Do you come up with surnames (last names)?

[Asmor]

So, it occurs to me that most of the time I only come up with one name for my NPCs. Ditto for my characters. Right now I'm working on 4 NPCs named Alene, Yoreil, Faehanru and Maurelia. No idea what their last names are, though.

Is this common? I'm pretty sure the other people I play with don't usually have last names for their characters either.

EDIT: This is specifically referring to times when a surname would be appropriate.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I didn't vote.

My answer is "It depends upon the PC."

 

[Mouseferatu]

I didn't vote.

My answer is "It depends upon the PC."

What he said. For some characters--and some cultures--it's appropriate. Sometimes it's not.

For instance, we're about to start a Mythic Greece campaign. No last names there.

But even in a more traditional setting, it depends on the character, his homeland, and his culture. I've played characters with one name, two names, and occasionally three. I've played characters with titles and honorifics. It all depends, and I don't think I can honestly say I have a standard one way or the other.

 

[Sound of Azure]

What he said. For some characters--and some cultures--it's appropriate. Sometimes it's not.

For instance, we're about to start a Mythic Greece campaign. No last names there.

But even in a more traditional setting, it depends on the character, his homeland, and his culture. I've played characters with one name, two names, and occasionally three. I've played characters with titles and honorifics. It all depends, and I don't think I can honestly say I have a standard one way or the other.

What he said.

Except for the Mythic Greece bit. I'm about to start a game involving PCs exploring the cosmos in a gnome ship. Their crew are going to have at least 6 names each!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What he said.

Except for the Mythic Greece bit. I'm about to start a game involving PCs exploring the cosmos in a gnome ship. Their crew are going to have at least 6 names each!

What he said.



Consider a D20 modern setting. Most PCs, unless they're entertainers or living under some kind of alias, will have at least 2 names.

In a Western setting, you might run a PC with only an alias, or with no name at all.

In sci fi, perhaps your PC only has a "designation."

In an FRPG, naming traditions may vary from culture to culture, and again, a PC may not wish to have their name butchered by non-native speakers of their language, and opt for a translation or other alias.

 

[Starglim]

I almost always use by-names with specific meanings, because I'd prefer not to string together random consonants and it fits better with the Early Mediaeval/Dark Age feel that I prefer to bring to fantasy games.

 

[el-remmen]

/ moving this over to general. . .

 

[Angel Tarragon]

As my homebrew's civilized lands model after America's Gothic era, it is an oddity for anyone to not have a last name.

 

[kolikeos]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Both for PCs and NPCs.

 

[Theron]

I said yes to both, but it really depends on the campaign background. Of my three active D&D PCs, one has a first name and a proper surname, the second a first name and a byname, and the third, just a first name.

Since most of my GMing is spent in the supers genre, the vast majority of my NPCs have first and last names, as well as an alias.