Names of NPCs

[Crystalite]

Hi, been wondering for awhile...are the names of NPCs like Baldur, Bjorn and Algernon a reference to a classic game?

Pls forgive me if I am mistaken. :)

[ProSophist]

I'm not sure whether if it's intentional or not, but they have used names in this game from other games.

I saw Aldur first from Diablo 2.
If you remember the quest to find Morgana, she is also a playable champion from the game League of Legends.

Pretty sure this has happened in their past games as well.

[Crystalite]

Oh thanks for the info! This is what I like about STS games. I get a good laugh whenever I come across such references. :P

[Zaonabiuibil]

They always have clever allusions, if you look deep enough ;)


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Sent using spray paint on the city walls.

[Deathpunch]

Baldur could be a reference to the Bioware game Baldur's Gate and Algernon could be a reference to a book titled Flowers for Algernon, although they have nothing in common. As for Bjorn, I don't know, maybe they are 40k players and think Bjorn the Fell-Handed is awesome. Which he totally is.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Bjorn_the_Fell-Handed

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Dear STS,
Make a squid buddy pet for AL.
Sincerely, everyone.

[Crystalite]

Ah Flowers of Algernon, now that's a good read. :) Didnt think of that myself.

But yes, I was thinking of Baldur's Gate as well. In Baldur's Gate 2, there is an item called 'algernon's cloak'. Bjorn is supposed to be a half-orc priest of Talos in BG 1 i think. As for Baldur, I am not sure if there was a merchant by that name in BG2, a reference to the city Baldur's Gate in some of the dungeons and dragons novels (e.g. Drizzt), or simply an allusion to the game that ties in all these three names together. Plus Baldur's Gate 2:enhanced edition was just recently released as well. Thought it would be cool if the devs were paying homage to arguably one of the best classic RPGs from the 1990s heh. :)

[Deathpunch]

Ah Flowers of Algernon, now that's a good read. :) Didnt think of that myself.

But yes, I was thinking of Baldur's Gate as well. In Baldur's Gate 2, there is an item called 'algernon's cloak'. Bjorn is supposed to be a half-orc priest of Talos in BG 1 i think. As for Baldur, I am not sure if there was a merchant by that name in BG2, a reference to the city Baldur's Gate in some of the dungeons and dragons novels (e.g. Drizzt), or simply an allusion to the game that ties in all these three names together. Plus Baldur's Gate 2:enhanced edition was just recently released as well. Thought it would be cool if the devs were paying homage to arguably one of the best classic RPGs from the 1990s heh. :)

Ah, ok. I hadn't played it in forever. The more I think about it, the more all of these names could be from bioware games. Icewind Dale, perhaps?

-----
Dear STS,
Make a squid buddy pet for AL.
Sincerely, everyone.

[Cahaun]

I loved Baldur's gate. Great game except the floating eyes that disintegrate you when it sees you.

[nenjih]

Well there's Donatello the turtle and Kermut the frog, lol

Also the two rooks members in travelers outpost - Benedikt, Ahnold

Malison is a real word but also the name of a spell in Baldur's Gate 2

Quimby reminds me of the incompetent major from the Simpsons

My favourite would have to be Shazbot!

[Deathpunch]

Well there's Donatello the turtle and Kermut the frog, lol

Also the two rooks members in travelers outpost - Benedikt, Ahnold

Malison is a real word but also the name of a spell in Baldur's Gate 2

Quimby reminds me of the incompetent major from the Simpsons

My favourite would have to be Shazbot!

Shazbot is an Orkan profanity from Mork and Mindy. Na-nu! Na-nu! Jeez... I remember watching that show.

-----
Dear STS,
Make a squid buddy pet for AL.
Sincerely, everyone.

[Swede]

Since I came up with most of the names...

For friendly NPCs, I generally used Scandinavian style names.

Bjorn (or rather Björn in Swedish) is an old Scandinavian name that means Bear. Although I am a huge 40K fan and Bjorn the Fell-Handed is awesome!

Baldur (or rather Baldr) is a Norse god. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur

For the Nott (blue mages) I used strange names since they're from a different world. Nott is a nickname that the people of Arlor gave them because they tended to only move around at night, where their appearance would draw less attention as they could hide in the shadows. Nott is night personified in Norse mythology.

Let me know if you're curious about any other names :)

[Deathpunch]

Sweet! So, being a 40k fan and thinking Bjorn is awesome, what are the chances of maybe getting some wolf pelt armor? Maybe even Ulrik the Slayer's Wolf Helm of Russ for warriors, or just a plain old chaplains skull helmet? Oh man, I would die happy! Lol! But, seriously, the new winter armor bears more than a passing resemblance to Marine armor, especially with that banner.

So, the mages, the Nott, are aliens, then? How did they get to Arlor? Space ship? Some sort of dimensional gate? To be answered at a later time? Hmm? Hmm? Inquiring minds want to know!

*pokes swede with a stick*

-----
Dear STS,
Make a squid buddy pet for AL.
Sincerely, everyone.

[nenjih]

Since I came up with most of the names...

For friendly NPCs, I generally used Scandinavian style names.

Bjorn (or rather Björn in Swedish) is an old Scandinavian name that means Bear. Although I am a huge 40K fan and Bjorn the Fell-Handed is awesome!

Baldur (or rather Baldr) is a Norse god. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur

For the Nott (blue mages) I used strange names since they're from a different world. Nott is a nickname that the people of Arlor gave them because they tended to only move around at night, where their appearance would draw less attention as they could hide in the shadows. Nott is night personified in Norse mythology.

Let me know if you're curious about any other names :)

Sweet! I finally know what to call the blue mage race! When people ask me how to unlock Kraag tombs I had to say something like "get to level 15 and talk to Krobox the blue short mutant mage guy"

[Swede]

There will be a lot more revealed about the Nott in the future.

For now, here's a little tidbit I wrote a while back about them.

The sorcerer is of the race Nott (Old Arlorian “child of night”). A reclusive and rare people in Arlor, the Nott is believed to descend from another world or dimension. With strong affinity to magic and an alien appearance, the Arlorians have always been apprehensive to the Nott. Unfair treatment and persecution have been common practice, so the Nott tend to stay out of human society.

The Nott realized early that they were too different from the humans to ever be fully accepted. To avoid extra attention they began to live more and more of their life at night, wearing robes and other garments to cover their appearance further. Nowadays Nott villages are almost entirely nocturnal, town guards being about the only ones seeing the light of day. This was what earned them their given name, their original name unknown to humans and at this point, perhaps even to the Nott themselves.

[D-Zaak]

There will be a lot more revealed about the Nott in the future.

For now, here's a little tidbit I wrote a while back about them.

The sorcerer is of the race Nott (Old Arlorian “child of night”). A reclusive and rare people in Arlor, the Nott is believed to descend from another world or dimension. With strong affinity to magic and an alien appearance, the Arlorians have always been apprehensive to the Nott. Unfair treatment and persecution have been common practice, so the Nott tend to stay out of human society.

The Nott realized early that they were too different from the humans to ever be fully accepted. To avoid extra attention they began to live more and more of their life at night, wearing robes and other garments to cover their appearance further. Nowadays Nott villages are almost entirely nocturnal, town guards being about the only ones seeing the light of day. This was what earned them their given name, their original name unknown to humans and at this point, perhaps even to the Nott themselves.

This is so interesting. I'd love to see more backstory as expansions continue.

I was a little surprised to find that the Nott are creatures of the night, since I would say that rogues seem like the nocturnal type.