Curse

Nexus Icon · Apr 02, 2007, 07:57 PM // 19:57

Nexus Icon, as well as meaning "Central figure of attention and devotion" (pretty fitting for an egotistical theatrical type such as a mesmer), is also a song by The Wildhearts, about a rockstar figure leading a life of excess.

My other mesmer is called "Miles Away Girl", again, a song by The Wildhearts, but this time about a mysterious, other-worldly girl. Again, quite fitting.

rohara · Apr 02, 2007, 08:00 PM // 20:00

i think of mesmers as performers and thus they deserve a fancy (and completely pretentious) stage name.

my first mesmer was Sergio Belafonte XD
second mesmer Fiona Belle

i suggested the name Lance Sparklepants to a guildie once...

Ares Moonlight · Apr 02, 2007, 08:03 PM // 20:03

I just check some Mythologic names on Wikipedia.

cthulhu reborn · Apr 02, 2007, 08:06 PM // 20:06

My mesmer's name comes from Star Trek Deep Space Nine...I was pretty excited and surprised that it wasn't taken yet. She is a domination mesmer and her name then is The Dominion.

Phantom Flux · Apr 02, 2007, 08:28 PM // 20:28

This thread should be in the mesmer section.

blood4blood · Apr 02, 2007, 08:34 PM // 20:34

"Avicara Wylde" ... pretty obvious IMO

Cjlr · Apr 02, 2007, 09:26 PM // 21:26

Well, it depends on how much of a character you want. I've generally noticed that PvE characters are much more likely to have, you know, actual names... But there's no real rule or anything. Just what I've noticed. Are you looking for a PvP-type name? The kind that's memorable, maybe funny, maybe kinda trashy, and has that "Oh shit, I just got pwned by Lance Sparklepants!" vibe? Or a PvE-type name, one that sounds real, something with a story behind it, something with power, that resonates in your mind after it leaves your throat?

If the latter, I would advise you not to name the character after the class. That's backwards. Think of people. The name comes first. You have a name before you have anything else. Then the character. People need time to develop. Then the profession. Unless it's a caste system... Then you've got a name and profession from the start. But that's not important right now. So do it that way. Make up a nice name, plug in some details to flesh out the character (you don't have to, of course, but I always find it fun to do; you know, a rough outline of the char's life), and then pick which class the character would be. I guarantee, it will feel more realistic to you. You're also less likely to end up with something you regret.

Or, if you're really stuck, you can make up a pretentious and possibly incorrect (because honestly, who's going to know?) Latin name. One person in a hundred thousand will think you're an idiot because it's wrong, but at least twice as many will think you're brilliant. So call it Callidior Te (smarter than you), or Aurea Apprime (exceedingly beautiful), or something. Just not Uvidum Inguen (look this one up yourself

). That would be stupid.

dr1zz one · Apr 02, 2007, 09:34 PM // 21:34

My female mesmer is called "M E S M O R I Z E D" - unoriginal...i know.
My male is called "Issac Mendez" - Heroes

Chiaro · Apr 02, 2007, 10:07 PM // 22:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dj Tano

Meratilo = Italian, are you RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOing kidding me?

Katon = Japanese, dude you must be joking!

Luan = African, this is the proof that you have no clues of where names come from...

>_> <_<

Ignorance is bliss.

Eldin · Apr 02, 2007, 10:26 PM // 22:26

My little brother came up with my mesmer's name:

Deszelmic Thickwick

I think he got some inspiration from Professor Flitwick from Harry Potter, plus as a fancy schmancy mesmer, I think he just wanted the name to sound downright wacky.

Pynne · Apr 02, 2007, 10:29 PM // 22:29

A nickname I call my daughter most of the time is Monkeyfoot. "Monkey Foot" was taken so I added another nickname I use for her sometimes, Raindrop. Thus my mesmer's name is Raindrop Monkeyfoot.

VGJustice · Apr 02, 2007, 10:43 PM // 22:43

I went all crazy with mine. Eni Nadja. I related "Nadja" to "nada" which I believe translates to "nothing". "Eni" only makes sense when you see her pet, Geh Mah.

Say it out loud.

floppinghog · Apr 02, 2007, 10:51 PM // 22:51

Since mesmers are known to be left on the backburner by standard pugs and such, and most people don't know whats so good about them it ties to how i've felt from past experiences

its my fault, I hold the guilt, and i'm alone

Fault Guilt Alone.

Samuel Dravis · Apr 02, 2007, 11:07 PM // 23:07

I looked in old greek tales Medea is, and specifically Euripides' tragedy Medea. Not only was she King Aeetes of Colchis's daughter - a princess; she was also a powerful enchantress.

minimoose fan · Apr 02, 2007, 11:24 PM // 23:24

Wee Irishman, because mesmers remind of the Irish, especially with the River Dance. And I made him small so Wee worked, good fun coming up with names.

Angelica · Apr 02, 2007, 11:54 PM // 23:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiaro

>_> <_<

Ignorance is bliss.

OT. Well if Meratilo is your surname how would someone know it's Italian? Just because it finishes with a vowel doesn't mean it is.

I named my mesmer Lucy Bell, I wanted to name her Lucy Fer, but it was taken.
If you like Italian name here are some for a female character:

Ombra Azzurra (Blue Shadow)
Illusione Viola (Violet Illusion)
Occhi Di Fata (Fairy's Eyes)
Attrazione Fatale (Fatal Attraction)
Vera Gemma (True gemstone)
Rosa Spinosa (Thorn Rose)
Orchidea Nera (Black Orchid)
Regina Amata (Loved Qeen)
Bella Incantatrice (Beautiful Enchantress)

Oh well cannot think of more!

/Angelica

Personette · Apr 02, 2007, 11:58 PM // 23:58

All my character names are semi-obscure literary figures and references. Some of them work out better than others - my best names are all subversive, if you catch the reference, but just pretty if you don't.

My mesmer's name is Christa Wolf - a really awesome East German writer. And my mesmer started out Me/R, so I liked the animal tie in. Mostly I thought the style of writing suited the style of play: subtle but sharp.

The first thing I did, though, was try the name of every single female character in Remembrance of Things past and they were ALL TAKEN. I mean, maiden names, married names, with and without titles...there is some Proust fanatic who plays Guild Wars who stole all the names and I hope he reads this thread and feels guilty for not sharing.

Incidentally:

Medea is really best known for murdering her two children. She married Jason (of the golden fleece), who took her away from her homeland and then abandoned her to take up with another woman more useful to him at the time, so to punish her husband she killed the children they had together.

I think this makes the name cooler, esp. for a mesmer.

Samuel Dravis · Apr 03, 2007, 12:38 AM // 00:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Personette

Incidentally:

Medea is really best known for murdering her two children. She married Jason (of the golden fleece), who took her away from her homeland and then abandoned her to take up with another woman more useful to him at the time, so to punish her husband she killed the children they had together.

I think this makes the name cooler, esp. for a mesmer.

I know, but I usually leave that bit out in my description of her.

I was pretty amazed when I actually read the whole play though. Never knew she was quite that evil. That was when I figured out that's what her name should be.

Caith-Avar · Apr 03, 2007, 12:41 AM // 00:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cjlr

If the latter, I would advise you not to name the character after the class. That's backwards. Think of people. The name comes first. You have a name before you have anything else. Then the character. People need time to develop. Then the profession. Unless it's a caste system...

Other possible names for class-based names would be some sort of divination about the destiny of the child upon birth, usually used as some sort of foreshadowing in literature, and most often either great heroes (great destiny that has been foreseen by the village seer/dreamer or whatever) or some sort of rulers (kings or something like that, where such a divination might be part of the protocol upon birth of the heir).

Or like a tradition. Again, it can be two ways: A. A name is given based upon the family, like "every man since five generations has been a ..." and it strengthens the force of tradition on that young person. B. We say it's the time last names developed (which would be somewhere around 15th or 16th century in real world) and simply say that it's a family tradition as strong as in A.

Or it's a nickname. Actually, we're guessing the characters are already grown, and they have done certain things. We're not naming a child, but someone who might simply have had some reknown in the academy for being honest and as such had taken the last name "The Honest" (because, apparently, he had become known under this name anyhow). This is especially viable if we think of the time before fixed last names were common or while they were in the process of establishing.

Or using some more obscure versions of some meaning, a different or fantasy language (given or not) and backtracking it to some sort of holistic view of the world, that everything is given and falls into place, and that the names in secrecy already reveal the destiny. In hindsight, this sounds a lot like 1, just this is that nobody really knows why they name stuff like they name it...

So far, just to give some alternate explanations for names derived from profession. For my girlfriends characters, she asked for my help and we devised a number of names together. For her characters, I took last names that were fitting to the profession (maybe along the lines of the "nickname" theory) and first names that sounded right or carried some obscure meaning hinting in the right direction.
For my own characters, which was more than a year earlier, I was less resourceful, although I don't regret it: All my characters are named "Of Mistwatch" - as the first one had been on WPE 2004. Some names are slightly changed "actual" names (Davyd, Caryn) or vaguely known-sounding, more or less freely invented (Cyrian, Syrae), others are derivates with a more obscure meaning (Zephyr (oxford dictionary: A warm, gentle breeze), Baedyr (from Janny Wurts Wars of Light and Shadow, language Paravian, original word: Biedar, means "lorekeeper") or Banya (not sure where I had taken it from... most likely "bane") closing with straight-forward "meaning" names (Scythe and Aegys).
And yes. The "y" is my fetish. Its uses in German are simply too rare for such versatility.
And for those wondering about the obscure meanings ore more straight forward, what classes they are to describe:
Zephyr (warm, gentle breeze) - Assassin (female)
Baedyr (lorekeeper) - Ritualist
Aegys (Shield or Protector) - Paragon
Scythe (often misused farming tool, also the grim reapers utility of choice) - Dervish (you would have guessed it, right?)
Banya (if I derived it from bane or from bone I do not know) - Necro.

For Caryn, the "care" (she's a monk) was intended. For Davyd (the frail elementalist, that can still pack a punch, as David vs. Goliath) it was not intended, I just made it up. Syrae and Cyrian. Mesmer and Ranger. No clue, really. Maybe Syrae as sounding akin to the beginning of surreal. Could be. Wasn't inteded however. Just wanted a y, a name that fits in before "Of Mistwatch" (maximum length 6 letters) and something that I liked the sound of.

So my Mesmer became: Syrae Of Mistwatch.

countesscorpula · Apr 03, 2007, 12:43 AM // 00:43

Mistress Evilyn... A Me/N.

I wanted something classy, that still brought the pain. I think the name gives her kind of a dominatrix feel, that goes well with the concept of a Mesmer/Necromancer. (also has shades of Evil Lynn from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - circa 1980)