Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Drawback on that is generally the 5 color cost.

 

Problem is, there are so many ways to bring him into play without casting him right now, its almost humorous.

 

Except for that little drawback of getting shuffled into your deck if it would hit the graveyard, which eliminates the most typical one, discarding it to your graveyard and spitting it back up via black's arsenal of reanimation effects.

[Gideon]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I agree that the name for the character should be easy to pronounce and evoke something about the character (even if people may not get it).

 

Names I've used:

Mesa (7'4" tall Luke Cage style brick)

Axle (Martial Artist/ extreme sports nut. re: Night Thrasher)

Rebound (energy absorption/redirection powers)

Freefall (no range gravity manipulation)

 

More obscure names I've used:

Lady Mondegreen (Sonic Manipulation) named after Lady Mondegreen

The character knows that most people won't get the reference, so she dresses in fancy ren-garb and wears a masquerade mask. Most people think Mondegreen is her family name.

 

Dr. Pranava (blind mentalist) he is from India. Pranava is sanskrit for Aum

Being from India where Sanskrit is spoken, Dr. Pranava's name isn't quite so obscure there as it may seem.

 

Plastron (Power Armor, pretending to be an alien robot) Plastron means exoskeleton. The character (a teenager) wanted a weird name that "sounded cool" and most people wouldn't question the meaning of. It is supposed to evoke thoughts of words like Plasma, plastic, electron and well... Tron (He's even grey with blue highlights).

[Querysphinx]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

How about Scrap or Scrap Iron The name sounds like something batter and untidy and "Scrap" is also slang for "fight."

[Split Decision]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I kind of like Pig Iron, even though I am sure there has been at least one DC hero by that name

[Tigereye]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Although US aircraft carrier names are not too good for superheroes, "Constellation" would make a decent one, and AFAIK not used for a major one before, as would "Shangri-La" (which is also a great in-joke). We've already had several iterations of "Hornet" and "Wasp", and "Enterprise" is way too well known. "Ranger" isn't too bad, but people would expect a D&D character or somebody like Ranger Gord from Red Green.

 

I also tend to use names for international heroes and villains in their native tongue, which makes for really obscure origins. It also makes the relatively mundane sound exotic- naming a villain "Flying Fish" doesn't sound dangerous until you translate it into French- Exocet.

[Fabricati]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

How about Scrap or Scrap Iron The name sounds like something batter and untidy and "Scrap" is also slang for "fight."

For the extra yard, take it into german, with Alt Eisen...

[StGrimblefig]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I also tend to use names for international heroes and villains in their native tongue' date=' which makes for really obscure origins. It also makes the relatively mundane sound exotic- naming a villain "Flying Fish" doesn't sound dangerous until you translate it into French- Exocet.[/quote']

Exocet is (or was) the name of a missile, IIRC.

[Arkham]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I usually start with a name and then build a character off of that. Sometimes the reverse, but usually name first. Non-english words often make good names, sometimes just using a 'stereotypical' name and translating it makes it that much cooler. I'm awefully fond of Eisenmaid, german for Iron Maiden, for a feminine android I created. Also, Dr. Nachtpferd ( literally Night Horse aka Nightmare ) and Voltaic Leiche ( Electric Corpse ).

 

As long as it doesn't draw too many giggles from the Players and just 'sounds' ok, its meaning doesn't need to be obvious. And even names that would normally be hard to take seriously can become very serious if presented well. i.e. The Penguin. In my own game, a 'silly' sounding name, Ragamuffin, on a scary evil villain doesn't draw any chuckles anymore.

[Shadow Hawk]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Exocet is (or was) the name of a missile' date=' IIRC.[/quote']

 

It's also the Greek word for "Flying Fish", which is why the French chose it for the missile, which is designed to fly low over the water.

[sinanju]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I tend to "repurpose" existing names of other people or things.

 

"Hell's Angel" for a human torch type who is a) female, gorgeous, and c) has huge feathered angel wings.

 

"Iron Maiden" is a flying brick. Or a powered armor character. (The latter has been used in a publishing comic, but...eh.) I don't think anyone's going to confuse an English rock band with a flying brick superheroine.

[Greywind]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I tend to "repurpose" existing names of other people or things.

 

"Hell's Angel" for a human torch type who is a) female, gorgeous, and c) has huge feathered angel wings.

 

"Iron Maiden" is a flying brick. Or a powered armor character. (The latter has been used in a publishing comic, but...eh.) I don't think anyone's going to confuse an English rock band with a flying brick superheroine.

Iron Maiden is from Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. It was also used by Bill Willingham in the Destroyers. That character was changed to Chrysalis.

[Utech]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

A good thesaurus is invaluable when looking for character names. Start with the word "power" and see what interesting words pop up...

 

• ascendancy
  
• bent
  
• birthright
  
• brawn
  
• faculty
  
• clout
  
• diadem
  
• imperium
  
• license
  
• puissance
  
• turn
  
• strings
  
• sway
  
• thew
  
• virtue
  

You might want to fool with the words, of course. Change spelling, add masculine/feminine suffixes, change part of speech, etc.

[Alibear]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Bent man of power.

 

Maybe not.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

And then there's the number of people who misunderstand what a Nimrod is, thanks to Bugs Bunny.

 

(Nimrod was a mighty hunter from the Bible. In a cartoon, Bugs referred to Elmer Fudd as a nimrod in a disparaging tone. Many folks assumed that it was a straightforward insult rather than sarcasm..." This made Marvel's use of Nimrod as the name for the unstoppable Sentinel from the future come off rather oddly.)

 

 

 

Handy: Even now, he (The Tick) sulks like Achilles in his tent.

(Everyone stares blankly at him.)

Handy: Achilles? The Iliad? It's Homer??? READ A BOOK!

I had a DareDevil style martial artist named Nimrod...darn you Bugs. His more frequent enemies called him 'Fudd'

[Enforcer84]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

How about Scrap or Scrap Iron The name sounds like something batter and untidy and "Scrap" is also slang for "fight."

I made (with help) a genius inventor with a rough hewen personality and penchant for inventor's ADD, his devices work well but look like cobbled together prototypes.

 

the name I liked "Scrapyard"

[AnotherSkip]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Note that a "Lizzie" in the days of Ford was what they called a servant.

 

PSL: Must Serve Man.....

[Greywind]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

As long as you remember How to Serve Man is a cookbook...

[GoldenAge]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I made (with help) a genius inventor with a rough hewen personality and penchant for inventor's ADD, his devices work well but look like cobbled together prototypes.

 

the name I liked "Scrapyard"

 

I actually had a character named Scrap... He was a Madison Jeffries homage.

 

Scrap was a member of a group called The Fringe (way back in the 90's) that existed on the edge of society. He had the ability to transmogrify junk and scrap into anything he wanted (like junk car robots or bent-up trash can + scrap metal into an ugly, but functional personal rocket). The catch being that the objects congealed into new objects had to be at 0 body (effectively destroyed) when found and would immediately begin to degrade by falling apart and disintegrating into rust/dust.

 

He was a young, spindly, homeless Rasta with a bit of a chip on his shoulder but, overall, a nice guy... real fun to play.

 

---

 

Edit: Sorry, I just hadn't thought about Scrap in a while. I didn’t mean to waste space with my reminiscences.

[Markdoc]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I had a DareDevil style martial artist named Nimrod...darn you Bugs. His more frequent enemies called him 'Fudd'

 

Our cat's nickname is Nimrod (always used in the Bugs Bunny sense) coined after watching him flail ineffectively after various birds - and finally catch one after it flew into the glasshouse and stunned itself. I guess even our mighty hunter can catch a bird when it's at 0 DCV.

 

cheers, Mark

[Karmakaze]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Our cat's nickname is Nimrod (always used in the Bugs Bunny sense) coined after watching him flail ineffectively after various birds - and finally catch one after it flew into the glasshouse and stunned itself. I guess even our mighty hunter can catch a bird when it's at 0 DCV.

 

cheers, Mark

 

One of the cats I had growing up used to lie down in the driveway near a bluejay nest and wait for the bluejays to start attacking. Periodically she'd swipe at one taking a low dive. We laughed... until the day we saw her catch one that way.

[Tom Carman]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

I have a Technology Tank in City of Heroes called "Stanley Steamer". His costume style is steampunk armor, with Ice defenses and Fire attacks.

[Kenn]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

And then there's the number of people who misunderstand what a Nimrod is, thanks to Bugs Bunny.

 

(Nimrod was a mighty hunter from the Bible. In a cartoon, Bugs referred to Elmer Fudd as a nimrod in a disparaging tone. Many folks assumed that it was a straightforward insult rather than sarcasm..." This made Marvel's use of Nimrod as the name for the unstoppable Sentinel from the future come off rather oddly.)

 

I had a player who wanted to name a character Nimrod, after the Babylonian King/hunter. He was either unaware or willfully blind of the insult.

 

Part of the problem is that the insult portion became ingrained with children without them ever seeing the cartoon. I know I had heard the term as an insult BEFORE I ever saw the cartoon. And I've never been good at remembering names from the book of Genesis. It really wasn't until I was an adult that I put it all together.

 

Growing up, I just thought "nimrod" was a slurring of "numb rod", i.e. like "limp d*ck", essentially referring to being sexually impotent. Which may have been a deliberate double entendre when Bugs calls Fudd a "poor little Nimrod".

 

I told Tim to pick a different name for the character.

[Cancer]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

Carapace or Plastron might work for a power armor type.

 

Heterodox brings up visions of mental or visual confusion. A sort of sensory-overload mentalist. Maybe a bit of mind control.

 

Phlebotomist ... sounds like an effete Leech. Ongoing Drain powers, maybe.

[Kenn]

Re: Picking a codename that, like, a million other characters haven't already used.

 

One of the best I only heard once was for a strongman/stretcher called "Flexus".