Name Generators

In the Young Kingdoms, a name is seldom just a name.

It may tell of a city, a bloodline, an old allegiance, a sea-voyage, a god once feared, or a deed that should have been forgotten. A common sailor may bear a name rough as hemp and salt, while a prince of Melniboné bears one that coils like incense through a hall of dreaming jade. Men and women of the Young Kingdoms are mortal, striving, and various; their names are shaped by trade, war, religion, and wandering. The names of Melniboné belong to an elder people, and carry the chill of old cruelty and old magnificence.

Use these tables to create names for player characters, non-player characters, rivals, patrons, doomed lovers, and those sorcerers whose names are better not spoken aloud after dark.

Names Of The Young Kingdoms

The peoples of the Young Kingdoms are not one folk, but many. Their names vary from place to place, yet share a common feel: practical, memorable, and fit for use among soldiers, traders, pirates, priests, and thieves. They are names that can be shouted across a quay, signed beneath a mercenary contract, or cursed by a dying enemy.

Many such names follow a simple form: a given name followed by a byname, epithet, or place of origin (such as Seras of Lormyr, or Kalmon the Tall). It's not uncommon for a character to have two names as well, such as Jagreen Lern or Korda Varn.

d66 Young Kingdoms Male Given Names

d66	Name	d66	Name	d66	Name
11	Coren	21	Belis	31	Seras
12	Jarek	22	Torvyn	32	Kalmon
13	Alvos	23	Malrec	33	Orven
14	Rhal	24	Demos	34	Tarek
15	Stevan	25	Varlo	35	Varn
16	Korda	26	Hadrik	36	Ilros
41	Bren	51	Maros	61	Vorik
42	Corvin	52	Velric	62	Seldo
43	Salek	53	Danor	63	Harun
44	Orias	54	Rhyl	64	Darek
45	Jovan	55	Tavos	65	Coros
46	Keth	56	Kalen	66	Varek

d66 Young Kingdoms Female Given Names

d66	Name	d66	Name	d66	Name
11	Ysera	21	Sereth	31	Alira
12	Malyn	22	Nyra	32	Virel
13	Corva	23	Velda	33	Marra
14	Lyris	24	Orya	34	Selene
15	Vesha	25	Jessa	35	Tovya
16	Talia	26	Kethra	36	Rhessa
41	Doria	51	Seris	61	Neris
42	Kalys	52	Velora	62	Alvosha
43	Orlena	53	Danira	63	Brynna
44	Vanya	54	Hela	64	Saria
45	Lessa	55	Coriel	65	Veshaa
46	Myra	56	Tessa	66	Liora

d66 Young Kingdoms Bynames And Epithets

d66	Epithet	d66	Epithet	d66	Epithet
11	the Red	21	of Ilmior	31	of Vilmir
12	the Black-Hand	22	the Broken	32	the Bastard
13	of the Purple Towns	23	the Gold-Eater	33	the Shipless
14	the Salt-Born	24	the Scarred	34	the Quiet
15	the Knife	25	the Oathless	35	the Twice-Drowned
16	the Faithless	26	the Lucky	36	the Cold-Eyed
41	of Argimiliar	51	the Widowmaker	61	of Tanelorn
42	the Drunk	52	the Dog	62	the Exile
43	the Hanged Man	53	the Hawk	63	the Sea-Worn
44	the Silver Tongue	54	the Debt-Bound	64	the Blade
45	the Rat	55	the Unforgiven	65	the False
46	the Freeblade	56	the Pale	66	the Last

Using Young Kingdoms Names

A typical Young Kingdoms name is made by combining a given name with one result from the bynames and epithets table.

Examples:

Coren the Black-Hand
Lyris of the Purple Towns
Jarek the Twice-Drowned
Velora the Silver Tongue
Darek of Vilmir

These are names of mortals. They should sound like they belong to sailors, mercenaries, priests, reavers, spies, and hard-used wanderers. They are not elegant in the Melnibonéan fashion. They are names earned in weather, blood, and debt.

Names Of Melniboné

The names of Melniboné belong to another order of being entirely.

They are older, stranger, and more ornate than those of the Young Kingdoms. They should seem musical, decadent, and faintly unnatural, as though they were first spoken in a palace where dragons slept beneath the floors and demons whispered from braziers of green fire. Such names often flow across several syllables, favoring soft vowels, liquid consonants, and a cadence that suggests immense antiquity.

A Melnibonéan name may stand alone, but the great and the terrible often append a title, style, or courtly distinction. As with the Young Kingdoms, Melnibonéans may use one name (such as Yyrkoon), or two (such as Dyvim Tvar).

d66 Melnibonéan Name Elements

d66	Element	d66	Element	d66	Element
11	Elri	21	Meln	31	Vel
12	Yrko	22	Imry	32	Oryn
13	Cymo	23	Sola	33	Aery
14	Ario	24	Pary	34	Phan
15	Dyva	25	Thae	35	Zyr
16	Xael	26	Rhae	36	Lyth
41	Daer	51	Xylo	61	Thal
42	Myrr	52	Opha	62	Vora
43	Shae	53	Rhy	63	Elya
44	Vael	54	Syth	64	Nael
45	Qyra	55	Aevi	65	Cyr
46	Nhae	56	Ury	66	Ydr

d66 Melnibonéan Titles And Styles

d66	Title	d66	Title	d66	Title
11	Prince of Ruins	21	Master of the Pale Court	31	Lord of the Silver Sleep
12	Lord of the Dragon Isle	22	Keeper of Ancient Pacts	32	Architect of Agony
13	Binder of Demons	23	Rider of Dragons	33	Favored of Arioch
14	Heir to Imrryr	24	Warden of the Singing Towers	34	Breaker of Souls
15	Dreamer of the Ruby Throne	25	Consort of Chaos	35	Keeper of the Black Blade
16	Scion of House X	26	Speaker to the Elemental Lords	36	Prince of a Thousand Years
41	Daughter of the Bright Doom	51	Lord of Ten Thousand Delights	61	Prince of the Last Dynasty
42	Voice of the Old Ones	52	Keeper of Forbidden Names	62	Heir of Silent Imrryr
43	Weaver of Flesh	53	Herald of the End	63	Lord of the Ruby Throne
44	Mistress of Dreaming Cities	54	Warden of the Inner Isles	64	Dream-Thief
45	Child of the Dragon Blood	55	Beloved of the Court of Chaos	65	Binder of Souls
46	Lady of the Sapphire Court	56	Scourge of the Young Kingdoms	66	the Doomed

Shaping A Melnibonéan Name

Roll two or three name elements and combine them into something elegant and cruel. Do not hesitate to alter the result slightly so that it sounds right.

Examples:

Vaelaeryn, Favored of Arioch
Dyvamyrr, Lady of the Sapphire Court
Yrkonaelyth, Keeper of Ancient Pacts
Aeryphan, Prince of the Last Dynasty
Cymoryl, Child of the Dragon Blood

A Melnibonéan name should not sound blunt or ordinary. It should suggest age, ceremony, decadence, and a beauty so refined that it has become almost inhuman.

A Note On Tone

A name in this setting should do more than label a character. It should immediately imply a world.

A Young Kingdoms name should sound as though it belongs to one who has known weather, steel, hunger, and compromise. A Melnibonéan name should sound as though it was first spoken in torchlit halls before human kingdoms were built, and may still be spoken when those kingdoms are ash.

Choose names that help the players feel the difference.

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