Interesting Names for Magic Weapons (and other items)

[Ellie_the_Elf]

Hi all,

Looking for inspiration for some names for one-of-a-kind weapons and other items to use in my campaign......

Where do you get your names from?

I'm also trying to select names for a longsword and a pair of shortswords related to astronomy, particularly the moon and stars in some way...The shortswords are a set, the longsword a single item. I've spent some time on astronomy websites, but nothing grabs me (mostly the interesting names would be too familiar to my players)

Ellie.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Many of the magic items in my campaigns are named for their creators / original owners. A maker's mark, if you will. My thinking is that if someone goes through the trouble of crafting a magic weapon, they're doing it partially to be remembered long after they're gone (and also to have a nifty weapon, naturally).

Others are more intuitively named, like Rime, a +2 frost shortsword.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Simple answer: Make stuff up!

Longsword: name it for a comet, but one unique to your campaign's cosmology...like "The Tear of Apollo," a comet long associated with the rise of heroes or the fall of great empires, or some such. Perhaps its powers wax and wane with the comet's visitations. Or it could be named for a particular constellation, like Orion the Hunter- "Orion's Blade."

Paired Shortswords: name these for twin dieties or some such in your campaign's mythologes that have some kind of stellar connection. Example: the constellation Pleiades would work, except that there are 7 stars in that system. However, Pisces and Gemini are 2 astrological signs that are commonly depicted with 2 fish and 2 people, respectively.

Other possibilities: The Starfall Blades, Star-slivers, Star-fangs, moonblades, etc.

 

[Wystan]

Longsword: Nocturne
Pair of Shortswords: Wax and Wane (Cycle of the moon)

Longsword: Imbri
Shortswords: Deimos and Phobos

 

[JimAde]

I use "language analogs" in my game. That is, each nation/race is matched with a real-world language that I use to make up place names and other things (like magic items). Then I basically just describe the item in that language and you get a name that sounds right. I don't pretend that the words I use are proper translations, but they have a consistent sound.

So I have a pair of short swords with lightning and thunder enhancements, that are made from the bones of a blue dragon. I use Old English for the nation they come from so the swords are called the Ligetsleht Banseaxen (thunderbolt bone blades). If they had come from a pseudo-japanese nation they'd be the Raiden Gosshiken or something.

Once you pick a language to use, there are plenty of resources on the web for translation.

 

[Benben]

Hi all,
I'm also trying to select names for a longsword and a pair of shortswords related to astronomy, particularly the moon and stars in some way...The shortswords are a set, the longsword a single item. I've spent some time on astronomy websites, but nothing grabs me (mostly the interesting names would be too familiar to my players)
Ellie.

For the short swords I would be tempted to use something like: zenith and nadir or any other set of antonyms.

You might want to check out something like http://www.astro.com/ which is an astrology website which will be full of terms your players will only scarcely recognize.