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The Archives => Campaign Elements and Design (Archived) => Topic started by: O Senhor Leetz on December 18, 2016, 08:27:23 PM

Title: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 18, 2016, 08:27:23 PM
I'm really trying to reboot Arga and I need help with a name for an unconventional PC race. They are  larger than a house cat, but still small enough to sit on someone's shoulders. They have long, swept back ears, a substantial tail, and large prismatic eyes. They have opposable hands and feet like primates. Actually, if you can imagine a vaguely mystical  lemur-cat with pychodelic eyes you got it.

They are incredibly fickle and independent and they have no real culture to speak of. They just do their own thing and each one has their own particular interest - finding lost texts, seeing new places, trying new kinds of milk, etc. Thought a race like this would be a cool change of pace.

For what it's worth, I've been using lots of pseudo Greek/Latin "sounds groups" - mn, ae, ou, os, ox, pn, ph - and have been keeping words down to one or two or three syllables. Other race names I'm set on are called Anthos, Dura, Vor, Ourox, Nane, and Phaun.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: LoA on December 19, 2016, 12:20:07 AM
I personally think you should just call them Sphinxes. It gets the point across well enough. Or you could have extremely sexually dimorphic genders to the point of being separate races, and call the males Andros's, and the females Hete's, and give them different abilities.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 12:41:04 AM
I was thinking about that. I tried to re-spell Sphinx, but it's pretty hard
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: LoA on December 19, 2016, 12:54:13 AM
To be honest with you, I was also going to throw in some snippet names from Babylonian terms for sphinxes as well. Hetepheres was an Egyptian queen who has been sculpted as a sphinx. Lamassu were techinically sphinx in Babylon. You could pronounce it "Zzfink"... I got nothing.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 01:18:29 AM
Every time I tried to re-spell Sphinx it ended up sounding like an antacid.

"Ask your doctor about Sfynx."
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: Steerpike on December 19, 2016, 01:37:40 AM
The Greeks called the Egyptian god Bast "Ailuros" - maybe that could work.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 01:41:08 AM
Just thought of Memph - mischievous sounding.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: LoA on December 19, 2016, 01:44:41 AM
Memph sort of works. I think it sounds more like a Greek fairy, but it does fit.

Also you're right about it sounding like a drug, although I thought of it more as an anti-diarrhea treatment.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 01:46:15 AM
Quote from: LoA
Memph sort of works. I think it sounds more like a Greek fairy, but it does fit.

Bingo.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: LoA on December 19, 2016, 02:14:50 AM
For the record, I don't know that much about Arga. I got a general gest of it from what I've read, but was it prehistoric, or early civilization (stone age, Pre-Mesopotamian)?
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 02:22:57 AM
Greekpunk.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: LoA on December 19, 2016, 02:24:03 AM
Quote from: O Senhor Leetz
Greekpunk.

Aaahhh... I dig it. Sorry the name always sounded like a Stone-age setting. You got a link to your setting, so I can learn more?
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 12:17:14 PM
There's a bunch of random Arga threads floating around here, but it's changed so much over time I wouldn't take anything as canon.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: Magnus Pym on December 19, 2016, 12:43:07 PM
I think LoA might've been thinking about Primeval. (In my signature)
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: O Senhor Leetz on December 19, 2016, 10:56:38 PM
I've been trying to upload some sketches but I've become technology impaired in my not quite so old age. While I figure it out, here's a list of other names for nouns.  

Argan Magic

Phaen, the First of the First
Ourm, the Second of the First
Gnurn, the Hammer's Song
Pnumos, the Cold Sea
Mundus, the Firm Soil
Mnamos, the Fickle Flame
Cylaen, the Great Gift
Maorg, the Undoing


Argan Mortal Kin

Anthos, the Wild-Kin
Vor, the Far-Kin
Naen, the Tide-Kin
Dura, the Deep-Kin
Memph, the Riddle-Kin
Ourox, the Wave-Kin
Auton, the Forge-Kin
Telae, the Mage-Kin (Dead)
Chym, the Song-Kin (Dead)
Velune, the War-Kin (Dead)


Argan Gods

Tyrua, the Two-Faced
Mirminas, the Favored Daughter
Mirminox, the Scorned Son
Val Valox, the Poet
Narae, the Sea-Witch
Ulynos, the Sleepless
Ur-Vor, the Long-Horn
Gormar, the Blood-Hoof

It's not exhaustive or concrete, but I'm digging it.
Title: Re: Help with a name
Post by: Magnus Pym on December 20, 2016, 09:21:54 AM
At first glance, I like the names you've chosen.