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Retain magic item names or rename them?

MilochMiloch Member Posts: 863
edited October 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
This came up in beta discussion so I thought I'd put it to a public vote. Would you prefer magic items generally retain their standard BG1/BG2/AD&D 2nd edition names or get assigned different names as mentioned in their descriptions? Some examples are:

"Light Crossbow of Speed" would be "The Army Scythe" (xbow05)
"Short Sword of Backstabbing" would be "The Shadow's Blade" (sw1h10)
"Quarterstaff +3" would be "Aule's Staff" (staf08)
"Long Sword +2" would be "Varscona" (sw1h06)
  1. Retain magic item names or rename them?134 votes
    1. Quarterstaff +3 should be called Quarterstaff +3
      26.12%
    2. Quarterstaff +3 should be called Aule's Staff
      73.88%
«1

Comments

  • Permidion_StarkPermidion_Stark Member Posts: 4,861
    It's something I have never thought about before. But I like the idea of giving them the names used in their descriptions. It would make the items seem unique and so add depth to the story.
  • TetraploidTetraploid Member Posts: 252
    I think it is much nicer for items to have names, rather than just a +3 or whatever referencing their stats, although if that name references singular ownership (eg. Aule's Staff) then there probably shouldn't be more than one of that item in the game.
  • TanthalasTanthalas Member Posts: 6,738
    edited October 2012
    Just some notes on this:

    1. Just to be clear on this: No names are being created. All names being used come straight from the item description. That I know of there is only one exception to this, where Drizzt's Frostbrand was renamed "Icingdeath" in accordance to the name of the blade in the Drizzt novels.

    2. Regardless of the outcome of the poll, the name of the Long Sword +2 or Varscona needs to be changed because this sword is not just a Long Sword +2 since it has an additional ability.

    EDIT:
    Forgot that these names also appear in shops.
    Post edited by Tanthalas on
  • MilochMiloch Member Posts: 863
    Tanthalas said:

    Just some notes on this:2. These names are only used for tooltips. That is the only thing being changed.

    This isn't true as I mentioned to you elsewhere. We're talking about the actual item names, which appear in store inventories and so on.
    3. Regardless of the outcome of the poll, the name of the Long Sword +2 or Varscona needs to be changed because this sword is not just a Long Sword +2 since it has an additional ability.
    Possibly agreed, but Long Sword +2, Coldbrand or something would be better than "Varscona" in my opinion. The latter implies it is a unique weapon, and it is certainly not in BG2, where you have the same weapon, same description, same abilities, yet there are at least a dozen or two of these.

    Also note that we are talking about changing the Boots of Speed to be called "The Paws of the Cheetah" and the Boots of Stealth to be called "Worn Whispers" by this same proposition. These are not unique items either, at least not by BG2, and assigning such names seems to imply they are. If you want them to be unique, that is best left to mods like Unique Items. I am surprised there are so many in favour of this sort of heavy-handed revisionism but oh well - I guess I will have to make that BG(EE) "Lite" Game Text Update after all.
  • BalquoBalquo Member, Developer Posts: 2,746
    If there is more than one of the item then they should not have a unique name. Quarterstaff +3. How many of them are in BG? If one then give it the name Aule's Staff.
  • TanthalasTanthalas Member Posts: 6,738
    Miloch said:

    Possibly agreed, but Long Sword +2, Coldbrand or something would be better than "Varscona" in my opinion. The latter implies it is a unique weapon, and it is certainly not in BG2, where you have the same weapon, same description, same abilities, yet there are at least a dozen or two of these.

    Also note that we are talking about changing the Boots of Speed to be called "The Paws of the Cheetah" and the Boots of Stealth to be called "Worn Whispers" by this same proposition. These are not unique items either, at least not by BG2, and assigning such names seems to imply they are. If you want them to be unique, that is best left to mods like Unique Items. I am surprised there are so many in favour of this sort of heavy-handed revisionism but oh well - I guess I will have to make that BG(EE) "Lite" Game Text Update after all.

    @Miloch
    So its ok for the item descriptions to imply that these are unique items but its bad if its on the tooltip? If its consistency that you want then:

    1. Or we make all these items unique (and possible have generic versions of them too).

    2. Or we change their descriptions so they're not unique.
  • Raistlin82Raistlin82 Member Posts: 256
    Even better if we're given the option of giving them whatever name we like, Drizzt style.
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    If a weapon is named it's because it has a story behind that name and it should be kept. It's different to own a generic quarterstaff +3 and to own the one which belonged to a famous hero.
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    I vote for rename, as long as it will be implemented into evety language versions.
  • ginger_hammerginger_hammer Member Posts: 160
    edited October 2012
    Unique names for unique items that have history/special effects.

    Generic +1, +2, etc for generic versions of better items that you can get more than one of.
  • hansolohansolo Member Posts: 136
    edited October 2012
    No change for items that are available more than once in the game.
    Otherwise: why not.

    Personally, I'd like to restrict unique names not only to unique items in the game but also to unique items with interesting abilities beyond a mere: it is +3.
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356
    Or, to have the best (or worst?) of both worlds, what about combining both descriptions (e.g., Longsword +2: Varscona; Quarterstaff +3: Aule's Staff; Short Sword of Backstabbing +3: The Shadows Blade, etc.)?
  • RythgarRythgar Member Posts: 101
    @Mortianna A bit lengthy for a tooltip, yeah? Definitely in the description though, I agree.

    @RomulanPaladin I always felt that an item having a name meant I should pay attention. Seeing yet another +1 item relegates it to the junk pile, unless I see a name tacked on.
  • CheesebellyCheesebelly Member Posts: 1,727
    Would this make the Boots of Speed also Cheetah Paws? :o
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356
    @Rythgar Yeah, the tooltips would get pretty long. A popup taking up half of the screen for a "Ring of Protection +1: Ring of the Princes" is kind of ridiculous. Then again, some people might want to know which one is "Koveras' Ring of Protection +1" and which isn't.
  • RythgarRythgar Member Posts: 101
    @Mortianna I agree. I'd rather see Varscona on the tooltip and Long Sword +2: Varscona in the description.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited October 2012
    [[agh nevermind]]
  • SenashSenash Member Posts: 405
    I like the idea, but:
    1. only if there's only one of said item in the game. And beside them there would still be generic +X weapons/armors.
    2. they still retain their +1/+2/+3/+x designation, like @Aosaw said.
  • MilochMiloch Member Posts: 863
    I am willing to agree with @RomulanPaladin: "unless an item is really special, let's keep the item names to unique/powerful weapons: the names for the other items can get really bad." As it is, the general proposition is to go about renaming everything that might have a so-called "unique" name. Bad idea, and even more so when the items are not really that unique. And yes, @Cheesebelly, this proposition would make the Boots of Speed "Paws of the Cheetah" and the Boots of Stealth called "Worn Whispers" as I mentioned above. So far, it's really inconsistent though. Also, @Tanthalas, I don't agree with descriptions suggesting an item is unique when it really isn't. Making the actual names "unique" just makes the issue worse.
  • RythgarRythgar Member Posts: 101
    @Miloch But all the items listed as examples are called those names in the description. The sole quarterstaff +3 in BG is called "Aule's Staff" in the description. Granted, it may just be a simple quarterstaff +3 in practice, but there is lore and a story attached to it.
  • TanthalasTanthalas Member Posts: 6,738
    @Miloch

    I don't see how it makes the issue worse. It already exists.
  • sandmanCCLsandmanCCL Member Posts: 1,389
    When I DM'd some D&D years ago, my players frequently named their otherwise non-unique magic items.

    You can attach lore to just a plain ol' +1 weapon if you really want. It's kind of fun to. Just because it's not as epic some other weapon doesn't mean it couldn't have some neat flavor attached to it, even if it's the exact same as some other weapon.

    Adding more lore and backstory to the world is always a good thing in my book.
  • KaxonKaxon Member Posts: 156
    I'm in favor of flavorful names, but I agree the +3 (or whatever) should always be tacked on the end so you know the function.
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    Errm, guys, let's not go overboard with too many unique names, yeah? I prefer utility over a fancy new name. When I look up my items, I need a clear name. In my case, Boots of Stealth renamed as Worn Whispers would confuse me. Boots of Stealth give a direct and clear description of these boots and what their function is, so I prefer it this way. Also, renaming items would give the impression they're 'new' items, which they're actually not. I prefer that the old item names stay.
  • CheesebellyCheesebelly Member Posts: 1,727
    But new items with the same look is *cheap*! :P
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122
    This is a really good point. More flvour is a good thing, ands when the item descriiption already describes it as unique, there is no good reason not to use the items given name rather than shortsword +2
  • TanthalasTanthalas Member Posts: 6,738
    @Kitteh_On_A_Cloud

    They're not new names, they're the names that already appear in the item descriptions.
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    @Tanthalas: I know, but still. It would be a change, right? It's just that I've gotten so used to names like 'Boots of Stealth' in the current of +10 years...
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