Silly RL names

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

USS Enterprise.

Note that the captain's name is "Stewart" and the first mate has pointy ears (a "cold and calculating" half-elf named Mr. Monterey)

[The Whistler]

Thak you. As to name replacements, I'm working on it. Maybe you could use something simple like Belle Terre ("beautiful land") for Dementlieu?

Thanks! Belleterre sounds pretty great. I was also considering just calling it "La République", because A), trust the Dementlieuse to consider themselves the only semi-representative government worth mentioning, and B), it's nicely ironic considering how little personal freedom anyone there actually has.

Ooh! Got a decent one for Lamordia, too: playing on the nominal baron's name, how about Aubreckstadt? It's not particularly significant one way or the other, but it doesn't beat you over the head with "death" word-roots, and it actually *sounds* Swiss-German.

[The Giamarga]

Stadt = city in german, so it would very well do for a city but probably not for the land.

[The Giamarga]

I believe there's an interview somewhere on the FoS site where Ms. Elrod talks about writing for TSR, which was painful. Didn't know that was where the names came from though.

Indeed. I'd forgotten we had that.

That was interesting.

[Ail]

Stadt = city in german, so it would very well do for a city but probably not for the land.

Indeed, but Staat also exists and means state. So, without barely changing the sound, you could have the intended meaning with
Aubreckstaat.

[The Giamarga]

Aubreckland would be the most natural, but probably sound a bit silly. (This from someone who lives in literally Germanland )

[Lucien Doomdark]

Gonzoron, that rule is generally correct, but some adjectives, like "belle", are exceptions.

"Belleterre" would be gramatically better as a geographical name IMO. Sounds about right to a french ear, too.

For example, in Rennes, France, there's a place called Beaulieu: "Beautiful Place". And it really is.

Alex

There's also a place in the South of England, it's a village with a ruined abbey from the Dissolution. Can't remember whether it's in Sussex or Hampshire though. I imagine the French is pronounced "Bow-LEE-ooh", whereas the village in the South is "Byew-LEE".

Raises interesting questions for High and Low Mordentish...

[Ail]

USS Enterprise.

Note that the captain's name is "Stewart" and the first mate has pointy ears (a "cold and calculating" half-elf named Mr. Monterey)

Sorry, I'm still missing the connection.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

USS Enterprise.

Note that the captain's name is "Stewart" and the first mate has pointy ears (a "cold and calculating" half-elf named Mr. Monterey)

Sorry, I'm still missing the connection.

Rearrange the letters in Sunset Empires, and you almost get USS Enterprise. (You just need to change the m to a 2nd R.) And the captain of one USS Enterprise was played by Patrick Stewart. The first mate of another USS Enterprise was a "cold and calculating" alien with pointy ears named Mr. Spock (in Spock's case, Kirk referred to a lot of the others as Mr. ____ as well, but in pop culture, it only really sticks on Mr. Spock, I think. And Monterey is the only person on the SE crew to be called Mr. anything.) I looked in the book last night and didn't see any other obvious references (and I've been a pretty hard-core trekkie at times in my life, so I'd probably spot them.) But I'm pretty convinced those three are deliberate homages.

[Ail]

Thanks Ron,

I've somehow managed to get over thirty years old in a computer-related career without ever having been attracted to Star Trek. Must sound odd, I know, but I didn't know any of that

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I've somehow managed to get over thirty years old in a computer-related career without ever having been attracted to Star Trek. Must sound odd, I know, but I didn't know any of that

Sorry, I don't believe you. That's not possible.

[Ail]

I've somehow managed to get over thirty years old in a computer-related career without ever having been attracted to Star Trek. Must sound odd, I know, but I didn't know any of that

Sorry, I don't believe you. That's not possible.

Yes, I figured as much. I must belong to that subset of the computer geeks who preferred Gandalf to Spock and were very fundamentalist about it
My knowledge of Star Trek is limited to having seen a few episodes with Picard in the command and that's it. And only in the last 2 or 3 years.

Oh, I'm not much of a Star Wars fan either

P.S: to clarify. I'm over 30, not my computing career.

[lostboy]

Beaulieu (UK) is in the New Forest in Hampshire. That is an Intresting point about high and low Mordentish though, Im sure there are many other comparison place names, and certianly a lot fo French words have been anglicized.

I think I still prefer the idea of La Republique for Dementlieu though.

[ewancummins]

Belleterre sounds nice to me. Of course, I'm only just beginning to really study French.

[ewancummins]

AVONLEIGH!!!!! The darklord is really Anne of Green Gables, I suppose...

Why? Who is that Anne, btw?

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