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Are Surnames Compulsory?

KestrelKestrel
in Questions and Answers
It's been mentioned that you can preselect a surname for your character from a list of suitable names for your race.

However, what if you want your character to not have a surname? Maybe they're a street-rat, an orphan, or just like to keep their personal life on the down-low. Is there an option to either not have your surname visible as part of your title, or to just not select one to begin with?

"They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
— Oscar Wilde

"I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
— Margaret Atwood

Comments

  • XiruXiru
    How early on can you join a dynasty? 
    Vote for Starmourn! Don't hurt Poffy.
  • TectonTecton
    Dynasties will be in the game from day 1, so players will be able to form them from the get-go. Joining dynasties is currently unrestricted by level. We may tweak the min level to induct someone in the future though if people just blanket invite and otherwise pester newbies.
  • TravelerTraveler
    What if you would rather select your own name and not join a Dynasty? Will there be that option?
  • TectonTecton
    Traveler said:
    What if you would rather select your own name and not join a Dynasty? Will there be that option?
    Dynasty is the only way to get a surname, I'm afraid. There's nothing stopping you from forming your own Dynasty though!
  • bairlochbairloch
    Does the dynasty concept even make sense for Decheerans? Maybe it is the name of their Grove, if they have one?

    The proto-Decheeran roots itself to the ground, and that's the last intentional contact a Decheeran has with its "children." They don't recognize or care later who spawned them, or whom they spawned. 

    ...the Decheerans place no importance on parents - indeed, they don't have them 

    They don't have families or any concept of one. What they do have are groups of Decheerans called 'Groves.' These are completely voluntary associations of Decheerans who bond with each other by rooting in a group together for a period of time, after which they are closely allied and can very vaguely feel the emotional state of other Grove members. 

  • QueanQuean
    bairloch said:
    Does the dynasty concept even make sense for Decheerans? Maybe it is the name of their Grove, if they have one?

    The proto-Decheeran roots itself to the ground, and that's the last intentional contact a Decheeran has with its "children." They don't recognize or care later who spawned them, or whom they spawned. 

    ...the Decheerans place no importance on parents - indeed, they don't have them 

    They don't have families or any concept of one. What they do have are groups of Decheerans called 'Groves.' These are completely voluntary associations of Decheerans who bond with each other by rooting in a group together for a period of time, after which they are closely allied and can very vaguely feel the emotional state of other Grove members. 

    That would make sense. In my perfect world, awesome racial elements like Groves would have small, separate mechanics around them, but actually, having a Dynasty comm channel flavoured by Players around sending each other emotional signals could also work :)
    Starmourn Launch Countdown:
    https://countingdownto.com/?c=2341194
  • TectonTecton
    Quean said:
    bairloch said:
    Does the dynasty concept even make sense for Decheerans? Maybe it is the name of their Grove, if they have one?

    The proto-Decheeran roots itself to the ground, and that's the last intentional contact a Decheeran has with its "children." They don't recognize or care later who spawned them, or whom they spawned. 

    ...the Decheerans place no importance on parents - indeed, they don't have them 

    They don't have families or any concept of one. What they do have are groups of Decheerans called 'Groves.' These are completely voluntary associations of Decheerans who bond with each other by rooting in a group together for a period of time, after which they are closely allied and can very vaguely feel the emotional state of other Grove members. 

    That would make sense. In my perfect world, awesome racial elements like Groves would have small, separate mechanics around them, but actually, having a Dynasty comm channel flavoured by Players around sending each other emotional signals could also work :)
    Dynasties don't need to be a biological family, they can be any grouping of people really. So yes, they could be a grove or a named player-run business empire.
  • QitorienQitorien
    Tecton said:
    Dynasties will be in the game from day 1, so players will be able to form them from the get-go. Joining dynasties is currently unrestricted by level. We may tweak the min level to induct someone in the future though if people just blanket invite and otherwise pester newbies.
    Can't remember seeing this anywhere...Will Dynasties get their own chat channel? Please, say yes. ^.^
    As T'rath has pierced the veil, so will I, and so will my life become complete in a good death.
    Jin
    VOTE FOR STARMOURN
    Tecton-Today at 6:17 PM
    teehee b.u.t.t. pirates
    GrootToday at 2:16 PM
      if there's no kittens in space
      I'm going on a rampage
    TectonToday at 2:17 PM
      They're called w'hoorn, Groot
      sets out a saucer of milk
  • TectonTecton
    Qitorien said:
    Tecton said:
    Dynasties will be in the game from day 1, so players will be able to form them from the get-go. Joining dynasties is currently unrestricted by level. We may tweak the min level to induct someone in the future though if people just blanket invite and otherwise pester newbies.
    Can't remember seeing this anywhere...Will Dynasties get their own chat channel? Please, say yes. ^.^
    Yes, they'll have their own channel/news etc.
  • kaykay
    Tecton said:
    Dynasty is the only way to get a surname, I'm afraid. There's nothing stopping you from forming your own Dynasty though!
    What are the requirements for making a Dynasty? If someone just wants one for themselves so they can have exactly the surname that they want or whatever, can they pay a price in marks then register it for themselves alone? Or will there be a minimum number of people required to start one up?
  • TectonTecton
    You can form one yourself if you have the funds to do so. There's a relatively low membership count required to unlock the ability to set/use a surname.
  • QitorienQitorien
    Tecton said:
    You can form one yourself if you have the funds to do so. There's a relatively low membership count required to unlock the ability to set/use a surname.
    Will there be some system-set (or Admin-) or newbie Dynasties? Can you leave a Dynasty or is it permanent? This is in the context of families, which makes me think of other questions...should family Dynasties be thought of in terms of adoption/legal family bonds or is that over-thinking it? 
    As T'rath has pierced the veil, so will I, and so will my life become complete in a good death.
    Jin
    VOTE FOR STARMOURN
    Tecton-Today at 6:17 PM
    teehee b.u.t.t. pirates
    GrootToday at 2:16 PM
      if there's no kittens in space
      I'm going on a rampage
    TectonToday at 2:17 PM
      They're called w'hoorn, Groot
      sets out a saucer of milk
  • TectonTecton
    Qitorien said:
    Tecton said:
    You can form one yourself if you have the funds to do so. There's a relatively low membership count required to unlock the ability to set/use a surname.
    Will there be some system-set (or Admin-) or newbie Dynasties? Can you leave a Dynasty or is it permanent? This is in the context of families, which makes me think of other questions...should family Dynasties be thought of in terms of adoption/legal family bonds or is that over-thinking it? 
    No plans for any system or admin controlled dynasties, they're all in the hands of you guys, the players. 

    You can leave a dynasty, but you'll forsake your surname if you do, and there will be a cooldown before you can join another one. 

    We're not putting any restrictions or enforcements in that arena, will likely vary from dynasty to dynasty.
  • XiruXiru
    I will say I like the mechanics of this, but I liked the idea of having to choose a surname at the outset as well. Especially on day one, so I'm sad that's no longer a thing. (Especially with surnames giving you an idea of racial-based language cues.)
    Vote for Starmourn! Don't hurt Poffy.
  • QueanQuean
    Syaja said:
    I will say I like the mechanics of this, but I liked the idea of having to choose a surname at the outset as well. Especially on day one, so I'm sad that's no longer a thing. (Especially with surnames giving you an idea of racial-based language cues.)
    Fully agreed. In contrast to Achaea, the language patterns will not be evident for us, which can lead to some mishmash; there will be no option to use an elven name generator for Tsol'aa. I was hoping that the surnames could help.
    Starmourn Launch Countdown:
    https://countingdownto.com/?c=2341194
  • QitorienQitorien
    Will surnames still come from a preset list? If not, is the plan to have to get approval for all surnames? What I mean is that I figure you can't choose just anything because of issues with inappropriate names, but beyond that until yall introduced the concept of dynasties and surnames being tied to them, it was going to be a preset list and relatively limited.
    As T'rath has pierced the veil, so will I, and so will my life become complete in a good death.
    Jin
    VOTE FOR STARMOURN
    Tecton-Today at 6:17 PM
    teehee b.u.t.t. pirates
    GrootToday at 2:16 PM
      if there's no kittens in space
      I'm going on a rampage
    TectonToday at 2:17 PM
      They're called w'hoorn, Groot
      sets out a saucer of milk
  • TectonTecton
    Qitorien said:
    Will surnames still come from a preset list? If not, is the plan to have to get approval for all surnames? What I mean is that I figure you can't choose just anything because of issues with inappropriate names, but beyond that until yall introduced the concept of dynasties and surnames being tied to them, it was going to be a preset list and relatively limited.
    No, it's relatively free choice. Usual name restrictions apply, we'll likely dissolve any dynasties that have names that try to get around restrictions.
  • QitorienQitorien
    Thanks for the response!
    As T'rath has pierced the veil, so will I, and so will my life become complete in a good death.
    Jin
    VOTE FOR STARMOURN
    Tecton-Today at 6:17 PM
    teehee b.u.t.t. pirates
    GrootToday at 2:16 PM
      if there's no kittens in space
      I'm going on a rampage
    TectonToday at 2:17 PM
      They're called w'hoorn, Groot
      sets out a saucer of milk
  • MaygonMaygon
    Wondering if dynasties are going to be restricted to one city/org or can members be from any walk of life?
  • KaedokKaedok
    Can you give yourself a pseudo-surname with a title mechanic similar to other IRE games?
  • TectonTecton
    Maygon said:
    Wondering if dynasties are going to be restricted to one city/org or can members be from any walk of life?
    No mechanical restrictions, no. Up to the people in the dynasty.
  • TectonTecton
    Kaedok said:
    Can you give yourself a pseudo-surname with a title mechanic similar to other IRE games?
    Nope, free-form suffixes have a comma after the proper name, so <earned title> Kaedok <surname>, <freeform suffix>
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