Choosing names from the list

I think I'd be more scared of meeting a gun-toting hardarse named Steve than an identical one named Vonk the Sculptor.

The only thing worse would be a gunlugger named Sue.

I think I'd be more scared of meeting a gun-toting hardarse named Steve than an identical one named Vonk the Sculptor.

The only thing worse would be a gunlugger named Sue.

:)

I doubt that.

"Pack up your shit and run for your lives, people. Steve's coming to town!!"

But Sue would be a good name for a Gunlugger. It has cultural implications in the direction we're looking at.

You kidding?

Steve walks warily down the street
the brim pulled way down low
Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet
Machine gun ready to go

I like to choose names off the list myself, it makes me feel like I'm a part of things bigger than myself.  However, when my wife who has been pregnant for nearly ten months agreed to play with us I was not about to tell her that she couldn't choose her own name.   I'm not that suicidal. 

^ Smart man. I wish your wife an easy delivery.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Because I'm bored and trawling through old posts...

The list of names is nice as a list of suggestions, but that's about it. People do pick their own names (believe it or not), and the books give lists of names that make the implication that there is not, in fact, a scarcity of names (what with the wide variety of kinds of names there are, from cars to movie stars to religious-hierarchy positions to plain old everyday-modern-people names), and being expected to stick to the names for your playbook is kind of silly given that the name you're given doesn't have any realistic bearing on your profession (some of them sound like they would have been acquired after coming into the profession, granted), and yada yada. Example, just because it's so close at hand: My name is supposedly that of a hardholder, yet I'm clearly a brainer or driver (barring the special for the latter, admittedly; my issues are a kind of polar-opposite can of worms).

But, yeah. I just went ahead and named my characters as I pleased (a modified gunlugger, the muscle, named Daryl, and an angel named Vivian, and a one-shot brainer named Allison), and assigned looks as I pleased, and that was that.

I like bringing in new names that are in keeping with the names in the book, i.e. the new Battlebabe in our group is named Hazel. She started as an NPC, then one of the players snagged her for a PC. Her name is in perfect keeping with the other Battlebabe names. As an MC, having names that fit type helps me keep things in order in my head.

I allowed them to use the names as is, or translate them. Nobody argued - I probably would have allowed something different, had someone made an issue about it.

I think I'm seeing a pattern here.

If you don't have a name in mind and need one, the lists are great.

If you already have a name in mind (and it's not, like, completely out of place for the setting), use that.

A funny rule that I've played with once was that if you ask your MC "Can I have this name instead?" then no, you have to pick one from the list. However if you just take another name without asking, it's okay.

For me, when I'm MCing, when it comes to the names, I just say, "Yes!"

"Do I have to pick from this list?"  - "Yes!"

"Can I change the spelling of one of the names?"  - "Yes!"

"Can I make my own name?" - "Yes!"

It's worked quite well... especially when people don't catch on and repeat question #1 when they're looking at their playbooks... *laugh*

New player here. We just started to play AW and when we created our characters I was surprised to see how the playbooks names can inspire character concepts.

I had no character in mind and when I looked at the names I was seeing very different characters (for example, I was hesitating between Barbecue, Colonel and Madame for my hardholder). 

Same thing for the other players, I noted that their character name choice colored their character.

Chroma, excellent!

Gwion, that totally happens to me too.

That inspiration element is why I was mildly pushing for choosing from the list (and probably would do so in the future).

I tend to be that way as a rule. I like to go where the system constraints force me.

PS: Speaking of "would again," I wanna MC AW for our group when we're done with the current Human Contact game.