Origins of a Gamer: Where Did You Get THAT Name?

Blaugust 5th entry!

When you start out playing games, you gotta have a few things.  Most notably, a name for your character!  The very first time I EVER had to come up with a name for anything was in college around 1988.  Some buddies started up a D&D campaign in the dorm.  I'd never played D&D.  Never seen anyone play it.  Never knew anyone that had ever played it.  Growing up in a conservative southern Christian bible belt area, I thought this was something satanic maybe!

Having said all that, I was intrigued.  My buds gave me some tips on what sort of character I should be.  After seeing that Saturday morning cartoon in the early 80's I thought it would be cool, but I didn't want to play any of those sissies.  I needed a character with some edge.  I listened to a lot of heavy metal then, and had heard a band name somewhere called Tredegar.  Didn't know crap about them, just sounded edgy and foreign to me.  At the time I was also taking a Spanish class and I thought maybe something else was needed to make this name sound like a BAD guy.  Coming the Spanish word "mal" with "degar" I came up with my first gaming name.  MALDEGAR.  He was all two handed sword swinging nearly 7 feet of badass.

I came up with that one all on my own.  Didn't have to steal it from any movies or books.  It may have been my very first nerdgasm.

When I began playing Gemstone I used this name early on, but once I'd decided on playing a bard, that name just didn't feel "bardy" so I had to some up with something else.  It was around this time I'd started reading some Terry Brooks.  "Sword of Shannara"  was fresh on my mind.  Also the NCAA basketball tournament was going on.  Stanford had a guard with the name of Brevin Knight.  My name is Kevin.  Never heard of anyone named Brevin but thought that was cool, and it stuck in my head.  So at character creation I named my bard Brevin O'Sarandanar.  SarandaNON is a valley in the world of Shannara.  I didn't want to straight rip the name so I tweaked it a little.  Brevin felt "bardy" to me! 

The usual name I use when gaming is Tyluroth.  It is a name I came up with on my own as well.  In Gemstone there my favorite deity was Fash'lo'nae, the god of forbidden knowledge.  The Grandfather he was called.  Being all hardcore player that I became, it was not long before that second account was created.  On this account I created a Dark Elven priest.  I couldn't just name myself after a god!  So I essentially broke down the syllables into TY'lu'roth and created the last name of K`Tarl.

I've been using this name for over 20 years.

Ty, as my friends call me/him, has seen many incarnations.  Dark Elven priest in Gemstone.  Dark Elven warrior in Everquest.  Elven Archon in Rift.  Imperial Templar in Elder Scrolls Online.  It's been a long list.

Brevin by far is my favorite.  Mainly because he was my first true gaming love.  The first thing I really felt I created with my heart and soul in a gaming world.