Blogging into Mordor: Finding the perfect name for your Monster Character

While playing one of the Free Peoples (elves,dwarves,hobbits, and men) is usually what comes to mind when one wants to role-play in The Lord of the Rings Online, there is another part of the game that is sometimes overlooked - Monster Play. Once you reach level 10 on a server you are able to play instead as a servant of Sauron and participate in the game's PVP system (known as PVMP). Those of us looking to role-play a character on the evil side of the story can become an orc, a spider, an uruk, or a warg.

Most people participating in PVMP choose a name for their monsters that reflects its "pwning ability" in the Ettenmoors rather than actually abiding to the lore. You frequently see names such as "Pewpewpew" and "Hobbitmuncher". However, for those of you who wish to choose a name that is lore-appropriate, this guide will help you in doing that! So if you want a creative name for your monster rather than "Saruon" or "Wormtongxx" keep reading!

Orcs (Defiler, Reaver):
Like most monsters (also known as creeps) you will be playing, the orc generally gets its name from the Black Speech, a language twisted from an old elvish tongue by Sauron. According to the lore, like most things orcs did not create, but stole and perverted the works of other races, even in language. Sauron created the language in order to have one tongue that all his servants spoke.

To differ your orc from the other races available, it is a good idea to concentrate on vocabulary that separates the orc from the other races. Since orcs are often viewed as subservient to the uruks, they might be more suitable for the more "dirty" and lowly names. For starters, according to Turbine, some common prefixes for the black tongue are: Ak-, Bag-, Grish-, Lug-, Muz-, Shak-, and Shap-. Some common suffixes are: -bash, -burz, --dush, -gash, -luk, -nakh, and -rat. However, most of these combinations will already be taken on each server, so you must, like always, get creative.

Some Black Speech words or parts of words that would be good to use for an orc:
bagronk - "cesspool"
burz - "dark"
dug - "filth"
ghash - "fire"
glob - "fool"

Uruks (War Leader, Blackarrow):
Like orcs, uruks are named using the Black Speech of Mordor. Uruks often view themselves as superior to orcs, so giving your uruk a name that makes it seem more "mighty" and "great". When naming your uruk, remember to be proud of who you are!

In addition to the prefixes and suffixes recommended by Turbine, here are some Black Speech words or parts of words that would be good to use for an uruk:
bubhosh - "great"
burz - "dark"
durb - "rule"
ghash - "fire"
krimp - "bind"
snaga - "slave"

Wargs (Stalker):
Wargs are also named using the Black Speech. As the stealthy class in the game, warg names should sound more purposeful. While an orc or uruk might be sent into battle to simply bash something over the head and be a big chunk of meat, when wargs are sent there is a specific purpose involved. Therefore a name that mentions sneaking or a trait or skill that the warg does particularly well is a good option for this race.

Some Black Speech words or parts of words that would be good to use for a warg:
ghash - "fire"
gimb - "find"
pushdug - "filth"
ronk - "pool"
thrak - "bring"

Spiders (Weaver):
Weavers, however, tend to have names derived differently from their evil counterparts. Spiders are generally reclusive creatures. They do not associate much with other races or types of creatures, and if they have names, they keep it to themselves. Therefore, the majority of spiders in the books have names taken from Sindarin, the language of the elves. You see, when an elf encounters a spider that is a servant of Sauron, he is not going to know its name. Therefore, he invents a name for the spider in his own tongue. This becomes the spider's name, and is what the spider is referred to even by the servants of Sauron.

According to Turbine, common prefixes in Sindarin for females are Adan-, And-, Ar-, Bel-, Breg-, Celeb-, Dol-, Edhel-, El-, Fan-, Find-, Galadh-, Gil-, Hir-, Ior-, Ir-, Lal-, Mel-, Mor-, Nim-, Rod-, Sael-, and Tinu-. Common suffixes are -anor, -dal, -dis, -el, -eth, -iel, -il, -gil, -los, -raen, -reth, -riel, -rian, -rien, -uilas, -uilos, -wen, and -wing. If you wish for more variety in your name, it is a good idea to consult the female section of the elf naming guide.

Surnames:
Monsters in LOTRO can have surnames. However, in the lore of Tolkien there are very few recorded instances of an orc or any other servant of Sauron that is not human having one. Therefore the surname spot is generally used in the same way as a title -- it boasts of the accomplishments of the person that bears it. Orcs, uruks, and wargs do not have a family surname that they pass from generation to generation. Spiders keep their names and language mostly secret, so it is unknown if they give themselves surnames. But due to the fact that elves give spiders their names, it is highly unlikely they would give them a surname.

This means that while you may use the Black Speech to give your creep its first name, you can use English words to tell the world more about them in the surname. In most cases you will want to forgo the surname and use titles. However, if there is some aspect of your character that you wish to convey that is not available in the title system, your surname is a great way to do this.

Things to look out for:

• For orcs, uruks, and wargs, never put two vowels together. Separate each vowel with a consonant. Dipthongs (combinations of vowels) for the most part do not exist in the Black Speech.

• As usually, for all the races except for weavers, keep the names short. Black Speech names are usually only two syllables.

• While many words in both the Black Speech and Sindarin have accents over the vowels, they are not allowed in-game as they make it pretty difficult for people to type out your name, add you to friends, etc. So avoid such accents and replace them with regular vowels when naming your creep.

• Avoid weird letters such as "x" and "q". The spelling of creep names is pretty straight-forward, so you shouldn't need them in order to create a name.