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[Emilovich]

The Language Overhaul
Download: http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=14909

Say goodbye to Astesh Clasptreaties and all the other randomness of vanilla Dwarf Fortress naming schemes! This mod aims to make names more memorable by using languages not created by a machine and by making them fit the context they appear in better (So for instance, a dwarven civilization will now be called things like "The Copper Kingdom" instead of stuff like "The Oil of Paddles").

Unlike other language mods I've found, the new words in this mod will not be randomly generated, but based on actual or fantasy languages. The new Dwarven language is inspired by Old Norse, Human will be based on Old English, Elven on Tolkien's Elven languages and the Goblin tongue will be based on Tolkien's Black Speech? See more details below!

With this mod you'll find...:
- Dwarven first names based on Dwarves appearing in Old Norse mythology (surnames the same as site names) - e.g. Náinn Deepcrown, Thorinn Underthrone
- Dwarven place names that actually sounds like settlement names - e.g. Salgard "Hallcourt", Hringdjúp "Ringdeep"
- Dwarven civilization and government names - you will find civs called Heidlandit "The Glorious Land" governed by ruling bodies such as "The Lead Council"
- Human first names based on gender neutral-ish Old English names and Old English nouns I found appropriate - for instance Brunwig Ashfield and Hreod Ravenyards
- Humans give their settlements names after the plants and animals that may be found there - e.g. Oxadenu "Oxvale" and Aelmeweorth "Elmworth"
- Human civ names are still pretty random to be honest, you'll encounter anything from "The Empire of Pigs" to the "Radiant Kingdom"
- Semi-finished Elven first names based on Tolkien's Quenya: Merillë, Minassë, Aranel
- Elven place names based on a theme of forests and nature: Taurehisë "Woodmist", Alquanornë "Swanoaks", Twigthorn "Tuistanassë"
- Elven civilizations such as Taurenórë "The Forest Land" ruled by Ninquicombë "The White Moot"
- Rough-sounding Goblin first names based on Tolkien's Black Speech: Krak, Skûm, Nâkh
- Goblin place names with a theme of violence, evil and misery: Timroth "Woetooth", Dhomlug "Maggothold", Sharatkulm "Swordspire"
- Civilizations like Grumbulluzg "The Godless Dominion" ruled by sinister groups such as Shematorgoth "The Hideous Masters"
- [NEW] Forgotten beasts now have more menacing names. Cower in fear as your fort is assailed by Njósn the Blind or Mottull Audnar (the Cloak of the Void).
- [NEW] Gods and other named entities are now affected as well, but names not mentioned here are still a mix of unmodded and new stuff

Not finished:
- Human, Elven and Goblin language contain a large amount of Dwarven placeholder words. I will finish the Dwarf language first and then move on to the others.
- All languages still contain a large amount of vanilla words which are still used for some names.

Installation:
- unzip into the raw/objects folder
- generate new world

Changelog:
0.1 - first release - Dwarven personal and site names
0.2 - Human personal and site names
0.3 - Elven and Goblin personal and site names
0.4 - Civ and government names + more of the above
0.5 - Fixed bug with bad group names
0.6 - Bugfixes, added forgotten beast names and more

[Deon]

This is actually brilliant. Many times I was planning to do something similar, but the closest I got to my dream of cool fantasy names is my latin language mod.

I haven't thought about simply making a special symbol for names... Bravo.

P.S. Your link is backwards ("this" in the link, and the link as the text).

[Emilovich]

Thank you, and fixed! 

[Sver]

I love this. Somehow, despite playing DF for 8 years, me and Mebzuth Paddleorgans could never really be friends 

Will certainly try this out in the future

[Phaseus]

This is exactly what I've been looking for. Part of the reason I hate micromanaging dwarves is because their names aren't easy to remember, and I only nickname them when they've done something interesting. Does this mod affect other civs, or just Dwarves?

[Emilovich]

Only dwarves so far, yeah 

[TomiTapio]

That reminds me...
*uploads DF 47.xx compatible FINNISH language files*

One version with ÄÖ äö for ascii users, one version for graphics tile users with AO ao. Hyvää päivää!
http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=14884

[Deon]

I've used your idea in my Dwemer Fortress mod (it's not plugging, the mod is 1 thread above ), it works WONDERS. Finally I can have argonians and khajiit with appropriate names.

Thank you SO MUCH for the awesome idea.

[Emilovich]

Well, the way I've done it now isnt perfect. I need to do something with the translations because the names keep showing up in epithets and other places

[Emilovich]

Human settlement names are well underway! I'm very open for suggestions for what human first names should look like!

[Meph]

http://www.infernaldreams.com/names/Europe/Medieval/England.htm

For the humans. Regular medieval human names.

[TomiTapio]

Also 13th century Scottish names:
https://heraldry.sca.org/names/Namesfrom13thCenturyScottishParliamentaryRecords.html

[Meph]

Could you please upload it to Dffd too? Too often have I stumbled over mods with dead links after the owner stopped coming around. Wouldn't want this to get lost, since you seem to be the first person to make something like this.

[Emilovich]

While I agree with the medieval English theme for humans, the problem with using actual medieval names is that you can't assign names based on whather a person is male or female, and meeting Queen Arnold just doesn't feel right. I'm contemplating giving them Old English occupational names such as Webbe (weaver) or Gethaca (Thatcher), or maybe animal names like Hraefn (Raven) and Eofor (Boar). Or perhaps some Old English-style names where the gender wouldn't be quite clear for most players (such as Beorhtgar, Elfbrand, Eadwig).

Anyways, the human settlement names are mostly ready. They will initially be named after fortifications, domestic animals and the bodies of water they're often located nearby, but more will come. Human language will be inspired by Old English and so far I've gotten names like Buccaburne (Buckbourne), Caerdenu (Fort Vale), Burhscield (Buroughshield) etc.

And I'll make sure to upload the next version on Dffd!

[TomiTapio]

What if used medieval English/Scottish/Gaelic first names, but reversed? Or syllables shuffled?