How did you come up with your current "nova handle"?

[Sakurako Hino]

We sort of eluded to it on a thread in the Opnet board, now I'm starting it up here. How did you come up with the tag, handle, codename, or whatever you call it that your nova calls his or her moniker? Interesting stories are optional. I have to grab my notes to show you guys the origins of Endeavor's name.

Now, I got some insomnia to deal with, so I'm going for a good sleep...

[Cin]

Lucinda’s handle was pretty easy to come up with...

Her psuedo-girlfriend, Dr. Ebherheart, started calling her “Cin” (for various reasons, ahem) and it took pretty well. It sort of became a big thing to be allowed to call her “Cin” since only close friends did it.

The name ”Caliber” was needed only when she signed up as a Elite. They needed a handle of some sort and she did not want to use “Cin” because it was very personal to her. So she had to think a bit. Hmm...

Well.. The thing she was most well known for was her Quantum Bolt, which she has to use a gun to fire it. It is a pretty powerful bolt too so she decided on the handle “Caliber” because it seemed to apply. (She also likes how it is used like “caliber of person” and the like.) She thought it worked, so there it is. Heh.

BTW, I am working the Aberrant portion of my site. It sould be up very soon. It'll have all the info on Cin, ODIN and a few other things there too.

[Stigmata]

Stigmata pretty much just popped in my head after many many many bad ideas. Plasma, Plasmatica, Bloody Bitch, Hematologist, Thaumaturgist, etc. etc.. etc...

It works perfectly with her powers and suits her personality. She really needed a new name since her parents marked with the horror of the name Florida Keyes

[Kirby1024]

Usually, I just use a noun that fits the power set I give them. I also try not to use words that end in "-er", or multiple words. Multiple word handles are good for a lot of people, but I always find it a challenge to try and compress it into just one word

I don't usually make up words, although if it just sounds cool, I'll use it (like for Teknokat). I also try to imagine what the character itself would tend to choose (ie, for Prof. Holland, being a scientific mind, and a light controller, having his codename "Photon" made perfect sense.

Although, occaisionally I won't make a codename for a character, usually because I either a) can't figure out a sufficiently cool name (or I already used it for another character), or the character doesn't seem like the kind to choose such a name.

Also, if a character of mine is from a place which does not have English as the native language, I always make the effort to use a codename in their native language. For example, a character I may introduce into the canon soon is a nova who's signature power is an Area effect Force Field. I decided to make her Polish, so I ran a few words through a Polish translator (like Shield, Barrier, etc). Eventually (since Polish words, like English words, seem to have multiple meanings that translate into lots of different translations), I settled upon "Barykada", which is Polish for Barrier.

It's amazing sometimes. Occaisionally I'll search for days to come up with an appropriate name, and other times my massive vocabulary gives me a name in three seconds.

[Hugin]

With Prodigy, coming up with the name was pretty obvious. The man who is good at everything. Also, I intended for him to be a cynic and thought that having PU come up with this positive name and have him not too fond of it would be fun.

For Vile Bill, I actually came up with the name first and the character second. Just popped into my head.

Ripsaw was silly, stupid, fanboy, comic book style dumb dumb. Nothing more.

Michael, which is actually Mike, short for Mycroft is an homage (read out right rip off) of Heinlein.

[Walker]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kirby1024:

I also try not to use words that end in "-er",

OOPS I've broke your rule twice

Dampner comes from her power or rather anti-power.
Walker is a contraction of walker between worlds, a traditional term used for people who supposedly had an ability like warping or teleportation. Found in connection with various semi-legendary figures from medieval folklore and ballards who had the reported ability to visit Fairyland and/or other worlds/dimensions.

[Twist]

Beth doesn't have a code name. Twist's come from her ability to ... well ... twist space.

[Jager]

Jager came from the leader of a nazi superteam that I had in a Marvel Supers game. It is a long story, involving a board game ("World in Flames") and my personal affection for a villian called the Taskmaster.

[Hugin]

TASKMASTER RULES!!!!!!!

[Kirby1024]

Oh, and while we're on the subject of Names, here are a few sites that I find are immensely useful for Name generation, especially in Aberrant/Adventure! games:

• http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm - This is a random name generator based upon American Census details. It allows you to set it based upon how unusual the name is in America. I find a setting between 15 and 30 is usually good enough to get better names.
• http://www.ectaco.com/online/diction.php3 - This is an online dictionary/Translator. I find this translator tends to be far superior to Babelfish or most other translators, mostly because you can entire a single word, and it'll usually give you a good 6-8 words back that you can choose from. It's also got an incredibly decent set of languages to choose from (about 24, including Polish, Albanian and Yiddish!). The only problem tends to be that it doesn't romanise - It's usually in the script of the language.

[Terin]

hmmm....mines so not exciting at all....it's just her first name. wowee, i know. in the actual game she was played in she went by many names, but for now, it's just her first name.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

I came up with the character and then was at a lose for a name for a while. I considered calling my self "Troll" (big, green, regenerating, creature made of stone) but that means bad things on a posting system. Fortunately, I was a doctor by that time, so Dr. Troll just sort of seemed right.

In many ways, I prefer "Dr. Smith". I had originally planned to change "Smith" to my character's real name, but by the time I got around to it "Smith" had sort of grown on me and the board, so it was easier to change the character's name to "Smith".

[Kirby1024]

Quote:

Originally posted by Walker:
OOPS I've broke your rule twice

It's not a rule, but in my mind, using -er just seems to be cheating. Any verb can become a noun with -er, and I just don't like forcing verbs that way. There are usually a lot of other alternatives you can use.

But, hey, if it works for the character, go ahead. I just prefer not to use -er names.

[ 09-01-2002: Message edited by: Kirby1024 ]

[Dr. Arcturus]

Strobe is a speedster, so I named him in the tradition of guys like Flash. One of his favorite tricks is modulatiing his after-image to pulsate in tune with a targets brain-waves (Disorient). That name just kind of came together.

Quantum Promise, on the other hand, was a demented psychopath from word one. He was powerful, sure, but not nearly as powerful as he obviously thought. He was also the only character Ive ever heard of who maxed out his permenant taint.

[Preston]

What happened to Quantum Promise when he hit Taint 10?

[Sakurako Hino]

Not to break the strobe thread, but I believe this issue needs to ba adressed.

I personally believe Matador has a cool ID that fits the character he plays. I've seen his illustration of his character, and it fits him further. I sort of feel guilty that I put up a poll, with his ID as a choice for the "coolest" and he dosen't have a vote yet. I personally think it fits the character, and makes complete sense. So, Mr. Matador, don't take offense, you have my support. If you weren't cool, I wouldn't have even included your name on the list.

Phewww, my concience is clean. Please continue.

[Liam VanGilder]

I tried a nova name for this character for w while, during his brief stint as and Elite. However, it never really seemed to fit and I couldn't come up with anything that didn't seem to smack of being pretentious or some kind of post-eruption nova fanboy.

Its odd, because most of the character's I'va played tend to identify as much with their nova name as their birth one, if not more so. I guess its just depends on the chracter in question.

What sort of novas are least likely to use codenames or similar do you think?

[Jager]

I think if you work and your business centers around your nova abilities, you are more likely to refer to yourself by your nova 'handle'. If you percieve your abilities to be peripheral to your work, you would be more likely to keep your name. When people ask "who are you?", you give them your name and not your 'handle'.

Last, but not least, don't forget the power of the media. If they always refer to you by your 'handle', it becomes easier to do the same. We often take the easier road in our social dealings. Human nature, even if we aren't really human anymore.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Also, if you changed drastically during your eruption, you are more likely to get and keep a new name. If you stayed the same, then keeping your old name is a way of saying that you are still the same person.

[Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner]

It was not very difficult at all to arrive at Roslyn's handle. Roslyn was already a fitness model and worked out very often. When she erupted and discovered she could boost her strength and dexerity the name "Pump" just came right too me (Pumping Iron, Pumped up, ect.). The name is also supposed to be a bit of tease if you actually get a look at her too.

[Sakurako Hino]

Hmmm... I wonder, since Endeavor is a little otaku, when she "turns on the juice" should I have her get some sort of DragonBall Z style special effects? Endeavor can't do any transformations like a magical girl though, her eufiber allergies sort of stop that, not to mention if she does come into contact with eufiber she, well... kills it.

[Dr. Arcturus]

Preston,

It turns out Quantum Promise was the insane "other-self" on Strobe. The situation surrounding his erruption (a long-time child abuse victim who errupted when he was assaulted by a co-worker) caused his mind to fission into split-identities: Strobe, the living embodiment of high-speed maiming (who sprints away from his troubles at Mach 25, I might add...), and Quantum Promise, self proclaimed Messiah and Quantum God of the new age who insisted on empowering those around him (he also wanted abject worship). When Strobe/QP finally hit Taint 10, the opposing personalities began to battle in his own distorted mind, leaving him/them catatonic.

[Kirby1024]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
I think if you work and your business centers around your nova abilities, you are more likely to refer to yourself by your nova 'handle'. If you percieve your abilities to be peripheral to your work, you would be more likely to keep your name. When people ask "who are you?", you give them your name and not your 'handle'.

A very excellent point. As Teknokat pointed out on an Opnet Thread, If you don't intend to market yourself, a handle generally isn't required. Teknokat uses one for a myriad of reasons, but among them is that the Teknokat Persona is a major part of her corporation's PR.

In general, the people least likely to pick a code name are the people who are least likely to find themselves on the news. Thus, Directive and Proteus agents are probably less likely than others to choose codenames.

[Liam VanGilder]

Umm, I dont't know about the Directive but I would've thought that Proteus would be hot on codenames. Part of the black ops/need to know lifestlye and all that. Also, having codenames means that they don't risk letting their real identities slip when they speak to or about each other on a mission. The sample nova groups from the WW books use codenames certainly.

PU is and interesting one for this actually. On one hand a nova handle can be more telegenic and fit with the 'hero' image. On the other hand, a normal down to earth name reinforces the 'one of us' thing with the baselines.

Finally, who could resist the chance to call themselves Dr. Mayhem without being laughed out of the room or locked up in a padded cell for it?

[Preston]

My vote is for using your own name and not worrying about what the public says.

Of course, if you are going to do something illegal (be it crime or spy stuff), a code name could be useful. Changing that name after a crime/mission might not be such a bad thing either.

If your changing your name as a "nova thing";

If you are shedding your baseline roots and okay with that, why bother. It doesn't mean anything to you, anyway.

If you are "trapped" in your baseline past, changing your name is not going to help. It is like putting a bandaid on a decapitaion.

Off subject: I just saw Thirteen Ghosts. Nice flick.

[Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner]

This is a OOC topic, right? Maybe post what you just put here on the “brand new nova and new to this board” topic Preston, then I could respond IC.

Oh yeah. I have a little page up for Pump. it's here.

PUMP's little Stat/bio page thingy (with picture!)

Cin was kind enough to set aside some space for me so I could get my character up and char pic posted someplace. Yay me!

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

Quote:

Originally posted by Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner:
This is a OOC topic, right?

Yes, everything in the "Players" area is OOC. And a very good picture it is!

[Jager]

Pump, who is the picture of? If you say it is you, I will claim God is a cruel, cruel One. After all, a female gamer that looks like that and lives on the West Coast. It just ain't fair.

I think Preston is always uptight. I just got this feeling ...

[Ashnod]

{stands on her Amazonian soapbox}

I know Mega-Strength doesn't necessarily impart increased musculature, but the woman in that picture does not look like a woman with Strength 5, which would. A woman with a Strength trait of 5 would look like Chyna from the WWE or Zap from American Gladiators in terms of their arms and general form.

I always hated that She-Ra was supposed to be as strong as He-Man but she had absolutely no muscles to speak of.

{steps off her Amazonian soapbox}

Um, sorry about that.

Yes, it is a very nice picture, though.

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: Ashnod ]

[Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner]

Actually Ashnond…

Look in the books. Does Marissa Dunlope look like Str 4 (core rules)? Thrillseeker (PU)? Ms. Mayhem? Cinder WW Phase 1)? ALOT of the people with a high strength in Aberrant don’t really look like it, expecially if their eruption boosted their strength. And when you toss mega-Appearance into the mix, things come out very fun. Ah, the joys of Quantum.

Now a regular woman who worked out to a strength of 5 would be larger, but not as much as you think. Some bodybuilders/entertainers (especially women who feel they need to comepet when the men) build for size much more then strength. So a lot of those huge women like Chyna can be outlifted but “smaller” women professionals. Look at Miriam Powers for example. Keep in mind that Pump’s Str was 3 before her eruption too.

The picture is of a fitness model named Cori Nadine, who is a lot stronger than you think. I used to have some of her lifts on my HD. I’ll have to look for them because I’ll bet they will surprise you.

[Ashnod]

Quote:

Originally posted by Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner:
Look in the books. Does Marissa Dunlope look like Str 4 (core rules)? Thrillseeker (PU)? Ms. Mayhem? Cinder WW Phase 1)? ALOT of the people with a high strength in Aberrant don’t really look like it, expecially if their eruption boosted their strength. And when you toss mega-Appearance into the mix, things come out very fun. Ah, the joys of Quantum.

Now a regular woman who worked out to a strength of 5 would be larger, but not as much as you think. Some bodybuilders/entertainers (especially women who feel they need to comepet when the men) build for size much more then strength. So a lot of those huge women like Chyna can be outlifted but “smaller” women professionals. Look at Miriam Powers for example. Keep in mind that Pump’s Str was 3 before her eruption too.

The picture is of a fitness model named Cori Nadine, who is a lot stronger than you think. I used to have some of her lifts on my HD. I’ll have to look for them because I’ll bet they will surprise you.

I've never held the art in the books to be accurate representations of females with high strength. Most artists are not going to draw highly-muscled women simply because it's not aesthetic and not as appealing to the core audience as more idealized women are.

And stronger than I think still doesn't equate to strength 5. I don't agree with the opinion that quantum-enduced strength increases is going to leave your body unchanged. I think that Mega-Strength will do that, but not the strength stat itself.

And these are just my opinions, mind you. I'm simply sick and tired of having men with immense strengh being well-muscled, and women with immense strength looking like Janet Jackson or Brittany Spears. I don't think I'd be as up in arms about it if they drew men with high-stength stats that didn't look like muscle-bound freaks. But the men in Aberrant art with high strength stats almost universally have highly-cut bodies.

Anyhoo. Just me rambling. Feel free to ignore.

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: Ashnod ]

[Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner]

moved to other discussion "App. of str=5" or something like that.

[ 09-09-2002: Message edited by: Roslyn 'Pump' Kluesner ]

[Fortune's Son]

On the subject of names...

Having decided to run an Elite in the face of the condemnation usually heaped on the profession, second only to the scorn accorded Utopians, I came up with the name Jack Chance then began to flesh the character out.

Why that name?

It's an easy and somewhat evocative handle. It's unpretentious. It hints at the nature of the character without explaining definitively. It can be interpreted in two completely opposite ways, as Vile Bill noted immediately, without indicating which is correct. It bridges the gap between the two camps of style; "nova name" vs. simply a name.

After a problem arose OOC over a misunderstanding with another player (because the name is a little too similar to my own) it was explained that while Jack Chance is the man's name he also uses the "nova name" of Fortune in the employ of DeVries.

Graveyard Jill on the other hand appeared whole and complete like Venus from the sea foam following a comment by another player. In a moment of time I knew her name, who and what she was, the situation of her life and that Jack Chance loved her, had loved her from the moment he first saw her, with an intensity that most of us will never know.

[ 09-10-2002: Message edited by: Jack Chance ]

[Cin]

Oh yea, something to add. "Caliber" is Lucinda's offical registerd handel, but next to nobody calls her that. Most call her Lucinda and her good friends call her Cin. I don't think she has ever been called "Caliber" in game by anybody, though the handle has shown up in some add she did for a friearms manufacturer. She pretty much did it so she could get them to make a gun for her that she could use her full capabilities with (since she could pull the trigger faster then the cun could chamber a round and fire).

[Albin Mk II]

My favorite character yet is named Silhouette. His powers center on shadows. Anyhow, I actually came up with the nova name first. I thought it sounded like a good name, so I came up with a charcter based around it. Unfortunately Gavin "Silhouette" Barlow is quickly becoming unplayable. I'm at Taint 7 now, but gaining temporary taint at a prodigious rate.

I've always thought that the name Pendulum would be a good one too. But I have been unable to come up with a suitable character.

[David 'Dr. Troll' Smith]

How do you gain temp taint?

[Apep]

I'll try not to go into too much detail on how Apep came to be called Apep. It is a long complicated story. Basically the character never really had a birth name, or the one she was givin she didn't learn of till she was in her late teens. Sometimes her mother is allowed to call her that but only Ashnod could get away with such a thing, that name is a very private and emotional thing for Apep. Growing up remembering being called patient 109, or Lambda 001 isn't anything one would call themselves either. She may or may not have been adopted for a brief period and given the name Susie at that time. During the time she was basically a slave in Egypt, her master called her Fatima, and last but not least, someone at Proteus, her bosses most likely, gave her the name Viper.

You could say that Apep had one of the worst lives imaginable, not many things are worse than all she has endured. When she finally had the courage and hope to change this, she began to call herself Apep, sybolizing the control she finally began to have over her own life, and the chaos she would bring to those who dared to believe they owned her.

There's a whole lot more behind the many names of Apep but that's just about the jist of how the name came to be.