I've seen multiple examples of this pop up in the last month now. Please don't put your nickname in your character name, and if you HAVE to, don't put it in like that.

It's disturbing my concentration while roleplaying, stop plz kthx.

No offense meant to anyone in particular.

It's not like I could "force" others what to call my character that way anyway..

you cant send em tells unless ya know there account name

Alright. Seriously. Is this a big enough deal that we feel the need to order people not to name their characters in a certain way?

Let's lay off the whole telling-other-people-how-to-play-the-game thing, mmkay? =)

-Cross

dont spam "tab" so much then

Please consider the tale of Ragrim "Ravager", dwarven warrior of Bane.

Ragrim had escaped to Sanctuary with the burning desire to inflict the same cruel and sadistic punishments on the unsuspecting residents, as the drow had heaped upon him. Hatred and malice burned in his heart, but he knew he needed to build up his skills and strength before he could challenge the weak, pitiful leadership of the city. Thus, he concealed his intentions beneath the mundane exterior of another faceless escaped slave turning to sword work to pay for his keep in the demanding economy.

Months passed as Ragrim honed his skills and observed his future foes. Wih only the ever-complaining paladins denouncing him, he had made a name for himself as a reliable and courageous warrior - oft sought after as a companion on the innumerable "jobs" adventurers lent their skills to. Slowly but surely, Ragrim approached the levels of skill with his blade that would allow him to put his plans in motion.

And finally the day came - he had it all worked out. He would slay a Spellguard and nail the mage's head on the door of the House of Light. They would feel the fear and impotence to defend themselves as he used the corpse of one of their defenders to spread his message.

He had it all worked out - secret messages and juicy tidbits of information had led an agent to meet with him regularly. But this time would be different. This time their meeting in the wilderness would only result in the trade of death - the mage's death on his sword. This time, Sanctuary would learn why he had secretly nicknamed himself "Ravager". The carefully carved plaque secreted in his pack would proclaim this to all, when he pounded the nails into the door of the House of Light.

But when the fateful moment arrived, it was not Bane who guided his sword, but Besheba. The hand-carved deep lizard bone pommel of his sword flew off as he swungguiding his sword into the dirt and not the agent's neck. With goddess of ill fortune's cackling echoing in his ear, the world disappeared into a mist of flame, coloured lights and black, senseless unconsciousness.

It wasn't "Ravager" they called after that fateful day.

Wandering adventurers had come across him, naked as his name-day. Curled up in a ball, healed of his wounds, and covered in grease - next to a rothe cow that had been trussed and staked into a position only described in the worn pages of the books discreetly located in the back of the rare book shop on the top shelf.

"Ravager" was the name he had chosen. "Ravager" was the name he had inscribed on the plaque. But that wasn't how they called him in the following days. The accursed mage's elegant script had added "Rothe" in front of "Ravager" - and that was what all called him in the city.

Take heed, ye unwary, and remember - a nickname is what your peers bestow upon you. Not what you choose for yourself.

All characters in this tale, living, dead, undead or any state inbetween are purely fictional and are purely the product of the author's imagination.

I have to apologise for this style of naming comig up - I started this off with a character and it wasn't intentional.

I created a created a character with a aprticular name but messed the clerical domains up. The name was important in the RP context and the DMs said to go back and rebuild the character so I did and put a nickname in brackets to differentiate the Character from the original I had messed up.

People seemed to have liked it and decided to use it for their own reasons - personally I don't have a problem with it and it is kind of cool to see it catch on :D

It's not practical to put " " anywhere in your name since, as previously stated, you cannot then send that person tells.

That should be the only reason someone should feel they shouldn't name their character in this way. Not because several players on the forum think it's stupid or disapprove of it.

This thread is dangerously close to bashing, and certainly encourages others to knock or group up against newer players. It could make anyone reading this feel embarrassed or inadequate.

Please, no more threads detailing how you disapprove of how a certain person is playing. If this thread takes a nasty tone, I'll lock it.

I personaly have no problem with nicknames and i actually think that in some cases can be used to help Rp a charecter. Also using a nickname can be useful if your charecter has a very long name (just seen some examples in the forgotten realms books god help those guys if they ever need to fill out offical documents) as it gives other players something else to easily and quickly type to catch the persons attention with out having to spend a long time typing out the persons name.

If a character has a nickname, it will be known through its use. Entering it in your name field is, therefore, pointless.

I don't see how this differs from titles. Titles are also earned in the sense that if no one acknowledges your title, you don't really have it; it's not up to you whether you possess a title. Similarly, if no one calls you "The Destructor", then you are not nicknamed "The Destructor".

I asure you, good Sir, Trouble is indeed my middle name.

Applying a title or nickname should not really matter. If it allows someone to enjoy their character more then fine, let it be. I personally do not usually choose to use a title or nickname...hell I have a tough enough time figuring out a good first name, let alone a good first AND last name.

I did choose to use a title however when I created Hodge, because I really thought a gossipy title would help appropriately further his identity as a devoted healer of Ilmater. I'm also not on EFU regularly enough to establish a routine circle of IC friends, so the title helps to remind/inform others of his purpose. Using more functional or skillful titles seems more acceptable to me. Joe the Banker or Tito the Juggler seem perfectly fine to me and add a little spice. So for me, I chose Hodge The Healer.

Rather than titles, and for the same reason Bindragon used one though, I go a different route.

My character's names always have meaning.

Mandarin Dreagle (Mandarin is another name for a double agent, and Dreagle just sounds kind of gross--hence Mandarin Dreagle was a gross double agent working against Sanctuary--and for it at the same time cause he was nuts).

Shamus Quidnunc--both words mean "detective" and he's an investigator of sorts.

Trepidity Hectra--both words mean "terror" and she's a sorcerer specializing in terror magic.

Dungal Toboerski--okay last name a DM picked, but Dungal was the founder of Clan McGregor in Scotland and Gregor is the current leader of House Toboerski. There is a unique symmetry there, and a reminder to me of what Dungal is seeking goalwise within his own name.

Picking a name that means something like that--and www.dictionary.com is a good place to start looking sometimes is how I give my character a "title" and myself a reminder of what their personality is sometimes.

Many good authors do the same thing from Tolkein to JK Rowling. I stole this idea blatantly from them.

Good point Oro, a good name that fits the character is really all you need. I did that for Ploto Smaccus. I thought that name best described an overweight, easily irritated bigot human fighter type.

As far as nicknames go... I think prestonhunt's Zau is the perfect example. How many people even remember what the actual name was that floated over his head all the time? It was something like T'rissithra Zau Mournrahel, if I recall correct. Yet still he was never called anything but Zau. I guess I'm partly shooting myself in the foot with this argument, but the point stands. You don't need Name (nickname) Surname.

By its use, a nickname can catch on and never be mistaken. Though I suppose it probably helps to have a really long confusing name.

Why are you using a nickname with a short name, anyway?

I hate people who have; Joe "Pillowbiter" Johnson as a name and it makes me not want to associate with them just due to my own elitist feelings.

If you love me, you won't do it.

Well with that argument Inquisitor I feel that the naumber of peopel using this name format will trebble over night :wink:

I've already made 7! :D