Friday, May 26, 2017

Sissy Jupe, Jonas Chuzzlewit and Charity "Cherry" Pecksniff- The Edge of Believable Names



We’ve just finished the longest series we’ve done to date, so this week we have a nice fun simple topic: How silly should names be in Victoriana? I hope this fun little post broadens the possibilities.

I’ve heard many players grip over the difficulty of naming a character. While I love coming up with names, as GM it can be difficult to come up with a good name on the spot, or a whole bunch of names while preparing an adventure. Fortunately for you and me, Victoriana is very forgiving when it comes to names. If you look into the history and literature of the time, hilarious, on-the-nose, and sinister names abound.
The true founder of this feast of names is Charles Dickens. All through his stories, Dickens titles his characters with wit, charm, and a gift for foreshadowing, often giving his readers a glimpse of the character’s inner life and their place in the plot. Here are just a few examples of his skill:

Dickensian Names
Female                                                    Male
Affery Flintwinch                                 Adolphus Tetterby
Anastasia Veneering                            Augustus Snodgrass
Betsy Prig                                               Bayham Badger
Charity "Cherry" Pecksniff                Clarence Barnacle
Clemency Newcome                           Ephraim Flintwinch
Cleopatra Skewton                              Hamilton Veneering
Fanny Squeers                                      Hannibal Chollop
Henrietta Boffin                                   John Peerybingle
Jemima Bilberry                                  Jonas Chuzzlewit
Lucretia Tox                                          Luke Honeythunder
Malta Bagnet                                        M'Choakumchild
Peg Sliderskew                                    Montigue Tigg
Polly Toodle                                         Newman Noggs
Sophronia Lammle                             Paul Sweedlepipe
Mrs. Spottletoe                                    Rogue Riderhood
Volumnia Dedlock                              Theophile Gabelle


If the PC’s meet an NPC named Augustus Snodgrass or Betsy Prig, they should already have some idea of the NPC’s place in society. Rouge Riderhood has to be a thief; he just can’t be anything else. So much can be said in a name, and in Victoriana, Gamemaster’s have the opportunity to say a lot. At least according to Dickens.

In Victorian education the classics are essential, so it should be no surprise well educated parents pulled names from the ancient world into their family tree. Triumphant generals, Roman wives, and Greek poets loaned out their weighty names to a new generation.

Classical Names
Female                                 Male
Vesta                                      Evodius
Vipsania                                Dignius
Dolabella                              Alfenus
Agrippina                             Albinovanus
Albina                                    Euphemius
Alpha                                     Spiculus
Delphia                                 Carpophorus
Electa                                     Dulcitius
Fidelia                                   Ennodius             
Parthenia                              Erasinus
Sophronia                             Flaccus
Azura                                     Frumentius
Delbora                                 Quintus
Paltith                                    Maximian
Tharbis                                  Iddo

One of the most ubiquitous sources of names is the Bible. Mary, John, Sam, David, Paul, Hannah, Ruth, and Peter are just a few examples of common biblical names, but there are a ton of interesting names left to play with. Biblical names also have the added prestige of holiness, foreshadowed consequences, and hidden meanings.

Biblical
Female                                 Male
Sula                                        Eliphaz 
Mahala                                   Ephraim
Adah                                       Reuel
Gomer                                    Kenaz
Acsah                                      Magdiel
Bilhah                                    Tubal
Dorcas                                   Togarmah
Euodia                                   Arphaxad
Haggith                                  Uzal
Junia                                       Nimrod
Keturah                                  Hakkoz
Matred                                   Hamor
Naamah                                 Melzar
Orpah                                     Molid
Syntyche                               Ozem


Going back a couple hundred years, the puritans used evocative and colorful names that literally make a statement. While these names are old fashioned by the 1800s, the streak of Puritanism runs strong in Victorian England and old fashioned names have a way of coming back.

Puritan Names
Replenish                              Liberty
Approved                              Placidia
Clemency                              Creedence
Consider                                Desire
Delivery                                Increase
Diligence                               Forsaken
Discipline                            
Tace
Continent                              Honesty
Experience                            Donation
Humiliation                          Refrayne
Abstinence                            Vanity
Reformation                         Lively
Obedience                             Submit
Lament                                  Meek
Silence                                   Steadfast
Diffidence                             Thurgood
Tenacious                             Troth
Honour                                  Original*

*Please, please name somebody Original Jr.

Shortly after the public demonstration of ether in 1845, a generation of new parents named their baby girls Anesthesia. With Anesthesia as an acceptable name, we can have all sorts of fun with medical terms, particularly if we need to name evil magicians, body snatchers, and charlatans:

Medically Inspired Names
Female                                 Male
Coprolalia Purfle               Malcam Cozzard
Angina Rictus                     Ashima Fettle
Rubella Gorman                 Measle  Peck
Melena  Numbles               Glossitis Sallic
Herpangina Quean            Augrey Quidnunc
Eczema Slaut                       Litotes Fugax

Dystonia Swell                    Pyrosis Stangury

Syncope Gait                        Epistaxis Bruit 
Nocturia Pallor                    Rash Stridor

Sadly that’s all the room we have in this post for name ideas. Naming a character shouldn’t be a dreadful chore. Look at Fanny Squeers and Bayham Badger. Dickens had fun with it, you should too.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Their Finest Hour- Dragons in the Blitz



Today, we’re wrapping up our examination of Victoriana during World War II with an example of the monstrous magical forces attacking Great Britain. What better way to end the series than combining the most iconic villains of the century with the most iconic monster?

Lindworms
After 1939, new terrors fly over Europe, bringing flaming death to the Allied forces. Tightening the Luftwaffe’s grip on the skies are the lindworms, massive 30-50 foot reptiles with strong leathery wings holding their limbless slithering bodies aloft . Thick scales deflect small arms fire and teeth big enough to take bites out of fighter planes fill their mouths.

Although more might exist, Allied intelligence identified three distinct lindworms and designated each with codenames: “Manny”, “Moe”, and “Black Jack”. “Black Jack” remains in Berlin as symbol of the Reich and as a defender of the Capital, “Manny” and his rider remind Frenchmen in Paris of Germany's might, and “Moe” is a part of Luftflotte 2, the Luftwaffe air fleet tasked with bombing southern England.

Each lindworm wears a small armored platform in front of its wings for its rider and some sort of radio communication device wrapped around its head. Allied intelligence does not know whether they controlled by their rider’s commands through the radio, how smart the lindworms are, or if they willingly follow orders.

Moe’s rider is Hanna Reitsch a former test pilot for the Luftwaffe. Her death-defying daring and incredible flying skill made the 27 year old aviatrix a perfect match for the lindworm’s power and aggression. The Luftwaffe deployed Moe and Hanna to the Battle of Britain as a weapon against the moral of the British people. Moe’s fiery breath and sharp teeth bring nightly devastation to the RAF fighters and civilians below.

Speculation surrounds the awakening of the lindworms. A Belgian refuge claims the restorations at Wewelsburg castle uncovered the creatures, intercepted radio messages suggest the Thule Society brought them back to life from a glacier in Norway, and a captured German spy seems convinced the Lost Ring of Solomon controls the lindworms.

Hanna Reitsch (Test pilot and lindworm rider)
Physical: 8            Initiative: 8
Mental: 6               Health: 14
Social: 7                 Quintessence: 18
AV: Flight Suite (2)
Damage: Pistol (10), Punch (3)
Possible Special Traits:
Fearless Aviatrix+4, Fanatically Devoted to Hitler+3,

Hanna is a small enthusiastic blond woman with blues eyes and pleasant features. Sometimes her singing can be heard above the cacophony of engines, explosions, and gunfire.

Moe (Serpentine death from the sky)
Physical: 20          Initiative: 12
Mental: 9               Health:   42
AV: 8
Damage:
Bite (14, Armor Pierce 4), Fire Breath (11, Intensity 8), Smashing or Squeezing Serpentine Coils (17)
Qualities:
 Flight- (see page 292 of Victoriana 3rd Edition)
Regeneration- (see page 293 of Victoriana 3rd Edition)
Greedy- If an immediate chance arises to eat gold or a fresh corpse; either the lindworm or its rider must pass a Mental test with 6 black dice or the lindworm spend a round gorging.
Huge 5- (Health and Physical modifiers are already reflected by stats, for other effects see page 293 of Victoriana 3rd Edition)

That wraps up this eleven week series. I hope you’ve enjoyed this examination of Victoriana in a more modern setting. I know I’ve had a lot of fun writing it. This won’t be the last post about Their Finest Hour, but next Friday we return to the welcome waters of the 1850s with a very simple silly post about names.