Character Names for Western genre and Modern Genre Games

When I run games, I eventually develop lists of names to use on the fly. The guy sitting in the dark corner of the tavern, the gas station clerk who acts nervous around the characters for no reason, or the snitch with the tip off to the police may need names if the party decides they are important NPCs.

Reviewing a stack of 3”x5” cards, I came across many names, some with descriptions and some without descriptions. One set of names is more appropriate for a Western genre game, while the other is more appropriate for a modern game. I am certain the names can be used in either or different genres. (A dwarf named Brubaker? Oh, yes.) Some of the names are original, some are not. For example, the Western genre list has three sources:  a series of novels, a TV show, and names I came across in the genre that I liked. The modern list is similar in creation.

I have listed names without descriptions first for each genre, followed by names with descriptions. Apparently, I had plans for some of these names, but not for all of them.

Without further to-do, here are two lists of names you can use for your games!

Western genre

Randall Bragg

Ringo Shelton

Mackie Shelton

Virgil Cole

Everett Hitch

Allison French

Pony

Laurel

Cato

Rose

Stringer

Whitfield

Professor Wickwire

Corinna Schwenke

Camille Schwenke

Woodrow

Peggy

Jake

Woodrow

Rockwell

O’Hara

Taggart

Clancy

Browning

Quinn

Rusty

Pike

Denver

Reno

Brubaker

Cooper

Lonegrin

LeBoeuf

Wolfson

Redmund

Olivia

Kate

Cheyenne

Giovanni

Bulfinch

Ms. Change

Pinky

Modern Genre

Gregory Kaesserman

Richard Wehling

David Kruger

Matteo “New Shoes” Badoglio

Theodore “Teddy” Hutchinson

Jeremy Winneham

Ken St. James

Jacob Tolson

Peter Olsen

Steven Kiley

David Cougar

Eric Swanson

Michael Oppenheimer

Carlin Jarrett

Sullivan Dane

Rolland “Rolley” Geddes

David Arkwright

Kelli Marshall

Theresa “Tessa” Caxton

Kaitlen “Katy” (Rose) Geddes

Katherine Urselmann

Veronika Hollber

Marry Winwood

Deena Bartus

Lillie Thom

Racquelle Dawson

Yura Surova (Russian)

Cassidy Andersen:  Big boned, broad shouldered, wide face, big green eyes, 5’4”, wears blue and green colored clothing, very comfortable in blue jeans and tennis shoes, hair is naturally straight blonde, she is known to curl it and die it red; Empath (receiving only)

Nick “Harvey” Holloway:  6’, grey hair parted to one side, long skinny nose, 180 lbs., blue eyes, dresses casually in loose fitting clothing such as jogging suites, solid chin, white teeth, smokes expensive cigarettes; Invisibility, but not for his clothing, government ties

Barbara Hearchey:  Slim to medium build, short straight black hair that falls into her eyes, black eye color, straight plain facial features, business-like attitude but maintains an air of easy-going; Psychometry, Mindspeak

Todd Greel:  5’4”, greying brown hair, slim green eyes, thin lips, wide mouth, good build, business dress (suite, tie, trench coat), very neat and meticulous, mid-40s; No powers, techie

Alexis Stafford:  early 20s, trim with solid muscle, 4’9”; 75 ounds, short cropped black hair, dark made up, green eyes, average skin tone, wears black (jeans, dress shirts, low cut boots, leather jacket, gloves), domino mask, very rich and haughty, switchblade in her back pocket, likes to dance, business degree from Dartmouth in Hanover

Lauren Randle:  originally from Baltimore, MD

Richard Gilbert:  works for The Trust

Shiga Buji:  Necro-psi powers

Dicky Bird “DB” Perkins:  hacker

Jane Hyams:  Flight Attendant

Tamara Lee:  Siren

Silverbrook Police Department

Dr. Steven Rothschild:  Coroner for the midnight shift

Darren Rivers:  staff psychologist who also teaches at a nearby state university

Debra Morse

Glen Tsunai

Homocide Captain Owen Hagerty

Darryl Masters:  has a form of cancer, married to Callie

Lieutenant Mark Thorin

Lieutenant Michael Dearbon

Assistant District Attorney Mike Ellis

Callie Masters:  5’9”, 120 lbs., dyed red hair, green eyes, mid-30s, married to Darryl for ten years

Tipton County Police

Sherrif Patrick Delaney

Deputy Pete Cartledge

Sheriff Ian Matthews

Deputy Theodore Blankers

University Professors

Darren Rivers:  teaches criminal psyche

Dr. Layton Bowles:  Biology prof., wears glasses

Magnificent Sound

I'm watching The Magnificent Sevent on AMC. Sure, it's got commercials, but it's a great classic.

When I was a kid, my little brother bought the soundtrack for the movie on tape. I listened to it all the time. That faded in a couple of months and then it was my "go to" album when I needed it. I don't remember the emotion associated with it, but there was one. Anyways.

I remember more of the music than I do of the film. Sure, I remember the film, what it was about, and who died/didn't die in the final fight sequence. But I remember the chord structures, when the gunshots sound during the soundtrack, and which theme is associated with which situations.

Yet, I don't remember the kid infiltrating Eli Wallach's bandito camp. I don't remember the gunslinger having nightmares. I don't remember there being two gunfights with the banditos.

I guess this is just further proof I should have stuck with music as a career, or further proof that I associate most everything with music. Either way, I find it an interesting bit of psychological nonsense.

Westerns!

Been in a Western mood lately. Read 3:10 to Yuma, then picked up Elmore Leonard's complete Westerns collection, Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk (the first of the Lonesome Dove series), and Robert Parker's Apaloosa (yes, that's Robert Parker of Spenser: for Hire fame).

I read through Apaloosa first. I know Parker and his style. Knowing that, I knew I could kill it in a few days. Well, two to be exact. It's a good read. Nothing overly fancy. An ending I didn't expect, but did enjoy. About 1/3 of the way into the book, it started to feel a little close to Spenser as a Western. I was afraid of that, but I didn't mind. The characters were definately not Spenser characters, but some of the dialogue was close.

I'm about 90 pages into Dead Man's Walk. It's nothing special thus far. I've a feeling though, that it's about to get good. For those that have read it, I'm at the part of the story where the characters are leaving for to join the army.

Having already read 3:10 to Yuma, I'm saving Leonard for last. He was first, I'll get to him later.

And eventually, I do plan to read Louis Lamour, I'm just not in a hurry.

So, with that in mind, I went trolling through Youtube and found some interesting indie Western flicks. I'll stick them behind a cut to save on your load time.

In addition to that, my on again off again Western script idea is back on and I'm slowly plugging away at it. Expect nothing soon!

The Hayfield Movie


Six Reasons Why This is the one I'm most interested in.


The Spaghetti Western style trailer.


Six Bullets


Dodge City: A Spaghetto Western (with Isaac Hayes



And if you’ve never seen it, here’s the opening gunfight from Once Upon a Time in the West.


Sergio would follow this up with A Fistful o’ Dynamite (aka Duck, You Sucker!) and Once Upon a Time in America.

3:10 to Hush

I watched 3:10 to Yuma last night. I thought it was a good movie. It was no Sergio Leone classic, but it was worth sitting through. I think a happier ending would have been better ending, but that's life.

I think I like Russel Crowe as a bad guy more than a good guy. He wasn't a crazed over the top bad guy, just a criminal capable of doing really bad things. Christian Bale as the innocent bystander trying to do right was fine. I sensed bits of Quinn from Reign of Fire and Bruce Wayne The Batman in the character, but that could be me reading into things.

However, the two castings in the movie that I thought were absolutely brilliant were Alan Tudyk of Firefly and Peter Fonda! of everything. Alan did a great job as city folk trying to help out and Peter Fonda was brilliant as the old curmudgeony, bounty hunter type.

Gretchen Mol was nice to look at, as always. Logan Lerman was great as Bale's son. The kid reminds me a lot of Christian Slater in the face.

I noticed during the credits that it was based on a book. Can anyone recommend good Western novels? I don't even know where to begin and I'm not sure I'll ever find one I like. Most of my love for Western cinema is due to camera angles and bad-ass actors. Surely there's an author out there that can accomplish that?


Next up, I read Hush, the Batman graphic novel.

Wow! What a well written, well art worked comic series. I've been hoping to find a really good Batman graphic novel and this was it! I read it between 3:10 to Yuma, sleep, and dinner this evening. I need to go back and reread it, watching for artwork nuances I may have missed the first time. This comic brought a lot to the plate, with action, secrets revealed, romance, trust issues, and all the usual darkness that can come with The Batman (you must say it like, The Ohio State).

Before I do that, though, I'll be reading Brad Metzler's graphic novel Identity Crisis, another big seller for DC Comics.