A quiet moment of scholarly BG2 nonsense

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 8:53 am

We've had several inquiries from time to time in this category about the origins of Bhaal. While most of 'em have just been concerned about fiction, I thought I'd pass along one bit about the god Bhaal, a deity connected in MidEastern history with fertility.

The famous general Hannibal, whom the Roman Empire considered its greatest threat, had as his actual name Channi-ba'al, which literally means "graced by Bhaal."

Well, *I* thought it was interesting, at any rate...

[ 12-31-2001: Message edited by: fable ]

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 9:48 am

Thats of topic!

XxRPGerxX · Post by **XxRPGerxX** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 10:11 am

umm..yeah, what he said

pomr · Post by **pomr** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 10:26 am

Pretty cheeky to give hell to the moderator.

Interesting facts though...I wonder how many of the ohter Forgotten Realms deities are based on ones from the real world.

dopplehanger · Post by **dopplehanger** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 3:25 pm

arent u always closing topics like this if its not pertaining to BG? hehe just asking lol

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 6:25 pm

This topic's been repeatedly visited in this forum, as I mentioned above.

But if you want to really tie it more closely to BG2, then let's use it as a place to discuss the origins of the names of various characters in BG2. Korgan, for example, seems Irish and Scottish in ancestry, like the Irish goddess, Morrigan. Aerie's an appopriate enough name for someone who can fly.

But what about Viconia? Any guesses?

at99 · Post by **at99** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 8:29 pm

Originally posted by fable:
This topic's been repeatedly visited in this forum, as I mentioned above.

But if you want to really tie it more closely to BG2, then let's use it as a place to discuss the origins of the names of various characters in BG2. Korgan, for example, seems Irish and Scottish in ancestry, like the Irish goddess, Morrigan. Aerie's an appopriate enough name for someone who can fly. But what about Viconia? Any guesses?

Viconia sounds Roman 'at a guess' eg hibernia and caladonia are roman names for ireland and scotland.

Korgan could be viking?

ps. just like to add 'off the topic' that it was reported on BBC news that mythology is still big in mid-east like djinn. Is this true? if so it is quite interesting.

dopplehanger · Post by **dopplehanger** » Mon Dec 31, 2001 11:40 pm

Viconia i believe was roman god!!! what was it i used to know ive smoked all my brain cells away plus i just left the new-years party. She had something to do with music in roman time i think damn im drunk

Whailor · Post by **Whailor** » Wed Jan 02, 2002 1:56 am

Yes DoPpLeHaNgEr, you're right on one thing and wrong on another: you are drunk and 'Viconia' is not a roman god

As to from where the name comes, then heck knows really. Not sure how much Bioware did research the "lore and legends" before creating BG. Probably to some extent they did, as it often helps and gives some good ideas. But many things were probably also taken just 'out of the blue' and used, and if something somehow matches with something in the RL, well, it may be just a coincidence

smaug chow · Post by **smaug chow** » Wed Jan 02, 2002 7:30 am

Well, this should be fun...

Aerie - point already made - "Aerial" and/or "Eyrie"
Anomen - mix of "Annoying" and "Man", only one of which is accurate.

Cernd - This word is actually Gaelic for "useless twit." OK, not really. I'll bet this started as "Kern" and was mildly changed because the name "Kern" pops up way too often in RPG circles - its got all the properties a DnD name should have: short, gutteral, not a Western name.
Edwin - Even though he sounds Russian, the name is pure vanilla.
Haer'Dalis - Hmm. Nothing comes to mind on this one.
Imoen - I'm thinking ths one is an amalgamation of the words "Innocent One." Best way to name a fantasy character is to grab a few descriptive words and play around with the letters and sylables. Tolkein did a ton of hat.
Jahiera - Again, nothing comes to mind. Is there some connection to Haer'Dalis with the "hier"/"haer" parts of the name? Maybe a root I'm not seeing?
Jan - Scandanavian. They seem to like to assign a regionality to the different races.
Keldorn - Another standard fantasy creation - the "orn" is very common since it sounds menacing and cool, and the starting gutteral reinforces the strong sound of the name.
Korgan - This might have some Scottish background, but I'm tempted to assign it the same sgnificance as Keldorn - a collection of strong sounding syllables.
Mazzy - Mazzy Star? Maybe a developer likes R&B?
Minsc - I bet this is from the city "Minsk." Minsc is a northern barbarian type with an accent. Probably filtered through the thought of Rasheman being like Siberia; Siberia is in Russia; a Russian name that is cool - Minsk.
Nalia - Again, a real name, or at least a slight variation on a real name.
Sarevok - Back to the fantasy name creaiton game.
Valygar - I'm torn on this one. The "gar" seems to be standard fantasy syllable stuff, but the "Valy" makes me think "Valley Girl." Perhaps if the character was more of an air head I could make that fit, but I'm at a loss. Maybe they decided they needed something very different from "Kelgar" or "Korgar."
Viconia - I always associated the "Vic" with "viscious." The ending "nia" is a semi-standard feminine root.
Yoshimo - they obviously put an Asian flavor to the guy, so the name goes along. I have no idea if this has roots in the Japanese language, but the sound is purely Japanese.

I've stopped trying to be cool in naming my characters. I started a couple dozen games back when I first got BG2 and I tried ot name them all well. It got frustrating, so now I have fun. My newest characters have names like Stinky McWhumpus, Skippy, Myrtle Mugglepus, Smashy the Barbarian, and Kirby Stumpthumper. Oh, and a few that the moderator probably wouldn't like.

Some of the dialog which uses the main character's name is kinda funny if you have a name like "Kiss My Backside."

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Wed Jan 02, 2002 7:49 am

Aeris is latin for air, so Aerie....

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 9:29 am

And anomen is latin for "A name"

Denethorn · Post by **Denethorn** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 10:29 am

Yoshimo - asociated with Japanese creation Yoshi???? Nintendo is Bioware's corporate alias???? Another govourment international trading conspiracy????

Or am I totally mad????

Morlock · Post by **Morlock** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 2:16 pm

@Fable:as some one living in the middle east I could tell you that Bhaal or Ba'al was the name of an ancient caananite(SP) and Assyrian god.

iknietjij · Post by **iknietjij** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 7:21 pm

and since i'm a useless twit with no inspiration whatsoever (damn bhaal for that), i can only say this my dear Morlock:

"Vidi,Viagra,veni!"
(I saw,I got a stiffy,I came)
IkNietJij

btw. after reading this discussion, couldn't it be that this board is overly moderated? i mean, asking about bhaal is not exactly of topic...

[ 01-06-2002: Message edited by: iknietjij ]

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 8:48 pm

Originally posted by Alexander Denethorn:
Yoshimo - asociated with Japanese creation Yoshi???? Nintendo is Bioware's corporate alias???? Another govourment international trading conspiracy????

Or am I totally mad????

I vote for "totally mad."

I doubt there is any correlation, but something I noticed. "Yoshi" can mean "adopted child" and "mo" can mean "another." So, is he just "another adopted child"?

ernme4vr · Post by **ernme4vr** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 9:04 pm

Kirby Stumpthumper... I love that!! I'm gonna use that from now on!! With credit to smaug chow of course!

- King of Hearts

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Sun Jan 06, 2002 9:42 pm

Originally posted by smaug chow:
I've stopped trying to be cool in naming my characters. I started a couple dozen games back when I first got BG2 and I tried ot name them all well. It got frustrating, so now I have fun. My newest characters have names like Stinky McWhumpus, Skippy, Myrtle Mugglepus, Smashy the Barbarian, and Kirby Stumpthumper. Oh, and a few that the moderator probably wouldn't like.

Some of the dialog which uses the main character's name is kinda funny if you have a name like "Kiss My Backside."

I think coming up with a cool name is part of the fun.

My current PC in BG2(imported from BG1) is a half-elf with golden hair and silvery skin named Elysia Moonstar. I had a group of three girls in IWD that were sisters, all having the last name of "Shoujo." I don't currently remember their actual names, but the translations were, roughly, "Lover Girl," "Breast Girl," and "V***** Girl"(Note: *'s used because the word is probably considered inappropriate, and I don't know if the censors would catch it or not). One of my favorites is my most recent 6-person party in IWD that has a half-elven Conjurer named Mistress 9(named after a char from Sailor Moon) and her Halfling Fighter/Thief friend named Chibi Mistress 9.

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Jan 07, 2002 12:24 am

Originally posted by Morlock:
@Fable:as some one living in the middle east I could tell you that Bhaal or Ba'al was the name of an ancient caananite(SP) and Assyrian god.

@Morlock, you're playing to the choir. I passed that info along in the SYM category a few months ago, when another poster there assured us all that Ba'al was simply a demon of lust and destruction worshipped by Babylonians.

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Mon Jan 07, 2002 12:30 am

Originally posted by fable:
you're playing to the choir.

Not to nitpick or anything, but don't you mean "preaching to the choir"?

Now to make it so this post isn't pure spam since this isn't the SYM forum.

IIRC, Daniel's(as in the Daniel who was thrown into the Lion's Den) Babylonian name(given to him by the king of...you guessed it...Babylon) had to do with Bhaal. I could look it up and find the name and find out for sure here, but I'm a little busy playing BG2 and don't want to go to that much trouble.