Generating character names with AI tools
AI tools for tabletop RPGs came up in a slack conversation today which reminded me to write this down. I always like to generate lists of names ahead of time, and do it in blocks of 26: one for each letter of the alphabet. I find it simplifies keeping all the characters separated in the heads of everyone at the table.
Previously I’d do this by trawling through name websites and compiling the list myself, but we can easily leverage an AI tool to do this for us. Here’s an example prompt:
create 26 names that are an amalgamation of medieval french and modern Finnish, one for each letter of the alphabet, and include an english transliteration in parentheses
And by way of example, the output:
- Aimonen (eh-mwah-nen)
- Bérjami (bayr-yah-mi)
- Cyprieri (seep-ree-eh)
- Druuvant (droo-vant)
- Éliasari (ay-lee-ah-sah-ree)
- Filorin (fee-loh-reen)
- Gérsami (zher-sah-mi)
- Harvorin (har-vor-een)
- Iisakor (ee-sah-kor)
- Jovaric (zhoh-var-eek)
- Kallian (kal-ee-an)
- Loriane (loh-ree-ah-neh)
- Maugrisi (moh-gree-see)
- Nétheri (neh-teh-ree)
- Ombertti (ohm-bert-tee)
- Pérjas (pehr-yahs)
- Quillan (kee-lahn)
- Raufin (rah-oo-feen)
- Sylvein (seel-vayn)
- Théodar (tay-oh-dar)
- Ullran (ool-ran)
- Vérkki (vehrk-ki)
- Walerian (wah-leh-ree-an)
- Xanrion (zahn-ree-on)
- Yvonel (ee-voh-nel)
- Zépharin (zay-fah-rin)