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Grod_The_Giant
2013-08-21, 09:28 PM
I've been working on some background material for an upcoming Mutants and Masterminds campaign, and while I've got a lot of the essentials about the main villain(s) down, I can't for the life of me come up with a good name(s).

The Big Bad of the campaign is going to be a Darkseid rip-off, the absolute ruler of the plane of Despair. Here's my stock introduction:

"There is a place, not far from here, which has never known laughter, which has never known love, which has a thousand names that all mean pain. Call it Ironshard, call it <needs one more nickname>, call it the Dominion of Tears.

Call it hell, for you will find nothing closer this side of death.

This is the realm of Despair, where the only law is to do unto others before they do unto you."

Despair is a sort of multiversal cancer, conquering and absorbing all manner of alternate realities. It's a frozen wasteland, full of immense, unknowable machines wrought of ice and iron, where betrayal and suffering are the rule, from the highest lord to the lowest slave.

The king, the BBEG, is a tale, menacing figure, eight feet tall in armor made of bones and screams, his hands perpetually dripping with the blood of his victims. His full title is His Imperial Majesty, the Lord of Tears and Prince of All Sorrows.

But he needs a name. Something big, deep, and round, that won't sound stupid when you say it out loud. And I'm stumped.

Slipperychicken
2013-08-21, 09:29 PM
Here's a generator for that (http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=evilnamer).

Xefas
2013-08-21, 09:31 PM
Normally, this would be a joke. But if you've already settled with "Dyspair" as a reasonable name, I'm going to pose this legitimately.

"Mal Darkbad XIII" :smallconfused:

Slipperychicken
2013-08-21, 09:45 PM
"Mal Darkbad XIII" :smallconfused:

Darkbad Baddark the Third?

Grod_The_Giant
2013-08-21, 09:53 PM
Here's a generator for that (http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=evilnamer).
I've seen that generator before, but I want something that sounds like a name, rather than... well... a Diablo monster.


Normally, this would be a joke. But if you've already settled with "Dyspair" as a reasonable name
It looks a lot stupider written down on second glance, yeah. But I do like "Despair." Since this is for a game, it needs to be something snappy and easy to remember.

Kyberwulf
2013-08-21, 10:04 PM
Mahadeva Sahadeva

Benthesquid
2013-08-21, 10:15 PM
Normally, this would be a joke. But if you've already settled with "Dyspair" as a reasonable name, I'm going to pose this legitimately.

"Mal Darkbad XIII" :smallconfused:

Dyspair on its own merits is sort of bad, but it's actually pitch perfect for a Darkseid clone (besides his own name, Darkseid rules over a planet called Apokolips, and has minions like Desaad (the torturer) Devilance (he's evil, and he has a lance) and, for some reason, Steppenwolf).

Kirby, man, Kirby.

Anyway, I would suggest something in line with that. Dys-pater, perhaps.

Mr Beer
2013-08-21, 10:18 PM
Honestly, I would just call him Despair or Lord Despair, he is the living embodiment of his plane, is he not? Gets the message across IMO.

Mutazoia
2013-08-21, 10:19 PM
I find using foreign names (especially ancient ones) usually works the best. With that in mind...try this (http://www.20000-names.com/male_babylonian_names.htm)....be sure to check out the evil names (http://www.20000-names.com/evil_names.htm) link on the right

JHShadon
2013-08-21, 10:28 PM
Maldoric
Baldorne
Dalgreth
Gornark

Gnoman
2013-08-21, 10:41 PM
Typing "Lord Despair" into Google Translate English to Latin gives "Desperatio Dóminus", which doesn't sound too ridiculous, and has an ominous tone.

Winds
2013-08-21, 10:53 PM
Other nicknames for the place...

The Land of Chains
The Bleeding Realm


As far as the person...what if skip the name? Take a leaf from ordinary citizens of the 40K universe. He has a name, you know he does. But most call him by his titles, since even knowing his name hurts. (Or maybe that's the reputation he got from not letting anyone call him by name...)

Mastikator
2013-08-22, 02:11 AM
Melazar
Desponas
Tarkess
Barakold

Best I can think of

Hyena
2013-08-22, 05:24 AM
Despair... Despair... Desperado?

Tridax
2013-08-22, 06:16 AM
Perhaps some Lovecraftian names?

Dar'Koth

Yogert

Yuglot

Bhael

(ok, some of them are a joke.)

zabbarot
2013-08-22, 07:29 AM
It might be worth mentioning that so many of the 'evil names' in other languages just translate to simple things like evil, black god, or devil. So there's really no problem just naming him Despair if your common tongue is English :smalltongue: If a specific race found him first name him in their tongue.

On the other hand I guess he could name himself, but what kind of ancient evil names itself?

SethoMarkus
2013-08-22, 07:41 AM
Astriedax

I'll let you come up with an easy to remember nickname yourself :smallwink:

TheStranger
2013-08-22, 07:51 AM
Despair... Despair... Desperado?
Why don't you come to your senses?

Ok, actual suggestions:
Mordecant
Ezeroth
Ageron
Ultak
Fluffles

Morgarion
2013-08-22, 07:54 AM
The Adversary.

GungHo
2013-08-22, 08:32 AM
Despair, hunh?

Saddius Whinger
Ink
Depresso
Nick Cave

Arkhosia
2013-08-22, 09:17 AM
Harrowblight

TheBajaBojo
2013-08-22, 10:15 AM
I hope I'm not too late, but what usually helps me, is picking already existing names of other things:
If none of your players are religious or Jewish, try demons from Jewish mythology e.g. Belphegor or Baal-berith might be more appropriate from a cultural background... wikipedia is your friend on this one.

If you feel uneasy throwing names with such backstories/implications around you can try rinkworks' generator (http://rinkworks.com/namegen/) set the "simple interface" to "dragons" or "consonant heavy" or similar...

If you happen to dislike generators purely out of principle, I can only recommend picking a very rare foreign name, that none of your players could have possibly heard of. You can google "<insert nationality here> baby names" for that.

Frozen_Feet
2013-08-22, 10:58 AM
Lucius
Hannibal
Adolphus
Attila
Ghengis
Wukong
Asmodan
Lempo
Samael
Hannishebob
Bahamut
Marduk

CarpeGuitarrem
2013-08-22, 11:17 AM
Sparkle Feathergood

Rondodu
2013-08-22, 11:29 AM
Lucius
Hannibal
Adolphus
Attila
Ghengis
Wukong
Asmodan
Lempo
Samael
Hannishebob
Bahamut
MardukThis list lacks a “Nero”.

Joe the Rat
2013-08-22, 03:13 PM
Second vote on "Land of chains". maybe "Land of frozen chains." Chain always bring a sense of binding and imprisonment.

Slipperychicken
2013-08-22, 03:43 PM
Despair is a sort of multiversal cancer, conquering and absorbing all manner of alternate realities. It's a frozen wasteland, full of immense, unknowable machines wrought of ice and iron, where betrayal and suffering are the rule, from the highest lord to the lowest slave.


Ironman Wastes?

Stille_Nacht
2013-08-22, 03:51 PM
I find that rulers can seem more threatening if you give them a title instead of a name:
"The Architect"
"Sovereign"
"The Lord of _____" (chains, dreams, nothing etc.)

Or you could give him a name that sounds vaguely like a word:
"Dominus"
"Sithe"
"Solitas"

Or you could go for a symbolic word:
"Spider"
"Throne"

Or, of course, you could go for an eldritch sounding name:
"Yawgmoth" is a nice grrrr name
"Thanatos", "Lorthos", etc.
"Phyrex"
"Gizemnid", "Mxyhptlck" or similarly crazy sounding thing
"Thune", "Dirne", "Baht" or something one-syllabled can sound more dramatic

Arkhosia
2013-08-22, 04:29 PM
This list lacks a “Nero”.

And both Caligula and Incitatus.

Icewraith
2013-08-22, 05:54 PM
Did he used to be someone before becoming this entity?

Alternatively he could just go by his title.

This is sort of a math joke, but you could call him Locus. It's always struck me as a sinister sounding term. It sounds almost identical to Locust, which is a crop-devoring spreader of famine and disease. You've got a bunch of bad guy names that live in this general sound- Loki the trickster god, Locutus the evil borg Picard from Star Trek TNG come immediately to mind. IT REALLY turns into a math joke if you call him "Locus, the sum (set would be better) of all fears" so you probably shouldn't do that if you want to keep the game serious. It's also possible someone's already done that and it's just echoing around in my brain.

You probably want to keep it to two syllables. Darkseid, Morgoth, Sauron, Arthas, Mordred, Frieza... all ludicrously powerful big bads in the evil king archetype.

Or you could name him something like "Sam the Eagle"

Arkhosia
2013-08-22, 06:08 PM
Harrow is an intimidating word and rolls of the tongue nicely.
Besides, it means trauma: a harrowing, or traumatizing, experience

Threadnaught
2013-08-22, 06:37 PM
fiendish Overlord Death von EvilRapeKill, ruler of Eviltopia

Too much?


I would suggest Gideon for a destroyer, since that is it's meaning.

Well there's Psi Erda, guess what it's an anagram of. It may be more subtle than what you're aiming for, but as soon as an anagram has been worked out, it's almost impossible to not see it.

Icewraith
2013-08-22, 07:14 PM
A Spider?

Rapes id?

Diapers?

Drips EA?

Sard Pie?

Sad Pier?

Ripe Sad?

Is this supposed to be something easy like "alucard"? It's driving me nuts now! Maybe it's from something I'm not familiar with...?

Adoendithas
2013-08-22, 07:31 PM
Latin or Ancient Greek can be a good source of names. Someone suggested "Desperatio Dominus" earlier, which is a pretty good translation (perhaps Dominus Desperationis would be more accurate, "the Lord of Despair"), but the etymology of "desperation" becomes pretty obvious.

That's pretty much the only noun for despair, but there are some good verbs. If you want to use an imperative (as in "abandon all hope ye who enter here") you could try desponde/despondete, exspera/exsperate, or conplore/conplorete.

Transliterating the Ancient Greek gives things such as amakhania, dusthumia, and apelpismos, which are a bit harder to pronounce but to some sound more "evil."

Hopefully one of those works.

JHShadon
2013-08-22, 08:02 PM
A Spider?

Rapes id?

Diapers?

Drips EA?

Sard Pie?

Sad Pier?

Ripe Sad?

Is this supposed to be something easy like "alucard"? It's driving me nuts now! Maybe it's from something I'm not familiar with...?
It's despair.

ben-zayb
2013-08-22, 09:42 PM
well, there's always good 'ol Latin, especially since the theme of creeping, silent, and foreboding evil fits well with the use of latin terms in pop culture. some suggestions:
Terminus
Lacrima
Nihilum
Formido
Carnifex
Odium

Arkhosia
2013-08-22, 09:57 PM
well, there's always good 'ol Latin, especially since the theme of creeping, silent, and foreboding evil fits well with the use of latin terms in pop culture. some suggestions:
Terminus
Lacrima
Nihilum
Formido
Carnifex
Odium


I still support Incitatus. He was a horrible senator.:smalltongue:

Dimers
2013-08-22, 11:43 PM
Iduhn
Aydom
Gratour
Schreiderstille (crammed-together German for "scream of silence")
Cursowl, Cursowlid
Bone-Flay
Ursuffor, Ursuffer
Morrower
Scavid

NM020110
2013-08-24, 10:51 PM
TvTrope's Names to Run Away from Really Fast (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast) is usually pretty good for this kind of thing. You may find something of use there.

Manly Man
2013-08-24, 11:48 PM
And both Caligula and Incitatus.

Also, Claudius. The asshat had a man's skin rubbed off with the scales of a mullet and a crab's shell because the poor guy interrupted a nap to dedicate his miraculous catch to the emperor.

hamishspence
2013-08-25, 04:28 AM
I thought that was Tiberius? It is in Horrible Histories: The Rotten Romans, at least.

Arkhosia
2013-08-25, 12:30 PM
Also, Claudius. The asshat had a man's skin rubbed off with the scales of a mullet and a crab's shell because the poor guy interrupted a nap to dedicate his miraculous catch to the emperor.

Really?
Time to go listen to my favorite podcast again!

Also, try the names of Severus's sons or just his name.



I thought that was Tiberius?

To the Tiber with Tiberius!
Also, did you know vomitoriums were actually those large stadium entrances?

Dovius
2013-08-25, 06:03 PM
His Imperial Majesty Kalgeron, Lord of Tears, Prince of all Sorrows. He Whoms Hand Crushes The Heart Of Creation, The Merciless Cold of Despair, The Freezing Chaos Personified. Only those who dare provoke his ire call him by his true name, and those that do so will be crushed beneath the heel of screaming torment and the full force of his unending wrath.

...too much?

Rover
2013-08-25, 06:26 PM
"Rottenor"
"Glasten"
"Prejdure"
"Desparo"

dps
2013-08-25, 06:59 PM
Ryan Braun

tommhans
2013-08-26, 08:57 AM
Alan "al Mawth" Dragonballs :smallcool: (al mawth means death in arabic apparently)

Azreal , the "Archangel of Death"

Don Gaston Harper,

Johann Atlas

Klaus Von Underbar

Julian The Undertaker

Mercutio il Morte

Jurgen Braff

AKA_Bait
2013-08-26, 10:05 AM
I've always liked going with a slight variation of a biblical angel/demon name for a bad guy of the kind of planar scale you are talking about. I mean, some version of some story of this dude would have dripped through to our reality in one form or another by now right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_theological_angels

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_theological_demons

Blightedmarsh
2013-08-26, 03:22 PM
Morgan
Mordred
Seth
Tranis
Leug
Ulther

The Oni
2013-08-26, 03:48 PM
I have to go ahead and agree that "Desperatio Dominus" is far and away the most badass suggestion I've yet to read in this thread. If that's not his actual name it should at least be a title.

If I may, and it seems like you're strongly associating "Cold" with "Despair" in this setting, I'd like to suggest

Emperor Vostok XX
King Vostok the 20th
(or some variant...)

The 20th after the coldest day ever recorded on Earth, and Vostok the Russian station where it was recorded.

Grod_The_Giant
2013-08-26, 10:15 PM
Thank you all for the help and suggestions. After some consideration, I've decided on Dominus Desperor. (Mangling due to the need to avoid sounding Italian every time I say "Desperatio")


Now to come up with names for his chief henchmen... heh heh heh.

tommhans
2013-08-27, 04:36 AM
Grod the giant sounds like an evil henchman name? ;) :P

Arkhosia
2013-09-02, 02:40 AM
Thank you all for the help and suggestions. After some consideration, I've decided on Dominus Desperor. (Mangling due to the need to avoid sounding Italian every time I say "Desperatio")


Now to come up with names for his chief henchmen... heh heh heh.

Easy: Tiberius Incitatus Kirk. I kid.

Threadnaught
2013-09-02, 08:01 AM
Thank you all for the help and suggestions. After some consideration, I've decided on Dominus Desperor. (Mangling due to the need to avoid sounding Italian every time I say "Desperatio")


Now to come up with names for his chief henchmen... heh heh heh.

Any of the unused above suggestions could fit the role. It would probably be fun to keep the despair theme going by utilizing the word despair somehow, in a different way to the main bad guy obviously.

Beowulf DW
2013-09-02, 10:30 AM
Vercingetorix?

Add "-torix" to anything and it'll sound kind of evil.

Rondodu
2013-09-02, 10:58 AM
Unless, of course, you’re into Franco-Belgian comics, in which case it sounds awesome.

Grod_The_Giant
2013-09-07, 03:44 PM
Evil court complete! (Just in time for the first game tonight, too). Your suggestions continued to be very helpful. We've got:


Dominus Desperor, Lord Despair, Prince of All Sorrows
The Absolute, a massive ice monster animated by a heart of molten iron, who may or may not be Dominus' child.
Admiral Konar, the Duke of Tears, and leader of the armies of Despair.
Carnifax, the God of Murder and Duke of Hunger.
Scarvid the Architect, Duke of Chains, and creator of Despair's greatest weapons.
Sister Salvation, the Duchess of Frost and Dominus' high priestess.

Mutazoia
2013-09-08, 08:29 AM
Carnifax, the God of Murder and Duke of Hunger.

Isn't Carnifax a small fox spirit that delights in extorting chariot dealerships for protection money?

13_CBS
2013-09-08, 08:33 PM
Aww, it's too late for suggestions, isn't it? :smallfrown: I should read this part of the forum more often.

I was going to suggest: Ahngorahk, Bringer of Sorrows

Grod_The_Giant
2013-09-08, 08:41 PM
Isn't Carnifax a small fox spirit that delights in extorting chariot dealerships for protection money?
Roman public executioners, according to wikipedia.