Names for Provinces, States, Districts, etc

[plop101]

1.Just like the subject says, I need some names for Provinces, states, etc.

As an example, for a NPC, Bob the Alien,
Homeworld: Terra/Sol, planet Earth, New Mexico Province, Roswell.


2. I especially need some names for the following:
a. Homeworld: Epsilon Cetus System, planet I, ? Province, City?
Note: Epsilon Cetus is from GDW's Double Star, so this is IMTU, not OTU. Also, planet I would be the Chinese system.
b. Homeworld: Prometheus System, Alpha Centauri A , Planet? Provinve? City:
c.Homeworld: Vland system, planet Vland, ?Province, ?City

Thanks is advance guys! plop101

 

[Maladominus]

a. Planet name New Guangxi, province or city name Zhuanghai

Don't try "New Shanghai" or "New Beijing". Chances are good that 700 bazillion other Chinese-colonized planets in Solomani space have already picked those names. Be innovative. Look at the map of China and then pick out a chinese province or city that you've rarely heard of before.


b. Main planet name is already Prometheus, according to GURPS Traveller book Rim of Fire. Do you intend to use a planet that is not the "mainworld" of the system?

All you have to do now is come up with a hypothetical name for the main starport city.

Possible names for the starport city on Prometheus would be based on the legend of the Greek titan Prometheus:

Discovery

Firegiver Prime

Prometheopolis

Foresight

Pyros

Fireforge


The word Prometheus was ancient Greek for 'foresight'. Pyros/Pyro is the ancient greek word for fire. It's not so ancient. We use it today. The words "pyromaniac" and "funeral pyre" are words we borrow from the Greeks.

Prometheus was the good titan. He stole fire from Zeus, and gave fire to mankind, whom he felt sorry for. Zeus was furious that he gave fire to mankind, so Zeus punished him, and chained him to a rock for all eternity, where a giant eagle pecked at his liver and internal organs. Prometheus was also a "god" in his own right, and his demesne/worship was associated with the smiths and metalforgers of ancient greece. Hence, Prometheus was also the greek god of the forges.

 

[Whipsnade]

Mal,

Great suggestions all.

I'd for 'mixed' series of place names.

The original ESA landing site (the capital?) and the orignally surveyed/settled areas would have the kind of artfully linked names you mentioned; i.e. The world is 'Prometheus', so this city is 'Foresight', that continent 'Discovery' and so on. The STL ship crew would want the names to be grand and inspiring, full of meaning and import, well suited for Man's First Interstellar Colony.

Then the real colonists would have their say.

Unlike the ESA types, the Amish, Pharsees, etc., aren't too concerned about choosing the right name for posterity. They just need names for places where they're living. They'll use names from home; i.e. 'New Lancaster' in Low German, or descriptive terms; i.e. 'Roseberry'. All the full-of-itself, square-jawed, pick-an-important-name worries of the uniformed ESA crew and bureaucrats need not apply.

So, using Dan's example:

Homeworld:
- System: Prometheus
- Star:Alpha Centauri A
- Planet: Promtheus
- Continent: 'Europa'
- Province: 'Discovery'
- City: 'Foresight' (the capital)
- City District: 'Riverbend'
- Domicile: 'Riverbend Court, Level 45, Suite B'

Or, for someone who isn't living at the center of Prometheian society:

Homeworld:
- System: Prometheus
- Star:Alpha Centauri A
- Planet: Promtheus
- Continent: 'Europa'
- Province: 'Xhosa'
- City: none
- City District: none
- Region: 'New Lancaster'
- Town/Village: 'Roseberry'
- Domicile: 'Roseberry Manor Farm'


Have fun,
Bill

 

[RainOfSteel]

plop101,

Tablesmith is tailor made for what you want.

See my sig and see this topic: TableSmith Scripting Environment: Easy Software for Gamers.

You will need to adapt some of the naming tables to what you want, but the basics of this are a breeze.

The examples provided in the above topic really show everything you need in order to do what you want.

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by plop101:
2. I especially need some names for the following:
a. Homeworld: Epsilon Cetus System, planet I, ? Province, City?
Note: Epsilon Cetus is from GDW's Double Star, so this is IMTU, not OTU. Also, planet I would be the Chinese system.
b. Homeworld: Prometheus System, Alpha Centauri A , Planet? Provinve? City:
c.Homeworld: Vland system, planet Vland, ?Province, ?City

In fact, the above translates directly.
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">:Start
1,[GenerateNPCs]

:GenerateNPCs
1,[Names],&nbsp;
_[Homeworlds]&nbsp;system.

:Names
1,[NamesMale]
2,[NamesFemale]

:NamesMale
1,Henry
2,Michael
3,William

:NamesFemale
1,Henrietta
2,Michelle
3,Sandra

:Homeworlds
1,Epsilon Cestus
2,Prometheus
3,Vland</pre>[/QUOTE]10 rolls of the dice:

Henrietta, Epsilon Cestus system.
Sandra, Prometheus system.
Sandra, Epsilon Cestus system.
William, Prometheus system.
Henry, Epsilon Cestus system.
Henry, Vland system.
Michael, Prometheus system.
William, Vland system.
William, Vland system.
Henrietta, Vland system.


You would, of course, have tables for last names, and break up the names by solmani, vilani, vargr, etc.

You could add in race, other world information, equipment generators, motive generators, you could go hog wild!

 

[parmasson]

Some Names I have used
Darcia
Barsarone
Eltom
Herzna
Thagul
Rsombad
Jarsanic
Blackhurst
Elembridge
Shaizad
Doasum
Don’ t know if it helps.

 

[Whipsnade]

RoS,

Thank you for those links! Am I ever going to be busy with that little application! Woo-hoo!


Have fun,
Bill

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
RoS,

Thank you for those links! Am I ever going to be busy with that little application! Woo-hoo!


Have fun,
Bill

You are most welcome, excellent sir.

 

[plop101]

Grand Master Bill Cameron !

Greatings Sir,

This is exactly what I'm looking for. A little extra fluff for your PC/NPC. It gives a little identity.

Like are girl Calliope Green, Scientist, from Terra System, planet Mars, Cydonia Province.

Thankyou Sir!

Dan Roseberry (plop101)

 

[jatay3]

Names can come from several sources. They can "grow up" from some characteristic of the place named or often from some local legend or tale(making up names this way is added work but can enrich the game-think of things like Vargr's Bane, Goodluck Starport-etc).

During the age of large scale exploration Catholics often used Saints names. Protestants would tend to use patriotic names. One occasional phenomenon was to give names that were obviously flatter the explorers sponser(Mt. Hood, Sandwich islands; named after British Admiralty officials).
Once in a while an explorers name would be given to the discovery(Stanley Falls, Astoria).

Finnally in America, and probably in other places, it is common for a place name to be lifted whole from the indigenous speech without translated it's meaning. The original was usually the "home grown" name, spoken of at the beinning of the page. However it sounds strange to those who do not know the language from which it comes.

One fortunate thing is that in exploring thousands of worlds people would run out of names, just like the GM. So if they sometimes sound tacky, even that can be justified.

 

[Sifu Blackirish]

Have you considered the background of your ATU to narrow the choices somewhat?

IMTU early exploration was done by a conglomerate of Merchants and government agencies. Lack of imagination means they usually used the existing catalog entries for stars, with local Captains of the Corporate Traders, or independent scouts, giving their own fanciful names to local planets (Paradine's World, Shadow)

Independent scouts are even more extreme.

Jerry Pournelle had some thoughts about this as well. He said that governments would usually pick
cheerful names to lure in colonists, religious or conservative groups would pick stolid, unimaginative games, and independents would use just about anything.