So it looks like a friend of mine is eager to run a game of Savage Rifts, and sight-unseen I picked out the flame wind dragon hatchling framework for a character. As I started looking over the PDF and coming up with ideas for the character, I noticed there were no suggestions for character names for dragons or any of the other races (which isn't all that unusual for Savage Worlds, really). The only dragon names, Plato and Uther, I could find with a bit of searching through the books I had at hand suggest they take them from historical figures and myths but that is far from a large enough pool of sources to be very definitive.

I know a number of people here are at least somewhat familiar with the Rifts setting, so I turn to you. Is there any sort of unifying theme in dragon (or other racial) names, or do they just run the gamut from Melisynthelix the Red to Bob? I won't lie, just knowing my friend I was sorely tempted to go with something stupid like Burnie Cinders just to see the look on his face.

Can dig to get my Palladium stuff out right now, but it really doesn't matter.  The conceit of Dragon Hatchlings in Rifts is that they are very intelligent beings, with very rapid development of early intelligence, but can be influenced by their surroundings and those they encounter during their formative years.  So really, they adapt.  A Dragon Hatchling would probably have a name corresponding to the people who they encountered and stayed with first after being hatched.  So it very well could be Bob, just because there was a Bob they know and they liked the name.  Or it could be Bernie Cinders because that's what the merc who first ran into the dragon thought was a funny name and the dragon liked it.

Carlotta the White is the dragon that hangs out with Sir Razoul Lazarus in Vampire Kingdoms. I'd have to skim my books to check for more names.

QuoteIs there any sort of unifying theme in dragon (or other racial) names, or do they just run the gamut from Melisynthelix the Red to Bob?

I'm pretty sure the last. Especially with young dragons who are only days old. They might not even have picked a name yet. And are likely to be given one by their companions.

QuoteBurnie Cinders

Nononononono....

Don't you understand? Hatchlings are like one of the more powerful playable classes. If you let them have names, then the delicate balance that is Rifts will become wildly unbalanced, causing a totally unplayable mess.

Which is why there is no information for naming your Dragon Hatchling. Its for your own protection.

Thanks for the responses, guys. That fits in about with what I'd expected given Rifts' kitchen sink setting, but I thought I'd ask around anyway.

Quote from: Spike;956731Hatchlings are like one of the more powerful playable classes.

I can't speak for normal Rifts, but in the Savage version they seem to be quite firmly in the middle of the pack. The two most OP options I've found by far are the Mystic (#1 by a mile) and the Cyber Knight, both of which can wipe the floor with a Hatchling without breaking a sweat. Not to mention Glitter Boys are just incredible, of course.

Burnie Cinders!!!

That's awesome!

Hmmm. I'll have to double check, but I think the adult dragons tend to have the more serious names. It would make sense that young dragons have silly or humanized names until they get older and decide on a more serious name. A dragon probably goes through many names in it's long lifetime.

In my Rifts games, Dragons have a true name in Dragonese, given by their parents, that (like their knowledge of language, magic and other things) is imparted upon the hatchling by prenatal telepathy and/or racial memory.

But in their dealings with mortals, dragons always adopt aliases, usually pertaining to a local culture, and most often accented with the trademark quirky humor of dragons. "Burnie Cindres" would be spot-on.

Too bad there's only one type of dragon in Savage Rifts. Though I'm pretty sure there are already conversions for others at the Google+ community (Chiang-Ku dragon fans, represent).

Quote from: Brand55;956813I can't speak for normal Rifts, but in the Savage version they seem to be quite firmly in the middle of the pack. The two most OP options I've found by far are the Mystic (#1 by a mile) and the Cyber Knight, both of which can wipe the floor with a Hatchling without breaking a sweat. Not to mention Glitter Boys are just incredible, of course.

Bah.  Bah, I say, and a Pox upon your house.

Quote from: The Butcher;956915Too bad there's only one type of dragon in Savage Rifts. Though I'm pretty sure there are already conversions for others at the Google+ community (Chiang-Ku dragon fans, represent).

Yeah, I didn't think it would take long before unofficial conversions of the other types would show up. The SW community is often pretty good about that kind of stuff, and with Rifts having so much material I had no doubt there'd be plenty of stuff brought over by the fans while we waited on more stuff to be published.

Quote from: Spike;957003Bah.  Bah, I say, and a Pox upon your house.

Hey, blame the guys who gave the silly exploits to certain frameworks. Thankfully my group's Mystic is going to be focused mostly on healing rather than calling forth packs of dragons to overwhelm every enemy we encounter and make the rest of us feel useless.

Quote from: The Butcher;956915In my Rifts games, Dragons have a true name in Dragonese, given by their parents, that (like their knowledge of language, magic and other things) is imparted upon the hatchling by prenatal telepathy and/or racial memory.

I really like this idea, BTW.

Quote from: Ratman_tf;957016I really like this idea, BTW.

As do I. I'll probably make that part of my own head-canon for the setting.

I just wanted to say, Burnie Cinders is an awesome name, and you should use it.

LOL "Burnie Cinders"!

The most famous Dragon PC I ever had in my RIFTS campaigns was named "Zed".