Curse

Vicks · Feb 06, 2008, 04:03 AM // 04:03

So I was interested in enemy trends within Guild Wars, to say it lightly, and one of the things that interested me the most was the Charr. Now, we humans generally follow a naming system where we refer to each other mostly by given and family name (although not necessarily in that order), and not often is the middle name included in everyday use. Clearly I'm not going to name actual people in real life for my examples, but a character is good representation. For example, I named my mesmer with a normal sounding first and last name.
We also often have nicknames or titles, applied in different ways. Like you could be Vicks "The Vice" Grippe. If my warrior were a human boss, he might have been called Vicks Grippe or Vicks The Vice.

Now, the Charr, on the other hand, seem to use a naming system based on warbands or larger more overarching structures I am unaware of. Since it doesn't give you the names of the everyday run of the mill enemies you kill, you probably can't tell, but it is likely that they are named after the warband they started in or are a part of or identified most with.

They all seem to take individual first names, and then have the first part of their last name all match up with the other members of their warband. This is evident in the fact that Pyre Fierceshot is apparently not related by blood to his warband and yet they all share the "Fierce" prefix to their last names, whereas the unique portion of their last name often give hints as to what their profession may be. This is backed up by the fact that Pyre Fireceshot is referred to as the son of Doomtooth, which can only be Vatlaaw Doomtooth, the cunning Charr ranger who helped orchestrate the searing and was ultimately slain by the heroes while distracting them and prince Rurik, yet Pyre has neither Doom nor tooth (or even Vatlaaw) in his name. Although he may simply have something against his father and prefer not to use his name... which is pretty much the greatest flaw in my reasoning thus far.

But anyway, this all comfortably coincides with the fact that many of the Charr whose names are given who do not have some sort of title or nickname (Red-Eye the Unholy, Druul the Untamed, Dahgar the Eye of Flame, etc) share a common prefix, suggesting that they either currently belong to the same warband or perhaps they all originated within the same warband if they are not static. I have the feeling that there may be only so many warbands within the current Charr hierarchy and that being able to move into a more prestigious warband and take its surname is perhaps a sign of honor to the Charr. It could even be more complicated than that.

"Blood", "Maul", "Flame", "Kindle", and "Man"(-eater, -killer) seem to be popular ones.

Also, I noticed that as far as given names, double consonants and double vowels tend to be very common within Charr naming. Gives it a rougher feel it seems.

So if one were to make a fictional Charr, it would be quite easy to come up with an appropriate name.

Example: Kalkarr Ripsoul

Sticks and Stones · Feb 08, 2008, 03:48 PM // 15:48

Pyre definatly likes his dad, one of his idle quotes is how he was great, and in regard to your char name, i'd be Krall Ripflesh if i was in your warband

Whisper Evenstar · Feb 08, 2008, 06:22 PM // 18:22

I'll join your warband too....

<--- Searr Ripflame

Biostem · Feb 09, 2008, 04:16 AM // 04:16

I don't think the Charr names are their "real" names; I think they are more like stage-names or simply callsigns/handles. I find it hard to believe that a race so intertwined w/ fire, culturally, would only have 1 person named "Pyre". More likely, his first name is Pyre, and the rest of his name relates to some lineage. The "Fierceshot" part is more than likely something he earned by virtue of being a ranger. If he had been a warrior, it is conceivable that his name would have been "Pyre Fiercestrike" or "Pyre Furysword", or the like.

Another thing to keep in mind, and I don't know if this is indicated anywhere, but the Charr may very well have their own language, in which case their names may not be directly translatable to english/common/whatever human speak in GW.

A last thought - if you look at some centaurs, they follow a similar naming scheme to the Charr; Zhed Shadowhoof, Haroj Firemane, etc.

Also consider that clearly unintelligent enemy bosses sometimes even follow this naming scheme. Perhaps the names are simply what humans have given to these creatures...

draxynnic · Feb 14, 2008, 02:08 AM // 02:08

There's actually an article in a special Guild Wars issue of a magazine that describes Charr culture, including nomenclature.

In short, you're pretty much right: The first name is given at birth, but the 'surname' (at least the prefix thereof) is taken from the warband. Charr that move to a different warband even change their surnames to fit in, although it is mentioned that they often still carry strong loyalties to their original warband. So in Pyre's case, he's a member (apparently the leader) of the Fierce warband, and any Charr with Fierce as the prefix to their 'surname' is a member of that warband.

The warbands themselves are organised into four legions: Ash, Blood, Iron and Flame (the latter derisively called Gold by the others after the fall of the Shamans between GW1 and GW2). The warband that carries the name of the legion is the prime warband in that legion, led by one of the descendants of the Khan-Ur (the last Charr to unite the race under one leader (although the Shamans came close...), and thus the equivalent of royal descent among the Charr).

Konig Des Todes · Feb 14, 2008, 07:48 PM // 19:48

Draxynnic is correct. The first name is the name given by parents at birth, the prefix of the surname is given according to the warband the charr is in. The suffix of the surname is unknown how it is given, atleast of what I have noticed. I believe that the suffix of the surname is either given by profession, parents, or it is self-chosen. Profession is probably incorrect, seeing how there is suffixes like -tooth, as mentioned. So it is probably given by parents or self-chosen names.

arsie · Feb 15, 2008, 04:00 AM // 04:00

I think the Charr have too many children to allow for a nuclear family in the human sense. Of course, their violent lifestyle controls their population.

If you think about them in the way pack animals behave. Depending on the species, when an animal reaches maturity, it either stays with the pack, or leaves to form his own pack. This new pack is then in direct competition with his parent's pack. As such, packs can either be familial, or be a hodgepodge of outcasts.

If Pyre Fierceshot is not in Vatlaaw Doomtooh's warband/pack anymore, he'll not a DoomX. He may have formed or inherited the FierceX warband. His offsprings may grow up to leave his warband and will have their own "last name".

So each warband has a fixed Prefix or Suffix, or at least some sort of theme. Maybe FlameX and FireX are the same warband, or closely related. Perhaps the Charr might change their "last name" if they submit and is absorbed by another warband. Pyre Fierceshot might one day be laid so low that he becomes Pyre Flameshot.

itsthatkid · Feb 15, 2008, 09:11 PM // 21:11

When GW 2 comes out, I'm going to make a Charr named Arbalest Fleshreaper.

Eldin · Feb 16, 2008, 12:06 AM // 00:06

**** *********** = my GW2 Elementalist Charr.

The name is MIEN fools, MIIIIIIEEEEENNNNNN!!!11oneone!!

Yeah, maybe it's not wise you guys are running around posting your Charr names, especially if you are REALLY eager on using them.

Also, arsie, I think you're right, especially as the first names are irrelevant to profession.