Character Names: Putting MY money where YOUR mouth is

Edited, 26 July

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, once said that the hallmark of a well-designed cartoon character is that they be identifiable in silhouette. Back when Wizard magazine was both an actual publication and a publication actually worth reading, their editorial staff observed that the hallmark of a well-designed superhero is that an observer would be able to pick the character out on a poster like this one without hesitation even if all they knew about the character was his name.

Names are important for superheroes, moreso than characters in other genres. If Aragorn or Buck Rogers or Sherlock Holmes or John McClane had a different name, the character himself would be largely unchanged. If Spider-Man or the Flash had a different name, the character would be fundamentally different, possibly requiring a different costume or suite of superpowers in order to make any sense. For superheroes, names matter.

And for some reason, it seems that any time someone mentions it being tough to find a decent name around here (outside this thread, anyway), they're immediately set upon by a crowd of people telling them how easy it is, that they just need to be "more creative," that they should learn to use a thesaurus, et cetera. Well, if you're one of those people, then this is your lucky day. Assuming it's as easy as you say it is, anyway.

Now, I'm not exactly loaded, but I'm willing to offer up a sizable chunk of what influence I do have to anyone who can deliver on this. Think of it as a reward, a finder's fee, or a prize; the point is, if naming a character is so easy, I'll pay you to do it for me. The rules are simple:

I have a character I desperately want to play, but he doesn't have a name. He's been sitting, unused, for about five years now. If you provide me with a name for this guy that I like enough to take and use, I'll send you in-game currency to the tune of half a billion influence. There's no cutoff date; the money remains up for grabs until it's given away. There's no limit to how many names you can suggest. But there are rules, and there are standards. To qualify, a name must be:

• spelled properly unless it's an obvious, purposeful misspelling.
  This includes punctuation; superfluous periods or apostrophes, replacing a capital I with a lowercase L or vice-versa, inserting a space after every letter, or "XX Name XX" are all disqualifying offenses. I will be the sole arbiter of whether a purposeful misspelling is acceptible, but generally, I'd stay away from just adding a Y after any given long A, replacing an I with a Y, or sticking an E on the end of a word that doesn't normally have one. You may have more luck with consonants; X's and Z's are both pretty cool. No promises there, though.
• in English, unless it being in another language suits the character.
  I will be the sole arbiter of whether a non-English language name "suits the character," but generally, if it has a direct translation in English, I want it in English, primarily because of the next item on this list. If it's a word in another language that doesn't exist in English (or has been appropriated as-is from that language -- Baccarat, for example), that might be okay.
• obviously meaningful in some way to the character's theme, costume and/or powers without having to be explained.
  I say again, without having to be explained. I will be the sole arbiter of whether a name is obvious enough that it doesn't have to be explained. Note that this also means "fantasy" names (by which I mean, gibberish that "sounds about right") won't fly here. If it doesn't actually mean something, you can keep it.
• a single word or short phrase as opposed to a complete sentence.
  If a phrase, it would be helpful if it were a real, common set of words people actually use together (and in that order) from time to time, though it doesn't necessarily have to be -- I'm pretty sure "Green Lantern" wasn't a commonly-used phrase before the superhero first appeared. Clever wordplay is good, too, as long as it doesn't get too silly. He isn't intended to be a "joke" character.
• something you might see on the cover of a real superhero comic book.
  I will be the sole arbiter of whether a name is "superhero" and "comic book-y" enough. Titles like "Doctor" or "Captain" or "(whatever)-Man" are acceptable, but less desirable than names without them. Also less-desirable but not expressly forbidden: "mashup" names, i.e, just taking two otherwise-disparate words vaguely related to the character and putting them together: "he uses fire, and carries swords, so he'll be, um... Scorchblade! No, wait -- Burning Edge! No, Stabflare!" Those kinds of things typically generate a response somewhere between "eh" and "meh" from me, but you're welcome to try.
• an actual superhero codename.
  I'm not looking for their real name or secret identity here. I want Wolverine, not James Howlett. I want the Flash, not Barry Allen. I want Black Widow, not Natasha Romanov. Codenames are evocative and informative; real names are lazy and boring. Real names that are also part of a codename (Black Jacques) are cheesy and lame, and will generally be seen as a "misspelling." So, you know, see above for the rules on that.
• Available (or, for safety, taken by you) on the Virtue server. I don't care what's free on other servers. I don't play on those.

Plus, I have to like it enough to take it and play a character with that name. Even if it fits all the other criteria, if I just plain don't like it, then I just plain don't want it. And I'll warn you now, I have some pretty high naming standards. High enough that I've sat on this guy for five years because I couldn't find something I liked, if that tells you anything. I'm not looking for something "pretty good" here, I'm looking for something truly great, something I see and say to myself, "that's the one -- I have to have it because it's perfect." I've waited half a decade, and I'm not about to start jumping at the first thing that's offered now. It's nothing personal, it's just that I'm looking for something truly amazing here.

Basically, "good enough" is not good enough.

Also, I won't be altering the character in any way from what's shown here (aside from possible weapon or power customization); no "this name would make sense if you changed his chest detail to x or added hat y or used aura z." Make the name fit the character.

In an effort to help you take my money (because I legitimately want to give this inf away), I'll try to come back to this thread periodically and explain precisely why I'm shooting down some of the things that I don't deem "winners." This is not done to start fights, insult anyone, or otherwise be a jerk -- it's done to assist everybody participating (or thinking about participating) to better understand exactly what it is I'm looking for, and get everyone that much closer to payday. It's called "constructive criticism," and I hope anyone who wants to jump into the thread without suggesting a name or discussing a given submission will keep that phrase in mind before posting.

Anyway, here he is:



First, let me point out the complete absence of a clown/jester theme.

Ultimately I'm willing to let this guy's powers be determined by his name. For example, if "Ace of Blades" were free (it's not), he'd become a Dual Blades character. If a name I like suggests guns or fire or darkness or whatever else, I'll change his powersets and AT accordingly. If the name he ends up with allows it (i.e, doesn't call out a specific suit), I'd like to give him four costumes that are identical except for the suit on his chest: one for spades, one for hearts, and so on. But I'm not dead-set on that. I do know that if he only gets one suit, it's spades.

Ideally I'd be able to name this guy "Pokerface" or "Solitaire" or "Ace of Spades" or something similar, but, hey, the people who took those names nearly a decade ago and haven't logged on even a single time since then might come back and immediately buy a million Paragon Points, but only as long as they still have that name they've almost certainly forgotten, so....

Anyway, there you go, folks. Half a billion, up for grabs, and all you have to do is name him. Have at it.

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FUN FACT: That burst of light when you level up is actually the effectiveness escaping from your enhancements all at once.

For #1 I put forward Strife Support, a play on Life Support because of the suit and I think the character looks like a villain.

For #2 I give you Abyssal Truth, I just think it fits.

For #3 I offer Flying Acrobat, I took the name on Virtue for a time I might want to use it but haven't been able to get an acceptable concept. Still level 1 and free for deletion.

The first two names are currently free and the third will need me to delete him, send me a tell at @Beet if you want Flying Acrobat.

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I am the Blaster, I have filled the role of Tank, Controller and Defender
Sometimes all at once.
Union EU player! Pip pip, tally ho, top hats and tea etc etc

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Character 1 = Very difficult to name because the costume/concept is so broadly used already. I have no idea but "Cryowaltz" sprung to mind.

Character 2 = Again, without a specific background he's difficult to name. "Eastern Eclipse" runs off the Moon Knight-esque theme.

Character 3 = Actually the easiest to name. Something like "Wild Knave" (rather than Wild Jack, as Knave is the original name for the Jack cards and is less likely to be taken) or "Crazy Knave" if you're going for full theosaurus-athon and it could feed into the wild/flailing poses of the dual pistols.

I'm only doing this for the challenge however, so does this count me out of the running?

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Forse: lvl 22 FF/NRG Defender
Tam Krannock: lvl 37 Shield/Mace Tanker
Toppa Grace: lvl 25 Fire/Ice Blaster
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Red Commissar: I'm in the Queen Mother. Only more awesome. And alive

#1 is pretty damn tough due to the huge numbers of robo-brains people rolled back when the think-tank was released. I can't think of any decent ice-related brain names besides "Brainfreeze" which was probably taken at release, so focusing on the whole brain-jammed-onto-robot deal, how about "Brainframe"? Like a mainframe...but with a brain...yeah, I got nothing.

#2 Hrmm, how about "Moondrake" (or Moon Drake I guess)? It fits the emblem, isn't too annoying to say/print on a comic book cover and sounds suspiciously like mandrake, a famous component of many rituals in the past (handy if he's magic origin). As an added bonus, if you ever get bored of the dragon, drake works for ducks too, so you can slap a bird emblem on there for variety.

[AlGore] (I have ridden the mighty) Moonwyrm/Moon Wyrm is also free [/AlGore]

#3 Is going to be a nightmare, good luck with your search!

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All of my suggestions were checked on Virtue, and were free as of this posting.

#1: Neurofreeze

#2: Dustmoon

#3: Cardshot

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EDIT: Nevermind...all those were taken.

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Open Archetype Suggestion thread!, Kirsten's Epic Weapon Pools, Feudal Japan, Etc., Alignment specific Rularuu iTrials!
If Masterminds didn't suck, they'd be the most powerful AT in the game.

Wow; good response so far. Thanks, everyone!

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FUN FACT: That burst of light when you level up is actually the effectiveness escaping from your enhancements all at once.

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Cryowaltz because he dances with death. *Badum tish*. Also, Walt (Disney), Cryogenics. Cool Z on the end. Zs are cool! >.>

How about Shuffleshot for the card-themed one?

Edit - Of course Eastern Eclipse would be taken, darn it it's an awesome name.

Edit 2 - If you do end up using one of my suggestions, please feel free to split the prize money between the other two winners, or donate to a random newbie, or a whole bunch of random newbies or whatever.

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Forse: lvl 22 FF/NRG Defender
Tam Krannock: lvl 37 Shield/Mace Tanker
Toppa Grace: lvl 25 Fire/Ice Blaster
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Red Commissar: I'm in the Queen Mother. Only more awesome. And alive

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FUN FACT: That burst of light when you level up is actually the effectiveness escaping from your enhancements all at once.

My offerings (all available on Virtue as of 3pm GMT)

Character 1 - Cryo Brain

Character 2 - Umbral Moon or Gossamer Shadow

Character 3 - Poker Heat - as in 'packing heat' in reference to the guns.

I'm also not bothered about the reward if you do want to use any of the names

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Help Dirk Knightly the freelance detective solve a case in Arc ID:368097

Doc, that makes a lot of sense, actually... the just personal preference type of thing, not necessarily the "meant to sound like a superhero" part... that part kinda boggles my mind.

At any rate, I thought of a very different name for the card-themed dude:

The Ace's Joke — Sort of a play off the joker, and well, the ace part should be obvious. I am not sure if you have much in the way of personality for these guys, but this name evokes a very off-the-wall type of character which seems to fit the "wild gunning" style of DP's animations. *shrug*

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Here's my three


(1) Cryon Brian... as in the name Brian, not brain, even though Brian is a twist on brain - I also think Brian rather suits a robot.

(2) The Moonlighter.... rather devious - as in someone who does something undercover, under the power of darkness.

(3) Card Sharp...which could well suit a dual blade char..specially wearing your choice of costumes.

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There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt. ~Author Unknown

I have a distinct feeling that "Moonlighter" is taken, did you check for availability on those?

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1. Not a huge ice fan so I'm drawing blanks.
2. Twilight Justice (part of your concept could be that you kill sparkly vampires), Dusk Vengeance
3. The Huckster, Double Down, Double Dealin, Broadway Bullet - Broadway is gambling slang for an Ace High Straight, and Bullet is gambling slang for an Ace


Oh if you use any of my suggestions take the inf and convert it to prestige in one of your SG's.

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I have the name Midnight Ace if you're interested in using it for character #3

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Paragon Unleashed Forums
Twitter: @Alpha_Ryvius

#1 Frozen Gray Matter I know you don't want a joke name but this all that poped in my head

#2 Twilight Virtue

#3 Double Aces

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Onibi---Fire/Fire/fire Blaster

I'm ready to burn it all.

Lets Fight!

ParadigmX City help the city.

OK, I took a few stabs into Virtue and pulled a few names out for you. some you may not like, since you already stated that you did not want two words put together, but I had already looked before I read that, so I will throw them out anyway...

#1:
Cryomech
Frozen Remnant
Loved One
Frozen Image
Cryo-Suit

#2
Moonpower
Twilight Champion
Night-Born
Eclipse Shifter
Shroud Shaper
Duskwork

#3
Ace Rimfire
Aces Loaded
Solitaire Soldier
Dangerous Ace
Ace for Hire
Ammo Ace
Acey DC
Ace Eye
Poker Ace

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MY FAREWELL GIFT

It is never truly gone, as long as there is someone left to remember.

1. Braincase. That'd work well for a villain, not so much for a hero imho, but it's all I got.

2. Dragonwraith. That cape seems kind of spectral to me, and I kind of like the idea.

3. Ace of All. Go with a melee AT and take War Mace/Shield or Shield/War Mace and put the heart emblem on your shield. Alternatively, Foldem, Holdem, and Called Bluff are all kind of catchy.

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1. "Cerebroid" springs to mind, though it lacks icy connotation.

2. I see "Moondrake" was suggested already. That was my first thought, though I'd expect it to be taken - probably by a Moondragon clone.

3. "Double Decker" comes to mind. I expect that one might be taken, though. "Not Neutered" was the second thought, but that's more of a joke. "Casino Clipper", "Cardinal Spin", "Trump Shot", "Eleventy-One" (or "One-Eleven")...

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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound

1) Cool Intellect - Wordplay on powers that also says something about his personality.

2) Omen of Judgement - Magical connotations combined with vigilante attitude of judge, jury and executioner.

3) Doom Card or Ace of Doom - The Ace of Spades is the Death Card, which is already taken. Doom is a little less specific, but maybe more interesting for all that because "doom" can imply judgement and karmic retribution as well as simply death, destruction and calamity. It also allows for using other cards as alternate costumes/builds. Needless to say, a name like this pretty much requires some form of the tarot card aura.

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For number 3, I just snagged (on Virtue)

Fair Deal

and

Winning Hand

if those are any good to you.

EDIT: Oh, i also grabbed Moon Talon, which might be good for number 2.

For number 1... can't think of much. Frosty the Brainman is available though

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Always remember, we were Heroes.

Not sure why, but when I saw #2, the name that popped in my head was Headmaster Dragon. Not sure why but *shrug*

I don't have any thoughts on the others. Sorry.

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