Character Nicknames

[Radiohead]

Hi,

I wanted to add my 2 cents regarding the possibility of rulers having, and more specifically gaining, nicknames.

These could take the form of post-nominal kingly nicknames "Aethelred the Unready" "Edgar the Peacable" "William the Conqueror" which would be in addition to their Number of course.

Those of lesser ranks could get the nickname style of William the Conqueror's son Robert "Curthose".

In the original Crusader Kings there were a few characters with nicknames at the start of the 1066 scenario, but none of the newly created characters were ever given nicknames.

What would be really nice to see is if the characters could be "granted" nicknames throughout the game, based on achievements, birth status/conditions, traits, piety etc.

Therefore a character "William the Bastard" could become "William the Conqueror" as occurred in history, if he conquered a significant enough realm or some other achievements.

Now, I am not suggesting that every character necessarily needs a nickname, but it would be a nice touch if a character distinguishes himself significantly in a notable way IE extremely high piety gives the nick name "the pious" or "the righteous", extremely low popularity could give you a nickname like "the Terrible" etc.

Thoughts?

 

[RedRooster81]

It would be nice to have nicknames tied to traits. They should perhaps be a little rare and more common in some cultures than others.

 

[Duke of Bavaria]

Would be a nice addition to the overall flair in the game, but it shouldnt be tied to traits as they are to common. Should onyl really be given out to special characters, with as mentioned before very high piety or some real special characteristics. One i could think of would be "the Crusader" for someone that has a succesfull crusade under his belt. Maybe you could also use a combination of both so if someone has a very high prestige he should get a nickname after one of his traits, or maybe even his looks but i doubt the game can actually recognize a red bearded guy actually is red bearded and not just an addition of numbers for his looks and call him "Barbarossa" ;-)

 

[Orinsul]

I cant see the game as being able to do this without getting it terribly wrong and calling every second king, the Great. Best way would be as in CK for the player to do it himself.

 

[xGhost4000x]

I don't see why this couldn't be done.

Total War: Rome and Total War: Medieval II both pulled this off rather well....

I seem to remember Rome had the title of "Africanus" if a general won multiple heroic victories in Africa, or "The Conqueror" if the general lead multiple successful battles in Medieval....


Point is, it could work.

 

[Calantyr]

I was thinking about this as well. The character could receive a nickname based off their highest level trait, so long as they managed to do something relevant as well.

So if they have the level 5 military trait they might get a nickname so long as they have won a Kingdom title in war. It could be random pulled from a pool of names, "Conquerer, Mighty" etc.

Of course it's all fluff unless the character gains/loses prestige based on the nickname, so it'll probably be more use sticking to traits anyway.

 

[RedRooster81]

I would like to be able to change the name of characters in-game. Basing it on traits would be nice (and the recommended approach), but when you have so many people with the same first name (as I often do), it would be nice to be able to differentiate just for your own sanity.

 

[Duke of Bavaria]

I cant see the game as being able to do this without getting it terribly wrong and calling every second king, the Great. Best way would be as in CK for the player to do it himself.

I can see a rather easy way for the game to get it right. If it gets it wrong i agree it would be better not having that feature.

 

[Panjer]

Rome: Total War had something like that if I remember correctly. It kind of sucked that 'Marius the Great' eventually turned into something silly like 'Marius Scarface' though.

If they include something like this it should be based off of traits.

 

[unmerged(155641)]

I was thinking about this as well. The character could receive a nickname based off their highest level trait, so long as they managed to do something relevant as well.

So if they have the level 5 military trait they might get a nickname so long as they have won a Kingdom title in war. It could be random pulled from a pool of names, "Conquerer, Mighty" etc.

Of course it's all fluff unless the character gains/loses prestige based on the nickname, so it'll probably be more use sticking to traits anyway.

So, what if i have a master teologian(5 star) trait, and i conquer half England? Shouldn't i get the nickname Conqueror or Mighty then?

 

[unmerged(31881)]

extremely low popularity could give you a nickname like "the Terrible" etc.

Thoughts?

More like changes in dynasty should enable you to slander the memory of the late John The Awesome if he doesn't have any heirs and the crown slips to another family.

Or turn Richard The Steadfast into the the scheming, hunchbacked, withered arm, deformed, harelipped coward. Supposing you oust his dynasty.

That and i lean towards the cooler sounding nicknames being restricted to those with high stats and/or accomplishments - especially if the AI gets them too.

Otherwise you'll have too many Magnificent Bastards running around.

 

[Nick B II]

Now, I am not suggesting that every character necessarily needs a nickname, but it would be a nice touch if a character distinguishes himself significantly in a notable way IE extremely high piety gives the nick name "the pious" or "the righteous", extremely low popularity could give you a nickname like "the Terrible" etc.

Terrible has changed it's meaning quite a bit since Midieval times. Back then it meant terrifying. Nobody would say Ivan the Terrible was actually bad at being a Czar, since the whole Czar thing was his idea; but Terrifying...

Let's just say nobody fucked with that guy twice.

Nick

 

[RedRooster81]

Terrible has changed it's meaning quite a bit since Midieval times. Back then it meant terrifying. Nobody would say Ivan the Terrible was actually bad at being a Czar, since the whole Czar thing was his idea; but Terrifying...

Let's just say nobody fucked with that guy twice.

Nick

Yes, I'd say having nasty traits should work towards vassal loyalty just as much if not more than good ones. It's the lukewarm and ineffectual who should have a hard time with their peers and underlings.

 

[Laur]

The problem with nicknames is that sometimes they did not actually reflect the qualities of that particular ruler, but how he or she was perceived by his rivals if they managed to get to power later and rewrite the history books. The most relevant example is the case of Constantine V (ruled 741 to 775), a very capable emperor who reversed the tide of Islam recapturing Syria for the Roman Empire, reorganised the Empire's theme system and successfully fought the Bulgarians. Due to his strong support for inconoclasm (the policy of forbidding the worship of icons or other religious images) however, he was loathed by the rival "iconodules" who came to power later and who slandered him, saying that even as an infant the Emperor had shown his unholy nature by defecating in the baptismal font. Thus Constantine V is also known now, 13 centuries after his able rule, by the nickname of "Kopronymos" (name of shit).
I am not sure if the game is capable of such explicable unfairness or even such kind of "poetry" when it comes to giving nicknames to the rulers.

 

[unmerged(67401)]

Maybe nicknames can be linked to à system of achievements. So your character gets à nicknames when you reach certain achievements. For example THE nickname " THE bloody" of you kill more than an x amount of characters. Or "THE pious" if your piety reaches à certain score. I think that would be à nice touch and it gives you something to strive for.