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Namers [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
mythusmage
07-11-04, 02:27 AM N.B.: I can't figure out how to link to individual posts, so I'm quoting the original post here. Even if it is mine.

Just got it and I'm dipping my toes in every here and there. I've decided to concentrate for now on the 'gazeteer'. While reading the entries I've noticed one thing; while political geography is covered to some extent physical geography is rather rudely ignored in comparison.

Hellcow, is this something that will be covered later, or did you space it?

I can hear people asking, why does it matter? Simple, geography shapes events. Even something as topologically incosequential as Cemetary Ridge (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA, more a rise than a ridge) can influence matters far beyond their impact on the landscape.

Take the Cajon Pass in California for example. A number of you may have traveled the pass on your way from the Los Angeles Basin to California's Central Valley. Now, picture yourself traversing that same pass on a dirt road in a horse drawn wagon.

Then too there is the fact that we are a naming people. We name things. I should expect any language using species to be namers. So halflings, elves, and even orcs will have their names for things.

So, what are the hills of Thrane called?

I look at the map of Thrane and one thing strikes me. Thrane is most vulnerable to the west; on her border with Aundair. Her western hills and that huge gap with Morningstar to the south are going to have a great political, military, and cultural significance in Thrane. What are they called?

The gap is an obvious point of enry to Thrane. Once through the gap it's pretty much grassland and farmland to the riverport of Sigilstar, and across the Throne River to the plains west of Aruldusk.

Geography also shapes a nation's military. What with Thrane being so open, Thrane's army has to be highly mobile, since there's damn all between her and her worst enemy. While the gap may draw potential invaders, the hills aren't that good a barrier without an active, fast moving defense.

So for your edification and entertainment I present a few names for some of Thrane's geographical features

In the north we have the Daskaran Mountains. More rugged hills than true mountains, they shield Thrane from invasion by Aundair from the north. The Auxylgard Hills just to the south are a continuation of the Daskaran Mountains, with the Flamekeep Hills paralleling the southeast branch there of. Past Tira Pass the Auxylgards continue on as the Sigilstar Hills.

To the west we have Athandra Pen between the southern end of the western Auxylgards and Athandra itself. To the west of which are the Athandra Hills themselves.

Then we come to Bloodmorn Gap itself. Scene of some of the bloodiest fighting between Aundair and Thrane in their various wars. West of Tellyn Plain, it is a natural route of invasion, and as such is heavily patrolled by Thranean forces, especially the Miron Rangers (a plains dwelling, horse riding ranger prestige class, feel free to develop.:))

South of Bloodmorn Gap we have the Tellyn Hills. Which, like the Athandras, are heavily patrolled, and the home for hill clans and aboriginal tribes who swear allegiance to either Thrane or Aundair depending on who pays best.

These are all just suggestions. My purpose in writing this is to inspire Hellcow and friends to name things. It could be ir'Dhakos Gap instead of Bloodmorn. Or ir'Dhakos Gap could be the official name and Bloodmorn the local nomenclature.

Athandra Pen might be d'Qalost Tor to the upper class, with the peasants knowing it as Baakhandor Hill and the local aborigines calling it Mhazhindre and venerating it as the home of the Corn Mother.

Which all leads to this following proposal. Keith, how about a naming contest for Eberron's unnamed (as far as I know) geographical features? "Winners" would get mention in any book that used said names, with the names listed along with the namer.

What's your (plural possessive) take?

Hellcow replied with:

I think it's a fun idea and a good idea for a thread -- but I really have no power whatsoever to make it happen, as I am not a WotC employee. I will, however, pass it along to the Powers That Be, and if you want to start a thread on it, go for it.

So that's what I'm doing.

Come up with names for the various unnamed spots in Khorvaire and post them in this thread. As long as it's not named in the book it's fair game. The Powers-That-Be at Wizards can then pick the ones they like best (or which are the most popular) to use in Eberron products.

In that spirit I now present an expanson of a name suggestion I presented in the post quoted above.

Athandra Pen

Offically known as d'Qalost Tor, this feature is better known as Baakhandor Hill, with the local goblinoid aborigines calling it Mhazhindre and venerating it as the home of the Corn Mother.

To the dwarfs it is Khedrok. To the elves Lahlzhin. To the rare drow who dwell in Thrane it is dKamh, and is said to be the body of The Weaver bound to Eberron by her fearful children lest she, in her madness and grief, destroy the world she had just created. The occasional tremors that occur in the area are supposed to be the great spider trying to get free.

It is known to be a weathered basaltic mass, with a curiously spiderlike shape when seen from above. Far above. d'Qalost Tor is home to wild goblinoid tribes, bandits, stray hermits, and a drow cleric of undetermined origin who worships at the hill in an (apparently successful) attempt to keep The Weaver from getting away. (Though the earthquakes have increased in frequency and severity recently. Could there be something wrong with the drow? (Who is not young by any measure BTW.))
-----
What names would you give to various places?
Pallis
07-11-04, 06:27 AM Mythusmage
Would you be interested in joining us on The Korranberg Chronicle, as a chronicler writing out of Thrane and documenting happenings from that region? If so, your geographic knowledge could be a great boon to us, with possible military reflections from The Last War. Have a quick think about it and if you want further information, head to the thread 'Let's Write the Korranberg Chronicle'.
Ezekiel
07-11-04, 07:21 PM What an ambitious project! If I ever get the time to sit down and think about this, I'll try my best at coming up with some thematically fitting names. I think it would be great if WotC would actually pick fan-created material and place it right in the setting, though I'd be surprised if they fleshed out the entire map. As Keith has said, they don't want to ruin the fun for the DM in coming up with his own towns and other locations.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
mythusmage 07-11-04, 02:27 AM	N.B.: I can't figure out how to link to individual posts, so I'm quoting the original post here. Even if it is mine. Just got it and I'm dipping my toes in every here and there. I've decided to concentrate for now on the 'gazeteer'. While reading the entries I've noticed one thing; while political geography is covered to some extent physical geography is rather rudely ignored in comparison. Hellcow, is this something that will be covered later, or did you space it? I can hear people asking, why does it matter? Simple, geography shapes events. Even something as topologically incosequential as Cemetary Ridge (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA, more a rise than a ridge) can influence matters far beyond their impact on the landscape. Take the Cajon Pass in California for example. A number of you may have traveled the pass on your way from the Los Angeles Basin to California's Central Valley. Now, picture yourself traversing that same pass on a dirt road in a horse drawn wagon. Then too there is the fact that we are a naming people. We name things. I should expect any language using species to be namers. So halflings, elves, and even orcs will have their names for things. So, what are the hills of Thrane called? I look at the map of Thrane and one thing strikes me. Thrane is most vulnerable to the west; on her border with Aundair. Her western hills and that huge gap with Morningstar to the south are going to have a great political, military, and cultural significance in Thrane. What are they called? The gap is an obvious point of enry to Thrane. Once through the gap it's pretty much grassland and farmland to the riverport of Sigilstar, and across the Throne River to the plains west of Aruldusk. Geography also shapes a nation's military. What with Thrane being so open, Thrane's army has to be highly mobile, since there's damn all between her and her worst enemy. While the gap may draw potential invaders, the hills aren't that good a barrier without an active, fast moving defense. So for your edification and entertainment I present a few names for some of Thrane's geographical features In the north we have the Daskaran Mountains. More rugged hills than true mountains, they shield Thrane from invasion by Aundair from the north. The Auxylgard Hills just to the south are a continuation of the Daskaran Mountains, with the Flamekeep Hills paralleling the southeast branch there of. Past Tira Pass the Auxylgards continue on as the Sigilstar Hills. To the west we have Athandra Pen between the southern end of the western Auxylgards and Athandra itself. To the west of which are the Athandra Hills themselves. Then we come to Bloodmorn Gap itself. Scene of some of the bloodiest fighting between Aundair and Thrane in their various wars. West of Tellyn Plain, it is a natural route of invasion, and as such is heavily patrolled by Thranean forces, especially the Miron Rangers (a plains dwelling, horse riding ranger prestige class, feel free to develop.:)) South of Bloodmorn Gap we have the Tellyn Hills. Which, like the Athandras, are heavily patrolled, and the home for hill clans and aboriginal tribes who swear allegiance to either Thrane or Aundair depending on who pays best. These are all just suggestions. My purpose in writing this is to inspire Hellcow and friends to name things. It could be ir'Dhakos Gap instead of Bloodmorn. Or ir'Dhakos Gap could be the official name and Bloodmorn the local nomenclature. Athandra Pen might be d'Qalost Tor to the upper class, with the peasants knowing it as Baakhandor Hill and the local aborigines calling it Mhazhindre and venerating it as the home of the Corn Mother. Which all leads to this following proposal. Keith, how about a naming contest for Eberron's unnamed (as far as I know) geographical features? "Winners" would get mention in any book that used said names, with the names listed along with the namer. What's your (plural possessive) take? Hellcow replied with: I think it's a fun idea and a good idea for a thread -- but I really have no power whatsoever to make it happen, as I am not a WotC employee. I will, however, pass it along to the Powers That Be, and if you want to start a thread on it, go for it. So that's what I'm doing. Come up with names for the various unnamed spots in Khorvaire and post them in this thread. As long as it's not named in the book it's fair game. The Powers-That-Be at Wizards can then pick the ones they like best (or which are the most popular) to use in Eberron products. In that spirit I now present an expanson of a name suggestion I presented in the post quoted above. Athandra Pen Offically known as d'Qalost Tor, this feature is better known as Baakhandor Hill, with the local goblinoid aborigines calling it Mhazhindre and venerating it as the home of the Corn Mother. To the dwarfs it is Khedrok. To the elves Lahlzhin. To the rare drow who dwell in Thrane it is dKamh, and is said to be the body of The Weaver bound to Eberron by her fearful children lest she, in her madness and grief, destroy the world she had just created. The occasional tremors that occur in the area are supposed to be the great spider trying to get free. It is known to be a weathered basaltic mass, with a curiously spiderlike shape when seen from above. Far above. d'Qalost Tor is home to wild goblinoid tribes, bandits, stray hermits, and a drow cleric of undetermined origin who worships at the hill in an (apparently successful) attempt to keep The Weaver from getting away. (Though the earthquakes have increased in frequency and severity recently. Could there be something wrong with the drow? (Who is not young by any measure BTW.)) ----- What names would you give to various places?
Pallis 07-11-04, 06:27 AM	Mythusmage Would you be interested in joining us on The Korranberg Chronicle, as a chronicler writing out of Thrane and documenting happenings from that region? If so, your geographic knowledge could be a great boon to us, with possible military reflections from The Last War. Have a quick think about it and if you want further information, head to the thread 'Let's Write the Korranberg Chronicle'.
Ezekiel 07-11-04, 07:21 PM	What an ambitious project! If I ever get the time to sit down and think about this, I'll try my best at coming up with some thematically fitting names. I think it would be great if WotC would actually pick fan-created material and place it right in the setting, though I'd be surprised if they fleshed out the entire map. As Keith has said, they don't want to ruin the fun for the DM in coming up with his own towns and other locations.