Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kemmotar_veon 11-02-06, 08:52 PM	ok I need help... I was sleeping when I came to a series of Ideas to a campaign with the dreaming dark (creepy)... but after the inspiration was gone I found myself stuck with the problem of not knowing how to name an Empty vessel... ok here is the plot. the adventure begins in Fairhaven where the players are contacted by a mysterious man who needs help to do some killing... he will pay them enough to lure even a king into the fry. the party will do some dungeon crawling killing a few orcs and will finally found that they where beign tamed by a superior power... a Inspired... if they are wise they run to Fairhaven and don't stop to look behind... once in Fairhaven the Mysterious man reveals himself A "Kalashtar" (another Inspired to be true) and he ask them for help againts the evil empire of his nemesis the inspired... he is really trying to find a group of poor dumbs to send them in a series of killing rampages against the small Kalashtar groups in Anduir and other nations. ok I need help to create my main NPC... the "Kalashtar" patron of the party... but the Quori left me without any sort of Ideas.. I would thank your help and your ideas about the story.
Nairalimis 11-03-06, 02:32 AM	You've got a couple options on how to name an Inspired. One, is to pick a general group of names and use them for a region (Sarlona). You want something exotic and somewhat mysterious, so look to India, Mayan, Incan, Indionesian, Egyptian, or some African languages, given that a lot of Eberron sounds more European in naming conventions. Get a theme, and go with it. Get a system of names that sounds consistant. Look at some baby name sites like http://www.babynames.com http://www.babynamesworld.com/ http://www.behindthename.com/ to check some national names out and find one which sounds right for you. Now, think about the Kalishtar. If you want to call to mind how they're similar, pick names from the same nation, or ones from nations/languages that are closely related/sound similar. As an example Hindi and Sanskrit, or Indionesian and Thai names. Now you've got something that calls to mind a link between the Kalishtar and the Inspired. Use the system for both the "Kalishtar" and for real Kalishtar the PCs meet, so they can tell there's a naming similarity. Have the fake fellow use a Kalishtar name, to make him seem more authentic. On the other hand, maybe you want the Kalishtar and their fake doppleganger to seem very different culturally from the Inspired. Then give them names that are either still alien (if the Inspired are Egyptian, maybe the Kalishtar are Aztec) or have the Kalishtar use normal names for the kingdoms they're in. If you do this, it doesn't hurt to give all the five Kingdoms slightly different styles of naming. It's a nice way for players to get a feel for NPCs and drop a lot of hints without saying as much. That fellow with the Brelish Name (English name) in Karnath (Germanic names) seems a bit odd. Maybe he's a spy, or perhaps he's a Karnathi spy trying to lure out Brelish supporters?
maollelujah 11-03-06, 10:33 AM	but after the inspiration was gone I found myself stuck with the problem of not knowing how to name an Empty vessel... Empty Vessels and Inspired are named very similar to the Kalashtar, so the easiest method would be to create a bunch of Kalashtar names and pick the best ones: ex. Toshazan Ularash, Ulashara, Ozanarath, Lanlorath, Halzharan, Tiravkari, Tolmesk, Doharath, Dozamesk, Meshharan, Golashana, Golorarh, Tarashtai, Zelrashtai, Zelanmesk...
Kemmotar_veon 11-03-06, 11:02 AM	thanks for the tips... I guess I will name him Meshharan...
ChaoticGood 11-03-06, 11:36 AM	Nairalimis has a good idea there, but you must choose your "alien culture" carefully if you want it to fit into the "canon" Kalashtar naming convention. Per the books, Kalashtar names seem to be a single-syllable prefix attached to a Quori name, and all Kalashtar who share a Quori name are spiritually related. Most of the Quori names have a very Babylonian feel, IMO. I would crack open an atlas and look up city names in Syria, Turkey, and northern Iraq for inspiration, or draw from a book of Babylonian myth. ("Marduk" would be a great Quori ancestor name... :D ) Now, if you want help with more than just the name, here's what I would suggest. (I am assuming you have access to an Expanded Psionics Handbook. If not, you need to get one. It's practically necessary for any campaign that relies heavily on the Kalashtar and Inspired.) The patron Inspired: Levels in Psion (Shaper) with max ranks in Bluff and Disguise, and a Liar psi-crystal. This will make it as hard as possible for the PCs to see through his lies and disguises and find out what he really is. The taming Inspired: Either a Psion (Telepath) with Psychic Warrior bodyguards, or a Psion (Kineticist) with a Bully psi-crystal and Soulknife (or, if you have Complete Psionics, Lurk) bodyguards. The first version is your typical mind-warper BBEG who tries to turns the PCs against one another with charm-like powers while hiding behind meat shields. The second is a blaster-mage type who throws concussion blasts and energy missiles while his/her sneaky buddies stab the PCs from behind. In either case, the bodyguards are Riedran Humans fanatically devoted to their Inspired master and willing to die for him/her.
Kemmotar_veon 11-04-06, 02:08 AM	takes notes... I was thinking about a telepath for the Tamer... and now that you mention it the Riedrans should be a nice combo...