family.

You are like an encyclopedia of GDB and Arm info Nyr, thanks for the response!

[ShaLeah]

There's a few problems.

Firstly, given Zalanthas's stark caste divide, I think naming common children after nobles would be inappropriate (at least from the nobles' perspective).  It could be misconstrued as an attempt to elevate the child beyond their caste.

I never thought about that, good point. Would we be so quick to not name our children after our real life non noble notable people though? Would the merchant houses adopt the same elitism?

Secondly, due to the lack of written records, knowledge of common "celebrities" would be hard to maintain.

Word of mouth (imho) is much more powerful than the written word considering the non literate population wouldn't be privvy to said records but everyone hears about the gypsies coming to town or a popular hunter being hanged for treason. There's many more commoners than there are nobles too so within their world (whatever their circle of admiration is, be it thievery, magick, warring or sex) I think it'd be completely plausible to name your kid after that ruthless, world famous mercenary you wish you'd have or DID rub elbows with.

Thirdly, nobles tend to like to take the credit for great deeds, and they're the ones who do write the history.

Trudat.

That said, I'm all in favor of name re-use, and would encourage people to make new characters with the demographic-appropriate (first) names of old characters you've seen, celebrity or otherwise.

Aces

[Marauder Moe]

There's a few problems.

Firstly, given Zalanthas's stark caste divide, I think naming common children after nobles would be inappropriate (at least from the nobles' perspective).  It could be misconstrued as an attempt to elevate the child beyond their caste.

I never thought about that, good point. Would we be so quick to not name our children after our real life non noble notable people though? Would the merchant houses adopt the same elitism?

In real life, we often name our children after our more recent ancestors (sometimes giving them our own names, though I'm reading that this was a rather novel tradition that cropped up with the early American Puritan settlers).  In modern day, celebrities to influence names, but ours is not a rigid caste society.

In Zalanthas, merchants are indeed still a separate caste, but it's more permeable than nobility.  Taking a famous GMH name might cause the houses to grumble, but it's not like they really have the power, authority, or urgency to do anything about it.

[brytta.leofa]

My first PC in the Arm of the Dragon was named Eunoli (among other things, yes).  BE THE CHANGE.

[My 2 sids]

I think Moe gave a good IC answer.   Although, naming after locations or plants or vnpc/npc/PCs would be fine (as long as commoner name).

OOCly, I think because often times PCs aren't thought too much about as children.  It's a struggle just to admit the PC may actually have vnpc families.

[Erythil]

I guess I'll make a Thrain or a Luir or something some day.

[Zoan]

One of my favorite (yet tragically short-lived) PCs was named after a famous PC character, and it was mentioned in the background.

[HavokBlue]

I'm pretty sure I've met a Thrain once.

[Samoa]

I named a PC once after a (fictional) Kadian merchant that my  VNPC parents thought of as being really classy.

I had a PC whose dad was named Kroz.

And, technically, we are, with the Amos thing -- for those of you who weren't around, the whole reason we have 'Amos' as a Zalanthan equivalent of 'Bob', is because at one time there were no less than three PCs alive named Amos, and it just sort of became a running joke. So, hey, every time you meet an Amos? There y'go.

[EldritchOrigins]

Did Thrain ever have any children?  It'd be fun to claim to be his descendant, but I guess one could still make claims even if it isn't true.

[Ouroboros]

Did Thrain ever have any children?  It'd be fun to claim to be his descendant, but I guess one could still make claims even if it isn't true.

It's only been a couple hundred years since his death and given the lifespan of dwarves, that'd be a touchy subject. If he did procreate, he might have grandchildren around that'd take offense to impostors.

[Samoa]

Did Thrain ever have any children?

If you really want to make it kosher, email LoD (or snag him off the Helper list) and ask: snarf_us (at) yahoo (dot) com

[DustMight]

...at one time there were no less than three PCs alive named Amos, and it just sort of became a running joke. So, hey, every time you meet an Amos? There y'go.

I actually heard (years ago) that there were a bunch of NPCs named Amos and so that became the defacto "average joe." 

[Mia]

Thrain, who cares about Thrain?  (no offence meant to Thrain or his player, you rocked played many hours with you)

Why do people remember some and not others.

There once was a southern house that employed dwarves.

One dwarf created and brought forth the Academy.

The Academy one of the most influential structures in the known.

I doubt that there is many that know the name of this dwarf.

[EldritchOrigins]

Some people only know about Thrain because he is mentioned in the history.

[Marauder Moe]

Thrain, who cares about Thrain?  (no offence meant to Thrain or his player, you rocked played many hours with you)

Why do people remember some and not others.

There once was a southern house that employed dwarves.

One dwarf created and brought forth the Academy.

The Academy one of the most influential structures in the known.

I doubt that there is many that know the name of this dwarf.

Of course not.

Thirdly, nobles tend to like to take the credit for great deeds, and they're the ones who do write the history.

It's the Tor Academy, not the Stumpy McBeardless Academy.

[Nyr]

Besieging a city-state is way more impressive.  Besides, no one cares about a non-human that did something constructive.  They'll always remember the non-human that did something destructive.

[palomar]

I'm aware of an NPC who is named after a PC. It was amusing to discover. 

[Yam]

Naming your kid Thrain or Luir is like naming them Adolf Hitler.

Besides, no one cares about a non-human that did something constructive.  They'll always remember the non-human that did something destructive.

I think this applies to humans too. There aren't a whole lot of human heroes from outside of the merchan/noble castes because hey, who can write. Most celebrity is short lived, in another caste, or negative. It doesn't lend itself well to naming progeny.

And people in the merchant/noble castes generally have the decency to spare their children the embarrassment of such gauche naming practices.

[evilcabbage]

Except in Zalanthas you, your family, AND the kid will get executed, instead of the kid being taken away from you.

[RogueGunslinger]

I had a character named Tek when I first started playing and didn't realize who Tektolnes was.

[evilcabbage]

I had a character named Tek when I first started playing and didn't realize who Tektolnes was.

How well did that go over?